Chapter 12Brian sat in the conference room with Congressmen Shaw and Epstein. Shaw and Epstein sat at opposing ends of the eight-foot conference table. Epstein took long sips from his black coffee. Brian sat near the middle of the table, the mediator between warring nations.
One wall of the conference room was all glass that looked out onto a triangular atrium. One of the walls was taken up by bookshelves, filled to capacity and the other two walls were decorated with historical shots of the capital building.
“This is not the right time for rhetoric based on spending,” the congressional representative said, lighting a cigar the size of a small umbrella. Shaw's thick, white hair pushed backward like it was fleeing his face was a feature that many thought gave him a look of dignity and sop
