Found Money - James Grippando [92]
“Mom, breakfast!”
Taylor was shouting loud enough to invite the neighbors. But she was allowed. Gram didn’t often turn her kitchen over to a four-year-old, and Taylor was always so proud of the special menu she came up with. Amy put her makeup bag aside and headed for the kitchen table. Her business face was not required for Cap’n Crunch and Kool-Aid.
Gram was seated at the table, eating her cereal and watching the morning news on television. Another place setting was arranged neatly beside her. Taylor was pouring the milk. “Skim milk for you, right Mommy?”
“That’s right,” she said with a smile. She pulled up a chair, then froze. A handsome young reporter on television was standing in front of the Mayflower Hotel in Washington D.C.
Gram said, “Hey, listen to this. They’re talking about Marilyn.”
Amy’s pulse quickened. She reached forward and turned up the volume.
The reporter was saying something about Washington’s worst-kept secret. “According to White House sources,” he said, “Ms. Gaslow met yesterday with several of the President’s high-ranking advisors. She will be meeting this morning with the President. If all goes well, we could possibly hear an announcement by the end of the day. Assuming she meets Senate approval, that would make Marilyn Gaslow the first woman ever to serve as chairman—make that chairwoman—of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.”
The Denver anchor broke in, fumbling with his earpiece. “Todd, most of us hear about the Federal Reserve every day, but few of us understand it. Put Ms. Gaslow’s appointment in perspective for us. How significant is this?”
“Very significant. The Fed is often referred to as the fourth branch of government, and that is no understatement. Through its seven-member Board of Governors, it sets the nation’s monetary policy. It controls the money supply, it sets interest rates, it regulates the federal banking system, it engages in a host of activities that affect market conditions. Historically, it has received blame for the severity of the Great Depression in the thirties, and it has received credit for the relatively stable economic conditions of the sixties. In short, it determines the overall economic well-being of the most powerful nation on earth. If Marilyn Gaslow is approved as chairman, she would arguably become the most powerful woman in America.”
“Are there any signs of Senate opposition to Ms. Gaslow’s appointment?”
“None yet,” said the reporter, “but in Washington, things can change in a hurry.”
“Thank you very much,” said the anchor, closing out the live report. The local coverage shifted to a traffic report.
Amy didn’t move.
“Mommy, are they talking about the same Marilyn you work for?”
Amy nodded, but she was deep in thought.
“The most powerful woman in America,” said Gram. “Boy, isn’t that something?”
Amy blinked nervously. She had honored Marilyn’s request to tell no one about their conversation—not even Gram.
“Yes,” she said in quiet disbelief. “That is really something.”
Part 3
43
At 10:00 A.M. Joseph Kozelka reached the K&G Building, a modern highrise that towered above downtown Denver. The ground-floor lobby was buzzing with men and women in business suits, the clicking of their heels echoing off the polished granite floors. Four banks of elevators stretched from one end of the spacious atrium-style lobby to the other. The first three were for tenants who leased the lower thirty floors from K&G. The last was for K&G visitors and employees only, floors thirty-one through fifty.
Kozelka stopped at the security checkpoint before the special employee elevators. The guard smiled politely, almost embarrassed by the routine.
“Good morning, sir. Step up to the scanner, please.”
Kozelka