I held my breath.

He did not call me Admiral. He did not know the title belonged to me.

He thought he was calling a personal office line he had obtained through a contact in the Department of the Navy.

“Father,” I said quietly.

“I know you work in that personnel office,” he said, his voice cutting through the static.

“I am at my desk,” I replied.

“Good. Then you can do something useful for this family for once.”

I looked down at Nathan’s file on my screen.

“What do you need, Father?”

“Nathan Reed has filed a transfer request,” my father said. “It went to your division tonight.”

I remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

“He is trying to run away from his obligations here,” my father said. “Caroline needs him in Washington, not on some classified ship.”

“The Navy deploys its assets where they are needed,” I said.

“Don’t lecture me on Navy rules, Evelyn,” he snapped. “I built the political careers of half the Senate committee that funds your department.”

I gripped the receiver a little tighter.