Donna examined herself in the mirror, making sure she was ready for her first big day on the job. She'd carefully ironed her best pants and shirt, pairing them with professional looking heels. She took a deep breath, trying to channel any confidence she could find.
CJ squeezed in next to her at the vanity, swiping on some mascara. "Don't be so nervous, you'll be fine today," she remarked. CJ grabbed her jacket and briefcase, told Donna she'd see her in the office and opened the door to start her day.
"Jeeze, Josh," she startled, crashing into him as she attempted to step out of the door. "How long have you been standing there?"
Josh, flustered, shrugged his shoulders. "Is Donna ready?"
CJ eyed him suspiciously, unsure of what had made this ego maniac of a man a puddle of goo over the last 12 hours. "She's just grabbing her coat," CJ stepped aside to let him enter, heading out to start his day. "Hey, Josh, thanks again for being so welcoming to her. I know she'll do her best for you. She's a smart girl, she just- needs a chance. " CJ shifted her briefcase nervously, hoping Donna couldn't' hear her. "Enjoy your breakfast. I'll see you there."
"Good morning," Josh beamed as soon as the door shut behind him, kissing her hello on the cheek.
She bristled a bit at his touch.
Just furrowed his brow, unsure of what the issue was, but not wanting to make a big deal of anything first thing in the morning.
"You look great. Are you ready?"
Donna nodded that she was, slipping into her coat and following Josh out the door and to his car, where he opened the door for her and then rounded the front of the vehicle, tossing his backpack in before he climbed in himself.
It wasn't new information to Donna that Josh was successful, she'd been able to easily piece that together on their vacation, but now she was confronted head on with it. And what had CJ told him about her? She'd remained quite tight lipped about Paul to Josh, and while she certainly wasn't going to lie to him, she wasn't exactly eager to advertize that situation either. She had no idea what he'd say.
He spoke quietly, pointing out a few places here and there as they moved slowly through the center of town, eventually pulling into a small diner where Josh lead her inside and to a quiet, out of the way corner booth.
"So, why the career change," Josh asked out of the blue, sipping his coffee.
"What?" Donna was caught off guard.
"Well, you're here to be my assistant, there are a few things of a more professional nature that we need to cover," Josh stated the obvious. "Why does a nurse drive halfway across the country to join a political campaign?"
"I'm not a nurse," Donna furrowed her brow, not understanding Josh's assumption.
"You're- oh? You're not?"
Donna laughed. "Why did you think that?"
"I don't know, actually," Josh thought carefully over their week together, and now that she mentioned it, she'd never come out and told him her occupation. "I guess I assumed… So what is it that you do, Donna Moss," he used her full name, grateful to have it.
"Well," she shifted uncomfortably. "It varies. Mostly I worked as a receptionist in a Real Estate office, but I waited tables on nights and weekends."
"Oh," Josh was now confused. "Are you still in school?"
Donna stared at her hands, folded timidly in her lap. "No," she practically whispered.
He stared at her. "Ok, well I thought Leo said you majored in Political Science and Government?"
"And, uh, Sociology an Psychology," Donna added, pushing a piece of melon around on her plate. "And biology for a while, with a minor in French?"
"Okay…"
"And, uh, drama?"
"You had five majors an two minors in four years?"
"Two years."
Josh looked up from his plate. "This is why you didn't want to talk about it, isn't it. He halfway tossed his fork down with a clatter. "Your boyfriend was older than you?"
"I think that question is of a personal nature?"
"Donna, we are so far past that line of demarcation I can't even see it anymore. Your boyfriend was older?"
"Yes."
"Law student?"
"Medical student," Donna muttered nervously.
"And the idea was that you'd drop out and pay the bills till he was done with his residency."
"Yes," Donna told him in a voice barely above a whisper.
"And why did Dr. Freeride break up with you?"
"What makes you think he broke up with me?"
Josh eyed her and set his jaw. "Donna, don't play games with me right now."
"I told you why, Josh. Because I'm not marriage material."
Josh scrubbed his hands over his face, so many emotions coursing through his veins. He'd like to strangle the Gomer who made her feel this way. He'd like to pull her close and tell her that she's the woman of his dreams. He'd like to show her that she was valuable and watch her earn her self confidence back- but this wasn't the time or the place for him to get involved in that, he thought. Instead, he bottled up all of his emotions. He had to figure out what to do with this whole convoluted mess.
"Donna, this is a campaign for the Presidency, and there's nothing I take more seriously than that."
"I know," she quickly cut off his tirade. "Look, Josh, this whole situation is as unexpected for you as it is for me," she told him. "I'm not going to do anything to compromise your day to day life. CJ doesn't know and I wont say anything to her. Or your girlfriend."
"Who?"
"Mandy. CJ. Toby. Sam. Anyone." Donna practically spat, rolling her eyes at him.
"She's not my girlfriend," Josh practically laughed.
Donna raised an eyebrow and eyed him. "Does she know that?"
Josh sighed and slumped back against the booth. "Look, it's complicated."
"So that would be a no." Donna's heart dropped.
"Donna, it's not like that, you have to believe me. She and I have known each other for a long time but its not- it doesn't mean anything. She's not my girlfriend. It's just…" Josh trailed off, unsure of how to explain the very complex, very unhealthy state of his current love life.
"It's what, Josh?" There was no amusement in her voice.
"The campaign needs her."
"So you two were a.. a thing… when…" Donna swallowed back the lump in her throat thinking of their magical week together.
"No! Donna, look, explaining Mandy is practically impossible. The woman's an enigma, and a mean one at that," he made a vain attempt at humor. "Yes, She and I have had an on and off thing but it's nothing. It doesn't mean anything. I've told her repeatedly that I'm not interested but my opinion doesn't really, um, matter much to her. She's just… around. She spins what we are to each other to be whatever she needs at the moment. We're in the same circles and she just wants people to see us together."
Josh tried to explain his actions, but ended up only further alienating the woman across the table from him.
The same circles. Donna knew this was how it would be- he was a successful politician and she was a college dropout from Wisconsin.
She didn't know what to say. She'd been living with Paul three days prior, so she didn't exactly feel like she could take a moral high ground here, but at the end of the day she wasn't cheating. But was he? He certainly didn't seem the type. But then again, did she really know him at all? Passive aggressive as she was, she decided to change the topic. She probably didn't want to know any more details.
"I hear you're not really a lawyer. What did you do before this?" It came out a bit more abrasive than Donna intended.
Josh smirked, as he leaned back again, making room for the breakfast plates being placed in front of him, thanking the waitress before he continued to answer Donna's question.
"I worked for John Hoynes," he stared at her.
Donna's eyes went wide, thinking of the long conversations they'd had in their suite about her disdain for Hoynes. "Oh?" She was clearly nervous. "But he's the projected frontrunner. Why'd you leave?"
Josh shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I met a very smart woman who pointed out to me that he wasn't the real deal. And then I met the Governor. And Donna, he's the real deal."
Donna couldn't suppress her small grin. The tension broke briefly and they ate in a companionable silence for a few moments, Josh eventually telling her about what was happening in the office and giving her a brief rundown of the staffers. She loved to watch him, his excited animation making her eager to get started on this new chapter of her life.
She'd promised herself that she was going to do this for herself. That she wasn't going to let a man come between her and achieving something great. She wanted to prove herself. She wanted to make CJ proud.
She could do this, she told herself. This thing with Josh, whatever it was, would work itself out along the way.
He paid the check and lead her back out to the car, driving just around the corner before parking on the street, just down from campaign headquarters.
He shut the engine off but didn't move, staring straight out of the window in front of them. He'd avoided the topic all morning, and after a sleepless night tossing and turning thinking about it, he knew he had to do it. Even though he'd been wrapped up in her since the moment they'd met, he couldn't get her words to CJ out of is head. It was just sex. Just sex. After all, it had been months. He'd tried to find her but she hadn't contacted him. She'd gone back to that idiot medical student as if the whole thing never even happened. And if that week really was meaningless to her, he couldn't take this opportunity from her. He wanted to give her everything that he could.
"Donna, do you want this job?'
She was caught off guard by the question. "Yes, of course I do."
"It's important to you?" He clarified.
"Yes, absolutely."
He nodded his head somewhat absently before clearing his throat, still not meeting her gaze. "Okay." He continued to stare into the distance. "When we walk through that door I'm going to be your boss. There's no margin for error on this campaign. We can't afford a scandal. So that means that you and I- we're… it's…"
"Oh." Donna stared blankly out the passenger side window. "Right. Of course." He was letting her down easily, trying to avoid any conflict before it turned into a blowup fight with Mandy. She should have seen it coming. She could do this though. She could be a professional. She'd just do her job and go home. Eventually she'd be able to pretend nothing had happened between them.
"It's just the way that it has to be for now," he assured her, wishing she'd look over at him, but knowing he couldn't stand it if there were tears in her eyes. He didn't want to fuck this up again. He had to make her understand.
"Okay."
"Listen to me, Donnatella," he raised his voice, grabbing her attention. He reached over and gently thumbed the diamond on the chain around her neck. "Do you know what this is," he asked her.
She gave him a few watery blinks, but did not speak.
"It's a promise," he told her, letting the necklace to and cupping her face. "And it's one I intend to keep."
He just had to make it to November.
