A/N: I'm loving the comments lately-thanks so much for the feedback! I recognize I'm going to be getting in more dangerous territory politically, so... I'm a little nervous about that. It's great to read your thoughts and try to figure out what Darcy's response would be. It's not easy! I've had more than one doubter that this Darcy and Elena could actually end up together, so I'm looking at it as a challenge. I hope I'm up to it. :-)
Also, thanks for the heads-up about Gigi calling her brother Darcy- you're right, that is weird. There's a couple other continuity things you guys caught, which I really appreciate so I can go back and fix later.
Anyway, thanks again for reading!
Chapter 29
Elena spun around and Darcy froze. His eyes roamed the office wildly for a second as if trying to figure out where she'd sprung from.
Elena's face flamed, and her heart just about stopped. What was he doing here so soon. She'd come in innocently—his assistant had been showing off!—but now it felt like she'd been caught snooping in his bedroom.
Elena cleared her throat. "Sorry. I —Gigi wanted to see her friend—I was just going."
Darcy set his briefcase down and then picked it up nervously. "No, it's fine. Gigi just got to town then?"
"Yes. They told me you wouldn't be here until tomorrow," Elena blurted out.
"I took another flight." His face was flushed and he seemed at a loss for words. Where was robotic Darcy when she needed him?
He rubbed his mouth and repeated. "You and Gigi drove in this morning?"
"Yes, we left our things at the hotel."
"Right."
"I'll get out of your way."
There was reluctance in his eyes but he just nodded. Elena slipped to the door and exited quickly. Her instinct was to lean against the shut door and breathe a huge sigh of relief, but then she realized at least ten of the volunteers were looking her way.
They must have seen Darcy come in. Elena tried to smile calmly as she walked around the perimeter of the room, but her body was not in calm mode. It was a struggle to keep her pace even and slow and her face from showing all the emotions she'd felt in the last two minutes. She couldn't help replaying Darcy's shocked expression and every one he'd had after that. Had he suddenly discovered human emotion or had she just been blind to his face before this?
Elena had just reached the lobby, where she was determined to wait quietly, when Darcy caught up to her.
"Elena, since you're here, can I give you a tour? You don't have to wait for Gigi out here."
"No. I don't want to be a bother."
"You're not," he said simply.
Elena tried to reconcile this new, surprisingly humble Darcy to the one she disliked and felt the onset of a stress headache. "I'm sure you have things to do…" she tried again.
He spread his hands. "I'm not expected till tomorrow. I have nothing but time." For you, his expression seemed to add.
Elena gave in, wondering both at herself and him.
Darcy led her up through the floors of the building, explaining what each section was for. Terms like local ground outreach and investor relations flowed past her. He greeted people by name, and easily told Elena anecdotes about them. When they were alone, a little of his awkwardness returned, but as soon as they were on the next floor, talkative Darcy was back. Elena wasn't sure how she felt about this, and only hoped she was making appropriate responses. It was like meeting a new person, but with all the awkwardness of an ex-boyfriend.
At the top floor, Darcy took her up a short flight of stairs to the roof.
The sun shone down in a white haze, and a fitful, hot wind blew her hair around. She followed Darcy to the edge of the roof where two cushioned wicker chairs sat on either side of a small pot-shaped heater. In the July sun, it was definitely unnecessary, but she could picture him up here on cold evenings. Who came with him? Gigi? Caroline?
In the distance, Elena spotted the towering Washington Monument and a bit of the bay.
"Nice view," she said.
"I love it. I used to come up here with my dad and look at the lights in the winter. It was so cold, but we didn't care. On election nights, Gigi and I sometimes came up together." He pointed. "You can see the edge of the capital dome there. That rectangular bit is the Lincoln Memorial." He picked out several more landmarks for her.
"I've only seen postcards before," Elena said. "It's never the same as the real city, is it? Even with the smog and traffic." She fanned herself in the hot sun. "The humidity is impressive though. I can see why they call it the Swamp."
He glanced at her, as if trying to gauge how much of a conversation she wanted to have. "Yeah, drain the swamp," he quoted. He hesitated, but didn't say anything else.
"What?" Elena asked.
He grimaced. "I resent the phrase, I guess. Politics is not as simple as people think. I understand the frustration behind the phrase, though…" he trailed off.
Elena shielded her eyes from the sun as she gazed at the nation's capital, and thought of all it represented. "Yeah, I guess draining the swamp would mean people like you, or the establishment politicians you support. But really, the hypocrisy, the obstruction, the corruption… I'm genuinely not trying to pick a fight, but I don't understand how people can be proud to be Republican."
Darcy tilted his head. "The Republicans don't have a monopoly on consequentialism, you know, the end justifies the means. If Trump does somehow get elected, we'll probably see the same things on the left."
"I guess, but if Trump gets elected it would be…"
"Justified?" he finished.
Elena actually laughed, despite the seriousness of the conversation. "Well played."
He smiled slightly. "It's not that I disagree with you—Trump will need to be obstructed if he is elected, he has no self-control as far as I can tell-but that also proves my point. Our disgust with any particular method goes way down when we think it's necessary. There's this great quote by de Tocqueville—he was a Frenchman who wrote about the American 'experiment'—and he said, 'There are many men of principle in both parties in America, but there is no party of principle.'"
Darcy had an earnest look on his face, and for the first time, Elena could see the political science nerd he probably was in high school. He continued, "Now, both parties are just shouting, "Shame!" at the other. Our principles have become so different, we don't even give people the dignity of their convictions." He cut himself off.
Elena raised an eyebrow.
"Sorry. I can go on and on, but I guess you know that. You should visit the Mall while you're here. See the sights."
"I don't know. Gigi is so busy and she's already seen it."
"But you haven't. I'm sure she could spare you for a few hours."
Elena shrugged and they headed back downstairs. She wasn't sorry to end the conversation, but surprised to realize they'd actually had a political conversation that didn't fill her with rage.
Gigi was chatting in the volunteer room, and smiled brilliantly when they came back in.
"Of course you have to go sightseeing!" she told Elena, when Darcy explained. "But you shouldn't go alone."
"Would you go with me?" Darcy asked.
Elena wasn't sure where to look, there were too many eyes on her, and Darcy's were the most intense of all.
"Yeah, you should," Gigi agreed. "An insider tour. It's super cool."
"My boss has spoken," Elena said lightly. "I guess I will. But I warn you, I'm hard to impress."
Darcy grinned. "I'll bring my A-game."
Elena and Gigi headed out to the van, and Gigi kept glancing at her.
"You've gotta get that under control," Elena said. "Darcy isn't... it would never work, okay?"
Somehow, with all the hours they'd spent together in the van during the last two weeks, she'd never said it this bluntly. "We have nothing in common," Elena continued. "We disagree about some serious things. We're not really even friends."
They buckled into the bucket seats in the van and their driver took off, giving them a wave as she continued to listen to her music through her earphones.
Gigi glanced at her, probably to check if they had privacy, and then spread her hands innocently. "I didn't say anything! But since you brought it up... you do have things in common with Will. Me, for one," she winked at Elena. "And you're both very smart, very hard-working, and very kind."
"And you're very optimistic."
"No way. You know I'm cultivating an edgy vibe for this release. You'd think addiction and rehab would do, but apparently it's not edgy enough."
Gigi had gotten much better at joking about her experiences, some of them at least, and Elena hoped that was a good thing. "Edgy does not include setting me up with your brother. Keep that in mind."
"But you would be so good for him. And, don't take this the wrong way, but he would be good for you. You can't end up with somebody less intelligent and passionate than you. You'd despise them."
"No—"
"Yes, you would," Gigi said firmly. "With me, with a lot of women, I don't think it would be a deal-breaker. But for you? No. And there's not that many people who could match you."
Elena shook her head. "I'm not that picky." But was she? She certainly hadn't dated in a long time, or even come close to respecting a guy enough to have a serious relationship.
"It's not a matter of pickiness," Gigi said thoughtfully. "I think it's your heart protecting you. Now me—obviously I made a huge mistake," Gigi swallowed convulsively but made herself move on. "Now, I only want someone honest and...and calm. Not the life of the party, you know? Someone who'll be happy to sit quietly at home with me. I don't care if he's smart, because that just...doesn't matter that much to me."
Elena shrugged. "Maybe it doesn't matter that much to me either."
"You read textbooks for fun," Gigi said incredulously. "I've seen the books on your phone."
Elena laughed. "Fair point."
They relapsed into silence for the rest of the drive. Elena suspected that Gigi had a point, but just because Elena might want someone extraordinary, didn't mean she would get it. Or that Darcy was that guy. Even if he was, could they build a bridge between their differing viewpoints? Probably not, though Elena reminded herself that she may have stereotyped him unfairly and still didn't know exactly what he thought about many things.
The awkwardness today wasn't about attraction or affection, it was just the first meeting after an argument. And his overt effort to show her around and be friendly was probably him trying to prove her wrong. To prove that he wasn't a reclusive, self-centered jerk.
She'd already admitted to herself that she'd been wrong about many of her facts, now she couldn't help wondering if she was wrong about the rest.
