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Elizabeth jumped when she opened the door of the Oval Office and found her chair spinning around to reveal Mike B. sitting at her desk.
"Damn it, Mike. Don't do that," Elizabeth reprimanded him as best she could while trying to catch her breath.
He simply looked at her as flippant as ever, asking, "Since when is Super-Spy Bess Adams so jumpy?"
"That's not funny, Mike, I've just… I've had a complicated day."
"You're the president. Saying you've had a complicated day is like saying Gordon was the best dog in the world. It's obvious," he added for clarification.
"Thanks, I got it."
"Seriously, Bess, what's got your panties in a twist?"
"No one—I mean—nothing. You know, you're getting worse with these comments lately."
"Uh huh, and you're deflecting. So whose 'no one?'"
"'No one' is no one," she told him, hoping it would put an end to this conversation for now. His impertinent glare told her that she could only wish she'd be so lucky. She tried a different tactic. "'No one,' is classified."
Of course, "no one" was Henry, and he wasn't classified for national security reasons at the moment, but right now, he was definitely classified for personal reasons.
Elizabeth knew she would barely be able to handle this conversation once. She had to wait until Jay arrived. And despite her slip a moment ago, she was just as good a spy as Mike was a lawyer. There was no way he was going to get this information out of her even one second before she was ready.
She was fully prepared to stall Mike for as long as she needed. "You know, this whole stealing my chair thing was mildly amusing when I was secretary of state, but I gotta say, it's wearing a bit thin now that it's the Resolute desk you've co-opted."
"Hey, I was the one who got you elected, thank you very much. I figure my butt owns at least 40 percent of this chair."
"Okay, that is so not how it works. Get up. Now."
"Okay, fine. I serve at the pleasure, or whatever. Anyway, do we know when Golden Boy is getting back from… what was it again?"
"His daughter's dentist appointment. He should be here any second."
And almost as if on cue, Jay walked through the door.
"Ya see?" Elizabeth asked with a smile, "There you go." But Mike had already gone back to whatever it was he had been reading when she walked in. At least he was making his way over to the couch so she could have her desk back.
"Alright, now that you're both here, I need to read you guys in on something."
"What is it, ma'am?" Jay asked, still concerned about how she'd been acting that morning.
Mike was barely paying attention, but her nerves were creeping up on her again, so it was now or never. Mike would just have to catch up when he finally realized the significance of what she was about to tell them.
"Well, it's a bit earlier than I would normally have shared something like this, but given its potential to cause problems if it gets out, I thought you should know. I have a date." She winced as she told them, hoping that they wouldn't overreact.
Jay was speechless.
Mike had only heard half of what she said.
Finally, he looked up from the report he was reading to ask her, "What are you talking about? Chef Cindy's got you eating those gross dried up prune things again?"
"What? No, could you pay attention for five minutes? I have a date tomorrow night."
"A date for what?" Mike stared at her.
She stared back, waiting for him to get it. When it finally clicked, he was just as shocked as Jay, but nothing ever left Mike B. speechless. He asked, "You mean with a person?"
"Yes, with a person. Is that so hard to believe?"
"Frankly, Bess? Yeah it is. In the entire time I've known you, you've never so much as even looked at a man that way. Oh, God, it is a man, right? Because you know I don't care, but let me tell you, the pea-brains in this country are not even remotely ready for that conversation yet."
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. Honestly, she had no idea what she expected from him.
"Blake!" Mike shouted through the intercom on her desk phone, demanding that her assistant enter the Oval.
Reluctantly, Blake entered the office, closed the door behind him and stared Mike down. "You rang?" he asked, his tone laced with sarcasm.
"Yeah, I need you to grab Blake 2.0 and schedule an appointment with the oppo firm for me. As soon as possible like, yesterday."
"Mike, it's one date. You are not vetting him."
"Bess, one year from today you will be kissing babies and hugging widows in New Hampshire. There's not a chance in hell we're not getting oppo for this guy. We have to know his skeletons. Now."
"He doesn't have any skeletons."
"Oh, and you know this? Tell me, how long have you known this guy, huh? How did you even meet him? You live in a fortress. Tell me he is not someone who works in this building—no—tell me he is not someone who works for this government."
"He's not someone who works for this government. Anymore," she responded, mumbling the last word.
That didn't stop Mike from catching it. "Excuse me. 'Anymore?' What does that mean? Was he fired?"
"No, Mike. I'm not an idiot. Would you just trust me? There's nothing scandalous or salacious about this. He's just a regular man who asked me on a date, and I said yes."
"Really? A 'regular man' who is worthy of Elizabeth Adams? Who could he possibly be?"
Elizabeth took a calming breath and finally revealed his name. "It's Dr. Henry McCord."
"The dorky religion guy?"
Elizabeth had been able to handle Mike's crap up to a point, but she would not tolerate him insulting Henry.
"Hey! Now I have put up with your questions because I know if this news gets out that it's going to make your job a hell of a lot more difficult, but I'm still the president. So now it's time for you to sit down, shut up, and listen. You can ask whatever questions you want about how my date could affect the administration, but under no circumstances do you get to insult his personality, got it? He is a kind and good man, whom, by the way, you could stand to learn a thing or two from. And you know what, for the first time since I lost my husband, I like someone. Do you know how much this means to me?"
Not even Mike could argue with that. Well, he could with anyone else, but not Bess.
Mike sighed, "Of course I know what this means. And look, we spent six years scratching and clawing our way to the top in this town. I watched you refuse to fire your predecessor's staff out of some weird sense of loyalty to employees you barely knew. I watched you convince Dalton to give away Peter Buckley to the Russians. I watched you refuse bail in order to remain locked up in solidarity with the kids being separated from their parents in Arizona. I watched you waive executive privilege so that you could testify at your own impeachment inquiry. If history has taught us anything, it's that Bess Adams is going to do whatever the hell Bess Adams wants to do. So no, I'm not vetting him in any scheme to prevent you from dating. But if you like this guy like you claim to, you have to let me protect him. And you. For that, we need to figure out whatever our enemies are going to find on him, and we need to find it first."
"Really? Just like that? You're not trying to stop me?"
"Bess, I wouldn't wish what you've been through in your life on my worst enemy. Which is really saying something, because you know how much I hate my enemies. But you? You were the one who stood by me when everyone else in my life abandoned me. You were the one who decided to be my friend when everyone else hated me. You were the one who held my hand as Gordon took his last breath. Believe me, I want nothing more than for you to be happy. But you have to let me help you. And trust me, me being hard on him now is only gonna help him in the long run."
"It's only one date. No one's saying anything about there being a long run."
"What are you talking about ? Like I said, in the 21 years since you lost Greg, you've never shown any interest in dating. Why in God's name would you pick the most inconvenient time in your life to start if you don't have any interest in something long term with this guy?"
"Well that's all well and good to say, but I'm not the only one whose opinion matters in this situation." After being met with a look of confusion from Mike, Elizabeth responded in disbelief, "Okay, do you have to practice being this obtuse? Henry, Mike. I'm talking about Henry."
Mike also couldn't believe what he was hearing. "'Henry?' We're talking about the same Henry McCord? The one who's had a huge, obvious crush on you for forever? That Henry McCord?"
"Crush? What are you talking about?"
"Come on, you mean you really haven't noticed? The three of us all worked at UVA together. He attended every single one of your speaking events on campus when he had no reason to. At all the graduations, he consistently watched you and never whoever was speaking. And you know a guy has a hopeless crush on you when he thinks you still look hot in commencement regalia. Oh and let's not forget the fall fundraiser of aught nine, when his eyes followed you around the ballroom the whole night like a lovesick puppy."
"And you're just telling me this now?!"
"What? Lots of men stare at you. How was I supposed to know that this would be the one you'd like back?"
"Conrad knew," Elizabeth informed him, feeling as though her mind was overflowing with questions about her past. She couldn't stop asking herself how she had missed this.
"What do you want me to say here? Dalton's retired. If he's the one who set you up with McCord, then it's because he's got time to kill now that he's no longer spending every waking moment of his life in the trenches battling the monsters and demons that work in this swamp town. Besides, you wouldn't even let me help you find a dog. Do you really think you would have let me help you find a boyfriend?"
Reluctantly, she admitted, "No, you're right. I'm sorry, I just, I'm surprised. I had no idea he liked me for so long. We were a bit busy fighting terrorism every other meeting I've had with him. And he's not my 'boyfriend.'"
Part of her wondered if Henry had liked her longer than even Mike knew about. What if that was why he remembered her from college?
"Speaking of which, back to the main point, do you seriously think that Henry McCord would be the one who wouldn't want the long term relationship with you? What could he have possibly said that would make you think that?"
"He didn't say anything that would make me think that. I was the one who questioned why he'd want to put up with all the craziness in my life, and he—" she paused realizing where this conversation was going, hesitant to repeat what Henry had said out loud.
"He what?" Mike pressed.
"He said I was worth it," she admitted quietly.
"Well hey," Mike said, turning to face Jay and Blake, finally acknowledging their presence again, "at least we know he has a brain."
What he was thinking was, of course you're worth it. But Mike really needed to pump some levity back into this conversation. Despite the fact that Bess was his best friend, he still struggled to be serious with her when he complimented her. Snark was just too ingrained in his nature.
Elizabeth still knew what he was really saying, though. She looked at him with enough sincerity for both of them as she thanked him. She then turned her attention to Jay and Blake as well. She remarked, "You two have been uncharacteristically quiet throughout this whole conversation." She'd almost forgotten they were in the room.
Normally, Jay and Blake wouldn't hesitate to speak their minds to Elizabeth as long as they believed their comments would be constructive. They both knew that she valued their honest opinions, but they'd also both been stunned by what they had just witnessed.
No one in DC fully understood the president's friendship with Mike B. Her enemies mostly believed that she was just your average corrupt politician with an even more corrupt fixer who was willing to do all her dirty work for her. Those who knew and respected her, found it hard to believe that someone as honest and kind as Elizabeth would allow Mike to speak to her let alone call her his best friend.
But that conversation that had made both Jay and Blake see something they'd never noticed before. Neither Jay or Blake had ever participated in such a personal conversation with the president before. And neither one of them was sure what shocked them the most about this meeting. The fact that the president had a date. Or the fact that, despite his rather unusual way of showing it, Mike was being supportive of her.
In the last four years, Jay and Blake had learned to trust that Mike B. cared a great deal about the president's career, but for the first time, they were both beginning to see how much he cared about her as a person too.
Jay figured it was his responsibility to break the silence, so he told her, "Well, I agree with… most of what Mike has been saying. And I want you to know that I'm grateful for your support too. I was one of those people you should have fired but didn't. You were understanding when I was going through my divorce, you were supportive when I needed more time with Chloe, hell, you even babysat her so I could go on my first real date with Annelies. What I'm saying is, I think the three of us would all walk through fire for you to support whatever or whoever," he amended with a teasing smile, "is going to make you happy."
Elizabeth smiled. Mike and Jay had had a rough start at the beginning of her campaign, but they had seemed to find a way to work together recently, and it meant the world to her that they were both agreeing to support her in this.
"Then it's settled, I guess. Blake?"
"Yes, ma'am?"
"Go get Nina and set up the appointment for Mike. Now it should be obvious that I want as few people to know about this as possible at this stage, but feel free to read Nina in. I know you two are gossip buddies, but I trust both of you to not let this leave this building."
"Of course, Madam President. And if I may add, I am beyond happy for you too."
"Thank you, Blake."
As Blake left to go find Nina, Elizabeth turned back to Mike and pointed out, "Oh, and by the way, Mike, regarding your little comment earlier, you do realize that I myself am a dork too?"
At that, Mike's eyes lit up with an idea. He snapped his fingers and pointed at her. "You're right! And we all know dorks are taking over the world right now. Dork is like the new chic, right? Just ask your kid, the uh, the big one, she likes all that trendy crap, doesn't she?"
"You mean Ali?" Jay questioned, not at all attempting to hide his annoyance at Mike's lack of respect for the president's children, "The first daughter, who is about to begin her final semester of her master's program in international fashion business management? I think it's safe to say she keeps up with what's trending."
"Sure, whatever. The point is, we can work this to our advantage. I can see it now, Dorks in Love. God, the country's gonna flip when you go public with this. Honestly, who doesn't love a love story?"
"Woooah, back up," Elizabeth interrupted, "A) Even if tomorrow goes well, short of a leak, we're still a long way away from going public with this. B) No one, I repeat no one who works for me is going to ever say the "L" word again. And you can consider that a direct order. C) If any possible relationship does become public knowledge, Henry is absolutely not ever to be used as a pawn to score cheap political points," she stared pointedly at Mike.
"Fine, fine, but can I just say, you two are going to be forced into the limelight whether I'm out there spinning for you or not. And team… uh Benry? Hess?" Mike questioned as Elizabeth shook her head and looked at him in disgust. "Wow, you guys have no good options for your celebrity couple name. Wait no, I got it, we'll call you McAdams for now. Team McAdams will be happening."
"Yeah, well that name is not happening," Elizabeth informed him.
"Eh, give it a chance. It could grow on you. You know, I think I'm actually getting a bit excited about this," Mike added with a goofy smile.
Elizabeth found herself rolling her eyes once again at his antics, but on the inside, she had to admit, he wasn't the only one who was excited.