Prompt for Nadine and Mike: "Why can't they see they're meant for each other?"
The intern let Mike Barnow into Nadine's office not because she was too stupid or too careless to know better, but because she asked Maggie first and Maggie said to let him in.
As much as Nadine tried to play off her interest like indifference (a convincing show, to be sure), the truth was that it pleased her that Mike wanted to please her—Maggie could see it. And so she told the intern to allow Mike to wait in Nadine's office. She thought Nadine could use the nudge.
Maggie had been the assistant to two senior congressional aides and then to the chief of staff of the Labor Secretary before she made the switch to State. Nadine Tolliver wasn't nearly as dependent on her assistant as any of those men, and she was by far the least needy. The downside of this, though, was that Maggie often found herself trying to play mind-reader when Nadine did not ask for half of the things an assistant expected to be asked for. Merely guessing at what her boss could need. Fortunately, she was pretty good at guessing.
It appeared to Maggie that Nadine never really understood the full scope of what an assistant's job was supposed be. She rarely asked Maggie to make coffee runs or pick up her dry-cleaning or manage her social appointments—all things Maggie had done for her previous bosses. And that was all good and fine; it freed up more of her time to focus on the diplomacy-related parts of the job which, she supposed, was Nadine's intent. But in this one thing, this thing with Mike Barnow, Maggie was going to take initiative, steer the ship just a little, because it seemed like something Nadine needed.
Assistant's prerogative.
Maggie's desk in the bullpen was situated at a poor angle to see into Nadine's office, but if she leaned back in her chair she could see a little. She glimpsed as Mike stood outside the door and looked jittery. He adjusted his cuffs and collar and smoothed down his tie before slipping inside.
A few minutes later, she wandered down the senior staff hallway. She glanced inside casually to see him stretched out on the couch, careful and perfectly still as he waited for his moment. Waited for Nadine to show up.
Maggie paused. He might scare her half to death waiting like this, actually, and she wondered if that would pose a real problem. At baseline, Nadine was a really jumpy woman.
But she decided to keep walking. It would probably be fine. She liked that he was making a gesture here, putting a little effort into the set up. It wasn't so grand of an overture that it would embarrass Nadine, but it also wasn't nothing at all. The man had shown up; he would say his piece and then leave the ball in her court and as far as Maggie was concerned, that was good enough.
Knowing her boss, Maggie would probably have to take it upon herself to make sure the ball got tossed back in any kind of timely manner. She thought about how she might want to do that without pissing Nadine off.
.
Later that morning, as Mike walked out, he didn't go right down to the Secretary's office. He waited for Nadine to go into her meeting, and then he made a detour past Maggie's desk.
"Maggie, right?"
"Yes, sir. What can I do for you?"
She was surprised but more than pleased by the information he wanted out of her. What kind of flowers did Nadine like? Did she have a favorite restaurant? He sounded nervous as he asked them, though he tried to hide it behind his usual bravado.
It made Maggie feel like she'd made the right decision this morning after all.
She answered his questions the best she knew how, and then sent him on his way to the Secretary's office.
.
Later-later, she stood side-by-side with Blake near the SVTC room. They were observing. They were waiting for the elevators to open.
"Just wait for it."
"I don't think—"
"Just wait."
Mike was on his way out, sort of. His meeting with the Secretary was long over and done, but he seemed to find one excuse after another to linger. Mostly because Maggie had mentioned to him, casually, that Nadine had no lunch plans and if she got out of her meeting with Harriman on time, would have an entire hour free. So Mike lingered. His eyes darted toward the elevator bank every time the doors dinged. He couldn't be more obvious.
When Nadine finally appeared on the seventh floor, his whole demeanor seemed to change. She made a beeline for her office, hardly noticing him, and so it surprised her when he fell into step beside her. One of his hands drifted to her lower back as they walked.
Maggie grinned triumphantly. "There it is," she said. She and Blake watched until the pair were no longer within view.
"Is he taking her out?"
"If she'll let him," Maggie said, and then huffed. "Why is this so difficult? Why can't they see they're meant for each other?"
"He sees it," Blake said. "He's just waiting for her to see it, too."
"He'll be waiting awhile."
"Yeah." Blake patted her shoulder. "But you did good. Just keep meddling."
"She'll murder me if she ever finds out," Maggie said. Just because she had a close working relationship with Nadine didn't mean she wasn't afraid of her.
"But this is for her own good."
"It might not be for my own good, is what I'm saying."
"I don't think she'd hurt you," Blake said reasonably.
"You think?"
"She knows good and well she has no time to break in a new assistant." He shrugged. "That keeps you safe."