Chapter 4 - This Isn't Revenge
A/N: I'm actually very excited to write this chapter! I know where I want this to end but filling in these little details is my favorite part!
I also want to give a special shout out to the anonymous reviewer who constantly reminds me that because I'm not writing something in which the main characters act exactly like the show that I haven't seen it and I'm not creating something with depth or meaning. You're acting like Morejon. Sometimes people in our lives, even the ones we thought we knew the best, surprise us.
Blake's desk phone rang. He didn't really think twice about answering it, he picked it right up and greeted the person on the other line with a quick "Secretary McCord's office."
"Hey Blake," it was Elizabeth "can you and Daisy come in here for a quick meeting?"
"Absolutely, I'll get Daisy and we'll be right in." He told before quickly shuffling to Daisy's office.
Once he got to her office door he quickly knocked, didn't wait for a response, and went right in. "MSec is requesting just us, in her office." He told a confused looking Daisy.
They both quickly got into Elizabeth's office. "Yes ma'am?" Daisy greeted her.
"Please shut the door." Elizabeth instructed Blake since he was standing closer to the door. He quickly shut the door and took a seat in the remaining seat across from her desk.
The room was silent for a brief moment. None of the parties involved were sure how to start this conversation.
"I need help picking out what to wear tonight." She finally broke the silence. "I've been thinking about it since Monday and I have no idea what to wear. It's one hundred degrees outside, I have no idea where we're having dinner at, and it's not a date… but it feels like a date."
Daisy was slightly surprised that she was brought into this conversation… not because she didn't know how to advise the secretary but because Elizabeth was usually the one giving her this kind of motherly advice, not the other way around.
Daisy didn't know her wardrobe well enough to pick out specific pieces and while Blake was fashionable in his own right, he wasn't sure it would transfer to Elizabeth's style in the same way.
"Well were you thinking about a dress, pants, shorts?" Daisy began to probe.
"I don't know! I don't think shorts would be appropriate but I also don't know what would be appropriate!" Elizabeth answered, obviously stressed.
"Ok let's stick with a dress or pants." Blake contributed.
"Are you wanting to be a little more professional? A little more casual?" Daisy continued to ask in hopes of figuring out what the secretary should wear on her not date date.
"Casual but not too casual." Elizabeth answered. "I also don't know where we're going which makes this even harder."
"What about that yellow dress with the buttons and the pleated skirt?" Blake suggested referring to a yellow chiffon dress she had worn on a few casual occasions.
"Too day time." That dress was the first thing that Elizabeth thought of but it wasn't that it wasn't actually appropriate… it reminded her of the pictures she and Henry took with the kids a few years ago, he begged her to wear that dress.
"Are you wanting like a 'Princess Diana revenge dress' moment?" Daisy asked with a few ideas floating around in her head.
"No." Elizabeth answered. It wasn't stern but it was definite. She wasn't trying to make Henry jealous, she wasn't even going on a date, she was simply having dinner with someone who would be more like a business colleague than a potential suitor.
There was a small silence in the room as all three minds went to work. It wasn't that there weren't enough options already in her closet… this issue was that there were too many options.
The other, more complicating issue, was that this was unchartered territory for Elizabeth. Dinners with world leaders and business owners trying to change the world weren't, but a not date date was.
The group's individual thoughts were broken up by an epiphany Blake had. "Oh my god! I know! I have a friend trying to get into some personal styling. Let me see how quickly he can get here!" Blake then hurried to his desk, not really waiting for approval.
"Well, there you go ma'am!" Daisy said with a little bit of a laugh at the end.
"I guess I have a new stylist now!" Elizabeth matched with a joking tone.
Daisy smiled at the remark and another soft silence fell over the room. Elizabeth didn't mind the silence in the room but she couldn't stand the madness in her head and decided to break the silence with a question she had been eating herself alive over "is this a date?"
Daisy waited a moment to respond. "I think it can be what you decide it is. From the outside, does it look like a date? Yes. But… both our team and his have been trying to make some sort of meeting work for a few weeks now and therefore on one hand, it doesn't."
"I'm not ready for it to be." Elizabeth had been honest with herself for a while. While she did have an odd level of excitement for their not date date, she wasn't ready for it to be a date.
"Then it doesn't have to be. He said it wasn't a date, you say it isn't a date. It's just an unconventional dinner." Daisy reminded her.
Before Elizabeth could respond, Blake barged into her office. "Ok, he will be here in half an hour. He's preparing a ton of outfits! Shoes, accessories, everything! He doesn't know what it's actually for, I told him a last second dinner."
"Thanks, Blake!" Elizabeth responded.
Blake didn't think twice about turning around and heading right back to his desk. Elizabeth took a second to glance down at the report in front of her. To be honest, she had actually forgotten that Daisy was still there.
"I do think we need to get ahead of something about tonight…" Daisy began, instantly catching Elizabeth's attention. "If the press see, they're probably going to call it a date. Would you like me to make a statement beforehand or do damage control?"
Elizabeth had thought about the same thing and the thought kept her up late last night. She didn't want this to be a date, as much as part of her did, the bigger and smarter part of her didn't. She knew someone would make it out to be a date, even though it wasn't a date.
"I wish something other than my personal life would be news for once." It seemed like every week for the last few months there was a major story about her personal life on page six. The great things she and her team did were below the fold but her personal life somehow remained front and center.
"I can just say no comment. I can put the dinner on your official calendar so it's public knowledge and hopefully that will throw them off a bit." Daisy suggested.
"In your personal and professional opinion, what do you think is best?" Elizabeth asked her.
"If we put out a statement before, we can set the precedence that this isn't anything more than a dinner between two humanitarians trying to work together to make a difference… but that can easily be spun given the circumstances. If we wait, we could be digging ourselves out of a bigger hole. I think adding it to the calendar so it's knowledge and seeing if anyone actually pays attention might be our best course of action." Daisy saw this situation from multiple angles. She saw it from a press angle, she saw it from an office angle, but she also saw it from a personal angle and wanted to protect her boss at all costs.
"Ok, let's do that." Elizabeth agreed with the nod of her head.
"Will do, ma'am." Daisy replied with a smile before getting up from her chair and walking out of the secretary's office.
Elizabeth was thankful for the silence and time alone. She said she would get work done and while her head stayed focused on the report in front of her, her mind was elsewhere. Where would they have dinner tonight? Would the conversation be just about their humanitarian efforts? Would she finally have the nerve to tell him that he hadn't been in her shoes and he really had no idea how she felt and had been treated when he said that? Her mind flipped from excitement to anger often, not anger at him, but anger at a lot of situations she had found herself in over the last few months.
She actually welcomed Blake storming into her office with the stylist he recommended. "Ma'am, allow me to introduce you to Jax Ryann."
"So nice to meet you!" She said getting up from her desk and walking to the young man to greet him with a hand shake.
"It's such an honor, Madam Secretary!" Jax responded.
"Please, call me Elizabeth!" She sweetly instructed the slightly nervous young man.
"Yes, Elizabeth! Well! I have some great pieces pulled for you! When Blake told me this was for you, my first thought went to red! It's the color of confidence and you have got that down. I love this red dress, it's perfect for a day to night look, the sleeves are a little longer than a cap sleeve so it's a little more professional feeling, the v neck isn't too deep but it's just deep enough to feel a little bit spicy! Don't even get me started on how fun and flirty this ruffle hem is! I know you can be a little adventurous with shoes so I went with these so I thought these pumps would look great! They're still a classic sandal but the pointed toe and the lock on the ankle strap make it a little bit more than a classic sandal!" He showed Elizabeth the first outfit he had chose for her.
She was really impressed with it, but it didn't feel right. It was very her, he got her style perfectly, but she almost didn't want to feel like her usual self for this.
"I know we're doing a lot of interesting detailing that's kind of unexpected in the shoes so I went with a simple black diamond and white gold journey style earring for this one." He opened the jewelry box to show her the earrings. They were stunning!
"Ok, I do like that… I want to see what else you have picked out though." She told him.
"Of course!" He began "I love this little white dress! The scallop detailing on the hem feels so classic but fresh at the same time. I love this built in belt detailing and the buttons down the front of the skirt just make it seem so put together. It feels very 'Jackie O in the Hamptons' to me! I love these nude color, patent leather wedges to make it feel even more summery without being too casual but it would look great with pumps as well! Whatever you like!"
Daisy and Blake turned their attention to the silent secretary of state who was busy studying the details of the dress.
"I really like this one!" She finally broke the silence with a happy tone.
"Great! Here's one that I wasn't super sure you'd like but I thought it was a great risk to take! I know it is like a thousand degrees outside and this is long sleeve but it is cotton and will be very breathable. The embroidery is a little heavy but it does have a lot of laser cut detailing to make it a little more breathable. The v neck is just deep enough to be dramatic but not too deep. The detailing on the hem is so unique as well! I was thinking a simple nude sandal with this because there's so much going on in the dress. What do you think?"
She studied the garment, there was something very different about it. It wasn't who she usually was but it didn't seem like a wild risk to take. It seemed flirty but put together, young but mature. Though it had so much beauty, it felt like something she would wear on a date… and this wasn't a date.
"I think the white one is still my favorite." She answered.
"Ok great! I do have one more!" Jax began while unzipping a garment bag. "This little pink number is so much fun! The cap sleeves and higher neckline say I'm serious but the detailing and the light pink color say but I'm also fun! All the detailing is hand placed and it can easily be dressed up with a black blazer should you need to dress it up! I think it would look a little bit more mature with some black sandals but we could do nude if you'd like that!"
The dress he had was absolutely perfect. The pink cap sleeves and higher neck made it feel like it could be worn for a business meeting, which this was. The detailing felt fun and light, which she hoped the night would be. The skirt could be a little flirty because it was a bit short but was structured and long enough to not say 'this is a date.'
"It's perfect!" She was still in awe. It was exactly what she had imagined.
"Wonderful!" Jax was in awe as well that he had just dressed the secretary of state. "Now for shoes, I love these ankle strap sandals! I think the little detailing around the edges is perfect!"
"I agree!" She agreed nearly instantly.
"I think for jewelry a simple stud earring would be perfect! I love these emerald cut ones, I think they're so elegant!" He pulled out a little blue box containing a beautiful pair of emerald cut diamond earrings.
"Oh wow!" She was truly speechless, they were beautiful!
"These are both on loan and I will need them back by tomorrow at noon." He told her. He had pulled a lot of strings to make this happen.
"No problem!" She answered, still captivated by the beauty of the items she had just seen.
"So hair and makeup" Jax began again "what were you thinking?"
"I… I'm not sure." She really hadn't thought about hair and makeup. Maybe she would touch up a little bit but it wasn't something she had put much thought into.
"I think a nice, loose wave in your hair and natural makeup with a little bit of a smoky eye would look great on you!" She could understand everything that he was saying but also felt like he was speaking a foreign language at the same time.
The more things that were prepared for this not a date date… the more it seemed like a date.