The One With The President

Chapter Two

By: Jana~

*****

--Adrenaline shot through Monica as she and Kathy approached the White House security office. She hadn't really given it much thought, she had been too busy being annoyed by the disruption in her schedule, but now that the moment was upon her, she was nervous.

She was about to enter the White House. She was about to meet the President of the United States. Even having Kathy by her side didn't take away from the excitement she was suddenly feeling, and she gushed uncharacteristically as she entered the guard shack just inside the White House gates.

"I'm Monica Geller," she told the guard cheerfully, and he smiled in return. "This is my first time here."

"He doesn't care," Kathy informed Monica sotto, then smiled at the guard apologetically.

"I've never even been on the tour," Monica informed further, bouncing in place just slightly out of nervousness.

"He doesn't care, Monica," Kathy grumbled through gritted teeth, a forced smile on her face.

"Sure I do!" the guard exclaimed, still smiling at Monica's excited demeanor. "Monica Geller," he said as he handed her a badge, "Knock 'em dead."

Monica smiled at the guard, then smirked at Kathy triumphantly.

*****

--"OK, Pheebs, what's next on the agenda?" Chandler asked after his 2:00 appointment left his office.

She only glanced at the appointment book in her hand. "Your next appointment isn't until 3."

Chandler looked at his watch and smiled. "Eight minutes! Whatever shall I do with all this free time?" he asked humorously.

Phoebe smiled. "Ross is still in his 2:00 meeting with A Touch Of Elegance catering service."

"Ok, well, I guess I'll go see how that's going," he informed as he headed for the door, but then he stopped. "They brought samples, right?" A sly grin followed the question.

"Yes, sir," Phoebe replied. "They brought samples."

"Yum!" he exclaimed, then continued out the door.

***

--"So, the President won't be joining us?" Monica asked Ross, their meeting well under way.

"No, I'm sorry," he apologized sincerely. "He's busy in meetings all day."

"Well, with all due respect," Monica inquired, "How can he decide if he likes our cuisine if he isn't here to sample it?"

"I assure you, Ms. Geller, the President trusts my judgement in these matters."

"Well, ok, but, I was really under the impression that I was needed here, so that I could discuss the menu options with the President and such."

"You're making a scene," Kathy told Monica through gritted teeth, her fake forced smile instantly making Monica angry. "I must apologize for Monica," Kathy said to Ross. "She's our best chef, it's just her people skills that are lacking."

Monica scoffed. "Yeah, when company comes over, they chain me to a post out in the backyard," she drolled sarcastically, unaware that the President had just entered the room.

Chandler held up his hand when he made eye contact with Ross, indicating that he didn't want attention brought to the fact that he was there. Ross only smiled slightly as he remained in his seat.

"I am sitting right next to you," Monica snapped quietly at Kathy. "You don't have to act like I'm not even in the room!"

"You're still making a scene," Kathy stated in a very soft sing-song tone of voice, angering Monica further.

"You know what, it wasn't my idea to come here! I had prior commitments! I was needed elsewhere! You didn't even need me here! And what's worse, you didn't want me here! But you drug me along Anyway! Like some trophy or something! You've been talking down to me ever since we left, telling me what I can and cannot say! And now you're here belittling me, right in front of me, all the while talking about me like I'm not even in the room! Implying I have no social skills what-so-ever!"

Monica turned to Ross, "And I'm sorry, I know the President must be a very busy man, but he couldn't have scheduled this meeting when he could take 5 minutes to meet with us?!"

It was then that Chandler decided to make his presence known. "Let's take him out back and beat the shit out of him!"

Phoebe, who was behind him, chuckled, and Ross smirked as he stood… the only ones not smiling or laughing were Monica and Kathy.

They both stood, as was proper when the President entered a room, and Kathy immediately cringed, while Monica turned every shade of red in the book.

"I am so sorry Mr. President," Kathy began to apologize, "Monica-- it's Monica's first time in a situation like this, and she--"

"Ross," Chandler held his hand up at Kathy as he addressed his advisor, only needing to speak his name to convey what he was asking of him.

Formal introductions.

"Mr. President, may I present Ms. Kathy Brewster, and Ms. Monica Geller."

Chandler seemed surprised by the name, and he pointed at Ross while he looked from Ross to Monica, then back again. "Geller?" he asked. "Any relation?"

"No, sir," Ross replied. "We actually had a bit of a chuckle about that earlier."

"There was laughter earlier?" Chandler asked. "You mean the meeting didn't start out with all this hostility?"

"Sir, can I just say that, to hold the service responsible for my--"

"Ms. Geller," Chandler interrupted Monica in mid-apology. "Could I see you privately for a moment?"

She stammered before replying. "Um, ok. Yeah."

"Ms. Buffay, please show Ms. Geller to my office."

***

--Monica was immediately intimidated by her surroundings, watching as the blond secretary smiled while closing the doors, leaving her alone.

It was seconds later when Chandler entered the office. "I'm afraid I only have a minute," he informed, getting abruptly bombarded by Monica's nervous babblings.

"Mr. President, I am so sorry! Kathy- Ms. Brewster- she's my supervisor, and she really just doesn't like me-- She ordered me to come today, and I'm just not good in these type situations! And she was ridiculing me, like she does every day, and I guess I just lost me temper. I am so, so sorry! And to hold A Touch Of Elegance responsible for my outburst--"

"Ms. Geller," Chandler interrupted her fastly spoken run-on sentence. "Are you under the impression that I'm angry with you?"

She seemed perplexed. "Aren't you?"

He smiled. "No. I just asked to meet with you privately before you went on to apologize in front of your supervisor. I'm guessing that would have made your working environment even more like hell, am I right?"

She smiled just slightly. "You could say that, yeah." The smile dropped from her face as quickly as it had shown. "Still, I am really very sorry."

"For what?" he asked as he waved Phoebe away, who had entered just long enough to point at her watch, indicating that his time was short.

"For including you in my tirade," she explained.

"Believe me, it's not the first time someone has spouted angry words about me, and I'm certain it won't be the last."

"Still, they usually don't spout off angry words about the president mere feet from the oval office."

"True," he agreed. "They usually wait till after they leave. Then they go on television to do it," he added with a short chuckle.

She found herself smiling again at this charming man. "I wasn't upset with you," she continued. "It was--" she gestured back towards the room her supervisor sat in wait in.

"Understood," he nodded. "So, look, since you're not angry with me and all, maybe you would like to grab a cup of coffee sometime?"

She stood silent for a second or two, confused. "What?"

"You know," he clarified, "Coffee? Maybe a donut or a muffin?"

Completely dumbfounded, she found no words to reply with.

He could sense she was overwhelmed. "Look, it's been a weird day for you, I'm sure. Why don't I just give you some time to think about it. I could call you later?"

She nodded, then moved towards the nearest exit, assuming that was her cue to leave.

"Monica," he called out, "You can't leave that way."

Misunderstanding what he meant, she replied, "Oh, no, I'm fine."

He smiled. "No, what I meant was, you can't leave out that door."

She looked at the door in question, then looked back at him. "What?"

"That's not the exit," he said with a slight chuckle. "That is the door to my private office. You go through that door, and you'll have about a dozen secret service agents converging on you."

She backed away from the door, stumbling slightly. "I'm sorry."

"It's quite alright," he assured her, then gestured towards the correct door. "You want this door," he added, then escorted her to it.

After mumbling a thank you, she side-stepped out the door and out of Chandler's line of vision.

--She was beautiful. He'd thought so instantly. And what a fiery spirit.

"Your 3:00 meeting sir?" Phoebe brought him back to reality.

He nodded. "Tell Ross to hire the catering company," he told her as he took the bottle of water she offered him from her outstretched hand, taking a quick drink. "And find out Ms. Monica Geller's phone number for me please?"

"Yes, sir," Phoebe replied dutifully as she jotted down his requests.

*****

--"I'm telling you Rache," Monica said to her friend and roommate, "It happened just like that!"

"No bullshit?" Rachel asked, not sure if she should believe her friend's tale.

"No bullshit!"

"And he actually said he was going to call you?"

"Yeah," Monica replied, "But I didn't give him my number, so, I doubt he will. Just as well," she added.

"Why 'just as well'?"

"Well, cause," she scoffed, "He's the president!"

"So?"

"So?!" Monica repeated. "So… he's The President! I can't date the president!"

"Why not?"

"Ugh!" Monica groaned, "I don't know! Cause he's… The President!"

"Ok, so, we've established what his job is. Twice!"

"It would be too complicated!" Monica attempted to explain. "Besides, all of this is a moot point anyway. I didn't give him the number!"

Just then the phone rang, and Monica quickly wiped her hands on her apron before picking it up. "Hello?"

Her eyes grew wide as she listened for a moment, then she covered the mouthpiece and looked at Rachel with a look that bordered on horror.

"Or, since he's the president, he'll find a way to get it on his own."

Rachel's jaw dropped. "Nooooo!"

Monica just nodded, then put the phone back to her ear. "Yes, Mr. President. I'm here…"

TBC

Ok, so, still needing feedback. Still good? Starting to suck? Should I continue? Let me know.

Please leave a review!