In the Course of Human Actions: Nature
Disclaimer: characters aren't mine, but the take on the story is.
Spoilers: anything up to the middle of Disaster Relief.
Category: CJ
Author's note: OK, so I'm trying something a little different here. This is probably the first time I've done a series of interrelated short stories. Hope you enjoy them.
~All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reason, passion, and desire.
-Aristotle~
Her life was becoming a disaster.
Funny, it was a natural disaster that brought that to the surface.
How it was a national disaster that made her realize that she could no longer do this job for these men.
Perhaps if it were just the President. . . She knew that if push came to shove she could explain away his actions. His distraction. It was understandable. Shareef. The kidnapping. The problems with Mrs. B. . .
Only, she had to factor in Leo.
The way he had been acting.
Treating them all differently.
The anger he had shown towards Josh wanting to float the poll, only to have Angela Blake do it, not that they were supposed to know that (just like everything else.)
Then the whole Carrick thing.
She knew, like the others, that Leo had oked most of what Josh had done.
That he had given him a blanket go-ahead.
It was only now, after it backfired, that he took it out on him.
Didn't admit his own fault.
That he used Josh and the DNC's anger to hide his own culpability.
How he hired Blake without giving anyone a heads up.
Once again made her look like a liar in front of the press.
Josh would soon be replaced.
(She had a feeling he wouldn't be the only one.)
Toby was becoming more and more annoyed. They wouldn't allow him to do what he needed to.
He could've had the chance.
Should've been given part of Josh's portfolio.
(They all would've been all right with that.)
Instead he was being pushed closer to the end of his rope.
And what the hell was up with Will being transferred to Russell's staff? If they didn't need a replacement for Sam then why keep him hanging around so long? They were all just getting used to him. He and Toby were finally finding their stride together. He could've allowed for Toby's plate to be cleaned up for other things.
Something was going on.
Of that she was sure.
And the other thing she was sure of was that she didn't want to be around for the fallout.
Didn't want to have to pick up the pieces.
To be made to look like a fool once again.
She needed someone to lead.
No, she needed Bartlett
to lead.
She couldn't follow a man who was no longer ready to lead.
Wouldn't follow once whose job it wasn't.
She served at the pleasure of the President, not his Chief of Staff, and the way things were going, she wouldn't be serving either much longer. . .
