Chapter 7

We haven't even gotten out of The Beast at the Volkswagen dealership before shark comes up to us. He's literally waiting outside Josh's car door as we park. It's ridiculous I tell you, ridiculous. "These people need to be kept on leashes."

"Be nice."

I look over at him innocently. "I'm always nice."

He looks at me disbelievingly and gets out with my brochure.

When I get out, I look off towards the cars before looking over at… hello. The new shark is hot. Very hot. Extremely hot. As my mother would say, well put together. Don't ask me where she comes up with that stuff. I have no idea.

Hottie Garrett introduces himself to Josh and Josh introduces us the way he has all day. "Josh Lyman, this is Donna. We're interested in seeing some Passats." And he wonders why they all think we're married…

Hottie Garrett leads us to a row of cars that look similar to the other high priced cars I've looked at today. "So Garrett," I say, flashing him my most radiant smile. "Tell me why I want a Passat." Josh, oblivious to Garrett's beautifulness, ignores us and starts looking through windows.

"Look at this one, Donna," he says excitedly from a few cars over. "It's the dark silver you like."

I'm trying to flirt over here, do you mind? "Uh huh," I say distractedly.

Hottie Garrett goes over the high points of the car, the most important of those being that it's one of the cheapest ones we've seen today. This is a plus, and gives Garrett an edge over the Lexus and Acura.

"Well, I better take it out for a spin then," I say, leaning back against the car and smiling slyly at him. He openly checks me out before going inside to get the key, and I watch him go for a few seconds, thinking of my very favorite "Thelma and Louise" quote. 'Watch him go. I love to watch him go.' Brad Pitt has nothing on Hottie Garrett.

I turn back to Josh, who's looking over the sticker and has his trusty little piece of paper out of his pocket again, as well as the brochure. He's writing something down and comparing the two, and I can't help watching him. Because well, let's face it. Hottie Garrett has nothing on Josh Lyman.

I keep watching him for several seconds until he glances up at me and smiles. "Twenty-five two, Donna," he says wiggling his eyebrows.

"That's nearly in my price range," I say, smiling at him.

"Plus it's the color you like and has all the options you need."

"Oh does it?"

"And it's very high on the acceptable car list."

Why does Josh Lyman bring a smile and blush to my face that no one else can? "The car list that doesn't include Chevy orPontiac?"

"That's the one."

I shake my head, but his excitement, as usual, is contagious. "Not just high on the list, number one," I say to him.

He walks over and stands next to me. "Actually, the Audi's number one. I just didn't bother getting a brochure."

"Audi's number one?"

"Yep," he says, smiling.

"So we can have matching cars?" Wouldn't we look adorable in matching cars?

He looks down then and kicks an imaginary rock. "So you can have the best car."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Shark comes out with the key a few minutes later and we take it for a spin. I've dropped the flirting; it's no fun if Josh isn't going to notice and get jealous, and he's being too sweet, if not a bit over-bearing, to try to make him jealous. Shark notices the change in my behavior right away, but seems to shake it off without much of a problem. I'm sure women are lined up around the corner for him.

We get in and Josh immediately starts messing around with the radio, the seats, and the heating/air controls. This is the first shark who's actually offered Josh the front seat, and that, along with his rugged good looks, makes him my favorite shark so far.

"How's it handling?" Josh asks me once we've been driving for a few minutes. He has a list of questions he asks during each test drive, and it always starts with this one.

"The Passat handles incredibly well," shark tells him from the back seat.

"Donna?" Josh asks me, not taking shark's word for it.

"I actually feel like the car's in control. Like I don't have much say in what's going on. Like I have to grip the steering wheel extra hard." Shark leans up, looking over my shoulder for whatever's wrong with his precious car, but Josh just shakes his head.

"She's just being a smart ass," he wisely says to shark. Then he goes back to his questions. "Are you comfortable? Are the controls in logical positions?"

The seats are uncomfortable as hell. How do I say that without offending shark? "They are indeed. The seat…"

"Yeah," he says, reading my mind. "It's a quiet ride."

Shark butts in again. "It has one of the quietest rides in its class. If you test drive a Nissan, you'll notice a huge difference."

"We did, and we do," I tell him while turning on to the interstate. "What kind of interest rates are you offering?"

"4.5 if you put 5 down and your credit qualifies."

Josh writes it down but looks at me. That's the worst interest rate we've come across all day.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

When we get back into The Beast, it's 9:02 and is therefore too late to go to the Audi dealership. As you can probably guess, I'm extremely upset about this.

"Too bad, I was really hoping to test drive the Audi tonight and make a final decision," I say in a plastic voice.

Josh looks at me. "Yes, I'm sure you're broken up about it," he says sarcastically.

"I am, truly."

"Well, we can at least narrow down the field a little. That'll make it easier for us tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Not tomorrow! Next week, next month, next administration, but not tomorrow!

He looks over at me with a large smile. "Yes, tomorrow. I wouldn't want you to have to wait too long, seeing as how upset you are."

"Great," I say in a voice that sounds anything but. "Oh…but you have senior staff tomorrow. Too bad. I was really hoping to get this done and drive around in my new car."

He chuckles at me. "Senior staff's at ten and that's my whole day. After that I can, and am willing to, sacrifice the day helping you again."

I squint my eyes at him. "That's very kind of you, but I couldn't ask you to do that," I say with a fake smile.

"You're so thoughtful. But really, I don't mind."

I try one more time. "But you must have a hundred things to do tomorrow."

"That's ok," he says cheerfully, "We'll just work late on Monday to make up for it."

"But…" now I'm whining.

His voice turns serious. "I told you, whining isn't going to work. How about this… we get dessert and come up with a short list. I've got to get the taste of health out of my mouth."

I look over at him. "How short?"

"One plus the Audi. Then tomorrow we can make a final decision."

"What if I need to sleep on it?"

"You don't."

I hate him. "Sliced apples and oranges?" He squishes up his face. Yeah, that's how good it sounded to me too.

"Cheesecake." Oh, how delicious does that sound?

"Frozen yogurt."

"Fine."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I order a small fat free, low-carb chocolate yogurt. It tastes a little like cardboard. Josh, on the other hand, gets a strawberry vanilla twist with strawberry sauce, banana pieces, and pecans. Then he yells, "Donna!" when I steal a bite. What was he expecting?

We sit in a booth towards the back with our yogurt and the brochures. After three or four bites, the cardboard yogurt starts tasting better, which basically means I've lost taste buds.

"Ok," he says, spreading out the brochures. "I say we start by both eliminating two cars."

I steal another bite of his yogurt. Who the hell am I kidding, I'm eating cardboard. "Why do you still have a say, exactly?"

"Because."

"That's your answer?"

"Yes."

I shrug. "Fine."

"See? Isn't it better when you just do as I say?" he says while smirking.

I smile innocently at him. "I'm going to dump my yogurt on your head."

He ignores me and pulls the piece of paper from his back pocket, holding it up where I can't see it and looking at it. "I pick the Acura RSX and the Honda Civic."

I look down at the brochures. "But the Civic's the cheapest…"

He cuts me off. "You agreed to the terms."

"Joshua!"

He smirks again. "You shouldn't have agreed to the terms, Donnatella."

I stare at him for a few seconds before sticking my tongue out at him. "I hate you. I pick the Lexus and the Nissan."

"Donna, the Lexus is a good car. It's a solid choice. It has a great…"

I cut him off. "You agreed to the terms."

He smiles, impressed. Finally he nods. "Fine. That leaves the Acura TL, the Accord, and the Passat."

"The Passat's uncomfortable."

"Yes, plus I didn't like the salesman."

"What? But… Garrett was my favorite."

"Hence me not liking him." I know his Neanderthal behavior shouldn't be rewarded, but his statement makes me smile, which in turn makes him smile.

"So we're cutting the Passat?"

He looks at his list again. "It's number two."

"It hurts my back."

He nods. "Good point. It's cut. We're down to the Accord and the Acura."

"The Accord is ten thousand dollars cheaper."

"Yes, but the Acura is number three on the list."

"Where's the Accord?"

"Number four."

"It beat the Lexus?"

"Yep."

I look at him for a few seconds. "The Accord beat the Lexus? What is your list based on exactly?"

He shrugs. "Let's leave the list as is. You're gonna love the Audi anyway."

"You're pretty sure of yourself."

He smiles and wiggles his eyebrows at me. "I have good reason."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

By the time we get to my place, it's eleven. Josh pulls up to the curb but leaves the car running. "You want to come in?"

He shakes his head. "Nah. I have some paperwork to go over before senior staff," he says, pulling his car keys from his pocket and handing them to me.

"What's this?"

"My keys."

"Why?"

He sighs and runs his hand over his face. "Why do you think?"

I honestly have no idea. I just shrug and stare at him.

"What did I tell you about driving the Freddie-mobile?"

Ahh… "The Beast."

"Whatever."

"It's just one more day, Josh. A half a day really."

"Yes, but unfortunately…" he trails off.

"I know, I know," I say, opening the door. "I'm never driving The Beast again."

"Now you're getting into the spirit of things. I'll see you at the office."