Chapter 3:
That's your Chief of Staff.
Mac- Nate, Who sent my resignation letter to Evan Hutchings?
Nathan grinned. This was going to be fun…
Nathan- you are so gonna need a cup for this, girl…
After a dramatic pause, Nathan said…
Nathan- It was Jim Gardner…Mac froze… She was speechless… JIM? Jim did it? Jim betrayed her? That couldn't be true… She shook her head in denial as she fought the tears of anger that she felt coming to her eyes…
Mac- no! Jim didn't do it… that can't be true…Nathan- Come on! Do you think I would say something like that about JIM if it weren't true?
Mac continued shaking her head, not wanting to take what Nathan was saying…
Mac- it's not true…
Nathan was very upset… why did she ask him in the first place if she wasn't going to believe him?
Nathan- I'm telling you the truth, like you asked! But I shouldn't have! Do you think I wanted to hurt Jim? Do you think I want you to fire him? He is the best ally I got here, for God's sake!
Nathan said that without really thinking… He just spoke his mind. Mac was shocked… Jim was Nathan's ally? She took a sit to process everything…
Mac- oh God… that explains why you always seem to know so much about my moves… oh God… he told you Keaton was my choice for VP… didn't him?
Nathan nodded. He was beginning to feel very sorry for Mac. Suddenly, this situation wasn't so fun for him anymore. He knew what it was like to be betrayed for someone you really trust.
Nathan- He gave information to Jayne, my former Chief of Staff … they had a relationship and he shared information with her…. That's how I know he leaked your letter, he admitted it to her…
Mac was shocked. How could she be so blind? How could she not see what Jim really was?
Mac- If what you are telling me is true…then… why did you fire Jayne? She was useful to you…
Nathan- yes… but she started to fall in love with him and that softened her… She gave my information to him…
Mac nodded. Suddenly everything started making sense…Mac- right… that's how Jim knew you were about to expose Vince… and that's how he knew you got the information about him illegally…
Nathan nodded, sympathizing with Mac for the first time, and said sadly…
Nathan- we were both betrayed by them…
Mac wanted to throw up… How could Jim do that to her? He had lied to her straight-faced and without blinking… and why the hell didn't she notice it? She felt like the biggest idiot in the planet, in the whole fucking universe! Oh God… It would be so embarrassing telling Rod! But she had no time to think about all that…. They had to go to the dinner room and have thanksgiving dinner. Putting her self together, she said…
Mac- There are people waiting for us, Mr. Speaker… we have to go…Nathan nodded and escorted her to the dinner room.
Later that night. Inside the Presidential bedroom…During the entire dinner Mac had pretended that nothing was wrong and everybody could enjoy a lovely thanksgiving dinner. That night, she and Rod were going to bed… She came out her bathroom, and noticed that Rod was really anxious. He finally asked her the question he had been holding all night…
Rod- so… what happened? Did he tell you?
Mac nodded sadly… and closed her eyes for a few seconds.
Mac- yes… he did…
Rod- then… who was it?
Everything came back to Mac and her eyes filled with tears… how could she be so stupid?
Mac- It was Jim… you were right… it's always been Jim…Mac was full with anger and impotence…. Rod was speechless, shocked… Yes, he had imagined it was Jim… but now that they knew it for certain he couldn't really believe it. He couldn't said a word… Mac suddenly couldn't take it anymore… She could picture in her head Rod being happy because he was right, and she was sure he was about to say things like "you are such an idiot…" "I told you so!" "I knew it all the time", "you should have listened to me"… Before Rod could say something, Mac yelled…
Mac- DON'T SAY ANYTHING! Just…. Just… Don't say anything!
She suddenly hit the wall that was closer to her really hard yelling…
Mac-DAM IT!
She exploded in tears. Rod had rarely (if never) seen her so angry and so frustrated. He came closer to her and held her tight.
The next day… early in the morning. Oval Office.
Jim was unaware that Mac knew everything. He just entered in the Oval Office to have what he thought would be a regular President/Chief Of Staff meeting. He entered and saw Mac behind her desk as usual…
Jim- good morning, Ma'am President.
Mac, with an unreadable expression, said…Mac- Good morning Jim…
Jim asked, in a regular tone…Jim- so… Did you give Nathan Templeton the tape, after all?
Mac- oh, yes. I definitely did that…
Jim noticed that there was something weird about her… something was different in her look, in her face… Mac suddenly stood up and looked through the window of the Oval Office lost in her thoughts. Jim was beginning to freak out.
Jim- Madame President, are you ok?
Mac turned around to face him… Then she said, pointing at her chair behind her desk…
Mac- I was sit right there…Jim was confused. What was that about?
Jim- I beg your pardon?
Mac walked towards her desk, and stood in front of it and continued talking.
Mac- and you were standing right here. I was sit behind my desk and you were standing right here… I asked you, directly, if you were the source of the leaks… I asked you, looking at you eyes, if you told Evan Hutchings that Teddy had asked me to step down…
Jim suddenly got everything. She knew. He was about to explain him self and try to apologize. But Mac didn't let him, and continued talking…
Mac- I asked you that direct question and you told me: "No, and if you believe that I did, then we've got a problem." Later that night, I was working in my private study and you brought me your resignation letter… you said that it had been your honor to serve me, and then you told me that Teddy him self leaked most of the information because he felt I was a threat to his legacy, you also said that you thought I was his legacy. Jim… those conversations really happened right? I didn't imagine all that… I'm not crazy…
Jim was ashamed of him self and rushed to say…
Jim- no, you are not…
Mac ignored him and went on…Mac- I mean, I must be crazy, since I kept YOU as my Chief of Staff in the first place… but I'm not dangerously insane… I'm not completely delusional… those conversations I've just described really happened, right? I'm not imagining things…
Jim felt the urge to explain him self… and this time Mac simply listened…
Jim- Madame President, I have not excuses. What I did was wrong, I know is unforgivable… and this will not mean anything to you… but I do regret what I did. When I found your letter, I was very sad because of President Bridges's dead… and I was devastated because that great man's last wish was being ignored. I didn't know you too well back them… all I knew about you was what Teddy told me… so I didn't wanted you to be president. But then I truly got to know you… and you turned out to be a great President and a great woman. I realized how mistaken Teddy had been… but It was too late to un-do what I had done.
Mac listened those words but she didn't let herself feel affected by them. She wasn't angry with her self anymore, she was just sad, hurt and betrayed. She put herself together and said firmly in Presidential mode…
Mac- you are relieved of your duties, Mr. Gardner. You are not longer part of the Allen administration.
Jim knew it was over. He was fired. He was devastated but he knew he deserved it.
Very late at night. Oval Office.
Mac was walking around the Oval Office with bare feet. She liked felling the carpet in her skin while she meditated. There was nobody else in The West Wing since the workday was over. She walked around with her eyes close (she knew the Oval by heart and didn't need to see) and thought about Teddy Bridges, and about what Jim did… Jim was so loyal to Teddy… He loved him as a brother and trusted him completely like Teddy trusted him. Those two man where best friends… She needed that kind of relationship with whoever replaced Jim. She remember an advice Teddy told her once, and advice she should have followed when she became President.
FLASBACK - Two years and a half before…
Theodore Roosevelt Bridges had just become President of the United States and Mackenzie Spencer Allen had become his Vice President. It was their first day in their respective jobs. Mac was in her office when she was suddenly was surprised by Teddy, who entered. She stood up immediately.
Mac- Good morning, Mr. President.
He smiled. He liked being called that.
Teddy- it's ok… you can sit… listen, I heard you are organizing your staff…
Mac smiled nicely and nodded…
Mac- you are right boss… first things first. I need a good team to get right on business…
Teddy nodded thoughtfully and said…
Teddy- Tell me something… do you have a male best friend?
Mac was very surprised, that was not at all the question she expected. But even when she didn't understand the point of that question, she thought about it. She didn't have a male best friend since Mike Stanton, and she hadn't seen him in years. She was about to answer "no", but she changed her mind…. because her husband Rod could definitely be counted as her current best friend. He was the best friend she had now. Thinking about Rod, she smiled and said…
Mac- Yes, I do.
Teddy- and is he smarter than you?
Mac thought so. She nodded saying…
Mac- Yes. Definitely.
Teddy- and… can you trust him blindly?
Mac- I'd trust him with my life…
Teddy smiled, seeming satisfied with that answer… Mac was still confused, not knowing the reason of those questions… until Teddy said…
Teddy- then… that's your Chief of Staff.
Back in the present…
Mac continued walking around the Oval. Two years and a half ago she had taken Teddy's advice. As Vice President, she had chosen as Chief Of Staff the person who was her best friend, smarter than her and who she could trust with her life. She wished she had done the same as President. At that moment, Rod entered in the Oval, worried…
Rod- honey, are you ok? It's incredibly late… everybody else left…
Mac looked at Rod. She had made a mistake when she became President, but she would definitely correct it… She smiled genuinely at him and said…
Mac- yeah… I'll be all right.
The end…
So…. what do you think? Did you like this ending? Please… send me some reviews! I love them so much.