Truth or Dare

It was late afternoon, and Josh was sitting at his desk trying desperately to accomplish something and not let the day go to waste. It had been a long day, even for a Monday. The fact that Josh had come in early notwithstanding, Donna pestered him all day long with her mysterious girlfriend theory, he was trying to broker a deal on foreign aid, Leo was require him to fight recession and he was feverishly trying to avoid Sam – all making for a long, tiring day.

"Donna!" There was no answer. Josh could here phones ringing and staffers conversing, but there was no tell-tale sound of Donna's heels clicking on the floor and approaching his office.

"Donna!" Josh bellowed again. Josh could sense someone walking into the room without looking up.

"Donna. I need file for…"

"Are you embarrassed by me?" Josh looked up to find Jules looming over him, he couldn't tell if he was more startled or dazed.

"Geez, where did you come from?"

"I'm here to meet with Ed and Larry. Donna wasn't at her desk so I came in. I'll ask again. Are you embarrassed by me?"

"What?"

"Seriously, Josh. Are you embarrassed by me? Are you scared to be seen with me? What's the deal here? Maybe it's just that I'm not pretty enough for you, or I don't come from the right family and lineage, though I never pictured you as one of those northern snobs. Am I not powerful and influential enough to be seen in public with you, or is it that I am too prominent and that intimidates you? I can't seem to wrap my head around it, so you'll just have to enlighten me."

"Jules, slow down. Whatever it is, it's not like that."

"Then tell me what it is like Josh, because I'm a little confused."

"Is this about yesterday and CJ? I thought you were okay with everything. You didn't seem upset yesterday."

Josh was still sitting at his desk, watching Juliana and attempting to understand the source of her frustration. Juliana walked around the side of Josh's desk and perched on his windowsill.

"It isn't just about that. It's about everything. This is about putting words to what we're doing."

Juliana looked at Josh. The fact that he wasn't able to look her in the eye, let alone meet her fury and passion on this subject told her it was a moot point. To Juliana, Josh seemed almost deflated, sitting there at his desk.

Josh had been playing this over and over in his head. He didn't see any way around it. In the back of his mind, Josh knew why he hadn't told anyone about the feelings he harbored for Jules. Josh thought that Jules truly knew his reasons too, she just wanted him to say it out loud. Josh had never met anyone quite like Juliana. Juliana was opinionated and feisty, and she fought for what she believed in. Josh hated to admit it, but sometimes Juliana intimidated him and she usually always intrigued him. He could admit that Jules was almost the perfect compliment to his quirky ways, but Josh was beginning to believe more in the cons than the pros of their relationship.

Juliana took Josh's silence in stride. She stood up and pushed Josh lightly on the shoulder. "Truth or dare, Josh. Walk into someone's office and tell them about our 'thing', or take me to the Congressional Gala as your date. Which will it be?"

By the time Juliana had finished her ultimatum, she had walked back around to the front of Josh's desk. Josh sighed deeply, knowing that what he wanted to do and felt like he should do conflicted. He raised his head briefly to catch Juliana's challenging gaze practically drilling a hole into him.

Josh started to speak, when Sam waltzed casually through Josh's door. "Josh." Sam's eyes were shining, a result of a low stress day. "I heard the oddest thing, really. Donna dropped in and…Jules! Hi. What brings you to Josh's office? Guess you're here to hammer out a deal. You know you two should just have a wrestling match or something. It could be quite an event on the south lawn."

"Sam. Do you actually want me to answer any of your questions? Or are you going to keep on talking?" Juliana cracked rather sarcastically.

"Well, really…"

"Sam!" Josh interrupted a little louder than usual and with a certain amount of exasperation in his voice. "What did you need?"

"Well, Donna dropped in and she mentioned that you have a new girlfriend. It was actually more than mentioning it. She asked if I knew who you were dating these days, but imagine my surprise, because I thought you were still a bachelor!" Sam was enjoying his happy tirade. "Come on man, is this what it's coming to? Am I going to have to induce you to write memos for me so I can stay abreast of your social life? So who is she? Who are you seeing?"

"Yeah, Josh." Juliana said, sinking into the visitor chair and staring at Josh expectantly. "Tell us about your new girlfriend."

"It's nothing, Sam. There's a girl, but it's not really a thing. It's nothing really." Josh replied. The minute the words left his mouth, he regretted them. Josh tried to make eye contact with Juliana, but she was already rising and gathering her things.

"Gee, man, that's too bad." Sam consoled. "Donna made it sound more involved than that."

Sam turned and the eyes of both Sam and Josh followed Juliana as she proceeded silently to the door. Josh couldn't read anything from Juliana's body language or the way she was walking. Any glimmer of emotion had now been replaced with absolute professionalism on her part.

"Thanks, Josh. I think I've got my answer now." Juliana said, turning to look back into the office. "I'll see you later Sam."

Juliana disappeared out of Josh's sight and into the buzz of people in the bullpen.

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