Chapter 20

Amanda walked into the Agency and up to Mrs. Marston. "Good morning. Today's password is Sundance."

"Good morning, Mrs. King. You look lovely this morning. Did you have a good weekend?" Mrs. Marston asked as she handed Amanda's badge to her.

"Yes, I did. The boys won their State Championship this past weekend. Thank you for asking. How was your weekend?"

"Not as good as yours, I see." She pointed to her left hand with her head as she spoke.

Amanda blushed and glimpsed at her hand. "Oh, yes. I also got engaged!"

"Congratulations! I didn't know you were still dating the weatherman."

"Oh, I'm not. That has been over for a long time now. This is a different guy, but if you don't mind, I'd like to keep that personal."

"Your secret is safe with me. Congrats again!"

"Thank you."

Amanda placed her badge on her silk blouse's lapel and made her way to the elevator to head down to the bullpen.

She exited the elevator and made a right turn to head towards the bullpen. As she turned left to pass the guards at the double doors, she said her good mornings and walked to the desk she'd been using the previous week. She placed her purse in the bottom drawer, gathered items that she would need for the morning meeting, and strolled towards the conference room.

Back upstairs, Lee sauntered into the foyer, and with a freshness in his voice, he greeted Mrs. Marston, "Good Morning. The password is Sundance."

Mrs. Marston smiled and handed him his badge. "You're in an unusually good mood for a Monday morning, Scarecrow. I take it you had a good weekend."

"Yes, I did." He took his badge and headed to the elevator without saying another word.

Mrs. Marston smiled at his back, and as the elevator doors closed, she softly said out loud, "I just bet you did. Hmm-hmm. You can hide it all you want, but I know exactly what, or should I say who put that smile on your face."

Lee entered the bullpen with a nod to the guards, sat down at his desk, and scanned the bullpen to see if he could spot Amanda. Not finding her, he reached for the messages on his desk and sorted through them before he needed to leave for the meeting.

Fifteen minutes later, Lee ambled into the conference room and sat in the only empty chair, which just happened to be right beside Amanda. Francine sat across the table from them, right by the podium to where Billy stood. "Nice of you to join us, Scarecrow. Did you forget your watch at your flavor of the week's place this morning?" Francine sarcastically commented.

Lee made a point to glance at his watch and countered with, "Nope. The meeting starts at nine o'clock. It is now nine o'clock. I'm right on time." He smiled with both dimples showing, and Billy just shook his head.

"Alright then, let's get this started." For the next fifty minutes, Billy went over all the news and handed out assignments. The whole time, Francine was staring at Amanda and Lee, trying to figure out what was going on with the two of them. As she was going over all the possibilities in her head, she barely heard what Billy said. What is it with Lee? He seems so different. He must have had one hell of a weekend with his new girl. Or maybe girls. That's it. He had multiple dates. That's the only thing that would put him in such a good mood. I don't know if I like him like this. And what's with Amanda. She seems like she's on top of the world. She hasn't stopped smiling since she got here. She's even more annoying than usual. However, I do like her blouse. I wouldn't expect her to wear silk. Maybe I'm rubbing off on her. Hmm, maybe there's hope for her yet. "Isn't that correct, Francine?" Francine shook her head, bringing her out of her musings. She gawked at Billy. "Um, I'm sorry, Billy. What were you saying?"

"I was saying, once they are done with their reports, they are to hand them to you, since I will be at the White House."

"Yes, that's correct. I'll collect all the reports and get them ready for your approval."

Billy shook his head and turned his attention back to the group. That's when she saw it. Amanda's hand moved just right to where the light caught it, and it was clear as day. What is that on her finger? Oh, my God! Is that an engagement ring? It sure looks like one. My, my, my. Maybe I have her all wrong. I wonder if Lee has seen it yet? She focused her eyes over at Lee. No, there is no way he's seen it yet. He wouldn't be that happy if he'd seen it. I know he feels for her more than he is letting on. It's going to be so much fun rubbing it in his face. A huge grin appeared on her face as she brought her attention back to Billy just as he was wrapping things up.

"Okay, I believe that is everything. Francine, did you have anything to add?"

"Actually, Billy, I do." She targeted Amanda with a weird sense of pleasure on her face. "I would like to ask Amanda a question."

Everyone's attention turned to Amanda. She scanned around the table with curiosity on her face. "What question could you possibly want to ask me?"

"Who's the lucky guy?"

"Excuse me! What do you mean, who's the lucky guy?"

"Well, if I'm not mistaken." Francine pointed her perfectly manicured finger towards Amanda's left hand and continued, "That is an engagement ring on your finger. Am I correct?'

Amanda froze. All eyes were on her as she quickly searched for the right way to answer Francine's question. Time seemed to stand still as she scanned around the room. First, her eyes fell on Lee, then sought out Billy. She noticed Billy's eyes bouncing back and forth between Lee and Francine while he evaluated how they were going to handle the situation. She returned her attention to Lee. This time she held a concerned expression on her face. Lee observed her filled with a certain sadness, but soon relaxed after recognizing a familiar calmness that had taken over her face. Amanda shifted back to Francine, and with complete confidence answered, "Yes, Francine, it is an engagement ring. Thank you for asking. However, if you don't mind, I'd like to keep the lucky guy to myself." She beamed with satisfaction as she glanced up to Billy as he proudly grinned back at her as any proud father would. She avoided the stare she could feel radiating from Lee. She knew there was no way she could contain her love and desire for him if she gazed into his beautiful eyes. She studied the notes in front of her, which made it appear to everyone in the room that she was almost ashamed to face him.

Francine knew she wouldn't get any more from her right now in front of everyone, so she decided she would corner her later. "Okay, fine, don't share." She just shifted her attack to Lee. "Lee, do you know who he is?"

Lee's head snapped up to Francine. "What do you mean?"

"It's a simple question, Lee. Do. You. Know. Amanda's. Fiance?" She punctuated every word to make her question as simple as it could be.

Lee nervously stared at Amanda, wondering how to answer Francine's question. "Um, yes. I know who he is, but if Amanda wants to keep that private for now, I have to honor that." Amanda smiled her thanks to him.

Francine pouted in defeat. She knew she wasn't going to get a name for now, but maybe she could get something else from them. "Okay, since you won't tell me his name, can you tell me anything about him?"

Lee gazed at Amanda again, then back to Francine. "Well, I can tell you he is a very nice man, and he seems to make Amanda very happy. If she's happy, then I'm happy for her."

Francine quickly gathered her papers and stood. "Fine, if that's all you're going to share, then I think it's time to get back to work." She spun back to the rest of the group with her professional face. "I expect all of your reports by one o'clock this afternoon." She turned and stormed out of the conference room.

The rest of the group left. They all stopped and congratulated Amanda. As they passed by Lee, they gave him a sympathetic expression. Once they were all gone, only Lee, Amanda, and Billy were left in the room. Lee and Amanda moved closer to Billy and saw the most prominent, proudest smile on his face. "Congratulations, you two. I'm so happy for you both."

Lee's smile reached both his ears, and he responded first, "Thanks, Billy."

"I take it from your answers to Francine that you are still keeping this to yourselves for the time being?" They both nodded. "By the way, you handled her probing perfectly."

"Thank you, sir. Yes, we both think it will be best to keep it quiet for a while longer. We still fear that everyone will think I got my position here because of Lee, and, I...um... would like the chance to prove myself, sir."

"I completely understand that. However, you will need to start some paperwork soon, and we will need to have some discussion on how we move forward."

"We understand," they both responded.

"Have you set a date yet?"

"We have, December 29th. We're going to be needing some time off around the holidays if that's okay with you?"

"Lee, I have been trying to get you off the roster for the holidays for years now. If it was only going to take you getting married to do it, I would have tried it a lot sooner."

Lee shook his head. "It wouldn't have worked sooner, Billy. I was meant for Amanda."

Amanda placed her hand on Lee's arm in admiration. "Thank you, sweetheart. That was very nice of you to say."

"It's the truth." They both gazed lovely into each other's eyes before they were interrupted by a cough from Billy.

"If you two plan to keep this quiet for a little while longer you better stop looking at each other like that." They all smiled at each other and laughed. "I hope that I have your okay to tell Jeannie at least."

"Of course, sir. As long as she knows not to let it leak to anyone else."

"I'll make sure she knows. Congrats, again! Now, how about we get some work done. I have a White House meeting to prepare for."

They all walked out of the conference room together, but everyone went their separate ways. Francine just glared at them as she softly spoke out loud, "I will find out. Mark my word, I will find out."