"Dorothy at the desk said HR called. They need to see you at the end of the day." Joan announces unceremoniously as she slides into the open seat across from me at the lunch table.

"Me?" My eyes widen as the last few weeks at work play through my mind. Did Dr. Keller find my work unsatisfactory? "Why?"

"Calm down." Joan gives me a strange look. "I think it's just for you to sign some updated paperwork. I had to do the same thing yesterday."

"Oh." I'm relieved to say the least.

"What is with you lately?" Joan studies me curiously.

"Ummm… nothing?" I'm hardly convincing myself. Normally Joan would be the first person I'd talk to if I'd met someone like Josh, but I still haven't told her. Josh and I really haven't had a conversation about what this is or where it is or isn't going, but I get the idea that he has no desire to tell Joan about what's happening between us.

"It's obviously not nothing," Joan continues. "You're walking around with this ridiculous smile on your face all the time and- OH! You met someone!"

I freeze like a deer in headlights. Here's the thing about Joan Lyman- or should I say Joan Lyman-Seaborn. Whatever. The woman likes to talk. She's tapped into the DC Grapevine. If there's something going on, she knows about it. She has her finger on the pulse of every interesting development in this city, I swear. So if she smells blood in the water and thinks you know something interesting, she won't stop until she gets it out of you.

"You DID!" She points her plastic fork at me. "You met someone!"

"I… maybe?" I twist my face in what is a rather odd way. I won't lie to my best friend.

"Well? Spill your guts!" She exclaims, watching me intently.

"It's complicated," I begin.

"Oh no." Her face falls visibly. Does she know?

"Donna? Are you seeing Chad again? Because really you should know that-"

"No!" I cut her off this time. "It's not Chad. It's definitely not Chad. This is different. Completely different. He's… the real thing."

"Oh." She seems relieved to the point of distraction. "Well… that's good."

"Okay- If Chad was really such a jerk, and I admit that he was, by the way, why did it take so long for anyone to tell me?" Now I'm the one that's distracted.

"We did tell you. As much as we could. I mean, what did you want me to say?"

"Ugh. I don't know. Say that he's a loser that was just using me to pay his rent through his residency. Say that he's small minded and controlling. Say that he's-"

"Seriously? Donna, how was I supposed to tell you that when I hardly knew you?"

She has a point, I suppose. And to her credit, she did make her opinion on Chad known during the more recent portion of our friendship. "Alright. That's fair. I'll concede. But, you know…"

"Don't let you do it again?" Joan asks.

"Yeah." I give her a sad smile.

"You really do have questionable taste in men," she notes, giving me a friendly smile and breaking off half of the sugar cookie on her tray to share with me. "Speaking of questionable men, I need to call my brother. He's got some paperwork that Mom needs me to sign."

"Alright." I play it cool, thankful that I managed to squirm my way out of answering any questions, "I'll see you up there."

"Just don't think that this gets you out of answering the rest of my questions about your dating life." She smirks as she pulls out her phone and punches in the number.

I know she's kidding, but I'm not sure how long I can use the same distraction tactics before she figures something out. And I'm really not sure how I feel about keeping my best friend in the dark about the fact that I'm either sleeping with or dating her brother.

I sigh and finish my yogurt before heading back upstairs to complete my rounds. I see Joan an abnormally small amount the rest of the shift, and I head to HR to wrap things up before I leave.

When I arrive on the 5th floor, I meet with my designated HR representative, but as it turns out I'm receiving an unexpected promotion. She briefly recaps the last year of my employment and advises me that my supervisors have found my performance to exceed expectations. At the recommendation of both Dr.s Flemming and Lyman-Seaborn, I'm offered a responsibility bump and a raise within my current unit. I gladly accept.

When I catch up with Joan in the locker room, I'm met with a cheer before I even tell her the good news. She gives me a shout of delight and a huge hug.

"Yes, girl! It's well deserved. OH! We're going out to celebrate. Get changed. Dinner and some bubbly are on me. And I'm not taking no for an answer."

"Well…" I glance at my phone for a moment before answering. "Okay."

"Let's try that new tapas place. What's it called? Eighty Six?"

"Oh, I've seen that place. It's near your condo?"

"Yeah, that's it. I keep telling Sam that I want to check it out."

"Will he be joining us?" I ask, trying to keep an even tone. I've always gotten along well with Sam, but beyond that I know that if Sam joins us maybe Josh will come too.

"No, he's still at the White House for a few more hours. It'll be nice to have a girls night though, right?" Joan smiles warmly at me. "Oh. Or did you have plans with Prince Charming?"

"No. I don't have plans." If Sam's at work, I'm sure Josh is too. Besides, I haven't been out with Joan in close to two months, and I could use a little girl time. "Let's go."

We enjoy our dinner and drinks and catch up on everything under the sun. Though I know it's practically killing her, Joan doesn't pry about my love life. She knows when to give me some space.

Joan pays the bill and we finish the bottle of champagne.

"Let's go out. Like, to a bar." Joan is eager to say the least.

I shrug my shoulders. I'm not typically a big drinker but I'm having fun and wouldn't be opposed to some more socialization.

As we step out onto the sidewalk Joan pulls her phone out and dials Sam. I can tell from the side of the conversation I'm hearing that she's on speakerphone. She flips her cell closed after only a few moments.

"Sam's going to meet us at Hawk and Dove. He's bringing Senior Staff."

"Oh?" My interest is piqued, but I try not to show my cards.

"Toby, CJ, Josh and maybe Charlie," she recapps. "I hope that's okay."

"Of course," I grin, feeling my heart beat a bit faster at the thought of seeing him. "Sounds great to me."