Chapter 6
Josh's POV:
"Josh Lyman." I answered my cell without glancing at the caller ID. Mentally, I had already
left New Hampshire and was focused on the numbers in front of me that represented the
voters in South Carolina. Yes, the debate was tonight, but John Hoynes could debate in
his sleep. It was what he excelled at. The little stunt Matt Santos and I devised went off
without a hitch yesterday, and I'll be damned if the full field isn't debating tonight with Matt
Santos' format.
"Tell me the guy in the chicken suit wasn't your idea." Donna demanded.
"The guy in the chicken suit wasn't my idea." I repeated as requested, grinning at her tone.
"I have been heckled by my co-workers all day." Donna informed me.
"Bastards." I agreed. "You could really show them and quit."
"Or you could act like a grown up while you're running a Presidential campaign." Donna
suggested.
"The odds of that aren't very good." I admitted. "However, I do think it was a little below
your pay grade to do battle with a man dressed as a chicken."
"You sent him to my event on purpose, didn't you?" Donna accused.
"Your event? I believe the SANTOS campaign sent him to a Russell event."
"Matt Santos is far too mature and professional to even think of a stunt like that."
"Then he ought to be grateful to whoever did. I hear he's got cash to go to South Carolina
now and when I turn on the TV tonight I'll get to watch Bingo Bob sweat bullets thanks to
Matt Santos and his open format."
"I really don't even know how to respond to that."
"That's okay. You must be worn out trying to come up with excuses for all the fuck-ups we'
re going to see on TV tonight."
"Joshua…" Her voice sounds tired now. "Can you please stop for just one minute?"
"Uh…sure." I'm stymied. The only words we've exchanged for ages have been political
barbs about each other's candidates. What do I say now?
"Have you talked to Toby at all?" she asks quietly.
"No. He's still pretty pissed at me for leaving."
"You should try again, Josh. You've been too close for too long to let a campaign come
between you."
"Isn't that what you and I have done?" I counter.
"I guess." Donna admits. "This just…it isn't as fun as I remembered it, you know?"
"Did you consider the fact that maybe it was your choice of candidate-"
"Josh!" Donna shouts. "Never mind. I was obviously nuts to call you in the first place. I'm
tired, I'm hungry, and I-"
"You're hungry?" I latch onto the part of her speech that might work for me. "Haven't you
eaten yet?"
"I would normally respond that we were working on debate prep all day, but in this case I'll
refrain due to fear of how you'll respond to that."
"Come up and have dinner with me." I offer before I can think better of it.
"Up to your room?" she asks disbelievingly.
"There's no way we'd be able to eat uninterrupted downstairs and do you really want to
explain what you're doing eating with the enemy?" I reason. "You can get some food and I
promise not to mention anything to do with politics."
"I don't believe that's physiologically possible for you." She quips.
"Okay, I promise not to mention anything that has to do with either of our campaigns." I
amend. "What do you want me to order?" I ask like she's already agreed to eat with me.
"A cheeseburger would be good." She says slowly.
"Great. I'm in 418. Come up whenever you can." I hang up quickly before she can change
her mind.
The first few minutes are a little awkward between us and that kind of hurts. It's never
been awkward between us; even in the initial days of the first campaign. Eventually, we
find some relatively neutral topics to stay on and the bantering makes an appearance
again.
Before we know it, though, it's time to get ready and get over to the debate site. Donna
paused at my door before she left.
"Good luck, Josh."
"You too, Donna." Notice that we wished each other luck, but not our respective
candidates.
I caught glimpses of her at the debate and on TV doing spin, but we didn't have another
chance to talk privately. That set the tone for the rest of the week before the primary vote.
When Hoynes took New Hampshire I didn't feel the sense of satisfaction I desperately
wanted to. The next day we were off to South Carolina.
Josh hung up the phone after leaving yet another message for Toby. There was no
denying the man was ignoring him, but the next time Donna asked if he had tried to talk to
Toby, he wanted to be able to honestly answer 'yes'. And he honestly hoped she would
have a chance to ask him this afternoon at the candidate forum both Russell and Hoynes
were slated to attend.
"Hey, Josh, any chance I could get five minutes with your guy before the forum? My editor
wants to do a sidebar on his book." Jake Robbins, a reporter for the New York Times
requested.
"Sure." Josh answered quickly. "I'll bring him down to meet with you in 15 minutes?"
"Thanks. I appreciate you squeezing me in."
Josh hurried upstairs to their 'war room' and found plenty of staffers, but no candidate. It
took him 10 of his allotted 15 minutes to get one of the volunteers to admit he'd seen
Hoynes head to the roof to get some air. Josh hit the roof door at almost a run now, so he
had to skid to a halt to avoid tumbling into John Hoynes and Melinda Braden, one of their
interns. Because his brain had been on another track altogether, it took him a few critical
seconds to take in the scene; Hoynes had his hands place inappropriately on Melinda and
her hands were at the base of his neck before they quickly jolted away from one another.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Josh said intently. "Tell me this is some kind of a
joke!"
Melinda looked horrified, her face turned beat red. Josh had to turn away from them both
before he said something he couldn't afford to say at the moment.
"Josh, it isn't what you think." John began.
"I may not have much of a personal life, but I can recognize one when I see it." Josh
countered.
"It was just a momentary thing. Suzanne and I had a fight. I came up here to cool down
and Melinda came up to-"
"Save it for your wife, or better yet the press." Josh told him disgusted by the whole
situation. "I'm done with you." Josh slammed the door and exited the roof area. Pure
adrenaline took him down the 8 flights of stairs instead of taking the elevator. How could
he have been so stupid? Why had he believed Hoynes? Had Donna called it from the
start? Was it simply that Hoynes stroked his ego when he was vulnerable to that kind of
approach? Shit!
Josh stormed through the lobby and ran smack into Jake Robbins, the reporter who'd
requested the one on one with Hoynes 20 minutes ago. God, had it only been 20 minutes
ago? It seemed like a lifetime ago since his world had tilted on it's axis.
"No, Hoynes?" Jake asked, confused. Josh laughed humorlessly.
"No, Hoynes." Josh confirmed. "He's not good at making himself available to anyone
unless they're wearing a skirt." Josh took a breath before he continued, his voice rising in
pitch and decibel level with each word he spoke. "He may be a bit yet, Jacob, but when he
show his face down here, you should ask him what he was too busy with to come down
right now. You should ask him! Then you should do a canvass of his staff, former and
current staff and you should ask them what they saw, what they heard-"
"Josh!" Donna, who had been drawn over by the shouting, looked on in shock as Josh
went on his rant. Was he having some kind of episode?
"What?!" he shouted at her and got in her face. "Are you going to start now? Do I get to
hear I told you so from Donnatella Moss?"
"Josh, stop it right now." Donna said quietly while she placed herself between Josh and
Jacob. "Come with me a minute." She instructed. "Jacob, you'll excuse us please?" she
threw over her shoulder as she drew Josh with her into an empty meeting room.
Once inside Josh turned away from her and slammed his fist against the wall, further
alarming Donna with it's repetition of his erratic behavior from a Christmas several years
ago.
"Josh, please tell me what's going on. Are you okay?" Hearing the concern in her voice
caused Josh to turn back to her and meet her eyes.
"I'm fine." He told her and began to pace the length of the room.
"I have some evidence to the contrary." She noted.
"Thanks for…you know…pulling me away from Robbins out there."
"Knowing Robbins it was only a temporary reprieve." Donna pointed out. "What
happened, Joshua?"
"I went to find Hoynes, so Robins could do this sidebar piece and-" Josh stopped abruptly.
"And what?"
Josh shook his head and refused to continue.
"You don't trust me?" Donna asked, hurt and surprise coloring her words.
"It's not that I don't trust you." Josh assured her. "I swear."
"This is because I'm working for Russell."
"You're going to get questions. The less you hear from me the better." Josh reasoned.
"I think I've proven that I can handle questions, Josh. This is me, your friend. Tell me what
happened."
"I found Hoynes in a 'compromising position' with one of our interns." Josh said simply.
"Oh, God, Josh. I'm sorry." She responded sincerely. "Is the intern…"
"She was a willing participant, at least from what I can tell. But that's not going to provide
much consolation to Suzanne, or everyone who's worked their asses off on this
campaign." Josh stopped pacing and slid down the nearest wall until he was sitting on the
floor was his back against the wall and his legs straight out in front of him.
"Congratulations Donna. You're now working for the Democratic nominee for President."
Donna walked over and sat next to him, sighing loudly. "Strangely, I'm not as excited by
that fact as I thought I'd be. This isn't the way I wanted to win." She looked closely at the
sadness in Josh's face. "I think you've made too many public statements about 'Bingo
Bob' for you to travel with the campaign, but I could see about some long distance
consulting." Josh actually laughed at that thought.
"No, thanks. I'm done with this game. I'm just going to take my ball and go home. There
have got to be plenty of Congressional and Senate races that could use my help." He
mused. "Maybe I could even talk Matt Santos into running for Congress again once he
runs out of money."
"You should try." Donna agreed. "He's a good man. We need all of those we can get in
Government."
"I'll say." Josh added. "I was so surprised when he told me you were trying to help him."
"No more surprised than I was that cutthroat Josh Lyman was giving free advice to a man
without a shot in the world of getting the nomination." Donna responded.
"Candidates without a shot in the world appeal to me." Josh admitted and grinned.
"Especially when they care more about the message than the messenger."
"That's not a surprise. That's what brought us both to Nashua after all." Donna reached
over and took his hand.
"Yeah. There was this moment in Iowa, when Santos gave his answer on ethanol? I couldn'
t believe my ears." Josh laughed. "You need to get going, and I need to go pack before
the vultures descend."
"Right." Donna nodded and stood up sighing again. Then something hit her. "That day in
the lobby, when Hoynes was trying to recruit me? I thought you hustled him off because
you didn't want me on your campaign, but that wasn't it at all was it? You thought he was
trying to- God Josh, did you seriously think that I would ever-?"
"No! Not you, but I thought Hoynes wasn't above trying. I didn't ever want you to be put in
that position."
"Thanks." She bent down and kissed his cheek. "Don't let Hoynes ruin everything for you
Josh. You know all too well what it means to help get a good person elected. There are
more good people out there. We just have to find them." Donna reminded him and left him
alone sitting in the empty room with nothing but his thoughts and self-recriminations.
Chapter 7
Josh's POV:
This is crazy; certifiably insane. Set aside the fact that it's almost midnight. Set aside the
fact that I just left the hotel that I am now speeding back to, less than an hour ago. Set
aside the fact that I am currently unemployed and a little tipsy from the drinks I had at the
airport bar while waiting for the flight I just blew off. I say to set all these things aside
because when you compare them to what I am about to do…they look perfectly
reasonable.
I make a quick stop at the front desk; I need to ask them to watch my bags and I need to
bribe one of the teenagers behind the desk to give me a room number. I push the up
button for the elevator 4 times because I don't care what Donna says, I believe pressing it
more often makes it come faster.
I hesitate once more standing outside the hotel room door. Then before I can change my
mind, I knock loudly. I knock again before the door opens.
"Josh?"
"Please resist the urge to shut the door in my face before I have a chance to convince
you to let me in."
"Okay." Santos leans against the doorjamb and I notice he's still dressed. His shirt is
unbuttoned and his sleeves are rolled up, but he's still wearing the clothes I saw him in
earlier.
"I think you should stop playing at running for President and run for real. With Hoynes
dropping out, there are going to be a lot of undecideds come morning and if we can get
even half their support, in terms of staff and financing, you could blow this whole thing out
of the water." I finish and watch him turn his head around to call to someone in his room.
Dear God, he doesn't have a woman in there, does he?
"Hey, Donna, does that sound about right to you?" Santos asks her smirking at me.
Donna appears behind him with reams of paper in her hands.
"It sounds exactly right to me." she responds. "Although as usual, Joshua is heavy on the
gut instinct and light on the research and analysis." She waves the papers in her hand in
front of me. I must look a little shell shocked.
"Come on in, Josh, there seems to be a Presidential campaign committee meeting in my
room." Matt ushers me in and indicates a spot at the small table in the room.
"Donna?" I try to ask a hundred questions in just that one word.
"Don't feel bad, Josh." Santos interjects. "She just beat you here by about 30 minutes."
"He probably would have made it sooner if he hadn't had any drinks at the airport bar."
Donna explains. "He has a sensitive system." She grins at me.
"Okay, I get why I am here, I'm suddenly unemployed. But Donna…have you quit your job
with Russell?"
"Not yet. Whether I do or not kind of depends on what Matt decides." She turned to look at
the man in question. "Maybe we can convince him to take us on if we double team him."
The words 'double team' coming out of Donnatella's mouth makes my brain short circuit
for a second. In the time it takes me to get back my focus, Matt is already talking again.
"So both of you seasoned National campaign staffers think if we work together I might
have a real shot at this thing?" Santos asks us. Donna and I exchange a look
"No way." Donna answers at the same time I respond, "Not a chance in hell."
Now Santos looks genuinely confused and shakes his head. "So what you're saying here
is that this is some nasty campaign trick where people from other camps keep their
opposition up really late filling their head with nonsense about getting the nomination
when they really don't have a chance in hell?"
"Not exactly, sir." Donna explains. "I can't speak for Josh…well I could, but I won't." she
smiles at me and I have a little trouble breathing. "Josh and I had a conversation earlier.
Obviously it was born out of what happened with John Hoynes. Josh was explaining his
plan to retreat from Presidential politics and find a Congressional or Senate candidate to
work for that he could believe in. He mentioned you and wondered if he could convince
you to run for re-election in Congress. I suggested he try since we both believe you're a
good man. I said we need all the good people we could get in Government. Then, while I
was watching the candidate forum, I kept looking at you and listening to you speak
thinking 'it's such a shame he can't win, he'd be so good'. When I got back to my room I
realized with John Hoynes out of the race, the whole landscape would be shaken up and I
started running some numbers. I got excited about what I was seeing and decided to talk
to you about it."
I exchange a look with Matt and he smirks. "The first thing you have to understand about
Donna, sir, is that she talks…a lot." I point out unnecessarily.
"Fine, then you explain it Joshua." She leans back in her seat and crosses her arms.
I pause to think about it. "We both went into this by choosing someone our head told us
would win. What we forgot, was that wasn't how or why we chose Bartlet and he didn't
have a chance in hell either." I raise my eyebrows toward Donna, inviting her critique.
"Not bad, Joshua. Not bad at all." She tells me quietly. There's that trouble breathing
again.
"I appreciate what you're saying; both of you, but I hadn't really planned on anything past
Iowa…maybe New Hampshire. Now I'm sitting in South Carolina and my wife and kids can't
figure out why I'm not back in Texas yet. This isn't what I signed up for."
"It wasn't what Jed Bartlet signed up for either." Donna noted. "Ironically, he got in it to
bring up some important issues and keep Hoynes honest." She drawled. "Sound like
anyone you know?"
"Yes, I wanted to bring light to some important issues, but I'm not fooling myself into
thinking I'm another Jed Bartlet."
"Jed Bartlet wasn't 'Jed Bartlet' at this point in the race either." I tell him. "I could tell you
stories…but the point is that nobody gets into a Presidential race ready to be President.
That's a process. It happens over a period of months. You say you don't think you're
ready for this; we're not disagreeing. You can't be ready yet."
"What we're saying is that you should give us a chance to help you get ready." Donna
interjects. "You don't have to change anything that you're doing or saying. We'll just make
sure that what you're doing and saying gets out to the people who vote. Let them decide
who's ready and who the best candidate is."
"But having said all that, you still don't think I can win, right?" Matt confirms.
"No way" Donna repeats. "Not a chance in hell." I assure him. We just sit there grinning
like fools.
"So can we join the Santos team?" Donna asks him.
"Yeah… But you know we can't pay either of you what you were making with Hoynes and
Russell. I mean we have some cash on hand now, thanks to your chicken stunt, Josh, but-"
Donna takes this opportunity to smack me in the arm. "I knew it!"
"I should probably warn you about the hitting too, sir." I mutter.
"We should let you get some sleep Congressman." Donna notes. "We can meet in the
morning and do some strategizing.
"Oh, no you don't. We still have one important detail to decide." Matt protests. "Who's
going to call and explain this to my wife?"
Chapter 8
Donna's POV:
Josh and I leave Matt Santos after doing rock, paper, scissors to determine who will be
calling Helen Santos. I'm sure it was rigged.
"Look at it this way." Josh is telling me. "It will give you an opportunity to develop another
chapter of the Sisterhood."
"It would serve you both right if I did." I warn him. The sisterhood is not to be mocked. "So
far on my agenda tomorrow, I have to tell the Vice President that I am resigning from his
campaign in order to help his competition, then I have to call Helen Santos and tell her
that the dynamics of her husband's campaign have changed and we need her here in
South Carolina." I take a breath. "And that's all before breakfast."
"I wouldn't call Helen Santos before breakfast. Houston is in a different time zone." Josh
reminds me. He's still smiling. I don't think I've seen him smile this much since after the
Shutdown. Would it be unprofessional to mention that seeing his dimples make an
appearance causes my heart to beat just a little faster than normal?
"How are you planning on doing this, Josh?" I ask ignoring his time zone comment.
"You mean, how are WE planning on doing this?" Josh corrects me. "I've been giving this
some thought and I think you're really better suited to the press stuff than I am."
"Wait, you've been giving this some thought?" I repeat. "We just left the Congressman,
like 2 minutes ago."
"I think fast. I'm nimble on my feet. Are you saying I'm better with the press than you are?"
he asks.
"God no."
"Then my quick thinking was correct. Damn, I'm hungry, are you hungry?"
"I could eat." I admit.
"Okay, we'll order pizza in and start making plans." Josh put his arm around my shoulder
and leads me down the hall.
"It's after midnight." I remind him.
"You never seemed to mind late nights before. Wait. I don't have a room here anymore. I
checked out hours ago. I left my bags downstairs at the desk."
"Pick up your bags. Go check in again and meet me in 312 when you're done. I'll order
the pizza." I instruct him.
"None of that veggie crap, though." He calls as he takes the stairs down to the lobby. I'm
careful not to promise anything. I know I should be tired; hell I should be exhausted.
However, I'm wide awake and full of energy. It must be the excitement of diving into a real
campaign. What else could it be?
I let myself into my room and pick up the phone to order the pizza.
"Hi, I'd like to order a pizza for delivery…large, thin crust…mushrooms, olives, and
pepperoni…" I figure he can't complain too much as long as there is pepperoni on there
too.
***********************************
"Awww, shit." Josh curses and pulls the offending item out of his mouth. "I got another
piece of mushroom, Donna."
"Don't be such a baby, Josh. It's just a vegetable. It won't actually kill you." I respond
patiently. "If you hate them so much, pick them off."
"I tried. This one was hiding or something."
"What do you think about ratcheting up the defense and security issues? Look at
this…78% of the respondents aren't even aware that the Congressman has a military
background." I hand Josh the data and wait for his response. He squints at the printed
information.
"Do you think you could print this out any smaller?" He grouses.
"It's standard 12 point font." I object. Then I watch with curiosity while Josh searches his
pockets and withdraws a pair of reading glasses. He slips them on and examines the data
again while I examine him in reading glasses. He looks good in them; very good. Maybe
even a little too good. I shake my head to get my thoughts back on the campaign.
"This is good, Donna. We can certainly use this. How long has it been since the
Democrats had someone running who has actual military experience?" Josh is saying.
"When you talk to Mrs. Santos, you should find out if she has any pictures of the
Congressman in uniform. We could include in the new literature."
"I'll check on it." I promise. "We have him talk up his military experience with the press.
Then he needs a new section of the stump to build on that. Can we afford another staff
writer?"
"Let me worry about the money stuff. I have some ideas about that."
"God, Josh, please tell me theses ideas don't involve costumes of any kind."
He ignores my pointed reference to chicken costumes. "I'd like to try to bring a writer on
board from the Hoynes campaign. Are you okay with that?" Josh asks me.
"More than okay. The Congressman needs a consistent voice going forward." I agree. "I
don't know what the budget looks like yet, but we need to make some ad buys to stay
competitive here."
"I've got to believe there isn't much in the way of cash on hand." Josh answers around a
big bite of pizza. "We need a bit of a bump to generate new interest and more cash
donations."
"I have an idea, but I'd like you to think about it before you tell me 'no'." I wait for his nod
and when I get it, I continue. "John Hoynes dropping out after your…outburst earlier today
is sure to garner some attention. Likewise, when I leave the Russell camp to stump for
Santos, it's possible that a few heads may turn."
"Yeah…" he agrees hesitantly.
"I think we should use the fact that we've both jumped ship on other campaigns and come
together to work for Santos as a media hook." I quickly continue when I see he's about to
object. "Just a hook, Josh, that's all. It's a way to bring up the Congressman's profile and
generate a ton of free media."
"And you're comfortable with that? Answering personal questions about why you left
Russell for Santos?"
"Yes, but unlike you I prefer not to badmouth a sitting Vice President. I'd take the high
road. I could say that Russell has been a good Vice President and he makes a good
candidate for President…Santos makes a better one."
"You really have become quite the political operative, haven't you?"
"I liked the story you told me about the Congressman's Ethanol answer in Iowa and how it
reminded you of President Bartlet when he just started out. You should use that. It
illustrates that the Congressman is his own man and doesn't pander to his audience, while
at the same time reminding voters that you know how to spot the 'real thing'."
"I'll think about it." Josh responds and I realize that's most likely the best answer I can
expect for now. He moves over until he's sitting next to me; I am sitting on the floor with my
back against the bed. He points out something else he picked up from the data I collected,
but I honestly couldn't tell you what it was. Josh, up close and personal, wearing reading
glasses is having a decidedly unprofessional effect on me.
"Donna?" he's giving me a funny look now so I must have missed something.
"Sorry. I must be more tired than I thought." I explain. He give me his 'that's doubtful' look,
but repeats himself just the same. "I was asking what you thought about this spike in the
18-24 year old demographic. Since you're closer to that age group than I am, I thought
you might have an idea on how to capitalize on that."
"We could get him on some college campuses. He connects very well with the younger
voters as far as I've seen. I wonder how Mrs. Santos comes across on the campaign trail.
Have you ever met her?"
"Just once at some social event. She seemed outgoing and she's very attractive." He
notes.
"Very attractive?" I question. "I thought brunettes were more your type."
"What are you talking about?"
"Mandy Hampton, Amy Gardner, Joey Lucus…even that NASA chick you went star gazing
with." I tick them off on my fingers as I review them.
"First of all, let's not refer to any NASA professional as a chick."
"I thought it would play into your love of poultry." I deadpan.
"Nice. I am never going to live the chicken suit down, am I? Second, I do not have a type."
"You most certainly do." I counter. "Bright, ambitious and dark haired."
He tilts his head as if thinking about my description of the women he dates. "It is a mere
coincidence that the women you named all have dark hair…the other stuff, well, I don't
know…maybe the rest of it is true. However, that combination hasn't worked so well for
me, so maybe it's time I change things up." His lips turn up in a half smile and I swear my
heart stops for a second at the way he's looking at me.
I clear my throat and look back down at the paper. "I think if I can convince Mrs. Santos to
join the Congressman we should get them some joint television time; VH1, late night talk
shows…oh and The Daily Show. He'd score big with those audiences."
"Okay, set it up." He says without breaking eye contact. I think the thermostat in my room
must be busted because it's getting really warm in here. I get up and retrieve a beer from
the mini-frig. They'll probably charge me $20 for it on my room bill, but I need something
cool to drink.
I sit back down by Josh who has switched his attention back to the print interviews Santos
has given since Iowa. He circles answers or subjects he thinks we should be handling
differently. It's a short hand we developed during Bartlet for President. He finishes with the
first page and hands it to me. I set the beer down between us and take the page from him
adding my 2 cents in the margins. We work silently for a couple minutes.
"Why did you circle family values?" I ask him.
"Matt Santos is a devout Catholic. I think we should remind voters of that." He answers.
"You're not worried about bringing religion into the debate at this point?"
"Nah-uh." Josh picks up my beer and takes a drink. "I'm tired of conceding religion to the
right. This man has been active in his church, solidly married for over a decade, and has
a legislative record that supports family values. Why not make it part of the debate?"
"Because it sets a pretty high bar to have to clear." I reply and take the beer back from
him. "We should have someone run opposition research on him before we start down that
road."
"I thought you believed in him."
"I do, that doesn't mean the man has never made a mistake." I point out and take another
sip of beer. "I still believe in President Bartlet, but that doesn't mean he didn't keep some
pretty important information from us. It needs to be done, Josh. Why are you hesitating?"
"I'm not." He protests and takes my beer again.
"Yes, you are. Normally, this would be the first thing you would have done. Did you run
opposition research on Hoynes?" I ask as I take my beer back, again. He laughs.
"I know all John Hoynes' secrets."
"Then why-"
"I just don't see the point, that's all." Josh says even more defensively.
"I'll take care of it. I'll tap Joey Lucas." I look at him mockingly. "Or would you like to?"
"You're just full of the wise ass tonight. Anything else you'd like to give me shit about?"
"Now that you mention it…When did you start using reading glasses?" I tease and he
immediately pushes them self-consciously on top of us head.
"They're just for reading small print." He tells me.
I nod sagely. "I understand vision is the first to go. Just part of the joy of growing old."
"I'm not that old!" He fiercely objects.
"Next it's the hearing, then the brain, then other…physical abilities." I wiggle my fingers at
him and he visibly bristles.
"All my…physical abilities are as good as they've ever been, Better even!"
"I'm sure they are." I say in a placating tone. I know which buttons to push, after all.
"Do you doubt my abilities, Donnatella?"
"Of course not. I'm sure they're…just fine…for a man your age." I nod again for effect.
"A man my- What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he demands. I've really got him
going now.
"Nothing." I assure him.
"Then why do you have that doubtful expression on your face?"
"Doubtful expression? You must be mistaken." I push his glasses back down in front of his
eyes. "There. Now you can see me better. See, there's no 'doubtful expression', Joshua."
Well, NOW there might be an entirely different kind of expression, because he's got those
glasses on again. Did I mention how good he looks in glasses?
I think I may have pushed him a little too far though, because he's looking menacingly at
me now.
"You seem pretty intent on goading me tonight, Donna." He notes.
"It's just an easy button to push." I banter but he seems to have lost the bantering mood.
"It is with most guys."
"I'm not most guys." He says. .
"No, but you are a guy. And in my personal experience, men have an over inflated opinion
of their abilities."
"That's probably true, in your experience, but then you generally date Republicans. You
should give a Democrat a try." He moves infinitesimally closer and my breath hitches.
"I might be willing to do that" When did my voice turn all breathy like that? "For the sake of
a scientific experiment."
"Science and math education is a major part of the party platform." How is it that this man
can make a Democratic talking point sound sexy?
"It's very important to our country's future." I reply and I can't help my glance from flicking
down to his lips. They look so close…
"Donna…?" he whispers and closes the last bit of distance between us. The touch of his
lips is hesitant and gentle, but it feels like a jolt of electricity got shot through my body. I
don't remember moving my arms to encircle his neck but my hands are now in his hair and
his are massaging my back. My heart rate picks up speed and I'm having trouble getting
oxygen.
When he switches from my lips to my cheek, moving towards my ear, I thank God we're
sitting down because I'm sure my legs couldn't hold me.
"Joshua…" I moan his name in a voice I don't even recognize. He must not either because
his head pops back from mine and he looks at me like he has no idea who I am.
"I…I…I didn't mean that." He stammers and my eyebrows fly up.
"You didn't mean what?" I ask for clarification.
"The…thing." He motions between us with one of the hands that up until recently was
doing delicious things to my body with its' touch. "I can't believe I just-"
"It was a kiss, Josh." I help him with his vocabulary…760 my ass. "And a pretty incredible
kiss at that. I may just swear off Republicans forever."
"You should… An incredible kiss?" he confirms.
"Well I think so, but maybe we should try it again; just to confirm my scientific theory." I
tease.
"That would be okay? I mean, we're working together now." He says and he couldn't have
said anything that would have pleased me more. My face must have lit up because he
says, "What?"
I shrug my shoulders and reply, "I just like the sound of that, 'working together'."
"Me too." He agrees before he kisses me again. I was right the first time. The kissing was
incredible.
Chapter 9
Matt's POV:
I don't know what Donna said to my wife, but Helen got on the next plane to South
Carolina and is now sitting next to me at our planning meeting. Josh is talking but Helen
and Donna are having their own conversation.
"Could you two pass notes or instant message each other; use some quieter form of
communication? We're trying to strategize here." Josh complains.
"So are we, Joshua. Helen and I have some ideas for bumping up some media on the
swing through the South. Are you aware that Helen speaks fluent Spanish?" Donna asks
him.
"It was purely a matter of self-defense, I assure you." Helen quips and it occurs to me that
pairing up my wife and the chicken fighter might not have been a smart move. Looking at
the expression on Josh's face I've got to believe he's having similar thoughts.
"And you're thinking she could do what with her fluent Spanish?" Josh replies more
patiently than I'd expect him to.
"Talk to voters in key states like Florida and California for starters. If we're going to be
facing Vinnick in the general, California is going to be the key."
"It's a little soon for you to be assigning Vinnick as the nominee; and way too soon to be
assuming the Congressman will be the Democratic nominee."
"It's never too soon to plan for the general, but if it will make you feel better, Hoynes had
California locked up for the primary there and now…"
"Okay, now you've got my attention." Josh admits. "David, can you come up with a speech
for California that hits on the Congressman's military experience?"
"In Spanish?" David asks incredulously.
"Let's start with English." Josh laughs. "Donna has the Congressman's military history in
one of her files, get it from her. We have the joint appearance for the Congressman and
Mrs. Santos at the charter school at 7. Donna has talking points for both of you, make
sure you look them over and ask any questions you might have BEFORE we get to the
charter school. Sir, if I could remind you-"
"Not to go off the message." I drone. "I thought you said I could do and say exactly what
I've been doing and saying up until now."
"You can. Only you have to do it and say it where and when I tell you to." Josh answers.
"So the whole 'Congressman, you're in charge' thing?"
"It was meant as more of an honorary thing." Josh explains.
"Kind of like when we call you head of the household, honey." Helen chimes in smiling.
She is in much too good of a mood for my piece of mind.
"Thanks." I reply and Donna starts handing me cards. "Hey you never told me how your
meeting with the Vice President went."
"Let's not focus on unpleasantness." She replies.
"The Vice President was…unpleasant when you gave him your resignation?" This could
be a good story.
"The Vice President barely said a word. He just looked at me like I shot his dog. Will
Bailey, on the other hand, was unpleasant; lots of accusations about ungrateful
secretaries and people who don't know their place. But as I said, I'd rather focus on
moving forward."
"Fine, then. Do Helen and I have time to get some dinner before we have the charter
school thing?"
"Sure, just keep your cell with you so we can get in touch if anything changes between
now and then." She tells me and then turns to Josh. Helen is answering some of David's
questions and I resign myself to the fact that it may be a little while before I get food of any
kind. It takes Josh a minute before he gets off his cell and acknowledges Donna.
"What?" he asks her, and she just looks at him."Awww, come on, Donna. I said I'd think
about it, not that I'd do it."
"You have no qualms sending grown men in chicken suits to disrupt an opponent's event,
but this thing makes you queasy?"
"I didn't do one after the Newseum and I certainly didn't do one after Gaza. What makes
you think I'll sell my soul now for a long shot Presidential candidate?"
"Because I know you. This thing is different from the other things." Donna explains.
"It's really not. Whoever it is will use it as an excuse to ask personal questions-"
"Which you don't need to answer. Particularly if it is in regards to your fear of rectangles."
A look passes between them and I can't help but be fascinated by their conversational
style; if that's what you call half finished sentences, thoughts exchanged through eye
movements, and veiled references to a shared history.
Donna isn't the only one who can do research. First thing this morning I did some digging
on my new campaign crew. The internet provided plenty of historical facts, gossip type
fiction, and a few well placed phone calls provided the nuance. These two have literally
been through hell and high water together, and although there have been rumors about
them being romantically involved almost since President Bartlet took office, I don't buy it.
There's definitely chemistry between them, flirting and bantering, but there's also tension;
of the unresolved type between them.
"Who'd you get?" he asks with his head down.
"Brock."
"Jesus, Donna!"
"He'll ask what we need him to ask, Joshua. Don't take that tone with me. He's the right
one and you know it." She gets in his face; eye to eye, toe to toe.
"What time?"
"In 30 minutes."
"Donna! I won't have time to prepare!"
"You don't need time to prepare." She assures him. "Plus, if we get that out of the way in
30 minutes, we'll be free and clear after the charter school for…strategizing." A change
comes over Josh's face. He relaxes and actually smiles.
"That could be good." He nods his head and she returns the smile. "We got through a lot
last night."
"Yes, we did." She agrees. "30 minutes in the Willow room." She instructs him and leaves
the room but not without a backwards flirtatious glance at Josh when she hits the door. I
saunter over to Josh and his attention is still on the door Donna passed through several
moments ago.
"You know it never occurred to me to ask you what your motives are in all this." I mention
casually and this gets his attention. "I mean you keep telling me over and over that I have
no chance of winning the nomination let alone the Presidency, so why are you bothering
with my campaign? Could it be that there are other benefits to working on my campaign
besides getting someone you believe in elected to high office?" I ask tongue in cheek and
expect a wise ass answer. Instead his expression sobers.
"You know better than that. I came to you when Donna was still working for the other
team. There was absolutely no ulterior motive." He says meeting my eyes without so much
as a blink.
"I was just teasing, Josh. I didn't mean to piss you off."
"Sorry. People have a habit of making assumptions about Donna and me. It's unfounded
and I don't appreciate the implications."
"I understand." Man, he's really in love with that woman. I wonder if he realizes it yet.
"Good. That being said, there are most assuredly other benefits to working on this
campaign." He cracks a grin to let me know that I'm forgiven for my remark. "I've got to go
change before we meet with Greg Brock. Look over those notes Donna gave you. No one
can do prep like Donnatella Moss." And with that word of advice, he's gone. Helen
approaches me and takes my hand.
"Dinner?" she asks.
"Sounds good." We begin walking towards to door. "I've tried for weeks to get you on the
road with me and one call from Donna has you here within 12 hours? What gives?"
"I've met you for plenty of events in Iowa and New Hampshire!" she protests.
"Half-heartedly and not for very long. Just what did Donna say to you?"
"She said it would be fun." Helen answers simply.
"Fun?" I repeat.
"You wouldn't understand, honey, it's a Sisterhood thing." She tells me as she open the
door. I'm not sure what that means, but it can't be good news for me.