Part Three
Margaret's been at her desk for awhile already this morning, trying to prepare herself for when Leo arrives to work. This morning, when she first woke up, she had a tremendous headache and thought seriously about calling in on sick leave. But she quickly decided it would be best to go into work, and try to move on as soon as possible. She's still trying to convince herself that it's fine that Leo chose Donna over her. Margaret really does want Leo to be happy, and she doesn't want him to be lonely anymore. She just wishes it was her that Leo wanted to spend Valentine's Day with, but she knows that you can't make somebody love you, if their heart isn't in it.
Margaret is busily working at her desk, when she hears the all too familiar pattern of foot steps in the hallway. 'God, I love the way he walks,' she thinks to herself, as he ambles over to her desk.
"Morning, Margaret," Leo smiles. "Did ya have a nice night off?"
"It was okay," Margaret looks up from her computer, hoping that Leo doesn't see the dark circles under her eyes or that they are slightly red and puffy. She worked hard on her makeup for a long time this morning, trying to hide the fact that she had cried herself to sleep last night. "What time did you go home last night?" She may be upset and hurt, but she still cares about him.
"Oh… it wasn't too late." Leo can't help but notice that Margaret's eyes look slightly swollen and red.
"Leo," she frivolously scolds. "You know the President has been on you lately, about staying here so late."
"Well… he's off at Camp David right now, so how's he gonna find out?" Leo grabs his copy of the New York Times off her desk.
"He has ways," she banters back.
"His ways… are going to get themselves fired one of these days," he throws back at her, as he heads for his office.
"So you've said, many times before," Margaret calls after him, as she gets up, pours him a cup of coffee and follows him into his office. She feels slightly better now that they are amidst one of their normal repartees. She usually pretends they're a couple sharing a conversation. Anyone who didn't know them would swear they were a married couple during these banter matches. She likes to compare themselves to Nick and Nora Charles from the Thin Man movies. Oh, how she wishes that Leo loved her and that she was married to him.
Leo discards his winter coat and silk scarf over the back of a chair at his table, turns for his desk and then waits for his lanky assistant. "And… for your information, I was home by eight last night," he informs her, as enters his office, hoping to put her mind at ease. He knows that she worries about him and his health. She has always taken better care of him than his ex-wife ever did.
When Margaret enters Leo's office, she notices his discarded coat and scarf, but can't bring herself to pick them up. She knows they will be strong with the scent of his cologne, and she's not sure she can handle that this morning. "You know… all I have to do is check the security logs."
"Go right ahead. I have nothing to hide from you."
Margaret faintly winces at Leo's poor choice of words and quickly changes the subject. "Are you ready to go over your schedule?" She asks, setting his coffee cup down on his desk.
"Yeah." Leo is somewhat surprised that she didn't hang up his coat and that she bought him coffee instead of hot chocolate this morning. He wonders why she's not acting like her normal obsessive compulsive self.
Margaret notices the perplexed look on Leo's face, "I… didn't realize I was out of milk. Sorry."
"Don't worry about it," Leo picks up his coffee and takes a sip. "So, what's my morning look like?"
"You have staff at nine, at ten you have the picture op with the Ladies Caucus, then at ten-thirty…"
"And tell me why I have to have my picture… taken with the Ladies Caucus," Leo interrupts.
"Leo, the President is unavailable, since he's at Camp David and you were their second choice." Actually, she bets that Leo was probably their first choice. Most women want to have their pictures taken with Leo. He's one of the most sought after men in the District.
"Why can't Josh do it?"
"Leo, if they wanted Josh, they would have asked for him," she explains. "Besides, do you really think that's a good idea to have Josh and his big mouth around the Ladies Caucus?"
"Yeah, ya got a point there. But, can't we tell them I'm a busy man and can't take time from my demanding schedule, to pose for pictures?"
"You could… but I'm sure that one of them would quickly point out that you had your picture taken with a goat, last week."
"Yeah, that might ruffle some ladies' feathers."
"You better not let them hear you say that."
"So, ya think that's not very politically correct?" Leo smirks.
"I'm thinking… not."
"Yeah, you're probably right."
"Of course I am."
"Margaret," Leo raises his eyebrows.
"Okay so… at ten thirty, Nancy McNally needs fifteen minutes of your time, at twelve you have a lunch with Mallory at…"
"Mallory, my Mallory," Leo tilts his head to the side.
Margaret can't help but smile at the precious look on Leo's face, "Yes, she called early this morning and wanted to know if you were free for lunch."
"And… I take it I was," Leo seems a little surprised. With the President gone, he's not had much free time these past few days.
"Well you were… after I rescheduled a couple of things," she says softly, hoping Leo isn't mad.
"Thanks. I really haven't seen much of Mal since she moved back from Chicago," Leo reflects.
"She might have mentioned that," Margaret smirks.
"I bet she did," Leo rolls his eyes. "Did she also say anything about me still living in a hotel?"
"I'm not at liberty to say," she fights to keep a straight face.
"What are you at liberty to say?"
"That you are to meet her at Al Tiramisu at twelve."
"Italian," Leo briefly smiles. "Well at least she picked my favorite kind of food for the ambush."
"Leo," Margaret chides. "I'm sure Mallory just wants to spend some time with her father."
"Yeah… and I want to see her, too," Leo stands, walks around to the front of his desk and leans against it.
"Good."
"But, I know she's gonna lecture me and it's always the same song and dance routine. It's time to move on with your life. You need to move out of the hotel. You need to find someone to…" Leo abruptly stops; this is not the time and place to bring up the fact that he wants someone to love and share his life with. He forces himself to wait until tomorrow to tell Margaret his feelings.
"Leo, she just wants what's best for you," Margaret looks down at her skirt and picks at some imagery lent. "She loves you and… you know… you really should move out of out of that hotel," Margaret says softly, as she looks up at Leo with her expressive blue eyes.
"You too, huh?" Leo shakes his head and shoves his hands in his pockets. 'God, her eyes are beautiful,' he thinks to himself.
Margaret nods her head, "Yeah, me too."
"The hotel is so convenient. Besides, all I really need is a place to sleep," he quickly points out.
"But, it's so expensive. You could have the same thing with a condo or apartment." Margaret surprises herself by her boldness.
"I can afford the hotel, besides I have room service there," he reasons. Room service that he plans to use tomorrow night for a lovely romantic dinner.
"If you had your own place, you could cook. So all the time you spend watching that porn cooking show wouldn't be wasted," Margaret smirks.
"It's not porn," he says defensively.
"So you say… but nobody needs to rub garlic oil into a leg of lamb for that long," she says flippantly.
"Margaret," Leo gives her a pointed look.
"Well you don't… and you would know that if you had your own kitchen to cook in."
"Maybe, but cooking for one… is no fun," Leo's voice goes soft.
Leo's last comment brings her back to reality. She quickly replays the scene from last night in her head. He'll probably have someone to cook for soon. "Leo, I'm sorry, but I just remembered I promised help Donna this morning," she pops up quickly. "I'll be back soon and we can go over the rest of your day later," she leaves the room without waiting for Leo to respond.
Leo stares at the empty chair. He's not sure what just happened. He wonders if he said something to upset her. She was acting a little strange this morning, even for Margaret. Her eyes didn't look normal and she didn't hang up his coat. And he would have bet money that she was going to bring him more of her hot chocolate concoction this morning. Leo doesn't get a chance to finish his thoughts, because Josh bursts into his office.
"Hey, have you had lunch yet?" Donna sits down in the chair next to Margaret's desk.
"Yeah, I ate after Leo left to have lunch with Mallory," Margaret gives her friend a half smile. She's been wondering when Donna would come by and cancel their plans for tomorrow.
"Leo actually left the building for lunch?"
"Yeah."
"Good for him. He spends way too much time here."
"That's for sure."
"How's your day been so far?" Donna asks.
"Busy."
"Yeah, Josh is driving me crazy with this Appropriations Bill."
"And Leo, too," Margaret adds.
"I just bet. So… are we still on for tomorrow night?"
"Huh?"
"You know, movies and takeout. Don't tell me you forgot." Donna is surprised by the flabbergasted look on Margaret's face.
"I didn't forget… I just thought you and… that you and…"
"You thought me and what…?"
"Oh… umm… never mind," a confused Margaret replies.
"Okay, so I'm going to bring over a few movies and we can pick which ones we want to watch."
"Yeah, okay." Margaret can't help but wonder what happened. She left last night as soon as she heard Leo ask Donna about Valentine's Day. Donna must have turned him down. 'Oh poor Leo,' she thinks to herself.
"And we can order take-out from that Chinese place that we both love."
"Sounds like a plan," she replies, still distracted by thoughts of Leo.
"I'll be over at five."
"Yeah, that sounds good."
"Well, I need to get back before Josh starts yelling for me."
"Yeah."
"See ya latter."
"Okay," says Margaret, still dazed at the turn of events.
Donna gets up. She can't help but wonder what is going on with her friend. She was acting strange, even for Margaret's standards. Donna is about to ask Margaret what's going on, when she hears Josh holler for her. "There he blows. Bye."
"Bye." Margaret doesn't even look up at her friend as she leaves. She's still too involved with thoughts of Leo.
"Hey, Baby," Leo says, as he walks up to the table where is daughter is waiting for him.
"Daddy," she stands to give him a hug and a kiss. "You're almost on time," she teases with a cute smile.
"Sorry, ya know crazy the White House can be, especially with the President at Camp David."
"Yeah, I bet Margaret had to pry you out of your chair," she smiles.
"No, but she did threaten to cut me off from coffee for the rest of the day, if I didn't leave right then," he smiles.
"Sounds like Margaret. So how is she? I haven't had a chance to talk to her much, lately."
"She's… fine."
"Have you been working her too hard?"
"No, not really," he quickly lies. He doesn't want to give his daughter another reason to lecture him.
"Daddy?"
"Well, no more than normal." He's tried several times over the years to get her to leave before him, but she always refuses. Last night was one of those rare times he was able to get her to go home without him leaving, too.
"She sounded drained on the phone this morning."
"Yeah, she looked tired this morning too. Which doesn't make any sense, since I sent her home before five last night."
"You left work at five?"
"No, just Margaret."
"She left before you? I thought that was against her code."
"Trust me," Leo shakes his head. "It was not easy to get her to leave."
"She'd leave earlier if you went home when you should."
"I've never told her she had to stay as long as me."
"I know, but she feels… oh… never mind. You said she went home early last night."
"Yeah."
"But, she still looked tired this morning?"
"Yeah and well… her eyes looked like they were… red and swollen."
"Maybe she stayed up late." Mallory informs her father, but she suspects that Margaret may have cried herself to sleep. She's pretty sure that Valentine's Day is probably hard on her.
"Yeah, maybe.," Leo isn't convinced.
"You could always ask her if she was okay." Mallory suggests.
"Yeah, I guess," he says softly.
"Don't you care about her?" Mallory bluntly demands, hoping to get some sort of a reaction from her father. She has theorized for some time now, that her father is in love with his assistant.
"Mallory, what kind of a question is that?" Leo's temper starts to show.
"Well, do you care?"
"I care," Leo says evenly.
"I think you care more than you are letting on."
"Mal," Leo's voice warns. He really doesn't want to talk to his daughter about this, before he has a chance to talk with Margaret.
"In fact, I think you care a great deal about her."
"Of course I care about Margaret. She's worked for me for years. She's the best assistant I've ever had."
"I think you care for her more than an assistant, and I wish you'd finally wake up and see what's right in front of you. I don't know how much longer she's going to wait for you."
"Mallory, what has gotten into you?"
"Nothing has gotten into me. I just wish you would move on."
"Mal."
"Daddy, you know the divorce has been final for over two years. It's time for you to face facts, Mom is not going to come back to you."
"Mallory Ann," his voice growls. "I realize how long I've been divorced from your mother, and you don't have to tell me she's not coming back. I know she's been dating someone and I'm happy for her."
"She's moved on, so why shouldn't you."
"I…"
"Daddy, you know… it's okay to love again."
"I know."
"I love Margaret. I always have. She's perfect for you and I suspect… she loves you, too."
"Well… I know you love her," Leo smiles.
"Daddy, look me in the eye, and tell me you don't have romantic feelings for Margaret."
"I can't."
"You can't because you don't love her… or you can't admit it to me or yourself."
"I have finally been able to admit it to me, telling you is… difficult," he shyly grins.
"You love her?" Mallory gushes.
"Yeah."
"Does she know?"
"No," he whispers.
"Are you planning on telling her?"
"Yeah."
"When?"
"None of your business," Leo smirks.
"Okay, I guess you're let me know how it turns out."
"I will."
"Good. Well, I guess I've tortured you enough…for now." Mallory picks up her menu. "So, what are you going to have?"
"Mal, are you sure you're okay with this?" Leo reaches out and takes a hold of one of her hands.
"Daddy," she smiles. "I just told you I love Margaret."
"I just want you to know that… these feelings are new. They happened after the divorce. I never cheated on your mother."
"Daddy, I knew that," she smiles, as she squeezes his hand.
Leo releases her hand and looks at his menu, "Okay, so… I think I'll have the lasagna."
"How's Mal?" Margaret asks, as she brings Leo a cup of coffee. She heard him enter his office from the hallway door. She quickly notices that he hung up his coat and scarf. She smiles and bobs her head in approval.
"She's fine and sends her love," Leo smiles when he sees Margaret bob her head. It's one of his favorite mannerisms of hers.
"Did she give you a hard time?" She moves towards his desk.
"Yeah, but it wasn't too bad. I think we came to an… understanding." He tries hard not to smile.
"Good, so… you have a meeting with that guy from the State Department in about twenty minutes."
"I still don't know why he thinks he's going to get me on his side. Even if he did, the President will never go for it," Leo rants, as he plops down in his chair and picks up his phone messages.
"I could cancel, if you want?"
"No, he'll only reschedule. I might as well deal with him today," Leo pauses when he sees he has a message from his ex-wife. "Jenny called me?"
"Yeah," Margaret tries to keep any emotion out of her voice. She had seriously thought about throwing the message away, but she has never interfered in Leo's personal life with Jenny and she wasn't about to start now. Even though she hates what she did to Leo.
"Did she happen to say what she wanted?" Leo looks up at her with distant eyes.
"No." Margaret and Jenny O'Brien, as she goes by now, have never really been very close, even though she has worked for Leo for years. Margaret always got the feeling that Jenny just barely tolerated her. She was very surprised that Jenny had the nerve to call Leo at work.
"Ah… okay," Leo lays down his messages on his desk. "I'll call her back later, so… my schedule?"
"The rest of your day isn't too bad," Margaret announces after looking through his schedule.
"Right, unless Josh decides to invade it," Leo quips, trying to get past the uneasiness between him and Margaret. He could tell by the look on her face that she is worried about the fact that Jenny called.
"I could close and lock your doors. That would keep him out." She wishes she could offer to protect him from Jenny. Nothing good has ever come out of her phone calls since she left Leo.
"Nah, I might as well deal with him today, too." Leo can't help but wonder what the hell Jenny wants.
"Okay, so what else do I have this afternoon?" Leo takes off his glasses and rubs his eyes. He's not gotten a lot of sleep since Monday night and now with this phone call from Jenny, his head is starting to pound.
"After the State guy, your next meeting with CJ is at three and then at five you have…"
"Oh, I'm gonna be out of the office from three thirty to… well, I should be back by five," Leo interrupts.
Margaret quickly flips through her notes, wondering if she missed something. "I don't have anything on your schedule. Leo, did you make an appointment on your own again?" She puts her hands on her hips.
"No," he shakes his head. "I know the rules."
"Too bad you don't follow them," she smirks.
"Hey," Leo fakes a hurt look. "It's been months since I made an appointment on my own."
"And yet today, you are going out of the building this afternoon and I knew nothing about it."
"I didn't realize I had to clear all of my personal business with you."
"Oh, I didn't… I mean… I'm sorry," she quickly backs down. She can't help but wonder if he planned to do this before Jenny called. Surely, he wouldn't be going to see her. 'Oh my god, the love potion' she thinks to herself. What if he latches onto Jenny because of it? Donna, obviously turned him down, he may turn his thoughts towards his ex-wife now.
"Don't worry about it," Leo sees the panicked look on Margaret's face. "Margaret, I meant to tell you this morning, but I forgot."
"No… that's fine… I'll keep your schedule clear for that time."
"I'll only be gone for about an hour, and you can call my cell phone if you need me." He wants to add that she can call him anytime on his cell phone if she needs him.
"Okay," Margaret bobs her head. "Well… I'll let you know when Mr. Drake gets here."
"Thanks."