Leaving CJ's office, Josh immediately headed for Margaret's desk. They had decided she would handle any and all requests from the senior staff pertaining to The Sam Thing, as Leo had dubbed it. Josh was not sure how much she had known before she appeared in his doorway that morning, but her "Leo's office, now" had been enough to get him moving without asking any questions.
She was on a call when he walked in, so he leaned against the file cabinets, folding his arms and trying to look casual. The desk lamp was on as were all the overhead lights, fighting the darkness of late afternoon and the coming storm.
"Yes, Mr. Secretary, I'm sure he's aware of that." She made a note on a pad, tapping the pen on her desk as she continued to listen. Turning to her computer, she hit the space bar and consulted the screen. "Shall I schedule you for Tuesday at three, or wait to hear from Ursula?" She nodded. "I'll take care of it, and email her a confirmation. You're welcome, sir."
She hung up and typed a few quick lines. "I'll bet you five bucks he's not free on Tuesday at three. Why can't they leave scheduling up to the professionals?"
"Hey, I have a pretty good idea what's on my calendar," Josh protested.
Margaret studied him for a minute, and he suddenly had the impression he had stepped into the middle of a minefield. "Okay, what's on it for Monday at noon?"
"Monday? A...meeting," he tried. "Lunch with...uh...somebody."
She waited, and after another fifteen seconds, he gave up. "Okay, I don't know what's on it exactly."
Margaret leaned forward, folding her hands on her desk as she warmed up to her subject. "Josh, it's not that I think you or anybody else is stupid or incapable of setting up meetings. What I'm saying is that we -- Donna, Mrs. Landingham, me -- are the gatekeepers. If we take care of the details, you can take care of the important stuff. When somebody crosses the line, though, nothing gets done."
"You're absolutely right."
Margaret stared at him for a moment, obviously judging his sincerity. She nodded to herself, and Josh found himself sighing with relief.
"I need some phone records."
She pulled a folder from her top drawer and handed it to him. "Sam's for the last month. If you need to go back further than that, let me know."
Wow, you're good," he murmured as he opened the folder and glanced quickly down the list. A few he recognized immediately: his cell; Toby's; one with an area code he didn't recognize. He ran his fingernail across the line -- Sam's parents. Sam called home every other weekend, had since college. "Thanks," he called, starting out the door.
"One more thing -- " Margaret called.
Josh turned and nearly collided with Charlie.
"The President wants to see you," she finished.
He glanced toward his office, wondering if he should detour and put on his jacket. Going into the Oval in shirtsleeves was not unheard of, but he preferred not to.
"This will only take a minute," Charlie told him.
Josh nodded and followed him. The door was closed when they came around the corner. Charlie excused himself and, after knocking once, went in.
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Landingham," Josh said and wondered why he always felt like he had regressed to the third grade.
"Would you like a cookie, Josh?" she asked, nodding toward the glass jar.
He helped himself to the last one. "Thank you."
"You've had quite a day."
Josh froze, a bite of cookie in his mouth. Shifting it to one side, he asked, "'A day'? Did the President say something about, ah, my day?"
"No, he didn't. I think everyone in the building heard the shouting match in your office this morning, though."
"That really wasn't my fault!"
Mrs. Landingham looked at him over the top of her glasses before turning her attention to a pile of correspondence. "I was here last night when Sam dropped off the speech for the President."
Josh swallowed. "You were? Did he say anything?"
"He usually chats for a few minutes, and when it's late, he always insists on walking me to my car." She set a letter aside. "Last night he looked stunned when he saw me, and he couldn't leave fast enough." She looked up at Josh. "And that's not like Sam."
"Actually, the looking stunned part is."
Charlie appeared in the door of the Oval. "He'll see you now, Josh."
"Mrs. Landingham, Sam -- "
"I thought you should know, dear. Now don't keep the President waiting."
"Yes, ma'am."
Leo looked up from a folder when Josh came in, and the President turned from the teacart with a cup and saucer in his hand.
"A cup of tea, Josh? It might go pretty well with that cookie."
Josh glanced at his hand where the cookie was leaving stains on the folder Margaret had given him. "Thank you, sir."
"Were there any cookies left in the jar?" the President asked, moving to the chair opposite Leo's.
"This was the, uh, last one," Josh told him. "Mrs. Landingham thought I deserved it after the day I've had."
"You'd think with the days I have, she'd give me one," the President grumbled. "Hell, she should give me a dozen."
"I wouldn't count on that happening any time soon, sir," Leo said, setting aside the folder as Josh sat down on the couch. "Josh, we wanted to do a quick sitrep on the Sam thing."
"I just got out of a meeting with CJ, Toby and Danny Concannon," Josh reported.
The President looked up. "Danny? Did something leak?"
"Sam told him," Josh announced, taking a sip of tea and deciding he really preferred coffee. "He ran into him in a bookstore."
"He what?" Leo demanded.
Josh placed the cup on the table to his right. "Which he?"
Leo glared at him. "Just start from the beginning, Joshua."
Josh did, omitting his own trip to Sam's apartment. He still refused to believe it was a bad idea, but preferred not to have Leo weighing in on it after the lengthy discussion they had had that morning.
"...So it's covered for now, and CJ thinks we're good through the weekend," he finished.
"Any luck getting in touch with Sam?" the President asked. "Charlie said the FBI still hasn't come up with a new cell phone number for him."
Josh shook his head. "And, if he's home, he's not answering his land line."
"I still think they should watch his credit card activity," the President said to Leo. "At least we'd know where he is."
"Sir, Danny saw him this afternoon so we know he's in Washington, and we agreed we wouldn't turn this into a manhunt. Sam does have a right to privacy."
The President stood up, Leo and Josh rising to their feet as well. "If he's not back on Monday, Leo, we'll revisit that. Josh, I want updates throughout the weekend."
"Yes, sir."
"Now take your cookie, and enjoy it somewhere else."
Josh smiled. "Thank you, Mr. President."