A Couple Months Later
"What's going on? I got a message that you wanted to see me?" Logan asked as he walked into Rory's enormous office, pulling the door closed behind him. Rory was sitting at her desk, typing away as Logan approached her. "Ror? Is everything ok?"
"Uh, yeah . . . Everything is fine, I just need to talk to you about something. When is your next appointment?"
"Not for a couple of hours, why?"
"I'm going to text Doyle and have him bring us some lunch."
"So whatever it is, it's serious?"
"I got a phone call . . ."
"Alright?" Logan commented as he sat down in the of the chairs in front of Rory's desk. "It was from Joe."
"Joe who? We know a lot of people with that name, Rory."
"Former Vice President Joe Biden."
"And you choose now to use titles?"
"Joe is announcing his candidacy next week."
"That's awesome! So we get first crack at the story, right?"
"We do . . . But that isn't what I want to talk to you about. I could write that story in my sleep."
"Alright, so what is going on?"
"Joe asked if there was anyone that I could recommend who might be a talented enough writer, and proficient quality speaker, to possibly taken on the role of Joe's press secretary."
"Wow! So he wants someone from HPG?"
"I guess . . . I mean, the only person I know who I would ever recommend for a job like that, would be Hugo. But Hugo would never take it. He doesn't want a job like that. Hugo is perfectly happy being on the board, and editing articles from time to time. And he doesn't mind filling in for a department editor when someone is on vacation. But otherwise, Hugo is pretty hands off. He's done his time in this business, and he likes where he's at."
"I can't even blame him either. And Hugo has done the press tour stuff, and been part of the White House press pool. Why do you think he hired you to go out on the Obama Campaign? He's already paid his dues there."
"Exactly! So I'm sitting here trying to think of who I know, who's name I could pass on to Joe. We have a lot of good writers here at HPG, but none that I think would make a good press secretary. I can think of several people who are superior writers, and only two that are good at public speaking, and don't get super nervous."
"But you can't nominate either of them?"
"Nope! One of them happens to be Bobbi, and she for one, doesn't live here, and two, isn't a citizen of this country, so she wouldn't even be eligible."
"Wait, Bobbi like Bobbi Bobbi? Like London Bobbi?"
"Please Logan, there is only one Bobbi."
"No, I know, I'm just really surprised to even hear that name."
"I was talking to her earlier today about how things are going in the London office, and all of the financials, and how the different departments are doing. Bobbi knows everything that there is to know about this business. She's basically the Doyle of the London office."
"That is very true."
"I thought about maybe offering up Doyle, but Paris would immediately murder me. Plus, this office can't run without Doyle, and I somehow doubt that he would make as much anywhere else, as he does here."
"I don't know about that, Ace. Last I heard the White House Press Secretary makes about as much as you do."
"This wouldn't be the White House Press Secretary though. It would be Joe's Campaign Press Secretary."
"Which I'm sure doesn't make a ton, but is definitely comfortable."
"So anyway, I can't very well hand over Doyle. There is no way that anyone would be happy with that."
"So . . . I have a feeling that you've got someone in mind."
"I know that this is going to sound completely crazy, and come right out of left field . . . But you said that we could travel . . ."
"Wait a second . . . Are you telling me that YOU want to take the job?"
"Originally, no, but the more I think about it, the more I get kind of jealous of the offer. Remember a couple months ago when Joe and Jill were here with that hypothetical job offer? Well, being their press secretary is an even better position than a staff writer. It's something that I've only ever dreamed of. And I know exactly how crazy I sound because I love it here. I love running HPG, and I love being here with you. But Logan, this is the offer of a lifetime!"
"No, I know it is. I can't even blame you for considering it."
"You said that we could travel . . . Being Joe's Press Secretary wouldn't be forever. It would just be until the election, and then it would be over."
"It would be for the next 3 years, unless he is elected, and moves into the White House, and has to pick his staff."
"Yeah, exactly. It's only for a few years. So I could take a break from HPG for a while, right? Like maybe temporarily step down as CEO? I can pass it onto Doyle or even my Grandpa."
"Depending on what the federal campaign guidelines says, you may be able to keep the title, but appoint a COO, or something to run the day to day business. But Ace, what happens if Joe gets elected and decides that he wants you to stay on with him, in Washington?"
"Well, we can reexamine everything, then, right? Campaign Press Secretary is just temporary. It's something I can do until I decide that I don't want to do it anymore, and then I can leave, and come back here."
"I want you to follow your dreams, Rory, but I have to ask, what about me and our daughter? We have to do what is best for Ayribella here."
"I'm sure that you could come with me. Joe takes his family on the road with him. They've got the big bus that they basically live on, when they aren't on a plane. And being Press Secretary I would be right next to Joe at every event. I know that that kind of stuff isn't exactly your idea of fun, but you actually like politics, and you enjoy traveling. Maybe you could take a step back from being a doctor, and more or less, be a stay at home Dad for a while?"
"Is that what you want?"
"Well . . . I don't know. This all just happened, and things keep popping into my head. I haven't even thought any of this out. This is all spur of the moment, and it's all happening so quickly for me. I literally hadn't thought of any of this, until you came up here. But now it's like my head is spinning with ideas, and it all seems pretty exciting, and you said yourself, after Joe and Jill were here, that if I wanted to take the writing job with them, that I could, and we would make things work for us. You and Ayribella would travel with me. So what if we were to actually do it? What if we take the job? Like maybe we can tag team it? Or I officially take the job, and you just help me behind the scenes?"
"If you want to take the job, Ace, then I'm not going to be the one to stop you. I just want to make sure that all of our bases are covered, and that we aren't completely abandoning HPG. You've done so much for this company, and built things up so well in the last year, I would hate to see it all come crashing down around us."
"That's the problem here, Logan. What about HPG? I honestly do love being here, but being Joe's Press Secretary, It's pretty much as close as I'll ever get to being Christiane Amanpour. It's my dream, Logan! And the more that I think about it, the more that I REALLY want to do it!"
"Ok . . . Calm down, Ace, and let's talk this through. I would never hold you back from your dream, and you know that. But if this is something that you REALLY want to do, then we've got a lot of stuff that we need to work out, for you to be able to take the job."
"I know. And it all seems pretty overwhelming right now."
"How soon would Joe need you, if you were to take the job?"
"I don't know, I didn't even ask. I just asked that he let me think about it, and that I would get back to him in a couple of days."
"Ok, well the first thing that we need to do, is have a sit down with Joe and his wife. They live in Delaware, so why don't you call them, and see if we can get together, maybe this coming weekend. We can go to them, or you can invite them to the house for dinner, or something. Whatever works. We need to sit down and find out exactly when Joe would need you, and when exactly the campaign tour starts. From there, we need to figure out living and travel arrangements, and figure out how Ayribella and I fit into the whole campaign life."
"Logan, you would seriously do this for me?" Rory asked, feeling a little surprised.
"Of course I would, Ace! You're my wife, and this is your dream! I would never tell you that you have to suffer here, running my family's company rather than chasing your dreams. I told you that before you even stepped in as CEO, and before we were even engaged or married. If this is really what you want, then we are going to do it. We can even hire a nanny to go with us, to help with Ayribella, if we need to."
"But what about our home? We have our house here, and our family?"
"I'm sure your Mom would be happy to help with Roxy. And Honor would take her in a second. I'm not worried about her at all. And we keep our house. There is no point to selling it, we won't be gone forever. Plus, we'll need somewhere to come home to. And your Grandparents are only there part-time anyway. The only real person that would be affected by us leaving, would be Rosalinda. And honestly, if we are going to hire anyone to help with Ayribella, it should be her!"
"But what about her family? She's got kids and grandkids?"
"That would be up to her. But again, Ace, this wouldn't be permanent."
"You really think that we should hire Rosalinda to be our nanny?"
"She's already doing the job anyway. She's basically Mary Poppins. Or Alice from The Brady Bunch. She's technically our housekeeper, but she actually runs our family. Honestly Rory, I don't see how we can even function without her."
"That's true." Rory agreed, taking a deep breath, and leaning back in her chair.
"It's adorable how excited about this you are.' Logan smiled. "I haven't seen you this excited about anything in years. You are talking at hyped up Lorelai speed."
"Seriously? I was?"
"I can't even remember the last time I head you talking at hyper Loralai speed."
"I don't either, but you're the only person who has ever been able to keep up with me, when I do."
"That's because I grew up at HPG, with my father. He talks at that speed in business meetings all day, and then forgets where he is, and keeps talking that way even after he's home."
"Your Dad does speak really quickly. He's good at rapid fire questions. If I liked him better, and didn't think that the position would kill him, I would probably recommend him to go work as Joe's Press Secretary."
"Do you really think that's a good idea?"
"No!" Rory answered, laughing at the thought of Mitchum being someone's Press Secretary. "Your Dad would murder someone on the first day."
"Either that or yell 'YOU'RE FIRED!' whenever he didn't like something that was said.
"Ugh, your family REALLY knows that guy?"
"Have you not seen all of the rejected phone calls Doyle has gotten from that jerk? He keeps calling here demanding to speak to Mitchum. Dude doesn't seem to understand that Mitchum no longer works here."
"I know that he's called a couple times, and Doyle got rid of him because I have better things to do than argue with someone around in circles about things they know nothing about. I just didn't know that he's continued to call."
"That's because Doyle does his job very well. I've heard him grumble about it, but Doyle is excellent at covering for you. I just feel bad for the receptionist downstairs. We should probably give her a raise or something."
"Probably." Rory agreed. "Doyle really does do a good job. I don't get very many calls sent to me at all."
"I would say that if we were to leave, we should make Doyle the Chief Operating Officer. We'll need to find him a good secretary though."
"Why don't we bring up Gloria from downstairs, and then find someone to fill her position?"
"Because Gloria has been there for years, and loves her job. She hasn't ever been interested in a promotion. She likes to see people as they come into the building, and she likes the chit chat as she directs them around. If you offered to move Gloria upstairs, she would turn you down."
"How come I didn't know that?"
"Because I mentioned it to her one day after we first took over, and she rejected the idea with a laugh. She's been working here for about 15 years, and she absolutely loves her job. I'm sure that we could find someone to help Doyle though. Maybe my sister would even be willing to step in for a while."
"Or we can bring Bobbi in from London?"
"And who is supposed to take over for Bobbi, if we do?"
"That is a good point."
"Bobbi would be really good though. But I doubt she wants to move over seas. Bobbi's entire life is out there. And I have no idea if there is anyone even half as capable as her, who could even take over everything that she does, without running that place directly into the ground."
"Hugo would be really good at it. But it's another thing that he wouldn't want."
"We'll figure it out. There is a ton of stuff that we are going to need to talk over, and figure out if you are going to take this job, so let's just take a break for right now. Let's go get some lunch. We haven't gone out in a while.
An Hour Later
"So back to what we were talking about in the office ..." Rory started as she sat eating lunch with her husband. "The more I think about it, the more I really want to do it."
"Well, if we are going to do this, then we need to be sure to leave HPG in capable hands. Do you think that your Grandfather would step up?" Logan asked.
"He would but he doesn't know the company as well as other people. I was thinking maybe Bobbie. She is basically the Me of the London office. And would she really need to move here? She's already in our London Headquarters. I'm sure she wouldn't mind traveling sometimes, right?"
"I'm not sure, but you can ask her."
"I actually really think that if anyone deserves this, it's either Bobbi or Doyle. But I'm pretty sure that Doyle is good right where he's at and wouldn't want my job. But Bobbi, she could step in as acting CEO while we are gone. Or even Honor if she wants it. I know that she has no idea how to ruin this company, but we can promote Doyle to COO since he runs everything anyway and then have Honor step in as CEO while we are gone, that way the company stays in the family."
"You will have to convince Honor to do that." Logan said as he took a bite of food.
"I'm sure that she would if I told her about this offer."
"I don't know she was all over helping until she had Maxwell, but I don't really know what her plan is now."
"It's not like Honor would even have to actually be here every day. Doyle is more than capable of running things and my Grandpa has been a huge help. Him and Doyle can run things and Honor can just be the pretty face and name on the letterhead. She is perfectly capable of making executive decisions and she can just come in for board meetings and be briefed by Doyle and your Grandfather about everything going on. Honor can basically make all the appearances for me and not actually work otherwise. I'm pretty sure that Doyle can handle everything else. After all, look how much I'm not needed here anymore. I do a lot of writing and editing because I can and it takes up time. Honor doesn't care about that stuff. She can be the name and pretty face behind the company while Doyle runs everything for her."
"You will have to talk to Honor."
"I really want this, Logan."
"I know you do. I can hear it in your voice and I'm seeing how excited about it you are."
"So you think that we can actually do it?"
"I think that we are going to have to. I'll have to see about getting my medical license in Washington DC, that way I can practice if I'm needed. Maybe I can be Joe's personal doctor since we will ask be together anyway."
"That is genius, Logan! You can be the campaign doctor. I like it!"
"I'll make some calls and see what I can do. I may have to leave Columbia for the time being and go work for the Walter Reed Medical Center in DC, but that isn't too big of a deal. Moving hospitals is easy. I just need to move my medical license. I may need to get licensed in Virginia too."
"We need to talk to Rosalinda. I want her coming with us. I know she loves her family a lot and has Grandkids, but I feel like we need her. We can cover all her traveling expenses, and give her a raise on top of everything. And we can always give her a couple weekends a month where we can fly her back to see her family."
"I think it will be a difficult decision for Rosalinda, but I think that if we present it to her correctly, she will do it."
"So we go talk to Honor then, then talk to Rosalinda ..."
"I think we need to have a plan in place before you officially head back onto the campaign trail. It's too bad that your Mom can't come be our nanny."
"As much as she would love that, she's got the Inn and Luke to take care of. But I think she'll be really excited for us."
"I think she'll really miss us though, but like me, I think that she will agree that this is a one in a lifetime chance that you can't pass up.
"I need to call Joe, and discuss everything with him. I need to get a full plan together before we blow everything up."
"No, I fully agree. Why don't we head home, and give Joe a call. Let's see where he's at and maybe we can go have a face to face. Doing business over the phone may be easier but face to face is usually better for this kind of stuff." Logan told her.
"I think that is the best idea. Let's go get a hold of Joe, and determine where to go from here. We need a solid plan before we go blow up Honor's life." Rory agreed.