Chapter Two
“Donna!”
The bellow was nothing she would not have expected from him, but the fact that she was standing directly behind him did lend itself to worthy aggravation. It had happened times before, of course; after all, when Josh went into work mode—even with her over his shoulder—he seemed to possess the ability to block out everything until he came across something that he didn’t understand.
Still, being yelled at when in the room? Not exactly her idea of progress.
“Right here. And no, I am not canceling that meeting.”
The Deputy Chief of Staff whipped around quickly, eyes bulging as though she had conjured herself at his side out of thin air. “Don’t do that.”
“Answer you? Believe me, I’ve tried.”
“You need a bell, you know.”
“That threat just loses steam every time you bring it up.” She scowled. “And, in case you didn’t hear me, I am not canceling your meeting on the Hill.”
It was amusing in that funny-adorable sort of way; watching the face of the third most powerful man in the country crumble as he danced on the edge of a temper-tantrum. This was also not something alien to Josh, and despite her objections, she found the expression endearing.
He’s such a kid.
“Why not?” he whined.
“Because this will be the third time this week. One lunch isn’t going to kill you.”
“Donna, these guys wanna take me out just so they can beat me up over 182 while they know perfectly well that there’s nothing I can nor am willing to do about it.” He shook his head, turning his attention back to a pile of memos that could not go ignored all day.
“So you figure just to put it off until the vote is over?”
He stared at her blankly. “Well…yeah.”
At that, she couldn’t help it. When he was in these moods, Josh was all but begging to be ridiculed. “Aww, are you afraid of the big bad politicians?”
“No. I’m afraid of wasting an hour to listen to something I could care less about in loo of doing something that’s, well, productive.” He shook his head. “You can’t let these people slap you around, Donna. Someday they’ll come to terms with the fact that we won and we’re not going anywhere for a while. In the meantime, I’m sure there is actual work to be done around here.”
“Which reminds me—”
“You’re canceling that, too. Get back to work.” The words would have sounded clipped coming from of anyone else, but Josh was Josh and she had come to terms with that a long time ago.
She had barely had time to step out of the office before Sam came calling to see if he had a minute.
It wasn’t as though he was upset to see him; if anything, Sam among the other high-ranking officials in the West Wing—and he counted Donna in that, whether or not by intent—were of the few people that he could tolerate for extended periods of time. In that regard, he at times considered that he had one of the best jobs in the world. Mostly secure, well-paying, and he genuinely enjoyed the people he worked with.
Josh merely got irritable when things didn’t go his way.
“And it never ends…”
“Hey,” Sam said in manner of greeting, tapping lightly on the door before stepping inward. “Did you hear about the thing?”
“Which thing?”
“The Vicksburg thing.”
A frown creased the other man’s brow. “When did that become a thing again?”
“Charlie told me. It was finalized just this morning.”
“Finalized? I didn’t even know we were considering it.”
Sam smiled lightly. “Well, I don’t believe we were seriously until the President went to the Residence last night and read a report on the—”
Josh held up a hand, eyes falling shut. “Wait. Wait. Are you telling me that we’re going to Vicksburg six months late because of one of the President’s late night whims?”
“The Mississippi vote is very important, Josh.”
“The Mississippi vote doesn’t come for another three years.” He blinked. “Call me stupid, but doesn’t that mean there are three more chances to make it up?”
Donna was suddenly in his line of peripheral vision again; leaning back in her chair to cast a coy, “You’re stupid,” into the room before she returned to work. The interruption was so commonplace that she earned nothing more than a smirk she didn’t see before the men redirected their attention toward each other.
“They’ll remember this.”
“You think we’d stand to lose seven electoral votes over the Vicksburg thing?”
“I think that snubbing them last July was a bad idea, yes.”
Josh’s eyes went wide and his voice raised octaves. “We didn’t snub them! There was no snubbing involved! We just had to postpone the trip—”
“Indefinitely—”
“Indefinitely because of Kuwait. And then by the time that was over, we still had the country to run.” He shook his head. “And since when did we start having a panic attack over seven electoral votes that we could just as easily get from, oh, I dunno…somewhere that doesn’t complain about postponing photo-op events for actual National emergencies?
Sam snickered. “And you berated me for selling off entire states. It’s not up for grabs, Josh. The President wants to do this.”
“Why?”
“Well, because he’s a history buff. And a National Parks buff—”
“Really don’t need to remind me about that one.”
“And he thinks it would be a good idea to take some media attention away from Leo right now.”
Josh blinked stupidly. “We really think that a trip to Hicksville USA for a speech in some town that half the people in this country have never heard of is going to take away from a drugs scandal in the White House?”
The other man shrugged. “Every little bit helps. Anyway, it’s really not worth arguing with me about. I think Leo’s going to call a meeting to announce it to everyone before the day’s out.”
“When are we leaving?”
“Day after tomorrow.”
Josh collapsed wearily against his desk.
“Anyway,” Sam said, shaking his head with a small laugh. “Just thought I’d drop by and give you a heads up. Oh.” He stopped at the door as though swayed by an afterthought, twisting in place to face his friend as the other man looked up wearily. “It’s more than just Mississippi’s seven electoral votes. As we found in Texas, making the South angry is not a good thing, especially with a President who’s already not altogether popular down there.”
“You’re thinking Domino Effect.”
The dark-haired man nodded. “We lose Mississippi, then Louisiana might follow. Then Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina. Florida, we’re not going to win anyway, and Texas…well…we don’t know what sort of dent we would take, but it might be enough to cancel out the Hoynes pull. Either way, that’s ninety-six electoral votes that we’re looking at. Counting Mississippi brings the grand total to one hundred and three.”
There was a moment of silence.
“Wow.”
“Yeah.”
“Because of the Vicksburg thing?”
“Could be.”
Josh nodded slowly. “We shouldn’t piss off the South.”
"This is what I’m saying.”
“Right.” There was a moment of composition before he nodded again to himself and turned his gaze back to the stack of memos that still had not managed to answer themselves. “Right.”
“Anyway,” Sam said, heading again for the door. “I’m gonna go back and work on this thing.”
“You had to pull up the old speech?”
“Yes, but because it’s no longer the Fourth, I’m starting over.”
Josh cracked a grin. “Toby must be on the edge of breaking his window. And in that, can’t say that I blame him. Throw in Leo’s thing and the Mendoza confirmation and you have yourself the eleventh plague. You have to have this done in two days?"
“Four. The first day is going to be more of a ‘sightseeing’ excursion.”
“And the news just keeps getting better and better…” A frown fell across his face. “What exactly is there to see in Vicksburg, anyway?”
“Other than the battlegrounds and the homes? I’ve heard the courthouse is very nice.” He paused as though remembering something. “And I believe one home has a cannonball lodged in the dining room wall. I can have Ginger look up—”
“Sam…go back to your office.”
There was a nod of consent. “Right.”
The ever-revolving door to Josh’s workplace did not disappoint. There were some days, more than often, when he swore the staffers tag teamed who would interrupt him next. Today seemed to be solely in the hands of the Deputy Communications Director and Donna—not really a surprise in any regard. They again met in the doorway, nodded and exchanged civilities, and had effectively swapped places in all of ten seconds.
“Leo wants to see you,” his assistant told him as she added another memo to his desk.
That much was to be expected. “Okay.”
And, as always, it couldn’t be left at that. Not that he would have it any other way. Oh no. There were days—quite a few of them—that bantering with Donna served as his only means of continued existence.
“So, we’re going to Vicksburg?”
“Looks like.”
“Great. There’s this place down there that’s supposed to serve amazing bread pudding.”
Josh looked up wearily. “You can’t get bread pudding here?”
“Not Vicksburg style, no.” She flashed a grin. “The restaurant I looked up got five stars in their local newspaper.”
“That’s probably because it’s the only restaurant.”
“Josh!”
“Beggars can’t be choosers, Donna. And what were you doing looking up Vicksburg restaurants, anyway?”
“It was before when we were going in July.” He merely looked at her. She shrugged. “I wanted to find a place with good bread pudding.”
“What is it with you and bread pudding?”
“I’m a Wisconsin girl, Josh. We don’t have those kind of delicacies where I come from.”
“Yeah, but on the upside, you have teeth where you come from.”
Donna shook her head, moving to follow him as he darted out of the room. “You’re impossible.”
“That’s why they pay me the big bucks.”
“Do you know why Margaret sounded nervous on the phone?”
The random change of topic didn’t faze him, either. Such was the way of things.
“Because she’s Margaret?” Off her stare, he shrugged, eyes going wide. “I don’t know! Maybe Leo didn’t take a vitamin or something that she set out on his desk."
“Margaret sets vitamins on Leo’s desk?”
“I don’t know about that, but I do know she brings him coffee regardless of his employment status with the President.” He grinned. “Actually, it might be about the thing. There’s been some noise about the cat.”
Donna frowned. “The cat? What cat?”
“With any luck, your roommate’s.”
“Josh…”
“The cat, you know? The one that’s supposed to haunt the Capitol Building?” When he received nothing but a blank look, he shrugged and waved a dismissive hand. “It’s nothing.”
“Josh!”
“It’s dumb. There’s this cat whose sighting allegedly precedes a time of National tragedy.”
“A ghost cat?”
“Yeah. It was spotted right before the JFK shooting and around the Watergate scandal—stuff like that.” Josh shrugged. “It was spotted last night by some senile janitor and got an honorable mention in the Post. It’s nothing big, Donna. Don’t worry.”
She stared at him. “Don’t worry? Don’t worry? There’s a satanic cat in the Capitol building and you just now tell me about it?”
“And one wonders why I would have any such qualms in the first place…” He shook his head as they came to a stop outside Leo’s office, pinching the bridge of his nose. “We don’t talk about it because it’s a non-story, okay? Margaret probably just saw the special on haunted places that they play on the Travel channel or something. We don’t talk about this sort’ve thing here. Grown-ups work in the White House, Donna. This isn’t the place for fairytales.”
And then, as always by cue, Sam appeared at the end of the hallway. “Hey! Do either of you have a copy of Cinderella by the Brothers Grimm lying around anywhere?”
Josh looked up wryly. Anywhere else, he would have asked, but nothing was off the table where they lived and worked. Especially when it came to speechwriters and their penchant for making use of obscure references. A trait that Sam excelled in to the point of non-redundant redundancy.
Though why anyone would think that he had Cinderella just lying about at his disposal was a laughable notion.
“You two are in the middle of a thing,” the man decided with a nod. “Okay.” He was gone the next instant, calling for Bonnie to see if she had found anything.
With a sigh, Josh glanced back to his assistant and shook his head. “I gotta go meet with Leo now. Get back to work.”
Donna nodded but gave him a look that promised they were anything but done with this conversation. The expression was so familiar that he had to smother a smile from making its way to his face. That was one of the things he liked most about her. They had discussions that could outlast Lent.
The Chief of Staff was on the phone when he stepped inside, berating the Majority Whip from the sound of things. The call concluded with some rapidity, and Leo obligingly rose to his feet.
“Hey,” the younger man said, shuffling forward to hand him a folder. “From what we’re hearing, 481 is going to sit for the week.”
“I figured as much. Take a seat.”
Josh arched a brow. “I’m not in trouble, am I?” He didn’t think so, but one could never be too certain.
“Nah. I just want to bring you up to speed on a few things.”
“This is about Vicksburg, isn’t it?”
Leo nodded. “Sam talked to you?”
“Well, he told me that we’re going.” He shuffled a bit as though he was anxious to pace. “And about that, are we sure this is a good idea? The country is looking at us for answers about other things—”
“My problem, Josh. It’s okay to talk about it.”
He didn’t think so, but the pardon was appreciated nonetheless. If anything, he preferred to only make mention of the scandal if something even more incriminating was going to make its way into the news cycle or if he was proposing a way to make a bad situation better through comparison. There were a lot of preconceived notions floating around out there right now about Leo, and every one of them made him sick to his stomach. And at such times, it was infinitely better to ignore them and focus on what really mattered—helping the man that had done so much for him and all of the Senior Staff—just as Leo would help them should the situation be reversed.
“Well, what I’m saying is, is it a good idea to go for a photo-op to Mississippi while Congress is looking to issue out the subpoenas?"
“The President’s mind has been made up.”
“How did this become a thing again?”
“The way everything else does.” Leo grinned ironically. “He was reading a report comparing the annual rainfall percentage of several of America’s more tropical states to the numbers of a hundred years ago and—”
“Why?”
“What?”
“Why was the President reading a hundred year old weather report?”
The Chief of Staff shrugged. “For fun.”
Josh bit back the remark that begged to be released at that. He should have known better than to ask. President Bartlet was nothing if not whimsical. If only he could figure out a way to balance the budget by exercising the same method of research.
“Anyway, CJ’s announcing the trip with the next briefing. But that’s not why I got you in here.”
“Oh?”
“There’s no other way to break it to you, kid, so I’ll just come out and say it. You’re not going to Vicksburg.”
A small smile crossed Josh’s face. “Well, I could say I’m sorry but we both know that would be a lie.”
Leo nodded grimly before dropping the other shoe. “You’re going about an hour and a half south of Vicksburg to Natchez where you will meet with Senator Davis about 197.”
There was a long pause. “What is this? Appease-every-obscure-town-in-Mississippi-week?”
“So it would seem.”
“Leo, there’s no way 197 will be passed in the House…or the Senate, for that matter.”
“I know that, you know that, and Congress knows that. More over, the Senator’s no dummy.”
“So I’m meeting with him to, what? Pass the time?”
The elder man shrugged. “He wants White House support, Josh.”
“Does he really think he’s gonna get it?”
“No. And so we’re back to why you’re going to Natchez to meet with him.” Anticipating another interruption, he held up a hand in silent request for cooperation before moving to explain. “Davis is a prominent member of the Democratic party whose ideas are good but still about a hundred and fifty years too soon. Not only does he carry a lot of influence from other respectable Democrats on the Hill, he has done nothing but good things for this administration; we like to keep our friends where they are, since we are not exactly rolling in them at the moment. The very least he’s earned is an hour sit-down so we can explain why supporting 197 publicly, despite our accordance with the idealism behind the bill, is not something the White House is prepared to do.”
Josh paused, frowning in confusion. “So basically you want me to make a trip to make sure we still have the support of African Americans in this country even after we bitch slap them back to the nineteenth century?”
“Pretty much.”
“Why Natchez?”
“It’s Davis’s hometown. He’s gonna be there, we’re gonna be there—it works.”
“Isn’t he the Senator from Illinois?”
“Well, yes, but he had to move if he wanted to be a senator. Chances of him being elected had he run in Mississippi are not exactly favorable statistics.”
Josh held up a hand. “Yeah, yeah.” A long sigh hissed through his teeth. “So, I do this and get out of the Vicksburg thing?”
“You do this and evade a day of the Vicksburg thing.”
“Leo! You said—”
“I know what I said. That was misleading of me, wasn't it?” The older man grinned before shrugging his apology. “It’s the best I can do. At least the President will be through the bulk of the history and National Park trivia.” He smiled wryly. “I’m not going, Josh. The President and I both decided that it’s for the best, and he will need you in my absence.”
“Why aren’t you going?”
The elder man’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll give you three guesses.”
Right. Stupid question. “Yeah.” He paused uncomfortably. “Is that it, then?”
“Yeah. Go back to work.”
Josh gave a solemn nod and retreated again into the hall. He flashed a grin at Margaret, who was busy phoning everyone she had access to in order to inquire about National Security and the like—anything that could potentially send the economy into another Depression because of the cat spotting. He liked Margaret—she was eccentric, but then, they all were in their own right. Most importantly, she was loyal to Leo, and he needed people who were loyal right now.
It was his fortune to be surrounded by them in spades in the workplace. He couldn’t think of a single person who worked in close proximity with the man who held anything but the highest respect for him.
When he approached the bullpen, he found Donna surfing the net on local legends about Washington buildings and the like. A grin tickled his lips. So now she had a thing for the week. He couldn’t say the day hadn’t been productive.
“Donna?”
She looked up.
“I need you to book us a couple rooms in a town called Natchez, Mississippi.”
“Natchez?”
“Don’t worry—they’ll have bread pudding there, I’m sure.”
“Why Natchez? What’s going on?”
Josh nodded at the phone. “Just do it—I’ll give you the run through in ten.”
“Change of plans?”
He smiled grimly. “It’s always something.”
Always something. Funny how that was quickly becoming the understatement of the year.
TBC