Alanna said hello to Margaret, whom she had spoken to on the phone but never met. Margaret got up and gave Alanna a tour of the office and introduced her to everyone as they walked the halls.

By the time they got back to Leo's office, the door was opened and the two men were finishing their discussion. Alanna listened as she sat down near Margaret's desk, pretending to read a magazine. Leo and Toby were wrapping up their conversation.

Toby's voice was rich and warm. It made Alanna feel secure just listening to it. At the same time, it was just a bit sensual and she could imagine him whispering in her ear. She shivered. Oh, my. I have to stop this. I barely know this man. She recalled having met him during the campaign but he had not had this effect on her. She wondered why.

Toby finally walked down the hall and looked at Alanna briefly, nodding his head. She smiled at him reflexively, still thinking about his wonderful voice.

For his part, Toby was surprised when he saw Alanna smile. He just figured she disliked him or at least that she was angry with him after their earlier encounter in the hall. He watched her out of the corner of his eye as he walked slowly past. She was really very pretty, he thought. Alanna was shorter than he and had thick, dark blond hair that came to about her shoulders. He remembered the way she had looked at him defiantly in the corridor when he questioned her about seeing Leo. She probably doesn't take crap from anybody, he decided and smiled.

Toby shook his head as he walked. What is wrong with you? You have more important matters to think about. He headed off to C.J.'s office.

Alanna was laughing as she sat in a chair across from Sam Seaborn, who was sitting at his desk. ``You are quite the storyteller. You must keep them all in stitches around here,'' Alanna said.

``Well, I try.''

Alanna had wandered through the halls after Leo dismissed her to get some work done. She ran into Sam outside his office and he invited her in for a chat. Alanna felt very comfortable around Sam. He gave off a very friendly vibe.

``So, you've met everyone?''

``Yeah, Margaret introduced me to everyone. And before that, I accidentally bumped into Toby.''

``Literally?''

``Yes,'' Alanna said and Sam laughed aloud.

``Toby's my boss, you know.''

``Really? Do you get along well with him?''

``Get along? Hmm. Getting along with people is not something Toby really does. He's more likely to put up with someone. But I suppose we work together pretty well.''

``Toby sounds like a contrary man.''

``Toby is a very contrary man,'' Sam agreed and smiled. ``But that is part of his charm.''

Alanna found herself recalling the moment she had bumped into Toby and the way he had pressed his hand to his forehead and rubbed it. She smiled at the thought. Then she recalled how he had studied her face in Leo's office. She sighed wistfully.

``Something wrong?'' Sam asked, interrupting her reverie.

``No, not at all. Just thinking.''

``Wanna share?''

``Is Toby married?'' Alanna asked, not particularly worried that Sam was going to catch on to her interest.

``Divorced. Why do you ask?''

``Maybe I'm interested.''

Sam sat up in his chair, an alarmed look on his face. ``Oh no. No, you're not. You're really not.''

``Why not?''

``You apparently haven't been listening. Toby is difficult. He's a mess when it comes to relationships. You really don't want to get involved with him,'' Sam said, walking around his desk to face Alanna.

``Well, Sam, I appreciate the advice but I think I can make that decision for myself.''

``I'm sure you can but I'm telling you it's a bad idea.''

``I don't know about that. Something about him intrigues me.''

``You know what? You're scaring me now. Here, let me give you his ex-wife's number. Andrea Wyatt. She's a congresswoman. You really need to talk to her before you go anywhere near this.''

``Oh, Sam, don't be so dramatic. I just said I might be interested. That doesn't mean it will go anywhere. He's probably not even remotely interested in me.''

``Oh believe me, I'm pretty sure any man who senses you're interested would be willing to give it a shot.''

``Thanks, Sam. You're very sweet,'' Alanna said and stood up to give him a kiss on the forehead. In the 30 minutes or so they had been talking, Alanna felt she had made a new friend; someone she could trust. Sam felt almost like a younger brother, which Alanna had never had.

``Sam?'' Toby snapped from the hallway, startling both Sam and Alanna. They turned to look at him. ``Excuse me, Alanna, Sam and I need to talk.''

``Boy, you keep kicking me out of places Toby. I'm going to remember this,'' she joked and walked out into the hallway.

When she walked away, Toby turned and glared at Sam.

``What is it, Toby?''

``The president's speech to the National Association of Counties needs work.''

``I thought we were finished with that. You said...''

``No, we are not finished with it!'' Toby said, raising his voice. ``If we were finished with it, would I say it needs work?!''

``Sorry, Toby. I'll get right on it. Is there anything in particular you want changed?''

``The whole damn thing. Rewrite it,'' Toby barked and closed Sam's door. He stood in the hallway and glanced toward the direction where Alanna had walked. Toby remembered walking up to Sam's office only five minutes before. He remembered seeing Alanna kissing Sam on the forehead and he remembered feeling inexplicably, overwhelmingly angry.

I am not going to do this. I am not going to do this. I am not going to do this, he told himself over and over again. I need to go for a walk, he thought and strode down the hallway.

Around 6 p.m., C.J. found Alanna wandering the halls aimlessly and invited her in since Leo was too swamped with work to take a break.

``So, do you have lots of places you want to visit while you're here? Lord knows you'll have to entertain yourself. Leo won't have any time to do that,'' C.J. remarked.

``I know,'' Alanna agreed. ``There are a few things I do want to see but I mostly just want to relax. I don't want my vacation to be more exhausting than my work.''

C.J. laughed and nodded.

``I also want to spend some time with Mallory and Jenny. I don't get to see them very often.''

``Please tell Jenny that everyone says hello. We miss her.''

Then C.J. excused herself.

``I need to go and talk to Toby about a press briefing tomorrow.''

``Could I tag along or would I be interrupting?''

``Just as long as you know that everything you hear in this office is off the record.''

``Don't worry, C.J. I have no interest in gathering news while I'm here. Besides, I write about the theater, not politics,'' Alanna said, laughing.

As they walked, Alanna looked forward to spending more time with Toby. She wanted to observe him, see him in action. What better way than to watch him while he's working?

C.J. knocked on Toby's door while he was finishing up a phone call. Alanna glanced next door and saw Sam hard at work. Probably working on that speech Toby told him to rewrite. He looked up briefly and smiled at her through the glass. Alanna smiled and waved. Toby saw the interchange and felt his gut constrict.

He waved C.J. in and finished up his phone call.

``Alanna wants to sit in if that's okay,'' C.J. said as she sat down.

He would not look at Alanna but addressed himself to C.J. instead.

``I don't think so.''

``Why not?'' C.J. asked, surprised.

``She's a reporter, C.J.''

``She is in the room,'' Alanna remarked.

Toby glanced at Alanna briefly. ``I'm sorry,'' he said and turned back toward C.J. ``This is work, C.J., and I don't think it's a good idea for reporters - even vacationing reporters - to sit in on staff meetings.''

``Toby, I already covered this with Alanna.''

``No, C.J.,'' he said firmly and tilted his head to the side, indicating that the conversation was over.

Alanna stood up. ``If I don't know better, Mr. Zeigler, I would swear you had something against me,'' she said and walked out the door. What a stuffed shirt he was! How could I have been remotely interested in him? Sam was right.

``Um, Ms. McGarry,'' Toby called to her as she stood in the hallway. He reverted to her formal name just as she had done with him. She turned, expecting him to apologize for his rudeness. ``Please don't bother Sam. He has a lot of work to do,'' he said instead and closed the door in her face.

What a jerk!

Alanna walked around the corner and went into Leo's office. Luckily he wasn't busy when she arrived.

``Hey, Leo, I'm getting tired so I think I'll head to the house.''

``Okay, sure. I'll have Margaret call you a cab.''

``Is Jenny expecting me or should I call?''

``She's knows you're coming. I'll call her after you get in the cab.''

``Okay. Good night then.''

``Yeah, I might stop by later but I doubt it,'' he said, standing up and walking toward her.

Alanna laughed. ``You need to get a life, Leo.''

``This one keeps me busy enough,'' he said and kissed her on the cheek.

The cab took Alanna past the Lincoln and Jefferson monuments as it sped its way toward Jenny's house in Virginia. She thought about Toby as she rode and wondered why he was acting so hostile toward her. When we first met - well the second time really - in Leo's office, he seemed interested in me. Or he at least seemed to like me as a person. Then why the strange change of heart?

She couldn't find an answer no matter how much she turned it around. Alanna finally decided to give up. Men! The trouble was, despite Sam's warning and Toby's rude behavior, Alanna found that she was still interested in Toby. She wanted to get to know him better; find out what made him tick.

Jenny greeted Alanna when she arrived.

``It's so good to see you again. Please come in.''

``Are you sure it's no bother?''

``Of course not. Besides, the house feels so empty lately. I'm glad to have company.''

Jenny had prepared dinner and they sat down to eat and catch up.

``So, it sounds like to you miss Leo, Jenny.''

``Well, I would if he had ever been around when we were still together.''

``Any chance you two will reconcile?''

``I seriously doubt it, Alanna. I love Leo but I can't live with a man who puts his job before his marriage; no matter how important the job.''

Alanna nodded.

``And I certainly am not going to wait for him for the next 7 years. I'm too old for that,'' she said, with a sad smile.

Alanna spend most of the day Sunday with Jenny, shopping and sightseeing. They met Leo in Arlington for an early dinner. Leo seemed so happy to see Jenny, Alanna noticed. But their conversation was awkward except when they were talking about their daughter.