Exclusive 3/5
By Lacy
Left alone in the room, Donna's eyes are still glued to the pink Post-
it note CJ handed her.
"Are you going to be okay?" I ask.
"Huh?" Her head jerks up as though she's just remembering that I am
in the room. "Oh, yeah," she answers. "Bristol Wallace, Josh."
"Yeah," I respond, eloquently.
"Bristol Wallace."
"I got that."
"She's...I mean...Bristol Wallace wants to interview me."
"What are you going to do about it?" Her forehead screws up when I
ask my question and her voice becomes pensive.
"I don't know, Josh. What should I do about it?"
"It's up to you," I say, shrugging my shoulders.
"Don't do that, Josh. It's not up to me. It's up to us. I mean,
isn't that what all this has been about? Us? I think this is a
decision we should make together."
Wishing I had more time to discuss this with her in detail, I sink
into my chair. She drops into the seat across from my desk.
"I can't make this decision for you, Donna. All I can really do is
be supportive of the choice you make. Which makes me a really good
boyfriend, I think I should point out."
"Significant Other," she says, her face showing clearly the negative
opinion of CJ's chosen option.
"Whatever. Anyway, what do you want to do?"
"I never expected this to be fodder for the all-powerful press
machine."
"I don't think anyone did. Look, Donna, Wallace can be a barracuda
when she wants to be. On the other hand, like CJ said, she can be
delicate and respectful of your privacy on certain issues."
"She makes people cry, Josh."
"She has a way of finding emotional vulnerabilities. Of all the
interviews you've seen her do where she makes her subject cry do you
end up liking the person more or less? She's good at showing the
public the personal side of the subject. I think that's why CJ chose
her. That's why people who don't normally do interviews do them with
Bristol Wallace."
"So, you think I should do it."
"I didn't say that. I guess, my opinion is that if you're going to
do an interview with anyone, Bristol Wallace will do it right."
"Okay."
"And if she doesn't, I'll bury her."
"Promise?" That got a smile out of her.
"Cross my heart," I respond. "Think about it Donna. The television
media is clamoring to hear from you. If we try to hide from them it
only makes them more ravenous. An exclusive just might be enough to
get them off our backs. If you want we can talk about it more
tonight, okay?"
Reading my signals, she checks the slim watch on her wrist and stands
from her chair as she opens my appointment book.
"You have a meeting with an aide from Perry's office in fifteen
minutes." She speaks over her shoulder as she heads back to her desk.
Senator Perry. I am flipping through manila folders on my desk,
searching for the numbers I need for the meeting. I am drowning in a
sea of folders that all look the same.
"Donna!"
"Yes, Josh?" She discreetly returns my shout.
"Where are the numbers for the meeting with Perry's lackey?"
"Under the binder with the SEC's proposal." She says this as though
I should already know.
I am out of my chair and standing at my door in half a second.
"I can't find it."
"Did you even look?" She knows me too well.
"Why should I look when you know right where it is?"
She sighs, exasperatedly and strides past me into my office. She
leans over the front of my desk (which gives me a really delicious
view of her legs, by the way) and whips the folder from its hiding
place. We've played this game a thousand times before, and now I
realize why I love it so much.
"Thanks."
"Josh," she says, quirking a single eyebrow. "When Allan Dimitri
gets here, you might want to refrain from referring to him as Perry's
lackey."
"I'll take that under advisement," I smile.
"Can I get back to work now?" she asks.
"What are you standing around here for?"
For the next fifteen minutes she flits about the bullpen as I review
the materials for the meeting. She types, she files, she answers
phone calls -- all while I review. It's amazing how more aware her I
am, even if I can only see a small part of the bullpen through my
office door.
I hear her laughing and talking with someone who has a decidedly male
voice. He speaks again and her laughter floats into my office.
Okay, I can admit it when my curiosity gets the best of me. I'm out
of my office before I have the chance to take another breath. That's
when I see Tall, Dark, and Handsome with his arms around my
girlfriend...hell...Significant Other. That's going to take some
getting used to. The 'Significant Other part, not the Tall-Dark-and-
Handsome-with-his-arms-around-my-Donna part. God, that even sounded
bad in my head.
"Donna?" I can't help it. The green-eyed monster has taken over my
mouth and is using it for its own nefarious purposes.
"Josh," she laughs. She has no clue that I'm about to rip into Tall,
Dark and Handsome. "This is Allan Dimitri," she explains. "Senator
Perry's aide."
'Great,' I think. 'I can make sure he never works in this town
again.'
"Mr. Lyman." Tall, Dark and Handsome offers his hand. "I was just
telling Donna that I saw the papers this morning."
"He was congratulating us, Josh. Isn't that sweet?"
"Josh," I say, holding out my hand. "Do you two know each other?"
"I went out with Donna's roommate a couple of times," he answers,
quickly. Perhaps he's realizing that his hug did not go unnoticed.
"I see," I answer. I'm still not quite over my desire destroy any
chance this guy has for a future in politics -- or a future at all.
"So," I say. "Senator Perry sent you to discuss the DLO numbers?"
"Yes."
"Why don't you come into my office? Would you like some coffee? A
bagel?"
"No, thank you," he responds. "I'm fine."
I turn toward my office and Tall, Dark and -- I mean -- Allan Dimitri
follows me inside. I close the door behind us and glance down at the
man sitting in the chair across from desk. He's young and just this
side of green. I smile in the friendliest way I can manage. I'm
going to tear this guy to shreds.
TBC
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