CATHY ON MY MIND
Our reservations were messed up so they don’t have the required doubles for the assistants. They were really sorry and therefore offered us a suite with two bedrooms and a bathroom. The suite is really quite something and the sitting room looks really nice too. There is only one problem with it. It’s not empty. In fact, it’s full of people.
We arrived here half an hour ago, which was three o’clock. In the morning, I might add. We checked in, they checked in. By them I mean our bosses. Then Sam and Josh, who were sharing a room, decided that they were not at all tired so they appeared in our suite. CJ was looking for them, for she wasn’t tired either, and found them here. That’s why the sitting room is full of people.
Margaret disappeared in the bathroom, saying that her boss didn’t need her assistance. Carol, Ginger and I are sitting here with our bosses, listening to them bantering and teasing. We really don’t have the energy to partake; we, unlike them, are dead beat. Toby is not here, he came down with something so he is nursing himself back to health with a whiskey in his room. Good, because sick Toby is even more grumpy than healthy Toby. Also I’m quite tired of his and Sam’s bickering.
Take yesterday, they were arguing over the proper use of semi-colons in a speech. As if someone saw whether it was a semi-colon or a comma. I mean it’s a speech. Hello? It’s spoken! When Josh pointed this out to them (and I could have kissed him when he interrupted the Dynamic Duo), he received death glares from both Toby and Sam. I gave him my dessert as consolation. I mean no one dared to interrupt Toby yesterday, not even CJ who usually smacks down these kinds of arguments.
And the day before that they were arguing about Ginger. Sam said he needed her and Toby said Ginger was his assistant. Ginger was grinning over the argument, but Toby was really not keen to ‘share’ her with Sam. He stopped me afterwards and told me that I either find an assistant for Sam or a second assistant for him. As if that was such an easy task! I interviewed three girls since I found Ginger, but all three of them were disappointments when they spotted Sam. The last one was audacious to the point where I had to wrestle Sam out of her grasp. And I’m not kidding, people!
It started with a misunderstanding when I mentioned that Toby had a partner, and I beckoned Sam closer to introduce him to Lillian. When Sam left she mentioned how the best of them were either gay or taken. I cleared up the misunderstanding, and she looked ravenous. Only I didn’t think that it was ravenous at that time. I thought she was delighted by the prospect of working for Toby. I even introduced her to Margaret and Ginger, and Lillian was really sweet. But two hours later, when I entered Toby’s office to find Sam for Josh, she was sitting on his lap, trying to unbutton his shirt. Sam threw me a ‘help me!’ look, and I ‘entangled’ them. I was so glad that I didn’t introduce her to Toby or Leo. Since then I’m pretty cautious although I didn’t give up hope to find a second assistant for Toby.
“I’m hungry, let’s raid the mini-bar!” Sam says enthusiastically, interrupting my thoughts.
“You can’t,” Ginger tells him, her voice a mere whisper, she is hoarse. She was with me and Josh at the campaign office in Florida. We were trying to sort out the place, she was helping me with the volunteers.
“Why not?” Sam asks, his eyes wide with surprise.
“Leo forbade us,” Josh tells him.
“Oh, yeah, I remember,” Sam says, cowering as if Leo himself berated him.
Yeah, Sam and Josh raided the mini-bar in California, and Leo made them pay for it. In the same breath he also forbade them (in no uncertain terms) to ever touch or go close to a mini-bar. I told them not to, but they were insistent. And after all, Josh is my boss. I can’t exactly tell him what to do. Okay, I can tell him what to do and what not to do, and sometimes, he even listens. May I state that that was not one of those times?
“Let’s call room service,” Sam suggests. Honestly, the man must live on another planet or something. Room service at four o’clock in the morning?
“Sam, my dear,” CJ starts in a sweet voice, “you have to think with that brilliant mind of yours, there is no room service at this hour of the day.”
“Yeah, figures,” Sam admits, and then looks at Josh for advice.
“I don’t think the concierge would allow the pizza into the room,” Josh tells him. “And I’m not keen on leaving this room. I’m pretty grateful that it’s not moving under my legs.”
“We could raid the kitchen,” CJ suggests. She must be tired though, otherwise she wouldn’t have come up with such an idiotic idea. “Or rather not. I can imagine tomorrow’s headlines. Bartlet for America Campaign Staff Raids Local Hotel.”
“CJ is right,” I tell Josh and Sam, throwing them a warning glare to banish every wicked idea, scheme or plan from their thoughts.
“But I’m hungry,” Josh whines. “Sam, it’s all your fault! I wasn’t hungry when we arrived.”
“Of course not, you were high on caffeine,” Sam retorts. “I’m hungry, and I’ll eat the peanuts from the mini-bar.”
“Sam, don’t,” Ginger and I plead with him. “I’ll go down and see if they have something to eat,” I offer then. Frankly, Leo’s wrath is not something you want to bring upon yourself. And since our bosses are in our room, Leo would expect us to foil them in their endeavor to raid the mini-bar thus bringing shame on the Bartlet for America campaign.
“I’m going to sleep, Leo expects me at 6.30,” Margaret says, after stepping out from the bathroom. “I’d be forever grateful if you could keep your voice down.”
“Yes, Margaret,” they chorus, and I leave the room. Yes, they’ll try to keep it down. Two words: Leo’s wrath. Yeah, Leo is very protective of Margaret.
I’m waiting for the elevator to arrive, humming some melody I don’t even recognize until it registers with me. Yeah, I’m humming Georgia on My Mind; since we are in Georgia I’m not at all surprised. When I enter the elevator I notice some confetti on the floor. Maybe there was a party tonight at the hotel. Maybe it’s still in full swing. I could sneak in and get the guys something to eat. Or rather not. I don’t think Leo would approve of sneaking and stealing.
When I arrive downstairs I see a sign that there was a wedding in the ball room. Lily Su and Matthew Summer tied the knot today, or more precisely, yesterday. The wedding party must be over because I don’t hear anything when I reach the ball room. I peek inside. The room is still fully lit, but there is no one inside. Only the leftovers. And a pretty girl who I only notice after I step in.
“I’m almost done,” she says.
“Oh, I’m not with the hotel,” I tell her. “I was just looking for something to eat. We’ve just arrived and my boss is pretty hungry,” I explain her, talking fast.
“Well, knock yourself out,” she says, her voice a bit harsh when she gestures around. “There is plenty left over.”
“Thank you,” I say, a bit ashamed, but when I think of Sam and Josh my shame vanishes. They are hungry, they deserve a meal. I spot a tray and I place two big plates on it. One for the salty things, one for the sweet ones. “Was it nice?”
“You mean the wedding?” she asks, clearly taken aback that I spoke to her. I nod, and she nods too. “It was nice. Everything was perfect,” she says, the bitterness creeping back into her voice. There is a story here, and I want to know it.
“I remember my sister’s wedding, she wanted everything perfect,” I tell her, I don’t even know why. I don’t like speaking of my sister; we are not best chums, to tell the truth. “Her friend planned the whole thing, but it was her first wedding so there were a few bumps along the road.”
“This was my first too,” the woman says, gesturing around.
“The decoration is really ingenious and inspired,” I tell her, and a look at the Cherokee Rose in her hair tells me that she really gave everything to make this event fabulous.
“Thank you,” she says, smiling for the first time. She is beautiful and nice when she smiles.
“May I ask you something?”
“Of course,” she says.
“Why are you still here?” I ask her gently, I don’t want to sound judging or harsh or something to that effect.
“I was just thinking,” she says.
“About the wedding or life in general?” I ask her.
“About the bastard who married my sister,” she says, her voice cold again.
“Matthew?” I ask tentatively.
“Yeah, he was hitting on me pretty much the whole night,” she confesses.
“I’m really sorry for your sister,” I tell her, and she sends me a little smile.
“Thank you. I tried to tell her, I tried to convince her to annul the marriage, but she wouldn’t listen. She said I was sour because she is younger and already married.”
“That wasn’t very nice of her,” I say, coming closer to her. I place my hand on her upper arm, and she looks up at me.
“Are you trying to console me or are you hitting on me?” This sends me into stitches.
“The first one. Although I have to tell you I think you are pretty.”
“Thanks,” she accepts my compliment with a grin, and then I look around a last time.
“Okay, I have to go back before my boss and the others starve,” I tell her, lifting up the tray.
“How many people are waiting for these crumbs?” she asks, looking at my tray.
“Five, I’m the sixth. Although I’m not sure whether CJ, Carol or Ginger want to eat something at this hour of the day,” I tell her.
“That won’t be enough. Your boss is a male?” she asks me.
“Yeah, and there is Sam. They were both pretty hungry,” I tell her.
“Okay, let me help you,” she says and throws two plates onto an empty tray. She piles food on them without being picky and then she grabs a box. “It’s a cake,” she explains when she sees my inquiring look. “They didn’t want to take it with them.”
“The newlyweds?” I ask.
“Yeah. Okay, I actually hid it,” she confesses. “My new brother-in-law ordered this cake to have some fun with it on their honeymoon.”
“And he told you to order it?” I ask incredulously, and she nods. “And then started hitting on you?” Another nod confirms that yes, Matthew Summer was a jerk. “Come on, we’ll tell about this to CJ, she will have an idea what to do with him.”
“Who is CJ?” she asks.
“Spokesperson for the Bartlet for America campaign,” I tell her. “We will spend the next week here in Georgia. This is our first stop, and we’ve just arrived.”
“Do you enjoy working on the campaign?” she asks me, when we leave the ball room.
“It’s my life now,” I tell her. “I feel like I’m doing something important even if it’s only being an assistant to the Deputy Campaign Manager.”
“I was a volunteer during the last elections,” she tells me, while we enter the elevator. Her next sentence makes my follow-up question redundant, so I forget it. Yup, she was working for the Democratic candidate. “I was working in the Charlotte office of the Richards for President Campaign, it was pretty much dull work, but I watched the players and they seemed to enjoy it. And I didn’t mind the dull either, it was worth a few credits.”
“You’ve studied PoliSci?” I ask her. And here I was thinking about hiring her for Sam.
“At Belmont Abbey. It was my minor. English was my major.” Wow, she could be a right choice. But I bet she has a much better paying job than the one we could offer her.
“You are from North Carolina?”
“From Charlotte. But my mom is from Athens. She moved back here after the divorce.” The elevator stopped.
“So you have a BA?” I ask again.
“Yes. I wanted to study Law at Harvard or Princeton but wasn’t admitted the first time around and now I just don’t have the drive to do it again,” she tells me. “By the way, I’m Cathy Su.” She tells me when I stop in front of our suite’s door. We can’t shake hands, so we exchange a smile instead.
“Donna Moss. Nice to meet you. You work in Charlotte?” I ask her, hoping she doesn’t find me too inquisitive. Some say I’m nosey, Josh says I’m incurably curious, and CJ says I’m interested in people. I like CJ’s explanation the best, although I was touched when Josh came to my defense when I was accused of prying.
“No, I work for my mom, she has a little flower shop here in Athens,” she tells me.
“You work in a flower shop with a BA in English?”
“It’s a job, it pays my rent,” she gets defensive.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to sound like a snob, especially while having no degree at all, but that’s a waste of talent,” I tell her my opinion.
“It’s not like everyone was thrilled with my English major. They said I should have swapped my major and minor and then they would have given me a job,” she says, the sarcasm in her tone cannot be missed.
“Well, you could join our campaign,” I offer her.
“I don’t think that I could be more than a secretary, and I don’t want to be one. Been there, done that, didn’t like it,” she admits.
“I see. What about assistant?” I ask her.
“That’s a glorified secretary, right?” Cathy asks back, and I try not to take it personally. I’m more than a secretary; besides, secretaries are people just like everyone. I know about being a secretary and I know why Cathy doesn’t want to be one, so I’m not offended personally but maybe I am nonetheless. I swallow, count to ten and then speak up.
“Okay, you’d be required to file, type, answer the phones and make reservations, but you would also be doing research, memos and be a sounding board,” I tell her just like I told Ginger a month ago.
“Are you serious?” Cathy asks me.
“Yes, I am. We are looking for two assistants. You could be one of them.”
“I don’t bring coffee for anyone,” she states. Yup, definitely the right choice, I think as I congratulate myself.
“And you are not required to,” I reassure her.
“You said you were an assistant. Why were you downstairs, looking for food for your boss?” she asks suspiciously.
“I wanted to head off a catastrophe which would have sent Leo McGarry on the warpath, and believe me, you don’t want to cross him when he is on the warpath. Being Josh’s assistant, I can’t exactly avoid Leo, so I have to make sure that he behaves,” I explain it to her. “I couldn’t let him loose in the hotel.”
“So you are his babysitter?” she asks me.
“In a way, yes. I don’t mind. He is a good boss, I learn loads of stuff from him. Admittedly, he can be a jerk, but other times he is considerate and sweet.”
“And you are in love with him,” she states rather than asks.
“Yeah, there is that,” I admit. “But I have it under control. At least that’s what I keep telling myself,” I add with a self-deprecating chuckle.
“And I would work for…” she asks, leaving the Josh-topic alone for which I’m really eternally grateful.
“Sam Seaborn. Speechwriter extraordinaire and senior advisor to the Governor,” I tell her. I figured that Toby and Cathy wouldn’t work well together. But Sam and Cathy could be a good team. “He is a sweet and handsome guy.”
“How handsome?” she asks me with a frown.
“Very handsome,” I admit. “Is that a problem?”
“I don’t think so, unless he has green eyes and black hair,” she tells me.
“Blue eyes.”
“Okay then,” she tells me, and I knock on the door.
“We need Leo’s seal of approval, but I don’t think he will oppose,” I add before the door opens.
Ginger pokes her head out and lets out a sigh of relief. Yeah, I know, I left before the Whining Duo got into full swing. Sam is sitting on the sofa, Carol is sitting in one of the plush chairs, and Josh and CJ stand next to each other.
“Donna!” Josh exclaims. “You are back! With food!”
“Keep it down, Josh!” I admonish him. “If you wake Margaret…” I don’t have to end the sentence; he cowers even at the thought of Leo.
“Okay, I was just glad that you found your way back to us. And that you brought food. And a little friend,” he adds then and sits down next to Sam.
“Should I be offended by that ‘little’ remark, Donna?” Cathy asks me.
“No, that’s just Josh,” I tell her.
“He tries to be funny but often offends people with his witless and thoughtless remarks,” CJ tells Cathy and leans down, looking Josh straight in the eyes, trying to intimidate him by her posture.
“Donna, I’m hungry,” Josh whines, and after CJ leaves him alone, I give in.
“There is food on the tray for you,” I place down the tray in front of him. “No cakes though,” I warn him.
“But…”
“You were high on caffeine earlier, I don’t want you to get high on sugar now,” I tell him matter-of-factly.
“Okay, but then this plate is only mine,” Josh says pouting, and hogs one of the big plates.
“Now, be nice, Joshua and share,” I tell him, imitating my grandmother’s voice.
“No!” he decides to play the three year old act with me.
“Not even with me?” I ask him in a gentle voice.
“Okay, you can have some,” he says, and then pulls me down next to him. “Who is your friend?” he then stage whispers to me, seeing Cathy eying Sam who hogged the other plate.
“Everybody, this is Cathy Su, I met her downstairs. Cathy, these are CJ Cregg, Carol Fitzgerald, Ginger Taylor, Sam Seaborn and Josh Lyman,” I make introductions and then continue, “Cathy organized her sister’s wedding. And tonight’s food was donated by her,” I add finally.
“Thank you, Cathy,” they chorus and dig in.
“I would like to talk to Leo tomorrow, Josh. Could you ask him to meet me and Cathy for five minutes?” I ask him in a whisper while the others talk to Cathy about the wedding.
“Why?” he wants to know.
“Cathy’s Sam’s new assistant,” I tell him.
“You’ve just decided to hire Cathy for Sam? I thought you were looking for a new assistant for Toby,” he says taken aback.
“I’m still looking for her or him but I found Cathy for Sam,” I whisper back to him, and then look up. There is too much silence in the room. Everybody is staring at us. No wonder, the picture is the embodiment of impropriety, our shoulders touch, and we are eating from the same plate. During our little conversation Josh pushed food aside that I like, and I pointed out stuff to him that he might like. This definitely needs a save. If someone asks something Josh might realize that I’m in love with him. I couldn’t bear the humiliation. “Cathy has a BA in English. PoliSci was her minor, and she helped in the Charlotte office during the last presidential campaign,” I try with misdirection. I succeed; they turn their attention to Cathy. “And I asked Cathy to come on board and be my fellow assistant.”
“I thought Josh didn’t need a second assistant,” Ginger said.
“Not for Josh. Once Leo approves, Cathy will be Sam’s assistant,” I drop the bomb, and Sam suddenly sits upright. He returns Cathy’s gaze and then sends her a little smile. When Cathy shows no sign of melting or thoughts of ravishing Sam, I’m reassured that I chose right once again. I just hope that Leo approves. Now, all I need is another secretary for Toby.
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