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* * *
Sam smiled, shaking his head in amazement as Anita got up from her chair and suggestively sauntered from the office. Then he turned to Josie and mused, "Josie, I think you're going to have your hands full with her."
Josie laughed and replied, "I never expected anything less from Anita. She's always been a handful. But I've got to tell you, Sam; she's a great friend. She's always been there for me when I needed her�always. She's very big- hearted, and under all that bravado, she's actually pretty insecure."
"Yeah," Sam agreed. "I kind of figured that out by listening to her talk about Gus. Is this the same Gus that's your boss?"
"Uh-huh. You know, I think they probably would be great together once they both got past being so stubborn�"
A flash of concern flickered in Sam's eyes. "You know, I keep wondering if I should have just kept my mouth shut. I mean, I don't want to see Anita to go through all that trouble for nothing." He looked up at Josie and asked, "Do you think Gus might actually have feelings for Anita? I'd hate to have sent her on a wild goose chase here."
Josie was touched that Sam already showed such concern for her friend's feelings. "Actually�yes, I do think Gus has feelings for her." She sat back in her chair, pulled an unsharpened pencil from her pencil cup and slid it between her fingers while she spoke. "You see, yesterday morning Anita was in here, as usual�asking me about what happened with you, incidentally." Josie laughed as Sam raised one eyebrow in comment. "Anyway, Gus came marching in here to talk to me and he snapped at her to get back to work, which he does every time he catches her in here with me. And usually Anita just comes back with a retort of some sort and ignores him."
Sam grinned because he could picture Anita doing just that, boss or no boss. "So what happened this time?"
"Well, that was the strange part. Anita took his criticism to heart and left my office practically in tears. And as soon as Gus was done with me, he mumbled something about going to find her to apologize. And trust me, Gus almost never apologizes to anyone. After that, I knew something was up�and this was before Anita even had told me about them kissing at the game."
"Really? Hmmm� maybe he does like her after all� Good." Sam paused for a minute, and then said, "But do you think Anita will actually be able to make the changes we've suggested to her? She doesn't seem the type to be that great with self-discipline."
Josie grinned, because Sam's assessment of Anita was pretty accurate. "Well, I'm sure it will be somewhat of a struggle for her, but if she wants it to work out badly enough, I think she can do it."
"Who can do what?" boomed a voice behind them. Sam turned in his chair and then stood up abruptly when he realized that the man glowering over them could only be Josie's boss Gus. He looked to be in his late thirties, and had the disheveled, outdated look of a man with way too much to do to even notice that he's hopelessly out of fashion. And the boss-like scowl was a dead giveaway as well.
"Geller, do I pay you to sit around and socialize?" Gus said, eyeing Sam for a moment before dismissively ignoring him. His eyes were trained on Josie.
But the new, improved Josie could take the heat from Gus�and dish it out. "No, you don't�but for God's sake, Gus, it's like what? 8:35? Come on, give me a break here�"
Gus raised an eyebrow at Josie's forceful reply but did not respond. Instead, he nodded back over his shoulder to indicate Sam. "What's he doing here?"
Sam bristled at that remark, but remained quiet because he saw the spark of anger light up in Josie's eyes. Instead he waited, allowing Josie to handle her boss in her own way.
Josie stood up, placed both hands on the desktop, and leaned across it to match Gus' intense gaze with her own. Then she said, "He is here to help me move my things to the new office, thanks for asking. And he has a name� It's Sam, and I'd appreciate it if you'd use it."
Sam crossed his arms across his chest and smiled proudly at Josie, impressed.
Gus was considerably less impressed. "Well, fine, whatever. But I don't want him here if the work in my bullpen is going to be disrupted like that. I looked up and it was like the parting of the Red Sea out there!"
Josie smiled with amusement, because it was the same mental picture she'd had at the time. "I'm sure they've gotten over their shock and amazement by now, Gus. After all, these are hard-nosed reporters we're talking about here. You know, the kind that take the bull by the balls?" Josie smirked.
Gus' only reply to this was a loud harrumph. He pulled a folded newspaper out from under his arm and tossed onto the desk in front of Josie so that the top half of the front page was face down. "There," he said gruffly, nodding toward the bottom half of the folded page. "There's your story."
Josie sat back down and picked up the paper. She saw the headline 'Never Been Kissed' Teacher Suspended and gasped. "My God, Gus�did you have to put it on the front page like that!? And with that headline!?"
"You wanted attention? You got attention," he stated matter-of-factly. "Besides, it's a scoop� and something everyone in Chicago is going to want to read about." Gus' eyes bored into Josie. "Wasn't that the point here? To get people to read it?"
"Yes�of course, but�" Josie trailed off, uncertain. This wasn't how she had envisioned it yesterday when she'd come up with the idea.
"I knew it was going to be a big story even before I got here," Gus grinned proudly. "The talk radio station I was listening to started a call-in poll." He turned to Sam, who looked aghast. "The tally was in your favor when I got out of the car�by a rather large margin, actually."
Gus looked back at Josie, rubbing his hands together with glee. "Boy, I wouldn't want to be Lanesong this morning! Serves her right for scooping us at the Prom�"
Sam looked over at Josie from behind Gus' back, scrunched up his eyebrows in question and mouthed, "Lanesong?"
Josie understood Sam's confusion, since he'd never been in the office before. But personally, she had heard this name from Gus' mouth more times than she could count. She looked at Sam and clarified, "Janeane Lanesong is the Editor-in-Chief at the Tribune."
Gus looked back at Sam briefly as he said, "Ahhhh, okay," but then turned back to look at Josie again. "And that's just the beginning, Josie! This is the first chance I've had to get away from my phone in an hour and a half. I've received calls from all over the country wanting to know how they can contact Sam for an interview."
"Oh, God," Josie groaned. "And what did you tell them?"
Gus looked like the cat that ate the canary. "I told them 'No Comment', of course." He turned to face Sam once again and asked, "I don't suppose your phone number is unlisted, is it?"
Sam shook his head in a silent, stunned no.
"Then I'd say you might want to screen all your phone calls for a while, because with reporters, it can only be a matter of time before they find you." Sam blanched at this news, thinking of the media circus that had been waiting for him in front of the school yesterday. Meanwhile, Gus added as an afterthought, "Oh, you might not want to stay at your place for a while, either."
Sam sank back down into the chair and rested his head in his hands, running his fingers through his hair. Suddenly, his hangover headache had returned in full force. He moaned, "This can't be happening. This can't be happening."
Gus looked down at Sam, who was slumped over in the chair in front of him, and felt an uncomfortable twinge of guilt. After all, maybe if he hadn't pushed Josie into trying to write her story about Sam's attraction to her in the first place, things would not have become the nightmare it now was for him. And Gus had had the unique opportunity of assessing Sam Coulson while he wasn't even aware of it, and had�albeit belatedly�realized that he was a man of honor and integrity. It would have been a miscarriage of justice to ruin his career, indeed his life, over a slanderous story such as the one he'd been trying to force Josie to write.
And now, watching the young man while he wiped his hands down his face in disbelief of all that had happened to him in the last two days, Gus knew he was about to do something he almost never did: admit he was wrong.
"Listen, Coulson, things are not necessarily as bad as they seem right now," Gus began.
Sam glanced up sharply at Gus for a moment and then snorted his reply and looked back down at the floor.
"No, really�" Gus said, reaching back behind him and grabbing the newspaper off of Josie's desk. "Here, read the article yourself." He dropped it into Sam's lap.
Sam glanced at the headline of the article staring up at him from his lap and flinched. As the words tumbled around in his brain, he realized that this man in front of him had planned to do exactly what the school board was now trying to do to him: to besmirch his honor, discredit his integrity, destroy his career, and ruin his life. All the anger, frustration, and hurt he had been feeling ever since the night of the prom bubbled up and spilled over. He demanded of Gus, "And how is this supposed to help me get my job back!?"
Josie cautioned, "Sam, honey�calm down�" Sam had no idea what Gus could be like when he was angry, and she didn't want Sam to find out.
But Sam was too far gone to be consoled. "No, Josie, I won't calm down!" He stood up, enraged, the paper tumbling to the floor at his feet. "I can't believe you give this man any respect, because he certainly has no respect for anyone else! This guy," he accused, pointing his finger at Gus, "is only about one thing: selling his damn newspapers. He doesn't care that he was toying with a man's life, indeed his whole existence! Hey, as long as sales are up, it's fine with him! All that matters is that the money rolls in and that he 'scoops' the Trib. And he doesn't give a damn who he has to trample, whose life he has to ruin, in order to do it!"
Josie looked up to see about five of her co-workers congregated close to her doorway, all with their mouths open in shock. No one ever spoke to Gus that way. They all�including Josie�waited for the inevitable eruption that occurred whenever anyone tried to question Gus Strauss about anything.
But it didn't come. Gus merely placed a calming hand on Sam's shoulder, sighed heavily and said, "I can't blame you for thinking that of me, Sam�especially in light of what has happened in the last two days. And at first, you might have been right about me and my intentions. Hell, I suppose you are right about that. I don't often stop to think how the story may affect those that are being written about. All I was thinking about was that Rigfort was pushing hard for a story and it really would have been a whizbanger�" That comment earned a scathingly dirty look from both Sam and Josie. Getting back on track, Gus continued, "But you need to believe me when I say that selling newspapers was not my motivator for this story."
Gus retrieved the front section of the paper from the floor and handed it to Sam again. "As a favor to Josie, and maybe just a little as an attempt to make up for my part in this mess, I wrote the article myself. And although it is a factual article, I tried to slant it as much in your direction as I felt I could ethically get away with. I've got to say that from what I've heard so far from all the different media sources covering this story, public sentiment is definitely on your side."
Sam looked for a long moment at the paper in his hands before replying, "Let me get this straight� Is this," he asked, pointing to the article, "supposed to be an apology?"
Gus stood ramrod straight and looked Sam directly in the eye. "Yes. Yes, I suppose it is."
There was a pregnant pause as Sam assessed Gus. Sam looked down again at the paper in his hand and then met Gus' eyes once again. Then Sam said, quietly and with great dignity, "Fine. I accept your apology."
Gus simply nodded and said, "Fine."
As Sam sat back down with newspaper in hand, Gus turned to leave the office. The people who had gravitated to the open door of Josie's office quickly scattered, but not before Gus had noticed them. He stalked out into the bullpen, placed his hands on his hips and shouted to the masses at large, "Asses and elbows, people! After all, the news doesn't sleep� and after today's triumph, you can bet the reporters at the Trib are dying to rub our faces in it! So get moving!" He clapped a couple of times for emphasis, and a few people jumped and started hurrying out of sight.
Gus nodded slightly, satisfied that he had made his point and then stuck his head back in the doorway of Josie's office. "Oh, and by the way�"
Both Sam and Josie looked back up at him expectantly.
"I thought you two might find it interesting that I just got off the phone with Gerald Kaufman� You know, the Superintendent of Schools for Metropolitan Chicago?"
Sam looked at Josie to see that her eyes had widened and she sucked in a breath and held it. 'Oh boy,' Sam thought, 'here it comes�'
Josie breathed in a small voice, "Was he upset?"
Gus barked out a short laugh and then leaned the weight of his body against the doorframe. "Upset? No. Absolutely red-in-the-face livid? Yes."
"Ohmigosh!" Josie exclaimed. "What did he say?"
"Basically that what he and his school board decide to do regarding a private school matter was quote, 'none of my God-damned business,' unquote. Then he demanded I stop distribution of this morning's issue because the article," Gus gave Sam a pointed look, "made his administration look like a bunch of monkeys."
Josie looked horrified. "Does this mean you're in trouble, Gus?" she asked, afraid to hear the answer.
"Hell, no! It means I hit a nerve, which is what good reporting is all about, Geller! Didn't you learn anything when you were undercover!?" Gus let out a long sigh, shook his head in amazement, and then continued. "I was unsympathetic to his plight, to say the least. I told him that the public had a right about to know about the way they were handling this 'investigation,' since he apparently insisted on resurrecting the Salem witch trials�"
"Ouch," Sam commented with a smile.
Gus grinned at Sam, pleased that he enjoyed his wit. "And I told him that if he had really expected a retraction, he would have called hours earlier. Do you want to know what he said to that?"
Josie and Sam both nodded.
"He said that he would have�if only he could have gotten the phones to stop ringing. Apparently, every phone line and fax line in his office were jammed with calls. He had to use the personal cell phone in his car just to call me�" Gus grinned in triumph.
In return, a slow smile spread across Josie's face.
Sam looked from Gus to Josie, not comprehending how this was somehow good news. "I don't understand� Why are you two smiling?"
"Don't you see, Sam?" Josie explained. "It means that people care. It means that people are so upset about the way you're being treated that they had to voice their displeasure. It means that people want to help you, help us. And the article's only been out a few hours�By this time tomorrow, Superintendent Kaufman will hopefully be swamped with letters from all over the country."
"And it gives us more leverage, Sam. You see, suddenly the superintendent's 'private school matter' has become very, very public and the press will scrutinize every aspect of the situation. Kaufman is going to have to walk a tightrope for the next four days just to keep his department out of a media relations fiasco. It gives us our voice back." Josie concluded with a satisfied nod of her head.
Hope lit up Sam's eyes, but it was a fragile hope. "Do you really think it might help?" he asked.
Gus pushed himself away from Josie's doorframe and started to walk off. Turning back a moment, he addressed Josie. "Well, I've done all I can. The rest is up to you." He continued on to his office and closed the door behind him with a firm click.
Josie rounded the desk and shut the door behind him. Then she turned toward Sam and crouched down beside where he sat. She laid her hand on his forearm and looked up at him earnestly, saying, "I can't even imagine how difficult all this must be for you right now. I am so sorry I got you into this mess."
Sam turned in the chair to put a hand on either side of her face. "Josie, you know I've told you before that I'd willingly go through hell just for a chance to be with you."
A tear escaped from Josie's eyes and trickled down her cheek until in ran into Sam's fingers. She sniffled just a little, trying valiantly to maintain her composure. She let out a tiny self-deprecating laugh and said, "Yeah, but I'll bet you didn't think you'd actually have to do it."
Sam smiled tenderly and joked, "No, I suppose not." More seriously he continued, "But I'll do it, because nothing means more to me than having you to love. Nothing."
Josie wrapped her hands around his wrists and whispered fervently, "I won't rest until they give you your job back. I refuse to give up."
"I know, honey, I know," Sam soothed. The newspaper started to slip out of his lap and he removed his right hand from her face to retrieve it before it fell. Looking at her left hand, which now lay on his knee, he patted it softly and asked, "So, do you already know what Gus' article says?"
Josie stood up and wiped the moisture from her cheeks with the palms of her hands before replying, "No. I gave him the facts and the names, but I have no idea what he did with them�"
Sam gestured back to her desk with the newspaper and then said, "Well, then, why don't you sit down, and I'll read it to you. We can be surprised together, okay?"
Josie gave Sam a watery smile and murmured, "Okay." She crossed back behind her desk again and settled into her black leather chair.
Sam shook out the newspaper to straighten the crinkles and then creased the fold line so that it wouldn't flop over. Then, clearing his throat, he began to read:
'NEVER BEEN KISSED' TEACHER SUSPENDED By Augustus Strauss, Editor-in-Chief
Sam Coulson, Staff Reporter Josie Geller's "Never Been Kissed" mystery man, was suspended without pay yesterday pending an investigation into the possibility of misconduct. Allegations against Coulson include undue influence upon a minor and abuse of power, according to Mary Webb, the Media Relations Coordinator for the Office of the Superintendent of Schools for Metropolitan Chicago.
Although Webb did admit that Coulson's prior conduct record had been flawless, she was quick to point out that the allegations involved in the case were "very disturbing," explaining that the sudden suspension and immediate investigation into the matter was "for the protection and welfare of the student body." Although Webb refused to elaborate further, she did intimate that it was Coulson's questionable involvement with one student in particular that prompted the probe.
A fact that Webb would not confirm, but was later confirmed by South Glen South High's principal Jack Kerdan, was that the "student" Webb mentioned was none other than Josie Geller herself.
Kerdan explained, "The school board felt that Ms. Geller's actual age and status were irrelevant because it is believed that Coulson was unaware of Geller's true identity during the time in question. The board's concern is whether an inappropriate relationship developed between the two before Ms. Geller's true identity was revealed. They believed it highly improbable that such a strong attraction as the two displayed Sunday evening could have been cultivated over the span of less than one week."
"Gee, thanks Jack," Sam commented wryly, then continued to read aloud:
Geller revealed her true identity to her "classmates" at South Glen South's Senior Prom, held last Thursday evening at the Lake Shore Country Club. It is unknown whether or not Coulson had knowledge of Geller's age prior to this date.
Coulson's suspension, which came just one day after his dramatic appearance at the Illinois State Championship baseball game, has left students and colleagues alike stunned.
Aldys Wells, a student in Coulson's senior English Literature class, commented, "I have never met a teacher so dedicated to his work and to his students. He has the utmost of respect for his position as mentor as well as respect for his students. The idea that anyone would accuse him of misconduct is completely ludicrous, but especially in this case. Ms. Geller isn't, and never was, a minor or a student. They are two mature, responsible adults who have discovered they love each other very much. The idea of being punished for this seems, to me at least, to be an incredible miscarriage of justice."
Wells, who sat next to Geller in Coulson's class, said that she had never witnessed any type of questionable behavior on the part of Coulson, with Geller or with any other student.
Sam looked up from the paper for a moment to share a look with Josie. They were both impressed with Aldys' vote of confidence. Sam continued:
Adam Christiansen, a Chemistry teacher at the high school, said this of Coulson, "Sam has got to be one of the most genuinely talented and gifted teachers I know�or don't know for that matter. He has an incredible rapport with the kids, but he has always maintained his professional distance. Frankly, I'm dumbfounded by the charges, because he is an upstanding, honest, trustworthy man who would never even consider doing the sorts of things that he is being accused of."
Even Principal Kerdan found the allegations against Coulson hard to believe. "I truly feel that Sam is of such high moral character that even if he did find himself attracted to one of his students, he would never abuse his status as a trusted authority figure nor take advantage of any minor as a result of that attraction."
Sam smiled at this and said, "Well that certainly makes up for the stuff he said earlier, don't you think?" Josie smiled and nodded, but did not speak. Sam read:
Although Superintendent of Schools Gerald Kaufman could not be reached for comment, it was confirmed by his office that a formal public hearing has already been set for this Friday, May 21st at 8 pm, to be held in the South Glen South High School's Hersey Auditorium.
Anyone wishing to gain more information regarding this matter should contact Superintendent Gerald Kaufman for details. Kaufman can be reached by telephone at 310-555-3440, by fax at 310-555-3450, or in writing at: Office of the Superintendent of Schools for Metropolitan Chicago, 350 N. 15th Street, 2nd Floor, Chicago, IL 37814.
When Sam had finished reading, Josie blinked twice and then breathed simply, "Wow. That was good."
"Yeah," Sam agreed. Then a little sheepishly, he admitted, "Maybe I was a little harsh with Gus. I should have given him more credit, I guess."
Josie comforted him saying, "Well, I can't really blame you, since pretty much everything you said about him was true. It's just that no one ever gets up in his face and yells at him like that. I really thought Gus was going to blow a gasket, you know? I couldn't believe he took it so well�"
Sam chuckled. "Yeah, well, I'm not usually one to do things like that, either� so I guess there's a first time for everything." Folding the section of the paper back up, he plopped it on the corner of Josie's desk. Standing and stretching, he looked around the barren room and suggested, "So�do you want to get going with this stuff?"
With all the turmoil this morning, Josie had almost forgot why Sam was there in the first place. "Oh�yeah�right. Let's get to work."
* * *
A half an hour later, all of Josie's personal effects now lined the wall of her new office. It was only slightly bigger than her old one in the Copy Editing section, but this one had a nice view of the river, and it was across the building from her old space.
Placing the last box on top of Josie's new desk, Sam asked, "Do you want me to stay and help you put the stuff away?"
Josie thought about it for a moment, and then replied, "No, thanks, Sam, although it's nice of you to offer. I haven't decided how I want to decorate in here yet."
"Okay," he responded. A thought occurred to Sam and he asked, "So, will your old assistant be moving with you, or will you get a new one?"
Josie thought of Merkin's obvious lack of talent as an assistant and shuddered. "I don't know yet�and I'm not sure I want to find out."
Sam laughed and agreed, "Yeah, he doesn't seem to be the brightest bulb in the lamp, does he?"
"Well it's not so much that as he tries to do as little work as he can get away with." Josie sighed. "If they make me keep him, I guess I'll just have to whip him into shape." Sam looked as if he were ready to leave, so Josie asked him, "Call me later?"
"Sure," he replied. "That is, if the switchboard can find you�" he trailed off and laughed. "I've got to get back to my place and finish up a few things before the swarm of reporters arrives�" Sam smiled wryly at the thought. "Just do me a favor� If you're going to call, talk to the answering machine so I can pick it up, okay? From now on, I'm going to be screening my calls�for obvious reasons�" He rolled his eyes for emphasis.
"Okay," Josie agreed with a grin.
Sam walked forward and pulled Josie into his arms and kissed her softly and sweetly. As he leaned back away from her, he sighed and said, "Thank you, Josie� For believing in me and for sticking by me. I can't tell you how much it means to me to have you here supporting me."
Josie wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a quick squeeze. "Why wouldn't I? I love you, remember?"
"Oh, yes� I remember," Sam said solemnly.
Neither of them really wanted to leave the other, but they both realized they had work to do. "Okay," Sam said as he placed his hand on the doorknob, "How about I call you around 1-ish and we can catch a late lunch?"
"Sounds perfect."
"All right; I'll see you later, hon." Sam gave Josie's hand one last squeeze, and then opened the door, walked through the open doorway and around the corner out of sight.
* * *
Sam's exit through the bullpen was considerably less impressive than his entrance had been, lending credence to Josie's statement about the reporters being 'hard-nosed': he was pretty much ignored, except for Anita, who looked up briefly from her desk and waved as he walked by. He waved back and said, "Bye, Anita. I'll see you later."
Anita smiled and replied, "Ditto."
Luckily for Sam, the elevator was empty for his descent back to ground level, a fact that immensely relieved him. He didn't think he could handle any more stares right now.
Sam hiked back up the few blocks to the parking garage and retrieved his car. Signaling for a right turn from the lot, he headed toward his apartment.
Sam debated whether he wanted to turn on the radio or not, since he certainly didn't want to hear perfect strangers dissecting his life over the airwaves. But boredom won out over aversion, and he twisted the knob and pushed the preset button to WXCD, a "Classic Rock" station.
After listening to a couple of commercials, the deejay announced the upcoming song as "Tainted Love" by the group Soft Cell.
"Now there's a song I haven't heard in a while," Sam commented aloud to himself.
At first, Sam simply listened as the song's introduction played, but the rhythm got to him and he started to keep time with his thumbs on the steering wheel. As the song played on, Sam could still remember the lyrics and quietly sang along as he turned his car onto his street, "Once I ran to you� Now I run from you� This tainted love you've given; I give you all a boy can give you� Take my tears and that's not nearly all�Tainted love, Tainted love�"
Sam stopped singing as he turned his key in the ignition and the music died out, having parked his car in the parking lot behind his apartment.
Sighing, he reached into the back seat and retrieved his overnight bag and then climbed out of the car and locked it. 'No sense in making my presence known unless I have to,' he thought, reasoning to himself why he had decided to park in back, even though the street in front of the building was practically deserted.
As he walked up the back steps leading to his apartment, Sam thought again about how incredibly horrible�with the obvious exception of Josie's presence, of course�the past two days had been. Putting his key into his front door lock, he said aloud to himself, shaking his head, "There is just no way this day could get any worse�"
But as he turned to shut the door behind him, he realized that his assessment was terribly, terribly wrong. Because just walking out from the bedroom, dressed in nothing but his bathrobe, was Lara.
* * *