A Friend in Deed Chapter 3:
Chapter 3
Donna's POV
I think Josh may have gone round the bend. I know the whole
Mendoza/secret plan to fight inflation thing stressed him out last
week, but today he has been acting quite bizarre.
It all seemed to start when an old friend of his from college dropped
by with Chris Wick: Ben Abrahms. Now don't get me wrong, Ben is
handsome and charming and I enjoyed flirting with him a little;
particularly when it annoyed Joshua. However, I didn't expect it to
lead to anything. Josh usually spares no time in explaining the hands
off policy to anyone who wanders too close to me.
You see, it's a little game we play. I pretend to be interested in
someone else, and he has his fun swatting them away like flies and
ruining any chance of me having a relationship with anyone besides
him. That way I can test his interest and he can claim me without
actually having to, you know, admit it or anything. What? It works
for us.
Today was different though. Although he was initially irked by the
whole bringing Ben coffee thing, a few minutes later, he sends Ben
out to my desk to ask me out! That is not how we play the game,
ladies and gentlemen. So, after checking in with him, our visual non-
verbal cuing is exceptional, he gives me a shrug of assent which
shocks me, I admit. So, with some trepidation, I agree to dinner with
Ben who tells me we will be joined by Josh and his date. Now, I
almost fall out of my chair.
With instructions to consult Josh's schedule and make reservations
for the four of us, Ben says he'll see me later, and swaggers out the
door. Is that something they teach at Harvard? Oh my. What have I
gotten myself into?
Josh looks a little panicked when I tell him I've made reservations
for 4 at Luigi's, but he nods and turns back to searching his desk
for something without a word. I almost offer to help him find
whatever it is he's looking for, but instead I remember that I'm
pissed at him for setting me up with his friend and leave without
making the offer.
At 6:45, he walks into the bullpen and says "Let's go." That's right,
he sets me up with his friend, has me make the reservations, but
won't let me leave early to get ready or anything. I get up to follow
him out of habit when a thought occurs to me.
"Are we picking up your date?" I ask.
He falters for just a second. "No, she had to cancel at the last
minute."
"Nobody called the office." I note with increasing interest.
Again, just a slight pause. "She called my cell."
I don't believe him for a second, and I don't believe that he
believes that I believe him for a second, but neither of us say
another word until we arrive at Luigi's.
Ben is already seated when we arrive, but he gets up to seat me when
we get to the table. He looks around for Josh's date and Josh
volunteers, "Sarah had to cancel. You're stuck with me, I'm afraid."
Sarah? Sarah Cole? That strumpet who put her card in his pocket at
the fundraiser last month? His front pant pocket, I might add. How
did he get her number? I burned that card the minute I got my hands
on it. Oh, no. He didn't have her number, and he didn't call her.
What game is he playing?
Well, whatever it is, I am sure two can play. I begin to lay it on
thick with Ben, and I mean thick. I ignore Josh ordering hard liquor
before he has a bite to eat. I don't bat an eye when he orders a meal
that could give Richard Simmons a heart attack, and I CERTAINLY don't
touch a thing on his plate, no matter how delicious and tempting it
might be.
Ben provided a perfect foil. He laughs at my stories, especially the
ones that mock Joshua, and gives me his undivided attention. When
Josh's phone rings, I figure he's going to be going back to work. My
initial instinct was to get up and go with him. Then I remember…I'm
still pissed at him. So I hang him out to dry and stay at the
restaurant with Ben who offers to take me home after dessert.
Josh has hardly passed through the door before Ben turns to me and
his expression changes from flirtatious to seriously probing.
"Donna Moss, what the hell have you gotten me into?"
"What? What are you talking about?" I stammer. His transformation
from interested suitor to cross examining attorney is astonishing.
"You want to mess with Josh a bit; I can get on board with that. Once
upon a time it was a favorite hobby of mine. But he is seriously
pissed that you agreed to come with me tonight and he's trying
desperately not to show it. That tells me something more serious is
going on here. I don't mind jerking Josh's chain, but I don't hurt my
friends or trespass on their territory."
Okay, that was a nice little speech; especially the part about how he
wouldn't hurt Josh. I think I'm going to have to be honest with him.
"I have no idea what you mean." Maybe honesty is harder to come by
than I thought. "I think you've misinterpreted my relationship with
Josh. He's my boss and my friend and that's all. He doesn't care who
I see personally."
"No, I've known Josh a lot longer than you have and I know all his
tells. If there had been any doubt in my mind about him being upset
that you came to dinner with me, it was completely squelched when you
refused to go back to the White House with him. He is seriously
smitten." Ben finished his analysis and took another drink of his
wine. "So are you going to tell me the real story here and let me see
if I can help, or do I bid you goodnight and send you off in a cab?"
Help, definitely help. So right there in Luigi's I completely spilled
my guts to Josh's old college friend. I explained about the
flirting/sabotaging game, the misdirection, and the complications
that could ensue if we pursued a more personal relationship. Ben
listened intently, nodded sympathetically, and asked a few questions.
When I was done with my story, I waited for his commentary.
"Donna Moss, let's go to Josh's place and get drunk." He got up and
gave me his hand and I have to say it was as good a plan as any I
could come up with.
We didn't get drunk at Josh's although we were nicely buzzed. He
encouraged me to talk to Josh and assured me that the feelings I had
were not one-sided, but I was still nervous about this plan. He had
just finished telling me about some Harvard Ho that had chased after
him in college, when the door creaked open and the man himself came
cautiously inside.
With very little provocation from Ben, Josh went off on a tirade
about curfews and sleeping that even I had trouble following. Ben and
I exchanged a look in which he told me `see, he's nuts about you…tell
him!' It was a very charged look, I promise you.
At this point Josh insisted on driving me home so I could sleep
separately from Ben, for Gods sake! It was then that I decided this
was it. This was my chance to tell Josh how I felt. I would let Josh
take me home and when he walked me to the door, I would simply look
into those gorgeous brown eyes and confess all.
With a kiss of thanks to Ben, I left with Josh my resolve intact.
Chapter 4