I Heard A Rumor

Chapter 2: Locked Eyes

I take a deep breath in. And out. The United States Capitol.

I've been here more than my fair share of times, after all, my aunt is a Senator. This time feels different though.

Two goals; one, get a job here and two, get close to Jon Ossoff.

I'm not sure which is harder.

I figure the best way to start is to make my way to my aunt's office.

~~

"Autumn! How was your weekend? Enjoyed a bit of time alone?"

I smile as I walk over to Amy's desk and hug her. The Senate was in recess the past week so Amy was home in Minnesota and I stayed here in DC.

"Yeah! I missed you though, I was pretty lonely this week."

Amy laughs and I sit down at her desk. I figure the best place to start with looking for a job is asking her.

"I'm thrilled to see you here, but don't you have work?"

Amy can read me very well. After my mom's death, she really helped me get my life back together. I was considering not even going to college, even after making it into Northwestern. Amy visited me as much as she could and she cared about me, which was all I could really ask for. I'm still really grateful for her.

"Well, the Post changed my hours and I was thinking about picking up a part-time job around here during the day so I can make some more money."

She raises her eyebrows. Admittedly, I didn't really think this through- I sound dumb. Why would I need another job?

"Aren't you already busy with the Post, sweetie? You don't want to overwork yourself, and I'll always be here to support you."

"I know, it'll only be for a couple months. Things have been a little slow at the Post so they're cutting some hours until the summer." That's a lie. I had convinced Roberts to keep paying me my full salary while I'm out because I'm doing this assignment for the Post. I can't be too suspicious though, Roberts seems desperate enough to back up my lie if I need him too.

"Okay then, you're an adult, so it's up to you and I'm happy to help. I've heard that the cafe in the Russell office building is hiring, you should look into that."

"Awesome! You're the best, Amy."

"I need to run real quick, I'll be back in a few minutes, we can grab some lunch and look at places hiring once I'm back!"

Amy leaves, leaving me alone in her office. I look around a little bit, the room is familiar but I haven't been here in awhile and it seems like she's changed it up a little. I smile when my eyes land on a picture of me, my mom, Amy, my grandparents, and my uncle.

I start to feel myself tearing up and jump when I hear a knock on the door. Thinking it's Amy or one of her staffers, I say come in.

I'm dead wrong.

Because Jon Ossoff walks in.

I haven't even mentally prepared myself for actually meeting Jon. I've been so worried about getting a job here I put Jon himself on the back burner.

"Hey! I didn't realize Senator Klobuchar wasn't here, I can come back later.", he says with a shy smile. Immediately, I find myself drawn into his eyes and we hold each other's gaze just for a mere second. His eyes glow in the poorly-lit office.

"You can stay if you'd like, she should be back soon. You're Senator Ossoff?", I ask, holding out my hand for him to shake.

He smiles, "That I am. You're Autumn, right? Amy talks about you all the time."

His hand is in mine, and I can't help but notice how perfect his hand feels in mine. I try to push those thoughts away.

"You're right, I'm Autumn. It's great to meet you", I chuckle softly. I continue, "It's really great to see people closer to my age in the Senate. It makes politics a lot more interesting."

Jon laughs and runs his hand through his hair, brushing a few mishapped curls to the side. "It's not the most thrilling job, but it's important and I'm really honored to be here. What do you do?"

I bite my lip, coming up with a half-lie pretty quickly, "I currently work for the Washington Post as an Arts and Entertainment assistant reporter. I'm thinking about picking up a few shifts at the cafe here for a couple months."

"Well, I'll tell you right now, you can either make a lot of friends or enemies in the Senate purely based on coffee. No joke." I smile at him, and I open my mouth to say something as Amy enters.

"Jon! Sorry for being late. You've met Autumn by now, right?"

Jon nods, looking my way. Amy gestures him over right next to me on the couch and he sits next to me with Amy adjacent to us. I awkwardly sit as they go over legislation and their upcoming joint bill. I can't help but notice how articulate Jon is with every single word he says and how passionate he is with everything.

I zone out in my thoughts, only coming back to life when I feel Jon stand up.

"Senator Klobuchar, it was great to see you, I'll see you in committee shortly. And Autumn, absolute pleasure to meet you.", he says with a grin. I feel myself blushing, and to keep myself from embarrassing myself I smile and wave back towards him.

As soon as he leaves, I hear Amy chuckle.

"What?"

"You were blushing that entire time,", she observes. I shake my head, "No I wasn't, it's just hot in here."

"I think he was blushing too! You guys would make a nice couple!"

I was hearing exactly what I wanted to hear, but continue to play dumb, "He's a senator, that's insane."

Insane is one way to put it.