Rewrite the Stars [The West Wing] ↠ Josh Lyman

2 | Office Space

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Office Space

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The sun streamed through the windows into the White House Deputy Chief of Staff's office. Josh sat on his chair rubbing his face. He was conflicted. On one hand, he wanted to keep his feelings for the president's daughter a secret, but on the other, he also wanted to shout it from the Truman Balcony...before the Secret Service got to him. He had denied that there was anything between them for a long time...or he had tried to. But somehow things always came back to her, whether he wanted them to or not.

Josh dug through the top drawer of his desk until he pulled a piece of cardstock from the campaign. It was the sign that had been taped to many office doors or windows, that had originated in the New Hampshire Bartlet for America headquarters. He smiled. While his name had been printed onto the paper, it was scribbled on with Sharpie and the whiteout was beginning to peel off in places. He could have easily had a new sign printed, but he had kept it and used it the entire campaign...because of Emily.

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Bartlet Campaign Headquarters 

New Hampshire

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Josh walked into his office at the Bartlet For America headquarters in New Hampshire, polling data piled in his hands. He tore his eyes away from the papers and came to a jerky halt. He blinked slowly when he spotted someone sitting in his chair. The only person who should be sitting in his chair was him. "Can I help you?" he asked, annoyance clearly evident in his tone.

A young woman wearing a winter cap looked up from the desk. She looked at him pointedly with her bright blue eyes, eyes that Josh could recognize anywhere. He had seen them often enough. The woman was Emily Bartlet, but something was different about her. He couldn't help but stare at her with his jaw dropped, much to her annoyance. It took Josh a moment to figure out what was different about her. Her hair was no longer a mess of curls. "What did you do to..." Josh made a long hair gesture.

"I straightened it." Her tone was rather clipped, as if the response should be obvious to him. But he was in no way an expert when it came to what women did with their hair.

"Huh. It looks nice." Josh smiled at her as a sort of peace offering.

Emily ran her fingers through her hair self-consciously before she stuck a pen behind her ear and stood up. She took a few steps closer to Josh and rested her hands on her hips, looking up at him, due to the seven-inch height difference, scrutinizing him as he had done to her earlier. "I honestly can't tell if you're being sarcastic or genuine. I tend to lean toward the former with you but sometimes there's a chance you're being both."