"Would someone like to tell me what went on out there?" CJ cried, just short of screaming.
"CJ, I'm sorry, I just balked, and--"
"I don't want to hear it," CJ cut him off, "You have no excuses."
Then she turned to me. "Who do you think you are?" She pointed as she yelled.
I cringed where I stood and forced all my energy into not crying.
"CJ!!" Sam bellowed, "Don't you ever speak to my assistant like that!!!"
CJ suddenly snapped back to her old self. "Oh, god, I'm sorry," she brought a hand to her face as she sunk into a chair. "Oh, god, I didn't mean to talk to you two like that. I--I just overreacted. Sam, you looked like a fool, but Kate here saved your ass."
"Gee, where have I heard that before?" I shot Sam a look and smiled.
"Kate," CJ told me, "Your intentions were good, but next time, please, don't take any questions from the press. They'll chew you up like beef jerky. You did well, though."
With that, she stood and left, looking stunned.
Sam sat down at his desk and set his elbows on it, putting his head into his hands much like CJ had moments before.
I dropped into the chair across from him.
"You okay?" I asked him softly.
"Yeah, I'm alright. You?" he replied.
"I'm fine."
"You think this is over?"
"Not yet, Sam. Soon, though...soon it'll be over. At least, I hope so."
We sat in silence for a few moments, regaining our strength, before Sam spoke again.
"What's on my schedule for this afternoon?" he inquired.
"Well, it's 11:30 now...your only meeting is at 3:00." I glanced at his clock and rattled the details from memory.
"I want to do something that doesn't take much...intelligence..." he groaned, half laughing.
I got up and left the office, but a minute later I was back.
"Pick a hand, Sam," I instructed, holding both arms behind my back.
"Both."
"Well, you're no fun," I replied, throwing a deck of cards down in front of him and holding onto my purse.
He picked up the cards and looked at me as if he wanted to ask what they were.
"Get out your wallet, Mr. Seaborn, because we're playing poker." I sat back down and pulled out my own wallet and prepared to...well, I was probably going to lose. But at this point, I didn't care.
I just wanted to do something fun with my boss that wouldn't get us in trouble.
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