Natalie felt like she might cry. This from a woman the Pentagon had on speed dial? “Thank you.”

Andrea eyed something over Natalie’s shoulder. “Oh crap. Brace yourself,” she sighed and Natalie turned to see Hal incoming.

“Room for one more?” he asked. Without waiting for the answer, Hal moved a chair from one end of the table around to be next to Natalie. “I just wanted to say hi,” he said, leaning much too close. “We’re still due for drinks.”

“Good to see you,” Natalie said as she slid her chair slightly toward Andrea but somehow didn’t avoid the arm that brushed her knee.

“I’m so sorry,” Hal said, contrite. “Did I hurt you? I can be so clumsy.”

“I’m fine,” Natalie insisted, even as she shrank away from him.

“Ah, I found you guys,” a familiar voice said. Natalie’s nerves shot to attention when she turned to see Matt saunter in.

“What are you doing here?” she asked out loud, before she could think better of it.

“I was invited,” he said smugly. He nodded at Hal. “Thank you for including me.”

“No problem.” Hal smiled in reply.

Hal invited Matt? Natalie wondered, eyes darting from one to the other. Maybe this was Hal’s way of doling out punishment because she’d turned him down the night before.

Now, judging by the stares around the room, and the look on the What Girl’s face as she pulled out her phone and started texting, Natalie deduced the rest of the group knew something about Matt that they weren’t sharing. She narrowed her eyes at him and opened her text messages under the table.

NATALIE: Why are you here?

She watched Matt read the text and ignore it. Jerk.

He dropped into a seat opposite Bibb, smiled brightly, and added, with pep squad vigor, “Did you guys see the Dow? I caught CNBC on my way in. Our stock is up!”

“Awesome!” Ryan said enthusiastically.

“Looks like the Chief is great for the share price,” Matt continued.

“From your lips to god’s ears,” Bibb replied with zeal, before returning to her conversation with Ryan. Now Natalie’s eyes narrowed as her mind raced to horror scenarios—was the Chief going to fire her and make Matt the new White House correspondent? Were cameras hidden in the ceiling, set to capture her humiliation?—when a voice seemingly from heaven boomed, “Goddammit! I said a—never mind.”

Everyone was immediately on alert. Natalie looked up at the ceiling expecting the Chief to arrive in another stream of yellow light. Instead the big plasma screen at the front of the room flickered to life and filled with the image of the Chief minus the flowing hair and karate outfit.