(Untitled)

[regtuesdaysuit]

"Hey Sam! Have you got that -- oh huh."

You'd think Josh would have learned his lesson about walking blindly into rooms while shouting. Not so, alas.

[[tinytag: Jack Rudolph]]

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[nbs_chairman]

Shouting is fun. You can get a lot by shouting. Jack likes shouting.

Except when someone's shouting at him. Then it was annoying.

"When did you start wearing a tie?"

[regtuesdaysuit]

Josh glances down. "I've always worn ties. What, is this not a nice tie?" Donna assured him this morning that it was.

It's not bothering Josh right now that he doesn't recognize whoever's addressing him. He's got an important job that entails yelling at many people.

[nbs_chairman]

"No, it's just... I've never seen you wear a tie. You never struck me as that sort of person."

It's hard to imagine such a laid back guy wearing a tie like that. Jackets, sure. Sunglasses... sure, but he still looked like a bit of an ass in them. Tie, nah.

'Course in Jack's case, it's the other way around. Hard to imagine the bastard chairman in anything other than a tie and a suit. Jack in sunglasses. That'd be the day.

[regtuesdaysuit]

One eyebrow arches up. "Really?" It seems to Josh that most people think of him as a consummate tie person. "What kind of person do I strike you as?"

He's genuinely puzzled by the proposition. The word the guy is looking for will probably be "busy," as Josh starts walking. It doesn't feel right, standing around chatting.

[nbs_chairman]

Jack followed, not bothered by the prospect of walking. He's a busy guy too. He's fine with standing around; he's fine with sitting around (Had to be, all the damn meetings he went to), but walking was nice too. This was because usually when he was walking, there wasn't a member of the Board of Directors talking to him. Nope. All too old, all too lazy and tired to get out of their stupid overstuffed chairs and move around a bit.

The chairman paused for a second, went back and poured himself a bottle of scotch to take along. Then he paused again, and took the bottle of scotch. No use letting it go to waste.

"Laid back?" he asked, catching up to who was ostensibly Danny. "For a guy who's got a lot on his mind, you sure don't act like it, you know."

[regtuesdaysuit]

Josh frowns. Several things are wrong about this picture, the least of which being that Josh may be the least laid back person he knows, besides the President and possibly Toby Ziegler.

"You, uh." He gestures at the bottle. "On the job right now?" Despite the fact they they're, you know. At the end of the universe.

Yeah, this guy definitely doesn't work in the same office as he does.

[nbs_chairman]

"Would it matter if I was?" He took a drink from the glass to make his point.

At home, at work, at night, at day, Jack was never without his drink. Borderline alcoholic? Probably.

[regtuesdaysuit]

"...Yeah, in this administration, it would, I think. I would hope. What department are you in?"

Surely there's someone Josh can severely reprimand. That always makes his day.

[nbs_chairman]

That made Jack slightly confused, and he raised an eyebrow to show it.

"Department?" he laughed. "I'm the chairman of NBS; I'm in every goddamn department."

[regtuesdaysuit]

It hits Josh suddenly.

"Oh, for crying out loud! You think -- you think I'm that Danny Tripp guy."

He's almost offended. Dude totally looks ten years older than him.

[nbs_chairman]

Jack paused, stopping in his tracks momentarily.

Well, the guy did look a bit younger than Danny, but... hey, that could have just been the alcohol talking.

"You're not Danny?"

[regtuesdaysuit]

"No!" (He sounds disorientingly like Danny just there, though, to be sure.) "I'm Josh Lyman, I'm the Deputy Chief of Staff at the White House, I'm -- senior staff to President Bartlet!"

He could keep going, if Jack needs more clarification.

[nbs_chairman]

"Whoa! Hey!" Hands up, defence position!

Remember what he said about people shouting at him?

"I just thought you were someone else. If you're going to yell at me, at least let me give you a reason for it."

[regtuesdaysuit]

"I wasn't yelling, I was... elucidating." He does have the good manners to look at least a little sheepish.

"So, television..."

...no, he doesn't really have much more to say than that. At least more that's polite.

[nbs_chairman]

Damnit. He didn't say "Like what?" That would have been a good reason to punch him in the face. It wasn't Danny, but, well... it was better than nothing.

Damnit.

"President Bartlet? Are you sure you didn't just make that up?"

[regtuesdaysuit]

"Mister, I work down the hall from him. I'm pretty sure that if he's a figment of my imagination, they should be paying me to work in your business."