mxtiasfranco:
“Oh no, tonight is about you, Mr. Director.” Matias gestures, trying to push the conversation away. From what he remembered — and it wasn’t little — Alexander Ward was never one to talk about himself. Behinds the perfect smile hid someone, and Matias was determined to figure out who. “My job is still just as boring: being Ms. Kane’s bell boy, going here and there, listening what they are saying here and there, again and again.” He shrugs; his job has been essentially the same since he was an intern at the Caucus, so many years ago, so it feels boring to talk about it.
“But you’re the one with a fancy promotion.” He gestures at him again, pointing at Alex with his glass. “I assume President Walker wanted some new support in this dark phase of her career…?” He changes the intonation at the end, just to turn the statement into a question. It’s not nice, and Matias regrets it, but he doesn’t take it back. Alex deserves a little questioning.
“Boring?” He said with a wry smile. “You might as well have described a spy’s life.” The other man certainly seemed to fishing for information like one. Alexi knew when someone was being evasive, steering a conversation; he’s done it a thousand times. He wondered why the scrutiny, though. He’s proven to be a friend (and more) to Anne. That, on its own, apart from the decades of service he’s done to this country, should have been enough to clear him. But eventually, they get to the question that no doubt everyone was thinking and had inquired about in ways far more subtle than this. Ah, so this might be the root of the man’s reservations ― that he’s a crooked event. He barely even blinked at the accusation, which is essentially what it was. “It’s not very polite to ask a man on the day he got a promotion whether he traded in his integrity for it. Just a tip about making friends.” He continue to smile, the words perfectly pleasant. “I imagine, after so many years in this sphere, that you’re aware that our departments serve the country, not the president.”