Object
Hospitality Cup of Coffee (Leo's Office — Offered to Ainsley)
Steam wisps faintly from this palm-sized, single-serving cup of hot coffee—likely ceramic or thick paper—its thin bitter aroma slicing through Leo's office tension. The outer office secretary shoves it forward as a jagged courtesy toward Ainsley amid stiff formalities and ideological barbs; Ainsley registers it warily during small talk deflections, the vessel hovering as a prop to thaw guarded recruitment chill before scotch eclipses it entirely.
2 appearances
Purpose
Polite hospitality refreshment offered to visiting guest Ainsley Hayes during formal West Wing introductions.
Significance
Modulates fraught social temperature in Leo's stiff courtship of Ainsley—light hospitality gesture underscoring mutual discomfort and power plays, swiftly sidelined as conversation pivots to scotch-fueled job offer, symbolizing shift from formal distance to intimate recruitment.
Appearances in the Narrative
When this object appears and how it's used