C.J. is at a swanky hotel lobby (or maybe a bar) meeting Cornelius Sykes. He asks her if she wants to stay for his show, but she says she has to get the seven o'clock shuttle. They make small talk for a bit. They seem to have pretty cordial relationship. She starts in on her mission, explaining that she knows he's going to be asked to host the dinner and the President will be there, and they appreciate his support, and before she can really finish, he guesses that they want him to decline. She admits they think the press will go back a couple of years to some controversial incident in which he was involved. He doesn't care: "Let 'em." C.J. doesn't want it all to come up again. She says, "You know how I feel about you, you know I don't mean you any disrespect..." He says, "You don't?" C.J. insists that she doesn't. He pauses a moment and states, "I've raised money for you. I've registered voters for you, I've done commercials for you, and I've voted for you. Because of something I never did wrong two years ago, you don't want to be on the same dais with me." C.J. starts to argue but Sykes continues, "It takes a special kind of arrogance not to think that that's disrespectful. C.J. looks dismayed. He tells her, "Make your case. I gotta be funny in a while."