So the idea for this story kind of poured out of me within a couple of days. Please let me know your honest opinion after reading. For fair warning, this story will be extremely angsty, if you're looking for something sweet, I suggest you check out my Vermont fanfic. Updates for the rest of my stories coming soon, I promise! xx
Eli Pope awoke to the ringing of his iPhone at an ungodly hour of the night. He rubbed his tired eyes before directing them to his LED alarm clock, which read 2:28 am. He mumbled underneath his breath before sitting up straight and taking hold of his cellular device. He smirked at the caller ID on his phone before answering the call.
"Cyrus." He said in an equally smug and annoyed tone. "And what do I owe the pleasure? It's 2:30 in the morning, which means either someone very important is dead, or you're in shit."
"I need a favour."
Eli laughed, swinging his feet over his bed in order to stand up. He stood into his slippers, slipped into his night robe and headed down the hall towards his office. He made sure not to wake his sleep daughter in the room beside his as he ventured down the stairs of his lovely and very well decorated Victorian styled home. Once in his office he closed the door discretely behind him and sat down in his desk.
"I'm not in the business of just giving out favours. You of all people know how I operate."
"I'm in shit Eli. Big shit. I need your help. You know I wouldn't be calling you at this hour if I had any other option. But I don't."
Again, Eli smiled smugly. "Go on."
"Ever heard of Fitzgerald Grant III?"
"Somewhat. That's your boy isn't it?" Eli lied. Of course he'd heard of Fitzgerald Grant III. Anyone with any type of political agenda had heard of the boy. He was the son of the legendary Fitzgerald Grant II; a well loved and respected republican senator who recently retired. Fitzgerald Grant III was a young, charming, handsome and smooth version of his father and was currently breaking political ground at a ridiculous pace. Perhaps it was the backpacking off his father's legacy, or the boy's unworldly good looks, Fitzgerald was currently on a roll, being 34 and a well respected congressman from California. He had Washington D.C. in the palm of his hand and was currently crushing it at a remarkable pace. Cyrus had done an unbelievable job with the boy, marketing Fitzgerald as a young republican JFK, and both the people of California and D.C. ate that shit up.
"Yeah well, we're in shit. He um... he has a problem."
"What kind of problem?"
"Hookers. Alcohol. Drugs."
"Spit it out Cyrus. I need to be up in a few hours and I don't have time to pull this out of you. Tell me what you need and I'll tell you if and how I'll help you."
"Some hooker he's dealt with has dirt on him; pictures, videos, text messages all kind of shit. She tried to extort us and when we didn't give in she flipped. She's going to the press in the morning. The dirt she has is bad Eli. It will ruin him. If this gets out, he's done. This boy has potential to make it all the way to the White House. You know the legacy his father built up, there's not a doubt in my mind he will be our next president once Bush is out. But not if this bitch has her way, she'll ruin everything I've worked so hard to build. I've invested everything in this boy and I'm not about to watch it all get thrown away because he can't keep his dick in his pants."
"What kind of dirt does she have? I need specifics."
"Everything. She has photos' of him naked, abusing substances, incriminating text messages. She's got him by the balls."
"Tell your boy to stop fucking shady hookers." Eli remarked with a snicker, pouring himself a glass of scotch.
"I need your help Eli." Cyrus pleaded. "We only have a few hours before this goes public and if it does, I'm ruined."
Eli smiled. "Cyrus you've known me for a long time, you know I don't do freebees."
"The boy is old money and you know that. Name your price and I'll wire it to you before we end this conversation."
"You must think I'm an idiot Cyrus. You just give me the juiciest piece of information on who you predict to be the future President of the United States, and you expect me to take money? I do quite all right for myself. I have the house, quite a few cars, and my daughter's done college; I have no financial woes at the moment. I don't want your blood money."
"Then what do you want?"
"The only thing more valuable than money." Eli stated. "But that will come with time. All I need at the moment is your word that when I decide what I want, you will honour it without a word of protest. I want a non-negotiable IOU. Is that understood?"
Cyrus gulped. Eli was a smart man, far too smart for his own good. "Yes."
"Give me your word Cyrus."
"I give you my word Eli. Anything you want, you have my word. I need this. I don't have much time, she could be on her way to any news agency now."
"Send me the whore's details and I'll have her taken care in an hour." Eli said coldly. "I'll be in touch." He ended the call and took a deep breath. He received a message from Cyrus within a moment.
Cyrus: Amanda Tanner. 134 Bailey Way, Unit 223.
Eli quickly dialed a number he knew all to well. "Charlie. I have a job for you and I need it done within the hour." "Great. I'll send you the details. Let me know when you've done it."
XXXXX
Olivia Pope woke up after a great night's sleep. She rolled out of her bed and headed into her ensuite. She connected her iPhone to her Bluetooth speakers, blasting her morning playlist as she got ready for the day. She showered, moisturized, got dressed and quickly polished herself off with some makeup. She applied a light coat of foundation, some pink blush and a solid coat of mascara to her lashes. Following that she brushed her should length curly ringlets into a high ponytail for the day.
Olivia took a nice long look at herself and smiled. She looked extremely smart. She wore a nice black blazer with silk white tank and black trousers. Although she was only working as a receptionist at the Smithsonian, she wanted to look sharp. After all, her father was the one who had gotten her the job. Her father was the head curator at the museum and she would not let him down.
After grabbing her black purse she headed downstairs to find her father watching the news on the couch with a cup of coffee. "Morning." She smiled. Liv headed to the kitchen to pour herself a big mug of java before joining her father.
"Morning sweetheart." Eli smiled at his beautiful daughter.
Liv then directed her attention to the TV, which displayed the morning news in D.C.
"We now take you live to Park View where a young woman has found been found dead in her apartment." The blonde anchorwoman stated before the video switched to a young man standing outside an apartment complex.
"I'm standing outside 134 Bailey Way where a young woman has been found dead inside her Park View apartment. The woman was found by her roommate around 4:00am this morning when she arrived home after working a late shift at a restaurant, her place of employment. The woman stated she came home to find her roommate unconscious on the couch and immediately called 911. Paramedics arrived moments later and pronounced the woman dead at the scene. So far, foul play has not been ruled out. The woman has been identified as Amanda Tanner of Washington D.C. As you can see there are many of officers behind me. So far they've been very scarce with the information they're choosing to release. I'll be reporting throughout the day as this story develops."
Liv took a gulp from her coffee and sighed. "That's so sad. She looks so young."
Eli nodded. "Very sad indeed." He got up from the couch and made his way to the kitchen. "What did you want for breakfast? We have to leave soon."
"Eggs?" Liv batted her eyelashes. "I'd really love one of your omelettes before my big day at work."
"Only because it's your first day." Eli teased. "This isn't happening again. You're 26 for goodness sake, you make your own breakfast tomorrow, understood?"
"Understood." Liv smiled. She loved being a daddy's girl. As she watched her father prepare her omelette she swore to herself she had the best father in the entire world. After she struggled to get a job, her father kindly presented her with an opportunity to get some real life work experience. Granted working at the Smithsonian wasn't the most exciting job in the world, but it was work, and she got to spend it with her favourite man in the world.
XXX
Eli groaned. "Olivia what the hell is this music you're playing in MY car?"
Liv giggled, "dad it's trap music." She bobbed her head to tune of 21 Savage, much to the dismay of her father.
"Listen to me young lady, you will never EVER play this music in my presence ever again. Not in my car, not in my house. Understood?"
Olivia rolled her eyes, picking up her iPhone and changing the music. "Yeah understood."
"Good." Eli smiled as they pulled into the parking lot of the Smithsonian. The two of them exited the vehicle and entered the building. Eli then set his daughter up at the front desk, showing her all she needed to know. He gave her a brief tour of the building and provided her with all of the essential information she would need to get through the day. He introduced her to a few of her new co-workers before making his way swiftly to his office alone. It was then in the privacy of his office that he made the phone call to Cyrus.
"Good morning Cyrus."
"ELI!" Cyrus beamed. "I cannot thank you enough for what you did. I truly can't. Fitz and I are over the moon. You don't know how much I appreciate this. I… I can't tell you how much you've saved us."
"Just remember we have a deal Cyrus. Like I said, I don't do freebees."
"Of course not. I promise to honour our deal without a word of protest. I just cannot express my gratitude to you enough."
Eli smirked, finding it a little early for such praise. Cyrus didn't have the slightest clue of the type of he deal he had signed with him. "I want to schedule a meeting with you. The both of you. Today."
"Absolutely." Cyrus agreed.
"Great. Be here at noon." Eli ended the call abruptly and smiled to himself. He opened up his laptop and typed Fitzgerald Grant III into his database. If he was going to enter into business with this man, he needed to know everything he was signing up for. He knew Cyrus to be a bit of a snake, and after what he had done for them, there was absolutely no way Eli was going to be snaked out of a deal. He would do his homework and then some. He was going to find out absolutely everything there was to know about Fitzgerald Grant III. If this boy breathed too loudly it would be in the database. Eli got up and made himself his second coffee for the day with his keurig. After he had prepared his latte to his liking, Eli Pope sat down and got to his reading.
After an hour Eli was decently content with his findings. Fitzgerald or Fitz as he preferred to be called, was a 34-year-old bachelor with a wild side. He had attended the University of Southern California and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in political science. He then completed law school at the University of Berkeley with a 4.0 GPA. He was smart and disciplined within his education, but lacked discipline in every other aspect of his life. Throughout his 34 years Fitz had maintained one documented girlfriend, Millicent Young. They had dated from their sophomore year to their 2nd year of law school. Following their breakup Fitz checked himself into a rehabilitation center under an alias for alcohol, substance and sex addiction. However it seemed that rehab failed as following his release it appeared Fitz became more reckless with his partying habits. Eli even managed to find several arrests pertaining to public intoxication, drunk driving, reckless driving and assault; all of course had been scrubbed clean off the face of the earth by his rich and powerful daddy. However Eli's database never failed him. He was able to find things that the 99% were blissfully unaware of. It became clear after he began working in public office; Fitz rekindled what seemed to be an off-and-on relationship with Millicent Young, with information linking the pair as recent as 2 months ago.
Smiling to himself, Eli closed his laptop. He had gathered all he needed to know about Fitz. Fitz couldn't keep a woman because he was far too busy fucking hookers. He was an avid drinker who failed to learn from his prior arrests, indicating that he was not only reckless but also stupid. Anyone in the public eye would have the common sense to get a driver or at the least a taxi, but not Fitz, which was suggestive of a blinding ego. However Eli would have all of this confirmed a little over an hour when Cyrus and the pretty boy made an appearance.
On the other side of the museum Olivia found herself settling in all right. She shared a large two-seater desk with the head receptionist by the name of Quinn Perkins. Quinn was a 28-year-old brunette with a pretty smile and a peppy attitude. From the moment Olivia met the woman, she could tell they were going to be friends. In between introducing herself to all the new programs and software, Liv and Quinn found themselves making small talk.
"So where did you go to school? What did you study?" Quinn inquired.
"I studied sociology at Georgetown." Liv replied. "I loved it there. I just finished my masters in communication."
"I took sociology too!" Quinn smiled. She looked at the time and grinned. "Right, it's 11:45 do you want to take your lunch break first?"
Liv shook her head. "I had a huge breakfast. I don't mind if you go first."
"Great, I'm starving. If anyone comes in… well you know what to do. If you need me my phone number is on that sticky pad there." Quinn smiled before dashing out the door heading towards her car.
Liv relaxed in her chair. She responded to a few emails and before she knew it the door swung open. Much to her surprise it wasn't Quinn, it was short, pudgy angry looking middle-aged man who was balding quite poorly. However the man behind him truly took her breath away, he was tall, dark and handsome with the eyes the colour of the Caribbean sea. He had dark brown curly hair, which was styled to perfection and wore a black suit that fit him like a glove. In all honesty Olivia was sure this man had stepped fresh off the cover of a GQ magazine. As they walked up to desk his cologne filled her nostrils; it was musty, dark and manly.
"Hi there, welcome to the Smithsonian. How can I help you?" She smiled politely, trying her best to hide the nerves coursing through her body.
The angry man spoke. "I have an appointment with Eli at 12."
Olivia nodded her head, trying her best to keep her eyes of the man standing beside him. "Can I have your name please?"
"Cyrus. He's expecting me."
Liv nodded, picking up the phone and dialing her father's office. "Hi Eli, I have Cyrus here at the front for you." "Perfect." She hung up the phone and smiled. "He'll be out in a moment, he's just finishing up a meeting."
Cyrus nodded before turning to the handsome man. "I have to make a call. I'll be back."
Olivia watched as he made his way outside with the door closing behind him. She was now alone with the handsome man staring at her unashamedly.
"Hi." He grinned charmingly at her. His cheeky smile made her heart skip a beat and suddenly Liv found herself getting nervous again. "How's your day going?" He had an effortless charm about him that had Olivia in a daze. He was remarkably sexy and was currently causing every hair on her body to stand on end.
"Good." She replied nervously. After realizing that came off quite curt she smiled at him and tried to relax. "Yours?" In all honestly Liv couldn't remember the last time a man had such an immediate and intense effect on her being; she felt like a nervous schoolgirl at 26 years of age.
"Mine?" He chuckled. "Couldn't be better. I've never been here before and I have to say I'm already impressed, such exceptional staff."
Liv could feel herself blushing, as she knew he was referring to her, after all she was only staff member present in the lobby. Although she had been single for the past 3 years, she was almost certain this man was flirting with her. He hadn't broken eye contact for a moment while keeping this sexy yet confident smile upon his face. Everything about this man was sensual from his stance, which was positioned towards her, to his unbelievable smell. He smelled like a man; a strong, assertive, sensual man.
"It's my first day." She admitted.
"Wow." He grinned. "I never would have guessed. You're an absolute natural. It never hurts to walk in anywhere and see a beautiful face at the door."
She was now blushing harder than she had in her entire life. Liv couldn't remember the last time she had felt so flustered. She was at loss for words. All she wanted to do was blurt how just how attractive she found him but she was sure he was aware. So instead she smiled and replied, "that's very sweet, thank you."
"What's your name?"
"Olivia."
"Olivia, nice to meet you gorgeous. I'm Fitz." He extended his hand to her, which she shook, certain her hands were clammy and gross. The second they touched she felt a surge of electricity shoot throughout her body all the way down to her toes. She released his hand and swallowed hard, feeling extremely unnerved.
He opened his mouth to say something however stopped at the sound of Cyrus re-entering the lobby. He mumbled something to himself before stuffing his phone in his pocket. A moment later Eli appeared through the building doors with impeccable timing. "Gentlemen, follow me." Fitz smiled at her briefly before following Cyrus and Eli into the building, and a moment later he was gone.
She exhaled for what the felt like the first time at his exit. Her heart rate slowly began to return to normal and her skin was slowly cooling down. It was her first day on the job and she was already drooling over one of her father's client's. She rose from her seat and headed over to the water cooler, guzzling down a well needed glass.
A few minutes later Quinn returned with a large salad, sandwich and tea in hand. She placed her lunch on her desk before taking off her coat and bag. "Everything okay?" Quinn asked quizzically due to the look on Olivia's face she was able to tell something had happened.
"Um yeah. Everything's fine." Liv answered, her voice still slightly shaky.
Quinn frowned. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
Liv returned to her desk and made sure no one was coming before she opened her mouth. "Quinn the hottest guy that I've ever seen in my entire life just came in."
Quinn groaned. "Are you kidding me?! I've been gone all of 5 minutes! Hot guys NEVER come in here, I turn my back for a moment and you see one! Bullshit!" Quinn took a quick sip of her tea before turning back to Olivia. "What did he look like?"
"Tall, dark and handsome, extremely handsome. I don't think I've ever seen anyone so…"
"So what?!"
"Gorgeous." Liv admitted. "Whatever, he's probably married, he was older, at least 30 I'd say. There's no way a man like that isn't married."
"Did you see a ring?"
Liv shook her head as she now remembered scanning his large hands as they greeted each other. "No I didn't."
"So he's not married then. You know what that means."
"What?" Liv frowned.
"He's either gay, a serial cheater, a content bachelor or all of the above." Quinn insisted. There was no way a handsome man in his 30's in D.C. was still available. She'd been living in D.C. for several years and now and had struggled like no one in the dating scene. All the good ones were taken, and all the good single ones were unfortunately batting for the same team.
"That's not what I want to hear." Liv frowned. She had just finished school not to long ago and was finally feeling over her past relationship. She had spent 3 years of her life grieving a 6 year relationship with her high school sweetheart Jake, which ended nothing short of terribly. She had never felt so heartbroken and alone in all of her life after their breakup and completely swore off men while she mended herself back together. However within the last couple of months, she was beginning to feel more and more ready to get back into the dating scene. But with Quinn's recent statement, Liv was starting to feel discouraged again.
"I'd be lying if I told you dating in this city is easy, most of the guys here are… well to be honest, they're all assholes. D.C. is filled with entitled, pompous, arrogant assholes. But you'll see for yourself, trust me." Quinn assured her. "A few months ago I met a this guy named Theo at a bar. He was handsome and worked in real estate, which drew me in because I'm sick to death of dating politicians. Anyways, we hit it off and start seeing each other. Next thing I know we're sleeping together pretty much daily. I mean we were doing it at mine, his, at his work… here; everywhere Liv. Turns out he's married with a KID! A fucking KID!"
"What?! How on earth did you find out?"
"When his wife showed up here and demanded I stay away from her husband. She went through his phone one night and bam, there I was. I've never been so humiliated. I was sleeping with him in a bed he shared with his wife… Men are so disgusting."
"That's vile. Did you kill him? What did you do?"
"Nothing." Quinn sighed. "What could I do? The damage had already been done."
Liv swallowed. She couldn't tell if her breakup with Jake would have been easier if he cheated. He had never cheated on her, to her knowledge at least. But he had broken her heart. One day he had just woken up and decided he had fallen out of love with her. It was unexpected and completely shook her world apart. Now that she was thinking about it, perhaps she would have preferred being cheated on. At least that scenario would allowed her to place the blame on him, and not on herself. To this day, she still couldn't accept the fact that someone was able to wake up and throw away a 6 year relationship at the drop of a hat. And that was the reason she refused to date for so long, she was afraid of getting hurt again, of opening up. She was afraid to trust any man with her heart.
XXX
"Gentlemen, take a seat." Eli smiled once they had reached his office. He gestured to the couch and watched happily as they sat down. He closed the door and walked over to his desk. "Can I offer anyone a drink?" He asked politely, with intent. He was eyeing Fitz out, looking for any weak spots before he dove in.
"Not before 5." Fitz smiled and stood up. "Thank you kindly. And may I just take this time now to thank you properly. You've never met me, and yet you completely saved my life. You saved me from a disaster that would have not only disgraced me, but my family. I cannot thank you enough." He extended his hand to Eli, which Eli shook. "I will be forever grateful."
Eli smirked to himself, extremely impressed with the man standing before him. He was a more refined, handsome, and charming version of his father. The boy was born for politics, and with Fitz standing right before him, Eli couldn't be happier. Fitz was charismatic, and had a dapper charm about him which he was sure had gotten the boy out of many sticky situations. He was a smooth talker with a good head of hair who wore a suit quite well. Most importantly of all, he had a strong firm handshake. Eli of all people knew how telling a handshake was of a man; it revealed everything. It was after this Eli realized Cyrus wasn't bullshitting. There was a reason Cyrus was losing his hair trying to reign in this boy. This entitled, reckless and foolish young man had the makings of a president.
Fitz had it all; the votes his father would have on the older conservatives, plus his own pull on younger conservative males who would blindly idolize him. Not to mention the clear fact he had a ridiculous effect on women. This boy had it; he was special.
Eli smiled. "Fitz, may I ask you something?"
"Anything."
"Do you want to be president?"
"More than anything." He answered without any hesitation.
And there it was; the last missing piece of the puzzle. On paper, Fitz was the perfect candidate for the job. The only thing in question was his desire, did he have the want? Did he want to be president? And after hearing the sheer conviction in his voice, Eli had his answer. Standing before him was the next president of the United States of America. He was sure of it.
"Good." Eli said down and smiled. "I reckon you have a shot at it, a real good shot. No bullshit. And I wanna help you. I believe the 3 of us could be a real great team."
Fitz nodded, briefly looking at Cyrus. "Yeah. I mean I think you would be a great contact to have, but I'm not sure how your line of work would correspond with my presidential campaign."
Eli chuckled lowly, turning to Cyrus. "You haven't told him what I do, have you?"
Cyrus gulped, shaking his head. "Not entirely. I wanted to keep things as confidential as—"
Eli cut him off, directing his attention back to Fitz. "Fitzgerald, tell me have you ever heard of B613?"
XXX
The ladies continued their small talk and eventually returned to work. Liv made important phone calls while Quinn set up the schedule for the upcoming week. The ladies were fully focused and on task when the back doors opened up, revealing the same 2 men, one of which caused Olivia's heart to skip a beat yet again.
"That's him." Liv mouthed to Quinn once they had both turned their heads back to the front. They both pretended to be deeply invested in their work as they felt them approaching. Soon enough the two men were at the front, gathering themselves to leave.
"Have a great day." Quinn smiled, pleasantly in agreement in Olivia's assessment of the gentleman. He was beautiful without a doubt.
"Take care." Olivia added in with a sweet smile before dropping her eyes back to her computer. She typed away, shocked as her to look up and see Fitz hovering over her desk with his cheeky grin that was sure to send her into cardiac arrest.
"Would you like to get a drink with me sometime?" He asked unashamedly.
"FITZ!" Cyrus yelled from behind him. "WE'RE LEAVING!"
Fitz waved his hand at him, not taking his eyes off Olivia. Cyrus growled underneath his breath before storming out of the building. "Excuse him." Fitz teased. "He hasn't had lunch yet so he's a little cranky."
Olivia was sat there, still in slight awe. "It's no problem."
"So is that a yes? Or are you going to make me ask again?"
"I would love to get a drink with you." She answered more honestly than she intended.
He grinned, pulling out his phone. Olivia quickly recited her number which he happily entered into his iPhone. "I'll call you." He winked before quickly making his exit.
Quinn waited until the coast was clear before squealing like a little schoolgirl. "YOU LITTLE—"
"SHH!" Olivia hissed, realizing her father could be around anywhere having just walked his guests out. "Not so loud!"
"You lucky S.O.B." Quinn giggled. "I can't believe him! He just asked you out, just like that?!"
"I can't believe it either." Olivia admitted.
"That was so... sexy. Like a scene straight out of Sex in the City. He could be your Mr. Big!"
"Yeah but Mr. Big takes several seasons to get his shit together, and breaks Carrie's heart in the process!"
"Yeah but they get married in the movie." Quinn replied with a wink. "I wonder where he'll take you, maybe Apt 200. It's this new swanky bar in the city thats decorated like an apartment; a kitchen, living room, study, even a bedroom. You should suggest it."
Olivia couldn't believe it. Today was a day of firsts. Her first day on the job and she was going on her first date in over 3 years. "I haven't dated in forever... I don't think I'm ready."
"I couldn't think of anyone better to get you back into the dating game than him. Don't worry, I'll prep you for your date. I will get you as ready as you need to be."
Liv smiled. Despite having only known the girl less than a day, she liked Quinn. She trusted her. She seemed like genuine girl. "Promise?"
"Promise."
XXX
A few feet away Eli Pope stood at the door overlooking his daughter and new found friend gossip over her recent encounter. Although he was completely out of vision to them, they were completely within his view. He had seen everything. After walking Fitz and Cyrus to the door he secretly lingered around, waiting to see their body language and conversation after the two of them became alone. He wanted to see if they were being genuine within their meeting today. After all, it was Eli's job to be one step ahead.
However, what he wasn't expecting was to his Fitz hit on his 26 year old daughter without an ounce of remorse or shame. Eli watched as Fitz flashed her his grin, a grin Eli was sure had stolen the hearts of many. Then to his surprise, he watched as Olivia beamed right back at him, offering her number to him without hesitation. He hadn't seen Olivia show any interest or talk to any male in a romantic fashion since her breakup with her idiotic ex boyfriend Jake. Eli hadn't seen his daughter smile at a man like that, ever. Her entire face lit up with a glow that he had never seen on her before. She looked giddy, like a child almost.
Looking at his daughter Eli realized just what he wanted as his IOU from Fitz and Cyrus. All his life Eli was a firm believer in everything happening for a reason. He had worked hard his entire life to provide a life for his daughter far better than his own growing up. He made sure his Liv went to one of the top schools where she was surrounded by those who were going to push her to be her best. She deserved it all; she deserved the world. It was right then and there Eli Pope made the biggest decision of his entire life; his baby girl, his Liv was going to be the next First Lady of the United States of America. With that, he began the journey back to his office with a smile on his face and hope for his future.
Leave reviews :))) Until next time! xx