Disclaimer: I do not own Scandal
AN: Okay my lovelies, I caved (as I usually do). I'm just very excited to play with this story, so here it is! Up far sooner than I expected it to be. So this is a little Olitz AU story. So for those of you who don't like stories where Fitz is not President or running for President, this is not for you... Because that is not happening in this story! Sorry! But I will say that I'm so excited to play with this version of these characters. So, I hope everyone enjoys a lot of Olitzness from start to finish! ~ XOXO MAS
I'm walking fast through the traffic lights
The TV in the back room of the Edison Davis's Atlanta Headquarters was her latest enemy. She seethed as the screen flashed with Sally Langston and her husband feeding each other a piece of peach pie at a restaurant in Tifton. Again. She even kissed some of the whipped cream off his lips. Gross. Olivia pushed on the button hard so the TV flicked off and threw the remote onto the sofa she'd slept on more times than she cared to admit. Every news network had picked up the damn footage and every news network was showing it on repeat. The people loved that marriage could last so long and they could still be so in love. What a load of bullshit. Throwing open the door, she screamed out, "Harrison!"
A moment later a man in suspenders, a blue and white plaid button down, a bright pink and blue tie, blue slacks and tan shoes appeared eating an apple, "What's up, Liv?" He asked. His nonchalant attitude pissed her off even more than she already was. And the glimmer in his eyes told her that he knew it. Smug bastard.
"Who is in charge of that campaign?" Olivia Pope pushed past a volunteer who appeared in the doorway with a new set of poll numbers without so much as a second glance. Harrison quietly shooed the young woman away, sending her a quick wink in the process. "They had a change in command, didn't they? Who is it? I want to know. And I want to know now. There is now way Billy Chambers could pull that shit off. He's nowhere near that good. He's so far out of my league, we're playing in different galaxies. So, unless Sally bribed Daniel Douglas with a new boy toy, I want to know who is calling the shots now." She shouted behind her to Harrison Wright, who was following her around the Atlanta Headquarters (the main headquarters) of Edison Davis's campaign for the Senate to represent the great state of Georgia, her heels clacking on the tile floor angrily.
Harrison chuckled at the anger in steps and furious sway of her hips as she moved to the break room where the cookies were hidden, "You got it, Liv." He saluted before turning on his heel.
"Olivia?" Edison Davis popped his head into the break room, where Olivia had stopped to raid the cookie stash. "Everything okay?"
Plastering a smile on her face, she turned to face him, "Everything is going to be fine, Edison." She promised.
He crossed his arms and nodded, "Oh, I know you'll handle it. I take it you just saw the footage of Sally and Daniel Douglas at the school fair."
She slammed the top down on the cookie jar with a little more force than she intended and she was glad it didn't crack in the process, "They must've brought on someone new. Everyone knows Daniel Douglas is in the closet. He and Sally have no chemistry and now," she snapped, "just like that they have fire?" She snorted, "I'll handle it. Believe you me." She pushed past him, his chuckle at her determination following her down the hallway.
SCANDAL
"Fitzgerald," Sally shook her head, staring down at the poll numbers in front of her, "you really are something else."
Fitzgerald Grant, III just grinned at her, "Sally, you and Daniel Douglas did this, not me."
She just rolled her eyes, "You made those poll numbers dance for us. You sure you don't want to run for office yourself?" She teased.
"Not really," he paused, "fixing your problems and getting you into the Senate is good enough for me."
Patting his arm, Sally smiled, "Well, we're grateful to have you with us." She left as Billy Chambers, her chief of staff appeared.
"What's up?" Fitz asked.
The young man looked harassed, "This came for you. Amanda just handed it off to me."
Fitz took the plain envelope with his name hand-written on it. He let out a hum of confusion as he slid the small piece of white paper out, St. Regis Bar, 7:30pm Tonight - OP
"What does it say?" Billy asked.
Fitz handed him the piece of paper, "I would imagine 'OP' is the great Olivia Pope." He grinned, "Seems she knows I'm working on Langston's campaign now."
Billy grunted, "Damn. We were hoping to keep you a secret for a bit." He admitted.
"Well, I'm fairly certain the cat's out of the bag." Fitz chuckled. "No matter, I can handle her."
"She's Olivia Pope. I mean, you're good Fitz, but no one is as good as she is." Billy dodged the door and followed him down the hall towards the kitchen in their own Atlanta offices.
"I am." Fitz boasted, "You know I'm"
"The second best. Fitz," Billy shook his head, "she's always got cards to play. She says so herself. Every candidate she's backed has gotten elected. We're crazy to go up against her in the first place." He continued. "Davis scored big time when he got her for his campaign. Word on the street is that they're doing the nasty, but I don't know if that's true. Or if it is, it probably doesn't mean much of anything to her. She stays out of politics on a personal level. She's not even registered with one party or the other. She's apolitical. An Independent, a wild card, and utterly unstoppable."
Fitz pulled the coffee pot off the burner and poured a cup, "Thank you for the vote of confidence, Billy. It's really appreciated that you believe in what we're doing here." He scoffed.
Billy rolled his eyes, "Don't be an overly sensitive middle school girl, Fitz." He poured his own cup of coffee, "I'm just saying that she's insanely good at her job. It's like she programmed to be a political fixer as a child."
"That's crazy. Her father is the curator of the Smithsonian and her mother was a stockbroker." Fitz shook his head, "Neither of them are or were in the political scene."
Billy's brows knit together, "How do you know that?"
Fitz chuckled, "You don't honestly think I wouldn't look into my opponent, Billy, do you?" He shook his head, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer and all that. If I'm going to take her down, I need to know everything about her, that way I can find her weakness and use it against her." He tapped his coffee mug against Billy's, "I'll let you know how tonight goes." He winked at him before leaving the kitchen.
SCANDAL
Olivia perched herself on the edge of the hightop chair in the bar of the St. Regis Hotel downtown, sipping quietly on her house cab while she scrolled through a few emails on her phone, waiting on the Fitzgerald Grant, III to show up. She knew all about the youngest Grant man. He was headed for greatness. A military hero who was shot down and captured. A POW for a few months in the Middle East. Slated to be Governor of California and, potentially, President of the United States, before he stepped out of bounds and up and moved to Iowa of all places, where he managed to get an unelectable candidate into the House of Representatives. He was a rising star in the political fixer world. All pretty blue eyes, honey sweet words and Grant ruthlessness. She admired him for his work, and privately admired him for his many other assets.
"And you must be the great Olivia Pope." A tumbler of scotch on the rocks hit the wooden table with a gentle thud and her eyes shot up at the scraping of the chair on the tile floor before she found herself drowning in a steely blue gaze. He sat down and held out his hand, "I'm Fitzgerald Grant."
Swallowing hard before she schooled her features, Olivia gripped his hand firmly, "Olivia Pope." She sat back and let her eyes peruse him as he took a sip of drink, tossing his phone and car keys on the table top. "So, you're the man who's attempting to ruin my candidate's campaign." She finally stated after a full 60 seconds of silence.
A laugh rumbled from deep in his chest at her words, "That I am." He watched as she coolly picked up her glass of wine, taking a delicate sip of it. He had a feeling that was about the only delicate thing she did. She was bold and audacious and he found himself completely smitten with her in a matter of moments. "To be fair, I'm just trying to make sure my candidate wins the election. After all, she's the better candidate."
Olivia snorted and he was charmed, "You don't honestly believe that puritan is better than Davis?"
Fitz leaned forward, "Miss Pope," he began, "why am I here?"
"If you have to ask me that, then I guess this entire meeting was pointless." She took another sip of her wine.
"You don't honestly think you'll get a decent read on me over one glass of scotch." She grimaced at his words, "Or wine." He motioned to her half-full glass of wine.
She leaned forward again, a grin tugging at her lips, "Actually, I think I already have a pretty good read on you." He arched a brow at her as she finished the rest of her wine and reached for her small clutch. Tossing some cash on the table, she stood. She didn't miss the way his gaze started at the top of her head, moving over her body, which was covered by a tight cream colored dress, her lean and clearly toned legs accentuated by her sky high black pumps, "Good night, Mr. Grant."
Reaching out, Fitz latched onto her wrist, his thumb brushing tantalizingly over her pulse. He grinned as it fluttered beneath his light touch. "Ms. Pope," she paused, holding his gaze, "I'm sure I will see you soon."
"At the town fair in Savannah on Saturday." Olivia murmured. She withdrew her wrist from his grasp and was out the door a moment later.
Suddenly, Fitz was very much looking forward to the town fair on Saturday.
SCANDAL
XOXO
MAS