"Olivia Pope is here ma'am", Mellie secretary said.
"Ok, send her in," Mellie said.
A few seconds later Olivia walked in the conference room and closed the door behind her. She walked over to the table that Mellie sat at and took a seat.
"Good evening, Olivia. How are you doing today?" Mellie said with her best political smile. She was trying to be nice by starting off with small talk before she got down to business.
"I've been busy meeting with clients all day and it's been a long week for me. So cut the crap and tell me why you needed to see me," Olivia said in a slight agitated tone. The smile Mellie had on her face was now gone.
"Well, since you were nice enough to come down here to see me I guess I'll just cut to the chase. You need to talk to Fitz. Seems like he has lost his mind recently, Mellie said nonchalantly.
"I can't believe this." Olivia said more to herself than to Mellie. She couldn't believe Mellie asked her to stop by to tell her this. This was a conversation that could have been held over the phone. "So let me get this straight. Fitz is losing his mind, which I'm sure he's not, and you called me here to do what? Talk some sense into him?
"Yes, that's exactly what I want and expect you to do, Mellie said. Apparently he wants a divorce now and has already met with a lawyer about it." Olivia raised an eyebrow after what Mellie said in sunk in. Wow! For Fitz to tell Mellie he wants a divorce and have talked to a lawyer about it means he is serious. Olivia thought to herself.
"From the look on your face I can tell he hasn't said anything to you yet. Which I must say is a surprise, Mellie smirked. But I'm sure he will tell you eventually. However, when he does come to you about it you need to tell him to change his mind."
"And why is that?" Olivia asked and crossed her arms in front of her. "Last time I checked he is a grown ass man and he has the right to make decisions for himself. And if that means he goes through with the divorce than that his decision. He knows the possible consequences of getting a divorce while being president. Hell, he knows that he may not remain president after getting one but that's his choice."
"Oh, Olivia. You and I both know the exact consequences of him getting a divorce while being a sitting president. You and I also know that Fitz wants to remain president more than anything else. But you see, I refuse to lose my position as First Lady. I sacrificed a lot of hopes and dreams to make sure Fitzgerald became president. That man and his presidency exist because of me. I gave him children. I sacrificed my time to help campaign while on the trial. I gave him comfort and a sense of being after every ugly argument he had with his father because he always had a way of making Fitz feel less than a man. So for me to sit back and let Fitz divorce me without any protest would be ludicrous," Mellie said with slight irritation in her voice.
Olivia let out a sigh and chuckled a little. "Mellie stop being a drama queen. Aren't you a little too old to be acting like this?" First of all, what kind of mother sends her children off to boarding school half way around the world without a second thought? Second, what kind of woman lies about having a miscarriage just to earn sympathy points from the voters? Third, what kind of person thinks that they are obligated to remain married to someone just because they feel like they earned it? Wake up Mellie," Olivia said leaning into the table. Just because you portray the ideal First Lady in public does not mean you are behind closed doors. Those so called scarifies you made is not true. You made compromises for your own political gain. So just stop playing the sympathy card. If I was you, I would get my things in order starting with hiring a great divorce lawyer. Because you know when Fitz makes up his mind to do something he goes for it with full force and nothing will get in the way of that.
"You would know that first hand wouldn't you Olivia," Mellie said with a smirk. Mellie knew Olivia left herself wide open with that comment and she was going to make her pay for it. She knew if she wanted to remain First Lady should would have to push a few buttons. Even if that meant her next comment was a hit below the belt. "I mean after all you are his mistress right? He did pursue and got you to cave in."
Mellie stared at Olivia waiting for a response but none came. Olivia stared back at Mellie with her best poker face. She couldn't believe Mellie went there but she did. Honestly, she wasn't too surprised because Mellie was great at taking jabs at people for her own amusement. No emotion was shown on her face but deep down it hurt. It hunt like hell because she knew it was true. Fitz never called her a mistress but at the end of the day that was what she was viewed as by definition.
"Looks like the cat got your tongue, Miss Pope" Mellie said with a sense of satisfaction. Before Olivia could respond Mellie continued with her verbal punches. "Last time I checked a mistress's job was to stay in the background and do whatever it takes not to draw attention to herself. In this case, you would not want the public to know about your affair with Fitz. You would not want him to throw his presidency away or his legacy to be tarnished by this type of scandal. So how I see it is that you WILL talk Fitz out of wanting a divorce, Mellie said with her anger rising in her. I refuse to let this so called love Fitz has for you ruin everything. You are the fixer so fix this. DO YOUR DAMN JOB OLIVIA! DO YOUR JOB!", Mellie said in a loud but stern voice. She was not going to sit by and let Olivia reap the benefits of her hard work and it would be a cold day in hell before she lost her position as First Lady.
"You know what, I'm done with this conversation," Olivia said after she realized she had enough. She was no longer going to allow herself to be a human punching bag for Mellie. Olivia pushed the chair back and stood up.
It hurt doesn't it Mellie? Olivia asked catching Mellie off guard.
"What are you talking about?" Mellie said trying to figure out where Olivia was going with this.
"You know what I'm talking about. Fitz is in love with me and not you. He would go through hell and back to be with me. He would sacrifice everything to just have a chance to build a life with me. His true happiness is linked to me. He appreciates me because he knows I don't have a political agenda and I'm always willing to go to bat for him. Everything he has looked for can be found in me. However, I do know what really hurts you above all else."
Mellie just stared at Olivia unable to speak. It was now time for Olivia to smirk with satisfaction. It was also time to hit below the belt.
"He makes love to me while he rarely has sex with you. And when he does find a way to build enough tolerance to have sex with you it's me he is thinking about the entire time. He has to think about me just so he can perform well enough to satisfy you." There was still no response from Mellie and that only meant that Olivia had pushed the right button.
Olivia pushed her chair underneath the table and turned to leave. With her hand now on the door knob, she turned around to make one last comment to Mellie. "Oh by the way First Lady, enjoy the rest of your evening." With that, Olivia opened the door and left the room.