A/N-Sorry my computer did an update and it wouldn't properly save my file. Then FF was giving me a hard time, but as promised here is a Valentine's Update for your enjoyment. I may add to it depending upon the response so if you like it then I need to know.
Olivia was sitting at the bar nursing her glass of wine. She had a feeling she was about to be left hanging by her best friend. She loved Abby to death, but her flaw was when she was with a man she didn't focus on anything but the man.
Luckily they had picked their favorite bar, and if the man upstairs cared a little about her then her favorite bartender would show up.
She didn't have to wait long to find out that she must have done something right. He walked up behind her.
"And to think I almost didn't come in…"
Olivia squeezed her legs tight. That voice did all kinds of things to her that she didn't want to admit to, It was a week before Valentine's Day. Once again she was the only one with no man. It was time to consider if the problem was really her.
She finally found her voice, "It sounds like you were supposed to have the night off."
"I was but Tom called me. He is trying to get his Valentine's day gift together for his wife Lauren. It wasn't like I was really doing anything so I agreed to cover him."
"That was nice of you…"
"I would like to think so…"
Olivia simply smiled at him. Tonight for some reason him being in her space was doing things to her.
Fitz excused himself to change shifts with the other bartender. She was not sure who owned the bar, but Fitz managed the bar. Like a club the bar had a VIP section. Only the whose/who of the Beltway were allowed in the part of the bar she was in.
She loved it because it allowed her privacy after a hard day as a crisis manager, and it was also a place that she was able to conduct business.
Once everything was changed over and Fitz checked on the other two patrons that were back there with her he walked back over to her with another glass of wine.
"Abby stood you up for Leo?"
Olivia smiled, "How did you know?"
"There is a reason why I introduced the two of them. They have a lot in common."
Olivia laughed knowing he was right.
He looked at her and it made Olivia feel self-conscious.
He asked, "Please tell me that you finally have a Valentine's this year."
"Nope…"
"And why not…"
"No one wants me…"
"That's not true…"
"Name one…."
"ME…"
Olivia gasped. Her gut told her that Fitz had feelings for her, but he had never acted on them. It had always been harmless flirting between them. Although if she was being honest with herself she knew it was more. When she broke up with Edison after finding out he was cheating on her. Fitz had done more than feed her alcohol. He had listened to her. Took her in his office and allowed her to cry. He personally escorted her home, and stayed with her all night.
He never brought it up, and never asked for anything in return. Abby constantly brought it up to her, and told her to go after Fitz. She had been too stubborn or scared to open up. Instead she tried to move on. She had gone on countless dates, and none of them held any promise.
By the time she realized how long it had been since his declaration he was turning around.
Olivia called his name.
"I get Olivia. I'm just a bar manager. I don't know what I was thinking. Let's just pretend this conversation never happened."
He quickly walked away before she could stop him. For the rest of the evening he didn't stick around long enough for them to talk. Instead of doing paperwork at the bar he went to his office. When he thought she had left he made his way back out to the bar. It was also closing time so he thought he was safe.
He was wrong. It was closing time. He locked all the doors, and dimmed the lights. The other bartenders had already brought their registers to the VIP area. Before counting the registers he always did one more walkthrough to make sure that no one had left. Something that Olivia was banking on.
He made it to a corner booth and there sat Olivia. Fitz was shocked to see her.
"What are you still doing here?"
"You avoided me."
"I embarrassed myself enough for one evening."
"No you assumed enough for one evening."
"What are you talking about?"
Before she could answer she saw Tom walking through the door.
He smiled at her. She got up and hugged him, "Thank you. We owe you one."
"Well he wasn't supposed to be here."
"Maybe, but if he wasn't then he would have never asked me out."
Fitz stepped in, "Tom, what are you doing here?"
"Liv called me and asked me if I was still working on Lauren's gift. I was still having trouble getting her one gift. Olivia was kind enough to use her connections to get it taken care of for me, and all she asked me in return was to come in and close up which will take me no time so goodnight you two."
"Fitz wasn't sure why Olivia was doing all of this, but he decided to bite. He had nothing else to do. He grabbed his things, and took Olivia's hand.
"There is a diner around the block. Would you like to grab something to eat?"
Olivia shook her head, "You always talk about cooking. How about you cook me breakfast and we can talk?"
"Sounds good to me."
They made it to Olivia's townhouse. Fitz parked in her guest spot. When he got out he asked her if it was okay to bring in his bag, and changed into something more comfortable. Olivia agreed.
Fitz changed first, and while Fitz was cooking Olivia took a shower and got comfortable. When she opened her door her mouth began to water.
Olivia set the table. She couldn't believe that it was 3:30 in the morning and she was about to eat breakfast. It was a first, but Fitz's declaration made her take a moment to reflect. Now she was ready to share.
When Fitz walked over with their plates he sat them down. She was about to grab her chair when he grabbed her hand. "When I'm around I open the doors and pull out the chairs."
"Sorry, I'm not used to be treated this way."
Fitz simply shrugged since he didn't know exactly what they were doing. "This is how I was raised to treat a woman."
They sat down. Olivia was about to say something when Fitz stopped her, "Let's enjoy our meal. Unless you are rushing to kick me out I am not going anywhere."
Olivia squeezed his hand, "I don't want you to go."
Both of them visibly relaxed and enjoyed their meal. After dinner they moved over to the couch to enjoy the tea that Olivia fixed.
After a few moments of silence Olivia said, "I wasn't silent because it was you. I was silent because it has been you all along. I don't care that you are a bartender Fitz. Sure, I can take care of myself. I am a strong woman, but I want a strong man by my side. I don't want to have to do the heavy lifting all the time. Your job doesn't define you. If it did then what does that say about Edison."
Fitz laughed, "You have a point."
"So did you really mean what you said."
"About being your Valentine?"
She nodded
"I want you more than for one day, but I'll take whatever you are willing to give me."
Olivia decided to throw caution to the wind. She climbed in Fitz's lap. "I think that I want more than one day."
Olivia leaned down and kissed him. It was tentative at first, but quickly heated up. When they finally pulled apart Olivia whispered, "Keep kissing me like that and I will never let you go."
"That is what I am counting on."
Olivia laughed
Fitz looked at her, "Olivia, will you be my Valentine?"
"I would love to be your Valentine…"
Olivia snuggled in his chest, and she ended up falling asleep in his lap. He pulled the throw over them and kissed her forehead. They ended up spending the whole weekend together.
Olivia was already in the office when Abby walked in. before Olivia could say anything Abby was apologizing for standing her up.
Normally Olivia would give her a whole speech about being considerate, but she noticed that Olivia simply said it was fine.
Abby looked at her best friend, "What do you mean its fine?"
Olivia looked up at her friend and smiled and said, "Abby, it's fine."
Abby looked at her and said, "Who did you sleep with?"
Olivia smiled, "No one?"
"What are you not telling me?
Olivia shrugged her shoulders.
Abby sat down in front of Olivia's desk. "You are really scaring me. I have never seen you this calm or at peace. Please don't tell me that you are dying."
Olivia saw that her friend was truly concerned so she decided to tell her the truth.
"I promise you that I am okay Abby, but something did happen when you didn't show up Friday. Fitz ended up working Tom's shift. The conversation of who was going to be my Valentine came up. To make a long story short he made it know he was interested. I was shocked and didn't answer him immediately which hurt him, but I fixed it. We ended up handing out the entire weekend."
Abby sat down in shock. She knew that they would make a good couple, but she never thought her best friend would open herself up and allow him in. She also wondered did Fitz tell her everything.
Olivia smiled, "Yes, I know…."
Flashback
Olivia had gone to the bar with Fitz over the weekend. She didn't want him to miss his shift, and she enjoyed the bar. It was a win-win for her. Saturday night after the bar closed Olivia went to sit in the corner out of the way. Although he managed the bar she didn't want to cause any problems for him if the owner decided to pop in.
Fitz sat down beside her, "I have a confession to make. I don't want their to be any secrets between us."
Olivia nodded. Afraid of what he might say.
He squeezed her hand. "Its not bad. At least I hope not."
Olivia smiled at him.
"The truth is that I am more than the manager of this bar. I own it."
Olivia was in shock.
"Really, then why do you bartend so much?"
"Like you I enjoy my job. You own your own firm, and I am sure that you don't have to lead on as many cases as you do. You just enjoy the thrill of the job."
"That and I don't have much of a personal life."
"Well it is the same for me. My family and I own several bars and restaurants. Nothing was ever handed to us. I have worked from the moment I turned 16, and I am grateful I was raised that way. I don't want you to think I was testing you. I just don't care for titles."
She grabbed his hand, "Thank you for telling me. I hope you realize that I like Fitz the man, and it doesn't matter whether you are a bartender or a bar owner."
He leaned in and kissed her, "I know. I need you to promise me something."
"What's that?"
"Promise me we will make time for each other. I enjoy bartending, and I don't plan on giving it up, but you will be my priority. Besides Tom is the real manager of this location. He will probably enjoy seeing me less."
"I promise Fitz.
End Flashback
Abby smiled, "I'm really happy for you. You know that I have long thought that Fitz was the right one for you. I hope you really open your heart up , and let him in. I know you have been badly hurt in the past. It could go wrong, but it could go fabulously right."
Olivia walked around and hugged her friend, "You are right. For the record my heart opened before I had a chance. Lets hope we are both right, because I have a feeling he is the one."
A could of days later Valentine's day finally arrived. Per Fitz's request she was only working a half a day. He promised her a Valentine's day to remember.
Shortly after arriving to the office a large bouquet of roses were delivered. The bouquet included hot pink roses, lavender roses, light pink roses, light pink spray roses, and lavender spray roses accented with assorted greenery.
It was the start to a magical day. Right when it was time for her to leave a courier arrived with a note.
The note read:
I hope that you enjoyed the roses. As I looked up the meanings of the different roses I couldn't decide on one so I got several. Tonight is about you. I want to show you that you are worth everything and more. I look forward to seeing you tonight, but right now you have an appointment at the Spa. Oh, and you won't be driving for the rest of the day. Don't worry I spoke with Abby she is going to drop your car off at your house before they head out. See you tonight. Fitz.
Olivia couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face. She went to Abby's office. Abby was expecting her friend to give push back. She hated when she wasn't in control so she was surprised when she simply handed her the extra key to her car and told her to enjoy her night with Leo. She reminded Abby that she was taking tomorrow off and she would see her on Monday.
The car service was waiting for Olivia. The driver whisked her to the spa where they were waiting on her. She spent the afternoon getting her hair styled. She also enjoyed a 60 minute body massage, a spa manicure and pedicure, and a four-layer facial with revitalizing eye treatment. She felt like a million bucks when they were done.
She made it back to the car where another note awaited her.
It read:
I am sure you were wondering what you should wear tonight since you don't know where we are going. Abby took care of that for me. I reserved a suite at the Hay Adams for you to get dressed. You need to be in the car at 6:30 so the driver can drop you off for dinner.
When she made it to the suite. There was a box waiting for her. She was excited when she saw what Abby picked out for her. It wasn't something she would have picked out, but she knew Abby was making her throw caution to the wind and she accepted it.
Olivia went and got herself ready. When she looked in the mirror she had to admit she was a damn catch. She headed back out where the driver was waiting on her.
They didn't have to drive too far when they arrived at the next destination. This time the driver didn't get out. When he opened the door and she stepped out they admired each other. Olivia was secretly hoping the suite was more than for her to change in.
Fitz was trying to think of anything to anything to get his lower region under control. It wasn't working too well. Olivia was standing in front of him in a gray Johanna Ortiz glassy orchid dress. She paired it with a pair of Gianvito Rossi leather plexi G-string heels, a Mark Cross box bag, and a pair of Lele Sadoughi hoop earrings.
Fitz finally found his voice, "You look stunning Liv."
"Thank you. After all this was all your doing."
He shrugged, "You deserved it. You work hard, and you needed time to decompress. I would have done it for you whether it was Valentine's day or not."
"I could get used to being treated this way."
"Good, because I have no plans on stopping…."
Fitz opened his arms and she gladly took it. They made the short walk over. When Olivia realized where they were headed she turned and looked at him.
"You remembered…"
"I may not remember every single thing you say to me, but I try to remember anything important. I remember you saying that you work this town, but never have gotten to enjoy all that it has to offer. I thought the Odyssey Cruise would allow you enjoy the nation's capital."
Olivia kissed him, "Let's paint the town…"
Once they made it on board they headed over and grabbed some drinks before finding their seats. As the cruise got started Olivia looked at Fitz. "Today meant so much to me. No man has pampered me just because. Today was all about me, and it felt good to be taken care. You make feel things I have never felt before, and that is scary and exciting all at the same time."
"I feel like there is about to be a but."
"In the past you would be right, but with you there isn't one with you. The only thing I want is for today to be the beginning of a wonderful future for us."
"I want the same thing…"
They sealed the deal with a kiss.
Dinner was everything. They started out with a shrimp cocktail. Their first course was lobster soup. For their entrée they decided on filet mignon & lobster tail with truffle potatoes, glazed baby carrots, with herb butter. For dessert they went with the odyssey signature warm butter cake.
Olivia was heaven. She didn't always eat proper meals with her work schedule, but she had a feeling with Fitz around that would change.
When they made it made to the dock the driver was waiting for them.
She smiled, "He is an awesome driver…."
Fitz smiled, "Yes, Charlie is the best. He has worked for me for years. He was down on his luck after getting out of the service. He couldn't get a decent paying job to take care of his family. One job let to another, and here we are."
"You really are a good dude."
"Not really. I just try to treat people how I want to be treated. I am no different from the next man. I just happen to have a lot of money in my bank account. That could change any day."
"You are right. It is refreshing to have a conversation with a man who doesn't constantly remind me how much he is worth or try to diminish my net worth because I am a woman."
"Don't worry we won't be having that conversation. I am not above you taking care of me. I don't mind taking care of the household."
Olivia was in shock, but she held her thought while they greeted Charlie. He asked them where they were headed. Fitz was unsure of how to ask her. She looked at him. "Was the suite just for me to get ready in?"
"It is booked for the night, but nothing has to happen. Abby did pack you a bag, but Charlie can take you home."
Olivia nodded, "Charlie, can you drop us off at the Hay Adams."
"Yes ma'am…"
He helped them in the car. Before he could say anything she climbed in his lap, "I want this. I want you, and for the first time I am not overthinking this. I am allowing this to happen between us. I don't expect you to hit it and quit it. We are both in it for the long haul, and tonight is the first of many. Besides if you are going to be a kept man then I better keep you happy."
Fitz laughed. He was falling for this woman, and he knew there was going to be no coming back. He was ready to jump in head first."
By the time they made it to the suite they were already peeling clothes off of each other.
Once he stripped her bare he gently laid her on the bed. He looked her in the eyes and asked, "Olivia, will you be my girlfriend?"
Unlike the last time there was no hesitation, "Yes…"
He didn't seal it with a kiss. He sealed it by joining them together as one, and it was the beginning of a night to remember.
