A/N: Thanks sooo much to everyone who has reviewed, favorited and followed this story! I do try my best to reply to reviews, so if by any chance you didn't get a reply, just know that I have treasured EVERY single one!
Whereas the first chapter was told primarily from Olivia's POV, this chapter will be (for the most part) Fitz' POV
Fitz thanked his lucky stars that this particular flight had not been overbooked and that somehow, there were empty seats here and thus, passengers had the luxury of switching seats for the remainder of the flight.
At one point he had gone back to his own assigned seat to retrieve his briefcase from the overhead bin. He set it down on the floor next to him while he patiently waited for the snack cart to move past Olivia's row. Then, he sat by her side again.
His original plan (before he left Sidney that is) was to use his time wisely and get busy with some very important paperwork. After all, he had 14 long hours to kill.
One look at her and his plans went out the window.
Who was he kidding?
This was just a formality, he realized. There was no way he would be able to get much work done with Olivia seating right next to him.
Olivia…just the sound of her name (in his head) made his head spin.
Who was this woman that had captivated him like no other from the moment their eyes met?
He didn't know much about her…yet her intense brown eyes and caramel skin had captivated him like no other from the moment their eyes met.
Yet there was one thing he felt fairly certain about: this beautiful woman exuded just the right amount of confidence. She was nothing like the women he had previously encountered in his life who either spent considerable amount of time comparing themselves to others and appearing insecure or were just overly aggressive. Olivia stood out from the bunch like a rare gem. She was the kind of woman who was assertive and stood with both feet firmly planted on the ground. This meant that instead of waiting for prince charming to come long so she could live happily ever after, she had decided to live her happily ever after here and now.
Sitting next to her, Fitz had lost all sense of everything but Olivia; the fullness of her soft lips or the sleekness of her hair.
He could have told anyone who'd asked exactly how many inches away her long toned legs were away from his ( in his mind he imagined the length of two rulers taped together ) or how many times she crossed/uncrossed her legs and just how high her skirt rose…. every single time. All of which he noticed without making it blatantly obvious to Olivia.
That's when he noticed her questioning look.
Had he missed something she'd said, he wondered.
"I was saying that I would be taking a connecting flight to San Diego. It's only a two hour drive, I know…but…we'll be arriving after midnight."
"My connecting flight is to Santa Barbara. …that's where I live." He smiled. He needed a distraction so that she wouldn't notice how focused he was on her. So, he pressed his fingers on his either side of his square designer briefcase of sturdy leather finish and heavy duty hinges, trying to open it.
That's when she noticed a shiny indentation on his wedding finger which suggested that he'd worn a ring in the recent past.
Had he been married? Was he still married? She mused.
She would find out soon enough.
After rummaging through, he pulled out some papers and set them on top of the flat surface of his briefcase.
"Taxes? Seriously?" She blurted out before she had a chance to censor her words. Working on tax returns was only akin to a visit to the dentist.
He hesitated for a moment. "Yeah, well…I've been putting it off for so long…I figured that right now, I've got no excuse to put it off any longer…"
"Why not leave it up to your accountant?" Her tone was light and with a touch of amusement. "Aw…don't tell me you're actually an accountant and THIS is what you do for fun…" she gave him a pretend mortified look.
"Are you kidding? I wouldn't trust my accountant with my life! Last year, he checked some boxes here and there that flagged my name to the IRS and I've had no peace of mind ever since!"
Olivia turned to him with sympathetic eyes as though she had told him of the death of a relative. "Well, I've certainly heard a good number of IRS horror stories…but, knock on wood, I've actually never had any trouble…"
"Lucky you!" he smiled ruefully. Trust me, once you get audited, your life is never the same again." He shook his head. "Unless you know people in high places…" he trailed off. "Even though we are the people, supposedly people like you and me that is. The truth is that's not really how the world works! The people are really those in Washington, those who have the real power!" He concluded in a passionate tone.
"Well… if you're not a politician already, you ought to be." She smirked. "We need more Politicians like you, Mr. Fitz. You should run for mayor or something."
"What can I get you?" Cindy Chandler inquired with a smile worthy of a Crest commercial.
They both looked at her a bit startled as they had both been so wrapped up in each other to notice that the snack cart had finally made its slow progression to their row.
Olivia ordered a glass of red wine and Fitz ordered a dry martini.
She took a sip. It wasn't exactly the finest, but she welcomed the way it warmed up her spirits.
"Have you ever had a dry martini?" he asked.
"I don't like it…it's almost like beer…it tastes like kitty litter."
He laughed. Martinis were nothing like beer. "When was the last time you tasted kitty litter?"
"Haven't you ever look at something and just know how it's going to taste? She remarked with a touch of playfulness.
She was flirting but it was so subtle that it appeared that she was just being sociable.
He found himself smiling, delighted. Did she actually say something or someone?
"So what do you really do for a living Mr. Fitz?" she asked while they both nursed their drinks.
"I'm an environmental lawyer." He replied with a smile that could have melted a glacier…perhaps contributed to global warming?
A/N: This chapter was a bit shorter than the first one. I think I'm gonna try to write short chapters like this one so I can update fairly frequently.
if the political parts of the dialogue in this chapter sound familiar is because I took it from the speech that Cyrus gives Olivia (season 2, episode 11). I played with the lines a little bit so they would fit the story. They do have the most interesting conversations, don't they?
Please keep those reviews coming! They make my day, keep me motivated and writing day & night!
