Olivia's POV
This week has been a busy whirlwind of craziness for Fitz and I. We finished up the second and third stops on our schedule and everything had gone off without a hitch. Fitz really took to heart the notes I had given him about speaking to the group, and it showed. He was much more confident and relaxed as he spoke. It seemed to have the desired effect, and everyone was glued to his words. He had connected with the people and they seemed to sense that he cared about them.
At the third stop, I addressed the large group and I was completely comfortable with it. I had pushed Fitz out the door of yet another hotel so we could get there early and I could meet the staff. Connecting to people matters to me and I knew that once they received the news about the merger, it would matter to them as well. They would have someone they could talk to or ask questions to once the shock wore off.
Fitz had relinquished the large group job completely over to me and I didn't mind at all. Both of us worked well together to answer questions pertaining to the merger or anything else the associates could think of. We were getting a great working rhythm going and our stops were running like a well oiled machine. I was very proud of us for putting our differences and competitive natures aside to do the job asked of us. We were back to professionalism between us, and the stick seemed to have fallen out of Fitz's ass for the time being. The atmosphere was much more comfortable and relaxed, and it helped us get the job done without having to act like we were in a board room twenty-four seven.
We only had one more stop until we started flying, and honestly, I couldn't wait to turn in the keys to the rental car. I was so sick of driving for long periods of time on boring stretches of interstate highway. I must have looked tired when we left the third store, because Fitz asked me for the keys like he always did, to put our things in the trunk. But this time he kept the keys and when it was time for us to leave, he got into the driver's seat. I didn't hesitate and got into the passenger seat to relax some.
"What exactly has come over you, Mr. Grant?" I asked with my eyes closed and head leaned up against the head rest of my seat.
"What do you mean? I thought it went very well? Did I miss something?" He asked.
"I mean what made you take the initiative today? Am I that terrible of a driver?" I teased.
"I know the rule and thought I would change things up a bit and get my own way as well."
"What rule?" I asked, sitting up and forgetting my exhaustion for the moment.
He looked over at me and grinned smugly. "The one where the driver controls the radio. I have better taste in music so here I am. Besides, you always do the driving and I thought it would be a nice thing to do for once."
"You most definitely do not have better taste in music than I do." I chuckled.
"You don't even know my taste in music. How about you take a nap so you're not so crabby later?" He chuckled.
"Nothing is happening later but a long soak in a bubble filled tub and a glass or two of wine." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Olivia thought about soaking in a hot tub with him. Her mind went to places that made her core ache.
"Are you alright?" Fitz asked from the driver's seat? "Olivia? Hello?"
She shook her head a few times and said, "What? Yup. Great. I'm going to take your advice and close my eyes. Wake me up if we stop anywhere please."
"Will do." Fitz said with his eyes on the road.
She opened her eyes as the car came to a stop. Olivia rubbed her eyes and looked out the front window. "Where are we?" She asked sleepily.
"Gas station." He put the car in park and looked over at her. "I'm in the mood for a gas station hot dog."
Olivia scrunched up her face. "What? Really?"
"No, not really. The car needs gas." He chuckled.
"This sarcastic version of you is highly entertaining. But you might not live long enough to keep it up." I retorted as I slid my shoes back onto my feet. "But since we are here, you can buy me something to drink."
"You make as much money as I do. You can buy me something to drink while I fill up the car." He said smugly, before shooting her a lopsided grin and closing the door.
I begrudgingly made my way to the car carrying both of our drinks when my phone rang from inside my bag. It always seems to ring when my hands are full. I set the drinks down on the back of the car and fished my phone out of the depths of my purse. I found it by the fourth ring. "Hello?"
"Liv!" Cyrus' voice boomed through the line. "How are you? How's the road trip going? Give me all the details."
"Cyrus! I...wasn't expecting to hear from you." I fumbled.
"That part is obvious." He chuckled. "How is everything going?"
I glanced up and saw Fitz screwing the gas cap back on the car and watching me with guarded eyes. "It's going great. Fitz and I are making a great team it turns out." I was trying to sound positive and upbeat. It wasn't really hard to do.
"It's Fitz now, is it? That's interesting." He remarked overly cheerful.
"Well..." I said, turning my back on Fitz. "When we aren't around employees it's Fitz."
"So where are you right now? Buying shoes somewhere in a strip mall?"
"How long have you known me, Cyrus? You know I don't buy shoes from a strip mall." She chuckled.
"I also know you don't take your eyes off the prize when it comes to work, but here you are, sounding like a blind woman."
"Cyrus, I..."
"I'm on my way to a meeting with my boss to give him an update on your friendly little adventure. I'll be calling you later on to get answers to the questions I'm SURE he's going to have. Get your head on straight and remember why you are there. And it's not to be part of a team!" He shouted.
"Yes, Sir. I'll speak with you later. Goodbye." Olivia ended the call and threw her phone back into her bag with a frustrated sigh. Cyrus was right. She had lost sight of the reason she was here. And as Cyrus had said, it wasn't to become part of a team.
Olivia was here to further her career with a promotion that she had earned and worked tirelessly to attain. She wondered when she had forgotten that little fact? When had this become a partnership activity? The two of them were certainly not going to share the promotion, so why were she and Fitz, Mr. Grant, acting like they were participating in a buddy system of some kind? What the hell was she doing acting casual with the competition? Cyrus was right. She needed to snap out of it and get her vision for her future back on track. She rolled her shoulders, grabbed the two bottles of water, and got into the passenger seat.
"Everything okay?" Fitz asked from behind the wheel.
"Fine. I hope water is alright?" She asked in a clipped voice.
"Water is perfect. Thank you. How much do I owe you for it?" He joked.
"Two dollars and thirty-eight cents." She said as she unscrewed the lid to her own bottle and took a long drink of the icy cold drink.
"Wow. Okay. I'll get it to you as soon as we get to the hotel." He replied quietly.
She could hear the shock in his voice, and hated herself for putting it there. In order for her to stay on track and keep her focus, Olivia needed to go back to professionalism between them. She hated the thought of that too, but knew she had let her guard down around him too long already. This was not a friendship or partnership. It was a job, and she was here to kick ass.
When they arrived at the hotel, Fitz parked in front of the entrance and turned off the car but remained in his seat. An unspoken heaviness filled the air inside the vehicle, but neither one of them knew how to get rid of it. Olivia waited for Fitz to make the first move. To do something. Or say something. When it became obvious that he wasn't getting out, so Olivia reached for the door handle to check them in herself.
He turned his head in her direction, touched her arm, and said, "Wait."
She closed her eyes and sighed, making the heaviness somehow even heavier. Olivia tried to think of something to say, to make things between them light again. All she came up with was, "Did you want to go and check us in to the hotel? I can wait here."
"No. I mean, I will but what was that back there? You turned into a different person after you got off the phone. Is everything okay? Is it your family?" He sounded genuinely sincere, and Olivia hated that she had been so petty over the damned water. "You can talk to me, you know."
She gave him a small smile and shrugged her shoulders. "It's work. And nothing I can't handle. I'll go check us in if you want to grab the bags?" Olivia wasted no time getting out of the car and walking quickly inside the foyer.
The two of them got on the elevator and rode up to their floor in silence. She wordlessly went to her room and Fitz went to his. Once inside, Olivia dropped her suitcase on the floor and flung herself down on her bed. As she stared up at the ceiling, she wondered how she would ever be able to go back to being professional Olivia around him, after getting to know Fitzgerald Grant as a person? They still had twelve stops to make on their trip and she couldn't imagine being cold to him for the next several weeks.
Olivia curled up on her side, and had almost fallen asleep when she heard her phone ring. It had to be Cyrus calling her back. She didn't want to answer it, and tried to ignore it altogether. But she eventually got up off the comfy bed and grabbed her phone from her bag. When she saw his name on the face of her phone, a combination of obligation and guilt had her answering it and giving him her best side. "Hello, Cyrus."
"Hey, Liv. You sound better than the last time we spoke." The truth was he was fishing for information from her. Maybe she had gotten her head out of the clouds since they talked earlier? She did sound
different, but Cyrus assumed it was from his long distance kick in the ass. He was going to take credit for it no matter the reason behind it.
"It's been a long day, Cy. I think the road is getting to me. I'm really looking forward to flying so I won't be stuck in the car on the way to stops anymore. You know what I mean?" She hoped he bought that excuse.
"Oh yea, I remember my road days. It's tough, but it makes you tough too. Builds character."
Olivia wasn't going to respond to that.
"So, how is it really going there? California is beautiful, huh?"
She knew what he was doing. She had worked with him for so long, she knew most of his tricks. If she commented on the beauty of the state, it meant she wasn't paying attention to her work. Olivia wasn't stupid. "It's really hot. And there's too many damned people here. I miss nice, normal Boston." At least the last comment was an honest one.
"There she is! Look, I know I sounded like a bastard earlier, but I'm not sorry. You sounded like you had lost your focus. Maybe it was a momentary lapse? Maybe I caught you at a bad moment? Whatever it was, I'm glad you sound more like yourself. Now. What has been happening and where is Mr. Grant weak? We can exploit his weaknesses and use them to our advantage. It's not personal. It's..."
"Business. I know." Olivia finished. "I haven't exactly had time to make a list of his weaknesses. I've been very busy here, Cyrus. There are actually large crowds of people who are worried about their job security. It's a major undertaking to calm them down and answer their concerns."
Cyrus waved a hand dismissively in front of his face. "I know all that. You are a people person, Liv. It's what you're good at. And it's part of the reason you were chosen for this task. The way you handle the people will certainly shine a light on yourself that no review or recommendation from me can ever come close to. But surely you've seen something lacking in him that you can use?"
Olivia tried to think of something small that she could give to Cyrus to pacify him without doing real damage to Fitz. "He's not very good at public speaking. He freezes up and fumbles over his words. It's embarrassing to watch."
"There ya go! You need to get in there and steal the show from him whenever you can. Public speaking is one of your many strengths. Is there a way for you to do that without drawing his suspicion?"
"Oh, you mean like addressing the crowd? That's a good idea!" She was not about to tell him that Fitz had already given her that job.
"I like it! You need to do whatever it takes to make that happen. I know you've got it in you, Liv. Call me by the end of next week telling me you're on it! No excuses! We need to get you a one up for this promotion. Do whatever it takes."
"I'll take care of it and talk to you next week."
"It needs to happen before the press show up to cover the story of the merger. Bye, Liv."
Olivia ended the call and shook her head. The first press stop was at the first store they visited once they started flying. Great. At least she already had the task done. One less thing to worry about. She glanced at her watch and decided she wasn't going out to dinner tonight. She'd order room service instead after she had a bath and a glass of wine, just as she had been looking forward to earlier.
She dragged herself up off the bed, knowing sleep was going to be several hours away and went into the bathroom to start filling the tub. Grabbing her own bubble bath from her bag, Olivia generously poured the liquid into the steaming water and watched the bubbles begin to form and gather on top of it. She took off her clothes, folding them and setting them on the white marble counter and gingerly stepped into the tub. Remembering that she wanted some wine, Olivia went to the phone near the bed and made the request, asking for it to be sent up in a half hour.
Once she was sitting in the warm water, she leaned back against the end of the tub, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. The tension from all things Cyrus was starting to slowly melt away. She needed to think about everything he had said, but decided that would be saved until she had a filled wine glass in her hand. This time was for relaxing.
After a while, the water started feeling cooler on her skin, and Olivia knew she had to wash up and get out. After washing her body, she pulled the plug and turned on the shower. She rinsed off her skin and stepped out, wrapping herself in a thick white towel. She wondered why hotel towels were always white? She shook off the random thought and dried her skin, followed by applying scented lotion all over.
Feeling like a new person with a new outlook, Olivia wrapped herself up in the white hotel robe. Maybe she had over thought the entire conversation with Cyrus? Maybe he wasn't being an ass, he was just checking up on her progress? She was well aware of her purpose on this trip after all, even if her ideas of it had changed some. Nothing had happened that was detrimental to her career. Maybe Cyrus just needed to calm down?
A brisk knock sounded from her hotel room door. Olivia grinned, knowing her beloved red beverage of choice was on the other side of the door. Now she'd be able to get some real thinking done. After a glass or two, she'd order some room service and eat dinner while she looked over the information for their next stop. And then sleep would come. Without an early day the following morning, Olivia planned to sleep later than normal. Maybe she could talk herself into skipping her run? She went to the door, grin still in place, and opened it wide.
Fitz's POV
He didn't know why, but this day was dragging ass! His daily routine hadn't changed all that much now that he was on the road, but it seemed like this day would never end. Part of the problem, Fitz realized, was all the driving he and Olivia were doing every day. He was so sick of being in the car all the time. He felt like he was living out of it. The thought of flying the rest of their journey was a happy thought that kept him sane on days like this one.
The monotony of packing and unpacking every single day in a different hotel room was getting a little tedious too. Fitz missed his bed. He missed his dog too. Roscoe was bound to weigh fifty pounds by now. The thought of getting him back to loving their runs together outside was an exhausting one. Getting him back in shape was another overwhelming thought. Fitz decided to put it out of his mind for today though and concentrate on what had to happen.
He was completely comfortable working side by side with Olivia by now. She was intelligent, funny, big hearted, humble, and gorgeous. The last attribute brought about some thoughts that were equally as exhausting as his day to day ones. But they were a lot more interesting to think about. As much as he tried to keep things between them decent, civilized, and polite, the lustful dirty musings still snuck in there.
He had gotten everything set up in the warehouse, even put out the snacks for the employees to enjoy, while Olivia chatted with the store employees working inside. He had come to appreciate her willingness and eagerness to learn their names and hear their stories. She said it made the people more real to her and that she genuinely loved that part of each visit. Fitz gave her a wide berth and stayed away, more or less, to allow her the freedom to connect with them.
As draining and monotonous as the day already was, one of Fitz's favorite parts of the day was watching Olivia enter the warehouse. She changed from the smiling, soft spoken people person into a business woman with a purpose. Fitz could see the change in her stride, in her facial features, and in her voice. She wasn't mean, she was determined. It reminded him of watching Bumblebee morph into a transformer in the film he had seen a dozen times. It was fascinating to him.
She spoke well, he had to give credit where it was due. She connected with the employees in a way that he never could. As he scanned the large crowd, Fitz noticed that she had the attention of every person standing in the room. And not just their attention, they hung on every word she said. Even though he had heard her give this speech before, Fitz found himself listening intently to her as well. She inserted humor at times, spoke about her own fears and worries, and made them feel like she was right there with them in the situation. He knew that quality of connecting with people wasn't something she had learned. It was a gift that just came naturally to her.
When it was over, he spoke to several of the people in the room and shook as many hands as he could. He knew he needed to work on making his own existing connections with these people even better. It amazed him that Olivia had taught him that in the short amount of time the week and a half they had been together. He wondered what else he would learn from her before the trip was over?
Fitz loaded up the car and slid behind the wheel. He knew if he was feeling tired, Olivia was surely exhausted. It would be a nice thing to do to take the simple task of driving off her plate. He passed it off as something about controlling the radio, followed by some smack talk about his taste in music, but that had nothing to do with his intentions for doing it.
Olivia closed her eyes and fell asleep fairly quickly in the passenger seat. The forty minutes she slept gave Fitz lots of time to just see her relaxed. These moments were few and far between, watching Bumblebee change into a different person, always on the move, and trying to mentally stay three steps ahead of everyone around her.
I noticed that in sleep, Olivia was perfectly at ease. Her beautiful face was completely relaxed. The little worry line that sat between her eyebrows and was barely noticeable when she was deep in thought,
was no longer visible. Even her breathing was lighter. Bumblebee was at peace and it was fucking adorable.
She eventually woke up when the car stopped. I didn't really have much choice since we were starting to run low on gas. After a sarcastic battle of wits, Olivia went into the store to get us something to drink while I finished gassing up the car.
Olivia got a phone call as she reached the car and I entertained myself watching her try to find her cell phone in the never ending depths of her purse with two water bottles in her hands. I was screwing on the gas cap and was about to offer to take waters she had purchased, when she set them on the back of the car and finally answered the call.
I don't know who had called her, but Olivia turned away from me and I could hear the defense in her voice. As soon as the call ended she immediately changed. The worry line was back in full force and I was quoted an owed amount of money for my water. I immediately wanted to have a few words with whomever had just called her. Not because I now owed her two bucks and some change, but because she was back to being on edge again.
When we arrived at the hotel I wanted to talk to her. To make sure she was okay. But she wasn't interested in talking and wouldn't let me in, even a little. We went to our separate rooms in silence and I didn't like it. It felt like the day we met, where we were trying to out professionalize each other. It was unnerving, but I silently played my part, giving her space to work it out.
I grimaced when I walked into my room. I left my suitcase near the door and went to stand in front of the window that overlooked the parking lot with my hands in my pockets. I was pretty sure she just wanted to be left alone for a while but I didn't like the idea of her stewing in her room. There wasn't a lot I could do about it though. She was a grown woman who could do as she pleased.
After doing some stewing of my own, I finally sat down at the small table and pulled out my laptop, figuring work would be a good diversion. I pulled up several reports for the store we would visit next and made a few notes. I even looked up the names of all the employees who worked at the store. Somehow Olivia was still influencing me from her silence across the hall. I was getting into a good routine, and had even moved onto gathering information on the following store.
After an hour or so, I had gone as far as I planned to with work. I loved my job, but reports were, by far, the most boring aspect of it. I saved everything and shut my laptop down, putting it back in my bag. I
was still feeling restless, but the idea of going to dinner alone was not enticing at all. Funny how the negative thought never even entered my mind two weeks ago. Now it seemed downright depressing.
Fitz sighed heavily and knew he had to get out of this funk. Shoving away from the table, he rummaged through his bag and grabbed a pair of running shorts. He took off his work clothes, throwing them haphazardly on his bed, pulled on the shorts, and got into the elevator to head downstairs. His mind was full of Olivia while he slowly descended to the first floor.
It was beautiful outside, and he took his time stretching in the warm sun. A small group of women were walking towards the door of the hotel and stopped all chatter the moment they saw him. Suggestive eye contact was made by more than one of them and Fitz stepped to the door and held it open for them. He gave them his best smile and greeted them by simply saying, "Ladies."
One of them turned her head to look at him from over her shoulder and Fitz heard one of them say, "Damn, he's sexy!" He went back to his stretching, ignoring the comment. If only he could get a reaction like that from Olivia.
Trying once again to force her from his thoughts, Fitz started jogging from the parking lot down to the street. Olivia stayed out of his brain all of three minutes before he began wondering what was wrong with her all over again. He wondered about the phone call earlier and came to the conclusion that the caller was either one of her managers or her boss. He knew either way, the call could bring an endless variety of problems to upset her.
Maybe one of her stores was having a problem and needed her help? Maybe her boss was unhappy about her progress on the road and was giving her a hard time? Maybe it wasn't work related at all and something came up with one of her brothers or her niece? Maybe it was none of those things and she was just having an off day? Who knew? He certainly wasn't going to over analyze it any more. He was getting a headache trying to figure it out and the bottom line was, it was none of his business.
He had only done three miles or so when Fitz turned around to go back to the hotel. He wasn't even in the mood to run. The whole purpose of the damned thing was to calm him and empty his mind. His head was fuller of Olivia now than it had been when he left. He was frustrated and tired and hungry. Fitz decided the only one of the three that he could do anything about was to get something to eat, so he picked up his pace as he headed back to the hotel.
He caught his breath as he rode the elevator back up to his room. Once he got to the door, he swiped his key card and went inside, immediately toeing off his running shoes. Fitz got a clean pair of underwear
from his bag and carried them into the bathroom. He turned on the shower, brushed his teeth, and began taking off his clothes.
The hot pelting water felt good on his sweaty skin and Fitz stepped under the spray, letting it fall directly on his head and run down his body. He groaned at the feeling and closed his eyes, trying to relax as the steam wafted around him from behind the shower curtain. When he felt completely relaxed, Fitz washed his body and hair and rinsed off, lingering in the shower a little longer to enjoy the peace of it.
He stepped out of the shower and dried off his clean warm skin, wrapping the large white towel around his waist when he was done. He pulled on a pair of jeans and a blue polo and then went back into the bathroom to style his curls into submission. When he was satisfied with how he looked, he grabbed his key card, wallet, and the keys to the rental car and headed to the door.
Stepping out into the hall, he looked over at Olivia's door, adjacent from his own and wondered if he should invite her to dinner? He took two steps toward her door and stopped himself before he took the third. He recalled her silent anger and decided she probably didn't want to go out. He turned and made his way to the elevator at the end of the hall.
Maybe she would want to go after all? She had to eat, right?
As soon as he spotted the elevator, he turned on his heel and went back towards Olivia's door, doubting himself the entire way He was standing right at her door and raised his hand to knock on it, but hesitated before his hand connected with the wood. She did seem pretty pissed off at him and the rest of the world in general earlier. Maybe it wasn't a good idea?
He huffed loudly and reluctantly began walking back to the elevator. She definitely didn't want to go out to dinner. Probably didn't want anything to do with him either. He should just go grab something to eat by himself and come back to his room and be miserable alone. If anyone saw him they would think he was an idiot. Hell, he felt like an idiot! This was insane. Why were women such hard work?
He pushed the down button on the elevator and waited for the metal box to arrive on his floor. He kept looking over his shoulder every so often at her still closed door as he waited. When it finally arrived and the door slid open, Fitz looked up and saw couple glued to each other, kissing passionately. He stood there uncomfortably, looking at two people who had no idea a perfect stranger was there, or that the elevator door had even opened.
Suddenly, the woman cracked her eye open and when she caught Fitz's gaze, they shot open wide and she pushed away from the man quickly. She wiped her lips and the man knit his brow at her, not understanding why she stopped kissing him. He followed her sight line and saw Fitz, who was now completely embarrassed and felt like he had just been caught watching porn by his mother. He averted his gaze and the man said, "Sorry, man. I wasn't paying attention. We're celebrating. We just got engaged."
Fitz smiled at both of them and reached a hand out to shake the hand of the man. "Congratulations. Both of you. That's fantastic. Don't worry about me, I'll catch the next one."
He watched the metal door slide closed in front of him and saw his smiling reflection in the metal. He knew what he was going to do. He wasn't going to overthink it anymore, and he wasn't going to change his mind again. He turned around and went back to Olivia's door and knocked on it.
As he stood there waiting for her to answer it, he concentrated on keeping his mind clear of all doubts. His smile got bigger as the moments ticked on. He couldn't believe he was doing this.
Finally, he heard the door open and looked up to see Olivia standing in front of him wearing one of the hotel robes. His smile never wavered. He looked at her and at the same time he said, "Come to dinner with me." Olivia said, "What are you doing here?"
Her curiosity at the reason why he was standing at her door, made his smile grow even bigger. At least she wasn't kicking him, well...further out into the hall. "Come to dinner with me, Olivia."
"Come in." She pulled the thick edges of the robe at her throat closer together, holding it in her hand as she looked up at him and shut the door behind him. "I don't think that's a good idea. I'm not going to be very good company tonight."
Not to be deterred, Fitz put a hand on the wall beside him and said, "I am a great listener. You can tell me what's bothering you or on your mind while we eat. You have to eat something."
Olivia looked down at her feet and said in a quiet voice, "I'm really sorry for being bitchy earlier. You've been nothing but great to me and you didn't deserve that. Can you forgive me?"
"There's nothing to forgive. It's fine, really. I sensed that you had gotten some bad news either from your family or work and it hit you hard. Are you okay? I mean, really okay?"
Olivia started to cry. She was horrified, but couldn't stop it either.
"Hey, hey, hey. Nothing is that bad. Come here." Fitz opened his arms and Olivia didn't hesitate to walk into them. He held her tightly close to her chest until she her crying ceased. He tried to just be the shoulder to cry on, but she smelled incredible. His nose was filled with whatever she had put on her skin.
"Ohmygod!" Olivia exclaimed, trying to get out of his grasp and failing because he wouldn't let her. "I'm so sorry."
Fitz smiled down at her face, which was blotchy but still so beautiful. "Stop saying you're sorry, Olivia." Using the pad of his thumb, he wiped her tears away as she looked up at him with a surprised look at what he was doing. "There's nothing to be sorry about."
Olivia eyed him and nodded silently.
They stared at each other for a long quiet moment before Fitz realized this was the moment, and slowly lowered his head. He didn't get very far before Olivia rose up on her tip toes and met his lips in the softest kiss he had ever experienced. The spark that he had felt in their imaginary kiss in the gym was real and it shot through both of them like electricity. Fitz already knew it was going to be difficult to pull away from her when the kiss ended and put that thought out of his mind for the time being. He gently pulled her closer to his chest, keeping his hands respectfully on her back.
If Fitz thought the kiss was all his idea he was sorely mistaken. Apparently she had been thinking about it as often as he had. Olivia seemed more than comfortable with taking the initiative of turning the tender kiss into something much hungrier. He heard her moan and felt her slither her tongue into his mouth to taste as she pleased. Her hands left his shoulders and moved up into the hair on the back of his neck, where she pulled him even closer. It was damned near impossible for Fitz to keep his hands on her back when he wanted nothing more than to carry her over to the bed, skip dinner, and spend some time getting to really know Olivia Pope in all her flawless glory. When she did eventually pull away from him, she bit his bottom lip.
"This bumblebee stings." Fitz replied as his smile returned, somehow even bigger than before, and he rested his forehead against hers.
He watched Olivia open her eyes and look up at him. "Hmmm?"
"Nothing. Say you'll come to dinner with me, Liv." He said as he just held onto her in complete wonder of what just happened.
He watched her arch one eyebrow and pull back from him. "Liv?"
"Yea." He shrugged. "Liv. Is that okay?"
She returned his smile and said, "Yea, just when we aren't around employees. Let me get dressed and I'll meet you in the hall in fifteen minutes. Can you wait that long?"
"I might have something to occupy my mind while I wait. See you in fifteen, Liv." He stepped back out into the hall and leaned against the wall beside her door. His grin was going to be a permanent fixture on his face, but Fitz was more than fine with that. He was glad that Olivia was no longer upset over whatever had been bothering her. He was thankful that he had thrown caution to the wind and knocked on her door.