"Another peanut butter sandwich?" Fitz stood over his new assistant's desk and watched her fumble with her crumpled napkin. They'd been working together for five days now and he had yet to see her eat anything besides a homemade sandwich always packed inside the same brown paper bag. Did she love peanut butter that much? Or was their something else going on? He frowned. He paid his assistants well, but maybe she needed more funds. Beneath his steady stare, her cheeks colored and she swallowed hard.

"I just needed a bite of something to tide me over. All I've had today was a breakfast bar on the train in this morning," she said, still not looking at him. Across her desk were scattered copies of the meeting notes he'd asked her to type up for his one o-clock appointment. As if sensing his thoughts, she finally glanced up at him. "Don't worry, I'll have them done in time."

"I wasn't worried." His frown deepened as he headed toward his office. "And make sure you take your lunch today. I don't want to get cited for harsh working conditions."

He closed the door behind him and strode to his desk, distracted. Was he really such a slave driver that his new assistant was afraid to step away, even for a short meal? He was well aware of his reputation for being a difficult man to work for. Hell, most days he cultivated it. Better to be thought too strict than a push over, his dad had always taught him. But Abby had always been in on the joke. She'd dished his snotty remarks right back at him with a healthy side portion of don't-tread-on-me. This new girl though. She seemed too timid, too eager to please, and far too proper to ever consider crossing his commands.

She was a puzzle he found himself drawn to solve. She was extremely conservative, with her tightly wound bun and very little makeup. So different from the women he usually kept company with. Then, the last time he'd taken some documents out to her desk, he'd noticed her fragrance—strawberries and cinnamon and a hint of warm, clean woman. Highly improper things for a boss to be noticing about his employee, but around her he couldn't seem to help himself.

Professionally, he had to admit Quinn was right. Liv was more than competent to fill in for Quinn. She'd even gotten a more than wonderful parting gift for Amanda—a neatly boxed diamond and platinum tennis bracelet. Her attitude has been priceless too. He remembered her setting the wrapped gift on his desk the next morning and bluntly informing him that he should plan on buying future gifts himself, as she would not be doing so again. He leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands over his flat stomach. Maybe the girl had some fire after all.

She hadn't waited for his reply, the color in her cheeks high. She'd just returned to her desk and started the working. Even Amanda had arrived later for their lunch date; Liv had shown her into the office and then vanished without a word…

Fitz pictured her now, seated at her desk, studiously working on his notes. Then he remembered her threadbare clothes and crappy lunches and reached for his phone, wanting to confirm a few details about his new assistant with HR.

"Fitzgerald?" Quinn answered. "What's up? How's Olivia working out?"

"She's doing fine. What do you know about her?"

"What do you want to know?" He could hear the smile in her voice.

Fitz thought for a moment before answering, "First I want to confirm that she's receiving the same salary and benefits that Abby got."

"Of course." Quinn's tone turned suspicious. "Why?"

"She's just... different." Fitz tapped his fingers on the desk. "What else can you tell me about her? Where'd she come from? Where does she live? Does she have family?"

"I can send her file up for you, if you'd like."

"No." He sat back again and rubbed his eyes, thinking of the mysterious girl outside his office door. "I want you to tell me what's not in the file."

"Oh." Quinn hesitated, and he could picture the wheels turning in her mind. Quinn was a smart woman and probably took his line of questioning as sexual attraction to his new assistant. Lord, knew that was usually the case. But this time there was something more, something haunted about Olivia Pope that made him genuinely concerned for her. The taping of computer keys sounded through the phone line as Quinn apparently brought up the Liv's personal files. "Well, let's see – I don't recognize the address, but it's in Federal Heights..."

"What?" Federal Heights was known for its gangs, violence, and most people avoided it, especially after dark.

"That's what it says. Federal Heights. She has a mother listed here as next of kin, but the emergency contact is a nursing home over in Aurora. Maybe her mother's a nurse there? I don't have much more information about her other than she was a student at UNC, but never finished. Why do you want to know?"

Fitz was asking himself that same question. "I don't know. She's a puzzling."

Quinn laughed. "Sounds like she got under your skin."

"No one gets under my skin. I was just curious."

Fitz hung up and Quinn chuckled. Seemed while Liv might've gotten under the skin of the esteemed CEO of their company, she'd yet to curb his rudeness. An idea popped into her head and she placed a call back to Fitz's office.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Grant's office. How may I help you?"

"Olivia? Quinn Perkins here. How are things going up there?"

"Things are going well, I think," Liv answered, her tone less than confidant.

"Good, good. Since it's Friday, I wanted to make sure you're comfortable continuing on next week. I spoke with Abby earlier today, and she's going to be gone for at least three weeks, maybe longer. Do you foresee any problems in continuing to fill her position?"

Liv hesitated. "I don't see any problems, provided Mr. Grant is happy with my work."

Quinn smiled. Exactly the answer she was hoping for. "Fitz is very happy with your work, actually. I just spoke with him. But I also wanted to make sure you were happy too."

"I am." Liv's voice still sounded unusually quiet, if a tad stronger. "I still can't thank you enough for giving me this opportunity. It means the world to me."

"Like I said, you earned it. And I'm happy to reward somebody who works as hard as you do. Liv, if you ever need anything, please let me know. We haven't gotten a chance to really get to know each other, but how about I treat you to lunch on Monday?"

"Um..." Liv sounded shocked at the invitation. "Well, I don..."

"I won't take 'No' for an answer." Quinn grinned. "Let's plan on going around noon, and if something comes up before then call me and we can go a little later."

"Okay, if you're sure."

"Of course I'm sure." Quinn laughed again. "I'm looking forward to it. Hey, have a nice weekend."

"I will. You too."

Quinn hung up and picked up the file for her next interviewee, realizing she finally had a reason to look forward to a Monday.