Spies Like Us

Fitz's POV

It was late Sunday afternoon and Olivia and I were going to meet up to go over our plan once again. We were supposed to be doing it over the hotel phone to preserve the image of us being split up, but she had spent all day long in her room and warned me that she was on the verge of going mad. She wanted to meet at an out of the way place, so we could hold hands and kiss each other while we talked openly. Wisely, I left the keys to the rental car at the front desk and took a cab to a restaurant on the outskirts of town. If someone wanted to find us, they were going to have to work for it.

I sat at a table and glanced around the room, just to take in the sights of the place. It was a quaint little mom and pop place off the beaten track and the outside made me wonder if the food was safe. But Olivia had insisted that it was amazing, so here I was. There were several people inside at various stages of eating their meal. I smiled at the ones who briefly made eye contact with me and settled my eyes back onto the menu.

The tinkling bell over the front door was heard and I glanced up, hoping it was Olivia. It wasn't her, but a face that somehow looked vaguely familiar to me nonetheless. It was a middle aged man, rail thin, brown hair and tired brown eyes. He was greeted by the hostess and as he lifted his gaze, I quickly brought mine back down to the large plastic menu in my hands. I could feel his eyes on me as he was led to a table behind me. I needed to warn Olivia but knew that texting was not an option. Not now.

As I sat there trying to come up with a way to warn her about the situation without bringing attention to the man sitting behind me, she walked in the door. She had on a floral dress that went to the floor, her hair was hanging half way down her back, and she was smiling brightly. She looked stunning and I wanted nothing more than to hold her. She caught my facial expression, which had turned sour at the sight of her, and hers immediately dropped to my level.

I mouthed the words 'behind me' to her and watched her roll her eyes. To anyone in the restaurant, it would look like she was rolling them because she had just seen me in there. But I knew she was unhappy because our plans for a little alone time had been fucked up.

She walked up to my table and quietly asked, "What the hell are you doing here? I thought we agreed that this was my place, not yours?"

I scowled up at her. God, she was beautiful. And brilliant. And sexy. And overdressed. Stop! Stop! Stop! My brain chanted loudly. This is not the time or place for those type of thoughts. Get your shit together, man! "I like the way they make their chicken parm. Besides, you don't own the place, Olivia. I can eat wherever I want." I went back to glancing at the menu, knowing she was still standing impatiently in front of me.

"I brought you here once. That doesn't make it yours either. We agreed that you wouldn't come here again. So, get out!"

Something about her threatening me stirred the intense desire I always felt whenever she was nearby. I wanted her badly but knew there was nothing I could do about it right now. Or was there? I stood up abruptly, and grabbed her by the arm, leading her outside. I heard her whisper, "This is sexy as hell" on the way out the door. I had to agree.

The moment we were outside, and the door had shut behind us, I released her arm wildly, placing her body so it was facing the windows that looked into the restaurant and my back was to them. "YOU DON'T TELL ME WHERE I CAN AND CAN'T EAT!" I screamed as my eyes roamed her body and I groaned quietly.

"What the hell is going on, Fitz?" she said in a loud challenging voice.

"There's a man inside sitting at a table behind the one I was at. He looks familiar to me, but I can't figure out where I know him from. Do you see him?" I quietly asked. In a much louder voice I said, "What's going on is you are stalking me. It's not pretty on you, Liv!"

She paced in a circle as I watched her. She wisely stopped when her back was to the windows and spoke quietly and quickly in a nervous voice. "Shit! He was at the toy testing. I'm pretty sure he's one of the guys who led Minnie Mouse around corporate. I definitely remember him being in the room when pictures were taken of Harrison, Leesa, and Sophie. What the fuck is he doing here?"

She lifted an arm into the air and shouted, "Stalking you would mean I'm remotely interested in what you do. I don't give a shit about you! The sooner you realize that, the better off you'll be!"

Back in her quiet voice she said, "Don't call me Liv when you're supposed to be pissed off at me. It's too personal. Other than that, you're doing great. You had to wear those tight ass navy blue pants didn't you?"

I couldn't stop the smile that covered my face. She was cursing me out and giving me pointers on acting pissed off at her at the same time. I was in love with an incredible woman. "That's rich coming from you, babe!" I shouted sarcastically.

Olivia raised her eyebrows at the new pet name.

"Who was texting me last night reminding me of the time?" I put my finger to my chin and added, "Who was that? I wonder?"

"Fitzgerald Grant, you're getting dangerously close to me kicking your ass for real out here." She hissed.

"You're right. Sorry, babe." I winked. "You know what? Fuck this! You win! I'm not hungry anymore anyway." I shouted. I stomped towards the left into the gravel covered parking lot. Olivia followed me just like I wanted her to.

When I knew we were safely out of sight of all the patrons inside, I turned around quickly and latched onto her lips. Her hands were around my neck in an instant and mine wound around her waist, pulling her pelvis harshly against mine. It felt like it had been an eternity since the two of us had kissed each other and I realized how much I missed the simple gesture I took for granted.

She pulled away from me and said, "stop! Someone will see us. Or come out of the restaurant."

"There's a bell over the door. We'll hear it if anyone comes outside." I resumed kissing her, sliding my tongue into her mouth and savoring the taste of her.

Olivia pulled away from me once again and looked into my eyes. I was feeling impatient and confused and a little angry and I'm sure all those feelings were displayed on my face as well. Her hands came to my cheeks, she smiled warmly at me, and said "We need to stop."

"Liv, we're fine right here." I started.

She took two steps backwards from me and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I hate this. I hate not being able to be with you or kiss you or hold your hand or fall asleep beside you every night. I hate all of it. But we are playing parts in a dangerous game, Fitz and we can't afford to be careless. There's too much at stake and I don't intend to lose."

"I'm sorry, Liv. I got carried away. I miss you too you know? It's not going to be for much longer though. We are going to come out on top of this and then we won't have to play games like this. Although you screaming at me made me want you in the worst way. You are so sexy when you're fired up, babe."

"Do not call me babe." she said grinning.

I grabbed for her as the tinkling of the bell could be heard behind us. Without either of us turning around to see who it was, Olivia yelled, "DON'T TOUCH ME!" and slapped me across the face before she angrily stalked to the rental car and drove away.

I looked up, still somewhat in shock that she had actually slapped me, to see our mystery man walking towards a car near where I stood. I shook my head back and forth angrily as I rubbed my sore cheek and said, "fucking women!"

He reached his vehicle, opened the driver's side door, and looked over at me. "That was quite a little show the two of you put on just now. Very entertaining. You really need to work on your anger though. The lust in your eyes for Miss Pope gives you away too easily so it wasn't realistic at all. But as I said, very entertaining. Have a good evening, Mr. Grant." He got into his car and drove away without giving me a second look. That little fucker! Whoever he was, he had just added his name - which I still had to learn – to the list of people I was taking down.

I called a cab to pick me up and while I waited for it, I plotted some more. I was thoroughly pissed off by the time it arrived and slid into the backseat, slamming the door, I angrily barked out the name of the hotel to the driver. The ride calmed me down somehow and I was feeling more like myself by the time we reached the destination. "Sorry for being a bastard when you showed up. I hope this makes up for it?" I slid him a fifty dollar bill and got out of the car.

Once I got into my room I noticed the red blinking light on the hotel phone, indicating that there was a message for me. Most likely from Olivia. I knew she had questions and concerns about our little display earlier, but right now I needed a shower and some time to think.

I turned on the shower and stepped in without waiting for the water to heat up. The briskness of the water was just what every part of my body needed. When the water turned much hotter, it felt soothing to my skin. I lathered up my hair and began thinking about the weasel at the restaurant. Olivia said he had been at the toy testing in California. That meant he was most likely Abby's guy, since she was on the wrong side of this too.

I wondered what his purpose was for being in New York? Was he here just to spy on Liv and me and report back to Abby what he had seen and heard? Was he following us as well? I couldn't remember seeing him anywhere else we had been, but I hadn't been paying that much attention either. I was watching for tall muscular guys in black, not skinny nerdy types who tended to blend in. I was going to have to re-think some things.

I stepped under the shower head to rinse my hair. Switching gears for a moment, I knew that I would have to call Samuel tomorrow and let him know what my decision was about his job offer. That would be another part of the plan. He would have to be involved in what we were doing. Hell, he already knew more than we did, so it wasn't going to be difficult to draw him into what we were doing. He, Olivia, and I had a meeting set up for later tonight to discuss everything. It was to be held in his office, so no one uninvited would be able to see or hear anything we didn't want them to.

I wondered about Cyrus and his part in the company's scheme. Did he just get his jollies off on seeing people miserable? Or did he have a greater plan in place? I wondered why he had told Olivia about her landing the promotion? Was it really an absolute truth? Or was he toying with her yet again for reasons unknown? I didn't have any answers, but I knew I could trust Cyrus Beene just about as far as I could throw him.

Feeling more confused than when I started, I rinsed my lathered body off and stepped out of the shower. I dried off and hung the towel from my hips as I walked into the bedroom. No time like the present, I decided. I picked up the phone and discovered that I had just one voice mail.
Fitz? Please let me know when you get back to the room. I'm sorry I slapped you across the face but when I noticed it was the creeper coming out of the restaurant, I was glad he saw it. I hope it doesn't hurt too much? I love you. Call me back!

I deleted the message as I shook my head and dialed the number to her room. She answered on the second ring. "Hello?"

"Hey you. How's your face?"

"Still handsome." I replied with a chuckle.

"If I didn't improve anything, I'm at least glad I didn't do any damage either. I'm sorry about that. I saw him coming out from the corner of my eye and knew I had to make it look good."

"He didn't buy it." I said flatly.

"What do you mean, he didn't buy it? You talked to him?"

"Yea. After you took off I noticed that he was walking my way. He basically said that he knew it was all an act. He accused me of being a bad actor. Can you imagine that?"

"Well, kind of. Yea." She admitted.

"What?!" There was no way she was going to take his side. "What do you mean?"

"You did call me Liv in an argument. And you kept giving me sexy eyes. It was very distracting."

"That's what that guy said too! He said that I needed to work on my anger because my eyes showed my real feelings for you. Something about lust or some shit like that. I don't know."

Olivia giggled. "Yes, you do. Number one, you know exactly what he said because you probably came back and picked it all apart piece by piece before you called me."

"Are you really doing a countdown right now?" I muttered.

"And number two, you know he's absolutely right. You were too busy trying to undress me with your eyes to convey any kind of anger with them."

"Can you blame me? You had on that pretty dress and your hair was waving down your back. You looked sexy as hell. And it's been a few days since we've been together. I miss you, Liv." God, I was whining right now.

"You're pathetic. But I miss you too. We won't have to keep up this charade for much longer. Just a day. Two tops. Then we can be free to be us. Happy together us." She sounded excited. It was contagious.

"Two days tops?" I asked.

"Yup. Are you going to meet me at Samuel's office at nine?"

"That's the plan. Maybe you should arrive a little early, so I can drag you into one of the corporate bathrooms and make out with you?" I suggested.

"I'm not making out in a bathroom! That's what broom closets are for." she giggled.

"Ride with me in the limousine. We are just going to a meeting."

"We aren't supposed to be seen together unless we are fighting." She reminded me.

"No one is going to see anything through heavily tinted windows. That way we wouldn't need the corporate bathroom or broom closet. We can take care of each other in the car. Please say yes. I need you to say yes. Especially if I have to wait two more days to touch you in public." He hoped he was winning her over.

Olivia took a deep breath in and eventually let it out again. There was a lengthy silence on the line before she answered me. "I suppose you make valid reasons for riding together to the meeting."

"YESSSSS! I'm going to kiss your face!"

"You'd better be planning on kissing a lot more than just my face. When we get out of the car, you go out one door and I go out the other one. Deal?" She sounded so serious and professional

"You've absolutely got a deal. Whatever you want, babe." I said grinning like a kid on Halloween.

"Fitz!" Olivia said in a warning tone. "Don't."

"But I love you."

"If you love me you wouldn't call me that." she patiently explained.

"If you love me then you'll put out in the car tonight." I teased.

"I gotta go." She said flatly. "I'll see you downstairs. Bye, Fitz."

"Bye, babe." I said chuckling, knowing it would irritate her some. I got dressed, brushed my teeth, and did my hair – noting that I needed a haircut very soon. I realized that I never ate anything for dinner and decided that the limo could stop somewhere after the meeting, so Liv and I could eat something before bed. A full stomach and some energetic exercise should make for a restful night's sleep tonight. I could hardly wait to get her alone in the car.

Olivia's POV

I was sitting in the back of the limousine waiting for Fitz to arrive. I had purposefully sat down on the far left side as close to the door as humanly possible. He would get instructions to sit on the right side when he got into the car. I made sure the partition was up between us and the driver, so he wouldn't hear the things we did to each other as he drove. Anticipation was coursing through my veins. I couldn't wait to get my hands on Fitz.

Ten minutes later, he finally made his appearance. The back door opened, and Fitz slid onto the seat. As soon as the door was closed, and the driver was making his way to his own seat I said, "Took you long enough. Are you trying to make a grand entrance or something?"

He glanced around with a frown. "I'm sorry. I believe I have the wrong limousine. I specifically requested the bitchy free ride. I shall have to take that up with Charles once the vehicle comes to a stop."

"His name is Robert and he's very nice." I informed him.

"Naturally you already know his name. I'll bet he knows Sophia's favorite color by now, doesn't he?" Fitz asked with a chuckle.

"Do you really want to spend this twenty minute car ride talking?" I asked, shifting in my seat to face him. "It's been a while since I've seen you naked, but we can talk about the driver if you'd rather?"

"I don't give a shit about the driver. Come here!" He pulled me onto his lap and began kissing me feverishly. He groaned when my tongue eagerly darted into his mouth and he sucked on it. "Thank God you wore a skirt. Pants would've taken too long."

"Fitz?" I said in a threatening tone as I looked down at him from atop his lap.

"Yea, babe?" he asked as innocent as could be.

I grit my teeth, deciding to let it go this time. "Stop talking and give me what I need."

He had bunched up my skirt around my waist and was in the process of jerking my panties down my legs. But he stopped, and I knew if he was playing one of his sex games, he would not live long enough to finish playing it. Once the little fabric was gone he looked up at me from his lazily reclined spot on the seat and asked, "What is it that you need?"

I put my hands on his shoulders and straddled his lap as I began unzipping his pants. I reached inside of his underwear and grabbed a hold of his firm length, pulled it free, and began stroking him slowly. Looking into Fitz's eyes I said, "I'll tell you in a minute." My head disappeared into his crotch as I took most of him into my mouth and began sucking.

"Ohhhhh god!" He exclaimed loudly as his stomach muscles momentarily tensed up. His hand pushed back the curtain of my hair that had fallen and blocked his view of me. "Feels...sooooo good." Not long after that, however, he pulled me up to face him. "Can't take much more of that. We are not getting out of this car until I hear what it is that you need. And then, I'm going to give it to you. Really hard and fast." He kissed me deeply, and I could feel him sliding the condom on while he did so. Someone was as impatient as I was.

I broke the kiss and settled myself just above his center. "I need you to fill me up. To stretch me out. To slide in and out of me with lightning speed until I'm dizzy with want. To give me something to think about for the next two nights when I'm lying in my hotel bed all alone and wanting you more than anything. That's what I need! Can you handle that?"

Fitz growled low in his throat and somehow had me flat on my back in a matter of seconds. "Just remember that you asked for it, Liv!" He lined himself up and drove quickly inside of me. I cried out from the exquisite feel of our bodies finally being joined together once again. He tried to muffle the sound by covering my mouth with a kiss, but it didn't work. Fitz wasted no time and began jackhammering away.

He grabbed the heel of my shoes and bent my knees to my chest as he repeatedly thrust into me and that dizzy feeling slowly started to make itself known. "More!" I cried out. I had missed him so much and never wanted this to end. Maybe it would hold me over for the next two days?

"You like it like that...don't you, Liv?" He panted out. "Your face...gives you...away too. You're...mmmm...loving it...fast and hard in the...back of a limo. Such a bad girl." His words were my undoing. I gripped the edge of the seat as hard as I could while the overwhelming warmth took me under and I screamed his name.

He landed on me seconds later and both of us were breathing hard. I wanted to tell him to get off of me but knew that two more days were coming when I would wish I had his weight on top of me. Instead, I wrapped my arms around him and held on tightly. He picked his head up and looked down at me with a big smile on his ridiculously handsome face. "We gotta buy a limo."

I laughed at him and pushed halfheartedly on his chest. He didn't budge. "Get off of me."

"Kiss me."

"Fitz! We've got to get ourselves together to be presentable for this meeting with Samuel."

"The meeting of the three of us can't start until the two of us get there. Kiss me, Liv. I need this moment to carry me through the next couple of days too." he admitted.

I put my arms around his neck, pulling him closer and touched my lips to his. His tongue slid into my mouth to dance with mine. My fingers couldn't stay out of his long wild curls any longer and I felt them glide through my fingertips. When he finally pulled his face away from mine with one last peck on my lips he whispered, "I love you, Olivia. This plan is going to work, and we are going to be together as we both enjoy our new positions in the company."

"I kinda like the previous position." I admitted with a smirk. I picked my head up off the seat and gently bit on his bottom lip.

He grinned down at me. "Like I said, such a bad girl. We are definitely buying a limo! You turn into a crazed sex addict. I can work with that."

I sat up in the seat and began looking for my underwear on the floor. "What would we do with a limo, Fitz?"

"Use it to get to work every day. That is a great idea."

I chuckled at him. "You're crazy! But fun time is over for now. It's go time!"

"Go time?" He asked patiently.

"Where are my underwear?"

"I thought it was go time?"

"I can't go until my lady parts are covered." He gave me that lopsided smile, and I started backing away from him. "Whatever you're thinking about, the answer is no!"

"How about we skip the underwear and I cover your lady parts with my manly ones?"

I pointed a finger in his face. "Fitz. No! Now, come here and let me fix your hair. It's going in a hundred different directions."

"Because you're always yanking on it once you get me naked."

"Shut up and come here." I fixed it as best I could with my fingers. It would do. "What about mine? Does it look okay?" I ran my hands over it, but nothing felt out of place.

"It's perfect." he smirked.

Not trusting him, I opened my purse and got out my make up mirror, holding it up to inspect my hair. Of course, he had been lying. I ran my fingers over my scalp to get rid of the places where it was knotted up. Deciding that it was the best I could do under the circumstances, I snapped the small mirror shut and threw it back into my purse.

"Do we need to go over the plan one more time?" Fitz asked.

"I think the previous four times were plenty. I'm sure that I've got it." I said confidently.

"I'd like to get it again." he chuckled, grabbing my chin and pulling me to him for a quick peck on the lips. The car slowed down, and the driver got out and opened the door for us. "Let's do this." he told me. Fitz watched me climb out of the backseat and then he followed behind.

We didn't hold hands going just in case their skinny little spy or someone just like him was hovering somewhere nearby. He held the door open and gave me a wide berth before he himself went inside. He kept a good three feet of space between us at all times until they were in the elevator. The appearance of things being frosty between us didn't stop Fitz from saying things about how great my ass looked or how he couldn't wait to get me naked again.

Fitz and I were taken to the twenty second floor and stepped out of the elevator onto plush carpeting. This floor was taken up with lots of offices. Most of the doors were closed and the lights out. By all appearances, no one was there at this hour. But the large corner office had a light on and the door was slightly open. We walked towards it, knowing it had to be Samuel's office.

We saw him sitting at his desk looking over some papers, but he hadn't seen us yet. Fitz rapped on the door with his knuckles and said, "Samuel?"

He looked up with a smile and gestured both of us in. "Fitz. Olivia. Nice to see you both again."

We sat down in comfortable chairs that faced his desk.

"When Fitz called earlier and said that he'd like for the three of us to meet at this hour under these circumstances, I thought it was odd. I also thought he was being a tad dramatic. But when he explained the situation at the diner, I worried that he might not be being cautious enough. So, I agreed to meet with you both."

"Thank you, Samuel. We appreciate it so much." I began.

"We know your time is valuable, so we'll get right to the point. I am very grateful that you offered me a position in your company." Fitz began. "One with the same benefits that I already have at Toy Land with a significant pay increase. "

"It's a great offer, Fitz. It'd be hard for me to say no if I was in your position." Samuel said, spreading his palms up and flicking his eye back and forth between us. "But something tells me the two of you have a plan of your own?"

Fitz looked over at me and smiled.

"At first, I was inclined to accept your more than generous offer. But since then, Olivia and I have talked. About everything. Everything I know, including the things that you and I have discussed, as well as the things that she is privy to that I wasn't. We do have our own plan and because of that, I have to politely decline. "

"Care to share it with me?" Samuel asked pleasantly. He grinned and leaned over his desk in order to get closer. "I love a good take down."

"We are going to..." I began. But Fitz cut me off.

"We are going to have to work on the plan. It's a rough idea that needs to be processed and picked apart to ensure its foolproof. There isn't anything concrete to share with you at the moment. Isn't that right, Miss Pope?"

I looked over at him. Something was up. We had a plan. A really good plan. I didn't understand why he wasn't sharing it with our only ally and getting him on board with it to help us carry it out? But if I had learned anything about being around him, it was to pick up on Fitz's cues, and if he was stalling it was for a good reason. "He's right. We are way out of our depth here, but we can't just sit idly by and let our company do this to us. We are going to retaliate. We just have to figure out how to do it and when the best time to strike is. We'd like very much to come back and discuss it with you when we have something concrete. If you'd be open to it?"

"Hell yes, I'd be open to it. I hate to think that these people who call themselves your bosses are taking advantage of good people like you and calling it business practices. It's a sad day when corporate America acts like they are God Almighty Himself, playing with people's lives." Samuel ranted. "What's your basic idea on how to handle this nasty business? Surely you have an idea at least?"

"We do." Fitz stated. "We plan to get a lawyer and sue their asses for emotional damages, creating a hostile work environment, and workplace stress. Watching them have to wade through paperwork and produce copies of specifically dated documents proving they weren't liable for any of those things will be enjoyable to watch. Knowing litigation will be a long drawn out process is fine with me. They should feel some amount of the kind of pain that they have inflicted upon us."

The polite smile was back in place. "That's it? You're planning to sue them?"

"You think I should do more?" Fitz asked him.

"No. I was just trying to be clear. A lawsuit is a good idea. It will keep them busy scrambling to cover their asses. And they won't see it coming. That will work in your favor. But just remember, a workplace lawsuit is considered an act of war. They aren't just going to shell out some money to the two of you and call it a day. There will be repercussions. Swift ones."

"Such as?" I asked.

"Such as you might find out that all of your work friends aren't really on your side. They probably need their jobs and aren't going to bad talk their employers to support the both of you. Then again, they might. It's something to consider though." He explained.

"That makes complete sense. It's something to think about for sure." I gave Fitz a nervous look. "Maybe we should forget all of this? Maybe it's a stupid idea?"

Looking at me, Fitz curtly said, "We only have to work together a little while longer, Olivia. And then you can go back to your life here, and I can go back to mine in California. I'm sorry, but it has to be this way." Fitz looked at Samuel and added, "Do you have any advice for us?"

He seemed to be thinking everything over. He sighed and said, "I think you're on the right path with the lawsuit. I'd need to know whatever it is that you are planning to do before I can give any solid advice on anything. The only thing I have to add at this point is that both of you need to be aware of is that Abby was the ring leader of this little charade."

I couldn't contain the words or shock in my voice. With a wrinkled nose, I exclaimed, "Abby? Are you sure?"

"I'm afraid I am. Very sure in fact. She contacted Cyrus when she found out about the companies merging and the two of them, along with some help from a few higher ups, came up with this crazy rat race scheme." Samuel explained. "Instead of Cyrus, I'd focus on taking her down first."

Fitz's face registered shock and hurt. "I worked beside her for years. She was a mentor to me. I confided things, business related things to her. I can't believe what you're saying is true."

"She's a beautiful woman with a heart of stone. She always did look out for number one though. It didn't surprise me when I learned this information. So, if you've got a decent beginning of a plan to take her down, I'll be more than glad to hear all about it. I'll help if you need it." He offered.

"That's...so much to process." Fitz mumbled. "It changes things a lot. And it does make me want to go after her first. The bitch!" He got to his feet and said, "I appreciate you being a listening ear to all of this. You've been a good friend and I won't forget it. Whether I am allowed to stay at my current job or am let go, I'm going to fight for what's mine as long as I possibly can."

"I understand completely." Samuel said, shaking his hand with that polite smile back in place. "I think it's admirable, if you want to know the truth. Good luck to both of you. If I can be of any help, please let me know. I'm here for you, Fitz."

He shook my hand before Fitz and I walked out of his office and headed towards the elevators. Once inside, I said to Fitz, "What was that..."

Fitz shook his head back and forth silently.

"piece of art on his wall? It was really beautiful. I'd like to know who the painter is, so I can look into buying a piece for my own office." I hoped that came out as effortlessly as it sounded to my own ears.

Fitz held the front door open and we both walked out into the night and slid inside the waiting limousine. I noticed the partition between us and the driver was back down. I slid all the way to the right of the seat and pointed it out to Fitz. He nodded and took my hand, lacing our fingers together.

"I'll call him when we finalize the plan and find out who the painter is. Your office could use some new artwork. The place is probably pretty boring when your head is laying on top of your desk?"

"I wouldn't know." I lied and struggled to keep a straight face. I had no idea the hell what was going on or what had triggered Fitz into guarded conversation, but I knew it was serious. And I knew it had everything to do with the conversation we had just had in Samuel's office. We were going to talk about it tonight. Part of our plan was to not keep each other in the dark and I knew even now that Fitz was thinking of a way for the two of us to escape together to somewhere remote, so he could tell me what was on his mind.

I looked over at him. He was looking out the window. You could all but hear the gears in his mind at work. He was trying to figure out how to stay on top of whatever it was that Samuel had said, as well as stay three steps ahead of whatever backlash would most likely blow back onto us. I couldn't wait to hear everything, so we could work this out together. I squeezed his hand silently and watched his head turn my way. He smiled at me, mouthed the words I love you, and squeezed my hand back. Whatever the hell was going on, I felt confident that we would come out stronger together.

Back in his office, Samuel dialed a familiar number on a burner phone and said, "they bought it. You've got at least a few more weeks until they realize you're in on it too. Yea, they're still screwing. My driver told me."