"Ms. Pope, would you together with President Grant's institute help us?"
Taking the envelope from Professor Yang, she opens it to know more what exactly this unexpected encounter is all about. She took out the contents which were printouts of clippings from all over social media. On her hands were stories recounting recent incidents showing what can only be defined as outward hate and discrimination towards the Asian community
"There has been a significant surge lately of these incidents. From what we have gathered, the elderly are very vulnerable to these attacks but we have also been seeing a disturbing rise in girls and women. These attacks and incidents based on our findings happen largely in California. They are rarely if not never really reported. Do you happen to recall seeing or hearing any of these in the news?" Professor Yang explains regarding the contents of the folder she's holding.
As she sifts the papers and scans through the pile, Olivia wondered as to just how much more there are and how long has this been going on.
"I and a few of my colleagues have been discussing for a while now on what we can do but honestly we don't really have a clear path on where to start. Then that's how you basically came into my mind especially after recalling the cases you handled a few months back."
Taking a deep breath in and out, she places the clippings backs to the envelope and hands them to her. "Professor Yang, I'm not sure as to what you're expecting from me. Have you tried reaching out and bringing this to President Grant's Institute? You know I can share with you my contact there." Olivia offered as she goes to her purse to get her phone.
"I did do some research about them on the web. It's just that…well this may sound weird but my gut has been telling me to try and ask you as well about this."
There was then a brief moment of silence between the two women until Olivia heard her phone ringing.
Her eyes widened a bit upon checking her phone's screen.
The name flashing in front of her is definitely one if not the last living person that she would ever expect to hear from.
"Professor Yang, my apologies but I have to go. I can give you now my contact details," she said as she took out a piece of paper to write on. "Here his name is Marcus Walker." She handed the small nearly crumpled post-it to her.
"Ms. Pope, I know I may have come too forward especially since we were never formally introduced to each other. We don't teach in the same department and we don't have like a shared acquaintance. But I hope that you could take another look."
The professor steps forward and leaves the envelope on the desk where her Prada is placed. Silence once again ensues between the two of them which didn't last long as Professor Yang started to speak.
"Um thank you for taking the time to talk to me and for sharing your contact. I know you're busy so I'll go ahead now. It was nice meeting you Ms. Pope and see you around campus."
Olivia watches her quietly leave the classroom. She couldn't help but get déjà vu from this as it very much reminded her of her first meeting with Annalise. Should she have readily accepted it and take the lead? She wondered.
As she went back to packing her stuff, another noise again from her phone caught her attention. It was a text message from the person calling her a few minutes ago. After reading the reason for that call, she grabs her bag and the folder beside it as she exits the room.
"Thank you for coming."
"Look, I'm only here for Ella okay. Just to make it clear."
"It's good to see you then Liv."
With a few more deep-set wrinkles and his thinning hair now completely white, Cyrus Beane has definitely aged more compared to their last meeting when she gave to him his quiet life sentence. On his left is a bottle of an uncorked Barolo and to his right is the document he mentioned that he wanted to specifically discuss with her.
Taking a seat at the dining chair across from him, Olivia mentally notes to refuse whatever he offers even if it's poured from the same bottle he's consuming.
"My will and testament," he states as he moves the document away from him and towards her.
"It's something that I have been working on. Figured it was the right time to finally do so and I need you to know about it so that when that time comes…then you know what to do," Cyrus said.
"Why me? And why did you even think that I would agree to this? Cyrus, you know that we no longer have any business with each oth—"
"Because you are her godparent."
Taking a deep breath in, she takes a look at the legal paper in front of her after that statement. From Professor Yang to now Cryus, from learning about the case to now this will, this day has increasingly become a bewildering one for her.
"I thought of Michael since it was the most reasonable thing to do so. But knowing that I'm permanently cut off from them, So I started to think about you and Fitz instead since you two are the people we picked as her godparents. Then again there's also my nonexistent relationship with Fitz over the recent years combined with finding out from the news that he has returned to Santa Barbara. That was surprising to hear as I thought that you two unlike Romeo and Juliet have surpassed the odds in spite of all the great tragedies that happened."
Olivia remained silent to that response as she appears unfazed over what he just told her especially in regards to the last part.
"Anyway, I thought of you more as time passes by and had some sheer hope that you would find it in you to agree to this one final favor. For Ella."
As she quietly sits across from him, she reaches for the document and begins going through it.
"All of my assets in liquid and its entirety will directly go to Ella except for this house which is listed in the market as we speak. All of the profit from this then will directly go to Ella's account. She has two bank accounts under her name, one was set up to be her college education fund and the second one is a general account where all of my funds will go to. Listed there is my bank contact who will give you all the information you need. You will be contacted by my lawyer when it is time to execute," Cyrus explained.
"Cyrus, are you…are you dying?" Given the nature of this meeting, she felt the need to ask as she thinks this is where the conversation is naturally heading to.
To her surprise, she hears him chuckle in response. Looking up from the document she finds him comfortably laughing in between sips from his wine glass.
"No, I'm not. Just doing some preparations and what's necessary," he calmly said.
Giving a small nod in response, she releases the document and hands it back to him.
"Do you think I'll get to see him on the other side when I'm eventually six feet under?"
She glanced downwards as a moment of silence once again passes between the two of them. Both knowing as to who he is referring to.
"I wonder you know. If in the afterlife, regardless of religion and whatever stuff that people like bible-thumping Sally would say, will I still be able to see James again? Will he be waiting for me at the end? Can I be with him in whatever world or universe I will find myself in, unlike the short time that I had with him here? Or am I just sounding delirious to even think about those given the things that I have done more so after his demise," he said while he darkly looks down at his wine glass.
Olivia didn't know what to say back. Sure, she could call him crazy and give some hostile remark like why someone like him, a criminal with too much blood in his hands would dare to entertain those thoughts.
But then again, wouldn't that also apply to her too?
She and Cyrus were identical in so many ways which is maybe why when she was his student back then in Georgetown that she immediately looked up to him as her mentor. He was no doubt one of the most powerful and ruthless people she knows that will stop at nothing to achieve and retain power in his hands. Now stripped off of everything, Cyrus has become a shell of his former self. She couldn't help but wonder as to how close she was to ending up like this too.
Thinking it was time then for her to leave, she started to get up from her seat. "Cyrus, I can't stay long," she said.
Letting out a deep sigh he answered back, "Thank you again for coming. I appreciate you taking the time to meet me."
As she grabs her Prada and gives a final nod to say goodbye, she turns around and starts walking to the front door. Just as she was about to reach the doorknob, Cyrus leaves her with one more final remark.
"You have lived a very accomplished life so far Liv. You are probably my most successful student. I do hope with whatever you're doing now that it is finally the life or the beginning of the life you longed for."
It was a few minutes past ten in the evening and Olivia just got out of her bathroom from doing her night routine. Now comfortably lying down on her queen-sized bed, on her tv is the TCM channel showing Gone with The Wind which has been playing in the background ever since she got home. While scrolling through her emails, she was internally debating if she should finish checking her students' papers. As she searches for her bag, her eyes then landed on the envelope that has been sitting for a few days now on top of her dresser. Placing her laptop aside, she gets up and grabs the envelope.
Scattered now on her bed were the printouts she was looking at not too long ago. They were mostly screenshots from different social media platforms reporting various incidents against Asian Americans from random break-ins such as wrecking car windows to throwing out hateful remarks in public spaces. Based on the dates in these published posts, most of them happened during this year and some appear to be recently indicating that there is an ongoing rise of these attacks.
She reaches for her tv's remote control and switches the channel to the late-night news. A couple of minutes into her viewing and all she has seen so far is the usual run-of-the-mill daily report after flipping from one channel to another. Professor Yang was right, this has been hardly or not acknowledged largely at all. Opening her laptop, she began searching on the web as she dives deeper into what has been going.
"Hey Liv, what's up? It's been a while," Marcus greeted from his desk upon seeing her enter his office.
"Hi Marcus, nice to see you. Have you gotten any calls or has someone named Joan Yang dropped by here recently?" Olivia asked as she took a seat across from him.
"Hmm, I can't seem to recall of any. I may have to check with our secretary if there has been any of that as I have been preoccupied lately with preparing for my upcoming trip," he replied.
"Oh okay. How long will you be gone?"
"At least one week. I'll be leaving for Santa Barbara next week to meet up with Fitz and Flynn to check out our California office. Pretty exciting you know; the institute is expanding in just less than a year."
At the mention of California, her eyes then widened as she vividly recalls what Professor Yang told her.
"This is great timing then. Marcus, I need you to take this with you on your trip." She hands the folder she's been holding. With a scrunched look on his face, he gingerly takes it.
"I was recently approached by Ms. Yang, a professor in Georgetown. She was mentioning to me about these incidents that have been happening and a lot has taken place in the state of California. So, she was asking specifically for my help and do something like what we've been doing together. Anyway, I gave her the number here so that she can contact you directly," Oliva explained.
"Okay…and what are you expecting me to do with this?" Marcus tentatively asked.
"Well since you'll be heading there next week for work, you can hand it to the people there to work on it you know like pitch it to them," she nonchalantly replied.
Looking at her with an expression that can be described as either confused or surprised or both, Marcus opens the envelope to scan what's in it. After a minute or two of skimming through the pages, he places it back in and returns the envelope to her.
"Okay you're going with me then," he said.
"What?! No, I won't. I mean I can't go," she immediately replied while caught completely off guard by his response.
"And why can't you? Like you said the professor approached you for this and is asking for help. She's hoping for you to take it."
"Listen, Marcus, I am not taking the lead for this. Plus, since you've already planned to go there, it makes sense for you to bring it. I can't just travel to the other side of the country—I have a job here and I…I can't because of—"
"Because of Fitz isn't it," he dryly said
"What has Fitz even got to do with this?"
"Because it obviously does and the reason why you're so adamant with me doing it instead of you. Look, Olivia, I'm done being this some sort of bridge between the two of you when it comes to situations like this. You know at first I thought I would find myself caught in between Fitz and Mellie since my girlfriend is his ex-wife but surprisingly it's between you two and whatever this unlabeled thing that you two have been doing," His sudden burst of frustration had her rolling her eyes.
"Excuse me Marcus, but what are you even talking about?"
"Oh, come on Liv, this on and off thing. Some days you're cold and will say that you're trying to be professional so you involve me in whatever it is that you want to be done and then next thing I know I will find you here in the office with him like everything is dandy and acting couply. Don't even get me started on having to deal with his mood swings during office hours and I know I'm not wrong when I say that those have something to do with you."
"Wow Marcus I didn't think you'd be so invested in our personal business," she scoffed back.
Now it was his turn to roll his eyes at her. "My flight is this Sunday around noon so I'll have our secretary look into booking a ticket for you as well. Maybe you can take a leave next week besides you're teaching part-time right? In the meantime, can you brief me about this so that I can then inform the people over there about it."