Chapter 13

The Election Upset

Olivia examined the pastel colored tulips ensconced in the thick crystal vase on her desk. When she had walked into her office and encountered them earlier that morning, she'd initially thought they were from Fitz. Unexpected bouquets were a rarity in Olivia's life. Fitz and everything that came with him was the definition of unexpected. The intimation of Fitzgerald Grant had lifted her spirits from the usual focused determination of her morning routine to a joy of which she wasn't accustomed. Rick's presence hadn't registered. He had walked behind her into the office playing the role of nosey receptionist and said, "I've never seen that smile before, Ms. Pope. Now that should be a gif."

Normally, Olivia would have responded curtly to the newly hired receptionist, but she didn't respond at all, intent on reading the card. But there hadn't been a card. "Is that burning coffee I smell?" she'd said. This had snapped Rick out of his inappropriate familiarity, and he'd fled in search of work.

Shortly after he left, Olivia had called Fitz. He never mentioned the flowers only reminded her of the time they were meeting at the condo to watch the returns today, a confirmation he hadn't sent them. All through the day, her mind kept returning to the tulips. With each passage of time, a sense of dread filled her, and she didn't know why.

Now as she continued to examine them, racking her brain as to the sender, she jumped at the sound of a knock on the door. It opened before Olivia could really register it.

"Ms. Pope, please excuse this interruption," said Frances, her assistant, slipping inside the door, "but Ms. Mashalaba is demanding to see you without an appointment. I tried to persuade her to make an appointment but—"

Olivia had hired Frances shortly after Abby's indiscretions. Prior to that, Abby used to handle Olivia's calendar through her own assistant. After she'd disciplined her, Olivia thought it prudent to put some professional distance between them. Frances had served as a good buffer thus far and an extremely competent assistant.

"Frances, I'll see her," Olivia said, rising from her chair and walking to door.

"I'm so sorry, Ms. Pope. She wouldn't listen to reason," she said.

"It's not a problem," Olivia said, opening the door to a stone faced Abiba who breezed past them and into the office.

Frances narrowed her eyes at Abiba before returning her gaze to Olivia. "I'm just a phone call away," she said just before walking through the threshold and closing the door.

Olivia drew in a deep breath and walked back to her desk where Abiba stood in front of a chair. The hostility was loud even though Abiba hadn't yet uttered a word.

"Sit, Abiba. How can I help you?" Olivia said.

Abiba did not comply. She crossed her arms. "I want to know why, Olivia. Just tell me why?" Abiba said. Her voice did not match her demeanor. It was thin and tremulous as if she was afraid or had just been crying.

Olivia frowned at the accusation in her voice and said, "I don't know what you are referring to. You are obviously upset about something. Please have a seat and tell me."

Abiba looked as if she wanted to protest. Common sense won out and she sat down. "Did you…tell David about…the…my pregnancy?"

Realization set in like a ton of bricks. Three things were undeniable. Olivia had called David Oshiro, shamelessly let the baby news slip, and offered him a job. This was the definition of paternalism, but her motives were simpler. She had been in distress and needed something to take her mind off of it. She couldn't tell Abiba this.

"I called David and offered him a job. Sharing the baby news was an honest gaffe on my part. At the time I forgot you two were once involved," Olivia explained, letting the lie settle in the room.

"Why would you offer him a job? You don't need another designer. That's why it makes no sense. You don't do things on a whim. Why did you do this? I demand to know why? This is my life you are meddling with!" Abiba demanded.

Olivia didn't know what to say, so she asked a question. "What happened, Abiba?"

Abiba flashed a contemptuous glance her way. "He is effectively back in my life. That is what happened. If you hire him, I'll quit," she challenged.

Olivia observed Abiba carefully. She was dressed in her usual earthy, bohemian finery. Her locs were up in a high bun with a few errant tendrils escaping. Her face had filled out in Olivia's mind due to her progressing pregnancy. This is position Olivia liked to be in when interacting with others, the observer, the director, or both.

"I don't take ultimatum's," Olivia said calmly, scooting forward in her chair, "We've had our share of differences since I hired you, Abiba, which from your perspective, may be unsettling and uncomfortable. I can handle conflict and disagreement in the context of my business. In fact, I thrive on them. It makes Euphoria stronger. Please know that I did not intentionally seek to hurt you or cause confusion in your personal life. If David decides to work for me, we must find a way forward. I'll let you think about what you need, short of abandoning your job, to make that happen. When you are ready, we can talk again."

Aibiba's contemptuous regard was replaced by a look of confused acceptance.

Olivia stood, walked to the door, and opened it, an indication it was time to leave. "Now, I have an appointment I must attend to. Thanks for coming by, Abiba," Olivia said, staring at her unmoving form still sitting in the chair.

"Tulips? Whoever sent you tulips obviously doesn't know you. Such a whimsical, showy flower is too immature and inappropriate for someone so cold, calculating, and draconian," Abiba said before leaving the office.

Abiba's insults would not have swayed Olivia in the absence of the tulips. But she was profoundly shaken into a memory. Ronald Levine gave her yellow tulips after each swim meet. He had brought pastel ones to the hospital the day she tried unsuccessfully to take her life.

"Breathe, Olivia. Just breathe. You are safe," counseled Dr. Chase.

Olivia concentrated on his words and nothing else. She wasn't quite sure how she'd made it to his office after Abiba left. She had to have asked Frances to call Ben to drive her to Dr. Chase's office. She remembered leaving amidst the calls of Abby asking if she was okay. Thankfully, most people including Rick had been out to lunch when she bounded out of the office and down to the waiting car. She'd interrupted Dr. Chase's session. She knew that. He'd apologized to the other client and cut their session short. Now she was lying in the fetal position on his sofa trying to calm herself.

Her limbs started to loosen and she turned over on to her back.

"That's good, Olivia. Please begin talking when you are ready," Dr. Chase encouraged.

She nodded in search of a coherent thought. "Tulips…" was all she could muster.

"Tulips? The flower, tulips? Is there anything else?" he said.

She shook her head.

"Okay. Let me think," Dr. Chase said. "I'm going to look back at my notes from our early sessions. Give me a moment."

Olivia wondered about all the notes he had detailing their previous sessions over the years as she heard the rustling papers. Although the prospect of others reading those notes horrified her, she trusted Dr. Chase implicitly, knowing he would never share them with anyone. She knew they were all handwritten notes and not subject to hacking like digital ones would be. Would he release my notes to me if I asked? Destroy them if I asked, she thought.

Olivia's mental machinations began to calm her more. She sat up slowly and beheld a black box about the size of a dress shirt box only deeper. Beside the box was a stack of yellow legal pads. Do these pages hold the horror that was my life? she thought.

"Tulips…yes. I remember. You hate tulips or you told me you did when you were in high school. He gave you tulips—" Dr. Chase said.

"Someone sent me a bouquet of pastel tulips this morning," Olivia explained while smoothing down her hair and the beginning to retie the blow on her blouse, "I thought they were from Fitz. There was no card. One of my employees, Abiba made some harsh statements about me related to the tulips. I instantly knew they were from him, Dr. Chase. He sent me tulips. How can he do that from prison? Why would he? Maybe my parents know something. Maybe that this why my mother tried to contact me. This can't be happening. I have never allowed for him getting out of prison. My father said he would keep him locked up forever. My father promised me. He promised…. He promised…He promised meeeeee!"

Dr. Chase's heart was breaking as it had more than a decade ago when he began treating Olivia. Long ago he broke with professional ethics. He knew he should have broken contact with her when she refused to keep her appointments shortly after taking over at the helm of her company. He didn't set up the necessary boundaries. She'd made a lot of progress in daily functioning, but he feared that his occasion to coddle her caused her to bury her scars as opposed to facing her demons head on. As he watched her weeping on the sofa, he couldn't stop himself from once again going against professional ethics. He called her father.

Olivia noticed three things when she awakened. She was in her own bed. She was fully dressed in her grey trousers and silk blouse. Her mouth was very dry.

When she attempted to lift herself, her limbs felt like lead. She reached for the glass of water sitting on the bedside table while trying to get her mental bearings.

"Sweetheart, let me get that for you."

Olivia froze at her father's voice. Why is he here? she thought. She didn't malign her father's presence only what it signified. Her mother was nearby.

Eli helped Olivia sit up and then handed her the water. She took a long draw of the water, closed her eyes, and drew in several breaths.

"Dad, why are you here? What happened?" she asked, the weakness of her voice made it sound unrecognizable. She reached for the bedside light so she could clearly see his face. He turned it on for her.

"Dr. Chase called me. Please don't be angry with him. You were in distress, baby and he knew you needed us," Eli said.

Olivia glanced at the ajar bedroom door. "Us? Is Mom…"

"No. She wanted to come, but I told her to stay away since you were in crisis," he said, "She's at the hotel."

Olivia took another sip of water and let the conflicting emotions pass through her. Even though she didn't want her mother there, she was disappointed that she hadn't insisted on being there.

Fresh tears fell. "Dad, I th-think he sent me f-flowers to-today. Tulips were delivered…were delivered to my office with no…no card. I could feel it. It wasth him," she said, "Don't try to…con-convince me otherwise. I fe-eel like I…I have been drug…drugged," she said.

"Dr. Chase said you were having multiple panic attacks so he gave you something to calm you down. He exercised discretion so your driver didn't know. Your phone has been ringing constantly so I turned it off," he explained.

Olivia thought of Fitz. He must be worried about her or thinking she was being her usual distant self. Today was election day and she was due to his condo to watch the returns. She wanted to call him, but she couldn't, not in this state. She couldn't contact him until she had this under control. Unfortunately, she didn't know when that would be. Tears for her past now mixed with the tears of her present.

Eli moved from beside her on the bed so he could face her. He had aged since she last saw him. The creases in his face seemed more stark and the circles under his eyes were darker. These were the signs of stress and not age Olivia realized.

As he looked at her, his eyes grew red and glassy. "Olivia, I am so sorry to say this. I tried with all that I had to keep him in prison, but he has been released. His sentence was commuted by executive order of the governor of New York. I couldn't use my contacts to stop it. But I don't want you to live in fear, sweetheart. I will take care of this. He will not terrorize you again," Eli said.

Olivia didn't hear her father's words past governor of New York. "Fitzgerald Grant?" she asked.

"Yes, I would have appealed directly to him, but I couldn't without admitting other things, things I'd done illegally to keep him in prison," Eli said.

Olivia couldn't stop the room from spinning so she slid down on the bed and closed her eyes. The news of her attacker's release and his attempts to contact her along with the news that her Fitz had been the one to release him was too much to take in one day. She gave herself over to the empty fog of the drugs in her system.

"I don't care who the hell you are! You aren't going to see my daughter! You are the reason she is in the state she is in. Leave now!" Eli Pope demanded.

"With all due respect, Mr. Pope, I have every right to see her. We have been in a relationship for over 6 months. I haven't seen her in two days or spoken to her in several hours something is wrong, and I'm not leaving here until I see her. We can do this cordially or I can use force," Fitz said with a glance at the two agents flanking him at the door.

"Do what you have to. It will be over my dead body…" Eli threatened.

Olivia listened to the muffled voices in a semi-state of consciousness. Fitz was here. He was on the other side of the door in a screaming match with her father. She was all at once flooded with relief and sadness. He was here, but now she would have to tell him to leave.

Olivia rose to her feet and trudged in her barefeet into the living room still wearing yesterday's garments and probably looking terribly off key.

Fitz was standing in the doorway. Two guys were flanking him ready to pounce. Eli looked ready to pounce as well. Fitz had a look of confused anger on his face. He was not wearing his characteristic suit, only jeans, a pullover, and sneakers. Shouldn't he be at some celebration or doing press to celebrate his win? she thought. She'd awoken in the wee hours of the morning to see a playback of his victory speech. His children and other family members had looked on with adoration as he spoke.

"Dad. It's okay. I'll see him," she whispered.

When her declaration had no effect, she raised her voice and squeaked out the words again.

Everyone's attention shifted toward her and what was probably a pitiful sight.

"Livy, what's going on?" Fitz said closing the distance between them, stepping around Eli.

"Dad would you mind leaving while I speak to him?" Olivia asked.

"You don't have to talk to him. I can—" Eli said.

"Dad, I can handle this. Please leave. I'll call you when I'm done talking to him. I'll be fine," Olivia said.

Eli didn't say anything for a moment. Everyone was silent waiting for someone to make a move. Eli grabbed his jacket and walked to the door. "I won't be far," he promised.

Once he left, Olivia closed the front door, ignoring the two guards, locking them out.

"Let's sit in the kitchen," she said, pointing him to the small table reserved for breakfast.

Before they could sit, he pulled her into an embrace from which she drew bittersweet comfort and pleasure as most likely the last time they would be this close.

"Olivia," he said pulling her back, "please tell me the truth of whatever this is. No matter what. I love you."

It was difficult to hear his words. It was as if he'd been waiting for some crazy revelation from her. He didn't seem surprised by her disheveled appearance, he father's presence, or her disappearance these last hours.

"Please sit, Fitz," she said motioning and sliding out of his embrace.

She sat across from him and cupped her hands together on the table as if she was getting ready for a negotiation. "I'm sorry for not being their for you last night—"

He grasped her hands. "I don't care about that. What is going on?" he asked.

Olivia launched into an explanation. "When I was a girl, 13, I was heavy into swimming. My mother hired a personal swim coach. Before long he...he sexually assaulted me for about two years. He went to his sentence was commuted by you and—"

Fitz frowned. "Wait, what? I didn't commute the sentences for any sexual offences or assaults," he said.

Olivia could hear the tightness in his voice. It had to be sinking in. He was now understanding her particular problems. Was he totally confused or totally repulsed? she wondered.

"He was put in prison for tax evasion," she said, "I suspect he sent me tulips yesterday. They weren't from you. There was no card. He used to send me tulips…then so that is how I know," said matter-of-factly.

He just looked at her and said nothing. Olivia waited, but he said nothing for the longest time. She had to look away, but she didn't remove her hands from his grip. How long would it take for her to forget Fitz? This was her thought when she looked away.

"I'm so sorry, Olivia. You have to know I didn't know. Please look at me," he said, "Yesterday, when I couldn't find you, I was angry at you. I thought you were deliberately staying away. I knew there was something, some reason you always keep me at arm's length. Last night I was so mad, frustrated, defeated because the fight was unfair. I didn't know what this thing was that you wouldn't share with me. How could I fight for you if I didn't know what it was. Sitting here with you now, finally knowing what this is, though I know I still don't really know, I feel relieved. I know that might sound selfish, like it is all about me. But it is about me too because I fucked up by letting this bastard out. I'll never forgive myself for that—"

"This isn't your fault. How could it be? It would have happened—you letting him out— whether we met or not," she said.

"I'm going take care of this. Can you tell me his name?" he asked, gently.

Olivia hadn't uttered his name in years. Somehow she found the strength to say it, "Ronald Levine."

"Olivia, can we be together tonight? You can come to the condo or I can stay here unless your father plans to body slam me." Fitz said.

That elicited a surprising chuckle from Olivia. "I'm sorry, but that visual was too much." Olivia dropped her head and let her forehead rest on their clasped hands. "Everything is out of control, Fitz. I can't keep seeing you under these circumstances. Why would you want to keep seeing me after all this? I can't predict what will happen tomorrow," Olivia lifted her head and faced him and said, "You were just reelected. There is no time for all this for—"

"Don't," Fitz said, pulling his hands away, raising his them to stop her, "I know what you are trying to do. You want to push me away. I'm not going to let you do that. Maybe we will break up one day because my constant need to share pointless trivia will grate on your nerves, but I won't let you do this because of something terrible you endured in your past. I love you. I want you. What happened, happened. It's something we can tackle together. I should be allowed a chance. Please give me a chance," he pleaded.

"But I am not the kind of woman you need. You are going to weigh everything I do based on what happened to me and you'll probably be right. You have two children who swim. I can't stand the smell of chlorine. My relationship with my parents is complicated. You have a loving relationship with your family," she said.

Fitz stood and leaned against the wall. He seemed anxious and frustrated almost mad. "I get to decide what kind of woman I need. Don't accuse me of something before it happens. You are you and not what that bastard did to you. I won't abandon you, Olivia. Don't abandon me. I'm sorry if it seems as if I am demanding things from you. I'm not."

"Okay, Okay, Fitz," Olivia said, yielding for now, "you can stay the night if you can talk my father down and convince him I don't need him to stay. I'm going to take a shower." Olivia walked away from the table. She stopped before she reached the hallway, turned around and walked back to him. She wrapped her arms around him as tight as she could, shedding a few silent tears. She moved out of his arms as quickly as she had walked into them and disappeared into the bedroom.

"I want to know how you plan to fix this mess you caused, governor," Eli said using his title as if it were a bad word.

Fitz tried to ignore Eli's disdain. He could understand it. This was his fault. He'd released this man. It didn't matter that he was ignorant of the consequences of his actions. The consequences were there, just as real as if he had known.

"I have resources at my disposal to locate him and—"

"I want to be there to take care of it. I want this man annihilated from the earth. I should have done it—"

"Eli, murder is not part of this equation. I will handle this with legality and finality, but not as final as murder," said Fitz.

"It was legality and finality that got us into this mess," said Eli.

Fitz took a sip of wine. He never would have imagined they would now be drinking wine together. Fitz had to employ most of his political skills in the two hours of their standoff. The first hour had been spent mostly in stony silence. "I'll take that. I would ask that you let me resolve this."

Eli didn't look totally convinced, but he was more convinced than when the conversation began.

"You must be worth a little confidence if my daughter is giving you the time of day. Though I'm sure it hasn't been easy," he said with a slight upturn if his lips.

"It's been worth it," said Fitz.

Fitz knocked on the door and opened it at the same time. "Your dad just left. Can I sleep in here with you?" he asked.

"Where else would you sleep," she asked.

Fitz shrugged and undressed to his boxers. He slid in beside her, pulling her close. She immediately felt a palatable relief and comfort with him next to her. She smiled into her pillow.

"How was it last night?" she asked. "I saw a replay of your speech on late night news. It was good. Your family looked very proud. You and your family look the part of stately politician and polished family," she said.

"Thanks but I was acting. I was thoroughly pissed at you for skipping out on me. I'd called you one time too many and my mother had to take me aside and tell me to suck it up, stop whining like a baby, and do my and I quote, 'damn job.' Cyrus had given me a talking to as well, but it wasn't as effective. How was work for you?"

"I not only pissed you off but I did the same to one of my employees. It was an equal opportunity pissing off day for me," she said through a yawn.

"You do have a particular talent for that. It's almost midnight. You should sleep honey," he said.

She nodded and fell into her first deep, restful sleep since the last time they had shared a bed.

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