Olivia hears him and believes he's being sincere, but asks, "Are you sure you can work within these confines Marcus? Again, I don't want you to sacrifice your comfort to make us happy. That's not good for a work environment, or you personally either. I want you to be comfortable too." He nods as he says, "Yes Liv. I'll be fine. Like you said I just need to mind my own business and leave well enough alone. No more pushing on my part. I promise." She takes a breath as she says, "I'm glad you're good with staying on with us Marcus. Because you're a great asset and we really appreciate your contributions. Both you and Charlie are doing well on the Higgs case. Quite impressive work I might add, given your limited connection beyond your professional affiliation."
He smiles as he says, "Thanks Liv. But it wasn't all me. Charlie is damn good. He's helped me a lot on the surveillance in the Higgs case, and without his quick thinking I'm certain we would've been busted planting those devices in that house." Despite him expressing frustration with the lack of openness he's gotten from Charlie. She's surprised how well they've managed to work together. Obviously he's not letting Charlie's guarded nature negatively impact their working relationship, which is a blessing because she can't afford to lose anybody else.
Olivia snaps out of her thoughts as she says, "Well I'm glad to hear it's going well working wise for you Marcus." He nods as he says, "Agreed Liv. His skills have proven to be a valuable asset. We should have the necessary Intel on the affair between Higgs' wife and the accountant soon. So we can wrap this case up."
Olivia nods as she says, "Sounds good. Speaking of that, aren't those taps ready to be pulled?" He looks at his watch and says, "Wow. I didn't realize it was so late. I'd better go get those transcribed." Olivia replies, "Okay. Well happy transcribing." He smiles as he says, "Thanks. And thanks for listening to me gripe. I appreciate it." She smiles as she replies, "No worries Marcus. Thanks for being so understanding, considerate, and cooperative. I appreciate you." He nods as he says, "You're welcome. See you later." She replies, "Bye."
Left alone she sits back in her chair and takes a breath. She's glad that conversation didn't end with her needing to replace him too. On the flip side his praise for Charlie does give her cause to pause to a degree. She's still considering whether to keep Charlie on staff or not. Given Huck's input on the matter. He feels it would be better if he was hired on an ongoing basis, if they're going to use him on cases. According to Huck he'd be easier to monitor as a regular employee, and Olivia has to admit his skills are an asset. So it's something to consider for sure.
As she thinks about her current hiring situation, and she also thinks about her conversation with Marcus about the lack of closeness of their current group. She again looks at the group photo on her desk. Looking at everyone smiling like they just hit the lottery brings back such memories of what was.
The photo was taken after one of their most dangerous cases in the firm's history. It was a kidnapping case where a 5 month old infant of a Russian national was abducted. She was able to secure the baby and return the child unharmed within a matter of hours, with a ransom pay off far less than what the kidnappers requested.
It was a crazy night and a series of events unfolded even after that case she'll never forget. The adrenaline rush was higher than she'd ever felt before. With Stephen by her side she walked into that drop and negotiated the exchange like a boss, without breaking a sweat. It was quite the achievement and a significant payday for the firm. That case reminded her of why she was in this business and reaffirmed for everyone why they joined her efforts to help people, who need crisis photo captured the pure joy they all were feeling in real time; everyone's smile is brighter than the sun. They'd done a great job and were proud of their accomplishment. One by one she thinks about each person in the photo other than herself.
She starts with her rock, her protector Harrison. He was her guy that would always bring things back to the center of the road for her. Her younger brother, her gladiator. Losing him is by far the most difficult for her. She feels tears burning her eyes as she thinks about his last moments. Knowing that he was fighting for the truth till the end, and that is what took his life at the hands of her father, hurts her to her core. It pains her to know that her absence was at the core of his life being claimed. She's convinced that if she was here her father wouldn't have killed him. She'll never stop feeling responsible for his death. It's the reason she paid for his funeral, and paid off his mother's house, as well as takes care of her bills anonymously. It's the least she can do for her fallen pseudo-sibling and good friend.
As she wipes her fallen tears she looks at Abby in the photo. Abby was and still is her sounding board at times. Back then she would listen to her after they of course fought it out. Because fighting is their nature. It's what they do before they resolve anything, and they fought about everything like sisters. Their disagreements would and could get extremely testy between them. But ultimately in the end they always worked things out for the better. Because that's what families do. They fight and make up. It's interesting to her that the majority of their fights were about her relationship with Fitz. Abby wasn't a proponent of the relationship, and it was no secret how she felt. That was the very reason she never wanted to disclose it to her in the first place. But it's not like she could exactly hide it from her either, given how obvious their love for one another is. And how up and down and back and forth the ebb and flow of their relationship has been over the years.
Because of the craziness of her and Fitz's relationship, she had to admit her skepticism was fair to a degree. But at times she just needed someone to listen to her, and she quickly realized that wasn't always something Abby could do. She had her limitations and even if she wasn't going to admit to that fact.
Olivia had to see it for what it was, and utilize her friend as best she could for what she knew she could handle. That was the only way they'd be able to remain friends, because otherwise there's no way their relationship as friends could work. Her judgement just wasn't something she could always tolerate.
This gaping hole in her and Abby's relationship is where Stephen's role came to be so very important in her life. Although Stephen was the financial guy around the office, who made sure they stayed afloat. He also doubled as her listening buddy too, when she didn't want to be subjected to Abby's judgmental nature.
She bent his ear many nights about her relationship woes with Fitz, and never once did he judge her. He heard her out more times than she could count, and she tried to be his sounding board too, so their exchange was even. But admittedly she had many more issues than he and his girlfriend Georgia could ever have.
Her connection with him will always be strong and always be one that she treasures, because she knows that there was a time when he loved her. Not just as a friend, but as in the hopes of something more, and yet despite how he felt about her. He was willing to be her friend, her true blue friend and listen to her talk about her feelings for someone else. Because he knew Fitz made her happy and all he ever wanted was for her to be truly happy.
He'd never admit to it. But she knows that she's one of the reasons he and Georgia didn't work out. In addition to his love of danger and intrigue. The regular life wasn't something that could tame him and he always said that he wasn't the marrying kind. She feels badly in the moment for encouraging him to have a regular life with Georgia. Because their marriage ended in divorce. Ironically Stephen getting divorced and gravitating back to the world of espionage worked to her advantage in the long run. Without him still being a part of the underworld, he wouldn't have been there to rescue her from the kidnappers. It's funny how things come full circle sometimes. He saved her from the kidnappers, and returned her back to the arms of the very man he's always competed against for her heart. And he did it with a smile on his face, still hoping that she finds happiness with her soulmate.