CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
As invisible as they might seem, lines in the sand were being drawn. Whatever else this is, the situation had become personal and Olivia was realizing that a part of her definitely did not care. If anything, she was more than happy to begin the dance.
"To be honest, Elizabeth, I wouldn't have thought that you would let such a basic mistake get by you." Olivia paused to give the other woman a careful looking-over as if she couldn't believe it. "If you were one of my staff, I might be generous enough to call it a misstep - but from you…"
"But from me?…" Elizabeth rose to the challenge; her eyes going a frosty blue. "Enlighten me."
"From you - with your reputation - it's a clear mistake." Olivia said. "You should have realized that what you've managed to do is set up the press to have a field day with articles about elitism and think-pieces reminding them of the GOP's reputation before the president took office. It's not the reputation that the president is currently known for - in fact we both know that he's changed the Party's reputation by their association with him and it's why the approval rating for both have risen steadily in the last few years. But what you've done is basically the opposite and in doing that, you've appeared to have made the Party take a step backwards.
"I'll have to fix that." Olivia shook her head. "Maybe you were distracted by other matters that were on your mind? It happens, you know."
She watched Elizabeth struggle to maintain her composure. Olivia was sure that the other woman knew that she'd made a rookie mistake. Either it had been something to do with her pride and she had expected no one to call her out on it after the fact, or something else had really drew her attention away from what should have been her main focus.
Olivia considered the thought. Elizabeth was a lot of things, but stupid wasn't one of them. So why did she do it? What was her motivation? What other agenda did she have in mind? If this hadn't concerned Fitz, Olivia might have let this go; maybe at the most, she would have made sure that a gentle reprimand in a memo would have been sent.
But it did concern Fitz; and it became suddenly clear to her that Elizabeth just might have a legit reason to have been that distracted. One way she might find out what else was going on in Elizabeth's head was to push her into a corner and see what she can squeeze out of her head.
Normally that might not work with Elizabeth and her hyper-political awareness, but since she was already agitated, now was the perfect time to push.
"What's really sad - and again, I would have thought you would have caught this before it became a problem - is that you really can't fight those kinds of think-pieces once they're out there."
"I doubt if any such thing happens." Elizabeth defended herself. "That was not the narrative I set up."
"Check back with me tomorrow morning if that turns out to be true." Olivia frowned at Elizabeth -not in rebuke but in supposed disappointment in the other woman's lack of judgment. "The fact is, when - not if - but when these articles start to appear, the problem will be trying to craft a rebuttal that won't appear as a thoughtless attack, because that's what the thinking public will see. Phrases like 'attacks on democracy' and 'transparency' will be used and how the Party reacts will be very important."
That should be enough to set Elizabeth's inner alarms ringing, Olivia thought, satisfied with the scenario she'd just put into play. The senior Republicans will not be pleased when they saw what Elizabeth's actions - or inaction - will cost them. Add that to Elizabeth's own vanity about her political reputation and Olivia was sure that she'd lit a fuse. Olivia decided that she'd have Quinn put in a little extra credit duty - maybe a little enhanced surveillance - and see if anything useful turned up in the aftermath.
"If anything should happen - and I doubt that it will, this being a simple cocktail get-together, I'll handle it." Elizabeth looked to the president, needing to reassure him - and hoping for a little reassurance in return. He looked concerned, but she couldn't tell where that concern was focused.
She turned back to Olivia. "I'll consider this a lesson learned." Inside she was furious, somebody in her office should have caught this and brought it to her attention, and somebody's head will roll for it. Inwardly, she wanted to rip Olivia's eyes and tongue out, but Elizabeth still knew her game. The last thing she needed to do was show any emotional reaction to what Olivia was saying. She was not about to let herself be portrayed as being either ineffective or weak. Either reaction would gain her nothing in front of the president. So despite her rising fury, she had to ruthlessly remind herself to keep her focus on the long game here.
Instead, she played the whole 'aren't we all on the same team' card. Wouldn't that show him the pettiness that the famous Olivia Pope was capable of? It was a definite possibility. "If you'd like, we could collaborate on anything outgoing concerning the president? I have no problem running any future concepts by you if you'd like."
Before Olivia could answer, Colleen Cassidy did.
"I'm sorry." The redhead speaking up for the first time. "Politics are not my main strength, but I have to say that you say this is a simple get-together and it won't matter, but I have to side with Ms. Pope here. After all, Watergate was only a burglary - until it wasn't."
"Again, I doubt if it comes to that, but I'll be sure to keep what you've said in mind." At the same time, Elizabeth added her name to the list of women she'd like to do damage to, but after a glance at Olivia, she was very careful not to show it. The way Olivia was smiling at her made the hairs at the back of her neck stand up.
"So what do you think of my little idea?" she said to Olivia with a very careful smile. Elizabeth was wise enough not to ignore her intuition and right now it was screaming for her to step carefully. Very carefully.
"I'd be happy to edit you, Elizabeth - if only I had the time." Olivia's smile was just as careful as Elizabeth's. That's not what the other woman had meant - they both knew it, but Olivia took her advantages when they came her way. She hoped for her own sake that Elizabeth was smart enough to catch her meaning, because there was only one way this campaign was going to be run and that was the way she and Fitz decided. Better that Elizabeth got the memo now rather than later. And hopefully, that was the end to today's lesson.
Olivia turned away from the blond popsicle and began a conversation with the other two women. Her smile to Susan was a genuine one; her gut had told her that Susan would prove to be the real deal as a senator and she was happy to see that she'd been right.
Susan blushed a little. "Thank you, Ms. Pope - it's always good to see you."
"Thank you, Senator - I'm happy to say the same." Olivia said.
Susan went on to introduce Colleen to Olivia. They'd never formally met before tonight, but Olivia felt the authentic interest coming from her and once they started talking, found that it was mutual.
As the conversations had shifted, so did everyone else's position, so Olivia was not surprised to find Fitz eventually standing closer to her, close enough so that they could exchange a glance and not really be noticed - and when his eyes met hers, she felt the warmth pouring from him; she's reminded all over again that his care, his concern was everything she could have hoped for. If he hadn't been happy to see her here in the beginning, he was now, because she was his gladiator…
He really was every thing she'd ever dreamed of in a man, and if Olivia had had any questions about whether or not Fitz approved of the words she and Elizabeth had exchanged, his next words told her what she wanted to know.
When Fitz cleared his throat, they all turned to him. In turn, he looked from Elizabeth to Olivia. "Since we seem to all be on the same page at the moment, I just wanted to say that Colleen, Susan and myself were having a similar conversation where Susan was giving me her opinion on the lack of transparency regarding the press tonight and the possible consequences."
He knew what he was doing - delivering a verbal smack-down right in Elizabeth's face. The flicker of amusement that came and went in his eyes had Olivia struggling to keep from laughing.
Fitz directed his next words to Elizabeth. "There's something else that I want to make clear before it slips my mind. I heard what you were saying to Olivia when you were trying to dismiss her tonight."
Elizabeth saw the slight frown on his face and went pale beneath her make-up. She hadn't realized that he'd been standing behind her long enough for him to have heard her words. This was not how this evening was supposed to have gone. Instead of gaining points with the president, Elizabeth was feeling as though she'd been reduced to something that felt too uncomfortably like irrelevance - and now this…
"Mr. President, allow me to excuse myself if my concern in creating a comfortable environment for you overstepped boundaries I didn't know were there…"
"Of course you're excused, Elizabeth. I just wanted to make one thing clear. It seems that somehow you've been incorrectly informed about Olivia's position within my White House."
Hearing the same reprimand from the president that had come from Olivia was an extra humiliation for Elizabeth, but again, she swallowed the rage that came with it.
"You tried to regulate her to the role of a journalist and while I have nothing but the highest respect for the members of the press, you were wrong. Olivia isn't simply my public relations director and she never has been. She's a trusted adviser in the inner circle of my administration and has been from the first day she joined my campaign."
He paused, as though considering a thought before he continued. "In fact, in light of all that she's accomplished - and I haven't announced it publicly yet - as Olivia will be expanding her role, I will be expanding her title and responsibilities. She will still serve as my Director of Communications, but her jurisdiction will expand to exercise her energies and expertise as one of my Deputy Chiefs of Staff."
"She - what -" Shock left Elizabeth stammering in shock. She couldn't believe what she was hearing - especially since that was one of the positions she'd been hoping to aspire to. Planting the seed for that was one of the goals she'd hoped to accomplish tonight. All this effort and political capital …wasted!
"Deputy Chief of Staff of Operations and Communications to be exact." Fitz was more than happy to explain. Did she really think he hadn't noticed the gleam of ambition in her eyes all this time? This might have been a spur of the moment decision, but it felt right. "I'll make sure you receive further information on the position before the official news packet is released, but for now the most important thing for you understand is that from this night forward, she is to be included in all things related to the Party regarding any election-related information."
"That's a little stepping away from our Party's traditions, don't you think?" Her words were meant to stall for time while her mind took in everything she'd just learned and try to figure out a way to salvage something - anything.
"Stepping away from the ways things have always been done is why he got elected in the first place, isn't it?" Susan's voice held it's usual innocence and Elizabeth wanted nothing more in that moment than to strangle her with it.
"I'd like to think so, Susan." Fitz answered her with a smile. "And besides, the position entails whatever I decide it to be - it's one of the perks of occupying that oval-shaped room in the West Wing."
They all laughed at that and Elizabeth forced herself to join in.
"Congratulations!" the words burst out of Susan. "I think that it's great that you're breaking traditional boundaries from within our party."
Colleen Cassidy offered her congratulations to Olivia as well. "I realize that we've never formally met before now, but from what I've heard about you, I'm sure that you're more than qualified for the position."
"You'd get no argument from me." Fitz agreed with Colleen; he took advantage of the moment and let his gaze fall onto Olivia, using Colleen's words gave him the excuse to not hide his admiration and approval.
"Or me." Olivia was warmed by her words and of course, even more so by Fitz's.
She watched as Fitz turned back to Elizabeth as though she were an afterthought. "You'll take care of re-aligning lines of communication accordingly with Olivia's office, right?"
"Of course, Mr. President," It was salt in the wound to agree, but she was left with no choice. "Congratulations on the promotion, Olivia. I'll have my people get in touch with your people first thing in the morning."
"Thank you, Elizabeth. I can't wait." Olivia said. "It's an unexpected honor, but I hope to serve the president with honor and distinction."
Olivia's voice was so purposefully, casually, dismissive that Elizabeth wanted to scream. "I'm sure you'll do fine." She said instead.
"Better than fine." Fitz agreed. "Olivia has more than earned the promotion."
Enough already, Elizabeth though to herself. And then, as if things weren't bad enough, it all just seemed to get a little bit worse as a new voice joined the conversation.
"Did I just hear congratulations for the lovely Olivia Pope?"
They all turned to watch Peter Caldwell joined them. He was holding two flutes of champagne. He handed one to Olivia and as she took it, he slipped one arm around her waist to hug her just before he bent down and kissed her on the cheek.
Not removing his arm, he turned around and smiled cheerily at them all. "Greetings and salutations - and just what is it that we're celebrating?"