Fitz's eyes traveled around the room. "Don't stop the conversation on my account - it sounds…fascinating."
He had to admit it, he was enjoying the sudden shock and discomfort on their faces at his unexpected appearance.
Fitz's gaze left Olivia for last, his eyes warming just a fraction, so brief that she was the only one who'd had time to catch it. "Olivia, will you excuse us for a minute?"
"Mr. President?"
The question in her voice said so many things to him; most importantly was obvious that she didn't want to leave him here alone. He knew it - and more importantly, Fitz knew that Olivia knew that he knew - and that realization warmed him inside.
He nodded once at her in acknowledgment of their connection, offering up a silent reassurance. She returned it with a brief softening of her own gaze. "I understand that Kimberly Mitchell and her crew are due to be arriving soon, so could you check on that for me?"
As gently as it was said, it was clear from his tone that it was an order and not a request.
Olivia went.
As the door closed behind her, Fitz returned his attention to the cabal arrayed against him. His cool gaze traveled slowly over them and he was gratified to see that it was having some effect on them. Yes, he was taking mental notes on each of them, marking their presence and he wanted them to know it.
And as long as he was thinking about it, Fitz promised himself to have Cyrus re-run some operational scans on them very, very soon - and maybe a few personal chats would be in order. He let some of what he was thinking show in his expression as well, before refocusing his attention on his vice-president. "You don't mind if I take a seat, do you, Sally?"
She met his gaze with her own, wary but careful. "Of course not. This is, after all - your White House."
Fitz continued to stare at her until she added a reluctant "Sir."
"Yes, yes it is, isn't it?" His gaze turned expectant and he waited until she got the hint and stood, vacating her seat for him. Where else did she expect him to sit?
He waited until she had moved to join the others before taking her seat. He took his time settling himself, knowing that the longer he took, the more unsettled they were likely to become.
When he was ready, he continued. "And now that that fact has been re-established for everyone's benefit, does anyone want to explain to me what this little unscheduled meeting was all about?"
Silence followed his words, no one wanting to be the first to speak.
"It was unscheduled, wasn't it?" he pressed.
"The subject just happened to come up while we were all greeting one another - and well, I thought that it was a conversation best had privately, so here we are." Sally said.
Not that Fitz believed that for a minute.
"Yes sir." Garner cleared his throat. He began what sounded suspiciously to Fitz's ears like a prepared set of words. "Anything that we were - discussing - strictly conversationally and off the record, of course - was out of concern for you and your presidency. Of course."
"Of course." Fitz repeated. "And that conversation needed the presence of a member of my senior staff without my prior knowledge - or permission?"
"It's well known how highly you hold Olivia's opinion, Mr. President, seeing how she currently holds a dual position in your administration." Sally's voice was stiff with disapproval over that particular fact.
Fitz wondered if anyone else heard the thread of jealousy that gave her words an extra undercurrent of venom. If they did, they were smart enough not to react to it.
He wondered briefly, just what exactly what had his vice-president's undies twisted but this was not the time or place to give that information the attention it needed, so he filed that interesting little observation away for study at a later time.
"This being Thanksgiving and knowing how you're taking the opportunity to spend time with your family - especially with the First Lady having graciously traveled from the West coast to make it happen - surely you can't blame us for trying to make any preliminary concerns known to Olivia instead of you?"
He could probably find plenty of things to blame on them, if he wanted, Fitz thought, but he let that go without comment. For now.
Tillman attempted to bluster his way through the rising coolness in the air. "Having Susan Ross play hostess for your little event was a political play that no one really saw coming - except for you, Mr. President. That was well-played and in hindsight, we all approve."
Hearing that slippery attempt at flattery along with the insincere smile on the other man's face set Fitz's thoughts slipping into a dangerous, almost reckless mood. Tillman reminded him of the type of politcian his father used to be. All unctuous and false smiles with the threat of power lying just beneath.
Tillman hadn't caught the change in Fitz's temper, so he kept going. "I think that I can speak for everyone here when I say it meets with not only our approval - but your Olivia's approval as well. We were just complimenting your Ms. Pope on how much the Ross woman prospered after being taken under her wing, politically speaking."
"You have to agree, Sir - our interest in speaking with Olivia before bothering you today was a logical next step." Garner glanced at him nervously. He, at least, had picked up on Fitz's rising temper.
"I don't have to agree with anything." Fitz corrected him. He gave a hard look to each and every one of them. "Or anyone."
He stood up and took a few steps that brought him back to the front of the desk. Fitz took a deep breath, settling his thoughts. "I don't know where any of you got the idea that weighing in on my private decisions was in any way, shape or form - a good idea."
"We were only thinking of the good of the Party - and your presidency of course." Tillman said. "After all, your announcement for re-election will be due soon; the whole country knows it and with Susan Ross being seen more and more in your company - well, there's no other way to say it except this - we mostly approve, Mr. President. In fact, Susan is somewhat suitable for the role of advisor - she's likable enough in most cross-country polls. I'd call her … safe."
Sally couldn't resist speaking up. "Safe in a way of being a bit of a diamond in the rough, perhaps. It's even possible that with a bit of time and a great deal of polish and guidance and judicious shine applied, Susan could rise to be a major asset to the Party some day."
"Some day?" Fitz repeated her. "And that would be a day of your choosing, no doubt."
"If necessary." Sally conceded. "I admit, Mr. President, that Susan is a dear girl - but you have to admit that she's a babe-in-the woods politically and I would hate to see her naivety steer you in a wrong direction."
"I doubt if she ever could." Fitz said, meaning it. "Susan is an asset just as she is. Maybe you should try stepping down from your high horse and actually having a conversation with her. I think that you might be surprised if you did."
"Excuse me?" Sally frowned. "Be that as it may, Susan is an non-entity in all of this. More importantly is this - for the sake of the country, for the base - I - we - have to ask - is there nothing that we can say or do that would convince you to reconcile with your wife?"
To say that Fitz was stunned at her words would be an understatement. Looking at the others, he would guess that some of them were feeling the same way. Sally had blindsided them with her own narrow-mindedness.
"Marriage is a sacrament that was never meant to be broken." She declared, her voice filled to overflowing with smug self-righteousness.
"My marriage is my business, my soon to be ex-wife's, and my family's business alone." Fitz forced himself to put a tight rein on his sudden and rising anger.
"You are the head of this great nation, and as such, you need to lead by example." Sally pressed on.
"Believe me when I tell you, Sally - that we at least agree upon that." Fitz told her.
"We do? I find that hard to believe." She said. "Your wife happens to agree with me, however - and it grieves her heart that you've come to such a final decision."
Fitz filed Sally's mention of Mellie away for a closer look at another time, but for now, he continued to focus on the current conversation. "What I mean to say is that I have every intention by leading by example - by refusing to go through the motions for appearance's sake and continuing to endure a marriage that has run its course."
He looked around again. "And to make myself perfectly clear, I will not be explaining myself any further than that."
Sally looked as though she wanted to say more, but Garner took the opportunity to cut in. "We understand, Mr. President. If that's the path that you've chosen, we want you to know that we want to make that path as smooth as possible."
Tillman spoke up. "Which is why we also had all agreed that while your association with Susan Ross was borderline acceptable, you could also do better."
Fitz was suddenly fascinated in spite of himself. "How so?"
Tillman obviously thought that he'd scored a point or two. "No one is seeking to dictate your life, but it's obvious that you could do so much better than Susan. Take Elizabeth North, for example."
No, thank you. Fitz thought. Not if she was the last woman on God's green earth.
"While you continue to lead your personal life as you see fit, why not entertain just the thought of Elizabeth as a companion? We can certainly all agree that she's an excellent match for you by whatever criteria anyone could imagine."
Tillman's voice waxed triumphant. "It could even be argued that she could provide a valuable mentorship for your Susan."
They thought they could move Susan around on their board as their pawn, Fitz thought. They would do the same to Olivia, if they could. If they dared. His rage returned, but he refused to rise to their bait. He was sure the other more silent members of this little conspiracy was studying him, just waiting for the opportunity to pick him apart and find any weakness in him that they could.
They were still looking at him through his father's lens, he realized.
This realization left another little silence in its wake - at least until Tillman kept going, in the mistaken belief that he'd possibly, just possibly - found the hook to move his president over to their way of thinking. "Just think about it, that's all we're asking at this time. Elizabeth could be useful beyond words to your re-election campaign - and at the same time provide the role model that Susan needs to mold her into the kind of candidate that the Party will need - in the future."
Just not necessarily now. Fitz caught what Tillman had not said. "And if Elizabeth isn't quite my cup of tea?" he asked.
John Ernest answered him. "Feel free to decline at any later date. I, for one, wouldn't blame you. But she's ready and willing to serve you in the here and now."
Fitz wondered if Elizabeth knew how her colleagues viewed and valued her. He guessed that they had no idea of the viper they had among them. Fitz wasn't about to make the same mistake.
She's already proved her worth." Tillman brought the conversation back around to what was obviously their main point.
"Has she?" Fitz's voice was deceptively quiet.
"She put together that last donors' reception - if you'll allow me to point that out as a perfect example, if your own people haven't informed you. The power of both of your presences brought out the big checks from the big gun donors - and one reason why is the added bonus of you two making a handsome couple. Forgive us for stating the obvious - that we'd just like for that to continue."
Cyrus had brought the numbers regarding Elizabeth's political worth to him and had pointed that out as well - not that it had mattered much to Fitz either then or now.
"I only point it out because of the optics." Cyrus had warned him. "There's no denying them - or the fact that the Party will love it - and her."
Optics be damned, Fitz had thought it then and he was thinking it now. Elizabeth's position as the Party Chairwoman might make her a necessary evil, but she was also an irritant as far as Fitz was concerned and he'd already promised himself that he would have as little as possible to do with her in the upcoming months.
Sally added her own thoughts. "I have to join in and agree, Mr. President. It's a fact that the two of you do indeed make such a striking pair - a perfect picture to present to the American people, if I might say so. Like it or not, it's something that has not gone unnoticed by far too many people than you might have realized."
"Like it or not?" Fitz said.
"It's a reality that we must all face together, united."
"Mr. President, let's be honest with one another…" Van Hayden spoke up.
"By all means, lets." Fitz said. The quiet irony in his voice went either unheard or deliberately ignored. He didn't know - and he realized he barely cared.
"Elizabeth would be an asset to your senior staff unlike anything you've had up until now - and we all know it." He said.
"Do we?"
Van Hayden continued. "Also, at the same time, we would be lying to you, ourselves as well as ignoring other voices in the Party if we didn't tell you that certain - matters - have given the Party some concern, and we all agree that the appointment of Elizabeth to some position in your senior staff would go a long way to alleviate and reassure some of your allies - and would-be donors."
"Not -some - position." Ernest said. "A top position. For her loyalty and hard work that she's given to the Party, Elizabeth deserves no less."
"And let me guess, you were all just coincidentally discussing that as well." Fitz said.
"With good reason, Mr. President." Van Hayden said. "It's not just us, but several key members of the Party have expressed their own concerns over how you're going to be perceived in the coming months."
"It's the company that you've chosen to keep lately." Sally said. "Your inner circle seems to have developed an - imbalance - that have many in the Party concerned."
And there it was. Finally.
"Concern - there's that word again." Fitz said. "Would any of you like to clarify these concerns that my vice-president just brought up?"
At least now they had the grace to look both uncertain and uncomfortable under his gaze.
The thought came to Fitz that if Olivia were here, she'd council caution. If Olivia were here and listening to what they had to say, she'd do more than council caution. Knowing her as he did, Fitz knew that she'd listen to all of their dirt, but she'd also weigh the pros and cons of it - which would lead to her weighing the pros and cons of her involvement in his campaign - and that in all likelihood, that would lead to her weighing her involvement with him. And she was all too capable of deciding that the cost of her presence in his campaign - in his presidency - was too high.
And suddenly, the plan be damned - Fitz was pretty much done with this entire conversation.
Meanwhile, Sally wasn't. Her answer took up his challenge. "Surely you can see how important it is that the Party projects the right sort of image - for the sake of our base, if nothing else. And as politically savvy as your Olivia Pope might be, as efficient as your Chief of Staff might be, whatever wise" - and here Sally paused to raise her hand in air quotes around the word, wise "- council that your Special Envoy and your naive and inexperienced Congresswoman might have to offer, combined, they are not necessarily the image that we want to project..."
"Then maybe it's time for a new image for us all." Now Fitz really was done.
"This is all just casual conversation." Garner reminded them, his eyes darting nervously between Fitz and Sally. "Nothing being said here is necessarily written in stone."
"Perhaps - but I find it intrusive, to say the least. Concerns over the make-up and management of my senior staff are unnecessary - and unwanted. They are - and will continue to be - based on my own private decisions." Fitz stated bluntly.
"We all only want what's best for you and the Party." Garner was still trying to play the peacemaker. "You have to think of the down-voting on the ticket - and some of your choices could be … problematic."
"Perhaps you didn't understand me when I said that my decisions are private." Fitz turned a hard gaze on the other man.
"Perhaps you didn't understand what we're trying to tell you, Mr. President." Sally spoke up when Garner appeared to falter under Fitz's look. "Whether you like it or not, there's very little that's private when it comes to politics and politicians - which everyone is this room is. In light of that inarguable fact, we feel that our concerns that your personal choices are drifting away from the party's true vision are valid and need to be addressed. This was just a informal gathering to discuss what would be the best way to make that happen."
As if he didn't know what Sally was not saying. What they were all very carefully not saying. And as much as he would like to face them all down, Fitz decided that he would leave this for the battle it was, for the future. Now was not the time to face them down.
Olivia wouldn't want that. And so, neither did he - for now.
a/n: I know it's been a long while since I've updated, but life has been insane for more than the last little while... this time around, I hope to get and stay back on track until this is done xoxo