Chapter 15

Winners and Losers Part 2

OPOV

I can't believe we caught up to the leaders and actually have a chance to place, if not win. All my thoughts were focused on just making it to the top 25 to win the bet, but Fitz, well Fitz he has me wanting more, wanting to win. Not because of the bet but he made me see I'm capable, a real contender. I realize, more than anything, I really want this win for me, for him, for us, for all we've been through and who we've become now that we're together.

This summer has been the best summer in my life so far because of him. He's been my hero, coach, lover and most importantly my best friend. I'm running to as fast as I can because I need to get to him. We have so little time left. He'll be leaving soon; he be gone for months and I don't want to waste another minute of our time together.

Fitz, my wonderful loving beautiful Fitz, I'm coming to you as fast as I can.

I wonder where he and Jake placed?

Abby and I reach the lead group making our way to the middle of the pack. We easily keep up with the race veterans having trained at a quicker pace with Fitz and Jake. We're one mile away from the finishing line. Mellie is nowhere in sight. I wonder for a fleeting second where she is, whether she's in the next group or near the rear. Wherever she is, I hope her plan backfires.

Finally, we reach the quarter mile stretch. I can see the flags and balloons waving in the distance. The stride pace accelerates, dozens of arms begin to swing furiously all around me. The twelve runner pack dwindles to nine, then five, and with ten yards to go to the finish line three. I spot Fitz and Jake yelling and whistling a few feet from the finish line. Abby and I both summon own last burst of energy to blow past the other runners to make it across the finish line first. Abby crosses first then me. Fitz and Jake go wild, they hug, jump in the air high-fiving each other and yelling like loons. Their girls did it, won a triathlon their first time out and they couldn't be prouder.

After we cross the finish line, race officials lead us over to the drug testing tent for us to give urine samples. I glance over at another tent and see Mellie siting at a table, dressed in garden party garb, complete with perfectly styled hair and makeup. Race officials slide papers and photos in front of her. She nods or shakes her head as one official points to each paper asking a question. What the heck is going on? How did she…? A satisfied smile spreads across my face, "busted".

Hours later back in Sausalito, the winners of the San Francisco Triathlon finally open their first bottle of champagne.

"To us, we are an awesome foursome," Jake proclaims raising his champagne flute to toast.

"An unbeatable team," Olivia adds.

Fitz leans over to kiss Olivia on cheek, "I'm so proud of you babe."

"I had a really great trainer and I'm just as proud of you boo." She kisses him affectionately on lips, then rests her head on his shoulder.

Abby, forever the no holds barred stater of the obvious, gloats with unabashed delight over Mellie's predicament. "Can you believe Mashugana Mellie? Getting caught hiring a ringer?"

Fitz and Jake chime in unison, "yes." Nothing Mellie does surprises them.

"Mellie is a piece of work." Olivia snarks, doing an uncanny spot on Mellie impression.

"I...I... don't need to hire some Olympic hopeful to beat you Olivia, I'm in a league all my own and more than a match for you." Olivia tosses her hair over her shoulder.

"Your mistake from the beginning has been underestimating my resolve and abilities. I'm a worthy opponent Olivia and today begins your lesson in how worthy."

"She is so full of sanctimonious bull crap she shits sod," Abby jabs, finishing off the last few drops of champagne in her flute.

"Daddy's going to keep her on a short leash from here on out. This little fiasco is going to cost major duckets to cover up. Camera crews, video footage, maybe even the registration table volunteers, the list goes on.

"Huck managed to get a copy of the footage panning the beach where you confront Mellie. Apparently, Big Gerry has a hacker on payroll whose also pretty good. He was able to delete the footage during the initial investigation so other than Huck's copy, only me and Abby can give eyewitness accounts confirming Mellie's presence at the starting line."

"I'm beginning to think Mellie and her dad share the same penchant for drama. Sending that Liz chick with the cliché briefcase filled with cash to pay us off was straight out of the everyone has a price primer for the rich and vainglorious."

"More like the rich and relentless. Pearson and my father will personally pester us or pay one or more morally ambiguous underlings to throw pebbles at our window or shadow us night and day until we see things their way. This is old white dude privilege in action. Any threat to the status quo is met with cash and if that doesn't fix the problem, strong arm tactics. My dad wrote the book on cash-for-cover up strategies and I'm sure he told Pearson exactly what to do."

Jake pops the cork on another bottle and refills everyone's glass. He turns to Olivia before sitting down. "I like your counteroffer. Do you think they'll agree to it?"

"They have no choice but to. Us agreeing to remain silent and not drop a dime, or corroborate Mellie's accomplices' tale of woe, while Liz performs her hocus pocus peddling that cock and bull stalker story, seems reasonable in exchange for them not darkening our doorstep ever again. They'll take the offer but at some point, in the future, they'll find a way or a reason to break the agreement. We're not talking about honest upstanding citizens here."

"By then my sweet baby you will be Olivia Grant and they'll be shit-out-of- luck."

Fitz wraps Olivia in his arms and pecks her on the lips. "Definitely and maybe even carrying baby number one." She kisses him back.

"You seriously think this agreement will buy years of peace rather than months, Abby asks?"

"Yes, it will because Mellie needs to stay out of the public eye long enough for everyone concerned to forget about her. There's no way for them to know for sure they've paid off everyone who can bring into doubt Mellie's character. Mellie is going away to reinvent herself in the image Pearson and my father have planned for her. This time she won't have a choice or any input. Mellie screwed the pooch and will for the foreseeable future be relieved of the burden of independent thought."

"Fitz is right, Mellie is in for tough love knowing her father."

"Are you feeling sorry for her Jake?"

"Hell no! Fitz and I have had to run a block and tackle defense with Mellie ever since we were kids." Raising his glass, "Here's to hoping this is the end to the Mashugana Mellie chronicles."

"Here, here", they all sing clinging their glasses together.

Earlier

"Was that the doorbell?"

The doorbell chimes again, followed by a series of strong knocks.

"Who could that be?"

"Maybe it's the owner coming to check on us? He said he might."

"Not at this hour?"

The knocking persists.

Abby tilts her head, "Well are we going to sit here wondering or answer the door?"

"I'll get it," Jake volunteers. He jogs to the door, opens it and finds a woman with a blond asymmetrical pixie cut, in a tailored red suit, holding a briefcase.

Smiling smugly, she extends her hand, "Mr. Ballard, I believe."

Jake immediately knows from woman's tone and demeanor she's a Big Gerry or Greg Pearson paid flunky. Reaching out to shake her hand, "And you are?"

"Elizabeth North, I represent the Pearson family. I'd like to speak with Olivia and Abby, if they're home." Jake steps aside shaking his head in pity as she passes. The woman has no idea what she's in for as the messenger for the two biggest connivers on the planet. He escorts her to the living room and introduces her, not giving her the chance to do it herself.

Liz North stands facing the four who can make or break her Mellie debacle contingency plan. For twenty minutes she pitches an offer from Big Gerry and Greg Pearson to Olivia and Abby hoping to secure their cooperation in not coming forward with information contradictory to the story she has in play. Jake and Fitz sit expressionless listening to the latest craziness coming from the daddy dearest duo. God they're so predictable, they both think. When Abby starts choking from unrestrained laughter, Jake pats her on the back and nonchalantly passes her a box of tissue. She quickly takes a few, then passes to box to Olivia.

"I fail to see the humor in this situation. The detrimental ramifications to Ms. Pearson's reputation are serious, possibly irreparable. Her father is simply asking Olivia and Abby, if questioned, not to volunteer having seen Ms. Pearson at the beginning of the race. It should be apparent to all concerned Ms. Pearson has had a mental relapse of sorts and is in desperate need of therapeutic intervention. She's fallen victim to a one-time acquaintance turned vengeful stalker. This Audrina woman became obsessed with Ms. Pearson after her increasingly unwelcome overtures were rejected."

"Mr. Grant I'm sure you understand the complexity and difficulty in trying to extricate oneself from an entanglement you neither solicited nor encouraged." An impassive Fitz, looks at Olivia and Abby who are teary-eyed and flushed from laughing so hard. He offers no nod in empathy or gesture of concurrence to the latest shady deal broker to cross his path compliments, he's sure of, in part from his father.

"Anything else, Olivia asks with a snarky undertone?"

"Olivia, I believe the offer as presented is more than generous and merits thoughtful consideration."

Olivia shakes her head in disgust and irritation. She takes a deep breath.

"The only thing Abby and I are going to consider is the method we use to throw your patronizing ass out of this house." Olivia and Abby rise to face Liz akimbo.

Startled and genuinely surprised by Olivia's reaction, Liz tries to enlist Fitz's aid. "Mr. Grant, help me out here. What's being offered is reasonable and generous. I'm sure you can explain to these young women how things are handled in your social circle."

"Don't talk to him, Olivia rebukes. Abby and I are the witnesses, the lynchpins to your bullshit optics spin." Abby and Olivia move toward a retreating Liz like two lionesses stalking prey.

"Liz is it? Mind if I call you Liz, since you seem to be operating under the misguided notion we're good friends. I mean you took the liberty of addressing me and Abby by our first names without even knowing us. Yet, you address the men in the room formally. Tell me is your discourteous attitude toward me and Abby because you believe we lack the social standing to be addressed in the same respectful manner as Mr. Grant and Mr. Ballard?"

"Oliv… I mean Ms. Pope."

"Save it North," Abby interjects waving a dismissive hand.

"You see your first mistake was to assume we lacked integrity. Your second was assuming since we lacked integrity, we could be bought, that our integrity had a price tag.

"Your third mistake was…"

"Liv can I cut in here? You always get to do the verbal takedowns."

"By all means take the next two."

"Aaaah, thank you." Abby presses her interlaces fingers to her chest in gratitude. Liz furrows her brow, confused by their exchange.

Abby resumes. "Your third mistake was thinking we could be bought for cheap. Really, fifty-thousand? I'm sure Pearson and the good Senator spend that kind of money on booze, whores and bribes in a month. No offense Fitz."

"Hey, none taken."

"Where was I? Uhm, oh yeah, your fourth mistake was assuming we're impetuous, easily distracted by dollar signs with no thought as to the consequences of shaking hands with devils. Payoffs always come with strings Liz, strings that turn into a rope over time and eventually a noose around your neck." Abby nods to Olivia for the wrap-up.

"But Liz, you want to know what your biggest mistake was?"

"Oliv...Ms. Pope I meant no..." Liz abruptly shuts her mouth, she bites the inside of her cheek self-chastising herself for addressing Olivia informally again. Her hopes for regaining top dog status are fading fast. Fear and dread collide in her mind in an endless parade of career ending visions from this fiasco.

"Liz your biggest mistake was assuming me and Abby are desperate for male approval or so smitten we'll do what Fitz or Jake recommends. How did you put it? Fitz can explain to us how things are handled in his social circle. Well honey in our social circle women speak for themselves and make their own decisions. We're not social climbers or debutantes who relinquished their agency and dreams to help dear old dad broker a deal or gain political clout. We are intelligent, confident, accomplished women whose worth is not defined by the men in our lives.

"I love and respect Fitz and value his opinion a great deal but he does not dictate my decisions, nor would he ever attempt to do so."

"Amen sister."

"Here's our offer. We will not voluntarily go the race officials and disclose Mellie's participation in the first phase since we never actually saw her get into the water. However, if asked whether we interacted with her at the start of the race, or whether she was outfitted as a race participant, we will answer in the affirmative. We will not lie for her. In exchange for our silence, the Mellie, Greg, Big Gerry triumvirate of evil will leave us alone. No unexpected or last-minute visits, no requests to escort Mellie to some political event, no insulting cash offers to stay out of Fitz's life and no hounding or trying to guilt Fitz into a political career." Olivia emphasizes each point tapping her right index finger against the fingers of her left hand.

"Ms. Pope, Mr. Pearson and Senator Grant have great plans for young Mr. Grant's future."

"Well young Mr. Grant has his own ideas about his future and the triumvirate needs to accept it and move on. They have plenty of time to groom someone else for Mellie to sink her claws into.

"Ms. Pope it's not that simple."

"Yes, it is that simple," Fitz asserts. Now you have the counteroffer, I think it's time for you to leave." Fitz and Jake go to stand next to Olivia and Abby.

"I guess there is nothing more to be said." Liz picks up the briefcase and heads to the front door.

"No there isn't," Olivia replies.

They all walk Liz to the door. "Thank you for your time and consideration. I will present your counteroffer and give you an answer in a day or two."

Once Liz is out the door, Olivia steps forward with one final parting jab. "Liz let them know, they don't have all of the race surveillance tapes." Olivia smiles and shuts the door in Liz's stunned face.

"Fuck!"

A Bets a Bet

"Why is he here Olivia, this is between you, me and my family?" Today is truth and consequence day. Edison actually thought I would let him slide on telling his family we're no longer together and the reason for our break up.

"He's my moral support, transportation and should things become unruly at casa Davis he's my bodyguard."

"I don't welch on bets Olivia. I'm not that kind of person."

"Hmm, interesting but you are the type of person who cheats on his girlfriend. Glad to know you have at least one standard."

"Not this again, look I apologized, more than once. Can you just move on?" Edison raises his hands in exasperation.

"Yes, you did apologize more than once. You had to, you cheated more than once, it was kinda expected. And if you haven't noticed I have moved on."

Fitz kisses my hand in support, a gesture I can tell irks Edison to no end.

"Look Edison, today we settle our bet and officially sever all contact between us." I wave my copy of the bet we all signed in front of him.

"Seriously Olivia, you really expect me to keep 500 yards away from you at all times permanently."

I again wave the bet sheet. "Duh, yeah." Edison is so irritating. He's stalling because he knows his family is going to go apeshit on his ass the second Fitz and I leave.

"Olivia, we go to the same university, it's inevitable our paths will cross at some point."

"I won't go as far as agreeing with you there is an inevitability of our paths crossing. However, should such a remote possibility or rare circumstance arise, if you see me coming turn and walk in the opposite direction. No, better yet run. Give me a wide berth Edison. I'll have no patience for unexpected or surprise encounters. We have different majors, there's really no reason we should ever be on the same side of campus."

"Liv babe, we need to hurry this along."

"We? I think you need to stay out of this conversation. This is between me and Olivia."

Both Fitz and I look at Edison as if he's lost his damn mind. Then we look at each other and burst into laughter. Bristling, Edison stares at us, clenching his jaw and narrowing his eyes. I pat Fitz on the chest, wipe away my tears and face Edison with a cocky smile.

"Babe you are absolutely right, we do need to get this over with, we definitely have more interesting things to do." I turn to give Fitz a quick peck which quickly escalates into a full-blown tongue dive for buried treasure.

"What the hell?" Edison grumbles storming off to his parent's front door.

"You think it's something I said", I ask innocently? We grin shamelessly, then tag along behind Edison.

Once we enter the house, Edison takes his time locating his parents. Undaunted by his passive aggressive stalling, Olivia proceeds to introduce Fitz as her boyfriend to the relatives with whom she's fairly acquainted. One after one, Edison's cousins, aunts and uncles stammer out "nice to meet you" to Fitz, followed by, "how long have you two been together." Quick to dispense with the niceties, they all beat a hasty retreat to spread the word. While Edison works one side of the backyard, Olivia and Fitz work the other.

"Edison Nathaniel Davis, what's this I hear Olivia is here with her boyfriend, parading him around without a care in the world. Is this a joke? Edison are you two practicing an open relationship or something," his mother asks with concern.

"Damn it, she just couldn't wait."

"Wait for what? Are you two no longer together?", Edison's father asks gruffly, joining his wife.

Within moments, most of Edison's family is surrounding him. I leave Fitz to stand next to him, partly to make sure he follows through with the bet, partly to give his undeserving ass some moral support. Mama and Papa Davis can be verbally and emotionally brutal when disappointed; it explains why Edison usually keeps his a healthy distance from his parents.

Edison to my surprise tells his family the complete unvarnished truth. He admits everything is his fault and apologizes to me again in front of everyone. I guess he realizes confession is good for the soul. Mumbled comments circulate through the gathered close-knit relations. His relatives pat my hand in sympathy, tell me not to be a stranger and a couple even suggest I give him another chance after I tire of the white boy. All in all, the drama is kept to a minimum.

"Olivia we're sorry things did not work out with our son but we want you to know you'll always be welcome here," Papa Davis says with sincerity. Edison's parents have unrealistic expectations of their son and Edison would be the first to admit it. Edison is smart, yes; brilliant or a trailblazer, far from it. He'll do better and go farther than the average college graduate but setting the bar or turning the world on its' ear is not something he's equipped to or wants to accomplish.

"Thank you, I appreciate you saying that. I think we should go. Things are still rather awkward between us."

"We understand dear." Edison's parents hug Olivia and glare at their son. "Take care Olivia."

Fitz walks over to Olivia and takes her hand. "Ready to go?"

"In a minute."

"You want say your goodbyes?"

"No, I want to grab a couple of plates to go. Edison may be a cheater and a jerk at times but he comes from a family that can throw down a spread like nobody's business and I'm hungry." They both giggle and head over to buffet table.

"Mom, dad, I'm going to walk Olivia out."

"Oh no, you're going to stay right here and explain to us why you deliberately worked to sabotage the best relationship you've ever had. Success, prestige, and political power was all written in the cards, why did you screw it up?", his mother demands angrily. Edison you are going to fix this monumental blunder. You are going to get your life together, win Olivia back and get your future back on track. Do you understand me boy? " Edison takes a step back, he's knows that look in his mother's eyes, he knows what's coming next. Lips pursed, fingers pointing at a nearby bush, his mother orders in a deep guttural whisper, "Go get me a switch."

Edison swallows hard, shoulders slump, and his head drops, "Fuck."

Harrison POV

Harrison, suitcase in tow, exits the elevator on the fifth floor of his apartment building for the first time in weeks. He's barely lived here having only moved in three weeks prior to the semester ending. He was lucky, a friend did him a solid and hooked him up before the place hit the rental boards. He's returning home from is internship in LA and the triathlon. When he gets to his apartment, he finds a package delivery notice from UPS taped to his door. "I didn't order anything." He shrugs, snatches the notice off the door without looking at it assuming the notice advises him UPS will attempt a second delivery. He takes his keys from his pants pocket and searches for his apartment key among the nine others on his key ring. The sound of the jingling keys echoes down the hall, alerting his neighbor of his return.

"Hey Harrison, I was coming home yesterday when the UPS guy came by with a package for you. I signed for it. Here you go." Joseph is the friend responsible for him getting the apartment.

"Thank you, Joseph. How's Melissa?"

"Doing great, one more month and baby Samantha will be here."

"Man, get ready for sleepless nights and diaper duty."

"I can't wait. I just hope she takes after Melissa's side of the family, you've seen my side, he chuckles. Anyway, take it easy, I'll catch up with you later."

"Later Joseph, and thanks for holding my package."

Harrison opens his door and places the box on the coffee table. He reads the return address; the box is from Olivia. He grabs a knife from the kitchen, slices open the box and covers his mouth. "Damn, they're serious." He removes the contents, shaking his head the entire time. Inside the box are four dresses, two hats, two purses and two pairs of pumps, along with a note.

Dear Harrison,

Sorry you came in 26th. So close, yet not close enough. Hard to believe only two seconds separated 25th and 26th place. Guess it wasn't your lucky day.

We know you haven't had a chance to shop, so we thought we'd help you get started. The red pumps and purse will go with both the red and blue dress. The shoes are a size 12. If the shoes are too small, you can return them for a larger size. We found a store that caters to drag queens so no need to worry about not finding the right size shoes. We'll be at church the first Sunday before the semester begins to confirm your compliance with our bet.

Love ya, hugs and kisses,

Olivia and Abby

PS. Don't worry, we have a cover story to explain your new found fondness for women's attire. Your temporary humiliation will have purpose and will actually make you come off looking a phenomenal person.

Harrison grins. Olivia always comes through.

Half way down the hall Joseph snaps his fingers, he remembers he forgot to mention an upcoming event to Harrison. He walks back down to Harrison's apartment. The door is slightly ajar, he knocks and pushes it open. "Hey I forgot to tell you, the family is giving us a shower on the 8th. You're invited, I'll need all the testosterone I can get to combat…" Joseph stops midsentence when he sees Harrison pressing a blue dress against his body.

Harrison looks up embarrassed, "Fuck."

AN – I was originally going to entitle this chapter Time to Pay the Piper. I changed my mind because Mellie's comeuppance has yet to happen. Sorry there was no Olitz lovin' in this chapter, I promise to make it up in the next update when the story moves back into the present.

Do you think the triumvirate will accept Olivia's offer?

Do you feel sorry for Harrison?

What do you think Olivia and Fitz should do during their final days together?

Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks for reading. Have a great week.