"So dinner for two?"
"We just ate" Olivia pointed out
"Drinks for two?" Fitz countered
"I don't drink on the job"
"Well last time I checked the issue here is the fact that you won't take the job so technically you're not 'on the job'. If anything, I'm the one on the job trying to get you to take the job and I most certainly do drink on the job." Fitz spoke fast hoping to rattle her.
"You just said 'job' 5 times within a 10 second timeframe." Olivia randomly spit out, not knowing how to respond.
"I think you missed your calling as a statistician." Fitz grinned knowing he left the Olivia Pope speechless; a hard thing to do, "C'mon let's go" Fitz offered his hand to her with a smile.
Figuring she had nothing to lose, Olivia allowed him to help her up and they were soon on the way to the parking lot. She was pleasantly surprised to see that he had his own rental car as opposed to a limo or town car.
"I prefer to drive when I can. Back home they make me get a driver whenever I do any appearances as governor. So, it's nice to feel kind of normal when I can plus it's an excuse for me not to ride in the same car as Cyrus." Fitz answered noting her surprised face.
Fitz reached to open Olivia's door for her, after she thanked him she briefly raked her memory trying to remember the last time someone held the door for her other than a hired driver. Edison Davis himself who had the audacity to propose to her never opened her door in the year of their relationship. She quickly scolded herself for comparing the governor, a client, to her past romantic relationships and interactions. "So where exactly are we going Governor?" Olivia asked as he buckled up in the driver's seat.
"Well I was hoping you could give me some suggestions considering you seem to be the queen of D.C. And seriously what's it going to take to get you to call me Fitz?"
"On paper you're the most powerful man in California and possibly on track to be the most powerful man in the world. To call you anything less than Governor Grant would inappropriate as it would demonstrate a lack of respect from me." And just like that, Fitz was even more determined to crack her tough exterior. He had always been good at reading people and Fitz could tell that Olivia Pope constantly put on a game face but he wanted to show her that sometimes it was okay to let others in.
"Ok fair enough for now." He conceded knowing that she was starting to get slightly annoyed. "So, any suggestions for food?"
"Honestly, unless I'm meeting a client, I don't usually go out to eat that much. Popcorn and wine makeup about 80% of my diet and the rest is takeout." She let out a soft giggle which was music to Fitz's ears. He'd known the woman for just a few hours and he already found himself smiling at something as simple as a giggle from her.
"Well it's no Le Diplomate that you're probably used to, but we could go to this place my mom, sister, and I used to go to as a kid when my dad worked late nights on The Hill." He ran his left hand through his brown curls, a tell-tale sign of nerves.
"I'm fine with anything, I'm not all that hungry anyways." she gave him a kind smile which was interrupted by a growl from her stomach.
Olivia's face turned bright red in embarrassment. She spent most of the fundraiser talking to others and observing Fitz, that she hardly touched her plate.
"Benny's it is then, it looks like a hole in the wall because it kind of is, but I swear its good." Fitz pulled into a parking spot surprising a relieved Olivia to find that they had already arrived.
Olivia observed that they were only a few blocks away from the capitol building, a part of town that she frequented almost daily. "I never knew this place was here." Olivia said as Fitz opened her door for her.
"Yeah most people don't. It's not your typical place for politicians to meet up or staffers to grab a drink, occasionally unpaid interns will come here but other than that it's a hidden gem. But my mom loved to bring my sister and I here whenever we were in town."
A small sign read 'Benny's Bar and Grill' with an arrow pointing down towards the basement. The restaurant was located in the basement and felt homey. The room was dim with string lights strung throughout the eatery and large red comfy booths lined the walls. Olivia noted that the restaurant was charming much like the man she was with.
"Booth or table?" Fitz asked her.
"The booths look really comfortable" Olivia was excited to take a load off in the red plush booth after standing in her Louboutins all night.
Fitz lead her over to a familiar booth that he used to sit at as a kid. "So, Governor what would you recommend?" Olivia asked looking over the menu noting that she probably couldn't go wrong with whatever she ordered.
"That's a tough one I'm a steak and potatoes kinda guy, but the chicken parm is definitely one of my favorites here. I know both sound kind of weird to order from a hole in the wall but it just works." He gave a lopsided grin
An older petite woman probably in her early 70's came up to take their order, "OH MY GOODNESS IS THAT MY FITZY?!" the woman squealed dropping her notebook and pen.
"Hi Cindy" Fitz stood up to hug the older woman an endearing sight to the few patrons including Olivia.
"And who might this lovely lady be?" Cindy gestured towards Olivia once the hug ended.
"Cindy, this is Olivia Pope, I'm trying to convince her to come work out in California with Cy and I." He put his arm around the five foot 2 old woman.
"Oliva Pope?" Cindy said out loud, "You work on the Hill don't you? Sometimes we get some young aids and interns in here talking about you."
"She's kind of a legend, right?" Fitz said smiling down at her, a look Cindy didn't seem to miss.
"Sometimes I do some consulting for members of congress." Olivia blushed at Fitz's praising.
"No need to be modest my dear. You're a bad ass woman embrace it. Now what can I get you two kids?" she asked picking up her notepad and pen from the ground.
"I think I'll do the NY strip and a glass of scotch."
"And I'll have the chicken parmesan and a glass of merlot please" Olivia handed her menu off to the older woman.
"She seems sweet" Oliva smiled referring to Cindy; nice and genuine people were hard to come by in the DC swamp.
"Yeah she's great. We'd come here so much as a kid when my dad was in session that she kinda became like family. Her and her husband Benny own the place and they still meet up with my parents whenever they're in town."
The two continued to make comfortable small talk throughout the dinner, which Olivia continuously praised. Once their plates were cleared and only drinks were left Fitz began, "So, now that I've wined a dined you at the most prestigious restaurant in all of DC, what are your thoughts on California?"
"Honestly, I still have mixed feelings" Olivia answered truthfully while swirling her glass of red wine. On one hand she knew Fitz had great potential and a real shot at winning the election, but on the other, her job was to fix things. Olivia Pope the fixer is an in an out person never staying on a job for longer than a couple weeks. Everything OPA did was temporary. She couldn't run a campaign. If the governor had an issue throughout the campaign then she could fix it, but what was she supposed to do when there was nothing to fix?
"Anything specific you want to talk about?" Fitz asked hoping he could help her sort them out as well as have a peek inside her brain.
"Well for starters I worked my entire life to be where I am today. My business is everything to me and if I were to loosen the reigns and it fell apart that's something I could never forgive myself for. Then there's the fact that I'm a fixer. I'm not one to stay on a project for long, I identify an issue then I fix it and everyone is happy so I don't even know what I would have to offer you. And finally, you don't even know if you want to run for president. Let me assure you that this isn't a dig at you Governor, but we're four years out from an election that you're not even sure you want to run in so why would it make sense for me to get on board before you even are?
"You shoot to kill don't you" Fitz laughed shaking his head a little surprised.
"Sorry, I can be a little forward sometimes when it comes to work." She said slightly embarrassed.
"Don't apologize for what makes you great at what you do. I like it. I guess I should just go down the list from what you've named huh?" Fitz realized he'd have to come up with some answers that he didn't have at the moment. From an outsiders' point of view her coming out to California didn't really make sense at all. She was a fixer and he had no problem to fix. But for some reason, Fitz knew he wanted to work with Olivia. Was he attracted to her? Yes. Was he developing feelings for someone he barley just met and may be working with? Quite possibly. Regardless of that he wanted to be around Oliva Pope, she screamed success and challenge and he wanted that in his future.
"I'll start by saying I admire how hard you've worked to build your firm from the ground up and in such a short amount of time. I can't say that I understand how hard you've worked because honestly I don't, but I can tell you that I would never ask anyone to give up something they've worked so hard on. So if California were in your future, I would expect OPA to come before everything else as it should. Cy said you've had people on the West coast begging for OPA's help so this could be your chance to expand if you want, if not I totally respect that I'm sure you have more than your hands full here. Whatever resources you need out in California I'll get you but ultimately it's your company and your choice."
"I appreciate that Fitz" Live smiled genuinely. It wasn't often that people actually acknowledged all the hard work it took for her to get where she is today. Typically people just yelled at her to fix things if they were clients, or found excuses to belittle her accomplishments if they were competition. She appreciated the fact that Fitz wasn't trying to make her decision all about him.
She looked up to see him with a lopsided smile, "What's got you grinning?" She asked confused.
"You finally called me Fitz" he said proudly.
"Well like you said, you've wined and dined me, so I guess its only fair that I call you Fitz as long as you call me Liv."
"Good to know my elaborate plot worked, you drive a hard bargain Liv" Fitz shook her hand in mock seriousness with a straight face.
Olivia lost it and began giggling uncontrollably at that man in front of her, "You're kind of a dork"
"Woah woah woah, I'm definitely a dork. Dad jokes and dorkiness are my specialties." He said laughing back.
After they both calmed down Olivia began, "So you didn't answer my last point about you not even knowing if you want to run."
"Yeah I guess that's probably an important one. To be honest my decision hasn't been made and I can't tell you when it will be made." He shrugged his shoulders.
"Why haven't you made it yet?" she asked curiously
"Well it seems so far off to be honest.I never planned on politics, despite my dad being a politician. The people of California like me but I don't know if America would and campaigning in one state is one thing but the entire country, that's a lot." Olivia picked up the stress in his voice and noticed his hands began to run through his curls.
"Well Governor-"
"Fitz" He corrected
"Fitz, I can't make that decision for you. But I've thought about it and I'll come out to California for a few months and we'll see where to go from there."
"Fantastic" He responded with a grin.
And that's all he needed. Olivia Pope just gave him an inch and he'd make miles out of it.