Part 3
Grasping the flask of whiskey tightly in her hands; Olivia struggles to decide as to whether or not she should hand the gift to Fitz. She was never one for second guessing herself, but Edison's words had been playing in her mind on continuous loop the entire weekend… Would she be stepping over the line by thanking him in this manner? Would he possibly get the wrong idea and then start to take advantage- Like Edison was suggesting, or would he simply be touched at the kind gesture and accept it for what it was- a thank you and nothing more? Fitz appeared to be a level headed man; not exactly the type to jump to outlandish conclusions- besides if he was that way inclined, he would never stand a chance at running for State Governor- and from what she had seen of him so far she believed him to be a very strong candidate.
This is ridiculous, she decides; secretly chastising herself for even allowing this silly bout of paranoia to take root, and instead chooses to follow what her gut is telling her to do... Go ahead Liv.
As soon as she spots him alone again, she takes a deep breath- and heads on over to him.
xxxxxxx
Fitz hadn't really planned on coming in today; he had a number of meetings to attend on the other side of town, but yet somehow he managed to find a reason to stop here first. Honestly, he couldn't help it; not being able to see or speak to Olivia over the weekend had left him feeling restless. He had tried to downplay his initial reaction to her; as nothing more than a heterosexual man being able to recognise a pretty woman when he saw one- Only, Olivia Pope had to go an open that pouty little mouth of hers, and he soon came to realise that not only was she remarkably beautiful she was a woman of great substance too. Confident, witty and smart- she was a lady that could rival any man, but yet still remain feminine and gentile at the same time. How was that even possible?
Olivia was intrigue all over, and every fibre of his being wanted to explore her further- but these feelings did not come without consequence. Over the past week, every night he returned home to Mellie, or when he played with his kids before getting them ready for bed, he felt like the lowest of the lows; bombarded with wave after wave of suffocating guilt for even harbouring thoughts of Olivia.
Because Fitz was not that sort of man.
Sure enough his marriage to Mellie had been staged, one of convenience in fact; it had not stemmed from the hot, passionate and crazy sort of love that one would have hoped to find in a partner, although that didn't mean he didn't care about Mellie. She was the mother of his children, and the same woman he stood before the eyes of God and vowed to remain faithful to. And after years of witnessing the way in which his father had disregarded his wedding vows, by cheating and whoring around with as many different women as possible, he had refused to let Mellie suffer a similar fate to his mother's. Therefore, up until recently, he had never once entertained the thought of being with another woman. But then Olivia Pope appeared on the scene and had unknowingly turned him on his head; and now he was at a loss on how best to handle the situation. The easiest thing to do, would be to find some lame ass excuse to terminate her contact, tell her it wasn't working out and send her on her way. But he wouldn't have the conscience to do something like that- For one, she didn't deserve to be blamed for his inability to control his feelings, and two she was far too good at what she did to get rid of her. Therefore, all that was left to do was exercise some self-restraint and keep his distance from Olivia at all times, by immersing himself in one of the many other organisations he was involved in. When he left his house earlier this morning, that had been the master plan, but it lasted all of 5 seconds, before he suddenly found himself driving towards NOW's main office.
He spotted her straight away, slightly bent over, retrieving files from the filing cabinet. She was wearing a figure hugging pencil skirt and loose fitting blouse, with her hair pinned up in tidy chignon. She looked simply delectable. But luckily for him (and his wandering mind) he was immediately distracted by Quinn, another co-worker of his, rambling on; needing his undivided attention as she ran a number of items past him.
Caught up in work mode, he failed to notice that Olivia had spotted him and was now watching him from afar.
"Right, so you're definitely sure about this- I should follow through with Mrs Johnson's case, before proceeding with Yemin's?" Quinn verifies, needing to be certain.
"Definitely", Fitz encourages, and then gives her a few more pointers on how best to proceed before she appears satisfied and makes her way back to her desk.
A heartbeat later, he feels a delicate tap to his shoulder; momentarily catching him off guard.
"Oh, I'm sorry Mr Grant, I didn't mean to startle you." She apologises profusely, as a forbidden blush of rouge fills her cheeks.
"Miss Pope… Hi…" He was surprised, pleasantly so.
"Hi," She returns nervously; Fitz had never seen this side of her, almost coy as she shuffles on her dainty healed feet.
"I umm… I wanted to give you this." He hadn't even noticed her hands were hiding behind her back, until she brings them forward presenting him with a small flask of malt whiskey. "It's just a little something to say thank you, really…"
Could she be any more adorable? He's extremely touched by the sentiment and finds the irresistible urge to reach over and cup her face in the palm of his hand, but somehow he digs in deep enough to refrain from doing so, and instead, takes the offered flask from her hands, staring into her eyes intently. "Miss Pope, this is extremely kind of you, but believe me you didn't have to…"
What comes over her next, she can't quite explain; maybe it's the way he's looking at her... but before she can even register what she's doing she instinctively reaches out to him, touching his arm. The unexpected contact silencing the rest of his words, as she now returns his gaze with equal fervour… "Oh but I did… I don't think you realise just how much I appreciate having this job Mr Grant, it means everything to me, and I just wanted you to know that I'm extremely grateful."
Knowing he shouldn't, but powerless to stop himself, he mirror her boldness by placing his other hand on top of hers. "I am the one who is grateful Miss Pope, I… I mean, we… are fortunate to have you here… And don't you ever forget that."
Flattered, her face lights up as she smiles at him brightly. And it is in that very moment that he realises the truth- he was well and truly doomed.
And now he can't help but wonder if she knows it too?
