*Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep*
Fitz's alarm sounded loud and clear. He groaned at the interruption of sleep and turned onto his side to mash down any button he could find to shut the clock up. Once stopped, Fitz let out another long, loud groan as he rubbed his hands over his eyes and actually looked at the clock.
6:31 it read. He turned back around, flipped his covers off of him, and jumped out of bed. He made his way to the bathroom where he relieved himself and started a shower. He quickly jumped in the shower and fifteen minutes later emerged feeling fresh and satisfied. He brushed his teeth, shaved his scruff and left the bathroom.
He grabbed a towel off of the door, wrapped it around his body and went into his closet. Fitz decided on wearing a black suit. His jacket was open and his shirt was light green with two buttons unbuttoned at the neck. He threw on a black belt and shoes to match. He sprayed himself with cologne twice and headed to his kitchen.
When Fitz got to his kitchen, he made himself a bagel with sour cream and a bowl of strawberries. While eating his food, he read a newspaper to pass time. Half way through his breakfast his phone started to ring.
"Hello." Fitz said answering his phone not bothering to look at the caller.
"Fitzy Boy!" Leo Bergen boomed through the speakers. Leo and Fitz were childhood friends. When Fitz moved from California to DC they never lost contact and stayed close. So whenever Leo found himself in DC or vice versa, they would let each other know.
"Hey man! What's going on?" Fitz asked.
"Nothing really. You know me, just working. But hey, my plane just landed in BWI about an hour ago. So, I'd love to catch lunch or something." Leo said.
"Yeah! That sounds great. How long are you in for?"
"I'll be here till Sunday!"
"Alright that gives me two days to get you laid!"
Leo roared with laughter at his friend, "That doesn't sound too bad! I'm counting on you!"
"You got it, man!"
"I'll come by your office say maybe twelvish and we can head out."
"Sounds like a plan." The two men said their goodbyes and hung up. By now, Fitz was finished his breakfast and ready to make his way to work. He got up, grabbed his briefcase and headed out.
As Fitz made his way to the coffee cart, there was one person on his mind. He couldn't understand why Olivia had such an effect on him. He had just met her and he couldn't get her out of his head. Yeah, she was perfect in his eyes but he barely knew the lady. He'd probably never see her again, so why did she consume his thoughts like a plague.
He continued to walk down the street towards his one stop coffee cart. When he arrived, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and waited in line. While waiting, his eyes instinctively wandered around. His heart jumped out of his chest when he saw Olivia walking toward the same cart. What was she doing? Does she like me? Is she following me? All sorts of questions filled his head as he watched her walk closer and closer to him unable to tear his eyes away.
In light blue jeans, a white top, and a navy blue blazer, she was gorgeous. He couldn't help but wonder about how amazing it would feel to have her petite frame flush against his body every night. He was brought out his thoughts when he heard her,
"Hi." She smiled.
"Hi." He breathed back.
Olivia dropped her blackberry in her bag and started to scan the menu.
"Are you stalking me or what?" Fitz smirked trying to lighten the mood even though he desperately needed an answer to his question.
Olivia chuckled slightly, "Equal parts that and this is the best coffee in Washington." She said mocking him.
Fitz smiled. Her friendly persona immediately relaxed him. Was this the same woman from the other morning? He thought and as if she read his mind Olivia apologized,
"Look, I know I've said this before but I really am sorry about the way I acted the other day. I was having a really rough morning."
"Hey, no worries." Fitz brushed it off.
It was now Fitz's turn to order his breakfast. After doing so , he turned to Olivia and said goodbye. He didn't know why but he felt if he didn't make some sort of advance he'd miss his chance. He really didn't even know why he wanted a chance.
"Wait," he said as she grabbed her cup. He took her cup out of her hand, much to her displeasure. Fitz ignored her reaction, pulled out his pen and wrote a ten digit number on the side of it.
He smiled that signature Grant smile and handed the cup back to her, "Call me, maybe?"
With that, he walked off. Once far enough so she wouldn't hear him, he breathed a sigh of relief. Where did that confidence come from? He thought to himself.
Olivia just watched him walk away completely stunned. She smirked to herself as she looked down at the number and continued in the opposite direction to work.
Olivia had been at work for about three hours now. She was preparing an article proposal for her boss. She typed, reviewed, and researched furiously before she finally decided she was ready to present. She got up with her laptop in hand and folders in the other. She walked over to the door and grabbed a board that she had set up for the presentation. On her way out, she glanced at the coffee cup with Fitz's number on it and smiled to herself. She made a mental note to call him as soon as she got the chance.
She arrived at the infamous board room. Every employee that entered that room left feeling either rejected or ecstatic. No in betweens. Olivia was beyond nervous. Her proposals always made it through but that didn't take away the fear that one day, they might not like her ideas. She sucked in a sharp breath and walked through the door.
"Good morning, Mr. Milton. Mr. Grey." She smiled brightly at the two men. Mr. Milton was the editor in chief of Nature Journal. He was intimidating to most, but not Olivia. He had practically hired Olivia full time when she was just his intern. Mr. Grey on the other hand, was the real boss. He was the man on top. Olivia hated being in meetings with him because for so many reasons his intense glare made her uneasy.
She shook both of their hands as they stood up and went over to set up her presentation.
"You always go above and beyond, Ms. Pope. I'm interested to see your ideas for this months issue." Mr. Milton said.
Olivia just smiled and nodded continuing to set up. Once finished she turned to face them and began.
"Gluten Free. Is is for me?" Olivia said, reading off of the poster board. "Many people walk into stores and decide they're going to pick up a box that says 'gluten free' because that's supposedly the healthier option. In many cases, that is true. But, what a lot of people don't realize is that living gluten free isn't for everyone. My proposal is an article that can inform consumers of the effects that can come with ignorantly eating gluten free and not committing to it."
The rest of her presentation went smoothly. She went through her slide, handed out information sheets, and even had some examples of gluten free recipes she could include in the article.
When she finished, there was silence. She looked around the room at board members and the two men at the top of the table. Everyone's face suggested that they loved the idea.
"Well, Ms. Pope, you've done it again. I love it!" Mrs. Berkeley exclaimed looking at her colleagues in agreement.
"Thank you, everyone." She smiled but her focus still remained on the two votes that really matter. From the smile on Mr. Milton's face, she knew he loved it too.
"You are phenomenal, Ms. Pope. I approve 110%." He smiled.
"Thank you so much, sir." She smiled back.
She then looked to Mr. Grey whose expression was unreadable. A few very long seconds later, he broke his silence.
"That," he paused, "That was by far the best presentation I've seen all day. You have my approval." He said causing Olivia and everyone in the room for that matter to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Thank you so much!" She grinned.
"No, thank you." He nodded. She packed away all of her things and headed back to her office. She was one of the few to leave that room feeling ecstatic.
As she made her way through the aisles of cubicles on her way back to her office she received questionable looks from her colleagues in which she responded with thumbs up and smiles. Everyone silently congratulated her with fist pumps and over exaggerated gestures however, never breaking their silence.
She got to her office placed all of her materials down and plopped down in her chair. She threw her pen on her desk and slouched back into her seat. Presenting sure did take a lot out of her. A few moments passed and she heard a knock on the door.
"Come in." She said sitting up.
Mellie and Quinn burst through the doors in excitement, "They liked it?!" Mellie asked as Quinn looked at Olivia with eyes full of hope.
"They loved it!" She beamed.
All three girls let out audible squeals and talked for a few more moments before Olivia finally pulled out her phone to check her emails. Upon unlocking her phone, she was met with a text from her dad.
Dad: Call us when you finish presenting! We want to see your face when you tell us the good news! :-)
She smiled at the text before bidding Mellie and Quinn farewell and opening her computer to FaceTime her parents.
The computer rang twice before two of her favorite faces filled the screen.
"Dad! James!" She greeted them both.
"Liv, so how did it go?" James asked eagerly.
"Yes! Tell us all about it!" Her dad, Cyrus grinned.
Fitz sat at his desk reviewing case briefs; paying special attention to the Richardson case. This case was going to be the death of him. He worked day and night on it and still couldn't find a working angle. Time and time again he thought about dropping the case. But how would that look for the firm. This case had the potential to break the Grant-Rosen name and he couldn't let that happen. Their grandfathers built this law firm from nothing and he wasn't going to let some case ruin it.
He sat back and thought about what his father would do or say in a situation like this. God, how he missed his dad. 15 years ago, Fitzgerald Thomas Grant II was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Three and half years later, he passed leaving his wife a widow and his only son fatherless and in charge of the family business at only 24 years old.
He sat and reminisced on memories of his dad for a few moments. He wondered what he'd think about Olivia. Would be like her? How would he advise him to approach her? Would he think Fitz was moving too fast? So many questions, no one to ask. He looked down at his phone to see if she had reached out to him in some way. She hadn't. He didn't lose hope, however. He knew she would call him eventually. His gut told him so.
Fitz looked at his watch and noticed that it was time that he head out to meet with Leo. He got up, grabbed his wallet and phone and left.
"Wait! Wait! Wait! Before we get into that, tell me about you guys. What's going on?" She teased with the biggest grin.
"Olivia Carolyn, you know you don't care about what goes on in our life. You're stalling!" Cyrus said.
Olivia laughed, "I am not! I just want to know what my parents are up to, that's all." She smiled innocently.
Olivia truly loved the couple. After years of moving from foster home to foster home, Cyrus adopted her and gave her some stability. He gave her a family and for that she would be forever grateful.
When she was a baby her parents were in a car accident so she never knew them. After that, her grandmother was her legal guardian. That is until she turned 7 and her grandmother got really sick. When she was 9 she was not only without any real family but she felt alone in the world. She often feared that she would be in foster care until she was legal. However, it all changed one day for the better.
October 1996
A nine year old Olivia sat on the floor in front of the couch while her foster mom tried to fix her hair.
"Olivia, I really need you to be still. I'm having a hard enough time trying to tame your hair!" She said.
It was then that Olivia yanked her head away from the woman and got up. "Olivia!" She called out.
Olivia snatched the comb and brush out of her hand and went to the bathroom. She wet the brush and then brushed her hair up into a bush ball. She then took the comb and combed it out.
"How did you do that?" The lady asked.
"In the three months that I've been here, today is the first day you've ever touched my hair. Who did you think did my hair? The dog?" Olivia said sarcastically as she pushed past her.
"You know, everything would be a lot easier if you were a little nicer. I know this isn't easy for you but I'm trying here."
"Why are you trying?!" She cried. "I'm leaving today! You knew the day I got here that I wasn't here to stay so quit trying! You don't know what's easy for me! You're not the one getting moved around from house to house like a shipment package!"
She stormed up the stairs to her room and sat in her window. She cried and cried. She hated the life she lived. She didn't understand why no one wanted her. She felt so rejected. On top of that, as if things weren't bad at home, she was constantly bullied in school. She was the only black girl. Going to an all white school, living with an all white family, she never felt so out of place.
She watched as two cars pulled in front of the house. One was her social worker. In the other car was an older ruff faced white man. She looked around trying to find the family she would be going with. It wasn't her social worker and it certainly couldn't be the lone white man. Before she could figure out who her new family was there was knock on her door.
"Olivia?" Her foster mother called out. "There's someone here to meet you." She offered Olivia a small smile but Olivia just brushed past her. She sighed and followed Olivia down the stairs.
Olivia poked her head around the stairwell looking around and still all she saw was the two men; Her social worker and the man. She decided to walk out and sit down.
"Hello." She said politely greeting both men. She adjusted her dress so that she could sit down next to her social worker.
The man just stared at her. She didn't know why he was looking at her like that. He had a sparkle in his eyes and a small smile painted on his lips. "Hey there." He finally said back to her reaching his hand out to shake. Olivia took the man's hand and shook it.
"Olivia, this is gonna be your dad." Her social worker explained. "Cyrus Beene."
Olivia just looked at Cyrus then back up at her social worker. She even stole a few glances in her foster mom's direction. "Where's the mom?" She asked bluntly taking them all by surprise.
Cyrus's mouth was slightly parted as the social worker struggled to find the right words.
"Sometimes daughters only have a dad but it's okay because dads are really cool. Right?" He said looking up at her foster mom for help.
"Y-yeah that's right." She stuttered.
A few moments later it was now just Olivia and Cyrus in the room. "So, Olivia what do you like to do for fun?" Cyrus inquired.
She looked down at her hands in thought as she played with her fingernails. "I like to cook stuff and I like to garden and I like animals and I like to look at the planets and the stars." She smiled brightly. That was the first time Cyrus had seen her smile.
"You like to do all that, huh? Well, how about when we go home we can make us a pizza and then go outside to look at the stars. I have telescope so you can see really far but I haven't been able to use it yet." He said. For a moment he thought he had said just the right thing but her smile faded.
"Home?" She asked.
"Yes, you're gonna go with me home."
Olivia shook her head furiously, "I don't have a home. In a few months a new family is gonna come and get me from you." She said as she averted her eyes again.
Cyrus' heart broke for her. "No, no. No more moving. I'll be your dad forever now. You're gonna go with me home. To our home." He said as he moved to sit next to her.
She looked at him in shock. A part of her was the happiest she had been in a long time, another part of her was furious. She didn't want to be hurt again. She didn't want to be lied to. "You don't have to lie to make me feel better. I'm used to it."
Cyrus really didn't know how to respond to that. He was truly at a lost for words. What do you say to a child who feels neglected? Are there really any words?
Before Cyrus got the chance to think of something, the social worker and fosters came into the room. "I see you guys hit it off?" The social worker asked hopeful. Olivia Pope was known as a problem child. She didn't hit it off with anyone.
Cyrus looked to Olivia and smiled, "I think so."
"Great!" He clapped his hands. For thirty more minutes Cyrus helped Olivia gather her things. Afterwards he signed any last minute forms that were needed and they were on their way. Olivia looked out of the window as she drove away from her past. She'd be lying if she said the feeling in her stomach didn't feel good. A small smile crept across her lips as she said hello to a new future.
April 2015
"We're doing just fine." James swatted his hand in the air. "Now, tell us! Did they like it or what?" He asked excitedly.
The small smile that formed on Olivia's face told them all they needed to know. "Oh my God! You got approval!" James practically screamed.
Olivia laughed as Cyrus said, "Congrats! Even though we told you, you had nothing to worry about."
Olivia nodded her head still wearing the subtle smile. "Thanks guys, really. I honestly didn't know how they would feel about this. This is my first article on food- I can't screw this up."
"You won't, you're the best writer in Washington." Cyrus said with a bright smile. Hearing Cyrus use the phrase 'Best in Washington.' made Olivia smile even harder thinking about Fitz. Lucky for her, neither Cyrus nor James noticed her smile.
The trio chatted for a few more minutes before Olivia remembered that she had a lunch date with Abby and Quinn. She told her parents goodbye and headed out for lunch.
Olivia and Quinn walked into Gettysburger with their arms linked. They were meeting Abby there and they were a tad bit late.
"It took you bitches long enough." Abby sneered as she made her way over to them.
"We're sorry!" Quinn laughed.
"We got a little caught up. But we're here now so let's order." Olivia said.
The ladies viewed the menu for a few seconds. Abby could've sworn that there was someone burning holes in her back so she turned around and was met with a man that she found to be very sexy. She smirked a little but turned back around.
Leo saw her smirk and took that as a sign to approach her. He made his way towards her. He didn't know how to make a move on her so he decided to do something a little out of place.
He cut in line and received sneers and remarks from both Olivia and Quinn. Abby didn't utter a sound because she was interested to see what he was doing.
"Hello, ma'am." He said to the cashier, turning on his charm. The woman batted her eyes and giggled causing Abby to roll her eyes and scoff. Upon hearing Abby's reaction he smiled to himself.
"I'd like a small sprite and a large order of that." He said pointing to Abby offering her a large grin. Abby's cheeks turned to tomatoes. Quinn nearly choked on her drink and Olivia looked at Abby in shock as she tried to stifle a laugh.
Leo walked over to her and said, "I'm Leo and I'd like to sleep with you." He said with a smile. It was now Olivia's turn to choke.
Before Abby could respond Olivia heard a familiar voice. "Leo, did you order?" Fitz.
Olivia just stared at him unable to look away and when his eyes caught glimpse of hers he stood there.
Abby, Quinn, and Leo noticed the weird attraction. "Do you guys know each other?" Leo asked.
"Yeah, actually." Fitz smirked. "She's my stalker."
"Don't flatter yourself, flyboy." Olivia rolled her eyes.
"You look good when you roll your eyes."
"Can you not do that." She whisper yelled as she cut her eyes. She grabbed Abby and Quinn and dashed out.
"Wait, we didn't get our food!" Quinn exclaimed.
"You whore! You didn't tell me!" Abby was more concerned about the hot hunk of a man obviously interested in her best friend. Olivia ignored the both of their comments as she quickly scurried out of the door; gettysburger be damned.
"Call me!" He yelled after Olivia as they left. The door slammed behind them and Leo just looked at him.
"She is so hot." Leo said now looking out of the door. Fitz damn near grabbed him by his neck at his comment.
When Leo noticed Fitz's glare he clarified, "Calm down! I want the redhead. Though, I could use some hot chocolate in my life." He smirked
"Don't." Fitz warned.
Leo chuckled, "Let's just order."
Finally. Olivia thought as she walked through the doors of her apartment. It been a long day. In fact, that was an understatement. Following her run in with Fitz, she got to work only to receive a call from one of Stephen's crazy ex girlfriends. Stephen and Olivia are super close, they have been since undergrad so it wasn't new territory when Olivia would be approached by someone Stephen fooled around with.
She still had plenty of work after all of that but it was really hard for her to get anything done considering there was only one person on her mind. God, why did he have to be so beautiful? She asked herself this over and over again throughout the day. She didn't want to like him. He was a little too cocky for her liking; or maybe he wasn't. Maybe it was all an act.
After she peeled off her clothes, took a hot shower, and changed into something a little more comfortable, she made her way out to her kitchen where she prepared herself a full bowl of popcorn and a large glass of her favorite wine. She moved to her couch and sat the bowl and glass onto the center table. She sat for a minute contemplating whether to turn on the tv or muster up enough courage to make the phone call she's been wanting to make since early this morning. She chose the latter. She walked into her room and pulled a zip lock bag out of her purse. Out of the zip lock bag she pulled out the coffee cup. "I probably should have cleaned this off." She said to herself as she looked at the cup in disgust. It was all sticky and in order to get the number, she had to touch it.
Making her way back to the couch, she held the dirty cup out away from her body and proceeded to dial the number. Once the number was completely punched in, she disposed of the cup and and pressed dial before she changed her mind. The phone rang for a few seconds; not too long but long enough for Olivia to regret her decision and prepare to hang up. Before she could do so she heard his voice,
"Hello." He said rather professionally. Olivia assumed since he didn't recognize her number he kept his voice professional just in case.
"Hi." Was all Olivia said.
"H-Hi." He stuttered almost immediately. His voice reeked of shyness.
"Where did all your confidence go?" She chuckled slightly.
"Confidence? Are you kidding?" He laughed a little.
"You sure had a lot of it earlier."
"In all honesty, I don't know where any of that came from. You give me something." He smiled.
"I give you something, eh?" She asked.
"I don't know how to explain. One day I'm macho man and the next I'm Alfalfa."
Olivia laughs hard at this, "Alfalfa?"
"Yes, Alfalfa! C'mon tell me you've seen the Little Rascals."
"I can't say that I have, Alfalfa." She chuckles. "Is it good?"
Fitz gasped dramatically, "Is it good? It's only the best movie in history!"
"Please, it can't be that great."
"It's that great! It reminds me of how my buddy and I used to be when we were kids. We were little goons."
"You were a goon!?" She said as if she didn't believe him. "There's no way you were a goon. Gooney boys were hot and definitely not shy."
"Oh really?" He smirked through the phone.
"Really."
"Well I'm not shy little missy and I think we can both agree that I'm hot."
"Don't get cute."
"I don't have to."
"You're too cocky for your own good. Listen, tell me about your friend. The guy you were with today?"
Fitz's face dropped. Why does she want to know about him? He thought. Olivia picked up on his silence and said, "Relax, my friend is interested in him. I'm just doing my duty as her best friend. I'm researching."
Fitz now chuckled, slightly embarrassed that she picked up on his jealousy. "She's interested in the other goon, huh?"
"He was your gooney buddy?" Olivia said amused.
"Correction: he is my gooney buddy. He never grew out of his gooney boy ways."
"I see that." She said as she rolled her eyes.
"What happened? Did he hit on you?" Fitz said trying to mask the jealousy that threatened to show.
"Are you jealous?" Olivia smiled.
"Not jealous. But did he? Hit on you?"
"No. But the first thing he said to my friend was 'I'm Leo and I'd like to sleep with you.'"
Fitz roared in laughter, "You're kidding! He doesn't need me after all."
"Doesn't need you for what?" Olivia asked now confused.
"Uh, nothing." Fitz replied.
Olivia gasped loudly, "You help him find women to sleep with! You're disgusting!"
"In my defense, he works way too much and I try to help him out just a little."
"Don't try to justify it, you're shameless."
"I am not!"
"You are!"
Fitz sighed, "That doesn't matter. He likes to sleep around. No big deal!"
"I figured you'd say that. That's a shame. You disgust me more than pollution!" She scoffed.
Fitz laughed again, "What does pollution have to do with anything?"
"Nothing, but it's gross and I hate it and I hate everything that causes it."
"So, you hate the car that gets you to and from work every day?"
"I walk."
"The train?"
"I don't ride the train."
"The bus?"
"I don't ride the bus."
"Okay, how about that handy dandy blackberry you have in your hand all the time?"
Olivia was silent, "That's not fair."
"You cause pollution." He smiled.
"Not intentionally!" She defended.
"I don't think any of us do it intentionally."
Olivia scoffed, "Whatever."
They continued to talk on and on for what seemed like hours about everything and nothing before Olivia decided she needed to get to bed.
She looked up at her clock, "Oh my God, Fitz it's 1 in the morning!" She gasped.
Fitz, too, looked at his clock "Oh, wow! You want me to let you go?" He asked. If they were honest, he didn't want to stop talking to her and she didn't want to stop talking to him.
"That's probably best, I guess this is goodnight." She replied.
"Goodnight, Olivia."
"Goodnight, Fitz."
A/N: Hi hi hi! Thank you guys for your comments in regards to my first chapter. Means a whole lot!
So, Cyrus and James are Olivia's parents? What the huck!? Tell me what you think, really. That's a touchy subject but I wanted to explore it so I hope you guys are okay with it.
How are y'all feeling about Olivia and Fitz's progress? Did you like their encounter in the store? What about their phone conversation? Too fast? And what about that Leo? I'm gonna have fun with his character, I can already tell! Let me know, please! I love love love reading your reviews. Makes me all happy in my tummy and such. Anywhooooo, thanks for reading! Until next time. :-)