A/N: Thank you for all of the wonderful reviews for last chapter. Enjoy!
During the course of the past three weeks the Grants had been very busy preparing for the upcoming Oprah interview in addition to work and school.
"Fitz!" Olivia called from the bottom of the stairs, she was fully dressed and waiting on her husband. It was his idea to take her out on a date since she was leaving for Seattle the next day for the Art conference at the Seattle University. She heard his voice shouted that he was coming; with a simple head shake she walked towards the dining area where the children were having dinner.
"Mom, can I watch TV after we eat?" Iya slyly asked, knowing that her mother will probably tell her no.
"Absolutely not," her mother responded in an even tone. "You have school in the morning and if my memory serves me correctly, you have a spelling test. Am I right?"
Iya scrunched her nose while forking a small piece of broccoli and chicken off of her plate. "But I studied all the words. I'll be fine." She rebutted.
"Well that's good to know, sweetheart. But before bed I want you to go over it one more time. And that's it for tonight. You need to be fully rested so you can perform to your best ability tomorrow."
Iya did a small neck roll accompanied by a scowl in opposition to her mother's request.
"Iya, don't ever dare roll your neck at me!" Olivia chastised, she watched as Iya downcast her eyes in remorse.
"Sorry," she mumbled contritely.
Olivia took a deep calming breath; after all she didn't need to be worked up while going on a date with her very handsome husband.
"Oh Mom, Ariel, wanted to know if she can come over to play some time? Can she, please?" Tommy's excited voice broke the tension between mother and daughter.
"We'll talk about it later, honey. Ok?"
"Ok," Tommy mumbled before drinking a sip of his juice.
Olivia moved onto the kitchen where Mama Awa was starting a load of dishes. She relayed her instructions for Iya to study and retire to bed no later than 8 PM. Tommy was to do the same. When it came to parenting they tried their hardest not to give one child special treatments over the other.
Ten minutes later, Fitz was finally coming down the steps.
"Olivia!" He called out in a loving tone.
"Don't Olivia me!" She answered, walking towards him from the kitchen.
"Sweetheart..." He trailed with a smirk on his face, watching his fierce little woman saunter over to him with her signature Pope walk.
"Did you have a hard time putting on your spanx, old man?" She teased, once she was in front of him.
"Are you calling me fat and old, Mrs. Grant?" He asked, circling her waist and pulling her body into his – her baby bump forever getting in between them.
"Depends on which part of your anatomy we're referring to, Grant."
Fitz' laughter rumbled deeply within his throat. "You're a naughty girl. I think I'll have to discipline you tonight."
Olivia tiptoed to bring her lips in connection with his. She murmured against his mouth, "Good, I'm in need of some discipline. I've been baaaad."
Fitz chuckled and kissed her pouty lips deeply.
"Ewww," the voice of both of their children interrupted their make out session.
Laughing facetiously they pulled apart.
"Always kissy kissy," Tommy said with his nose crinkled in playful disgust.
Fitz and Olivia exchanged looks before they attacked his face with a multitude of kisses, making him laughingly begged them to stop.
Once they bid their kids good night they headed out the front door and into the awaiting car.
"It's so freaking cold, "Olivia complained as they walked from the car into the restaurant.
Fitz hugged her to his side as they speed walked through the snow.
Once inside their coats were checked and they were escorted to their table.
"You don't have to not drink alcohol because of me," Olivia said when they were seated and the waiter took their drinks order.
"Sparkling water will be fine." Fitz reassured the server with a smile.
The young man excused himself to go grab their drinks orders.
"What?" Olivia frowned when she saw the crease in between his forehead deepened.
From her concern Fitz fixed his face with a small smile. "Nothing," he answered nonchalant. "By the way, you look very beautiful tonight," Fitz said, diverting the attention from him onto her. He still adored her tapered haircut, and tonight it complimented her edgy outfit superbly.
"Thank you. You don't look half bad yourself," she retorted with a sensual smile on her face.
They chitchat about small stuffs that happened during their day. They indulged in a bit of gossip where Samantha and Derrick were concerned. Neither one knew if they were truly dating, but it was clear that D was very interested in Samantha. But Olivia understood her friend's reservation and she wasn't going to push her, because D's track record hasn't been exactly squeaky clean. Fitz of course tried to vouch for his friend, saying that he had changed but that was still to be proved. When their ordered meal arrived the conversation went back to their family concerns. Olivia brought up the topic of the two tutors that they came down to for the children. One was older with all of the qualifications they could ever ask for and more, but they lacked personable appeal. While the other one was younger, qualified but lacked experience. The second one actually became a substitute teacher at Léman a year ago. Fitz was more gravitated towards the second candidate because of their warmer appeal. To Olivia it was a no brainer to choose the more qualified one while Fitz did not think so; his reasoning was that the kids need a fun learning environment. So they were stuck on finalizing the right tutor.
When they were both finished with the main course, a decadent dessert was placed in the middle for them to share. They spoon fed each other the chocolate gelatin goodness.
"How was your meeting with, Tom Ford?" Olivia asked mid chew. She knew that he was meeting with him today at the Ritz and that was the reason he ran a little late for their date.
"It was good, but there's something I need to tell you." Fitz straightened up and placed his dessert spoon on the side of the pristine white plate.
"What's that? They want you to do a nude shoot." Olivia joked.
Fitz chuckled lightly and shook his head no, before saying, "this is probably not a big deal but Natalie is the face for his women's perfume and we're going to be working together."
All the humor left Olivia's body as she asked, "Your ex-girlfriend, Natalie Plume?"
Before Olivia Fitz' last casual girlfriend was Natalie Plume, an ex-Victoria Secret supermodel. She was a few years older than Olivia.
"I won't classify her as that but you could say that," Fitz replied casually. "Are you ok with it?"
Olivia shrugged her shoulder. She was a little apprehensive, yes. But was she insecure and jealous? No. "I won't lie and say that I'm totally fine with you working with a model that has been with you intimately, but its fine. I know you and our relationship. And if you need reminding, these two," she lifted both of her hands in the air and fisted them before she continued, "will remind you."
Fitz chuckled and brought both of her hands into his; he kissed the back of each hand tenderly before releasing them back to her. "I'm going to miss you," his voice confessed softly.
Olivia smiled before she replied, "it's only three days. Plus you're going to be busy with the two nuggets."
"Won't be the same without you, baby."
"It won't, but you know what you can do to help me cope with being away from you?"
"What?" Fitz inquired naively, even though the tone of her seductive voice was indication enough of what she was implying.
"Take me home and make love to me, Grant." Her eyes stayed on him, while she beckoned him with her slow moving lips.
"Check please," Fitz raised his hand in the air.
Olivia chuckled contentedly; she took a final sip of her lukewarm chocolate beverage. She was going to be thoroughly pleased.
The next morning she looked over at the bedside clock to see that it was only 6 AM. She was surprised that she'd even woken up so early because all of her energy was exert during last night's rendezvous. Fitz had planned to take her to a Broadway show after dinner, but they were too eager to spend the night between their warm bed sheets doing the horizontal dance than to attend. So they came home and made love over and over until they physically couldn't take it anymore. They acted as though they weren't going to see each other for weeks instead of days.
"Good morning," Fitz' morning voice greeted close to her ear, he broke her reverie.
Olivia turned around to see him smiling widely, he looked contented and loved. "Good morning, sweetheart," she returned his greeting with a chaste kiss to the lips which he took advantage of.
"Fitz... What are you doing?" Olivia asked in between catching her breath. What was meant to be an innocent kiss was now turning into something R rated.
Fitz kissed her passionately until she resisted the urge to stop him. He nipped on the sensitive skin of her slender neck. Once he'd touched the sensitive spot behind her ears she was a goner. Her moans grew louder from the attentive caress his mouth and hands gave.
Testing her wetness with two of his thick digits, Fitz slowly entered her tight channel from behind. Olivia laid on her side with one of her legs on top his as he made deep thrust within her slick heat. Sleeping naked give them the ease to join their bodies together without restrictions or barriers.
He murmured his love and adoration for her as he pummeled in and out of her tight heat. Olivia crooned and cried as he took her to ecstasy one more time.
When they both climbed the pinnacle of their orgasms they let go of everything and allowed the pleasure to overcome them. Together they laid blissfully spent in a tangle of limbs as their breathing regulated.
By three in the afternoon Olivia finally made it to Seattle. She was excited to be back, especially doing something as big as public speaking. She never expected that the school she'd once attended would want her back as a guest speaker. Per her husband's request Huck escorted her on the trip. She only agreed to it because they promised to make his presence less obvious.
Olivia checked into The Fairmont Hotel a half an hour later. She made her way to her room while Huck did the same. Olivia was exhausted and needed a nap from the long flight she endured. Although she'd travelled first class she didn't get an ounce of sleep. Instead, she read and reread her five minutes speech she was giving. Her speech was expected to motivate the students. Even though, she'd read it to Fitz and he'd already given her a positive feedback she couldn't help but worry that it wasn't good enough.
Taking her mind off of the speech, Olivia decided to strip down and take a quick shower. Whenever she travelled she always liked to shower when she got home.
As she stepped out of the shower she hummed softly to no tune in particular. It was strange being by herself, she couldn't remember the last time she was truly alone. It was probably when she and Fitz were just dating. Olivia thought about how long ago that actually was. She never dreamed that her life would be like it was today and she wouldn't have it any other way.
Standing in front of the full length mirror Olivia studiously admired her body. She definitely didn't look like she did 10 years ago. She observed how wider her hips were. Her skin albeit the many stretch mark creams she used still bore a few marks. Her breasts were definitely larger and they weren't as perk like her pre-babies boobs. Olivia looked at her body and cupped her burgeoning stomach. Despite the many changes that her body had undergone she couldn't help but smile at them. She was happy, truly happy. She was given the privilege to bring life into this world, and she embraced it.
Overwhelmed by the moment, Olivia decided that she needed to speak to her unborn child. "Mommy loves you little one. I'm sorry that in the beginning I didn't operate that way, but please know that mommy loves you. Your father loves you too. And you have the best siblings waiting for you, they also love you."
"Whoa," she yelped when she felt movements within her womb.
"I guess that's your way of saying you love us too, huh?" Olivia chuckled.
A few seconds later her moment was broken by the ringing of her cellphone. She grabbed the nearby plush bathrobe and wrapped it around her body.
"Hello," she barely answered the phone before it went to voicemail.
"Hi, Livvie, did I catch you at a bad time?" The voice of her concerned husband questioned.
"No, you didn't. I was in the bathroom when you called." Olivia moved to the queen size bed as she spoke to him. She dropped her body onto the bed and moved to the center of it.
"We missed you," Fitz whined.
Olivia chuckled lightly; she could envision his pouty lips as he spoke.
"You and your kids are shameful. I haven't been gone for 24 hours yet."
"That doesn't mean a thing. Right kids?" Fitz asked the children who were waiting on their turn to speak to her.
Olivia chuckled again when she heard their monotonous yeses in the background.
"Hold on," Fitz told her as he passed the phone onto Iya.
"Hey mom, guess what?"
"What?" Olivia asked in a light voice as she hugged one of the pillows.
"I got a 100 on my spelling test!" She squealed gleefully.
"That's great, sweet cheeks! See, all your hard work paid off."
"I know right. Dad said he's going to fax it to everyone." She relayed happily.
Olivia laughed at her statement. Leave it to Iya to broadcast her accomplishments. She wasn't at all conceited but she wasn't shy in giving out self praises either.
They talked for a little more before Tommy came on the phone.
"When are you coming back?" That was his first question to her.
"I'll be back on Saturday. Do you know when that is?"
"No," he told her in a sullen voice.
She helped him out by asking, "What day is it today?"
He thought of her question and it wasn't until he recalled the day on his classroom chalkboard did he replied. "Thursday."
"And how far is Saturday from Thursday?"
"I don't know."
"Come on Tommy, you know. Recite the days of the week," she urged.
He sighed before he complied. "Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday." He paused, counting the days from Thursday to Saturday before he said, "two days."
"That's right. Two days and mommy will be home. Ok?"
"Ok. I love you." He whispered softly over the phone.
"I love you too, sweet boy." Olivia was choked up from the sadness she heard in his voice. She knows that he will be ok, but she couldn't help to feel a bit sadden by their distance. She listened as Fitz told them to go watch TV which they did happily.
A moment later, Fitz returned on the phone, instead of speaking he breathes deeply. "Is everything ok with the hotel? Do you need a better room?" Fitz inquired. The school covered her travel expenses and he wasn't certain if it would be up to par.
"Everything is fine. I'm in a comfortable room with a reasonably good view, and a big bed for myself."
"It better be for yourself and yourself only, Mrs. Grant." Fitz jibed.
"What are you doing later?"
"Right now I'm sleepy. It has been a long day and I'm supposed to meet up with the event's coordinator for dinner later on. So I'm about to take a nap. Peanut is tired..." She finished.
"Sounds like a plan I'll let you go sleep. Tell Peanut dad loves him/her. And I love you too. Call me before you go to sleep."
"I will. Love you, baby."
They spent a few more contented seconds on the phone, simply listening to the other breathe before disconnecting the call.
A few minutes before 8 PM, Olivia was already in the hotel's lobby dressed in a cobalt blue sheath dress with a black tailored blazer, on her feet she wore black booties. Her makeup was done naturally to enhance her beauty. She walked towards the hotel's restaurant with Huck trailing her from a safe distance. So far she appreciated his discreetness; she absolutely didn't want to appear as some snobby celebrity wife that had to walk with her bodyguard. She understood that Fitz would feel safer with Huck accompanying her across the country so she obliged. And if she was being honest, she too, also felt better.
Olivia gave the maître her name and he escorted her to a private dining room where the others were. She surveyed the faces as she entered the room, from first glance it looked like 10 or so people in attendance. The closer she got one of the faces became familiar to her. Immediately her mind asked, "What was he doing here?"
"Olivia, I'm so glad you could make it," the voice of Mrs. Jourdan greeted. She was the art director for the university and the same woman that attended her art show a few months back.
"It's my pleasure to be here, Billine," Olivia addressed her by her first name which the woman preferred.
The two women embraced each other quickly.
"Let me introduce you to everyone." Billine started counterclockwise, she introduced the people one by one to her, and each person stood to shake her hand in greeting.
When she reached to the last gentleman to her right, she said, "Quentin Matthews this is Olivia Grant, a past student of SU and gallery owner."
Olivia's heart was thumping in her chest. She wondered if his presence was coincidental or planned.
Quentin smirked, pleased with himself that he'd gotten her riled up. "Pleasure to meet you, Olivia." He shook her hand and frowned when she pulled hers away too quickly.
"Now that we all have met each other, let's get this evening underway," Billine announced and everyone took their seats. Unfortunately for Olivia, the only vacant seat was next to Quentin. She tentatively took the seat next to him ignoring every eye contact he tried to initiate with her.
The server brought out a complementary bottle of Shiraz and Olivia couldn't help but salivate as the red liquid was poured into her dinner companions' glasses.
"Oh no, I'll take some apple cider if you have any, please." Olivia halted the movements of the server when she was about to pour some wine into her glass. The server looked embarrassed as she recognized Olivia's pregnant state.
"I'm so sorry," she quickly apologized.
Olivia gave her a friendly smile, and replied, "It's ok, really."
"I'll be right back with your cider ma'am," she said before she retreated to the drinks bar.
Quentin fumed at the exchange. How dare Grant impregnate her? Was he that controlling? He was upset that she was pregnant, the last time he saw her she was not. Grant is a jealous piece of prick, he thought. And he knew exactly how to make him even more jealous.
"Excuse me please, I have to make a private call." Quentin excused himself from the table.
Olivia was relieved that he'd gotten up. A few seconds later her apple cider was delivered. She sipped on it while she perused the menu.
The evening went on lively, Olivia learned that the school's annual conference is what brings in a lot of resources for the art department. There would be art pieces shown with the option to purchase. The school operated just like an art gallery when it came to the sales. They collected a percentage of the profit while the students got to keep some.
Despite the weary presence of Quentin the evening was actually pleasant. At the end of their meal they all said their goodbyes to each other. Olivia quickly excused herself and went in search of Huck. This time she didn't care that they were walking too close together. Huck made her feel safe while her husband was miles away.
Later that night when Olivia called Fitz she debated whether or not to tell him who was also there, and she decided that she won't, at least not until she returned home. There was no telling if her husband would react rationally or irrationally so she decided to not say anything. They spent a few minutes on the phone before both of their bodies succumbed to sleep.
Olivia stood backstage waiting for her name to be called. It was the day of the conference and the auditorium was filled with art students from SU and other neighboring colleges.
She tried to regulate her breathing by clenching and unclenching her fists as she paced in a circle.
"You look nice," Quentin's voice broke her musing.
""Please do not speak to me," was all she said as she continued to work on calming her anxious heart down.
"Why not? Is it because your controlling husband said so, huh? Where he leads you follow."
Olivia stopped her pacing and looked at him, really looked at him. In that moment was when she realized that Fitz was right. This guy was a leech and he wouldn't take "NO" for an answer.
Before she was able to respond to him her name was called. She stared at him for one last time before she shook her head and made her way out to the stage.
Olivia took a final deep cleansing breath to calm her rapid heart rhythm before she began her speech.
"Good day, ladies and gentlemen. Many of you may not know that I once attended this fine University. Well I did and I was also enrolled into the Art program." Olivia recapped briefly her stay at SU before moving onto meatier things like how she ventured into an art career. She shared some of her failures and some of her wins. In her closing she said, "In closing I want to leave you with a quote from an inspirational young woman. Lupita Nyong'O, once said, 'no matter where you're from, your dreams are valid.' Thank you. I wish you all the best."
Olivia left the stage with a boisterous roar of applauds being sounded in the air. Her adrenaline was high and it felt so good. She was proud of herself that she was able to motivate her audience.
When she returned backstage she was grateful that Quentin wasn't there. He was probably gearing up to speak in the painters segment, she thought. Not dwelling much longer on him, Olivia found Huck and together they scanned the exhibits. She found one painting and one black and white photograph that interest her. She looked at the books and made sure to singlehandedly outbid the others by at least a grand. In addition to purchasing the painting Olivia also donated a $100,000 to the art program.
Before anyone realized it, it was already evening. After being overly thanked by Billine, Olivia and Huck made their way back to the hotel. Tomorrow was Saturday and she couldn't wait to get home.
Meanwhile on the East Coast, Fitz and the kids were indulging in pepperoni pizza and coca cola soda while watching The Lion King. They were left to their own devices, Mama Awa had returned to her home since it was Friday evening and she was off for the weekend.
Tommy burped loudly and giggled afterwards.
"Gross!" Iya exclaimed from her seat while she fanned her hands in front of her nose in case it smelled.
Fitz bit his cheeks from laughing, he found the manly burp to be funny. "What do you say, Tommy?" He asked instead, because he knew that Olivia would catch a fit if she found out he didn't instilled proper etiquette.
"Excuse me," Tommy said sheepish.
Their dinner was interrupted when Fitz' cellphone started ringing. He smiled thinking that it was his wife who was calling. His smiled disappeared when he saw that it was his PR agent, Sasha, who was calling.
"Excuse me, kids, I have to take this." He got up from his spot on the sofa and answered the phone.
"Hello."
"Hi Fitz, sorry for calling so late, something was brought to my attention. Are you next to a computer?" She asked.
"No but I can be. What's going on?" Fitz moved to his Macbook in his home office and powered it up.
"A blind item was put up last night and it was revealed tonight." Fitz heard the nervous tension in her voice. She continued, "it has something to do with, Liv." Now Fitz was uneasy.
"Ok, what does it say?" Fitz inquired his heart beating fast.
"I sent you an email." She replied as an answer to his question.
Fitz opened up his email and click on the one she sent. He then clicked on the link that leads him to Enty's website. He made sure he careful read each word.
This four times Grammy winner's wife who's an art gallery owner was seen kissing a renowned artist in The Fairmont Hotel in Seattle on Thursday night.
Answer: Olivia Grant and Quentin Matthews
Fitz immediately saw red, he barked orders at Sasha to contact Enty's people and threatened them to remove the blind item before he sued them for everything including the shirts on their backs.
When he came off the phone Fitz tried to calm his breathing. He was livid, Quentin has gone too far. Fitz didn't believe for a second that Olivia kissed him, but he was however, livid that she didn't tell him he was at the conference.
Olivia picked up her phone to call Fitz. She was surprised that he hadn't called her as yet. It was already 8 o' clock pacific standard time making it 11 PM on the East Coast. When she'd return to her hotel room two hours ago, she ordered room service, took a shower and packed her bags.
"Fitz," Olivia said when she heard the phone connect but he didn't answer.
"Fitz, are you there?" Olivia asked again.
"I'm here," he finally answered her.
"Why didn't you call me?" She questioned in a soft voice.
"I figured you were busy with your colleagues." He replied dryly.
Olivia was taken aback by his attitude.
"Fitz, is everything ok? Why are you acting like this?"
"I'm fine. Everything is fantastic. As a master of fact there's something I need for you to see." Fitz placed his phone on speaker in order to forward the email to her. "Check your email."
Olivia did as she was told and clicked on the email he sent. With her phone also on speaker she accessed the link embedded within the email. Her eyes grew wider with each word that she read.
"Fitz... Baby it's not true. You know I would never cheat on you. You believe me right? Fitz..." Olivia cried when she didn't hear him respond.
"Olivia, it's been a long day. I don't want to discuss this tonight. We'll talk when you get back tomorrow. Go to sleep, I love you."
Fitz didn't allow Olivia to respond before he ended the call. He didn't want to argue with her when she was thousands of miles away. Like he said, they will talk when she returned home. He'd already tipped Huck off about Quentin and he was ordered to be on the lookout for him.
His phone rang a few seconds after he ended their call but he let it go to voice. He needed space because if he answered it he wouldn't be able to rationally express himself to her. So he let it ring out.
Olivia couldn't believe that Fitz hung up on her. She needed to fix this. How could Quentin spread such venomous lies about her? Olivia fumbled to get off the bed, tears were streaming down her face as she changed out of her nightclothes to go confront Quentin. She needed to fix this. That was all the thought that ran through her mind. She didn't know which room he was staying in but she was adamant in finding out.
With that thought in mind Olivia dried her tears and opened the door to her hotel room.
"Olivia," the sound of her name startled her when she walked through the door.
"Huck, oh my god, you scared me." Olivia placed her hands on her chest to calm her pacing heart.
Huck didn't apologize for startling her, but instead he warned her. "You don't want to do whatever it is you think you can do to fix this. It is being handled."
"Huck," Olivia began.
"Olivia, don't do anything. It is being handled."
She didn't understand what he meant by saying "it's being handled." She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by Huck.
"Olivia, just go to your room. I'm here to protect you and that's what I'm going to do. He will pay for this. Go to your room. Olivia."
Olivia had never heard Huck spoke so many words before. She stared at him long and hard deciding on what she should do. Eventually, she gave Huck a nod before retreating back into her hotel room.
The next day Olivia was anxious all throughout her plane ride home. She hadn't slept good last night; and it was made worst that Fitz wasn't speaking to her. He'd only sent her a text that morning to wish her a safe trip.
It was a little after noon when Olivia arrived back at their Manhattan home. Huck carried her bags as they walked towards the front door.
She removed her winter coat and hung it on the coatrack that was housed in the foyer before heading to the living room in search of her family.
"Mommy!" Tommy was the first one to spot her from his position on the floor. He was playing with his lego blocks.
"Hey son," she opened her arms for him to run into.
"I missed you," he told her as he hugged her waist.
"I missed you too. Where's your father and sister?" She asked, pulling apart from him.
"Dad is in his office with Mr. Tom and Iya is upstairs in her room. I think she's talking to her friend on the phone."
"Ok."
Tommy looked at his mother with a huge smile, he was glad she was home. There was no disagreeing that he was a mother's boy because he was.
"Oh, I got you something." Olivia pushed her hand into her purse and pulled out an airport chocolate bar.
"Yay. Thank you." Tommy gleefully collected the chocolate bar before he returned to his lego blocks.
All by herself, Olivia decided to go and greet her daughter before dealing with the lion. Iya was indeed on the landline talking with Kendra, one of her friends from school. However, when her mother entered the room she bid her friend good bye and turned her attention solely onto her mother. She greeted her with a bear hug and squealed when her mother produced the second chocolate bar she bought. After their reunion Olivia went to her bedroom and changed into something more comfortable.
"Can I come in?" Olivia asked as she peeked around his office door.
She heard shuffling before Fitz answered, "Yes."
Olivia entered the room to see Fitz with both their security personnel, they were getting ready to leave. Huck and Tom passed her as they left the room to give them privacy.
When it was just the two of them left the tension in the air could be felt.
A few seconds passed by and neither spoke. Eventually, Fitz did, he asked, "why didn't you tell me that he was going to be there?"
Olivia shook her head no. "Honestly, I didn't know he was going to be there. I found out Thursday night when we all had dinner."
"And you didn't find the need to tell me?" Fitz raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"I...I..." Olivia fumbled. "I was going to tell you today because I didn't want to worry you." Olivia became teary eyed.
"Olivia..." Fitz spoke her name wearily. "I don't believe that you kissed him. I know you, and I trust you. However, I'm upset and hurt... that you didn't see the need to tell me he was there. You see where our problems lie? You never take these things seriously and they always turn back to bite us in the ass." Fitz paused and took a deep breath. "You're probably wondering why I'm so calm right now, but I'm trying to be calm because I want you to see that he is a problem, a problem that needs to go away. He's hurting my family and I won't stand by and watch him do so. He's going to pay, because I'll make sure to ruin him publicly. He's gone too far. And I hope you can see that. I hope you can understand where I'm coming from."
Olivia's face bore tears streaks when he was finished speaking. "What can I do to fix this?" Her voice cracked under the weight of frustration.
Fitz saw the defeat on her face, his goal was not to cause her hurt, but he simply wanted her to understand his point of view without dismissing him. He walked towards her and cupped her face with one of his hands.
"You mean what we can do to fix this? This is not on you. You're not responsible for his actions, but you are responsible for yours. Olivia, we have to communicate better with each other. I don't want you to feel like you can't tell me something because you're afraid of my reactions. I'll try to do better than I have in the past. I just need you to communicate with me. Please don't discount my feelings when I share them with you." He begged her. They needed to get on the same page once and for all.
Olivia listened to him as fresh tears streamed down her face.
"I promise I will do better. I'm sorry I didn't take you seriously."
Fitz brought her flush against his chest and held her tightly. He inhaled the scent of her hair over and over.
"I love you so much, Olivia, and all I want is my family happy and safe."
For the first time in hours, Olivia felt at rest. She inhaled the scent of his shirt which calmed her anxiety. "I love you too." She mumbled into his shirt.
They were broken apart by a swift knock on the office door. Huck showed himself in after Fitz told him it was ok to enter.
"Everything is a go. Are you sure you want to do this?" Huck asked his employer for the last time.
"I'm one hundred percent sure." Fitz answered.
Huck gave him a nod of affirmation before he retreated through the door.
"What's all that for?" Olivia asked, looking up at him.
"That was me looking out for my family." Fitz replied.
"Oh."
Fitz smiled at her puzzled face; he lowered his lips to hers in a soft kiss. "Welcome home baby."
Huck turned to Tom in their security office and told him, "It's a go."
Tom smiled and clicked on the send button, all of Quentin's wrongdoings were now being publicized. He messed with the wrong set of people.
A/N: I absolutely promised that this will be the last of Quentin. I wanted to wrap up the storyline once and for all, so that we all can get closure. He won't be back. I pinky swear. LOL
What are your thoughts on the entire chapter? Let me know by leaving a review please. TY!
Next chapter we will tackle the Oprah interview. It was supposed to be in here but the chapter got too long.
Finally, please check out my little one shot Carpe Diem and let me know what your thoughts are.
Until next time,
Xoxo