Chapter 22

"I have to say, you're not the Caldwells I was expecting." Olivia closed her office door and gestured for Will Caldwell and his fiancee Gayle to take a seat. As they settled themselves on the small couch, she leaned against her desk and looked them over; for a couple brought together for an arranged marriage less than a year ago, they looked amazingly content with one another.

She offered them both a glass of wine and when they accepted, shared with them the last of a rich decanted Bordeaux.

"I'm sure you weren't." Will Caldwell said as he grinned up at her. "We flew up to have dinner with Peter because it's his birthday tomorrow - but he got tied up with a few unexpected meetings, so here I am in his place."

Knowing that Fitz's schedule included several meetings this evening, Olivia could guess that Peter was involved in at least one of them.

"That's interesting." She said. "But let's talk about you - aren't you worried that the media will pick up on your presence in DC?"

"Always the political fixer, aren't you, Olivia?" Will's smile widened. "Not to worry - I understand that my presence here could give rise to all sorts of conjectures. We flew in on a private plane with no press release and we'll be returning the same way tonight, plus I drove a rental car here - which of course no one would expect a Caldwell to do. So I think we're good."

Olivia nodded in approval. "I think you're right."

"And as an added bonus,we got to enjoy some alone time - as brief as it is." Gayle Livingston slipped her hand into Will's and snuggled closer to him.

So that's how it was, Olivia thought as she watched the two of them exchange a smiling but conspiratorial glance. Harrison had been right.

"That's lovely and I'm happy for the both of you." A brief smile crossed her lips at the realization that their arrangement had definitely turned into something real. But then business prevailed. "You said that you were here on Peter's behalf - does that mean that you can finally tell me what this is all about? Your brother has been very adamant about retaining my company's services - but he hasn't been very open about any details."

Will frowned a little. "I'm sorry to say that Peter hasn't been very forthcoming in details with me either."

Seeing the disapproving expression that came across Olivia's face at Will's words, Gayle spoke up. "We're not being purposefully difficult or evasive, no matter what it is Peter has been doing"

"Gayle's right." Will immediately backed her up. "And I'd bet this is just more of my brother protecting me as usual."

Olivia didn't think he was wrong, but that still didn't give her any answers. "Then why are you here?"

The look on Will's face told her that he'd expected an explosion of temper and when it didn't happen, relief washed across his expression, leaving a smile in its wake. "What I'm here to do is what Peter had planned on doing tonight - and that was to invite you to his birthday party - the one we're going to behaving this weekend at my house in North Carolina."

Olivia knew that his house was actually an estate in the mountain region of North Carolina; it was no secret that the Caldwell family had bought it in anticipation of his establishing residency in the state, long before his run for the governorship.

"Why?" Olivia asked quietly.

Will shifted uncomfortably under her unrelenting gaze. "I don't know. To be honest, I was hoping that Peter would fill me in on whatever it is going on in the family over dinner tonight. That was the plan."

Olivia studied the both of them carefully for another minute while her mind sorted and shifted certain facts in her mind. She decided that Will was telling her the truth - or at least the truth as he knew it.

Her gut decided the rest. "What are the chances that this is possibly about your father?"

It was clear from the surprise on his face that Will hadn't been expecting that. "My father?"

"Yes, your father." Olivia said. "You didn't think that the shift in his political affiliation would go unremarked and unnoticed, did you?"

Will clearly paused and pondered that thought for a few minutes and he looked troubled about it - which was understandable if she were right. And given Peter's recent evasions on her behalf, she probably was. He'd served as the gatekeeper of his family's secrets for so long, he'd probably kept Will in the dark simply out of habit.

"You're right. It's possible - no, it's probable." Will said softly as he thought the matter over. "It's just that politically speaking, my father's party change is pretty much ancient history."

"Maybe not that ancient." Olivia said.

"Maybe." Will conceded. "I hadn't thought of it - but now that you bring it up… what you say makes sense. It was Peter's idea - not mine - to hold his birthday celebration at my house. It would serve as an ice-breaker politically speaking, he said. It would be good for my political profile and would serve the family's interests at the same time, he said."

Olivia nodded. Like it or not - in the present circumstances, she had to agree with or at least understand Peter's political choices - whether or not she agreed with them. The two of them had always synced well on those issues - it was one of the reasons that had made them political allies with a good working relationship on several issues.

"It would certainly serve to rise your visibility beyond the state level." Olivia said with those thoughts in mind.

"You know that this is exactly what Peter told me - this was my shot at the first steps at taking the national stage on my own merits beyond the Caldwell name. And at the same time, the presence of our extended family would underscore the level of the family brand."

A trace of bitterness etched its way across Will's face, and despite his quick effort to wipe it away, Olivia caught it. In the end, every member of this family was about the upholding of the family brand. It was both a strength and a weakness for them.

"I'm loyal to my family, Olivia. But it's not a blind loyalty." Will said quietly.

"Come to North Carolina, Olivia." Gayle spoke up unexpectedly. "You want answers - and so does Will."

"Gayle, we talked about this - you don't have to -" Will turned to her and shook his head.

"I know - and you're right, I don't have to - but I want to."

Olivia watched as she gave him a quiet but radiant smile.

Gayle turned to Olivia. "I know I'm still new to the family, but I'm not a fool - you would have never picked me for Will if I was. And he could have kept me on a pedestal and left me there to be the good little political wife he'd bargained for.

"But he didn't. And we're agreed that I'm going to be his wife in every sense of the word. His biggest cheerleader, his partner -"

"My equal partner." Will said. He exchanged another loving glance with his fiance before facing Olivia again. "She knows everything, Olivia. I wanted her to know exactly what she was walking into. I owed her that."

He was already holding her hand, now Will brought it up and kissed it. "And she didn't run screaming in the other direction."

"What I'm taking way too long to say is that I'm prepared to be what the Caldwells need, but more importantly, I'm going to be the wife that Will needs." Gayle said. "He's been the little brother in a powerful political dynasty his entire life - but with this governorship he's finally getting the chance to step onto the political stage in his own spotlight, to step into his own destiny and the family needs to see this. He wants answers just as much as you do - and he wants to be there when you get them. He deserves all of the truth - just like you do."

When she finished speaking, Gayle turned to look at Will again and this time Olivia could see just how much things had changed between them - and the change that had come over her. Gayle had not only found a way to accept the political dynasty she'd agreed to marry into - she was finding her own niche within it.

What Olivia saw between then was honesty - no matter how they had begun, the two of them had decided to lay down a foundation of total truth between them - and she was forcibly reminded that this was something that she herself hadn't given to Fitz.

That hurt. It was a gut-wrenching realization that twisted inside her like a dull knife in her gut - and it hurt.

She managed to keep the pain bottled up and safely locked inside until Will and Gayle left. They didn't linger, but left soon after they finished their wine, being smart enough not to push Olivia into making a decision to come to North Carolina right then and there.

Olivia poured more of the wine into her glass, then sat down on the couch instead of her desk. She stared down into her glass, swirling it in her hands, her thoughts just as much in motion as the contents. She wanted to concentrate on what these new developments meant to the plans that she, Fitz and Cyrus had begun to put together but her mind wouldn't focus.

She wouldn't think about the thoughts that the Caldwells had left behind - not here, not how - she argued with herself.

Olivia took a deep swallow, focusing on the rich full taste of the wine on her tongue, closing her eyes and swallowing it slowly - anything so that she didn't have to let those dark thoughts bubble up from the dark well of her memories. It took a deliberate act of will, but somehow she actually managed it.

A quiet knock at her office door was a welcome distraction. Or so she thought. Olivia looked up. "Jake?"