Time jump:

Olivia woke with a jolt, clenching her head at the sudden of her upright. Glancing around she frowned at finding herself still wearing the dress. Climbing out of the bed she jumped into the shower and went in search of her lost date. After searching his bedroom, kitchen, and yard, she approached his office. Just as she was about to knock, a familiar voice was heard coming from the inside.

"We can help expand the distribution of your fish scale. All we need is the product." That was Rollins.

"What makes you think I need help?"

"For starters, we heard you haven't been selling as much as you used to. Seems the sales are becoming smaller by the month." That was Elliot. "We can bump those numbers up."

"My sales have little to do with the product."

Olivia pulled out her phone, opened a random restaurant page, and pushed the door open. "Rafael, I was hoping we can go-" She paused at having all eyes on her. "Sorry, I did not realize you had company."

Rafael sighed, standing from his chair and holding a hand out to her. "Don't worry about it. What did you need?"

Taking his hand, she slid right next to him. "I was thinking of going to lunch here." She handed him the phone. "I am starving and I bet you haven't eaten."

The man chuckled. "You're not wrong." Giving her a quick kiss, he handed her the phone back. "I'll call and have them prep a table."

"Grea-"

"Olivia?"

Olivia froze tossing Elliot a mean look. "Elliot, hey!"

Rafael raised a brow. "You know him?"

"Y-yeah. Childhood friend. We went to middle and high school together." Olivia made up the cover story as she spoke. "Lost contact when I joined the academy. We had coffee a few days ago."

"Well, Elliot and Amanda here want to partner up." Rafael glanced between Olivia and the two newcomers.

"Are you?" Olivia asked.

Rafael walked over to her, wrapping an arm around her waist. "There is only one-way partners are brought in."

Olivia suddenly got a cold feeling. His voice was low and held no emotions. His grip wasn't a gentle one either. "H-how?"

"They are vouched in." Elliot shared a look with Rollins. They knew this couldn't be good, but also knew they couldn't intervene. "You want to start becoming more involved with us, you can start now. Vouch for them and they are in. That will also mean they are under your command. Every mistake and accomplishment will be your responsibility." Letting go of her, he walked back to his desk. "Yes or no?"

Olivia tried hard to read him, but the man had one hell of a poker face. No emotions no tell. His eyes were vacant of anything, but his green color. Glancing at Elliot and Rollins, she swallowed the lump in her throat. If by any chance they were to get caught, that would expose her as well. But she couldn't turn her back on the team. They were here to stop him after all. "Yeah, I'll vouch for them."

"Very well." A look of something flashed briefly across his face. If Olivia had to guess it was a disappointment. "Come back tomorrow."

"That's it?" Elliot asked.

Rafael raised a brow. "Yes, what did you expect a blood pact?"

"How do I know you won't cheat us out of the money?" Elliot scoffed. "There is no contract between us."

Olivia noticed the clenched jaw on Rafael. "I'm the contract."

"What?" Amanda asked.

"I'm the contract between the both of you. We will not have any paper trail to any of this, so you will just have to trust me."

Elliot shook his head. "I want this in writing."

"Remind me again, who is the one in command here?" Rafael asked. "I mean, from what I was told Amanda here was calling the shots. You are simply the muscle, right?" Rafael walked around his desk, standing toe to toe with Elliot. "I don't leave paper trails and I am not going to start now for some low-level man. You can't handle the way I do things, you can leave."

Amanda stepped in between the two of them, pulling Elliot back. "We will take your word. See you tomorrow."

Olivia didn't want to remain in the office alone with Rafael after what happened. "I'll walk them out." Closing the door behind her, she ushered them out of the house. Once they were by their car, she turned and narrowed her eyes at Elliot. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I was thinking of ways to get this guy." Elliot replied.

Olivia scoffed. "And you think I'm not?"

"It looked like you were more interested in lunch." Elliot snapped.

"I needed an excuse to go in." Olivia growled. "Unlike you, I have lived with Rafael and his family. Bullying him into doing something was only going to drive him away."

"How do we handle him?" Amanda tried pulling their fixation on each other away, at seeing the looks a few guards were giving them.

"You don't handle him." Olivia sighed. "Rafael is still not completely convinced in letting me into the organization. In doing this he will have a test in place. We can-" Olivia stopped mid-sentence at seeing Allison's car pull into the driveway.

"Olivia!" Allison jumped out of the car, barely giving the driver enough time to stop. "You okay?"

Olivia frowned. "Yeah, why you ask?"

"Well, daddy carried you in last night and I thought you had been hurt." Allison rambled on. "I thought-"

"Ally, I'm fine." Olivia offered her a small smile. "I fell asleep last night on the ride back home, Rafael must have not wanted to wake me up." She refused to look up at her teammates.

Allison released a sigh. "I was worried." Glancing at the two standing beside them, she flashed a grin. "Elliot right?"

Elliot nodded. "Yeah."

"What are you doing here?" Allison asked in a honey dripping tone. Only if you truly knew her, she was trying to interrogate Elliot. "Where is daddy?"

Olivia nodded towards the house. "He's in his office. And Elliot was here with Amanda to talk with your father."

"Well, that killed the attraction." She rolled her eyes. "Olivia when you are done can you come to see what I bought?!"

"Of course."

Elliot waited until she was out of hearing range. "They are getting impatient. They want this done now."

Olivia reeled back in her annoyance. "Well tell them this wasn't something a few days will handle. This man is watching all of our moves. They were the ones that wanted me to seduce him. That takes time. Don't ruin what I have accomplished."

Amanda once more jumped between them. "Understood, we will tread lightly." She pushed Elliot back. "Come on, we have to debrief Craigen. Olivia, we will see you tomorrow."

Elliot shrugged her hold off, grabbing Olivia and pulling her to the side. "What was that in the office?"

"What was what?"

"Don't play dumb Liv." Elliot whispered in a harsh tone. "The way he grabbed you. Spoke to you."

Olivia sighed. She knew that little detail wasn't going to get past him. "He was putting on a show for you two. Nothing to worry about." At least she had hoped that was the reason.

"I didn't like it."

"Well, maybe next time you let me make the move before you yell out my name." Olivia snapped. "You may be my mentor and partner on the team, but here I am in charge. You want anything to stick, we do it my way."

"If I see an-"

"Olivia." Both agents turned towards Rafael. As he walked down to them, Rafael removed his jacket draping it over his arm. In doing so the gun hidden in his side became visible. "You still here, Elliot." Handing Olivia her jacket, he moves to stand slightly between them. "Shouldn't you two be getting ready for tomorrow?"

Elliot clenched his jaw. "Just catching up with Olivia."

"But he was already leaving." Olivia gave her teammate a look. "Goodbye Elliot."

Elliot clenched his fist, giving her a stiff nod. "Bye."

Rafael's gaze followed the younger man until he was completely gone. Something about that man was throwing him off. He couldn't shake the feeling of uncertainty around him. "Let's go."

Olivia frowned at the fact that he shrugged her off. 'What the hell is his problem?' With an annoyed sigh, she jumped into the car.

The entire lunch had been silent between them. Only the occasional words here and there. Olivia was tired of getting the cold shoulder. "I'm going home." Grabbing her jacket, she stood from the table and walked out of the restaurant.

Rafael was stunned for a moment, before reacting. Tossing the money on the table, he snatched his coat and jogged after her. "Olivia wait." Seeing the woman ignored him, he ran faster grabbing her by the arm and pulling her into an alley. Pushing her against the wall, he placed both palms on the wall. "Don't ever walk out on me like that!"

"Walk-" She laughed. "You haven't said a word to me all day. We come here and instead of spending a good time as I had hoped, you treat me like a stranger!" Trying to walk off again, she groaned at not being able to. "Let me go."

"No."

"You have three seconds before I hurt you." She pushed him back, only for him to block her once more. "Rafael, let me go."

Rafael wasn't sure why he was acting like such an asshole. But ever since he saw her close to Elliot, he couldn't control his temper. There was something between the two. Without a second thought, he cupped her jaw and kissed her. Letting his coat drop to the ground, he moved his arm to wrap around her waist. Pulling her in closer to him, he spun them around so his back was against the wall.

Olivia was shocked by the sudden kiss, but something was different. It wasn't a gentle kiss. He was dominating over her. Claiming her in a way. Although every fiber in her body told her to fight back, she allowed it. Sinking into his arms, she allowed him to take complete control over her.

Pulling back slowly he took in deep breaths, trying to control his rhythm. "I am sorry."

"For what?"

"I don't know what came over me." He swallowed the lump in his throat. "I don't like Elliot."

Olivia stared at him for a good moment, before laughing. "You got jealous!"

Rafael rolled his eyes. "I don't get jealous."

"Tell that to the man that just kissed me." She laughed. "Rafael, Elliot, and I were just old schoolmates. There was never anything romantic between us."

Rafael suddenly felt both stupid and embarrassed. With a slight groan, he laid his head on her shoulder. "Fuck this is embarrassing."

Olivia on the other hand couldn't help but laugh. Running a hand through his hair, she planted a kiss on top of his head. "It's rather cute."

Rafael pulled back, glaring at her. "I don't do cute. Adorable definitely. Not cute."

"My apologies, I thought it was adorable." Olivia rephrased.

Rafael pulled a face, shaking his head. "That sounds bad as well."

"You alright now?" She asked. "Got that out of your system?"

"Not even remotely close." He grumbled.

Olivia stepped back from him, her eyes scanning over him. She realized he didn't even know he was feeling that way. The man has been how long without a partner? Stepping up to him once more, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. The moment she felt him try and dominate the kiss, she pulled back. "Don't. Let go for just a moment."

Rafael frowned, searching her eyes for something. Anything. Instead, he exhaled softly and gave her a nod. He let her make the first move. Kiss him at her time. Set the pace and direction. He felt vulnerable at that moment. Giving control to her in such a manner, was not something he liked. But for her, he'd give it a try.

Feeling the strain on his shoulder blades from the restrain, she finally pulled away. Placing a hand on his jaw, she ran her thumb over his beard. "Now, how about we go get something to eat?" Seeing the raised brow, she blushed. "I was too mad to eat back there. All my food is on the plate."

Without a word, he took her hand in his and led her towards the car. "I know a small place where the food is amazing. I used to go there ever since I was a boy."

Olivia fell in love with the place. It was a tiny Mexican restaurant. The building was made to look like that of an old bar. Walking in, she felt at home. A young girl came over to them, grinning at seeing Rafael.

"It's been a while!" She pulled him into a hug, before leading him to a table. "Mama will be happy to know you are here." She took notice of Olivia. "Oh, forgive me. My name is Maribel."

"Olivia."

"You're very pretty." She winked at Rafael. "About time, mama was this close to setting you up with Jose."

"Jose?" Rafael coughed.

Maribel shrugged, handing them the menu. "She said she has never seen you bring a girl. Only guys."

"They ar-" He stopped himself, clearly knowing it wasn't worth the saliva. "I'm straight."

"I sure hope so." Olivia chuckled at the look he tossed her.

"Well, you two look over the menus." Maribel said. "I will come back in a while."

Olivia scanned over the menu for a while, trying not to give in. But a last she couldn't. "So, Jose."

"Please don't." Rafael grumbled. "He's Maya's son. The kid has had a crush on me since I could remember."

"I don't know." Olivia narrowed her eyes at him. "There is a quality about you. I may have thought you were at one point." She bit her lips in hopes of stopping the grin, at the look of offense he gave her. "I mean you do surround yourself with all men."

"I am not going to dignify that with a response." He grumbled.

"Don't." She grinned. "That just keeps proving my point. Hell, I think I might be screaming up the wrong tree."

Slipping his arm around her waist, he pulled her into his side. "It's barking up the wrong tree, Liv." He leaned in close. His mouth centimeters from her ear. "But if you want screaming I can always make that happen." Moving towards her neck, he nibbled at the base between the shoulder and neck. Her hand landed on his chest with the clear intention to push him away, but instead, she gripped his shirt in a fist hold. Keeping his assault going, he picked up her leg closest to him and pulled it over his lap, followed by the other. Pulling away from her neck, he gave the restaurant a quick scan before pulling her into a deep kiss.

"Ahem." Maribel stood awkwardly at the front of the table.

Rafael glanced at her with cold eyes. "You always did have bad timing."

"This is a family restaurant sir." She scoffed. "Here you eat food before your dessert."

Olivia felt a blush creeping up her neck. "Sorry."

"No worries." She smiled. "Just careful with this one. I know he's charming, but he can be an ass."

"I'm well aware of that." She said referring to the incident a few moments ago.

Rafael reached for her hand bringing it up to his lips. "I am sorry about that."

Maribel rolled her eyes, knowing they weren't going to order any time soon. "I'm just going to bring what Rafael always gets." Getting no answer she threw her hands up and left.

"I know." Olivia replied.

"I don't think you do." He mumbled. "I am not good at this. My wife was with me from the very beginning. She knew what I was. What I was capable of doing. How far my reactions can go." Looking down at her hand, he noticed just how much smaller they were than his. They fitted well. "You don't. And I am afraid that when you do, you won't like what you see."

"Rafael-"

"That night at the restaurant was nothing." He whispered. "I have done worse to keep those I loved safe. Slaughtered entire bloodlines. I hav-"

"Stop." Olivia placed her hand over his mouth gently. She didn't want to hear it. She kept telling herself it was because of her. But she knew why. The team was always listening. He needed to keep quiet. Besides this had nothing to do with their assignment. "What you did in your past is in the past. I don't need to know. You are not the only one that has done things for their families. I don't care for that."

Rafael's eyes dart across her face. He knew better than to get his hopes up. "You say that now." Leaning over and kissing her on the cheek, he put an end to this conversation. There was no need to sour the mood any more than it already was. "What did Maribel say?"

Olivia looked up with confused eyes. Her mind wandered back to the young girl, only to come up blank. "I wasn't paying attention. Did we even order?"

Shaking his head, he called over another waiter. To his luck, it just happened to be Jose. "Can you get Maribel over here please?"

Olivia noticed the way he stared at Rafael. This kid was in love. She held the same look for Elliot at one point in her life. "You're Jose?"

The boy nodded. "Y-yes ma'am."

"I'm Olivia." She held her hand out. He had a firm grip, a little too firm. Narrowing her eyes, she looked past the friendly smile. 'You have got to be kidding me.' The boy was challenging her. They weren't animals for pete's sake.

"Nice to meet you." He offered a fake grin. "You're Rafa's co-worker?"

Knowing the kid could easily see over the table, she laid a hand on Rafael's thigh. Sliding it closer to his dick, but not touching him. "Girlfriend."

"Oh." He frowned. "I-I thought you were-you know."

"No." Rafael replied with a short tone. He wasn't trying to be rude, but having her hand so close to him was pushing his limits.

"Jose." Maribel walked over to them with a tray of food and drinks. "Your tables are waiting for their orders. This one is mine." Without another word, he trailed off. "Sorry about that."

Olivia waved it off. "No harm done."

"Well, since you two were in love town, I ordered what Rafael always gets for the both of you." She paced two plates in front of them, followed by two drinks.

Olivia eyed the food with curiosity. "What is it exactly?"

"Chile relleno."

"That was no help."

Rafael chuckled. "It's a pepper, covered in egg drenched in sauce. The inside is filled with melted cheese." Cutting a piece of his, he held it towards her mouth. "Don't refuse it, not until you have tried it."

Taking the bite, she was surprised. It was delicious. The pepper was just the right amount of spicy that it combined with the juices from the sauce. The egg gave it a light feeling, while the cheese melted even more in your mouth. "Whoa."

"Try the drink." Rafael ordered. "It's Horchata." Seeing the confused look, he elaborated. "Rice water."

Taking a sip, she fell in love all over again. "That's delicious." Her eyes landed on his, noticing it was a dark burgundy color. "Why is yours that color?"

"Mines Jamacha." Grabbing his cup, he handed it to her. "It comes from a plant. Put some in a jar of water, let it fragment the water for a few hours. Once that is done you add sugar. You can leave the plants in or take them out, consumers choice." Seeing her practically chug his drink, he waved Maribel for another cup. "I take it you like it?"

"What makes you think that?" She grinned.

He shrugged. "Just a shot in the dark." Giving the waiter a thank you nod, he turned back towards her. "Olivia wha-" The ringing from his phone put a pause to his thought. "Sorry." Pulling the phone from inside his jacket pocket, he sighed at seeing the name. "Barba."

Olivia noticed the change in his tone. She had noticed the slight difference between him talking to her, his kids, and his men. With his kids, it was a soft and loving tone. With his men, it was a deep dominating one. But with her it was different. He still held a certain degree of dominance towards her, but his tone was always soft. Even when he was yelling he never truly lost it.

"Listen to me, Ryan." That was anger with dominance. "You lost the product knowing damn well of the risk. I ordered you to back off and you refused. Get me the product back!"

Olivia reached under the table. Her hand landed over his. Rafael's eyes were a storming green. Letting go of his hand, she raised it towards the side of his head. Running her fingers through his hair, she smiled softly. He leaned into her touch, closing his eyes for a moment. "Take a deep breath." She whispered.

Taking in a harsh breath, he exhaled slowly. "I don't care how you do it. Get my product back." Clicking the call, he slammed his phone down on the table. "I need to go back home." His tone was no longer angry, but it was a whisper. "I can send someone to pick you up?"

Olivia shook her head. "Let me help."

"Olivia."

"Someone new couldn't hurt." She argued. "I can bring something to the table many of you can't. You just have to give me a chance."

Rafael stared at her for a few moments. His mind and gut in a battle. In the end, his gut won. "Alright."

"But first, you need to finish eating." She pushed his plate closer to him. "You didn't eat at the restaurant."

He had to admit it felt good having someone boss him around for a change. After complying with her demand, he excused himself to pay and use the restroom.

Olivia stayed seated when Maribel slid in next to her. "Hey, the food was wonderful."

"That's my mom for you." She grinned. "If it hadn't been for Rafael, this wouldn't be here now."

Olivia tilted her head with a curious look. "How so?"

"Mama was having money issues a few years back. My father got mixed in with the wrong kind of people. Got a loan from them and gambled it away. When he wasn't doing that, he was shooting up in some crack house." She spoke with disgust in her tone. "They came here looking for him. Trashed the place, took what little money we had." She paused for a moment. Maribel wasn't sure why she was being so open, but she felt safe with Olivia. "They took me and my sister as payment."

Olivia closed her eyes for a moment, knowing where this was going. "What happened?"

"Well, they wanted their money." She scoffed. "And they got it back. They had me and my sister working for them. Pimping us out to anyone willing to pay. My sister died of an overdose before we were saved."

"How did you get out?" Placing her hand over the girls shaking ones, Olivia squeezed it.

"Rafael." She laughed with a fond smile. "I don't know how he found us in such a big city, but next thing I know it's a war zone. Bullets and smokes going off. Rafael and his men came looking for us. He helped my mother take care of any money problem we had. He paid off the restaurant to the bank and helped me work out the trauma as my therapist calls it." She turned towards the window, pointing out three men standing across the street. "Rafael always has three of his men looking out for us and the place. Any trouble and they come in."

"Ready to go?" Rafael re-appeared in front of them, wiping his hands off in a towel. He frowned at the current look Olivia was giving him. "Liv?"

"Y-yeah." Following Maribel out of the booth, she pulled the younger girl into a hug. "If you ever need to talk, just give me a call. I am a very good listener."

"I'll take you up on that."

"I'll see you around chamaca." Rafael dodged the slap aimed at his shoulder with a burst of deep laughter.

Maribel huffed in annoyance. "Don't call me that!"

Opening the door for Olivia, he was caught off guard by the sudden kiss. It took his brain a little too long to respond, by then she had pulled away. "What was that for?"

"I-" She knitted her brows in confusion. 'Why did she kiss him?' "Ah, Maribel told me what you did for her and her family." That had to be the reason right? There was no other explanation for her actions. None she wanted to entertain that was.

"She did?" He was surprised. "Maribel doesn't talk about. It took her months to open up to her therapist. She hasn't said anything to me yet. I suppose I should see this as a good sign. She is an excellent judge of people." Leaning forward he kissed her on the corner of her lips. "Let's go before Ryan screws something else." Waiting for her to settle in, he closed the door and jogged to the driver's side.

Olivia instinctively took his hand in hers, resting them on the armrest. Her mind still going over the kiss earlier. 'Why did I truly kiss him?'