"Liv!"

Olivia tried her best not to sigh. It was barely eight-thirty on a Monday morning. She'd just sealed the deal on a huge client the night before, and all she wanted to do was get her head down and work on important stuff.

Nevertheless, she turned around to face her co-worker and mentor, Leo.

"Leo, I was just on my way to drop off those files you asked me to–"

"Whatever it is, it can wait," Leo interrupted. "Liz wants to see you in her office. Right now."

She frowned. "Sure."
She turned and walked down the hallway to Liz's office, all the while wondering what the hell this could be about. She hadn't made any mistakes – hadn't dropped the ball with any of her clients, so this couldn't be a bad meeting. Maybe a promotion was on the cards?

She shut the glass door behind her and Liz stood up from behind her desk, and crossed her arms over her chest, the way she always did before making an announcement.

"It's not a surprise that you're becoming increasingly well-known in the city as one of New York's best closers," Liz said, her tone serious. "You've bagged us more clients in the past three months than some of our junior partners have in a year."

She shrugged. "All in a day's work."

"It doesn't go unnoticed," Liz replied. "Not by me, and not by… other people." She reached for a piece of paper on the edge of his desk, and handed it to her. "I had an enquiry from Grant Enterprises. They want to switch lawyers."

"Grant Enterprises?" Olivia blinked, staring at the document. "They're one of the biggest names in the city…"

"Exactly, and they're finally sick of being represented by Shillington Co."

"So they're coming to us?"

"They will be. Especially when I hand them to you."

Olivia's gaze snapped up. She'd worked at Reston North for four years, and was practically a junior partner already with the work she'd put in. Leo said she was basically a shoo-in for a promotion.

But this? This was better than a promotion. This was being responsible for one of the biggest clients Reston North had ever closed.

"You want me to handle Grant Enterprises?"

"I do." Liz smiled. "Reston and I had a conversation last night. We don't think there's anybody better for the job. Especially with Leo on-hand to support you."

It was true that Leo Bergen had been a great mentor to her over the years. He was only eight years older, but they'd developed a kind of respectful friendship with each other.

"Thank you," she said, still in a state of disbelief. "I won't let you down."

"I trust you to get Grant on board." Liz nodded. "I set up a meeting for you with him at eleven."
"I have a meeting with Fitzgerald Grant?"

She'd heard many things about the elusive CEO of Grant Enterprises. He was relatively young for a tycoon – thirty-four, she was pretty sure she'd read that somewhere – and renowned for being New York City's Bachelor.

Suddenly she felt way out of her depth. In less than three hours, she'd be sitting across the table from a millionaire, asking him to put his trust in her.

"You'll be fine," Liz said, her voice suddenly softer than usual. "It's you and Leo. Leo's dealt with people like Grant before. After this meeting, you'll know exactly how to deal with them, too."

Olivia nodded, trying not to give away how nervous she suddenly felt.

She left Liz's office, and walked straight away down the hall to the door which had Leo's name engraved on it. His assistant (and ironically, one of her best friends), Abby, smiled knowingly and nodded for her to go in.

"You knew," she said, the second the door opened.

Leo grinned. "I did. You excited?"

"I am. But I'm also scared shitless. Have you heard how ruthless Fitzgerald Grant is?"

Leo scoffed. "A 'ruthless businessman' is levels below a ruthless lawyer, Liv."

"Still."

"You'll handle him. Have faith." Leo tossed her a file folder, full to the brim with information on Grant Enterprises and the CEO himself. "We'll leave in two hours."

At ten to eleven, Liv and Leo were sat in a conference room in the Grant Enterprise headquarters, and she had to admit it was one of the nicest office buildings she'd ever set foot in; maybe even nicer than Reston North.

She let her eyes wander around the room, taking in the pristine chairs and the views from outside the windows, when she heard Leo's sharp intake of breath and a muttered Here we go.

She looked up to see a man entering the conference room. He was around six foot three, dressed in an immaculate navy suit with the top shirt button undone, and a watch on his wrist which (even from afar) Liv could tell was expensive.

He exuded a quiet sense of confidence. The kind of magnetic pull that drew attention even if he didn't mean to. And when he made eye contact with her, her stomach dropped to her feet.

He was handsome as hell.

Bright cerulean blue eyes, light brown wavy locks of hair which fell in perfect tousles over his forehead, and tanned skin which peeked out from below the arms of his suit jacket.

"Afternoon," he greeted, as both Liv and Leo stood up. He shook Leo's hand firmly, giving him a small nod. "Good to see you, Leo."

Then he turned to Liv, and extended his arm to her too. The second her skin made contact with his, she felt a little electrical thrill shoot straight through her.

Even his voice was dripping sex appeal – the smooth, low baritone that made her want to climb him like a tree.

She shook it off. Get a grip. "Afternoon, Mr. Grant."

His eyes darkened, and he kept hold of her hand for a few more seconds than was appropriate for a formal meeting. When she finally retracted from the handshake, the corners of his mouth tilted upwards in a smirk.

"I don't believe we've met before."

She tilted her chin. "Olivia Pope."

"Liv has the full support of the senior partners at the firm," Leo said proudly. "She's been my associate for the past few years."

"I've heard about the formidable Olivia Pope," Fitz said, his eyes never leaving hers. "Heard about the good work you've been doing. I hope you can do the same for me."

"I assure you I can."

He swallowed, trying not to stare too obviously at her lips. "Good. I look forward to working with you, Miss Pope."

Liv glanced at Leo. He, too, was obviously surprised. This meeting was supposed to be for them to convince Mr Grant to get on board… not for him to agree to it within thirty seconds.

"We have the forms here if you're ready to sign them, Mr Grant," Leo said, slightly hesitantly, pushing the papers over the desk.

Fitz finally sat down, so Liv and Leo did the same. He grabbed the nearest fountain pen and thumbed through the documents.

"Liz North and I went through most of it," he said. "This all looks good to me." He scrawled his signature on the line and then looked back up, his gaze lingering on Olivia. "I think we'll make a great team."

Liv's mind was running into overdrive. This man – this millionaire – was casually handing Reston North responsibility for the legal upkeep of his company.

He pushed the forms back toward Leo. "Sorry to cut this meeting short, but I have to go and catch a flight to London. Meeting with an old friend and business partner of mine." He stood up and fastened one of the buttons on his suit. "I look forward to seeing you soon. It was nice meeting you, Miss Pope."

With that, he turned on his heel and walked straight back out of the room.

Leo turned to her within seconds, running his hands through his hair.

"What the fuck just happened?"

Liv shook her head, swallowing. "We just bagged Grant Enterprises as a client?"

"You did. Whatever he'd seen or heard about you– and whatever he saw in you today– he liked it."

If she hadn't been imagining it, Liv thought that he'd liked what he'd seen a little too much. And admittedly, so had she.

Fitz boarded the plane to London, all the while thinking about the stunning brunette who'd been sitting opposite him at that conference table. Her eyes, her lips, her long legs which he'd caught a glimpse of before she'd sat down – all of it. She was perfect.

Perfectly dangerous.

His muscles tightened just at the memory of her fingers grazing his as he shook her hand. At the way she'd stared at him while she made that promise – that she would be a damn good lawyer for him. He believed her.

Even if she hadn't been so self-assured, he didn't think he'd have let her go anyway.

He was already a goner.