Chapter 1

"Anything I should know about?"

Every head in the room turned in tandem.

Fitz stared at the deadpan faces staring back at him. He tried to read their expressions but got nothing. He knew they had been discussing him; he had heard his name while approaching the door.

They continued staring at him poker-faced. Any other coterie would have been fidgeting; hiding their faces to conceal the guilt and embarrassment of having the person being discussed unexpectedly enter the room. The players in this room revealed nothing. There was nothing revealed, no expression to read among the group. The atmosphere in the room did change, more secretive, but there was no clue to discern among all the participants seated around the table at the dining room in Governors California residence.

Mellie, Verna, Cyrus, Olivia and Hollis were for lack of better expression ruthless, political operatives and would never have a give anything away. Catch them at the scene of a murder covered in blood with the murder weapon in hand …. there would be no tell.

"Fitz" Cyrus stood, recovering the quickest. "We were just going over the NH primaries projections, didn't see any point in interrupting your call with the kids".

Fitz knowing this was not the truth decided not to push the issue…. for now.

"Fine, I need to know what the plan is with the Mellie and Paul Mosley story" Fitz said. Olivia quickly stood along with Cyrus Beene, his campaign manager.

"We've come up with something. Cy and I can go over the details with you"

xxxx

One year Earlier

"I am not working for a Republican Cy, final! C'est Fini!"

"Come on Liv! You and I have been around too long to let personal credo get in the way of ambition. I am telling you Liv, this guy got's something... but I need you to come do what you best; read people for me and tell me why we are not winning!"

"I repeat Cy. I will not work for a Republican! it goes against everything…" Cyrus interrupted

"Liv, I'm gay and your black, we are the very definition of Republican no-no's, but this guy Liv…. this guy might be the one to turn it around!

Fitz can help us bring those stodgy,misogynistic, racist, e.t.c assholes into the 21st Century!"

He sighed heavily "…. Will you at least think about it? Tell me you'll think about it…" Cyrus pleaded

Olivia remained silent. The very fact that she was entertaining the idea showed how much she valued Cy as a friend.

"Fine, I will think about it"

"Love you Liv"

"Goodbye Cy!"

One Month Later….

"I don't understand how she keeps out polling us…. Christ!" Cyrus roared, frustrated and angry looking at the poll numbers.

Olivia was in California visiting her best friend Abby, but had penciled time to stop by and visit her mentor from Georgetown, Cyrus Beene. She hadn't accepted the job he had offered her the month prior, but she hadn't yet rejected the offer outright either. She wasn't sure why.

Fitzgerald Thomas Grant the III, the governor of California was currently running for highest office in the land and he had hand picked Cyrus Beene to be his campaign manger and lead strategist while he made a bid for the White House.

Fitzgerald Thomas the Grant the III was smart.

Cyrus was without a doubt the smartest, most conniving, adroit legal mind she had ever met in her 32 years on the earth. She pitied the Governors competitor; the bible thumper, Sally Langston. She would hate to be on the opposing side of Cyrus Rutherford Beene. He was a monster when off his leash.

Olivia had gone to meet Cy at the Grant campaign headquarters. The campaign HQ was housed in a chic office building that had all the bells and whistles, including a state of the art conference room where they were seated eating lunch and discussing all things Grant.

Olivia glanced over the data, Cyrus had pushed in front of her despite her objections. So much for a friendly lunch to catch up, she thought.

"Well Sally Langston has Jesus, Cyrus. Jesus plays to the Republican base" Olivia said answering his question.

"Your boy is handsome and has a gorgeous head of hair... but, he also has a suspicious record of voting left of center during his tenure as CA Governor" Olivia looked over the latest polling numbers.

"Look Cy, the Governor is not going to swing the hardcore base, the Evangelicals, Sally has them sewed in tight. Your only hope is fighting for the moderate centrist Republicans. You need to push hard for the Independents. The Minority votes as well. Black and Latino voters are some of the most conservative people in America, but will always vote left due to the Republicans race problem. You need to show them that that is this is a different kind of Republican Candidate. A Conservative…but not racist, homophobic…. blah blah blah.

Olivia's mind raced as she strategized. She looked at the numbers generated by the private firm Cyrus had contracted with to poll the Republican voters on specific issues.

"Cy look, we need to focus on selling everything about the conservative agenda, but in an inclusionary way. "Liv stood and walked over to the white board in the conference room.

"We can sell this…. Jesus, sure we love Jesus, but we also follow his message of loving all; including those who differ from us. Its not a new message, but the way we sell it should be. A republican, sans the cliche bigotry. We can make this work!

"Liv…."

"No Cy, listen to me! The Evangelicals are never going to vote for Grant over Sally, so let's take them off the table, stop pandering to them..."

"Why don't we just run as Democrats…." he groused

"Because, we are not Democrats we are Republicans! We are still pro-gun, pro-life, ant-big government, but we also believe that everyone has a right to be pro-gun, pro-life and anti-big government even if those people are brown and have a sexual preference for genitals that match their own!" she said. The ideas stampeded into her head each one vying for attention.

"If we sell this the right way we have a shot!" she said excitedly

Cyrus looked over at Olivia's face; It had been transformed. The energy around her crackled as she furiously jotted down her ideas on the white board. This was the reason he wanted to bring her in. Olivia thrived on challenges. The quickest way to get Olivia going was to tell her something was impossible. The idea of someone saying she couldn't get Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III into the White house, would bring out the strategical monster that laid dormant in her. The monster he had recognized and nurtured during her college years in Georgetown when he was her professor.

"Does that mean you are in…? "Cyrus asked startling her out of the storm of ideas swirling unchecked in her brain. She stopped writing and looked at her mentor.

"I'm in…but I'm not voting for him!"

Olivia looked herself over in the mirror. She had on a dark Tom Ford suit, hair tied up in a bun, her only concession on makeup was mascara and a nude gloss on her lips. She was finally going to meet Governor Grant. She was scheduled to meet Cy and Fitzgerald Grant the III for dinner and she wanted to convey a certain professionalism when she met him.

After accepting the job from Cyrus, she had begun the arduous process of moving her entire life from New York to California where the Grant Campaign headquarters were located.

It had taken her two months, but she was finally here and ready to hit the ground. The alarm on her phone rang signaling the time, 7 p.m. She tended to get lost in her thoughts while working and the alarm helped her keep her schedule.

She was meeting the two gentlemen for dinner at 7:30 pm.

She silenced the alarm grabbed her pocket book and made her way out to her car.

"Liv"

Olivia was focused on the back of the maître de who was showing her to the reserved table, when she heard Cyrus call her name. They reached the table at the back of the restaurant and she walked over to a smiling Cyrus and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey Cy"

"Liv, I would like you to meet the next President of the United States, Fitzgerald Thomas Grant the III. Cyrus turned to the governor "Fitz, this is the girl that gonna save our asses…. meet Olivia Pope"

Olivia turned and stopped short, staring at the tall man who stood before her. She had seen the Governor on TV, you didn't run for president without dominating news feeds, and she also knew he was handsome. However, nothing could have prepared her for the visceral reaction she had when she finally came face to face with him. Every hair on her body stood straight up and an electrical current shot down her spine and through every nerve in her body.

Governor Grant stared at the petite woman standing in front of him, speechless. She had her head tilted back to enable her to make eye contact due to the differences in their heights. Everything inside him stood still as he took inventory of every perfect feature his eyes made contact with across her face. Beautiful seemed like an understatement to describe the striking creature standing before him.

Cyrus stood off to at the side of the table wondering why, two of the most well-spoken people he had ever interacted with were staring silently at each other not uttering a word.

"Fitz" Cyrus said trying to break through the awkward silence "did I ever tell you that Olivia here is the best student I ever had?"

Cyrus's voice broke through the fog.

"Hi"

"Hi"

"Thank you for agreeing to work on the campaign" Governor Grant said once they were all seated.

"I should be thanking you for the opportunity. If you win, this will be a nice addition to my professional profile" she smiled at him but didn't quite make eye contact, she wasn't ready for that.

"We will win!" Cy averred confidently "Fitz, Liv sent me the latest ideas on how to approach Iowa and I think you are going to be as blown away as I am" he said beaming with pride at his mentee.

Before she had a chance to respond the waiter came over and took their orders.

Dinner was a long affair that included them brainstorming on how to win over women. The poll numbers showed that Sally Langston was out-polling Fitz with women across every demographic.

"I really thought he would be polling better with women" Cyrus said mystified

"Why, because his nice to look at?" Olivia asked. Cy nodded and Olivia was incensed.

"Give us credit Cyrus. Its taken years to get a viable woman candidate for president on the ballot and for you to think we would give that up for a chance to stare at his pretty face for the next eight years is belittling. We are voting for the President not who is cutest member of a boy band"

Cy looked sufficiently chastised so she continued "If you want women voters you appeal to them the same way that you appeal to your male voters, by promising to deliver on things that are important to them. Equal pay, healthcare, access to birth control, education…."

"Okay...Okay" Cyrus interrupted sulkily, throwing his hands up

"Plus look at the numbers Cy, he's polling very well among some Non-Republican women...and men; So the way he looks is playing a part" she conceded.

"Are we done discussing me like I'm not in the room?" Cyrus and Olivia turned and looked at Fitz.

"I'm running to be the President of the United States. I'm not some masturbatory figure for women and men to gawk at. I'm running to provide people with the things that matter to them. Opportunities to better their lives and you two are sitting here discussing me like I am running for American Idol!".

Fitz picked his napkin off his lap threw it on the table angrily.

"Fitz…" Cyrus started to respond to the angry outburst but Olivia interrupted.

"Governor I can appreciate your exasperation at people voting for you based on your appearance and not merit, but let's not pretend that you looking the way you do, doesn't provide us with an advantage we can and should use".

"I don't want to win that way" Fitz responded sharply.

"You wouldn't be winning that way" Olivia responded placating the Governor

"You would be giving yourself an edge that way. Look Governor, there is a reason that people cast the villain as unattractive and the hero as attractive ,whether you believe it or not your looks are helping you carry favor with a lot of voters…plus unless you're planning on disfiguring yourself in some way this whole argument is meaningless".

Reading the growing discomfort on Fitz's face, Cyrus quickly chimed in "I'm not asking you to make an appearance at the Chippendales, we are just saying we need to play the fact that you're easy on the eyes. This is politics and you being…." Cyrus paused looking for the appropriate word.

"Gorgeous" Olivia uttered without thinking. Realizing what she had said she quickly covered her mouth, but they had both overheard her.

"You think I'm gorgeous?" Fitz stated leaning towards her with a curious smile.

"No! not me, the voters…. you know the people we are trying to… the polls show that..." Olivia looked at two men and they stared right back at her.

Fitz with a mischievous grin and Cyrus with a puzzled frown.

Olivia get gone, girl!

She stood up and placed her napkin on the table. It was time to call it a night!

"Listen so this was a good first meeting. However, I am exhausted from the move and all so if you gentlemen will excuse me, I will say goodnight and see you tomorrow at HQ" She grabbed her purse off the floor and made for the door in quick measured steps.

By the time both men had stood, she was halfway out the door with her bag slung over her shoulder.

Cyrus smiled "What I tell you? a pistol!"

Fitz stared at the door Olivia "Your right Cy" he agreed "she's a pistol"

Olivia got back in her car and focused on how good it felt to have her hands behind the wheel of a car. Having a car in NY didn't make much sense, it only took one train ride to get her to her old job at the Law Firm. Owning a car just wouldn't have been cost effective in NY.

She was in SO-CAL now and having a car was a necessity. A wonderful, freedom providing necessity.

As she drove she thought about her dinner with Cyrus and the Governor and felt her cheeks stain with embarrassment for the 100th time. Snap out of it she yelled at herself internally. You told him the voters thought he was hot, not that you thought he was hot. It was just an observation, right? Her phone rung bringing her out of her inappropriate thoughts. Her friends name flashed across the console.

"Hey Abby"

"So, did you meet him? was he just as smoking in person or is the camera lying?"

"The camera is not lying; the camera is actually failing to show all the fine that is Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III" she stated, truthfully.

A scream came across her radio as Abby yelled.

"Whoo-hoo, oh god Liv, please tell me I can meet him, please!" she pleaded

"Abby we've had this talk. You can meet him with the caveat that you acknowledge that one, he is married so you will keep your hands off him; and two, he is running for president so you will keep your hands off him. I might make you sign a disclosure agreeing to it" she was only half joking. Abby could get wicked thirsty around good looking men; and Fitzgerald Grant was...well...

"Your no fun Liv" Abby lamented.

"Not while I am working, I'm not" she agreed.

"Fine, I will keep my hands off hot stuff" Abby said. Olivia smiled imagining the pout on her friend's face.

"I'm home now and exhausted Abby, call you later"

"Good night, Liv"

"Your late" Mellie Grant sat on the large bed in the master bedroom of the Governors mansion drinking moonshine out of a mason jar. A donor from her home state of Georgia had sent a case to her after she had charmed him during last years correspondents dinner.

Fitz turned around to see Mellie seated on the bed holding a jar of her moonshine. He felt a wave of exhaustion hit him at the sight of her. Mellie didn't seek him out unless she wanted something or was scheming to get him to do something she wanted to her own ends.

He hoped whatever it was, it was simple. He could then cede it to her and go to bed. He was exhausted.

"Yeah, Cy, Olivia and I had a lot to talk about" he responded taking off his coat and tie.

"What she like?" Mellie asked. She knew that he had been going to meet with his campaign manager Cyrus Beene and a former student of his Olivia Pope that had been tasked with turning the campaign around.

Beautiful, the woman of my dreams, Fitz thought to himself.

"Smart, Cyrus made a good choice. She will be a good addition" Fitz stated now seated on the couch taking off his shoes and socks.

Mellie thought she caught something in his voice when she asked about Ms. Pope's, but she let it go.

"Well for what we are paying her, she had better start turning this around. Sally is killing us in Iowa" she placed the jar on the nightstand by the bed.

"I know. Look can we not talk about this tonight? I've had a long day, I just want to take a shower and sleep for as long as I can" Fitz stared at her sitting on the bed, wondering again what she wanted.

"Sure, but I want to meet her. See if she lives up to all the hype" Mellie said.

She was resentful that Fitz and Cyrus had decided to bring in an outsider to help with the campaign while she languished in the Governors mansion. Top of her class at Harvard and this is what she was relegated to.

She had been excited when Fitz had followed in his fathers footsteps and decided to run for President. Her excitement was short lived however when she realized that Fitz and Cyrus had no intention of letting her help with the campaign planning and strategy.

Fitz sighed stopped undressing and looked at his wife leaning against the headboard.

"Fine Mellie, is there anything else you wanted?" he asked

She paused "No... goodnight Fitz"

Mellie watched as he wearily stood up and headed toward the master bath. She picked up the jar where she had left it ; got off the bed and headed towards her bedroom.

Fitz and her had given up the pretense of sharing a marital bed a few years back. He had put in little protest when she had suggested the separate rooms and had even seemed…happy about the idea.

They had had a good sex life when they had first gotten together, but things had changed and Mellie found it impossible to enjoy having sex with him anymore. At first, she had co-opted the usual excuses from wives around the world, she was tired, she wasn't in the mood…she was on her period, but Fitz wasn't a stupid man; he had finally stopped trying after a year of steady rejection.

That had been seven years ago. Occasionally guilt would creep in on how she kept him trapped in a sexless marriage and she thought about giving him the divorce he desperately wanted….but no.

She had worked to hard and too long to get him into the upper echelons of politics and she deserved to be in the White House by his side. She had no intention of leaving this marriage, until it gave her everything she had worked so hard and sacrificed for. Then and only then, would he be free.

"Its them Cy" Olivia walked into Cyrus office at Campaign HQ

"Who?"

"Mellie and Fitz; Fitz and Mellie. Their tanking us" she threw the focus group data she had just received on the table in front of Cy.

"Every photo shoot, interview,... plays bad" she sighed and rubbed her forehead. " They don't like each other and it shows"

Cyrus looked over the data Olivia had put in front of them absorbing the pertinent facts "Ah!.so what do we do here Liv?"

"We have to get them to do what every other political couple does in Washington, pretend to be in a happy marriage! They've been in political arena for years and married for even longer…. shouldn't they be better at faking this!?

Cyrus picked up the phone and called his assistant into the office.

"Jeannine, we need to pause the campaign for the next two days"

"Three days" Olivia interrupted.

"We need to cancel the campaign stops for the next three days for both the Governor and Mrs. Grant, take care of it"

Jeannine stared at Cyrus mystified. "Cyrus…."

Cyrus raised his hand "This is not a request Jeannine, make it happen"

Looking at the expression on his face, she nodded and hurriedly exited the room.

Olivia looked at Cy, "Can you get them here tonight? we can start tomorrow morning."

"They will be here, leave it to me" Cyrus said already picking up the phone.

"I'm sorry, but why in the hell would you cancel our stops without consulting us?" Mellie asked.

Fitz, Mellie, Cyrus and Olivia were in the Grants home in the Governors living room. Cyrus and Olivia had spent all night brainstorming on how to fix the optics of the Grants marriage, and they had a solid plan.

Cyrus spoke first "Mellie, Fitz" He stood up and walked over to the ornate fireplace.

"We've made significant gains with women, moderates, minorities…. the strategy is working well; however, we have a new issue we need to deal with…" Cy paused and looked at Liv.

Following his subliminal cue, Mellie and Fitz turned their attention to Olivia.

"It's you…both of you, to be blunt, you're tanking us" she sat still, letting them process her statement

"Excuse me?" Fitz said not following

"The two of you look miserable. People do not want to vote for a president who looks like he is in a loveless, cold marriage" she said

Mellie stood "Now wait just a minute, we hired you to help us win the Presidential Primaries not to tell us…."

Olivia interrupted "Believe me when I tell you Mellie, that this is not a conversation I want to have with either one of you, but the fact that remains that the American people value good marriages. That's true across both party lines and whenever the two of you are in the room together the animus is palpable and that is hurting us"

Olivia rose from the sofa where she had been seated "Quite frankly, this is a conversation that I should not be having with people who have been married and been in politics as long as you have"

"Well, I think I am doing a pretty good job on my part, talk to fly boy" Mellie hissed glaring at Fitz.

"No one is saying anyone is doing a bad job with anything" Cy stated "We do however need to start scheduling the two of you on more stops together and then we need to see happy marriage on your faces when this happens"

"Tell him" Mellie reiterated in the same hostile tone.

Everyone in the room turned to look at Fitz who was staring at the floor. The silence from the governor stretched to an uncomfortably long time. He finally responded.

"Fine, but make sure it on stops close to home. Limit the time we have to spend together"

The room was silent as governor Grant walked out the room hands in pocket.

"Just a little ray of sunshine, my hubby" Mellie sneered and stomped out the room.

Olivia and Cyrus stared at each other, both not holding out much hope on the Governor and his wife's ability to fake anything akin to love for each other.

Three days later...

The Grants were trying. Olivia and Cy's intervention seemed to have somewhat worked. They were currently having dinner together with the volunteer firefighters in the small community of Wyie, IA.

They had been brushing against each other since arriving at the firehouse and were holding hands whenever possible.

It was a convincing performance and seemed to be playing well to its intended audience.

Cyrus walked over "Its working Liv, I just heard the fire department dispatch lady mentioned how cute they look together!".

"It's a start, but they still missing something…." Liv said looking on as Mellie forked a pepper from her lunch plate and fed it to her husband.

"So, how'd we do?" Olivia looked up to find the governor nursing a drink leaning on her door frame.

Olivia had decided to stay late at HQ to go over speaking points she would be forwarding to the campaign talking heads for the Sunday morning shows. Cyrus and the governor were still in the building when she had come into her office, but she had heard the front door lock almost an hour earlier and she had assumed she was alone.

"Where's Cy?" she asked leaning back on her chair.

"He left, he has a date with somebody named James" He pushed himself off the wall with his broad shoulders and strolled into the room. "I gotta tell you it's a little disconcerting to see Cyrus, the king maker, excited about a date"

Olivia smiled "good for him, he deserves a night out". Feeling the same atmosphere change in the room as it always did when they were alone together, she asked

"Did you need anything governor?"

"Why do you call me that?" he said quietly.

"I call you that because you're the governor of California" she responded.

"Don't play dumb, you know what I'm talking about" he reached and pulled out one of the two chairs facing her workspace and plopped down with a heavy sigh "Most everyone on the campaign calls me Fitz, your one of the few holdouts who still call "Governor" he lifted his glass and took a sip of whatever he was drinking.

"Well that's inappropriate" Olivia responded "They shouldn't be calling you that".

"Say my name Olivia" he said and took another sip of his drink

"I already said that it would be inappropriate for me to do so"she reiterated

"So, by all means, lets be inappropriate" he said smirking.

"Governor…." He winced exaggeratedly as she said it again. "You've been drinking and I have been working too long so how about we call it a night?"

She shut down her computer and reached for her messenger bag that she had placed in the chair behind her. She busied herself packing her laptop and pocket book paraphernalia hoping that he would take the hint and leave. It didn't work.

Once she had everything together she put on her light sweater and smiled at the governor still seated on the chair.

"Ready to walk out?" She asked with exaggerated perkiness. Keep the situation light Olivia.

The governor finished his drink with one quick gulp and stood up. Glad that he had finally taken the hint she led the way out of her office stopping a hair away from the door to shut of the lights. As soon as the room was dark she placed her had on the handle and pulled the door half open before a strong forearm reached out and forcefully shut the door.

"You never answered me"

"Governor"

"Mellie and I, how did we do, think we convinced everyone?" He was standing close to her. She swore she could feel the heat pouring off his body.

"It was a good start, there is more work to be done, but we can get into the details tomorrow" she responded still facing the door.

"What you mean that you want us to do more?" he asked. She could smell the bourbon on his breath.

"Governor, we can discuss this tomorrow" she repeated again

"No let's discuss this now" he reached around her and turned the lights back on

"See because I think we did a pretty good job today, but for some reason it did not meet your exacting standards and I now have to spend more time with Mellie, which if you knew anything about me, is about as close to hell as I can get"

"I'm not discussing this with you when you've been drinking. Like I said, you did fine, but we still need to tweak the optics a little more" Olivia felt herself getting angry.

"Be specific, what do you want from us?"

"I already said I will get into detail with you tomorrow morning..." she started to say yet again and he abruptly cut her off

"I want to talk about it now"

"I don't"

"Too fucking bad you work for me, I am your boss. Tell me Now!" his voice was raised. The anger rose, she knew she shouldn't respond but her ire was up and nothing could have stopped her from dressing him down. Who did he think he was?!

"Fine, you want to discuss this now, we will. The two of you look like you don't fuck" she said. His reaction was immediate and he pulled back shocked by her coarse language.

"I have two very attractive people, one of whom is running for public office and the two of you together have zero chemistry! Now, I might have been able to downplay this with any other candidate and their respective spouse, but I can't do that with Ken and Barbie! If Ken and Barbie are the candidates they need to be fucking, they need to be hot to trot, or at least be good enough to fake it!"

She stopped out of breath and realized that she had been yelling due to the sudden silence. She willed herself to calm down by taking a deep breath.

"Today's performance was amateurish at best. It only worked because we were in Wyie, IA. It is not good enough for the national stage" she signed rubbing her temples. "We need to do better or the press will smell blood in the water and go in for the kill".

He looked at her for a minute silent

"Well, I guess I asked"

"Governor…"

"I don't want to sleep with her, I haven't slept with her for seven years"

Olivia drew in a breath "Governor, this is really isn't any of my business…."

He laughed out loud "You just told me to go before the American public and act like I want to fuck my wife, I think it's fair to say this is your business"

The room fell silent. Olivia had been staring at her feet while he spoke but she lifted her gaze when he fell silent.

"I don't want her" he said looking her in the eye "I want …. you…"