Stolen Moments

Chapter Three

When Fitz woke from his uneasy slumber, he noticed that his unaffectionate spouse was nowhere in sight. He thought little of it, however, and rolled over to look at the time on his petite alarm clock. 7:26 a.m., it read, operating the gears in his head, putting him into his 'politician' state of mind, and driving him to rise from his bed and toward his shower to begin what he knew would be a long day.

Olivia's hotel alarm clock buzzed in her ears, bringing her to sit up and press the button atop the device to terminate the piercing sound. Her body still hadn't become completely accustomed to the California time, but she shook off her nagging sleepiness and grabbed her towel and shower cap. Though Olivia knew she had already impressed Governor Grant and his wife Mellie, she didn't want to overshadow her previous day's immaculate work with being late. She huffed softly and got on with the start of her day.

When she had showered, done her hair, brushed her teeth, and washed her face among other things, she chose one of her chic, business-friendly outfits that she had packed and grabbed her handbag. Olivia retrieved her phone and was then on her way downstairs, where a cab, whom she had called in advance, was already waiting for her. She arrived at the Grant residence at nine fifteen sharp, tipping the cab and trodding up the now increasingly familiar stone pathway.

Fitzgerald Grant was peering through his front window nearly every five minutes so that he would be the first to the door when the ravishing Olivia Pope arrived. Luckily enough for him, he just so happened to take a glance out when he saw the beauty ducking out of the cab and up toward the door. It became evident to him that she was unaware of his admiring judging by the smug expression on her face and her eyes' brief perusal of the surrounding neighbors. He grinned minimally. Her face appeared refreshed and renewed; Ready for the new day, he assumed. Olivia's hair seemed to be styled slightly different as well; More of her hair was pulled back from the sides, guiding more attention to the flawless bone structure that was her face.

Before she could reach the porch, Fitz hurried off down the nearest hall so that Olivia wouldn't know he had been extolling her for those few moments in time. When the doorbell rang though, he was definitely the first there. He glanced through the peephole so that his anticipation of her arrival wouldn't be so apparent. She grinned amiably, and he opened the door, gesturing her inside.

"Good morning, Ms. Pope," he greeted. His voice was low and quite captivating. It was music to Olivia's ears each time he spoke, but she wouldn't let him know that. Last night she had already convinced herself that he had a thing for her, so she needed to be careful. Or, she theorized that, anyway.

What was rather ironic was her lack of knowledge that her theory was absolutely correct. Fitzgerald Grant III already had a thing for Olivia Pope.

Fitz wore a suit again, tailored to fit him like a glove, which was nothing less than expected as he was the governor of California. His tie was a blue one, striped with thin lines of scarlet. He wore a sexy smile and his hair was again combed and laid to the side in his signature, suave waves. Olivia admired his look for the day, eyeing him swiftly before Governor Grant could notice.

"Good morning, Governor Grant," she returned. Once inside the home, the strong scent of cinnamon rolls and perhaps toast wafted beneath her nose, causing her to perk up. She had skipped breakfast that morning and opted only for a coffee to keep her running. Fitz combated the urge to chuckle at the hungry expression on her face and tapped her lower back once before tilting his head toward the kitchen.

"Mellie made breakfast. She thought you might be hungry," he explained, leading the way through his castle of a house to the kitchen.

Olivia's mind still replayed the sensation of Fitz's fingers at the small of her back. The interaction had been but short-lived, but it brought the most meager tingling sensation to her woman hood. She brushed it away, however, when her eyes met the sight of his wife, Mellie, beaming at her from her stance at the countertop. From the looks of it, she was icing over the cinnamon rolls, and it made Olivia's mouth water.