Don’t Mess with Mellie

She sat in the corner and waited.  Mellie had awakened and found the bed cold, and having glanced at the clock, she saw that it was after 3AM in the morning.  Where was he? The least he could do was to keep the bed warm since she had no other use for him.  His body radiated heat as he would lie next to her. She liked that and it irritated her that the bed had been cold all night because Fitz was noticeably absent.

By four she had gotten up and left their bedroom to investigate.  It didn’t take her long to discover that he had left the building. A few well placed questions and intimidating looks had gotten her what she wanted. The uncomfortable responses and nervous glances had told her all she needed to know.  He had gone to be with Olivia.

 Mellie smirked at the thought, wondering how he had been able to restrain himself this long.   She sat in the corner now waiting to confront him, not for being with Olivia because she didn’t give a damn a bout that, but to warn him that if his little tryst was exposed that his position and hers would suffer. She was not about to let him ruin everything because of his inability to focus on what was really important to them.

 She had seen the attraction between the two of them from the beginning when they were on the campaign trail.  She had caught her husband oogling Olivia Pope with his mouth hanging open on several occasions.  Fitz had never been a good poker player and she could read him like the open book he was.  He was a great politician and he could smoothly weave a web of lies to soothe people’s ruffled feathers, however she knew him and he had given up a long time ago trying to hide things from her.

 When six o’clock approached, she quickly chose her outfit for the day and took a quick shower.  She figured that Fitz would be coming home any minute and she wanted to be ready for him.  She had a few things that she had to say to him as she wasn’t about to allow him to jeopardize all they had worked to achieve.

 She had met Fitz in law school and she had seen his potential from the beginning.  He wasn’t as smart as she was, but he had charisma and charm.  He was good looking and idealistic.  She knew that he could one day become someone great and powerful, and while she herself had been denied that kind of opportunity because she was a woman, she had surmised that with her expertise, she could help maneuver him all the way to the White House.  Her goal had been to become the First Lady, even though she felt that she herself could be a much better President than Fitz.

 Mellie quickly dressed and stared at her reflection in the mirror.  Everything was perfect and she felt that she looked stunning.  Her father had always said she was a beauty, and she couldn’t agree with him more.  Being the President’s wife had its privileges.  She didn’t have to be bothered with Fitz’ children if she didn’t want to. She loved them, she did.  However, she was never the type to hug and kiss and wipe snotty noses.  No, her destiny was greater than carrying on the drudgery of motherhood.  After all, they paid for their nannies and they paid them well.  She was grateful that she had been able to pass on the more menial tasks to someone else.  When the children were older, she would guide their choices as she guided her husband’s career.

 Mellie had to admit to herself that she had never been in love with Fitz, though she had liked him well enough.  He was a means to an end, a stepping stone for her.  He was kind and gentle and sweet, like an eager puppy and something about his perceived softness turned her stomach.  He was much too complacent for her taste.  He gave into her demands much too easily and tried to reason with her when she knew that she was being bitchy.  Just once she would have loved for him to manhandle her ass, tell her who was boss, spank her ass, tie her up and fuck her senseless.  Alas, that was all a pipe dream as for her, Fitz had been anything but a real man in bed.  His gentle touches and soft kisses did nothing for her.

 She remembered the one instance that she had asked him to spank her hard before taking her roughly during sex, and he had stared at her as if she had two heads upon hearing her request. His half hearted attempts to please her were laughable and she grew tired of him asking her if he was hurting her when he attempted to comply with her request. He was more concerned about her comfort than actually doing the deed. She grew tired of trying to make him understand that he was supposed to inflict some pain and discomfort.

Didn’t he realize that was the whole point?  She needed a man who dominated her in the bedroom, a man that wasn’t afraid to inflict a little pain.  Fitz just didn’t get it. She had given up sex with him years ago.

 She smiled to herself as she thought about her private lessons in ‘literacy’.  Now there was a man that knew how to make a woman scream.  He had been a tasty little truffle, however she had barely escaped being exposed and she knew that she had to be more careful in the future.  She made a mental note not to go back to the same well more than three times, even if the man was a beast in bed like Mr. Literacy.

 She glanced at the clock noting that the sun had risen.  He had to come back soon or questions would be asked and eyebrows would be raised. Cyrus would be on a rampage, barking at everybody.  Fitz wasn’t a complete fool, she was confident of that.

 Mellie heard footsteps approaching and sat on the bed.  Sure enough Fitz walked into the room .  He gave her a quick glance and turned his back to her as he began to undress. No words were spoken as he occasionally glanced at her through the mirror.

 “Where have you been?”  she asked coolly.

 Fitz glanced back at her through the mirror.  “Out”

 “You’ve been with Olivia” Mellie replied calmly looking at her nails.  “No need to lie about it.”

 Fitz sighed, too exhausted to fight with her.  “What do you want from me Mellie?”

 Mellie chuckled and stood up and walked over to him.  “You had better keep a clear head about you while you’re out there fucking around.  I won’t allow you to jeopardize our position-“

 “Is that all you care about?”  Fitz snapped angrily turning to her. He resisted the urge to grab her and shake her by the shoulders.  Her face was hard, though her lips were smiling.

 “Don’t you want something more?  What happened to us…what happened to love?”  he asked trying to keep his voice level. “Is power and prestige all you care about?”

 Mellie chuckled.  “Love?  Is that what we have, Fitz?  Whatever it was, it’s been over for a long, long time.  We both know that power and prestige can be better than sex…at least it’s better than sex with you.”

 “You’ve never loved me.”  Fitz replied walking over to the closet to get some fresh clothes.  “It was always about status with you.  I had just hoped that things would work out for us. I tried Mellie, I really did.”

 Mellie stared at him, her face like granite.  “If I had just believed in myself,  if I had been able to conceive in my mind  back in 1990 when I graduated first in my class from Harvard Law,  that I could become Vice President or even President despite the fact of me being a woman, things would have been different. I wouldn’t have settled for being married to YOU.”

 “And I could be with Olivia”  Fitz mumbled under his breath, but she heard him.

 “Then both of us would be happy, wouldn’t we?”  Mellie’s voice dripped with acid. “Just remember that you’d never have made it this far without me and my sacrifices!”

 “Maybe”  Fitz said putting his clothes on the bed.

 “Well you just go on and have your boring, conservative vanilla sex with Olivia Pope! She’s just as repressed as you are, I bet.  Do what you want!  I don’t give a damn.”  She spat.  “You just get your head out of the clouds and be the President that the people elected you to be!  If you’ve got to fuck her to be that kind of man, then so be it.”

 “It’s not like that”  Fitz protested.

 Mellie rolled her eyes.  “Please!  I’m not a fool Fitz.  You’ve been sniffing behind Olivia Pope since the campaign.  Look me in the eye and tell me that you’re not fucking her.”

 Fitz stared at her, not blinking.  “It’s not that kind of relationship, Mellie.  I did go to her last night, but there was no sex.  She’s not that kind of woman.”

 He watched as Mellie’s face broke out in a smirk.  “Poor Fitz, his secret crush has integrity.”  She bent down as he sat on the bed and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

 “Ah, but that’s what attracted you to her in the beginning, right?”

 He watched as she snickered and walked out of the bedroom slamming the door.

 Mellie found her secretary sitting at her desk outside of her office, and Mellie quickly approached her.

 “What’s on my itinerary today, Rosa”  Mellie asked crossing her arms across her chest.

 “You have a meeting with Mr. Bowles from “Water for Africa Initiative”.  Rose said.  “That meeting is today at eleven.  Then at two PM you have meeting with Mrs. Hughes from the Council of Women.”

 Mellie paused for a minute.  Edwin from the “Water for Africa Initiative” was another tasty morsel in her secret repertoire.   She didn’t have time for any hanky panky today and decided that Edwin would just have to wait.

 “Call Mr. Bowles and reschedule.”  She said looking over her copy of the itinerary.  “I have something else I need to do.”

 Rose nodded and Mellie walked into her office and closed the door. She picked up the phone with the smirk still on her face.

 Olivia was surprised to hear from Mellie telling her that she had a situation of the utmost urgency that she needed her help with.  Olivia asked her to come to her office to discuss the matter and Mellie agreed.

 Olivia sat behind the desk as Mellie walked in escorted by Abby. The two women eyed each other.

 “Mellie” 

 “Olivia”

 Mellie turned giving Abby a cool smile. “Can we have a moment?”

 Abby raised her eyebrow and looked at Olivia.

 “Close the door on your way out.”  Olivia said. 

 Abby nodded and Olivia pointed to a seat for Mellie to sit down.  Her gut told her that Mellie’s visit was not going to be a pleasant one.

 “What can I do for you, Mellie”  she said looking at her.

 Mellie looked at Olivia a moment before speaking. 

 “I came to talk to you about Fitz” she replied coolly.  “He’s trying to convince me that there is nothing going on between you two.”

 “I helped get him elected.  We’re friends.”  Olivia replied evasively wondering how much Mellie really knew.

 “Of course”  Mellie said smiling, but her eyes were hard and cold.

 “However, whatever that friendship entails, I just want you to know that I have no problem with your friendship provided that you two are discreet.”  Mellie said.  “I will not have you two’s sexual dalliances’ interfering with my position as First Lady of these United States.”

 “Mellie!”  Olivia snapped standing up.  “Fitz and I are not having an affair!”

 Mellie stared at her a moment and then tossed a jump drive from her pocketbook down on the desk. 

 “Call it what you will.”  She hissed.  “I know for a fact that Fitz is the one on this recording and the date of this incident coincides with his campaign trip while I was conveniently in Atlanta. So you see I know for a fact that it’s not me on here and it’s obvious that he’s having sex with someone.”

 “Where did you get this?”  Olivia asked not meeting her eyes, picking up the jump drive.

 “Some mysterious person sent it to me” Mellie said standing.  “I suppose they expected me to be outraged and confrontational about it.  In reality, I could care less who Fitz fucks.”

 “Just because you have your husband recorded having sex, you cannot assume that it is me!”  Olivia said trying not to panic.  She wondered how many copies of this sex tape had been distributed and to whom.  She was going to have to talk to Fitz ASAP.

 “It’s you.  I know it’s you.”  Mellie replied. “Of that, I have no doubt.”

 “How can you be so sure?”  Olivia replied. “There were a lot of people with him throughout the campaign.  How do you know the exact date of this recording anyway?”

 “Don’t try to play me for a fool!”  Mellie snapped.  “My husband and I have been married a long time.  You know that, Olivia.”  Mellie leaned forward in her chair. 

“You learned from the campaign trail that Fitz and I have a marriage in name only.  Sex between us has been over and done with for a long time.”

 “Mellie, I still don’t see what that has to do with me”  Olivia protested.

 “You know that it’s you on that recording.”  Mellie said standing and looking around Olivia’s office.  She walked over to a large campaign poster of Fitz that was behind Olivia’s desk.  She touched it and then turned to Olivia.  “My husband and I haven’t been intimate for four years, and it’s obvious that you two are smitten with each other.”  She smirked at Olivia’s shocked expression.

 “It was a mutual agreement between us.”  Mellie said picking up the picture of Fitz that Olivia had on her desk.  “I half expected him to run out and start banging everything that crossed his path after the first six months.  My husband, however surprised me.  He didn’t seem interested in having any extramarital affairs…that is until you came into the picture.”

 She leaned on the desk and brought her face close to Olivia’s.  “The man has been practically drooling over you since the first time he laid eyes on you.  The poor besotted fool would even call your name out in his sleep.”  She snickered at Olivia’s surprised expression.  “Yes my dear, my husband is head over heels in love with you.  I have no doubt that you are the one on this recording.”

 Olivia stared at Mellie.  “ You seem very sure of this. If my husband was cheating on me, I’d be pretty pissed off-“

 “I’m not you.”  Mellie replied interrupting her.  “I care for Fitz…I do.  He’s a good stand up kind of guy, and we get along well enough.”

 “But he’s your husband”  Olivia protested.  “Surely you loved him at one time in your life.”

 Mellie gave her a cold smile and didn’t reply.  She picked up her purse.

 “I came here to tell you that you have my blessings.  Fuck him, suck him, do whatever it takes to make him happy. I don’t care.  Just don’t fuck with me and what I’ve worked hard for.”  Mellie said walking towards the door.

 “I don’t need your blessings, Mellie”  Olivia replied.  “As I said, there’s nothing going on between Fitz and I.”

 ‘I don’t doubt your sincerity”  Mellie said as she paused at the door.  “But my husband can be quite persuasive when he wants to be; and right now he’s a man obsessed and you are that obsession.  So you’d better watch your step.”

 Olivia’s mouth was dry as she stared at Mellie’s back as she walked out the door.