Executive Orders

CH 44 | Episode 12: A Very Good Thing

"Which do you want first, the good, the bad or the ugly?"

Fitz had put Cyrus on the special ciphered speaker-phone he'd had installed in the kitchen, while Olivia made herself comfortable on one of the breakfast bar stools. Fitz moved to stand next to her, reaching out to take her hand in his before he answered his Chief of Staff.

"The choice is yours, Cy." Fitz told him; he knew that Cyrus wouldn't have called without good reason, but he didn't care. Fitz looked over at Olivia and saw the same thoughts mirrored in her eyes. There was nothing the other man could tell him that would touch what he was feeling right now.

"Not that I want to, but I think we need to start with the ugly." Cyrus said. "I think you might want to address this first."

"What is it, Cyrus?" Fitz asked.

"It's Mellie." Cyrus said. "Or not exactly Mellie. She's demanding to speak with you, sir. I couldn't get much out of her except that she's concerned about Gerry. Something about you need to talk to him, because he's refusing to talk to her - and that was all that I could get out of her. We all know that Mellie will over-exaggerate any and everything if given the opportunity, but I'll leave it up to you to make the decision as to when to call her back, Mr. President."

Fitz looked over to Olivia and saw the same indecision on her face that he sure mirrored his. They both knew what machinations Mellie was capable of and that meant questioning her motives.

"What else?" Fitz asked - not that this wasn't enough. "What's the rest? What's the good and the bad?"

"The good is good - the overall mood from last night's event seems to have put you in a sweet spot, politically speaking. Even your being seen with Colleen Cassidy has spurred some good talking points and interesting speculation - apparently it made you appear very forward-looking. That makes the donors happy because their association with you makes them look very forward-looking."

There was no mistaking the gleeful sarcasm in Cyrus' voice. "Happy donors mean generous donors. Happy and generous donors attract other donors and other donors mean a deep war chest when the real fights begin."

Fitz had to agree that this was good; it had been a part of Cyrus' job last night to let it be known that any support they might offer came with no promises of preferential treatment from the White House and it seemed that it had been an acceptable measure.

It had been a part of Cyrus' job last night to let that be known among any and all donors showing favorable attention to his campaign.

Cyrus goes on to tell them what he knows - the rest of the evening had gone smoothly - but he had noticed Sally and Elizabeth engaged in a moment of what would have looked like to anyone else as idle chit-chat. "But we all know that Lizzie-Bear doesn't do chit-chat."

"No, she doesn't." Olivia and Fitz both said at the same time. This was definitely the bad. Both women were powerful enough in their own fields that if they were even contemplating joining forces, they could be trouble.

"Sally isn't known for her conversational skills, either - unless it's of the evangelical kind." Fitz said. "So what do we think that we think about that?"

Cyrus answered his question. "You both know Elizabeth and I have been in close contact lately. Closer than I'd like, but I've considered her from the start to be a necessary evil and I'm not convinced that this has changed. Up until now, I've been willing to take the hit for the team, but now my instincts are telling me that now is the time to suggest a little one on one with the two of you, sir."

He just might be right, but in her present mood, Olivia wasn't having it. "Maybe a one on one with me would be more...efficient?"

"Efficient like an machete, perhaps?" Cyrus asked.