Lucille groaned at the sound of buzzing coming from the night stand. Her head was lying on something that wasn't the bed. She opened her eyes and looked up at Oliver who was still sound asleep.

Her head was resting on his chest. She was so comfortable in that position she was tempted to lie back down and fall back into a deep slumber. But whoever was calling her phone wouldn't allow it.

She sighed before inching away from him. She leaned over to the nightstand and picked up her cellphone to answer it. They'd already hung up. She tossed it back onto the night stand, not caring who it was. She laid back down, hoping to get just a few more minutes of sleep before having to get ready for work.

She could feel Oliver scooting towards her. He wrapped his arms around her waist. A smile formed on her lips.

"We don't have to go in today, you know", he said mumbled into her neck, causing her to shiver. "We can lay like this all day."

He pressed a soft kiss on her neck. A soft whimper escaped her lips. He held her closely while she dozed off again.

He really meant what he said. They could stay in that position all day. If it was up to him, they would. With the chance of Anne-Katherine, or even worse, James, popping up, he wasn't going to put whatever this was at risk before it even started.

He eased his arms from around Lucille's body, careful not to wake her, and got out of bed. He walked over to the desk to check his cellphone. He had a voicemail from his father.

Mr. Taylor will be there at 1 to meet with you. I suggest you put your big boy pants on and do what he says. He knows what he's doing, son.

Oliver exhaled deeply. He had no choice but to get on board with whatever was going to happen.

He looked over at Lucille who was still sleeping peacefully. The light that shone through the cracks on the window blinds hit her face perfectly.

He picked up his phone and walked over to her side of the bed. He managed to snap a few photos of her before she started to wake up. He stood in place.

"Good morning", he greeted as her eyes finally opened.

She shook her head with a huge grin on her face. "Still being a creep, I see."

He chuckled. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm meeting with this new guy today."

She nodded.

"I don't want anyone in the office today", he continued. "I'm sending out an email for an off-day."

"Oliver that's reckless", she said as she sat up in bed. "We have things to do."

"Lucille, I need you to be with me on this. Please", he pleaded.

He couldn't tell Lucille much. It's not that he couldn't, but he didn't want her or anyone else to be involved in whatever plot was being made by his father and this man. Whatever it was that they were planning, Oliver knew deep down, it wasn't something legal.

"Fine", she said picking up her phone from the nightstand.

"Thank you", he said.

She let him know that the conversation was over when she rolled over to check her phone. He walked away from the bed and picked up his duffel bag and went into the bathroom.

The missed call Lucille had earlier was of course from Aaron. She would have to address the situation sooner or later.

When she heard the shower turn on she rolled out of bed. She crept inside and turned the faucet on after preparing her toothbrush and started brushing away.

She heard the shower door crack open behind her but she ignored it. Oliver cleared his throat loudly. She leaned down to spit before answering.

"Hope you don't mind", she mumbled staring down into the sink.

She looked into the mirror and saw Oliver's head peering out of the shower. His eyes were glued to the lower half of her body. She smirked.

"I can see you looking at me", she informed.

"Do you wanna look at me too?", he asked in a low voice.

He started opening the shower door more and more but Lucille hauled ass out of there. She could hear his deep laugh through the bathroom door.

Lucille decided to keep her hair in braids since she wasn't going into the office. She went to her suitcase and opened it. She changed into a tight fitting sleeveless maxi dress.

She was bending over, rummaging through her suitcase for sandals when Oliver walked into the room. His eyes were set on her bottom. Lucille's butt wasn't huge but it wasn't too small. He loved it.

"Where do you think you're going?", he asked.

She was startled by his presence. She hadn't heard him come in. She stood upright.

"I'm going to take care of something."

"Dressed like that?", he asked, slowly approaching her.

For every step he took toward her, she took a step back. She finally came to a halt when her back hit the wall.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?", she asked, looking up at him with puppy eyes.

"It leaves little to the imagination", he answered.

He grabbed onto her waist and let his hands travel down to her outer thighs. They roamed up and down her body. If only she wasn't enjoying it so much, she could muster up the strength to push him away.

"I can see every curve of your body."

Lucille tried to steady her breathing before speaking but it was pointless. The effect he had on her was apparent.

"I'm not changing", she breathed out slowly, looking right into his eyes.

He put his hands in his pocket before walking away. "I wouldn't expect you to."

Lucille sat on the bed and slid her sandals on. All she could think at that moment was how badly she wanted Oliver's hands on her body again.

She wanted more. She needed more. But for now she would settle for whatever they were doing. And that would have to be enough.

____________________

Oliver was surprised when his father walked into the conference room with a black man. This only came as a shock because of the racial slur he had used earlier in the week when referring to Lucille.

"You must be Oliver", the man said extending his hand.

Oliver nodded and took his hand. "And you are?"

"Shane", the man answered. "James if you'll leave us alone for a bit. I have some things I'd like to discuss with Oliver in private."

James was hesitant but he obliged. He exited the room at the request of his own help.

"Let's cut the bullshit", Shane said. "Do you want to be governor or is it something you're doing because of your old man?"

Oliver was caught off guard at first. But he knew exactly what he had to say.

"I want this", he answered. "For myself and for my family."

"Well I'm glad to hear that because winning is gonna be much easier that way. I understand your campaign manager has done a good job with getting you lots of publicity and your numbers in the polls reflect that. If she's around, I'd like to meet with her."

"Actually I told her coming in today wasn't necessary. Would tomorrow be okay?"

"How about you give her a call now", Shane suggested. But to Oliver, it sounded more like a demand.

____________________

Lucille walked into her apartment, shutting the door behind her. Aaron came out of the bedroom. He didn't have to say anything. The look on his face showed just how surprised he was that she was there.

"Hi", she said.

"Hey", he said walking over to her.

He hugged her tightly, she returned the gesture.

"Can we sit?", she asked. "And talk?"

"Yeah, for sure, for sure", he said walking her over to the sofa.

She started talking as soon as they were sitting.

"I want you to know that I forgive you."

Aaron's face lit up. "Baby I'm so happy to hear that because-"

"I'm not finished", Lucille cut him off. "Although I know you were doing what you thought was best, you failed to accept the fact that I would've been there for you through this difficult time. You couldn't accept that I could take care of you the way I know you would take care of me."

Aaron shook his head. "I'm sorry."

"I know", she said. "But I want you to know this isn't your fault."

"What isn't my fault?", he asked.

Lucille exhaled before speaking again. "I'm not the same person I was when I was 19. I've changed and so have you and I don't think that's a bad thing."

"Lucille do not do this", he pleaded, realizing where this conversation was headed.

She continued. "What I'm trying to say is that we've grown apart and if we don't end things now we'll only end up hating each other."

"Lucille, I love you", he said reaching for her hands. "Baby, I love you."

A tear fell from Lucille's eye. "I love you too", she said. "But I'm not in love with you. Not anymore."

"You're really breaking up with me", he said barely over a whisper.

"You can take over the lease for the apartment and I'll help with the bills as long as you need", she offered.

"That won't be necessary", he said. "I got my job back. I'll get my own place. I'll be gone by the weekend."

"I'm happy you got your job back", she said. "I just want you to know-"

She was cut off by the loud, generic iPhone ring tone that filled the apartment. She pressed the end call button. Right now, this was more important. Aaron at least deserved this.

"I will always love you. I will always be there for you. I know you don't get it right now, but I hope that you will soon."

He didn't look in her eyes like she wanted him too. If he did, he would've broken down right then and there.

They both stood up. He gave her a dry, one-armed hug before walking her out.

"If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to call", she said.

She quickly pressed a kiss against his cheek.

"Thank you", he said.

Lucille walked out, shutting the door behind her. She had to take a minute. She leaned up against the door frame, breathing heavily. Almost as if in a panic attack.

Deep down she knew she was doing the right thing. For Aaron and for her. It just scared her that she kept having to tell herself that her feelings for Oliver had nothing to do with her making this decision.

She would have to acknowledge soon enough that her feelings had to play a role. If she was still in love with Aaron, she wouldn't have developed the feelings in the first place.

Her phone started ringing again which caused her to gather herself. She walked away from the door before answering it.

"Lucille, how soon can you make it into the office?", Oliver asked.

"Antonio actually still has the car running, i can be there in 20."

"See you then."

____________________

"So why isn't your wife involved in your campaign?", Shane asked. "We can make it work without her. Run on her being a stay at home mom, caring for your son, not wanting to be in the spotlight."

"Well let's do it that way. I want her involved as little as possible", Oliver said.

"So it is that kind of marriage", Shane concluded. "Nothing wrong with that", he added.

Yeah until you meet someone who you want for real, Oliver thought to himself.

Both men stood up as Lucille entered the conference room. Her welcoming smile brightened the dry atmosphere of business. Oliver was so taken with her smile, he almost didn't notice how Shane looked at her. Almost.

"Hi", she greeted. She walked over to Shane extending her hand. "My name is Lucille Johnson, I'm Mr. Reed's campaign manager."

Shane took her hand into his shaking it softly. "My name is Shane Taylor. What's a beautiful woman like you doing in this ugly line of work?"

Lucille laughed sweetly at the sly remark. Oliver wasn't as amused.

"Shall we get to it?", he interrupted.

"Of course", Shane answered, eyes never straying from the beautiful woman before him. He pulled out a seat for her, conveniently next to his.

"Thank you", she said. She looked across at Oliver, totally confused as to why she was receiving the death glare.

Shane began to speak. "So basically, I wanted to meet with both of you at once to discuss something. Obviously, you're his campaign manager", he looked to Lucille. "So the two of you have been spending a lot of time together", he said looking between the two of them. "Is there anything at all that you think I should know about?"

Both of them shook their heads immediately.

"Nothing?", Shane asked.

Lucille spoke up. "There is something."

Oliver looked on, wondering what she was doing.

"Anne-Katherine", she said. "She doesn't want Oliver to win and it seems as if she'll do anything in her power to make sure this doesn't happen."

"Oliver, you knew about this?", Shane asked.

Oliver shook his head. "Of course not", he lied.

"Well she told me she would be cooperative if I promised she could have one thing after Oliver got elected", Lucille said.

"What is it?", Shane urged.

"I've never told anyone", she looked over at Oliver before continuing. "She wants a divorce."