Lucille walked through the building with her head hung low. After reaching an all time low last night, she was ashamed.

She cringed at the thought of her trying to get Oliver into bed last night. She was even too embarrassed to look Antonio in the eye this morning when he picked her up.

She made it into her office without running into him. She wondered if he was even there. Of course she would find out at the board meeting at noon. She was still undecided about going. She could always send Lex and tell her to report back. When she thought deeper about it, she realized how petty that was.

She was avoiding Oliver like she had some schoolgirl crush on him. He was her boss. What happened last night happened because she was drunk and upset with Aaron.

To be honest, she thought it was normal that she would turn to Oliver for comfort. After wall they were both the ones betrayed by their significant others.

Then she thought to herself. She thought about how she'd had feelings even before that happened. But then of course she knew why.

She told herself that he was an older, successful, attractive man in the field that she one day dreamed to be a part of and that's why she felt so attracted to him. So infatuated with him. Not because of what he meant to her but what he represented.

-----------OLIVER-----------

Oliver flipped the switch of his office light. He'd been successful in avoiding Lucille all morning. It wasn't fair and he knew that. He felt as if he'd violated her. Taken advantage of her like some frat boy would to a freshman at a kegger party after she'd had too much to drink. She deserved better than that.

She was drunk and her emotions were all over the place after what Aaron and Anne Katherine had done.

He sat down at his desk and fidgeting with his tie. What exactly was he doing? He had a wife. A son. Yet all he wanted was to bask into the beautiful, tawny beauty that was his campaign manager.

He'd actually put his trust into this woman. This woman with no experience whatsoever with running political campaigns. Perhaps he was thinking with his..

From the first day Lucille was hired, he found her interesting. Enticing. He kept it to himself at first. In denial, mostly. But after a while, he couldn't help but act on his feelings. Like the first night he'd walked her to her car. What a disaster that was.

He tried to recall of a time that he'd ever felt that way for Anne Katherine. But to no avail could be thing of anything.

When it came to Lucille, he just wanted to be closer to her in more ways than one. But he couldn't and it was time he accepted that.

-------LUCILLE-------

Lucille entered the lounge slowly, creeping to to ensure the coast was clear. She marched over to the coffee machine and placed her mug on the counter. She hummed the soft tune of Warwick Avenue by Duffy as she filled her cup.

She was so into her humming and coffee making that she neglected to hear someone enter the lounge. She was stirring the hot liquid around when she heard that deep, familiar voice call her name. Chills ran throughout her body.

"Lucille", he called out again.

Was she ready to face him? No. But she was being forced to sooner than she wanted to and she knew it wouldn't end well.

"We need to talk", he said. She could hear his voice getting closer and closer with every word.

"That's close enough", she said turning around. "Is there something I can assist you with Mr. Reed?"

She could see his body tense at the sound of his last name sliding off her lips.

-----------OLIVER-----------

"Can we talk in my office?", he asked in a low tone.

He could tell Lucille was more bothered about the situation than he was. She had to know he would never let anything like that happen.

If they were ever going to be together in that way, it wouldn't happen while she wasn't in a conscious state, completely aware of her actions. It would never happen that way. Oliver wouldn't allow it to; no matter how hard he was below she begged him to share a bed with her that night.

"Pertaining to?", she asked still stirring her coffee.

Whatever cream she had dropped in sure as hell was good and dissolved by now.

He walked over to her and grabbed her arm pulling her out of the lounge and down the hall to the elevator.

She winced in pain. "Oliver you're hurting me."

He immediately loosened his grip. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to", he immediately started apologizing.

She managed to ease herself away. She shuffled into be ballroom where hundreds of people were phone banking. There was no way Oliver could go after her. Not without making a huge scene.

The elevator closed and all he could see was his reflection against the mirroring doors. One would think he was stressed because of his campaign for governor, when actually it was because of some girl.

Lucille wasn't just some girl, but the way they were running around together it was like they were back in high school or undergrad.

He shook his head as he let out a deep sigh. What had she done to him to make him act this way? He was risking everything to be close to her. His campaign, his relationship with his father, his marriage. His son.

Only God knows what Anne Katherine would do to keep him away from his son.

He entered his office and poured himself a glass of whiskey. The brown liquid in his glass made him have a flashback to last night.

Oliver looked into Lucille's eyes. What normally looked like big brown orbs of excitement now looked glazed over and full of lust. He'd never felt so shitty ever before in his life than he did in that very moment. He followed her into the elevator and Lucille clung to him. She stood beside him, wrapping both her arms around his waist and resting her head on his shoulder. He leaned over and placed a kiss on the top of her head. When the elevator doors opened be allowed her to lead him down the hall to her room. When she realized he'd planted himself right outside her door and wasn't going any farther, several different looks crept onto her face. Confusion. Disappointment. Shame. Anger. And from there, things got heated and Oliver left. As soon as he shut the door, he could hear her crying on the other side. He wanted nothing more than to open the door and comfort her. Hold her all night and tell her it would all be fine. But he couldn't. Because she wasn't his. And he wasn't sure if she would ever be. So he did what was right in that moment. He walked away.

"It's 5 o'clock somewhere right?"

He was brought back to present time when he heard the soft mumble come from the doorway. He was so invested in his thoughts, he hadn't heard it open.

"Lucille."

She turned around shutting the door.

"You're right. We do need to talk."