DISCLAIMER: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and its characters are the property of NBC and Dick Wolf.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: his one is definitely an event rather than a holiday, but since I've missed the last few holidays, I needed to write something. Consider this my tiny contribution to IDoF. Stay cool!
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
FEEDBACK: To sunsetwriter[at]mindspring.com
SERIES: Part of the Holiday Shorts series.
Holiday Short – Heat Wave
By sunsetwriter
Olivia trudged up the steps of One Hogan Place, eager to enter the building for two reasons. First, she was terribly anxious to escape the oppressive heat that had settled on the city in the past few days. And second, she was on the way to see ADA Cabot.
Olivia was always happy to see the beautiful attorney. Well, almost always. The two of them had a reputation for some very heated arguments, but Olivia had convinced herself that was due to each of them each being strong-willed and determined to see justice for the victims they were trying to protect. They just didn't always see eye to eye on the path toward that justice. Olivia was certain it had nothing to do with the fact that she found Alex extremely attractive and was completely frustrated by all the little voices in her head that discouraged her from pursuing anything other than a professional relationship with the ADA.
The detective entered the front door of the building and was surprised to find the air inside only a few degrees cooler than that on the outside. The weatherman had said that the mercury would likely rise to 102 degrees today, and Olivia was pretty sure he had made an accurate prediction. She noticed everyone in the building lobby had removed their suit jackets or loosened their ties, giving the interior of the building an unusually casual atmosphere.
She punched the button for the elevator and took a ride up to Alex's floor, hoping maybe the air conditioning was working in the rest of the building. She heaved a sigh as she stepped off the elevator to find the same heat she had left in the lobby. She could feel beads of sweat forming on her forehead as she made her way down the hall to the ADA's office.
Alex's office door was standing open and as she approached, Olivia could see the ADA sitting at her desk making notes on a legal pad. The detective couldn't help but stand in the doorway, unnoticed for the moment, and simply watch the attorney. She was wearing a pale pink, button-down blouse with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows and the first two buttons of the collar open. A small oscillating fan sat on a credenza behind the desk, ruffling strands of blonde hair as it blew waves of warm air around the office. Alex's trademark heels were on the floor beside her desk, where she had apparently kicked them off in an effort to seek a little more relief from the heat. Alex continued to write, causing the muscles in her forearm to ripple slightly with each stroke of the pen. Olivia was mesmerized.
As if she suddenly sensed the watchful eyes, Alex looked up and smiled as she caught the detective watching her. She tilted her head and gazed curiously back at Olivia.
"How long have you been standing there?"
Spurred into action by the question, Olivia moved forward into the office. "Not long." She gestured to the writing pad. "I didn't want to interrupt."
"I was just jotting down some thoughts for my closing arguments before my brain melted from the heat."
Olivia nodded as she dropped into one of the client chairs in front of Alex's desk. "So did you guys forget to pay the power bill or what?"
Alex offered a smirk and replied, "This heat wave apparently sent our antiquated air conditioning system into overdrive, and all the band-aids they've used to patch it up just couldn't hold it together anymore."
"So why don't you find a cooler place to work?"
"I was planning on working from home this afternoon, but Liz set up a meeting later today that I have to be here for, and she wants me available to discuss any issues that may arise prior to that meeting. So, I'm stuck here. In hell. I think I may send her my dry-cleaning bill when they have to work extra hard to get the sweat stains out of raw silk." She reached up and unbuttoned another button and tugged the material away from her chest, revealing the tops of her breasts covered by a white lace bra.
Olivia was speechless as she watched the long fingers tug repeatedly at the open neck of the blouse in an attempt to increase the airflow beneath. Each time Alex moved the pink material, the bit of lace was clearly visible. Olivia swallowed and tried not to stare. She failed miserably.
After a few moments, Olivia realized that Alex's hand had stilled. She slowly pulled her eyes away from Alex's chest and up to her face. The ADA was watching her with a smirk accompanied by one graceful eyebrow arched in curiosity. Olivia felt the heat rush to her face when she realized that Alex had caught her blatantly staring. Olivia cleared her throat and squirmed in her chair. Desperate to draw attention away from getting caught, she suddenly remembered the reason for her visit and placed the folder she had been carrying on Alex's desk.
"Cragen asked me to bring that over to you ASAP. It's the paperwork you needed for the O'Neal arraignment." Alex nodded, but didn't reply, and continued to look curiously at Olivia as if waiting for acknowledgement from the detective that she had just been caught ogling her ADA. The look made Olivia nervous, so she tried to think of something innocuous to say. "If I'd known it was going to be this hot over here, I would have made Elliot bring it over instead." Alex continued to wait, a small smile working it's way on to her face as she realized that Olivia was actually fidgeting. "Why are you staring at me like that?"
"Like what?" Alex's voice remained calm.
Olivia's voice, on the other hand, was beginning to sound a little exasperated. "Like you're waiting on me to admit something."
Alex smiled. "What could I possibly expect you to admit?"
Olivia rolled her eyes. "OK. I'm sorry." She began to fan herself with her hands. "It is really hot in here." Alex remained silent, but her look had turned to one of amusement as Olivia continued. "I couldn't help but stare a minute ago. I mean, if you're gonna just put 'em on display like that, you can't expect someone not to look."
Gotcha. Alex smiled. "So you think anyone in your situation would have looked?"
"Well… yeah." Olivia chuckled. "It's a good thing Elliot didn't come over here today, he probably woulda had a heart attack."
Alex smirked. "Well then, I guess it's a good thing I got you instead." Then she picked up the folder, opened it, and laid it on the desk in front of her. As she started to read the contents, she once again began tugging on the front of her blouse to circulate the air.
As hard as Olivia tried, she just couldn't keep her eyes from drifting back down to Alex's chest and the hint of lace that was exposed with each tug of her hand.
A legal assistant walked in, placed a file folder in the in-box tray on the corner of Alex's desk, and gave the ADA a brief explanation of the contents. She then turned, nodded a greeting to Olivia, and exited the room again. Alex never changed her position or discontinued the motion with her hand and Olivia just couldn't keep from looking.
After a few moments, the hand stilled again, and Olivia quickly snapped her gaze back to Alex's face. The ADA's head had not moved, but she had raised her eyes to watch Olivia. The smirk was firmly in place as she caught the detective looking – again.
"You're doing that on purpose," Olivia said defensively.
Alex smiled mischievously. "I was just conducting a little experiment."
Olivia arched an eyebrow. "Experiment?"
Alex nodded smugly. "My assistant seems to have refuted your theory that anyone would look when presented with…" Alex looked down at her own chest and then back at Olivia. "The opportunity." Olivia rolled her eyes, but remained silent, so Alex continued. "You, on the other hand, seem to have cemented another theory."
"I'm almost afraid to ask, but what theory would that be?"
"That in order for the findings of an experiment to be valid, the results must be reproducible." She smiled. "You're two for two so far. Three for three if you count watching me from the doorway."
Olivia felt the heat rise in her cheeks yet again. "So what now, three strikes and I'm out?"
Alex grinned. "That depends on your definition of 'out'."
Olivia shook her head and chuckled. "Let's go with the traditional one. Am I about to get kicked out of your office?"
"No. And to continue the metaphor, you're nowhere near striking out either," Alex replied with a wry smile. "But I do find it hard to believe that you would want to stay here when it's this hot."
Now it was Olivia's turn to grin. "Well, I guess that would depend on your definition of 'hot'."
The End