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She let out a small giggle at Teddy's refusal to agree to her word choice. She was too proper anyway.
Glad that Teddy said yes to the picture, Olivia worked her phone so the camera was facing them. The screen showed their position and for a moment, Olivia froze at how close they were. Good Lord, she thought to herself, not again. Pull your self together, Dawson. She turned back to the camera and smiled before pressing the circle at the bottom of the screen. She looked at the captured picture and found herself staring at it a bit longer than she should have before turning to Teddy. "Thanks."
The rest of the tour had them visiting eateries made famous by the chef and also by the people that have eaten there and soon enough they were back to the hotel. As far as tour guides went, it was subpar but Olivia enjoyed herself thoroughly. She was glad they were back at the hotel though and after making dinner plans with Teddy, not forgetting to set an alarm, she threw herself on to her bed and was out like a light.
She didn't sleep long but when she woke up, she was oddly refreshed. The quick shower she had also helped before she stepped into warm clothes for the night. She didn't know how fancy or how casual the food truck would be so she dressed in jeans and a dark knit sweater over a tank top and the coat she used from before. She did braid up her hair to the side so that was something.
Knocking on Teddy's door, she called out to her boss, asking if she was ready.
Olivia laughed and nodded. "I'm afraid I have shown too many of my cards much too early in this friendship." She joked as they followed the group.
They ascended in a cacophony of oohs and aahs and clicks of their cameras and Olivia couldn't help the wide smile that appeared on her face. She leaned against the window to the lift and enjoyed the view first. Picture taking can wait.
She turned to her traveling companion and grinned. "How cool is this, though?" She jerked her thumb as the buildings started becoming smaller. Once they reached the top, Olivia finally took pictures before tapping Teddy on her shoulder. "Hey...take a picture with me?"
She took her phone from Teddy and pocketed it without looking at the results. She can look at it later. Right then, she was just awestruck by the statue they were approaching.
"I read somewhere that she's struck by lightning about 600 times a year." Olivia responded. "Her resilience speaks more to me than anything else." She turned to Teddy with a smile. "She stands for a lot of things for different people. But yeah, it makes sense that you see that."
As they inched closer to the statue, Olivia went silent, just enjoying the view. And when they finally stepped off the boat, the tour guide offered them to go up. She looked at Teddy with raised eyebrows. "Are you game? I'd probably die taking the stairs but there's a viewing point on a lower deck that's accessible by a lift."
When Teddy offered to take the picture for her, Olivia laughed and handed her the phone. "Maybe you'd have better luck getting a good one." She leaned against the railing and smiled widely. It was probably the best pose she could do.
She got distracted by a pelican flying close to the water and momentarily forgot her phone was in someone else's hands as her eyes were drawn to the looming iconic statue. "Oh wow." She breathed. She hadn't really ever seen anything like it up close.
Pulling her beanie down over her ears, she turned back to Teddy, her cheeks pink from the cold. She smiled excitedly at her companion. "Picture! Take a picture of me and the Lady."
She gave Teddy a grateful smile when the other woman tried to deny the claim Olivia so readily offered. The other woman then had a pensive look on her face before responding to Olivia's question.
Her answer didn't quite surprise Olivia but she thought the lawyer would have at least traveled for work. When Teddy offered a small insight to her family, Olivia somehow understood her a little more. Apples don't fall far from the tree after all.
"Well, I'm glad we're doing this together then." She smiled and turned back to her guide book. The bus moved through the city while the tour guide pointed out many significant spots and Olivia drank it all up.
They finally arrived at the ferry that would take them to the Statue and as they exited the bus, Olivia was hit by the sudden cold. "Jesus Christ it's cold." She exclaimed, taking out the gloves she brought and jamming it over her hands, grateful for the brief reprieve. She pulled the coat tighter around her and followed the tour guide as the group walked up to the ferry.
"I'm going to go to the front." Olivia told Teddy when the tour guide allowed them to break away. "Kenny's going to want pictures." She remarked with a grin as she walked up to the bow of the ferry and leaned against the railing, taking out her phone and taking pictures of the scenery and herself. She still hadn't mastered selfies despite the many lessons Kenny forced on her.
When Teddy spoke, Olivia looked to her companion and laughed lightly. "I'm being a dork, aren't I?" She said with ease. She'd long since accepted her lot in life when it came to knowledge. She was pretty sure if she were to find something new when she turns sixty, this would be exactly the reaction she would have.
Add to the fact that she was with someone she was surprisingly comfortable with, it was honestly a deadly combo.
For the people surrounding her, anyway.
"I haven't really done much traveling. Most of the firms I worked for were local and small, family-owned businesses." She smiled, reminiscing affectionately of her previous workplaces. "I'm grateful, don't get me wrong. I'm just excited to be living what I thought was a pipe dream." She chuckled, realising that she really was just a big dork.
She checked her watch and frowned lightly. It wasn't like Teddy to be late. Olivia gave the other woman a few more minutes before taking her phone out. No sooner had she switched her phone on, she felt the hand on her back and she turned.
A beam carved its way on to her face and she nodded. "Didn't doubt you for a second." She said with a chuckle before pocketing her phone.
When the tour guide called out to the few people gathered, Olivia carelessly took Teddy's hand and tugged her forward so they could hear what the guide was saying. She handed out guide books and Olivia took hers and pored through it hungrily as they walked towards the bus. It was only when she was boarding the bus that she realised she was still holding on to Teddy's hand and she dropped it. "Sorry!" She apologised sheepishly before climbing on to the bus and taking her seat.
In her excitement to peruse through the guide book, she didn't even get the nervous tic she usually had with Teddy being so close to her. She kept pointing out fun facts in the book like Teddy didn't have her own.
Olivia gave Teddy two thumbs up and went to the bathroom to grab a fresh towel before heading out to the indoor pool a few levels down. She took her time with her laps around the pool, thankful that the hotel had the decency to heat up the place.
The walk back, however, proved to be a bad idea as she shivered all the way up to the suite. She washed herself down and then used the hair dryer a lot longer than was necessary before bundling up in a grey long-sleeved t-shirt, jeans, a cardigan and a knee-length dark blue peacoat.
She drove a comb through her messy curls but ultimately let a beanie cover most of the mess. She looked at the gloves in the drawer that she had placed them in, wondering if it would be overkill and in the end, she snatched it and slipped it into her coat pockets.
Double checking that she had everything on her, she grabbed the keycard to the suite and went downstairs to meet up with Teddy.
Checking at the front desk for their tour guide, she was pointed to a small group of people already by the door. After thanking the front desk, she looked around for her boss.
When the question was turned back to her, Olivia smiled and shrugged. "Wouldn't hurt. The last time I was on an airplane was to go to Oregon." She chuckled. She stood up and went over to the landline to call the front desk.
As she made arrangements, she tried not to look at Teddy, even though she wanted to know how she was feeling about all this. But there was no use, Teddy was her boss. She had a girlfriend. This was a work trip. Bla bla bla. Olivia had to remind herself that this all meant nothing personal for Teddy.
But it didn't really deter her from her excitement. She was going to be a tourist the whole day and nobody was going to stop her.
"Okay, so there's a guide to the Statue of Liberty at three which will include a few stops at some of the more famous eateries around here. And the front desk recommended one particular food truck for dinner. She says it's authentically New York so I'm going to go for a swim first and I'll see you at the lobby about five to three?" Olivia asked, not even trying to contain her excitement.
"Ah," Olivia responded and chuckled lightly. The idea of going around New York without a proper guide did seem a little wasted. She had been given the opportunity to call up her client's sister should she want to walk around but she didn't think it was appropriate.
"Yeah, and I honestly didn't think we'd have time to do anything besides work so I didn't pencil in sightseeing." She chuckled. "Maybe the hotel provides a service? Do you...want to?" Olivia asked.
Olivia felt a mix of disappointment and relief when Teddy turned down her offer and hid it behind a smile and a nod. She looked down when Teddy mentioned her clothes and for a brief moment, she frowned and looked down at her choice before it dawned on her that Teddy was making a joke. She snorted and gave her boss a smile.
She hid her glee at the probably wrong notion that Teddy had preferred her in her towel.
The question gave Olivia pause before she responded. "Ah, um...St. Helena? California." She wondered whether she should stay and ask her companion the same question. It seemed like Teddy was vying for a conversation, which Olivia was never one to turn down. She stepped closer and leaned against the arm of one of the chairs. "Why do you ask?"
She could feel her entire body heating up at that remark and she chuckled nervously. She should have changed first before grabbing the water. Why didn't she change first?
"Sorry. I...was thirsty." She opened the fridge and grabbed the bottle of water and shook it in Teddy's direction. She could feel Teddy's eyes on her like fire.
Walking over to her room, she turned to apologise to Teddy and gave her a little grimace. "Sorry, I should have changed first." She didn't know why she was trying to explain herself. It wasn't like Teddy was the one with a crush on her.
Disappearing into her room, she took some time taking deep breaths before changing and actually drinking from her bottle. She didn't realise how parched she was until then.
And then she figured, instead of wallowing in whatever it is she was feeling, she might as well take advantage of the facilities in the hotel. She changed into her one piece swimming suit and threw a t-shirt and jeans over it before coming out to ask whether Teddy would be interested in joining her. She had to make the situation less awkward for both of them.
"Hey, Teddy? D'you wanna go for a swim? I'm getting a little cabin fever, to be quite honest." She chuckled lightly.
It was a day of rest for the lawyers as their clients sat on the offer they had settled with. Well, rest was a relative term. Olivia was on pins and needles the moment she woke up. Granted, she slept like a log through the morning and only woke up at eleven. Everything was quiet in the suite so she figured Teddy was out.
She took a long hot shower and emerged from the shared bathroom with a relaxed smile on her face. She felt a lot better than she did an hour ago.
Crossing the hall to get to a water bottle from the mini fridge, she turned to make sure she hadn't trekked water and found Teddy standing by her door. "Oh jeez." Olivia jumped a little, instinctively wrapping her hand around her towel, pulling it closer to her body as she realised she was half naked in front of her boss.
Safe to say, she had never been in this situation with her previous employers before.
Teddy's question halted Olivia's hasty attempt at an escape. Boy, was she not alright. That question was a loaded gun. How was she supposed to tell her boss that she had feelings for her that went beyond the professional respect she should have? And how was she supposed to explain that she didn't quite understand these feelings and that their proximity is so not helping?
On top of that, Olivia was still struggling with the fact that she had only been chosen to be on this trip and to be Teddy's assistant on an inane technicality.
How was she supposed to answer all that when she couldn't properly escape afterwards? Hiding in her room while the object of her affections was just across the hall from her was stupid.
"Fine." Olivia responded with an all too wide smile before she turned to go back to her room.
It felt like a big accomplishment that Teddy seemed to want to take her advice into consideration. She did feel like they were friends as well as colleagues and just because this was a work trip, didn't mean they couldn't improve on their personal relationship. She certainly had those with her previous employers so she didn't see why she couldn't with Teddy.
Well, she did see why but she was actively ignoring it.
Or trying to; it didn't help that Teddy was touching her right then and saying things that are a little too intimate. Although in her state, Olivia was pretty sure she was looking too much into it.
"It's fine." She answered, her tone betraying the calm she was trying to portray. "I'll have to try to tone down being a mom. With my boss of all people." Olivia laughed, a little too much.
She gently extracted her hand from under Teddy's and began to stand up, thinking the conversation was over.
