Despite the near empty office, life at Stabler Enterprises was in an absolute state of chaos. Though, it could only be defined as the best kind of chaos. Just about everyone had spent the entire week preparing for the launch of Red Light - which entailed a massive gala to raise funding for further developments into the app. Although any job at SE would be considered stressful, the parties made it worth it. The best booze, the best guests, upscale themes. It was any New Yorker's dream to attend.

In fact, SE had become so well known for the charity balls and gala events that an entire ballroom had been built into the first floor of their humble skyscraper.

It was taking every ounce of strength from Olivia not to micromanage the entire thing down to the champagne delivery. However, Elliot had people on staff just for event setups. If anything, he wanted her to take the time to sit back and watch the fruit of her labors come to life.

Only immediately required staff were in office today, the rest either helping to manage the setup or taking the day off to ready themselves for a memorable event. Even though the event wasn't until tomorrow night, half days of work the day before a Stabler gala were a rite of passage.

Given that she was the head of the project itself, Olivia had much more to worry about than what dress to wear or what shade of lipstick to show off at the party. For the past few weeks, she had sat in on every board meeting involving Red Light - much to the chagrin of a certain pissy CFO who thought she belonged behind her desk as an assistant. The rest of the board was beginning to warm up to her presence, finding her a valuable asset to the company. Or, maybe it was because they were all about to get a fat paycheck from her idea. It didn't matter to her, she was just happy to be doing the work she was doing.

However, with her newfound role at the table, it also meant that she was exhausted. Stressed didn't even begin to cover it. Red Light was her brain child, it all had to be right or else the entire world would end on her watch. Balancing both the job as the head coordinator and personal assistant as the launch neared, she was as wound up as ever. Running on pure caffeine, nerves, and filthy sex with her boss was her new normal.

In Elliot's eyes, she handled it rather gracefully. At least for someone who was as new at this as she was. Sure, she was a bit more neurotic than normal, but the work was getting done and it was getting done correctly. He was doing all he could do to help her keep her feet on the ground, but part of him thought she actually might be enjoying the chaos.

Olivia waved Casey off for her early departure before gathering her own belongings. She swiped the hair out of her eyes as she leaned over her desk, packing her stuff away before clocking out early. She spotted the off-white postcard tucked beneath her phone. Her freshly manicured fingertips grazed over the scrawled cursive font and the bright red embellishments.

'You have been cordially invited to attend this year's Red Light Gala, hosted by Stabler Enterprises and Porter Entertainment.'

Her eyes rolled as she laughed to herself, having already received an invite. She practically licked the envelopes for all of the invites. This one was a calling card.

Sauntering over to his office door, she leaned against the glass frame. "I wonder who left this on my desk?" she smirked, holding up the invite between her fingers. "So, am I invited as the assistant to the CEO who is obligated to go? Or am I invited as the sexy arm candy for the cameras?"

He chuckled as he folded his hands on the desk. "Why not both?"

She rolled her eyes with a smile, entering the office and shutting the large glass door behind her. She leaned into one of the chairs across from him, folding one leg over the other as she played with the invitation between her fingers. "Well, two reasons. One, I need to know if I'm clocking in for this event. Two, I need to know which one to RSVP as."

Inside, she knew why he had given her the extra invite, but she liked watching him squirm as he fought to get the words out. He blew a breath of stress from his lips when he realized that she wasn't letting him off the hook. "Well, as the head of the project, you're already invited. However, I'm asking you... to be my plus one."

Her smirk grew bigger as she leaned further back in the chair. "Well, I'm honored. There's only one problem."

"What might that be?"

"I don't have a dress." she bit her lip, cocking her head to the side.

"I've already arranged for that."

She rose from the chair, checking to see the capacity of the exterior office. When she saw that only a few people were walking about, she walked over and closed the blinds to cover the door and the adjoined windows. "Did you now?"

"I might have," he laughed, his smile growing to fill his face. His eyes followed as she slowly stepped around the desk and climbed into his lap. Her arms wrapped around his neck, her teeth assaulting her bottom lip.

"You made arrangements and you didn't know if I was going to accept that offer." she giggled, nuzzling her nose against his as she stared into his eyes.

"Well, if you hadn't accepted the invite as my plus one, then you would've had to go as my, what did you call it? Obligated assistant? Head of the project? Either way, I knew you'd need a dress." his hands gripped firmly down on her ass, forcing her downward in a grind against him.

"You're an ass," she grumbled.

"And you're going on a shopping trip with Skylar tonight. Consider it a bonus." his grip became harder with his fingers digging into her cheeks, her head lolling against her shoulders as he did so.

"I could've bought my own dress, you know." she tried to retort but she wasn't sure the words came out in the right order. She ground down against him further, feeling the beginning of him stiffening under her.

"Yes, you could've." he leans forward, nipping at her neck as the hot breath of his words made her skin erupt in shivers. "But, you're also going to be buying some very nice lingerie to wear under that dress and I'd very much like to see that charge on my credit card bill. So, I believe we've reached an accord?" he squeezed tighter, his grip moving towards her thighs.

"Call it whatever the fuck you want as long as you keep doing that." she was melting under his touch, heavy breaths and soft mewls coming from her chest as his hand on her ass reached further down and under, palming against her throbbing core.

Her head fell forward, her cheek swiping against his as she worked herself further down against his touch. She whimpered under his touch. A layer of her skirt and panties both and he could still make her feel as if her entire body was set ablaze.

"I do have to admit, the idea of seeing you in a ball gown is quite enticing." he mumbled against her mouth before biting her lower lip. The one hand that hadn't been teasing her through the layers of clothing snuck between them, massaging her breast through the silky blouse that covered her chest. "Seeing you in nothing at all... even better."

His voice felt like velvet on her skin, a warmth she had been searching for since long before she could remember.

"Please," she whimpered into his mouth before deepening the kiss. She tried to hook her foot under the chair in an attempt to gain some traction to grind harder down against him.

Just before he was about to dip his hand into her bra, the phone rang. "Be good, don't say a word." he ordered, his glare proving his point to be serious. The hand from her breast lifted the phone from the receiver while his other hand finally slipped under her skirt and made direct contact with the lace panties she was wearing.

"Stabler." he answered, never breaking eye-contact with her. She was biting her lip with incredible strength, forcing herself not to cry from the torture that came with his touch. She bit down into his shoulder when one finger slipped between the barrier and into her dripping folds.

"What?" he barked into the phone. "No, tell him I'm busy."

"I'm sorry, sir. I tried to tell him, but he wouldn't listen to me. He's getting off of the elevator right now."

Olivia recognized the sound of Casey's voice on the phone and panicked. "Fine, send him in." he said before slamming the phone back down on the hook. He looked around frantically before his eyes fell onto her. "Get under the desk."

"What?" Olivia managed to ask through a moan.

"Under the desk, now. Casey ran into Dean Porter in the lobby and he's on his way here. Be a good girl and do not make a single sound." his hands released from their designated places and helped lift her quivering knees from his lap.

She didn't have time to protest as she ducked down by his feet, kneeling beneath the desktop. Just as she made it under, his door swung open. "Stabler, good to see you! Sorry for dropping by on short notice." Dean Porter boomed as he welcomed himself into the office.

Elliot ground down his jaw as he folded his hands on his desk. "Dean, always a pleasure." he greeted him, faking a grin as the man reached over to shake his hand. He made sure not to return the offer with the fingers that were still wet with her arousal. "What can I help you with?"

"I was in your neck of the woods and I wanted to talk to you about the gala. I would've had my assistant call but I figured I was around, I overwork the poor kid anyway." Dean laughed, earning a faux chuckle from Elliot in return.

Olivia was suddenly struck with an idea that she didn't have the willpower to resist. Carefully, she reached up into his lap, unlatching his belt and sliding down his zipper at an incredibly slow pace, fearing that it would alert their intruder.

She felt Elliot jump in his seat from her touch and she would've sold her soul to see his expression. "I hate to be a bad host, but I don't have long before I go off to a meeting."

"I just wanted to bend your ear for a minute. As you know, my team put together a list of big dollar donors to invite—"

Olivia stopped listening to Porter speaking and instead turned her attention to listening to his body. She knew he would be furious but even so, she could feel him hardening at an incredible pace. She hooked her fingers around the waist of his pants and saw as he lifted himself barely an inch above the seat, just enough for her to pull his pants and briefs down lower. His cock sprung from its confines, barely centimeters away from her mouth.

She gripped around his length, feeling him nearly jump again. She forced herself not to giggle as he squirmed. Her hand stroked sadistically slow over his burning hot skin, her thumb grazing a circle over the tip.

"I get that Jerry is a big spender but c'mon, the guy starts shit with every other investor there when he shows up, it just drives donors away. We'd be losing money if we invited him" Dean's voice drifted in her ears and she forced herself to go back to hearing Elliot's breathing.

"I—I understand, Dean. I uh, I already told you that it was alright to leave him off the list. But I'm gonna send him your way when he catches wind that he missed out on the event." Elliot forced the words out, desperate to regain his composure.

Olivia's mouth hovered over the tip of his cock before delicately swiping his precum away with her tongue. Her head rose and fell, taking in more of him with each bob. As she rose back up, her tongue dragged along the underside of him.

"Fu-" Elliot muttered under his breath, biting into his fist.

"You okay, buddy? You aren't looking too well." Dean said, furrowing his brows as he paused his paces around Elliot's office.

"'M fine. Just uh... I think I'm getting a mi-igraine." he sputtered as soon as she felt her hand sweep under and cradle his balls in the palm of her hand. She pressed a kiss to his tip before taking all of him into her mouth. Her nose buried against the firm skin of his abs as she blinked back the tears.

"You need anything? A drink or somethin'? I make a pretty mean G&T."

"I'll be fine, Dean, thanks." he forced out, his hand reaching under the desk and haphazardly gathering her hair into his grip. His hips rolled as she sucked back up his cock, her hand stroking the inches that no longer occupied her mouth. As she increased her force, she could taste his salty sweet precum building again.

"Alright, well your people got my people on standby so if you can think of anyone else to make up what we're missing with Jerry, give em' a call. Oh –" Dean snapped his fingers a few times while Elliot was ready to reach over the desk and strangle him to death. "What about Lenny? Huh? You got him down? Alright, good. I'll leave you for your meeting. Good seeing you, man."

"You too, see you soon." he squinted as he forced himself to smile.

Olivia brought her tongue down to the base of him, pressing kisses and swiping her tongue at the skin. Her hands continued to work his balls, rolling them in her palm and ghosting her fingertips on the underside. She could feel his legs trembling and she could only imagine the red hot skin on his cheeks as he grew flush.

As soon as the office door shut, he tightened his grip on her hair and pulled back. He peered under the desk, his cock bobbing at her cherry red lips. "Oh, you naughty girl." he growled, giving her a mirthless smile as the adrenaline rushed through the both of them. In an instant, he fucked deeper into her mouth, giving her no time to adjust as he forced in and out against her tongue.

Letting go of her hair, he stood to his feet and held her face in his palms. "If you didn't look fucking angelic on your knees, I'd be so much angrier." he groaned, thrusting himself in and out of her mouth. He could see the blooming of a smile on her lips as she sucked along with his force.

His movements came with reckless abandon as he watched himself disappearing between her lips. It wasn't long until he was holding her head against him, squeezing his eyes shut while his breath came in shakes. One last thrust deep into her, as deep as he could go before he bit back a cry, his orgasm rolling over him in waves. She sucked every last drop he had to give before releasing him with a pop.

Out of breath, he stared down at her. "The fuck was that?" he asked, struggling for air.

She raised her brows, batting her lashes as she smiled. "Sorry, Daddy." she giggled, wiping her mouth with her arm. "Saw the opportunity and took it."

"Oh, what am I gonna do with you?"

She rose to her feet, carefully tucking him back into his pants and doing up the zipper. "You're gonna fuck me sensless later, that's what." she chuckled, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips.

"You're not gonna let me finish you off?" he asked, growing confused as she started to walk away.

She spun on her heel, wearing a devilish smile as she licked her fingers. "Don't worry. I had a free hand while I was down there." she winked, shutting the door behind her and leaving him in shock.

When he sat back down, he looked under his desk and saw the pair of red lace panties lying on the floor. "Son of a bitch." he whispered.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Benson." Skylar greeted her, his gloved hand opening the door of the Mercedes for her.

"Evening, Skylar. Good to see you." she smiled, stepping into the back of the vehicle. As she buckled herself in, she couldn't help but smile. She tucked Elliot's Amex Black Card into her wallet, rolling her eyes at the thought. It was unnecessary. He was acting unnecessary. Though, the pampering felt nice.

"Where to, Ms. Benson?" he asked, peering towards her through the rearview mirror.

She smiled again, nibbling at her lower lip. "Mr. Stabler said they were expecting me at the Valentino showroom. On 5th, I believe." she couldn't believe the words coming from her lips, and she hoped they never felt normal. It was the thrill, the unexpected, she couldn't get enough. Not the material items, not at all. The adrenaline was enough for her.

"Very well." Skylar said, veering into the busy streets. The lights of the city were beginning to shine as the hours of the night grew closer. Each glow caught in the reflection of the windows. She pulled her phone out of her purse, scrolling through her contacts to find one name in particular.

"Stabler,"

"Dinner's on you tonight. I'll bring back leftovers." she giggled, smirking as she listened to him chuckle on the other end.

"Dinner's on me as long as lingerie is on you. And hey, have a fun time, alright? Don't worry about the money, just enjoy yourself."

She squeezed her eyes shut as she laughed. She could picture him standing in the penthouse, looking out the window as if he could somehow spot her in the rush of the city. "I might take you up on that." she ended the call, trying her best not to squeal in the backseat.

"Hey, Skylar. Would you mind swinging by 91st street first?"

"Not a problem, Ms. Benson." he nodded, flicking on the turn signal.

She pulled up her contacts again, scrolling through carefully before finding her second goal. The line trilled in her ear for a few rings before she was greeted with another familiar voice. "Hey, Mo. Get dressed and be ready in 5. Dinner and shopping, on me." she grinned, soaking up the city of dreams.

"You said it's a black tie event?" Monique asked as she swirled her flute of champagne, her voice just loud enough for Olivia to hear her as she hid behind the doors of the changing room.

"Black tie but the theme is red." Olivia called out, slipping off her work skirt for the fifth time since walking into the showroom. A row of dresses had already been set out for her, a sticky note attached with his handwriting, 'Roses are red, you drip with finesse, I can't wait to fuck you in a fancy red dress.' Which she had hastily tucked into her purse after giggling under her breath.

"Why red?" Monique asked, taking a sip as she looked around at the racks of clothing. "Aren't these things usually masquerade balls? Red is boring, they could've done some gatsby-esque bullshit but they just pick red?"

"You know that project I've been working on?"

"The super secret one you won't tell me anything about?"

"Yes, well, it's called Red Light. Hence the red theme. The gala isn't just a launch party, it's to raise funding for Red Light, a new app we've been designing in Stabler's tech department. It's designed for women in cities like New York so they can feel safer when they're alone. If they feel like someone's following them home or they feel as if they're in danger, they open the app and can send alerts to police as well as on-call female volunteers. If there's a volunteer in the area where they ping the app from, it alerts them of the location so they can come assist with either walking them home or making sure that if something did happen, the proper help can be given."

"Wow," she heard Monique say from the other side of the curtain. "That's actually a good idea, I like it."

Olivia peaked her head out from behind the curtain. "It was my idea." she winked before retreating back behind the curtain.

"No shit! You didn't tell me that part? You just said you were overseeing it!" she gushed as she walked around, running her fingers over the various fabrics. "How the hell did that happen?"

Olivia smirked at the memory. "I was bringing coffee to one of his meetings. All of those millionaire mercenaries sitting there pretending they knew what consumers wanted. I may or may not have laughed at one of their ideas."

Monique snorted from the other side of the dressing room. "Of course you did."

"Well, this absolute asshole, Ed Tucker —"

"The one you're determined to run out of a job, yes, I remember him."

"Yes, well he asked me if I had any better ideas. Apparently I did because as soon as I pitched it, they were thrilled... Well, all except Tucker."

"That's amazing, Liv!" she could hear the smile in Monique's voice. "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

"Signed an NDA. Sadly, there was no 'tell the best friend clause' I could get past.

"I guess I have to forgive you since you're buying dinner."

Working at SE for only a few months, she hadn't exactly experienced the real scene of a Stabler-thrown party. As his assistant, she shouldn't have been phased by the blaring lights of paparazzi or the bright red carpet leading through the front doors towards the ball room. However, the way the air sparkled with flashes of pictures thrilled her to the bone... and scared her senseless.

Limos pulled up in a long line of sleek blackness, chauffeurs stepping out in orderly fashion to open the doors. It was glamorous to say the least. Every suit was black and every dress was either red or black, displaying the true art of fashion in New York. To her greatest relief, she felt comfortable in her dress. The one Elliot had picked was surprisingly a perfect fit for her. A relatively simple off-the-shoulder red gown that reached just above her toes. What surprised her the most was the fact that it wasn't as revealing as she would've expected given it was Elliot who chose it. Its elegance was what made it sexy. Maybe the man was professional after all.

A matching chiffon shawl draped over her forearms, framing her body as she stepped out of the limo. Most people snapping photos wouldn't question who she was - assuming correctly that she was the assistant to the man in charge. However, she knew that the entirety of the event wouldn't be possible without her, and that was enough for her.

Elliot flashed her a quick and sly smile before shaking hands with other guests along the red carpet. As Olivia scanned over the environment, she spotted Casey who was already waiting on the top step near the door. As soon as their eyes met, Casey nearly jumped with excitement for Olivia. Both of their smiles were as bright as the flashing cameras. Casey had seen how much work she had put into Red Light, juggling all of her worlds at once and doing it with grace.

"And this is Olivia Benson, the life force behind the operation." Elliot's voice snapped her back to reality as he placed an open palm on her back. She turned to face the stranger, reaching a hand out and shaking. "Olivia, this is Dean Porter. He's the head of the entertainment company who throws these marvelous events for us."

Dean Porter. Olivia nearly choked when she recognized the name, catching a smirk on Elliot's face. "Nice to finally meet you, I've heard a lot about you."

"All good I hope?" Dean pressed, eyeing her a little too much for Elliot's liking. And her own.

"Certainly. You know how Mr. Stabler just loves to dish out high praises." She eyed Elliot without turning her head too far, watching a blush tint his cheeks.

"Ah, if you'll excuse us, I believe I see a reporter from Forbes that was promised an exclusive. I'll see you inside, Dean." Elliot returned his hand to her back as he gave her his signature leering smile.

As soon as they were out of Porter's earshot, Olivia turned inward to speak to him. "Forbes, huh? If I remember correctly it was two months ago that you were on their cover. Can't get enough of you, can they?"

"Actually," Elliot stopped in his tracks, caressing the sides of Olivia's arms despite the hundreds of watchful eyes. "They're here for you."

She flinched, her expression dropping into something more serious. "Wh-what?"

He smiled softly at her. "I'm not taking credit for any of this. This, all of it, it was all you. From that day in the boardroom to the endless nights in the studio. You deserve the spotlight for this one. And who knows, now that Forbes knows your name, maybe this won't be the last of it."

She stared at him, completely dumbfounded by his words. "I... I don't know what to say." So, it appears that billionaires do have hearts.

"Say that you'll go over there and tell that reporter the exact same thing you told me all those months ago in the boardroom. Tell them how much passion and hard work went into this. Tell them why it meant so much to you to make this happen and that you wanted to help save lives." His hands gripped tighter on her arms, but with nothing but love and pride within the touch. "Just... just be Olivia Benson. The Olivia that marched into that boardroom and decided that 433,648 women were far too many. That even one was far too many. Because that is the Olivia that I—" he stopped, staring into her vulnerable eyes. "That's the Olivia who made this happen. Just be her."

A small chuckle broke through her wall of shock. "Okay," she nodded. "Yeah, I can do that."

Elliot smiled until his cheeks hurt, stuffing his hands into his pocket as he watched her walk off towards the reporter. That's the Olivia that he fell in love with.

The ballroom full of people had gone from socializing to eating and drinking. Olivia couldn't stop staring at the stage where large promotional posters of Red Light were spread out on easels. So far, the night had been a raging success. Donation after donation came flooding in, exceeding their goals beyond what anyone had imagined. It was the first time since the beginning of the project that she had been able to talk openly and passionately about it with surrounding peers. People actually seemed interested, which was the cherry on top. She had expected most of the guests to listen only out of obligation, but plenty of them were intrigued by her creation.

As everyone neared the end of their extravagant meal, Elliot walked onto the stage and tapped the podium mic. Heads turned to face him as he straightened the lapels on his jacket. He had tried to convince her to give the speech, but the interview before the gala was enough for her. This time, she wanted to hear Red Light from his perspective.

"Good evening everyone, thank you so much to all of you who came out tonight to support us."

A large round of applause filled the ballroom. Elliot made a covert glance down at Olivia who was at the head table. She winked at him, giving him a small nod.

"As I'm sure you can imagine, this project has been one that hits home for a lot of us. That is exactly why so much hard work and dedication went into the creation of Red Light." Elliot continued, the room becoming quieter as he spoke. "We sit here tonight and honor our mothers, our grandmothers and aunts, our sisters and nieces, our daughters and granddaughters. We honor them because every day, they march through this world with more bravery than some of us will ever know."

Olivia fought back the tears in her eyes as she listened to his speech.

"While this project came to life, I can truthfully say that a lot of us took time to look inward at our privilege. There was no way to work on this project and not realize that a man is much safer on the streets than a woman. That's what makes this project so special; because it's one and only goal is to change that. To do whatever we can do to lower those statistics."

Olivia looked around the room, watching the faces of people who took in every word he was saying.

"This project was actually a surprise to most of us. While we sat in the boardroom on an average Friday, we were trying to think of a new creation we could launch. That's when my assistant and dear friend, Olivia, pitched the idea for Red Light. I was amazed because in less than two minutes, I had heard the most compelling pitch and statistics of my entire career. 433,648 women are assaulted on average in the United States every year. Olivia had that number ready and waiting. I think almost all of us in that room had a moment where we wondered, 'does every woman know that number?' More importantly, we started to wonder what we could do to lower that statistic."

Part of her wanted to laugh when she thought back on that day, the way she had only spoken up because the alternative was spilling hot coffee in Tucker's lap and quitting. But knowledge became power in mere moments of sharing her thoughts.

"Before we could even ask the question of what we could do, Olivia already had an answer as well. I was blown away. Every question answered, every potential error solved, just like that. She knew exactly what this project needed to be. She had the idea to create a platform to help women stay safer, to allow others to help each other, to help spread resources and information, and to potentially save lives. Which, might I add, was way above her pay grade."

Everyone including Olivia let out a soft laugh at that.

"But all jokes aside, I realized that we were staring an amazing opportunity in the eye. An opportunity to make our community stronger. To empower women and provide them with as much help as possible to remain safe. More importantly, an opportunity to put business matters aside and truly focus on the goal of what Red Light was about; doing better."

"So, before we go further into explaining what Red Light is and how we hope it will benefit our community, I would like to thank Olivia Benson. I mean it when I say she truly brought this project to life. She devoted so much time and energy into this, pouring every ounce of herself into creating this project. Since she was the one with this incredible idea, it was only right that she managed the project. More than managed, actually. In fact, I can honestly say that Red Light would not have reached its full potential without the love and dedication that Olivia put into this. She made absolutely sure that there was no rock left unturned. We at Stabler Enterprises will forever be indebted to her and her commitment. How about a round of applause for Olivia?"

Her cheeks turned fiery red as the entire room erupted into applause for her. Her eyes met Elliot's as he smiled furiously at her, clapping along with everyone else. Her head bowed in appreciation of the support, a shy blush creeping onto her face.

She was certain that blush didn't go away until the entire room went back to socializing. She had been holding a glass of champagne in her hand, talking up some creative director of another company - not really listening to a word that was being said. As thrilled as she was about how the night had gone, her feet ached in the heels and she just wanted to climb into Elliot's bed and sleep the night away.

As if he could sense her want for him, he appeared at her side, moving a sly hand along the small of her back. "Would you excuse me, I need to steal Ms. Benson."

The woman she was speaking to bid her farewell and Elliot was left to lean down in Olivia's ear. "What do you say we cut this party short and start a new one upstairs?"

She couldn't contain the giggle that came from hearing his corny pickup line. "Ready when you are."

He smiled down at her and nodded. "I just have to get a few things out of my office. I'll meet you up there in fifteen?"

"Don't you have to say goodbye to your guests?"

Elliot purses his lips, looking around the room for a second. "You know," his tongue clicked. "I think they know the way out."

She smiled back, rolling her eyes. "Fifteen minutes. Unlike you, I'm polite enough to say goodbye to some people."

"We both know that mouth isn't always so polite." He winked, walking away leaving her jaw nearly on the ground.

In an effort to get up to Elliot's apartment quicker, she decided against her usual route of taking the private elevator. Instead, she had slipped from the party and entered one of the normal office elevators.

The lift rode upward, undisturbed for the first few floors up. A ding sounded, the elevator stopping several floors before her destination. She tried not to think anything of it until the doors opened, revealing a familiar and unwanted face.

"Tucker." she scowled as the man stepped into the elevator.

"Benson." he replied, his face emotionless.

She watched him press the button for a floor a few flights below her destination. Maybe if she just held her tongue, he'd leave her in peace.

"Congratulations. Your big night was a huge success. They all bought the patron saint act that you so delicately put on. Heh, you think you're so wise, Benson." Tucker chuckled from the other side of the elevator. Olivia stiffened, her fingernails digging a half-moon shape into her palm.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't speak to me that way." her voice shook as she carefully forced the words out.

"I bet you would." he laughed again. "You walk around in those heels and those skin-tight skirts as if nobody knows who it really is underneath it all." Tucker paused, staring into Olivia's furious eyes. "Haven't you realized it yet?" he took a predatory step forward.

"Realized what?"

"That you're wrong? That someone does know what's underneath it all? That little lie that you're living? Because I know the truth. Does your boyfriend know?" he stepped closer and her breath caught in her throat. "I'll bet that he doesn't. Stabler hasn't always been the... sharpest knife in the drawer. He probably thinks that the sun shines right out of your ass."

"You know nothing."

"Really? You think I don't know that you're gunning for my job someday? You think I don't know that you're fucking your way up the food chain? Chief finance officer, huh? Stabler has to be either very stupid or very naive to think he should ever put that position into the hands of an attempted murderer."

Her jaw ground down, the pain of her gritting teeth radiating through her skull. He was standing with less than an inch between them, his breath falling against her ear. She remained stiff, every muscle tensed in fear of him. "Excuse me?"

"Oh, so I guess Stabler doesn't know. Olivia Margaret Benson sentenced to a year in the Horizons Juvenile Facility for assault. You know, it's crazy what you can find when you look in the right places. Does he know his piece of ass is a felon?"

"I'm not a felon!" she roared, "They dropped the charges to a misdemeanor — which you shouldn't even know since it's sealed! How did you get my record?"

"'Sealed' is just a fancy way of saying you have to know the right people. Besides, It doesn't matter how I got it. What matters is the fact that you're living a lie while pretending to be something so much different. I'm sure Stabler would love to get his hands on your record and see who he's really in bed with — pun intended." he grinned, his hand running up her bare arm and towards her shoulder.

"I was fifteen. It was twelve years ago. I'd also recommend that you back the hell away from me right now because may I remind you that sexual assault is also a felony, so you might wanna be careful where you touch me."

Just as she raised her hand to bat his away, he swiftly caught her by the wrist and yanked her closer to him. "I don't care what cunning little plan you have up your sleeve. Walking around here like you own the place because Stabler gave you a highchair at the big kid's table. It won't work. Not only will you be as far away from my position here as possible, but I will make sure that every company worth a damn in this city will have your name blacklisted."

Olivia grit down her teeth as she stared into his cold eyes. "Take... your hand... off of me." she growled.

"Watch your back, Olivia." Tucker whispered, toe to toe with her before releasing his hand from her wrist. The elevator sounded once more, stopping at the floor Tucker had requested. He stepped away, putting his hands in his pockets as he watched the elevator close in front of her.

The elevator resumed its ride upward, encased around Olivia as she stood in shock. Her hand cradled her wrists where his fingerprints had burned against her. She stepped backwards, allowing her head to fall against the cold metal as the moment replayed in her mind.

Before she could even feel them fall, tears streamed down her cheeks. Mascara dragged along the wet lines, staining her face. She fought to catch her breath, feeling as if the air had been sucked straight from her lungs.

She had to tell Elliot. She had no choice now. It could come from her, or it could come from... well. She knew that telling him herself would at least lower the odds of him hating her. Her ears rang in the silence, only stopping when she heard the sound of herself gasping faintly.

He always wanted to know what Monique had meant when she said Olivia had saved her life. Now he was going to find out whether he liked it or not.

The idea of telling him felt only describable as the end of an era. She had gone so long, trying so hard to put that time of her life out of her mind. To just simply forget. But secrets don't sleep well in the city, they never have. The illusion she had built herself to be was crumbling, and so was she.

The elevator stopped at the office floor, the doors opening all too slowly. She stared forward, taking in the sight of the office as her mind ran amuck. Across the room, just stepping out of his office was Elliot.

Olivia forced herself to step forward, still cradling her wrist in her other hand. When her eyes laid on Elliot, she broke. Utterly and completely.

"Elliot," she cried in an airy breath. She stared at him with hopeless and terrified eyes.

His head shot up in her direction, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion as soon as he spotted her. Once he recognized the sobbing Olivia, his face fell. He shot towards hers, running down the floor of the office.

"Oh my god, Liv. What happened?"

There was no going back now.