All eyes were on Star City's new power couple. The flashes nearly blind the two when getting out of their limo. Knowing their history with limos, they had installed bulletproof windows for each of their vehicles. It had been the first time since the accident, they had stepped into a limo. Felicity held up a strong face but Oliver knew it was the last place she wanted to be in. But like it was stated before, they were the city's IT couple, they had to keep the appearance.
The limo made a stop right in front of Palmer Tech. Felicity looked out the window, slightly anxious to face the public. It was their first official outing since the accident and her first time back as CEO. Of course she was anxious! Her breathing slightly faltered until Oliver got a hold of her hand. She turned to face him, his grip tightened reassuringly.
"Its going to be okay. Just breathe. I will be there the whole way through.", he said in a soft tone. Her breathing returned back to normal. He's right. There is nothing to worry about. We're okay,she thought to herself.
"I know I'm right"
"What-did I say that out loud?", she most certainly thought she got better with her brain to mouth filter.
"No. I just know you too well, Felicity Smoak", he smiled before kissing her on the cheek. She chuckled,
"Not for much longer. That's the whole point of this meeting, remember? My company will no longer be called Palmer Tech. It will now and forever be, Queen Incorporated"
"Are you ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be"
And at the response, Oliver was out the door, opening the trunk of the limo. The paparazzi was immediately at their feet. He bought put her wheelchair to Felicity's door before taking her out. He opened the car door and the flashes were set off. Slightly taken back by all the people, Oliver leaned in to reassure her.
"I got you. Its okay", he whispered for only her to hear. He picked her up and set her in her chair, momentarily facing the crowd. They were relentless. Questions were quickly being thrown at them in all directions.
"Miss Smoak, what is the reason for this conference?"
"Miss Smoak, will this injury affect your job as CEO?"
"Is this meeting your official resignation statement?"
"Are you going to sell your company, Miss Smoak?"
After years of experiencing how Oliver dealt with paparazzi, she felt like it was right to ignore it all. And damn it's harder than it looks.
"Make room guys! Make room!", John said, raising his voice to get them through the crowd.
Felicity didn't let Oliver push her around. She wanted to show them that what happened her, even though changing everything, changes nothing. Oliver walked beside her as she rolled through, helping John shove a few persistent cameramen.
They finally made it inside the lobby and went straight to the elevator. As they waited, the anticipation was at an all time high. Did people really think this would make her quit the company? Did they really have very little to no faith in her?
The ring of the elevator opening took her out of her thoughts. It's now or never. The people need to know, Darhk needs to know that she isn't going anywhere, that no one can break her.
They made it to their floor with the conference room already packed. The room was filled with business men and women and reporters across the city. She was shocked that this many people came without even knowing what the meeting was about anyways.
"Holy frack that's a lot of people in there! Okay I may or may not want to throw up right now?", Felicity said with her head peaking through the glass walls.
"Hey", Oliver said softly the way he normally does to calm her down. "You are the best CEO this company ever had and you're the best there will ever be. Don't doubt it for second. You got this so now go wow the crowd with your ceaseless strength and bravery like how you do to me everyday"
She smiled warmly, sighing at how lucky she got with him. "I love you, you know that?"
"Of course...because I do too. I'll meet you inside" Oliver walked in proudly, shaking hands with investors and other CEOs. He was proud of his fiancee and he was definitely not afraid to show it.
Shortly after, the conference had begun and everybody took their seats and waited for the
guest of honor. Felicity rolled down the aisle, happily greeting people on the way. The flashes of the cameras made her sight nearly white. She couldn't see a real single face. She made it up to the stand and patiently waited for the applause to die down, grateful at the fact that these strangers cared. The audience finally died down and she began to speak.
"So that's the infamous Felicity Smoak that everyone seems to talk about, huh?", said the unknown voice. Oliver turned to his side to get a look at the source of the foreign voice, which matched an unfamiliar man. He was suspicious but smiled anyway.
"Yeah, she's amazing. I'm sorry I have never seen you around. How do you know about Felicity Smoak?, Oliver said with genuine curiosity.
"Oh I've always seen the numerous praises she receives on the news but after the unfortunate accident, her feature on the news nearly tripled. The case sparked my interest so I came here to see what the deal was". The man smiled gently with a familiar glint that Oliver couldn't put his finger on. But he let the thought slide, going back to listening to the speech.
"And that is why I have decided that Palmer Tech will have a new look, new name- well not new new. Its kind of familiar but with the case being-", she rambled, causing the audience to roar in laughter. She laughed embarrassingly but quickly recovered.
"Okay, let me start that sentence again. What I meant to say is that Palmer Tech's new name will go back to the Queen name, Queen Incorporated"
And at that, the audience clapped in approval with the cameras snapping to get the last shot of the CEO at the stand. She finally smiled proudly into the cameras, looking joyfully into the crowd. Until her eyes caught his. And at the moment, her whole world froze. She couldn't see anything but him and that made a cold chill go down her spine. Her smile was long gone and her sight was beginning to blur. She quickly put on a fake smile, ultimately forgetting where she was at the moment. She calmly but swiftly left the room with Oliver speeding behind her. Oliver wasn't blind. He clearly saw something or someone bothering her the moment she froze.
"Hey hey, Felicity woah, what just happened?", he asked, trying to cut Felicity out her quiet self rambling.
"Why is that bastard here? He shouldn't be here. No that wasn't him, I'm just going insane. Why is he-"
"Felicity!", Oliver cut her off again.
"Why is he here?!", Felicity abrupted.
"Who is he?"
"My father!"
