Future Daughter-in-Law
An: I do not own Arrow.
Summary: Rebecca Merlyn scanned every event she attended for a nice young girl for her son. At her latest gala she spots a new face, a young blonde with glasses. She introduces herself and subtly tries to determine her suitability for Tommy. Olicity, AU, Fluff!
Rebecca Merlyn was a woman of high standing in society but she liked to think she didn't have the elitist attitude of the other women in her social circle. She was a well known doctor that worked to give free medical services to the underprivileged persons that lived in their city. She encouraged her son never to look down on people who were not as blessed as they were and she was proud of the man he turned out to be except for one thing. He had awful taste in women.
Her son was the apple of her eye but she did not spoil him or at least she didn't spoil him the way the others in high society spoiled their children. When he came home with his first failing grade, she took him to work with her every day over the vacation and assigned him to help the orderlies clean up. He never failed a class again, unlike his best friend Oliver Queen, who she's fairly sure his father paid for his high school degree.
When the boys hit puberty that was when all her stress started. Oliver acted out and Robert and Moira didn't know how to handle it. Unfortunately, Tommy regularly got caught up in Oliver's antics. Despite the trouble that Oliver could get himself into she knew at heart he was a good kid who just didn't know how to cope with the pressure his parents put on him. Oliver's actions were wrong but they never endangered Tommy and that was why she never made any effort to pull them apart. What she didn't approve of, was the way Tommy got caught in a love triangle between him, Oliver and Laurel Lance.
Laurel came into their life in Junior high. She made friends with them and then started dating Oliver first. Moira had disapproved initially. Laurel wasn't from old money but she had ambition and class and eventually swayed the Queen matriarch in her favour. She also had that annoying quality in women that allowed them to overlook a cheating partner. Rebecca hadn't paid much attention to her until she started a relationship with Tommy before going back to Oliver, then Tommy (when Oliver cheated on her again) and then back to Oliver again. She didn't appreciate the way Laurel broke her son's heart or the way she seemed to ping pong between the boys. Rebecca may be biased but she could clearly see that Tommy was in love with Laurel whereas Oliver just loved her as a friend.
Rebecca liked to think she wasn't like other women in her circle that turned a blind eye to their husband's cheating. As far as she knew, Malcolm had never cheated on her. She wasn't being naïve, she had checked. She checked his phone periodically and she double checked he was where he always said he was. When she worked late at the clinic, he was always home taking care of Tommy and putting him to sleep when he was younger or in the office alone doing work once Tommy had moved out. She had dropped by his office a few times at night unannounced to ensure he was in fact alone. In her circle, when a husband was cheating and the wife didn't know, she always got sympathetic looks from the other wives. Rebecca had never been on the receiving end of those looks and she actively looked for any clue. Her only conclusion she could draw was that Malcolm was faithful to her.
The gala she was at tonight was to raise funds for the Starling City General Hospital. It was a good cause and she had written a nice cheque for them. Malcolm hadn't been too pleased but she sent him off to mingle with the other businessmen in the room while she scanned the crowd for a good conversation partner.
Laurel Lance was on the other side of the room sans date. Her latest info suggested she hadn't been with Oliver for about nine months but she had been dating someone that Tommy didn't approve of. Her son had told her that morning that he wasn't bringing a date to the gala which quite frankly was a relief to her. Her son had the habit of showing up with girls, who in her opinion, were all gold diggers. It was those girls that sparked Rebecca's search for a suitable girlfriend, possibly wife, for her son. She scanned all the events she attended for women that stood out, not just physically but intellectually as well. She wasn't restricting herself to only the daughters of women in her circle.
Across the room she spotted a woman she had never seen before. She was blonde with square rim glasses. Her hair was straightened and sleek. She wore a beautiful red gown that while it accentuated her assets it didn't reveal too much. It was quite tasteful. Rebecca's favorite part was the black strappy heels she had paired with the dress. They were glorious. Rebecca Merlyn liked her shoes. Robert Queen had wine in his cellar, she had shelves filled with shoes. Malcolm allowed her to indulge in that habit.
Before she crossed the room to talk to the blonde, she discreetly searched for her husband. He thought she needed to stay out of her son's love life but Rebecca was positive if she did that she would never get any grandchildren. When she found him busy talking with the mayor, she ducked behind a waiter and followed him to the other side of the room where the blonde was standing alone staring at a painting on the wall.
"Hello," Rebecca greeted her.
The blonde spun around to face her. The surprise was clear on her face. Rebecca realised that the young woman hadn't expected anyone to actually talk to her. Her eyes widened further when she recognized her. "Mrs. Merlyn!"
"You're new here," Rebecca commented her eyes taking in every minute detail about the woman in front of her.
The blonde's face literally sank, "Do I stick out that badly?" she asked.
"Oh not at all," Rebecca replied feeling slightly bad for having come across as mean, "It's just when you're forced to frequent these things, you know the regulars."
"That's good to know. I wasn't sure if the dress was appropriate or if the heels were too slutty," the blonde admitted.
"The dress is fine," Rebecca said leaning forward and dropping her voice, "And I like those shoes so much I want them. Where did you buy them?"
"Oh just a store in the mall," she said picking at her nails which Rebecca noted were short but neatly painted red.
"Which store? It's not beneath me to visit a store in the mall," Rebecca told her.
"I didn't mean to imply that!" the blonde said in a panic. "You can shop wherever you want Mrs. Merlyn. I would never dream of telling you where to shop and where not to shop. It's your right to shop where you want to shop."
"Relax, you didn't offend me. What is your name?" Rebecca asked smiling. The blonde was actually quite refreshing.
"Felicity, Felicity Smoak," she said holding out her hand for Rebecca to shake.
Rebecca shook her hand, "This is your first gala."
"Yes. Ray's on his honeymoon so I was forced to come on behalf of Palmer Tech," the blonde explained quickly.
Rebecca nodded. The Ray Felicity spoke of was Ray Palmer, CEO of Palmer Technologies and that man grated on her nerves. He was just too upbeat all the time. "You have the pleasure of working with him," Rebecca pried. She hoped she managed to keep the sarcasm at bay.
"Yes I'm the Vice-President at the company," Felicity said proudly.
"Really," Rebecca said liking the blonde more and more, beauty and brains. She would be very good for Tommy.
Before she could gather more information from Felicity, mainly if she was single, her son came up to her, "Mom, have you seen Oliver?" he asked completely ignoring Felicity.
Rebecca frowned. She thought she had raised her son with more manners than that. When he made no effort to correct his faux paux Rebecca turned to Felicity, "Forgive me for this rude act," she said. The blonde's eyebrows drew together as she was trying to figure out what she had to forgive Rebecca for. Rebecca switched the champagne flute she was holding to her left hand and used her right hand to reach up and smack her son very hard behind his head, "I'm in the middle of a conversation," she hissed.
"Ow," Tommy said before turning to face Felicity. He looked completely confused as to where she came from.
"Felicity Smoak," she said taking pity on him and introducing herself.
"Tommy Merlyn," He said with that large playboy smile.
Rebecca rolled her eyes. This was why her son couldn't get a woman of substance. The minute he put on the playboy charm, Felicity had retreated slightly away from him. It was clear the blonde didn't appreciate that type of advance.
Out of the corner of her eye she spotted the grand arrival of the Queens, "Oliver just arrived," she said to her son.
Tommy turned eagerly to the doorway before he frowned, "He said he was bringing her tonight," he complained.
"Brining who?" Rebecca asked confused.
"The new mystery girlfriend," Tommy told her.
"What mystery girlfriend?" Rebecca asked. Tommy never mentioned anything about Oliver dating a mystery girl before. "You sure it isn't Laurel?"
"No he's done with Laurel. It's definitely permanent this time. He's been dating this chick for the last six months. He's totally head of heels for her. I mean he's supposed to be my wingman but instead of going out Friday night he decides to cancel and go over to her apartment to look at Dr. Who. What kind of TV show is called Dr. Who!" Tommy complained.
"A very good TV show!" Felicity replied clearly offended. Rebecca noticed that there was a slight blush on her cheeks that hadn't been there before.
"How does Moira feel about this?" Rebecca asked curiously. She knew the Queen matriarch did not appreciate surprises.
"She's pleased that Ollie found someone but she's reserving comment until she meets her," Tommy explained to his mother.
"Ah so tonight is the big night," Rebecca said. The gala just got a bit more interesting.
"Yeap but it looks like he chickened out," Tommy said when he saw no date with Oliver, just his parents.
"Don't fret about it Tommy. He's coming over here. You can get your explanation," Rebecca told her son.
"Tommy," Oliver greeted with a handshake before hugging Rebecca and giving her a kiss on her cheek.
"So where's the girl Ollie," Tommy asked. "You said you were bringing her here."
"Actually Tommy, I said I was meeting her here and she not some girl, she's my girlfriend," Oliver corrected his best friend. He smiled and moved over to Felicity and kissed her quickly on the lips before sliding his hand around her waist, "Everyone this is my girlfriend, Felicity," he said proudly.
Rebecca couldn't believe her luck. She found a nice girl that could have been good for her son and Oliver had gotten to her first! Maybe Moira might be stupid enough to scare her away and then Rebecca could swoop in and claim her for Tommy. Sensing that Moira would want to interrogate the blond, Rebecca guided Tommy away to give them some privacy.
The Merlyn Matriarch did the required mingling for the rest of the night but she kept a close eye on Felicity. The young blonde clearly had Oliver wrapped around her finger and she didn't even know it. Rebecca had never seen Oliver in love until tonight. She had a sneaking suspicion she wouldn't be able to poach Felicity. She did notice that her son gravitated back to Laurel and that the both of them snuck out half an hour ago. Perhaps now that Oliver seemed to be settling down, Tommy had a chance with Laurel but Rebecca was still going to keep her eye open for future daughter-in-law candidates.