Her office was warmer than the rest of the building because of the ambient heat given off by all the computer servers around her. An ever-present whir of cooling fans enveloped her in a constant cloud of sound, like a hive. She knew just by the constant hum which computer had just crashed. Felicity was the queen bee and she liked it.
Blue lights from several flat screen computer monitors illuminated her face, which only made her blue eyes more stunning behind the rectangular frames. Blonde hair pulled neatly away in a ponytail, she scanned the Queen Industries computer kingdom for any signs of trouble both internal and external.
A dialogue box suddenly appeared on her center screen filling rapidly with DOS commands and code. Felicity casually leaned back in her chair, her feminine floral blouse shining cool colors in the low light, as she scanned the alert. With a merciless smile she applied her fingers like rapid-fire missiles to the keyboard in her lap and watched as the defeated hacker slink away, digital tail between his legs. Take that you network wannabe, she thought impishly. She decided to put an invisible digital tag on him to see where he went after Queen Industries, just for fun.
Still reclining back in her hair, feet slightly off the floor, her cell phone rang, jolting her upright. She was so accustomed to her quiet solitude that even her low volume was a shock. Before glancing at the screen, she knew who it was by the ring tone, " You're So Vain" by Carly Simon. It was Oliver Queen.
Rolling her eyes, she debated letting it go to voicemail but decided it would be better to see what he wanted because he was her boss after all and had shed blood in her car, which was like some sort of weird bond now? " Hello Mr. Queen." she said with a tiny bit of hesitation as she regained her footing.
His warm voice replied, " It's Oliver. Remember?"
" Yes… Yes… how could I forget? Oliver." she quickly recovered pushing her frames up her nose. Why did his voice always unhinge her a little? "What can I do for you today, Mr.- Oliver."
" Well," he began " I need your computer expertise at my club. Meet me here in about thirty minutes?"
Felicity glanced at a clock, it was going to be her lunch hour then, " Sir," she began.
"O-l-i-v-e-r." Oliver replied with humor in his tone. She could imagine his smirking face and had the odd feeling of wanting to slap him for his impertinence.
" Sorry. Well, that is my lunch time.", she replied somewhat indignant. She gave a lot to this company and now that she knew Ollie was the Arrow, even more it seemed.
"Perfect! Then I'll take you to lunch. See you then. Bye.", he concluded quickly and hung up.
Felicity sat stunned for a moment and then looked at her phone. Did Oliver Queen just ask her out to lunch?
Her Cooper Mini was clean, but every time she approached it, she flashed back to the night where Oliver almost died in it. The bloodstain was gone, courtesy of a great detail company he hired to clean it where no questions would be asked. The men had Russian accents and Felicity didn't feel quite so comfortable picking up her car that day.
Regardless, she heard the echoes of his shallow breathing and her own heartbeat from the shock of knowing your boss was the vigilante "terrorizing" Starling City. PTSD, she thought to herself as she closed the door and started the ignition, I need to get used to more sensory stimulation especially if I'm working for him. No, that was temporary she reminded herself. Once Mr. Steele was found and firmly restored to Queen Industries, her days with the Arrow would be over. "I just want to be the IT girl. " she said that night and she meant it.
Oliver stood at the construction entrance of his compound watching for Felicity's car. Large yellow excavators, backhoes and bucket diggers created a horrible racket. Diggle stood not far behind but close enough to make Oliver hear him, " What are you man? A stalker? Back up and let her pull in the driveway. "
Queen didn't even turn his head in acknowledgement of his bodyguard's comment. Felicity doesn't need me, hmm, he pondered narrowing his eyes slightly, well we will test that. Strangely, as the thought passed a flutter in his belly like from a secret crush came and went too. It was a feeling he hadn't had in a long time and it caught him off guard. Shaking his shoulders and arms, as if he was getting ready for training, he pushed the feeling away.
The small red car appeared and pulled over the rough gravel of the construction site, the chassis just barely making it over the crushed rock. Oliver stepped quickly toward the car so she wouldn't get hung up on the gravel. Felicity saw him and pulled to a stop quickly. " Felicity! Great to see you. Hey, there is a nice diner just down the way from here. Is that good enough for lunch?", he said a little too quickly and he turned his head slightly to hide his chagrin. The butterflies fluttered rapidly.
Felicity looked up at him from her driver seat slightly astonished at his rapid barrage of words and replied, " Sure. I'm driving?"
" Yeah, I took my bike here. Not sure you'd want to ride tandem." He said almost regrettably, blue eyes trying to work their magic.
" Uh, no." she stopped herself before rambling on about statistics of mortality from motorbike accidents, even with helmets and John told her how he drives.
" Cool. Dig will follow up later. ", Oliver said giving a quick jaunty wave to a disapproving looking John, who had his arms crossed over his chest. He walked quickly around the front of her car and crammed himself into the front seat.
" The front seat is more comfy than the back." Oliver observed dryly, leaning toward her with a smirk. Felicity could smell his cologne. It was much more refreshing than acrid sweat she typically smelled on him after one of his workouts in the Arrow Cave.
" Well then don't do things that put you in the back seat." Felicity returned tartly locking eyes with him. Oliver opened then shut his mouth, leaned back and turned his gaze out the window. The butterflies froze.
After a few moments of awkward quiet, they made idle chitchat, which were mostly directions from Oliver to get to the diner. Felicity got out the car too fast for Oliver to open it for her so he settled for holding the door to the restaurant. Breezing past him, he noted the bounce of her curls, her faint perfume and recalled how stunning she looked at the party that helped them get the Dodger. The dark thought of how he almost got her killed with a bomb collar around her pretty neck also reared its head in his memory. Closing his eyes for a fraction of a second, he pushed that away and refocused on the present.
Carly Diggle waved a friendly hello to the two of them as Oliver selected a booth and sat on the vinyl seat, neatly folding his hands in his lap, his expression neutral. Felicity put her purse down opposite him and gently settled herself. The sun was outside and for a moment she felt a bubble of happiness to be in natural light for a change as it streamed over them from the large windows. Oliver noticed how the sun played on her hair and illuminated her bright coral lipstick. For a lady who spent all her day in the virtual dark, she definitely dressed brightly. The floral pattern on her blouse was a riot of pinks, orange and reds.
" So what can I get you two?" Carly asked brightly, paper pad and pencil held at the ready.
" I'll have my usual." Oliver replied with a knowing smile.
"Chili cheese fries?" Carly confirmed with a quick scribble on her notepad. Felicity looked slightly disgusted. " And you miss?"
" A cheese burger please. And a glass of water. " Felicity replied politely, wishing she could have a salad.
" Order up!" Carly replied and turned to walk to the kitchen.
" You come here often?" Felicity asked finally after another quiet moment. Oliver was flipping over the desert menu left at the tables, not sure how he should proceed with Felicity. The butterflies were warming back up again.
" John's sister in law is the owner. That was her." Oliver looked in Carly's direction, " And since I've eaten here, I just can get enough. No greasy food on the island, you know." A wide, confident smile spread over his face.
" I didn't know John had a brother.", Felicity responded ignoring the island reference, glancing at her cell phone screen which had lit up in her purse. It was a work voice mail.
Oliver watched her gaze and reached out a hand to touch hers. She jumped at his touch. " Felicity, lets just keep the conversation here. " he said firmly but with a tender edge. His blue eyes were sapphires that mirrored hers.
Felicity withdrew her hand quickly and straightened up, " Well, Oliver if that is the case, why did you want to speak to me? Can't be for decorating ideas or DJ systems. I'm not cool enough for that." Her tone mocked him and she instantly wished she had intoned that differently, not because he was Oliver but because she was better than that.
Oliver felt his jaw tense with this unexpected change in attitude. He was so used to responding with hostility with deadly force he had to pause himself internally and broke eye contact with Felicity to look at his lap. The butterflies surged forward and he felt the sudden urge to kiss her.
Felicity tried to make conciliation as he looked away. Lately, it seemed she was either babbling trivial points or chopping people up with her words. Maybe she needed a vacation. "Oliver, I'm sorry. That wasn't very nice of me. "
It took another second before Queen looked back up at her and Felicity almost saw extra moisture. Tears? She thought in her head, I'm making my boss cry? " Are you ok, Oliver?" she asked tentatively, not sure how to proceed.
Oliver found his voice but kept it low, " Felicity, I'm not used to this."
" Talking to women?" Felicity interjected quickly feeling anxiety rising.
" No. Talking to you. ", Oliver replied looking deeply at her.
Felicity leaned away from him and cocked her eyebrow, " Why?" she said suspiciously.
" Dig was right. Damn him… Felicity, I think- ", his he admitted, his tone was deflated and he looked vulnerable.
Felicity cut him short, " Do you sit and talk about your female employees often with your bodyguard?"
Just then Carla brought tall glasses of water and straws to the table. She sensed the tension and made a quick comment about their food being ready soon before withdrawing.
" Felicity- it's not like that!", Oliver replied quickly, his hands gesturing widely, hurt in his eyes.
" Oh, so I don't have a reason to file a harassment charge on you?", she retorted, " Well Mr. Oliver Queen, I am not one of your scores. Walter, is my focus. I am helping you with finding Walter. Am I clear?"
Oliver's mouth was a tight line and his eyebrows shadowed his eyes, " Very."
" Thank you. I need to get back to the office." Felicity stood from the booth with slightly shaky legs and walked out. The bell on the door chimed brightly as it closed behind her.
" I told you." A deep voice reached Oliver's shaken ears as Diggle appeared from the opposite side of the restaurant and took the spot recently vacated by Felicity. Carly brought their lunch order and a bottle of ketchup. She made some small talk with John before looking sadly at Oliver and leaving.
Queen sat at the table not moving, staring at his hands, his chili cheese fries getting cold. He felt cold all over and the butterflies were frozen in his gut. John helped himself to Felicity's burger and waited for his younger charge to make up his mind. Several moments passed as Oliver listened to John chewing the burger. " I'm going to be a monk." He finally commented in a whisper.
" She's a tough one. Were you really going to cry?" John asked wiping his mouth and eyeing the fries.
" Yes." Oliver replied and looked at John straight. Dig could see the raw sincerity that he had never seen before. It made it difficult to swallow the fry in his mouth.
Felicity made it to her car and slammed the door shut. Grabbing the steering wheel with both hands she leaned down and pressed her forehead into them. She began to cry but not with feelings for Ollie. She was ashamed she had fallen for that gimmick of his to come to lunch with him. She felt so foolish and now was probably going to be fired for telling off her boss. After all, Oliver Queen probably only loved pretty women like Laurel and scored on the average. Right then, Felicity was feeling very average.
Eventually she pulled herself together. She was a virtuosic computer programmer. She was smart and top of her class. She had whole software operating systems designed by her and the patents to prove it. Her inner cheerleader voice recited these facts and eventually the sting of humiliation faded. Starting her ignition, Felicity drove back to the office. There was a need for her peaceful computer hive, the darkness and no natural light.
Looking around one last time at her screens and listening to the computer hum she was satisfied she could go home for the night. Glancing at her watch she saw it said 7:30pm. With a sigh, she resigned herself to another night of microwave dinners. There was a pint of Ben and Jerry's in her freezer, or did she want a frozen margarita tonight? Pick your poison, girl, she scolded herself, you certainly outdid yourself today.
"Felicity." She heard the deep voice of John Diggle from her doorway and spun quickly. Today was a day of sensory overloads apparently.
He hung in the doorway like a huge shadow, " Yes? I hope you're not coming to apologize for your… our boss? Or are you here to fire me?" She kept her tone even, though she wanted to scream at him.
" Neither. Just wanted to se how you're doing. Oliver can be a handful." John replied casually moving aside so Felicity could leave.
" That was an understatement. I'm fine thank you." Felicity commented as she scooted by the giant guard. She really wasn't fine. She wanted to know if Oliver was suffering as much as she was.
" Well I'm glad." He said back watching her move down the hall but not questioning further. He knew that tone in a woman.
She stopped suddenly and turned, " Is he ok?"
Dig smiled a wide smile, chuckled slightly and returned, " He'll survive." The irony was not lost on John.
Pausing, she didn't know exactly what else to say to the shadow of the Arrow, so she smiled a half hearted smile quickly and said," Ok. See you later." The parking garage was dark like that night again and the moment when her life and Ollie's became inextricably linked played back in her head. She sat in the drivers seat for a moment and did some breathing exercises to clear her mind. Key in the ignition, she heard on the radio Carly Jepson's "Call Me Maybe". Yes, she thought, maybe he'll call and apologize. Or maybe not. See if I care. Where's that margarita!
Fine