Oh no, oh no, oh no, this is terrible. Terrible, terrible, terrible.
That was Felicity's thought process as she pushed open the front door to her apartment. It swung open on the hinges, splintered remains of the door jamb littering her floor. She stepped in cautiously, listening intently for sounds other than her own loud breathing and pounding heart.
When she was met with only silence, she headed straight for her computers. She had already called the police, but she had to check on her babies. Turning the corner to where her system was set up, Felicity stopped in her tracks, the air rushing from her body.
Gone. All her computers… gone. Her towers, her big beautiful 30-inch UltraSharp monitor she'd just bought for the ultimate gaming experience, her smaller more practical monitors, even her external hard drives… gone. All gone.
She sank to her knees thinking of the hundreds of hours she'd spent designing and upgrading her system, the thousands of dollars she'd invested building her babies. And now they had been stolen from her by heartless thieves!
That was how the police found her moments later, kneeling on the floor, staring longingly where she used to work on her computers.
After giving her statement to the police and reporting the theft to her insurance company, and hearing the disappointingly minute estimate for her computer equipment, Felicity found herself sitting at the bar in a nightclub on her way home. It was really more a giant bar that played loud music in low lighting than a nightclub. Advertising as a nightclub brought in more patrons with fatter wallets.
Felicity groaned internally at remembering what had brought her Verdant and downed the rest of her daiquiri. It may or may not have been her third, which was her limit, but she just wanted to forget the day and ordered another.
"You look like you've had a rough day," the bartender commented, setting another strawberry daiquiri in front of her.
Felicity stared into the rich red blended goodness. "The worst I possibly could," she muttered, taking her straw and stirring the drink idly. "Some assholes broke into my apartment. Broke in and stole all my computer equipment. Everything but the cables, which I guess I should be slightly thankful for because computer and HDMI cables are really effing expensive." Liquor had a way of making her tendency to babble ten times worse. "But I test firewalls and internet security! I design computer programs! I beta test everything for dozens of companies! I can't do that without my computers! My poor babies… Kidnapped and in the hands of computer illiterate bastards."
The bartended cocked her head curiously. "How do you know they're computer illiterate?"
Felicity finally looked up at who was talking to her, listen to her babbling rant rather. It was the blonde bartender. The few times Felicity had been to Verdant, she was usually in leather pants and usually ended up hitting some grabby-hands drunk. Or smoothing talking sober schmuck. "If they knew anything about computers they would have taken the cables, too," she answered solemnly. Her poor computer babies. She had just named the newest, River Tam.
"So…Shouldn't your insurance cover the stolen stuff?" the blonde asked. She'd gone from popping tops off beers to leaning against the bar as she listened.
Felicity gave a bitter laugh. "Yeah, they cover the monetary post purchase value of the items stolen at the time of the robbery. Pretty much the Craigslist resale value of all my equipment. They don't take into account the hours I spent researching and designing the system, or the thousands of dollars in time and equipment I've put into upgrading each piece. And they definitely didn't factor in everything I've MacGyver-ed over the years." She stared at the bar. "Barely half of what it would cost to get my system up and running again," she said dejectedly. "And I can't get back to work until I get a decent system again. But I need money to build my system. But it'll take forever with my IT job, even if I move to fulltime hours." Felicity dropped her head to the lacquered wood of the bar. It was such a vicious cycle.
The blonde bartender looked at her sympathetically. "Well, listen," she began after a moment. "We need another bartender. One of our girls just quit to go to law school."
"Law school?" Felicity frowned at her.
"Yeah, she'd been saving for a few years. Finally pulled together enough to cover what financial aid wouldn't. Anyway, I could talk to the boss for you. Be a good way to get the extra cash you need," she offered, starting to pour a rum and coke for the guy now crowding Felicity's bubble. Crowded bars were not great for personal space issues.
"Why are you offering to help me?" Felicity asked. The concept of someone not her father helping her was so foreign she was having difficulty processing it, and it was not the three and half daiquiris she had consumed.
The bartender gave a small shrug and said, "You're cute," before moving down the bar.
Felicity shook her head, frowning at her drink. This was why she preferred computers; people confused her.
She was jotting calculations on a napkin when someone came up behind her. "Sara said you might be looking for a job?" Felicity turned to see petite brunette taking a stool beside her.
"Sorry?" Felicity asked, adjusting her glasses on her face. She had seen her behind the bar serving drinks, as well as mingling with regulars, in her past visits.
"Sara, the blonde bartender who's been feeding you daiquiris all night," the young manager elaborated, "said you need cash, and that she told you we were looking for a new bartender."
"Oh, yeah," Felicity blinked, frowning slightly. "Yeah, I – I didn't think she was serious."
"Sara's pretty much an open book," the brunette smiled. "If she says something, she means it. I'm Thea, Verdant manager," she added, extending her hand.
"Felicity Smoak," she replied, shaking her hand.
Thea watched her for a moment before raising her eyebrows. "So you want the job?"
Felicity blinked again, taken completely aback. "What – that's your interview?"
"I'm really good at reading people, and I have good feeling about you, Felicity Smoak," she said.
"Why?" Felicity could have slapped herself for her lack of brain-to-mouth filter. You don't ask someone why they want to hire you, at any job, ever.
Thea smiled, head tilting. "Sara was right; you're cute." She looked around the bar and what passed for a dance floor before meeting Felicity's eyes. "You have this adorable innocence to you," she explained. "The kids'll love it."
Felicity stared at her, unsure what response was safe, unsure if there was even an appropriate response. What do you say when a stranger offers you a job and tells you every man in the building would love to try and corrupt you. Hallmark did not have a card for that one. "Thank you…?" she asked slowly.
If anything, Thea's smile grew. "Follow me," she said hopping off the barstool. "I'll show you around the place."
"But I've never poured a drink in my life!" Felicity called after her. "Shit…" she muttered grabbing her purse and trailing the petite girl along the bar, she wove through the crowd of intoxicated twenty-somethings.
"Listen," Felicity said, catching Thea at the end of the bar, "I really appreciate the offer, but the only liquor I've ever poured has been wine for myself. I don't know the first thing about bartending!"
Thea placed a hand to Felicity's cheek and Felicity stiffened in surprise. I am not drunk enough for any of this, she thought. "Relax, Felicity," Thea told her. "We'll teach you everything you need to know. I mean, you can pour wine, you got the basics!"
Felicity frowned at her, slightly perplexed.
"Hey," Thea told her, stepping close. "You need cash quick, I'm offering you a way to make cash quick. I saw your little napkin calculations. You can earn twice that money in a fraction of the time with the salary plus tips."
Turning suddenly, Thea pulled her behind the bar. "Meet the girls! This is Sara, you've already met her, kinda." The blonde smiled and winked at Felicity as she poured tequila into a guy's mouth as he lay on the bar. "That's Helena." Thea indicated the next girl with long dark hair who was taking shots with the group of frat guys. "And here's Laurel. Our lawyer-to-be," Thea said of a brunette coming from the back with another case of vodka.
"In a few years, Speedy, you're going to be thankful I went to law school," Laurel smiled at the shorter girl.
"She actually has a point," Thea commented, crossing her arms as the music changed and as Joe Elliot's voice rang through the club. Guitar riffs played and as the drum beat began, the three bartenders climbed on the bar. Felicity watched wide-eyed as the girls danced across the bar, Def Leppards Pour Some Sugar On Me serenading their movement. Hair whipping, hips swaying, they danced over the heads of the shouting men, pouring rum and vodka from the bottle as they moved back and forth.
"Do you guys do that often?" Felicity asked cautiously. Her mouth dropped as Helena slid across the bar, literally slid, like she was stealing second.
"Oh yeah! The guys love it!" She glanced over at Felicity as she watched Laurel and Helena pull a guy onto the bar and began pouring liquor over his face and body. Her eyes widened as their hands run over the man's bare chest with the rum. "But don't worry," she added. "We'll build you up to that. It'll add to your innocent persona."
Felicity only nodded. Her mind was racing at the insane antics these women were doing. Bar dancing and shoulder shimmies in low cut tops in the faces of strange men were way beyond her comfort zone.
Placing her hands on her shoulder, Thea directed Felicity to a vacant bar stool off to the side, out of the way but where she could see everything. "Tell you what, have a drink, on the house, and think it over," the brunette told her. "In fact, we'll clear your tab and the rest of the night is on us. Give me answer in the morning." She handed her a business card. A large, green V on left with her name and contact info on the right is neat black font. It was simple. The card made her life Thea more.
"Thank you," Felicity said, slipping the card in her purse, "but I couldn't possibly let you clear my tab and –"
"Nonsense." Thea waived a hand absently. "Besides, I'm sure you'll make it for me," she added confidently.