Wow, you guys are too kind! I can't believe how many follows, favorites, and review I've had for the first chapter. I appreciate your support for my writing. This is truly the first thing I've written since graduate school and certainly the first piece with dialogue. I'm just a bit of a picky reader, so I have a decent eye for catching errors. Anyway, I'm not sure how many chapters this will be but I love the various ideas you guys are giving me in your reviews. I'll do my very best to incorporate as many of the ideas as I can. Thank you!
***As always none of these characters are mine or we would certainly not be waiting until the fall for a new episode****
Snatching up her tablet, Felicity turned on her heel and fled toward the only exit not currently blocked by an undercover superhero. Yanking open the heavy wood door, she risked a quick look over her shoulder to see that Digg and Roy had in fact gotten tangled up in the sea of backpacks and students streaming up the stairs. Congratulating herself for such quick thinking, she turned back just in time to crash straight into the very same rock solid chest that she had working very hard to get out of her head for the past eight weeks.
Chapter 2
With a grunt that could rival any NFL linebacker, Felicity felt as if she may have just run into a brick wall. A warm wall that smelled delicious with arms that quickly steadied her before she could fall backwards, but a brick wall all the same.
"Where in the world could you possibly be going in such a hurry Felicity?" Oliver's stare bored through her, "Class doesn't get out for another 40 minutes."
As Oliver's eyes swept over her a world of anxiety lifted from his shoulders. Relief washed over him and Oliver couldn't decide if he wanted to hug or shake the wide eyed girl. It had been an incredibly long eight weeks, and if he was honest with himself, he had started to doubt they were going to be able to find her at all. His usual party trick of calling Amanda Waller at ARGUS had been surprisingly unhelpful. Oliver still wasn't sure why Amanda had chosen this particular situation to follow protocol. Not even Digg's wife Lyla could be talked into helping them find Felicity. Lyla and Amanda were practically governmental robots, but he still had a suspicion that their refusal had more to do with female loyalty than any policy or procedure. Women were really difficult to decipher.
Steadying herself, Felicity let out a frustrated sigh and steeled herself against his ridiculously beautiful gaze. "What are you doing here Oliver? I have a very busy day and I don't really have time to deal with this right now."
"To deal? To…deal…" Oliver stumbled over his words incredulously. "Fe-li-ci-ty" he chanted her name dangerously, "We didn't spend the last eight weeks looking for you and suffer through a six hour flight across the county only to be told to schedule an appointment for your time." Oliver's words were choppy and hinted at barely contained fury, "I believe that you are going to have to make time!" With that Oliver took hold of her wrist and unceremoniously hauled her back into the classroom.
"Diggle" Oliver called as they entered the classroom, "Felicity doesn't think she has time to deal with us right now."
Raising both hands in an attempt to communicate his neutrality, Diggle chose to remain silent as he watched the two square off. He had tried to warn Oliver that this wasn't going to be an easy sale, that this was about more than a new employment opportunity. Digg knew if Felicity was going to come home, and it was a HUGE if he could now see, Oliver was going to have to do more than flash his pearly whites. In all reality, he was actually thrilled to have a ringside seat for the action. Digg loved both of them, but Oliver had gone so far over the line with Felicity this time that he was definitely, albeit secretly, rooting for her to bring Oliver to his knees.
Felicity snorted, "I am WORKING. I cannot just drop everything because you three showed up uninvited to my classroom in the middle of the day!" Exasperated, she waved her hands as she continued, "Around here the world does not revolve around Oliver Queen's whims!"
Preparing to respond to her heated declaration, his mouth snapped shut, instead trapping his no doubt scalding rebuttal. Choosing another tactic Oliver smiled softly, "You know you could at least act like you were happy to see us. Offer us a bottle of water, or I don't know, a coconut?"
The moment was broken when a smooth voice from the back of the classroom interrupted jovially, "A coconut? Where are these friends of yours from Felicity, a deserted island?"
Felicity beamed at the large man gliding into the room, "Jonathon" she blushed shyly, "I had almost forgotten about lunch! I just need a minute more and we can go."
The newcomer was striking with dark hair and green eyes that he didn't seem to be able to tear away from Felicity long enough for proper introductions. He looked a great deal like a taller, more muscular George Clooney and Oliver was more than a little certain he had seen him on a rerun of Dateline: Most Wanted a few nights ago.
Diggle and Roy exchanged resolute glances as Oliver's already dark expression turned murderous. This situation certainly had the potential to go hell quickly Diggle thought to himself. He really didn't want to get Felicity blackballed from her Alma Mater for having a brawl in her classroom.
The swift change in atmosphere wasn't lost on Jonathon either, "Is everything okay?" he asked carefully.
"Yes!" "No!" Felicity and Oliver's perfectly synchronized responses contradicted each other.
Looking perplexed, he tried again, "Should we take a rain check on lunch?"
"NO!" "YES!" Their responses, even more forceful this time, were again in unison.
"Alright you two" Diggle smiled at them indulgently. "The kid and I" gesturing to a nervous Roy, "are also hungry, so how about the five of us go grab a bite?"
Startled, Felicity quickly shook her head, "Oh no, you three go on without us, Jonathon and I don't have long before our next class and we wouldn't want to rush you." Offer a placating smile to Oliver she added, "This evening we have a mandatory University fundraising event to attend and then I promise we can talk later. Okay?"
Quickly slipping on his playboy smile, Oliver winked at her, "Don't be ridiculous Felicity. You know we can eat on the run." Resting his hand on the small of her back he practically dragged her toward the door, "Let's hit Uburger down the street, I've heard they have amazing food that may even top Big Belly."
Lunch was an awkward affair to say the least. In his favor, Jonathon made valiant efforts to keep the conversation moving, but no one seemed willing to add more than a few words here and there. Finally Oliver decided to ignore Jonathon's presence altogether and continued his earlier conversation.
"Felicity" his voice practically purring her name, "I thought you might like to know that I've been able to regain control of 68% of Queen Consolidated. The board has been restructured and they are expected to vote me back in as CEO on Tuesday. The little wrinkle with my finances has been ironed out as well so you'll be able to start back to work any time."
Jonathon nearly choked on his iced tea, "How stupid of me! You're the Oliver Queen! As in once lost at sea only to be found alive again…You weren't kidding about the coconut." His eyes wide he asked, "How long have you been home now? Three, four years?"
Clearing his throat, Oliver offered a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, "It's been a bit over two years now. It's just not something I really like to talk about."
Jonathon nodded his head in agreement, "I imagine it gets old. Please forgive me for bringing it up. You say things are going well for your company however? I'm sure that's a relief."
Directing his attention to Felicity, Oliver smiled thinly, "They are going well, and they will be going that much better once I have Felicity back home where she belongs. I need to have a competent Executive Assistant behind me if I'm going to make this work."
Frowning, Felicity asked in confusion, "What about Michelle? She was more than qualified to work as your EA." Shaking her head she continued, "I interviewed her before I left and human resources was supposed to hire her as soon as they received the results of the UA and background check!"
Looking a bit sheepish Oliver admitted, "She really didn't work out very well. She was always bringing me coffee and answering the phones…she was just in my space!"
Trailing off he glared at Roy who coughed behind his napkin, "Fired."
"Oliver! You didn't? What exactly did she do wrong?" Not waiting for a response she forged ahead, "What about Lucy from Applied Sciences? For obvious reasons she needs a job, at least until the division can be rebuilt..."
This time it was Diggle who suddenly had a frog in his throat, "Quit."
Eyes wide Felicity continued, "Mary from the 6th floor?"
Dropping all pretense of secrecy Roy looked at Diggle, "Is she the one who left crying on her first day or was that the older lady from the 17th floor?"
"Alright fine! Maybe I was a little hard on them." Oliver had the good sense to at least try and look contrite. "It isn't really my fault Felicity. I need you as my Executive Assistant! Not one of them knew what they were doing or how to keep me organized or how my reports need to be summarized…and I'm sure you realize they didn't meet our security clearance for the 24 hour on call duties."
Jaw dropping, Jonathon interrupted, "Wait…no…what? Felicity was your EA?" Looking back and forth between the tow of them he tried to make sense of what he was hearing, "You do know that she has an advanced degree from MIT right? That she graduated at the top of her class? She is over qualified to work as a… someone's…she cannot be a secretary!"
Had Felicity not been the tiniest bit scared for Jonathon's life in that moment she would have found his level of incredulity sweet. Instead she found herself saying a silent prayer of thanks that Oliver's bow and quiver were nowhere in sight.
TBC
