He had called her because he had to. He had to be near her again. She did something to him that he could not explain. The darkness was not so overwhelming, if even for only a second. So he called her and asked her to meet him. They needed information, he told Diggle. She could get it for them.
He needed a fix.
He didn't tell Diggle that part.
An hour later, she sat across from him, a laptop balanced on her thighs. She was small in the large, leather chair, but she seemed no less fierce. He already felt uneasy and overwhelmed and invigorated.
He felt selfish and wrong, but he gazed at her anyway.
"I should add personal internet researcher for Oliver Queen to my job title," she stated nonchalantly as she prepared the computer.
Oliver couldn't fully contain the physical effect she had on him. He managed to mask the shutter of electric energy with a deep breath and a nod of the head. He drank her in like smooth vodka that burned his soul.
"Happily, I mean," she didn't flinch at his stony stare.
Yes, here I am, the monster. I know you see me. And you are not afraid. You watch me. You make your mental notes. I will destroy you in the end. I will consume you and extinguish your vibrant light. And I am damned for it. Why do you look through me like that?! Why don't you run?!
Breathe.
Speak.
"His name was Derek Reston. We were close before I..." Oliver caught himself. His voice lighter. His eyes more open. Where did that come from? He reset the stone mask on his face and continued, "...went away, and, I want to get back in touch."
"Guess you didn't have Facebook on that island," she quipped.
You think you are solving the mystery of me. But you have no idea of the monster you are hunting.
"Nope. Not even a Myspace account. It was a very dark time."
Diggle. Oliver was so focused on Felicity, he had forgotten Diggle was there. Diggle seemed...amused.
Amused that this vibrant creature was about to be destroyed by my monster? You should be angry, Diggle. Why aren't you angry?!
"Well, there's not much here that's recent. No credit activity. No utility bills. Oh, I guess you guys must have met at the factory," she said, drawing her eyebrows down, understanding the absurdity of Oliver Queen ever even stepping foot in his father's factory.
"Wait. What... what factory?"
"The Queen steel factory. Derek Reston worked there for 15 years until it shut down in '07."
"Derek Reston worked for my father?" he inquired, slowly.
"You weren't really close friends, huh?" she knowingly answered.
Bold. Called me on another lie. Careful how far you look down this rabbit hole, Felicity. He watched her gloat in her assumed win. She had no idea.
"Looks like Derek was the factory foreman until your father outsourced production to China. 1500 employees got laid off," she continued. Professional, yet full of fire.
Rage swirled in his gut.
"Looks like the finance guys even found a loophole in the union contracts so they didn't have to pay severance packages and pensions to their employees. They all pretty much lost their homes."
Oliver's disgust over his father's wrongs was renewed. He struggled to contain his need to shatter every glass wall in the sickening, extravagant office of Queen Consolidated where they sat.
"Including your 'friend'," she finished, unafraid to call him on the lie again.
Oliver shot a look at Diggle and stood quickly, stiffly.
"Thank you, Miss Smoak."
She sat quietly and glared at him, aware and alert. Even as he stood towering above her, she still held her ground.
RUN! And leave me to be eaten by this darkness alone. Why do you linger? I won't stop pursuing you. I can't stop this addiction to your soul. You have to be the one to run. You must. I cannot control the monster.
He looked away from her with a sharp intake of breath and moved toward the elevators, sliding through the glass doors that he wanted to smash with every fiber of his being.
After four floors of silence, Diggle spoke, "she's interesting," he stated, staring ahead while riding the elevator down.
Oliver ignored him and itched to hold his bow in his hand. The hand that flexed at his side - the only indicator that he was about to explode.