A/N: So recap if y'all skipped over Ch 2. Oliver was at the Painted Ladies with Tommy, and had sex with Felicity in disguise. Now proceed!
Oliver arrives at Queen Consolidated around noon, fastening his tie as he hurries in with a coffee in hand. Diggle looks up from the security desk, a cocked eyebrow interrogating Oliver as he rushes past him.
"Late night?"
"Don't ask," is all Oliver can get out before he launches himself into the elevator and hurries to the 30th floor for a meeting with Walter Steele, COO, that started fifteen minutes ago. As he bursts through the glass door, six heads peer up from the conference table: Walter, his mother, three investors, and a blonde bespectacled woman he has never seen before. He slides into an empty chair near her, a careless smirk on his lips.
"I apologize for my tardiness, there was quite a bit of traffic on the bridge," he chimes, pulling a pad of paper over to him.
"I hope this meeting is worth the effort," Walter says, "Oliver let me introduce you to our proposing investors: David Blade, Marvin Black, and Clyde Stevens. And the quiet blonde at the end is Felicity Smoak. She is one of the best IT experts in this building,"
"Nice to meet you all, and I am so sorry about the interruption. Please continue," Oliver chimes, struck by the silent girl engulfed in her tablet adjacent to him.
"These men are interested in buying the Applied Science Department, Oliver, and they were just making their pitches as to why this would be a good business move on our part. I wanted you here for your opinion as the up and coming Financials Manager," Moira Queen, his mother, mumbles before Clyde Stevens clears his throat and begins a very long spiel about why his company would be the best choice to develop on the Applied Sciences Department. As he speaks, Oliver notices the blonde's brows furrowing as each one of his words strike a chord with her. Before the poor man can finish, she set her tablet down and stares at him with intense green eyes.
"You speak very affluently about the military perks to developing the Applied Science Department, but what of the economical or environmental perks? Military is only going to help a small fraction of the Queen Consolidated clientele, yet you are ignoring the other 85% of whom we do business. Plus, your plans are far more costly than the budget you proposed, so whose pocket is that coming from? Yours or the Queens?" she asks, railing the man with questions that only fluster him. Walter Steele just smiles.
"And this is why our technical analyst is here today. There are many technical loopholes I am afraid I would miss in your proposals that she is very apt to discover, as you just witnessed,"
"She didn't need to be so violent about it, Walter," Moira whispers, yet he just shrugs. Oliver looks at the blonde, impressed by the intellect and strength she holds in that tiny body. Something about her is very familiar, and that distracts him as the other investors try to pull similar military based proposals passed the very smart blonde. The only one who didn't focus solely on military is Marvin Black, yet Walter isn't very impressed by his speech. All three investors leave the meeting with no promise of obtaining the Applied Science Department unless they change their proposals.
"Thank you very much, Miss Smoak. If you wish to return to the IT Department, you may. We will call upon you later if we need anything from you," Walter says as the meeting ends. Oliver stretches in his chair before a secretary drops message slips in his lap, most of them from his ex-girlfriend. As he sorts through the messages, Felicity grabs her tablet and flees for the elevator, anxiety and terror in her chest. He was not supposed to be here, and he was definitely not supposed to be the boss' son and CFO. Oliver Queen was the man she spent the night with in her alter ego as Meg, and now he is here working at Queen Consolidated with her.
"This can't get any worse…" she whispers to herself as she takes the elevator from the top floor to her basement IT office, "I mean it could be if he recognizes me," Yeah that would be really really bad. She would be fired, and probably arrested. Please God don't let him recognize me, she silently prays as she enters her office, locks the door, and flops heavily in her chair. She just needs to focus on her day job, and forget she ever had to "date" Oliver Queen.
...
6:00PM flashes brightly on the clock in the corner, yet Felicity ignores it. Her mind is absorbed in the numbers in front of her. Numbers makes sense. Numbers don't try to take advantage of you, and they always have a clear answer. Like coding has a clear cause and effect. Felicity types away, digging deeper into old ASD records when a knock at the door has her jumping ten feet in the air. A deep laugh sends shivers down her spine; she has heard that laugh once before. She looks up to see Oliver Queen leaning in the doorway.
"I'm sorry I startled you, but Walter sent me down here to pick up some documents about the Applied Science merger. He said you had some notes for him or something like that," Oliver mumbles, watching the blonde flush and push up her glasses.
"Yeah, yeah. Um…give me a moment to find them; I had them on the corner I think—yup! Here they are," Felicity babbles as she hands him the manila envelope, "Everything he wants is in here,"
"Thank you. I am sure he will be pleased with your work,"
"Oh yeah, well that stuff is the easiest. It's just crossing T's and dotting the I's," she mumbles, turning back to the embedded file on her computer screen.
"What is that there?" Oliver asks, curious as to what the blonde can do.
"These are just some old ASD files, and that line of coding in the background is a firewall program update. The software was getting a little weak," she replies, wanting the imposing man out of her office as soon as possible, yet he looks like he wants to stay.
"Really, how did the firewall get weak?"
"Porn probably," Felicity grumbles and Oliver chokes on a laugh.
"Are you always so blunt?"
"Only occasionally why?" she stares up at Mr. Queen and he stares back. Something about this blonde is very familiar and it is driving him crazy that he doesn't know what it is or where he knows her. Then she does it: she bites her lower lip as she finishes the coding and reboots the system. That bite reminds him of the baby doll he spent the night with, the girl who hates the club yet was passionate beyond anything he could fathom.
"Take off your glasses," he orders and she looks up at him, surprised then confused by his command. Slowly, she pulls the thick black frames from her face and sets them down on the desk. Fiery green eyes stare up at him and his jaw drops, "Holy shit…" Immediately she slides the glasses back on, fear and panic flowing through her veins as she shoots out of her chair.
"Please, Mr. Queen, you cannot tell anyone—I mean ANYONE—about my night job. If they find out I could be fired and arrested and I can't lose this job. It is the only thing keeping me off the streets. Please—"
"If you work here, why do you need money so badly?" Oliver hisses as he shuts her office door.
"I borrowed so I could go to school…I just borrowed from the wrong man. It was a mistake, but I needed to go to college; I needed out of my hometown. Please, don't tell anyone," Felicity begs. Silence consumes the two of them before Oliver finally nods.
"Your secret is safe with me," Oliver murmurs as relief pools in her green eyes. He pities her really; she had to borrow from a pimp to get a college degree and her job at Queen Consolidated…he never had to borrow or scrimp or save in his life. He has always had the money and the resources he desired. He has a life of luxury, not a life of turmoil like the tiny blonde woman in front of him.
"Thank you, Mr. Q—"
"Please call me Oliver,"
"For you, anything. You're doing me a huge favor, and I'm so thankful, Oliver," Felicity says before glancing at the clock: 6:25, "Oh shit. I need to go. If Mr. Steele or Mrs. Queen needs anything else, just ask them to email me. I will check it first thing in the morning," and with that she scurries from her IT office, thrilled that Oliver will keep her secret, but mortified to know that she still has to work with a man she slept with. It makes things complicated and messy, and at Queen Consolidated, Felicity hates messy.
So Oliver now knows the truth! I will get Chapter Four posted soon. I'd love it if you all reviewed! Thanks!