Sorry it's taken so long to update. I know I've slowed down dramtically. The last few weeks have been rough on me, what with a scary and potentially life threatening diagnosis- and I still can't figure out how to tell my fiancé :(

I was feeling a bit to depressed to write, but getting back into my writing has proved to be a major distraction, which I so desperately needed. So thank you to all of you who patiently stuck around. I will be updating all of my stories today.

Lots of Love,

cloverlotus

Felicity

"So, Felicity, do you have a last name?" Malcolm asked, his glare serving the purpose to intimidate me.

"It's Smoak. Felicity Smoak." I answered, ensuring that I was exuding confidence. No way was I going. To back down from Malcolm.

"And what do you do for a living, Felicity Smoak?" He asked, almost tauntingly. Clearly the man was underestimating me and I smirked before sipping my wine. How glorious it was going to be knocking Merlyn off of his high horse.

"I'm an employee of the Queen Consolidated IT department." I replied, smoothly, seeing Tommy smirk before sipping his wine. It's warmed me and made me feel more confident to see the pride all over his handsome face.

"Impressive, Ms. Smoak." Malcolm nodded. "Where do you attend college?"

"I attended college at MIT." I corrected with a smile. Tommy proceeded to eat in silence with a big, goofy grin on hi face. Malcolm's eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Oh. I figured you were still in school considering how young you look." He chuckled.

"I graduated from high school when I was sixteen." I explained, not backing down from his father. "I took a year off to travel and started college, with a full ride, when I was seventeen. I graduated last year." I finished off, matter-of-factly, then sipped my wine, ensuring that I kept it classy.

"What did you major in?" he asked.

"I have a dual-masters in cyber security and computer science." I began, slightly annoyed that he was trying to size me up. "And just to answer what I can only assume would be your next questions," I began, placing my knife and fork beside my plate and straightening my posture a bit.

"I'm a brilliant woman if I must say so myself. I've worked hard for everything I have and I depend on no one but myself. Before I even graduated from MIT, I had a plethora of companies competing to employ me. And if I'm not mistaken, Merlyn Global was amongst them. Also, I have an IQ of 176. I'm what people like to call a genius." I smirked, getting cocky, then batting my eyelashes before sipping more wine. God, I was going to need so much more wine.

"Queen Consolidated is very lucky to have you Ms. Smoak." Malcolm responded with pride.

"Thank you, I agree." I stated before cutting off a piece of chicken and popping it in my mouth.

"Great. So are you done interrogating my girlfriend?" Tommy asked, his voice laced with animosity. Malcolm looked at him smugly prior to answering.

"Of course… and how's your nightclub going? What's it called? Verde?" He asked, sarcastically. I wanted so desperately to shut Malcolm down, but bit my tongue to keep from spazzing.

"Verdant." Tommy corrected, with a roll of his green eyes. "And it's doing very well. Profits have increased by 109% since March. Looks like I'm doing something right." It was now my turn to smile with pride.

"Right." Malcolm snorted, Tommy confident grin turning into a scowl. "Do you know why Verdant is destined to fail? It's a nightclub, Tommy. One season you're in and the next, you're out. So let me know when your little project is completed and finally make a smart choice for once. Come to Merlyn Global. I'm not going to hold this option out to you for to much longer, Tommy."

"Nothing I ever do is going to be good enough for you!" Tommy growled, startling me, and standing from the table. "I'm not you! I never will be you and I don't fucking want to be!"

My mouth dropped in surprise as Tommy stormed out of the dining room, and it wasn't long before I heard the front door slam. Malcolm sighed and refilled both of our wine glasses.

"So immature. What a disappointment." He shook his head and guess down some wine. I let out a puff of air in disbelief.

"You're kidding me right?" I growled, slamming my cutlery onto my plate. Malcolm looked completely unfazed as he proceeded to eat.

"I wish I was. His head is so far up his own ass, he can see his prostate." Malcolm jabbed, causing my to shake my head in disgust.

"Here I thought my father was bad." I muttered. "He's your son, how could you treat him that way? How could you be so cold-hearted towards him?" I asked in disbelief.

"Miss Smoak, I'm simply trying to teach my son how it is in the real world. And in the real world—"

"Oh, you're so full of it, Malcolm." I rolled my eyes, not bothering to hear what he had to say. "You're a poor excuse of a father and it's a shame because all he wants is for you to be proud of him, but you can't even give him that. He's a grown man with the right to make his own decisions. Tommy is an incredible man. He smart, determined, and has one of the most kindred spirits I've ever come across. Yet, all you do is tear him down."

I could hardly wrap my head around the way dinner played out. This man was unbelievable. Malcolm sighed, and pulled out his checkbook and a pen.

"Name your price." He said, watching me expectantly with his pen ready to write.

"What? What are you talking about?" I asked, befuddled. Was he even listening to me?

"My son is on the wrong track, and frankly, you're a distraction. I need this… (ITLCZ) relationship…to end. I need Tommy to focus. Now if you care about, Tommy, I'm sure you'd want him to lead a successful life. So. What's is going to take? A job at Merlyn Global? I'll double what the Queens are paying you."

Un-fucking-believable. I scoffed in disbelief. Why kind of girl did he think I was?

"Are you seriously trying to bribe me to break up with Tommy? You are un-fucking-believable." I growled in response, pushing my chair back and standing from the table.

"Come on, Miss Smoak." He rolled his eyes. "Everyone has a price. Name it, and I'll write you a check right now."

"You know, Tommy warned me about you, but I couldn't imagine that he wasn't exaggerating. The way you treat your son is despicable. I can't even believe he bothers to put up with you. Tommy is quite the incredible man and you don't deserve to have him in your life. You, Mr. Merlyn, can go screw yourself." I snarled, snatching my clutch from the table and storming out similarly to how Tommy did.

I rounded the corner to head for the door, nearly running into Tommy, who was staring at me as if I hung the moon. I wondered how much he'd heard as he grabbed my hand and gave me a small, apologetic smile.

"Let's get out of here." He murmured, nodding toward the door.

And so we did.

Oliver

Felicity had just finished her mock presentation for Mr. Denis and I. To say she was nervous would be an understatement though I couldn't understand why. QCOFS was by far an incredible system, so I was unable to fathom why she wasn't her normal, confident self.

I tried to offer her reassuring smiles during her presentation, even though I saw Denis shaking his head and scrawling on his notepad many times. Felicity noticed too, because she began stumbling over her words and babbling every time he did.

The presentation started off smoothly, the intricate PowerPoint already dazzling me with her brilliance.

But then Mr. Denis began interrupting her with questions, clearly throwing Felicity off of her game. From five minutes in, she had multiple mishaps.

First she tripped, the four inch heel of her left shoe breaking. She sighed and kicked them off, determined to continue.

Next, she went for a sip of water in between slides, spilling at least four ounces of it on her blue dress.

A tear threatened to fall, but she quickly wiped it away, smudging her black mascara on her pale skin.

I could see her confidence dissipating every time Denis interrupted, and it made me want to punch him in the face.

Her hands began shaking at about ten minutes in, and while swiping to change the PowerPoint slide, she dropped her tablet, the screen cracking instantly. She sucked in a breath, before swallowing nervously and apologizing. She hadn't even finished her presentation when Denis spoke up again.

"Miss Smoak, have you considered having someone else present on your behalf? Like, say, Mr. Queen? Or perhaps Mr. Holt?" he asked, still sprawling on the paper. Was he serious? I looked at Felicity, who was chewing on her lip, her doe eyes wet with unshed tears. She spoke up before I did.

"I'll consider it, sir." She muttered, picking up her broken tablet and fleeing the conference room. At least I knew what to tell Tommy to get for her birthday.

I quickly followed behind Felicity, catching her before she could get on the elevator.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Queen." She sniffled, avoiding my eyes as tears fell from hers.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." I assured her, holding her small, shaking hands in my own.

"Mr. Denis is right. You should present QCOFS to the board. Besides, if they're anything like him, they're bound to let a man actually get through it." She sighed. She looked so broken and it hurt my heart seeing this beautiful, amazing woman cry. I outstretched my arms, pulling her into a tight hug, as she sobbed lightly.

"This is your creation and your presentation. No one is going to take that away from you. Not me, not Curtis, and certainly not Denis." I murmured into her ear, rubbing small circles on her back as the elevator opened.

"Hey, what happened?" Tommy asked, a takeout bag in hand, and his face etched with concern. Felicity slipped out of my arms and threw herself into Tommy's, as I idly stood by, pretending not to be jealous.

I'm considering a second path to this story for those of you want to keep Felicity and Tommy together. Decisions, decisions...

xoxo cloverlotus