AN- So it occurred to me last night while I was thinking about how impatient and indecisive I am that if I post a chapter a day starting today that I would be posting the last chapter on the day that 3x20 airs...and we all know what's going down then. So forget everything I've said about posting up to this point because I'm officially going to do one a day leading up to 3x20 because I need to do something to deal with the excitement of the next week. Enjoy!
Chapter Four
Felicity was nervous. She kept telling herself that it was because of the crowded ballroom or because she was on her third date with Ronnie Raymond, the guy Nyssa knew from KORD enterprises, or that they were on a date where he was going to meet her friends but none of those were the cause of her nerves. No, she knew the real culprit the moment their eyes met across the room and her heart jumped into her throat.
It had been a month since she'd shot him down and she'd done her best to avoid him, this being the first time they'd been in the same room with each other for more than a fleeting second. It was relatively easy to dodge him considering that even though they worked in the same building, they didn't work in the same space. He'd popped up in the IT department once to have a meeting with her boss and she'd known the second they were on the same floor but that had been the only time she'd seen him. She spent most of her time working or spending time with Sara and Nyssa when they weren't working themselves. The little free time she had between work and hanging out with them, she'd spent on dates with Ronnie. They got along well, had common interests, and neither were interested in anything serious. So far, it was good and more importantly, it was low-risk. Safe. Unlike the man that was making his way across the dance floor towards them.
Sara and Nyssa had already drifted away from them, mingling with the rest of the guests at Tommy and Laurel's engagement party, so it was only her and Ronnie standing there while Oliver approached them.
"Hey," he greeted her softly and she hated to admit that for the briefest of moments, the world around them dropped away.
She smiled as the world came rushing back in, the din of the room buzzing in her ears. "Hey," she replied. They stood there for longer than they should have, holding each other's gazes, sharing what felt like a private moment. Ronnie cleared his throat next to her, reminding her that she wasn't here alone. "Oliver, this is Ronnie Raymond, my date tonight. Ronnie, this is Oliver Queen, my..." She trailed off awkwardly, unsure of what to call him. They weren't exactly friends but acquaintance didn't seem to cover it either. Friend of a friend? Steaming hot attraction that could never happen? Definitely not that last one.
"We're friends," Oliver finished for her, saving her from further embarrassment. "I'm best friends with the groom." He held his hand out to Ronnie, who stared at it for a beat, before taking his own hand out of his pocket and accepting Oliver's handshake. Felicity didn't have to be a part of it to realize that they were both exerting more force than was necessary for a normal handshake.
They stepped away from each other and she could have sworn that Ronnie moved closer to her, an unspoken message to Oliver that she was here with him. She repressed the urge to roll her eyes at the childish display, not wanting to be the reason these two men engaged in a pissing contest.
"I actually came here because I want you to meet someone or rather they want to meet you," Oliver said to her.
Felicity raised an eyebrow. "They want to meet me?" She racked her brain for possibilities of who it could but she was stuck on the thought that it was going to be his date.
He gave her a sly grin. "Trust me, you're going to want to meet them." E moved next to her, his hand finding the small of her back before he met Ronnie's eyes over her head. "I hope you don't mind, I promise I'll bring her right back."
Normally, she would have said no on principle because she didn't know what his motivations were for pulling her away from her date but she was intrigued. She glanced up at Ronnie, who looked reluctant to agree, but he soon nodded his head. "I'll go get us some drinks while you're doing that. Don't keep her too long, Queen." He gave Oliver one last hard stare before leaving her alone with him.
"What's this all about, Oliver?" She asked as he started to lead her over to the other side of the room.
"You'll see," was all he said as they walked around the dance floor.
She kept quiet as he lead her over to a smaller blonde woman and a tall black man who she quickly realized was Walter Steele, current CEO of Queen Consolidated. She froze in her tracks, finding herself overwhelmed with nervousness. "Uh, Oliver, I don't know—"
"Like I said, trust me, you're going to want to hear what he has to say."
She gave him a curious look but she let him lead her over to the couple. "Mom, Walter, I want you to meet Felicity Smoak. Felicity, this is my mother, Moira Queen, and her husband, Walter Steele."
Felicity shook their hands and tried to refrain from making a fool out of herself but it was harder than it sounded. "It's a pleasure to meet the both of you, it really is. Mrs. Queen, I've been an admirer of yours for years. The example you set for women in business and the path you carved out for yourself while you helped your late husband build Queen Consolidated is inspiring and you, Mr. Steele, have done a tremendous job bringing innovative ideas to the company and putting it in an exciting and fresh new direction that will only serve to further ensure the legacy of QC. Which is something that I'm sure the both of you know since you're the ones that did all of that and I'm not saying anything you haven't heard a million times. I'm nervous," she admitted, willing herself to stop talking. "And when I get nervous, I tend to ramble which is exactly what I'm doing right now so I'm going to stop."
Moira laughed, loudly, drawing attention to their small group, and Felicity wished the ground would swallow her up. "You are too kind, Miss Smoak, I've done little more than support the incredible men that I've been fortunate enough to marry," she said as she smiled up at her husband before giving Felicity a conspiratorial wink, showing that she knew exactly how much she'd contributed to QC's success. "As much as I'd like to stand here and talk business, I just saw Thea walk in and I haven't seen my youngest child in weeks, so if you'll excuse me. It was nice to meet you, Miss Smoak," she said before dashing off to greet Thea.
"Miss Smoak, I've heard equally wonderful things about you since you've joined the company," Walter said once Moira left them.
She tried to keep the shock off of her face at the fact that he not only knew her name but that he'd also heard things about her. "You have?"
He nodded. "I've been good friends with Richard Martin since college and he hasn't been able to stop singing your praises since you started. He said that the changes you've implemented during your brief employment have completely turned the IT department around."
She blushed, a smile tugging at her lips. "Mr. Martin is a fantastic boss and he's been completely supportive of my ideas. He creates a great work environment."
"I'm just happy to learn that things are going swimmingly. I know that Wayne Enterprises did their best to recruit you, and while they've managed to hijack quite a few of our IT employees and potential employees, I'm glad that we were able to steal the brightest of the bunch."
"I have to admit that it was tempting to take the job at Wayne Enterprises but I'm very happy with my decision, you have a great company, Mr. Steele."
He waved a hand, dismissing her compliment. "Only because I have great employees. Keep up the good work, Miss Smoak, I'm excited to see what your future at QC holds. Now if you'll excuse, I'm going to find my wife, you two enjoy your night."
Felicity watched him walk away, barely keeping a lid on her excitement, her body practically vibrating with the effort of holding it back. "That was incredible," she whispered in hushed amazement as she turned back to Oliver.
He beamed down at her. "I told you that you were going to want to hear what he had to say."
"Was this you?" As much as she appreciated Mr. Steele's kind words, the effect would be lessened if it only happened because Oliver put in a good word.
He held his hands up, palms facing her, as if to say his hands were clean in the matter. "This was all your boss. He's the one who talked Walter's ear off about you and he's the one who hired you When I told Walter you would be here tonight, he asked if I would introduce the two of you. This happened because you're good at what you do."
She shook her head, smiling softly, before her eyes bugged out. "Oh my god, I totally fangirled over them."
"It was adorable," he told her.
Damn him, she thought. Why did he have to be so...great? She caught Ronnie standing across the room glowering at them, Oliver seeing it at the same time, and she gestured for him to give them one minute. "I should get back to my date—"
"I want to say something first," he interrupted. "I know that we probably didn't get off on the best foot but I thought since I'm going to be the best man and you're a bridesmaid, we're going to have to spend a lot of time together during all of this wedding stuff so I think that we should be friends."
"Friends?" she murmured.
He nodded tightly. "Yeah, I'm not saying we should hang out or anything. I just want us to be on the same page."
Ah. This was his way of putting her in the strictly friends box, the same thing she'd done the last time they were together. He was right, they were going to see each other, considering their friend group, and it was better if their failed dates didn't cloud things between them. She nodded her agreement, ignoring the dull throb in her chest at knowing they would never be anything more, knowing she had no right to be bummed out considering she'd done it first. "Friends sounds good," she said as she smiled, doing her best to appear unaffected. "I better get back to Ronnie and I'm sure your date is waiting for you," she said as she started to walk away.
"I didn't bring one," he said so quietly that she barely heard him. She stopped, lingering, unsure if she really wanted to walk away from him. "You should go before he comes over here."
She nodded, glancing back at Ronnie, who was looking more impatient by the minute. She had the sudden urge to explain to him that she was only with Ronnie because he was a safe option, someone to take her mind off of him, but not only would that make things awkward, it would also mean that she would have to admit that out loud, to someone other than herself. "Thank you, Oliver, for introducing me to your mom and Walter," she said instead, hoping he knew how truly grateful she was.
"That's what friends do, right?" His tone was pleasant and he was giving her the smile she recognized as his business one, the one that wasn't quite genuine, another one that she wasn't a big fan of.
"That is what friends do," she confirmed. "Enjoy the rest of the party, Oliver."
"You too, Felicity," he responded but he wasn't looking at her. He was looking at Ronnie who had finally starting to make his way over to them.
She reluctantly left Oliver, successfully managing to keep her gaze straight ahead on the tall, dark, and handsome man that was her date, the person she should be spending her time with.
"What was that all about?" Ronnie asked her as he handed her a drink.
"He wanted to introduce me to his mom and Mr. Steele," she said, doing her best to appear nonchalant.
"You mean his mom as in Moira Queen and Walter Steele, the CEO of Queen Consolidated?" he asked, awe tingeing his voice as he looked over her head, searching for the aforementioned people.
"Yes, those people. It was work related."
He scoffed. "I've worked at KORD for three years and I've never seen Ted Kord except for on TV. You said you've only been at QC for a month, right?"
"Yeah but Oliver and I are friends, he was just doing something nice. And Mr. Steele is friends with my boss who I've apparently made quite the impression on."
"I guess it helps to know the right people," he muttered. "Of course, it doesn't hurt that you're a borderline genius," he said a little brighter but she it didn't stop her from feeling a bit miffed over this entire conversation.
"It's just genius, nothing borderline about it," she mumbled under her breath.
"What was that?" Ronnie asked.
Thankfully, Tommy's voice at the microphone saved her from having to...well, save herself. "Excuse me, if I could have your attention for just one moment," his voice echoed throughout the room. He waited patiently on the stage for everyone to quiet down. He was looking particularly dapper tonight in a fitted black tux with a black bow-tie and his dark hair slicked back from his face. Laurel was standing at the front of the crowd, closest to the stage, looking stunning in a tight-fitting magenta dress while her and Tommy shared loving looks before he began to speak. "First of all, I want to thank all of you for coming tonight to celebrate our engagement, it means the world to both of us. I've known Laurel all of my life and I've been in love with her just as long. It took a long time for me to admit it to myself and even longer to tell her but the moment I did, my life completely changed for the better. I'm the luckiest man to have found a woman who is not only brave and thoughtful and considerate and drop dead gorgeous but who is also my best friend. I can't wait to marry you and start our lives together because you are my everything. I love you, Laurel Lance, from the bottom of my soul and I can't wait to spend the rest of our lives together doing whatever I can to make you happy."
The room cheered and even from this far away, Felicity could see the happy tears welling up in Laurel's eyes as she watched the man she loved. Felicity grinned so big, her face hurt, clapping along with everyone as she ignored the small ripple of jealousy that coursed through her. She was happy for Laurel and Tommy but she envied them, a petty emotion that she pushed aside, moving closer to Ronnie while Tommy gestured for the crowd to quiet down again.
"I didn't come up here to just gush about my amazing wife-to-be, something that I could do all night, just ask any of my friends who would happily jump at the chance to make fun of me," he paused while the crowd laughed. "I'm also up here to let you know that the wedding will be a destination wedding, every guest will be given an all-expense paid trip to Bora Bora, courtesy of my father, Malcolm Merlyn. We can't wait to see you there and enjoy the rest of the party." He hopped off the stage and made his way over to Laurel, who greeted him with a prolonged kiss as a sappy love song began to play, a song that was on one of Felicity's more depressing playlists.
Tommy led her to the middle of the dance floor and they began to sway in time with the music. Party-goers observed the happy couple, making hushed remarks on the obvious love between Tommy and Laurel, until other couples began to slowly trickle onto the dance floor. Ronnie moved in front of her, holding his hand out as he asked, "Would you like to dance with me?"
She smiled demurely, nodding as she took his hand. He pulled her out onto the dance floor before pulling her close, his hands sliding around her waist. "I'm glad that you asked me to come with tonight and that I got to meet your friends."
"You say that now," she joked.
He smiled, showing off his perfect white teeth. "I'm serious, your friends are really nice and you're great. I've really enjoyed spending time with you, Felicity," he told her as they danced.
"Me too," she murmured. He pulled her a little closer and she let him, admitting that this felt nice.
The thing was that when she locked eyes with Oliver, who was leaning against the wall, drink in hand, was that maybe she didn't want nice. Maybe she didn't want safe. Maybe what she really wanted was standing across the room. Maybe she'd made too quick of a decision as far as Oliver was concerned. She'd never been the kind of person who ran away when something scared her but that's exactly what she'd done with Oliver. As she imagined what her night would have been like if she'd come with him and not Ronnie, she started to consider that maybe she'd made the wrong call.
She was gorgeous tonight. She was always beautiful but there was a special glow about her tonight. He didn't know if it was the gold dress with the fitted bodice that enhanced her already perfect curves, the fabric flaring out at her waist, flowing down to the floor, or if it was the smarmy looking man that called himself her date. He took a sip of his drink, the liquid burning his throat and warming his blood, as he watched her dance and smile and laugh. He allowed himself a moment to fantasize that it was him dancing with Felicity while her date stood in the corner and sulked but it didn't last long before he became aware that John was standing next to him, following Oliver's gaze and landing on Felicity.
"So that's the girl who's got you all twisted up inside?" John asked.
"I'm not twisted up inside," Oliver grumbled.
John chuckled, a deep rumble in his chest. "Keep telling yourself that. I might be in a sleep deprived, joyous haze of baby but that doesn't mean I'm dumb. I've spent the better of the night watching you moon over that girl and I know that you've been distracted for the last month. All signs point to you being torn up over something. You can't lie to me and tell me that it has nothing to do with the pretty blonde you're making heart eyes at and her date."
Oliver clenched his jaw, giving John a tight smile. "Nothing gets past you."
John snorted, shaking his head. "Please, I'm pretty sure the stoned waiter raiding the buffet noticed you moping over that girl. What I don't get is that you're just sitting back and letting this happen, that you're not fighting for her. The Oliver Queen I know fights for what he wants and there's no doubt in my mind that you want Felicity."
"It's not about her date," Oliver told him. "Okay, so maybe it's a little bit about her date but that's not the real reason," he added after John gave him a disbelieving look. "She just got out of college and she takes her career very seriously, which doesn't include dating the COO of the company that just hired her. I respect that." The song finally ended and he watched Felicity and Ronnie make their way back to the bar. "Besides, an opportunity has come up at work for her and I don't want to stand in the way of it. She doesn't know yet but when she finds out on Monday, the last thing she's going to want to do is date me." It was the whole reason he'd told her that he wanted to be friends. He wanted to remove any doubt that she got the job because of him and he wanted her to feel comfortable working with him, no matter how uncomfortable he felt. He might have feelings for her and he might have thought about her everyday since he'd left her standing in front of her apartment but that he didn't mean he needed to tell her that. She'd made it clear where she stood and Oliver wasn't going to push her.
John was giving him a curious look, eyes narrowed as he regarded Oliver. "Maybe you really are all grown up."
"If I am, it's because I have wise friends."
"There you go again, inflating his ego," Lyla teased. "Leaving me to be the one to bring him back down to earth."
Oliver grinned. "That's why you're his wife and I'm his best friend."
"Well, I'm going to steal your best friend," she said before turning to John. "I miss the baby, let's go home."
He leaned down to kiss her. "You read my mind."
"You made it two hours longer than I thought you would," Oliver observed.
Lyla frowned. "We've only been here for two hours."
"Exactly. I didn't even think you'd make it out of the house."
She playfully nudged Oliver. "Hilarious."
"Give the baby some love for me," he told her as he kissed her cheek.
"Stop by tomorrow for lunch, spend some time with Claire."
He told her he would and they said their goodbyes. Oliver met Felicity's eyes again, Ronnie talking to Tommy and Laurel, and he raised his glass to her before draining it. It was long past time for him to go home, he'd only hung around for enough time to pass so it didn't look like he was leaving because of Felicity and Ronnie. He set his empty glass on a passing waiter's tray and started to make his way to the exit.
"And where do you think you're going, Ollie?" Sara asked as she cut in front of him, blocking his way.
"I'm going home."
"But it's still early," she said.
"It's not that early. Why are you so concerned with when I leave?"
She didn't say anything, her eyes drifting across the room, and he didn't need to follow them to know they landed on Felicity. "Don't worry about Ronnie, I know Felicity well enough to know that she's using him as a distraction. I mean, she obviously likes him but it's just as obvious that she doesn't like him like she likes you."
He shook his head. "I think you're reading into things too much, Sara."
"You sound like her," she said as she rolled her eyes. "She'll come around if you're patient and give her time, it's not easy for her to open up."
"We're friends, that's it." The words almost rang true, a little more practice and maybe he could fool himself.
Sara frowned deeply. "I don't believe you."
"Stop trying to play matchmaker, Sara," Nyssa said as she joined them. "If they say they're friends, that's what they are, stop trying to push it."
"Exactly. Listen to your girlfriend, little Lance." He suspected Nyssa had her own reasons to back him up that mostly stemmed from her distrust of Oliver but he wasn't going to argue with it, especially since he could already tell Sara was backing off.
"Don't call me that, Ollie, and the only reason Nyssa is on your side is because she's the one who set Felicity up with Ronnie." She was small but she was still intimidating as she stood in front of him, both hands on her hips, glaring up at him.
"Well, I hope that he makes her happy," he said, keeping his back to the part of the room where Ronnie and Felicity were standing. He couldn't say it out loud if he was looking at them. "I'm going home now, Sara, try not to get into too much trouble." He gave her a quick hug, ignoring whatever she grumbled under her breath.
"Bye, Ollie," she said as he walked away from her. "See what you did?" She accused Nyssa.
"I did nothing, love. You're just going to have to accept that it's not happening. You've heard the both of them, they're just friends, time to move on."
"I'm not giving up. I've already given them a cute couple name and I'm invested. It'll happen, you'll see," she told her in a singsong tone.
Oliver laughed under his breath as he continued walking, doing his best to ignore the hope welling up in him at Sara's words. Hope was a dangerous emotion when it was concerning Felicity, he knew that she took her career seriously and Monday would only serve further that determination, which meant that they would be just friends.
In the end, he'd rather be her friend and hide these feelings from her then be honest and not have her in his life at all. Maybe John was right and he was growing up.
Now that was a scary thought.
She hadn't been in the office for more than an hour on Monday when Mr. Martin stopped by her desk to inform her that Mr. Steele wanted to see her in his office immediately. Panic bubbling in her throat, all she'd been able to do was nod. She'd hastily made her way up to the top floor, spending the entire elevator ride wringing her hands together. She'd screwed up somewhere and now she was getting fired, that had to be it. What other possible reason could the CEO want to see her?
Walter was alone at his desk, pouring over some paperwork that was spread across the otherwise neat surface. He didn't hear her approach and she lingered awkwardly for a moment before finally knocking lightly on the open glass door.
He looked up, slightly startled before he broke into a large grin. He took his glasses off, placing them on the desk, before getting to his feet and holding his hand out. "Miss Smoak, it's a pleasure to see you again."
She rushed forward to shake his hand, nearly tripping over her own feet in the process. "It's good to see you again, Mr. Steele." She hoped he couldn't tell that her hands were shaky and clammy and if he did, his face showed no sign.
He gestured towards the chair on the other side of the desk. "Please, take a seat." He waited to speak again until they were both settled in their chairs, Felicity perched on the edge, nerves beyond frayed. "I wanted to discuss a new project that QC is taking on and your involvement in it."
She stayed quiet for a minute as his words sank in. "So you're not firing me?"
He gave her a blank stare before chuckling softly. "No, Miss Smoak, you're not getting fired."
"Oh, thank god," the words rushed out of her. "Sorry, it's just that when you get called to the CEO's office, it's hard not to think that you're getting fired. I had a speech ready and everything to convince you to change your mind."
"No speech necessary, Miss Smoak." He gave her a reassuring smile and folded his hands together on top of the desk. "As you're well aware, Wayne Enterprises is working on something big, as our depleted IT department can vouch for, mostly because they've signed a couple large contracts with the military this past year, and Oliver and I have spent a great deal of time planning something that will help us compete with them. We're going to move ahead with a plan to open an Applied Sciences division, a department specifically dedicated to scientific and technological innovations that I'm hoping will earn us a few of our own contracts. I want only the best of the best on this project and that's where you come in."
Felicity frowned. "I'm not sure how I could help."
"I need someone with computer expertise to set the system up and I was hoping you would agree to join the team."
"I'm flattered, Mr. Steele, but there has to be someone else. I haven't even been with QC for two months, there has to be someone who is more qualified." She didn't say someone better because her pride wouldn't allow her. She knew she was one of, if not the, best at what she did but this seemed like a lot to take on and she wanted to make sure this had nothing to do with who she knew and everything to do with her skill.
"Well, I spoke to Richard first but he declined, said that he wanted to focus on the IT department itself, especially with influx of new people, something that I agree with. He recommended you for the job, said you were better than him and that you should be the first choice. He even mentioned something about you taking his job over in a few years. I understand that this is unusual, considering the length of time that you've been here, but there aren't many people in the IT department that have been here longer than you and none with your skill. I trust Richard and his opinion with my life. If he says you're the one for the job, you're the one I want."
Felicity struggled to pick her jaw up off the floor, at a complete loss for words. She'd known that her boss liked her but she never imagined that he held her in such high regard. "I'm flattered, this is amazing," she finally managed to say. "Of course I'll do it, sir, it would be an honor."
"Fantastic," he beamed. "I'm hopeful the project will only take six weeks so I'll give you today to finish or delegate any current projects you're working on and report to Mr. Queen's office tomorrow morning where he'll fill you in on project specifics."
"Mr. Queen's office?"
"He's the head of the project. Everyone working on this project is the best at what they do but all of you will report to Mr. Queen directly. Is that going to be a problem?"
"Nope, no problem at all, I'm looking forward to working with Oliv—Mr. Queen." The words didn't come out as calm as she wanted them to but aside from a raised eyebrow, Mr. Steele didn't say anything.
He got to his feet, stretching his hand out to her again. "I have no doubt that this project will be a success."
She clasped his hand, shaking it a little harder than she needed to from the excitement that was threatening to burst from her. "I'm excited for this opportunity, Mr. Steele, thank you." She turned around to leave, having to stop once more to thank him again. She figured two was pretty good considering how grateful she was.
She barely restrained herself from running back to her desk, plopping herself into the chair once she got there, doing a giddy confined dance in it. Nothing could spoil her day, something she usually restrained from saying so not to taunt the universe into proving her wrong, but she threw caution to the wind, deciding that nothing was going to ruin today.
"How was your meeting with Walter?" Richard Martin asked, leaning against the doorway.
"You might want to stand back a few feet since I want to hug you so bad right now that I might actually do it and that would not be appropriate."
The short wiry man laughed, pushing his glasses back up his nose. "As enjoyable as I'm sure your hugs are, it's probably best if we don't. Don't want to give them anything to talk about." His tone was light but there was a look in his eyes that told Felicity he knew very well what they'd been saying about her and Oliver since she'd started. It didn't matter that they'd only gone on one official date, any good or bad thing that happened to Felicity was directly linked to her supposed relationship with Oliver. She was already preparing herself for what would happen once they learned that she was working on getting Applied Sciences up and running, working directly under Oliver. With Oliver. Thankfully, this was an internal conversation with herself and not with someone else. Though, admittedly, this probably wasn't the best time to be having a conversation with herself in her mind.
"Thank you, Mr. Martin, for recommending me. Seriously, thank you, this is an incredible opportunity."
"No, thank you, Felicity," he told her sincerely as he moved farther into the small and cramped room. Lowering his voice, he continued, "To be honest with you, I've barely been holding this department together for the last six months and you've been a complete godsend. The only employees I have left are people who weren't offered a job at Wayne Enterprises which means that they're not the talent I'm used to." He shook his head, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his wrinkled khakis. "I don't know what they're offering people over there or why you turned them down but I'm glad you did."
"Me too, Mr. Martin," she said, meaning it.
Later that evening, Felicity was sitting in her apartment watching the latest Liam Neeson movie that Ronnie had insisted on watching when there was a soft knock at the door. She slid out from underneath Ronnie's arm and got off of the couch, walking over to the door. "Want me to pause it, babe?" Ronnie asked, his eyes glued to the TV.
"No, that's fine, you keep watching," she told him, leaving out the part where she hoped the movie was over by the time she got back. She pulled the door open, her mind going blank when she found Oliver on the other side, a bottle of wine in one hand. She stood there with the door wide open, gaping at him.
"Hey," he greeted softly.
"Who is it?" Ronnie called out, eyes still focused on the blaring TV.
"It's Oliver, I'm going to step outside, I'll be back." She didn't miss the flash of irritation in Oliver's eyes when Ronnie spoke and she didn't miss how Ronnie finally pulled his eyes away from the screen when she said Oliver's name. She didn't give him a chance to say anything, gesturing for Oliver to move back so she could move outside and shut the door behind her. "What are you doing here?" The words came out harsher than she wanted them to and she sighed, folding her arms across her chest. "What's going on?"
He shuffled his feet, looking down at the wooden slats of her front porch, running his free hand through his short hair. He looked down at the bottle of wine and held it up. "Tommy told me he owed you a bottle of wine and I wanted to come congratulate you in person, so I told him I would bring you the wine. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have—"
She shook her head so quickly the end of her ponytail hit her in the face. "No, it's fine. Thank you for bringing the wine, I forgot all about it. I helped him with the servers at Verdant like a month ago." Once the words came out of her, she remembered the two of them standing in this very spot a month ago, and the very vivid memory of when she thought he was going to kiss her rose up in her mind.
He handed the wine to her and she took it, cradling it in her arm. "Anyways, I just wanted to congratulate you on the job and make sure that you know that I had nothing to do with it."
She grinned, pleasantly surprised that he'd followed her thought process. "I know. Mr. Martin was pretty clear that he was my biggest champion. Thank you, though, I'm really excited."
They stood there quiet, staring at each other for much longer than was appropriate. It was Oliver that ended up breaking eye contact, taking a step back from her even though they hadn't been standing that close. "I better get going but I'll see you in the morning."
She nodded and watched him walk down the path, climbing into the car, just like she had a month ago. She'd been thinking that maybe she'd made the wrong decision and had considered telling Oliver exactly that but she was happy she hadn't. That would have complicated this new job or maybe it wouldn't have happened at all. All in all, for the sake of her career, she was happy with the way things worked out between them. They could be friends and this could work. Though, it occurred to her as she went back inside and sat on the couch, letting Ronnie's arm fall over her shoulder, that this job might have something to do with Oliver's sudden declaration of friendship.
The next morning, after struggling all night to sleep, she'd gotten to work ridiculously early. So early, in fact, that she ended up sitting in her car in the parking lot trying to kill time. The plan had worked up until the point that someone rapped on the driver's side window, startling her and almost making her throw her coffee everywhere. She looked up to find Oliver smiling outside her car. Sheepishly, she rolled down her window. "You scared me."
"What are you doing?" He asked her, amusement twinkling in his eyes.
"Uh, I was early and I didn't want to go inside yet." It just had to be Oliver that found her here, she thought to herself.
"How long have you been here?"
"Not very long." That was a definite lie. She'd been sitting here for at least half an hour, if not more.
"You ever plan on coming inside?" He teased.
"Well, I didn't want to show up before the boss and make him look bad," she retorted.
Oliver laughed loudly, the sound echoing off of the walls of the parking garage. "I don't need any help in that area."
"Mr. Queen, just the man I was looking for!" An obese and balding middle aged man yelled as he rushed up to Oliver. He stood there for a minute, trying to catch his breath before he started to talk. "I wanted to talk to you before you got absorbed in a project today. Can I walk you in?"
Oliver nodded before telling Felicity, "I'll see you in my office."
Felicity waited until his back was turned to roll the window up and let her head fall against the steering wheel. Unfortunately, she hit it too hard and it let out an obnoxious honk, and her head swiveled towards Oliver and the other man, seeing that they'd definitely heard it. She groaned loudly and slid down in her seat until she was out of sight. She was extra spastic this morning and she kept telling herself that it was due to the excitement over her new job but deep down she knew it was the nervous anticipation of working with Oliver that was doing this to her. She had to get it together, she had to remain unaffected, or at least act like she was unaffected.
She took a few minutes to gather herself and her things before finally getting out of the car and making her way inside the building. There were a couple people from the IT department waiting for the elevator in the main lobby and as she approached, they quickly stepped aside, giving her room. That was her first sign that they knew about her working in Applied Sciences. The second came when the two of them moved farther away to whisper among themselves, a muffled snort of laughter drifting her way. She rolled her eyes but didn't say anything, keeping her head held high and her back ramrod straight.
It paused when the elevator doors opened and the three of them plus another two that had wandered up piled into the unoccupied elevator. The forty-five second ride to the IT department was torturous, the two woman continuing their hushed conversation. She bit her lip so hard to stop herself from saying something that she thought she might have bloodied it. Finally, the elevator came to a stop, the doors opening, and the women brushed past her, one giggling softly as she did.
Felicity debated for a heartbeat before her hand flew out, stopping the doors before they could shut. "A little piece of advice for you," she called after them, making them stop in their tracks and turn around. "If you spent as much time doing your job as you did talking about people you don't even know, maybe you'd be the ones working in Applied Sciences." She stepped back, allowing the doors to close. She gave the two men left in the elevator an apologetic smile. "Sorry," she mumbled.
She hadn't meant to say anything, she'd expressly told herself she wouldn't, but she couldn't stand there and allow them to talk about her like they had any semblance of knowledge about her. It was like high school all over again and she hadn't let them get away with it then, she wasn't going to start now.
She was surprised to look up and find herself standing in front of Oliver's secretary, having no memory of getting off of the elevator. "Hello, I'm Felicity Smoak, I'm here to see Mr. Queen."
"He's expecting you, you can go right in," the small blonde told her brightly.
She thanked her and took a deep breath before pushing open the glass door and stepping inside Oliver's office. He was staring at the computer monitor, hand propped in his chin, his brow furrowed, looking like the epitome of deep in thought. She thought maybe she should make a noise, do something small to alert him to her presence without startling him. She was so caught up in trying to find a good way to enter that she didn't even notice him lean back in his chair, watching her with an amused expression.
"I see you found your way out of the car and to the doorway of my office," he said, pulling her out of her thoughts. "One more step and you'll actually be in my office."
She blushed and pursed her lips, taking one dramatic step forward, allowing the door to close behind her, taking the air in the room with it. "You looked like you were in serious thought and I didn't want to disrupt you or scare you though I doubt that happens to you. You seem like the kind of person who normally can't be snuck up on unlike me who can't help but get distracted at every turn. It's funny how when it comes to computers, I'm laser focused, but the second you throw me out into the real world, that focus disappears. Something that this conversation can attest to," she finished sheepishly. "But I promise you that I will be fully focused on this project from here on out."
Oliver stood up, straightening out his baby blue tie and smoothing down his black suit jacket before he came out from behind his desk. "I have no doubt about your abilities, Felicity. I know you're a genius and there's nobody else I'd rather have on the project. Now come on, let's get going."
They walked into the large facility that would be the future home of Applied Sciences and Felicity was surprised to see more than a handful of people wandering around the mostly empty building.
"You're the one of last additions to the project but as you can see we haven't made that much progress. Most of our equipment is currently being shipped and there isn't much we can do until it gets here. What I need you to do first is to figure out what equipment you need to make this place a top of the line facility. Money isn't really an option but you'll still have to run everything by me before its finalized."
They approached a desk that seemed out of place in the middle of the room. Someone was standing at the desk, pouring over scattered sheets of paper, running a hand through his short brown hair. "This is Dr. Barry Allen, he's the lead scientist on the project."
At the sound of his name, Barry Allen whirled around, looking more than a little frazzled. "Mr. Queen, I'm glad you're here. There's been a miscommunication somewhere and the security system isn't online and they're saying it might take a week to get it running but there's a multi-million dollar shipment of equipment coming tomorrow and that's not even including the shipment of chemicals that are due the day after that. Chemicals that are highly dangerous with no place to securely store them." He hadn't even registered Felicity standing next to Oliver and she wondered how long he'd been here when she noticed the dark circles under his eyes. He looked pretty young and Felicity was curious to know if there was anyone over the age of thirty working on this project.
"Dr. Allen, this is Felicity Smoak, she'll be in charge of everything IT related," Oliver said, choosing to not acknowledge his panicked words just yet.
Barry's gaze swept over her but she could tell he had bigger concerns on his mind than meeting her. She stepped slightly past Oliver, making Barry focus on her. "What type of system is it?"
"I don't know, the guy is around here somewhere. Do you think you could fix it?" He asked, disbelief lacing his voice.
"There's nothing I can't do with a computer. Show me the way and I'll tell you if I can fix it before your delivery arrives," she told him as nonchalant as she could. The truth was that she was excited, it was a challenge with limited time.
For the first time, Barry really looked at her, his eyes reflecting a cautious hope. "Well, let's go then. What was your name again?"
"Felicity Smoak," she answered as they started walking, oblivious now to Oliver's presence.
He shook his head, fighting back a smile before shoving his hands in his pockets and following after them.
Later that night, Felicity was walking out of Applied Sciences, ready to go home and melt into her couch, when Oliver joined her outside the building. "So how was your first day?" He asked as he sidled up to her, slowing his pace to match hers.
"It was amazing." The words came out breathy and she flushed in embarrassment.
"I know Barry couldn't stop singing your praises after you fixed the security problem. I think he was minutes away from proposing."
She giggled and it was the most glorious thing Oliver had ever heard. "I only looked so good because you guys had an absolute idiot trying to set up a system that is one of the most high tech out there."
"I don't know, it only took you half an hour, I have a feeling most people couldn't do that."
She gave him a small smile as they made their way into the parking garage. "So did you just hang outside Applied Sciences to boost my ego?"
Oliver let out a short bark of laughter. "Who said I was hanging around outside? Maybe I wasn't waiting for you."
"You expect me to believe that your timing is that impeccable?"
"Okay, so maybe I did wait outside but I figured I should see how my friend's first day went."
"It was great," she reaffirmed.
Neither of them had anything else to talk about, leaving them to linger outside of her car silently, not wanting to part ways just yet. "So do you have big plans tonight to celebrate?" He asked, prolonging it.
"Yes, they involve my bathtub and a very large glass of wine."
"Is that how you celebrate everything?"
"No, it's how I relax after an exhausting day, good exhausting, but exhausting none the less." She left out that it was also how she coped after bad days or break-ups or sad days. There was something about a soothing bath and some red wine that fixed everything, at least for a little while.
A door creaked open and heels clicked against the pavement, someone else going home for the night, and it had the effect of popping the bubble that made them feel like the world had slowed around them, the same feeling they both had whenever they were near each other. "Is this job the reason you gave me the friend speech at the engagement party?"
She'd caught him off guard with the question and if she was honest, herself too. She hadn't planned on bringing that up until it was already coming out of her mouth. "No, I didn't. I meant what I said, Felicity, I want to be friends. I did want to make that clear before you found out you got the job but the job didn't change my feelings," he said in an even tone.
"It would have definitely complicated things if those dates had led to something." She had no clue why she said that or why she was still talking about this. Oliver wanted to be friends, he kept making that clear, but every time he said it, she compulsively wanted to bring up what could have been. "I'm glad we're friends. I know that it really doesn't make a difference to anyone here if we're friends or involved in a romantic way, they'll think whatever they want to think, but it makes a difference to me. I'm glad we're friends and I'm glad that we get the opportunity to work together and that it happened because of me, because of the work I did. So thanks for making it clear that I did," she finished lamely.
He smiled but it didn't reach his eyes. She was seized by the urge to step forward and wrap her arms around his waist, to lay her head against his chest and listen to his heartbeat. The need startled her and she took a step back before she did something she would regret. Oliver's mouth turned down in a frown before he ran a hand up and down the back of his head, taking his own step back. "I better get going." He turned and started walking away, head bowed.
"Oliver," she called after him.
When he stopped and turned back to look at her, she realized that she had nothing to say, nothing that she wanted to say out loud. "I'll see you tomorrow."
He nodded and started walking towards his car while Felicity opened the door of her mini-cooper and climbed into the driver's seat. As she drove home, she realized that she was going to have to make sure to keep space between her and Oliver, something she knew was going to be difficult now that they were working together and all the wedding stuff would begin in full in a month. This wasn't going to be easy but she had to stick to her guns. Nothing was going to happen.
The next two weeks flew by for Felicity, the project consuming all of her time even when she wasn't in the Applied Sciences building. For the most part, she loved it. She was surrounded by great minds and she was way past schedule on her progress, thriving in the environment. A part of her wanted to stall, give her more time before she had to return to the IT department, but she knew she couldn't do that. Of course, she'd still be on call if they needed anything technical but it wouldn't be the way it had for the last two weeks. Meaning, she wouldn't see Oliver everyday.
She'd done her best to avoid working closely with him but somehow she'd ended up turning into his pseudo assistant. She took his phone calls when he was too busy, she helped him think-tank things, she encouraged him when the day was getting long and he was losing faith in himself, she helped him make sure things were running smoothly, and it had ended up bringing them closer than ever.
Which was the exact opposite of what she wanted. So when she woke up that Friday morning, she was determined to say something, having laid awake in bed all night planning exactly what she would stay to him, and it left her in somewhat of a frustrated mood.
Unfortunately, the universe was against her this morning because the second that she walked through the door, Susanne Keaton, a scientist who worked with Barry, came rushing up to her. "Thank god you're here!" she exclaimed in her usual over-dramatic way. "They've been at since we got here at five this morning and I don't think either of them are backing off anytime soon. A couple of us have tried to go down there but nobody has gotten farther than the door and it's getting out of hand. We need you to fix this," the words rushed out of her so quickly she had to take a giant gulp of air to refill her lungs once she finished.
Felicity placed a hand on her shoulders, making her focus on Felicity. "What are you talking about, Sue?"
The mousy brunette pushed her glasses up and took a deep breath. "Dr. Allen and Mr. Queen are arguing in the lab."
Felicity rolled her eyes and swore under her breath. "I'll fix it, just continue doing what you're doing. I'll be back." She angrily stormed towards the far back of the facility, irritated that she had to start her day off by refereeing these two, two of the people who should be leading by example, not frightening the staff with their arguing. Though she wasn't particularly shocked, she'd known this was coming, it had become a matter of if, not when. She just wished there was someone else to take care of it since she was the IT specialist, not the male ego specialist.
The closer she got, the louder the voices got, and the quicker her pace became. When she rounded the corner and the big glass pane window of Barry's lab came into sight, she screeched to a halt, finding that things were much worse than she expected. Oliver's blue dress shirt was three-quarters of the way untucked and wrinkled, the black tie that he was wearing along with it when she left last night was long gone, and Barry's hair was standing on end, eyes red and bleary. She made herself get moving, throwing open the door, and making their voices clear as she stood and watched them in disbelief.
"How many times do I have to tell you that it's not going to work before you get it through that thick skull of yours?" Barry yelled as he paced the room, stopping every now and then to point an angry finger at Oliver, who was standing on the other side of one of four metals tables that were placed in the monochromatic room.
"How many times do I have to tell you that you have to make it work? This is the cornerstone of Applied Sciences, this is the reason I started this project, and it has to work!" Oliver bellowed back.
"You can't just will it into working! No matter how bad you want it, I'm telling you, as the scientist on this, that it's not going to work!"
"What the hell is going on in here?" she exclaimed loud enough to be heard over the cacophony of their voices. They both stopped yelling at each to turn and look at her with shock and confusion written on their faces. She took a few more steps into the room, raising an eyebrow at the scattered empty cans of energy drinks. "There are six scared scientists who have been hiding out there since five o'clock this morning because they had no idea how to come in here and stop you from tearing each other's throats out. You are both professionals so act like it!"
They both looked down at the floor, chagrined, but it didn't last long.
"Oliver seems to think that if he just wants something bad enough, it will miraculously happen, even if it's impossible," Barry told her snidely.
"Maybe it's impossible because of your defeatist attitude. Maybe if you tried instead of standing here telling me it can't be done, you'd find out that I'm right."
Barry snorted. "Right because god forbid the almighty Oliver Queen be wrong."
"Enough!" Felicity snapped. "Have either of you left this building since yesterday? Have you slept? Eaten?" They both fell quiet, choosing not to answer her obvious questions. "Did it ever occur to the two of you that maybe the reason that Barry thinks it isn't going to work and Oliver is being even more stubborn than usual is because you are both running on fumes and going stir crazy? And the amount of caffeine that you've consumed cannot be good for your health."
"Those cans are his," Oliver mumbled, effectively tattling on Barry.
Barry threw his hands out, making an offended noise. "Don't act like you haven't drank ten pots of coffee."
"It's official, I'm kicking you both out of this lab." They both erupted immediately and she whistled once, loud and sharp, to make them focus again. "Neither of you have taken a single day off in the last two weeks and it's time that someone made you. Get out of this lab and don't come back until Monday morning."
Barry frowned, forehead crinkled in thought, while Oliver chose to cross his arms against his muscled chest that was on display thanks to the extra buttons undone on his shirt and glower at her, taking one step forward. "This is my project, you can't force me to leave this lab."
She took a step closer to him, bringing her within inches of him. "If you don't leave, I quit, and you'll have to answer your own phones and get your own coffee and check your own schedule. So what's it going to be, Queen? Are you going to take a much needed seventy-two hour break and return with your sanity intact or am I going to have to quit this wonderful job I love?"
He stared at her for a long moment and she was starting to get scared that she was actually going to have to follow through on her bluff. In the end, he sighed, his shoulders slumping and he rubbed his weary eyes. "Okay, you're right. I do need a break and some sleep," he admitted.
"You could probably use a shower, too," she teased softly.
Barry shuffled past them, footsteps heavy with exhaustion. "Thanks, Felicity," he whispered as he passed.
Oliver sighed loudly as he gathered his things and followed after Barry, stopping at the doorway. "By the way, you've never brought me coffee."
"And I never will. Now go, I'll see you Monday, Oliver."
"Good night, Felicity," he said before walking away.
She shook her head, fully taking in the cluttered room. "It's eight in the morning," she grumbled to herself. She walked around one of the tables, bare except for a set of blue schematics. She paged through them, skimming the words, until she heard the door open again. "I thought I told both of you that I didn't want to see you until Monday."
"It's me, Miss Smoak," Sue said quietly behind her. "Thank you for doing that."
Felicity waved her apology off as she became more engrossed with the schematics. "Someone needed to do it. Do you know anything about these, Sue?"
Felicity looked up in time to see Sue shrug. "A little, it's been Dr. Allen doing most of it."
"Well, come help me out, I think Dr. Allen might be suffering from a bit of tunnel vision, nothing another pair of eyes can't help. What do you think? Do you have something important going on today?" She could afford to take a day off from her IT duties and these schematics were practically begging for her to give them her full attention.
"I have nothing the other scientists can't handle, Miss Smoak."
"Please, call me Felicity. Might as well if we're going to spend the day trying to figure out what those boys were doing wrong."
Sue smiled shyly and moved next to Felicity, picking up her own set of schematics.
It was almost ten that night when he strolled into Applied Sciences. He'd promised Felicity that he wouldn't come back until Monday morning but he was going stir crazy in the mansion. He hadn't expected anyone else to be here and he was surprised to see Felicity's red mini-cooper sitting in the parking garage. He'd looked through most of Applied Sciences and hadn't found her yet but he knew she was here. He approached the server room, seeing a small amount of light escaping through the partially ajar door, and slowly pushed it the rest of the way open, doing his best to not startle her.
What he found was Felicity slumped over a desk, her breathing easy and peaceful, the quietest snores escaping her. He leaned against the door and watched her sleep for a moment, enjoying the rare look at a quiet and still Felicity. These last couple of weeks had been some of the best, working closely with her, not needing any excuses to see her, and he didn't want this to end. The bright side was that maybe once this project was over and Applied Sciences was up and running, they could give this a real go. If she wanted to, that is, which didn't seem likely since she was the one who put a stop to it in the first place and from what he heard, she was still seeing Ronnie. But maybe he'd give it one more shot before he gave up for good. He'd never felt this way before and he didn't even know how to describe it. She was all he'd thought about since he'd met her in Verdant that night, even managing to haunt his dreams, and he needed to get a grip on himself before he did something stupid.
The thing was that he'd seen the same conflicted feeling in Felicity's eyes that he knew was reflected in his, giving him more hope than he should have. She lit a fire in him and he could feel it consuming him, he wasn't sure if he cared. He wanted to know everything about her, he wanted to share in her day, he wanted to comfort her when she needed it, and he wanted to wake up to her, her blonde hair scattered over the pillows as the sun cast a glow on her skin. He had it bad and it was both exhilarating and terrifying. He knew that she was what he wanted, he just needed her to come around to the idea, to see what he saw, to see how great they could be together. It would only work if he allowed her to come to the realization herself, if she could forget all the reasons why it wouldn't work.
He sighed softly, knowing it was time to wake her up and get her out of here. He knocked lightly on the door, having to do it louder after she didn't flinch the first time around. She popped straight up and a piece of paper comically stuck to her right cheek, leaving an imprint behind when she ripped it off of her face. She wiped the drool away from her mouth and her sleep heavy eyes widened when it registered that he was the one who woke her up. "I thought I told you to stay out of here until Monday," she grumbled before yawning.
"Says the person passed out in the server room."
"What time is it?" She asked as she reached for her cell phone.
"A little after ten, I was just stopping by to make sure everything was in order before I abandoned it for the weekend."
Felicity rolled her eyes. "You're not abandoning it, you're taking a break, something you can't do while you're standing in here." She grabbed her purse from under the desk, tossing her phone in it as she got to her feet.
"What are you still doing here anyways?"
"I wanted to finish some stuff before the weekend and I fell asleep, I was going to leave a couple hours ago."
He continued to lean in the doorway, blocking her path. "How did things go today?"
"After I diffused World War III? It went great."
"I'm sorry about this morning, it was completely unprofessional."
"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," she told him pointedly.
"And I'll apologize to Barry first thing Monday morning."
"Good because you need him and you need to start being nicer to him."
He clenched his jaw and looked away from her. "I'm nice to the kid."
"No, you boss him around, there's a difference."
"That's my job."
"You're job is to make sure things run smoothly and according to plan, not to berate and terrify your staff."
"I do not berate them," he said defensively.
"Maybe not all of them," she conceded. "But definitely Barry. You treat him like he's a dumb kid when he's the best scientist you have here, he's your biggest asset and you need to start treating him with some respect."
"What do I have to do to get you to defend me like that?" He muttered, unhappy with this conversation.
"Oliver, I'm just trying to make you realize that they're intimidated by you and the way you treat Barry doesn't help."
He slumped against the doorway. "I'm intimidating?"
She softened at his tone. "Don't you notice that everyone already treats you like you're already CEO? And the amount of pressure you've put on everyone to get this right has their nerves on edge, I think that you should tone the intensity down a bit."
He pushed off the doorway and towered over her small frame. "Do you think I'm intimidating?" He whispered.
"Not in the same way they do," she murmured as she stared up at him. "I think that you feel like you're still that playboy who shirked responsibility and that no one could take seriously. What you're failing to see, what everybody else sees, is that you're not remotely like that anymore. I know you're the first person to say that you're a changed man but I don't think you believe it, I don't think you believe that these people respect you and value the opinions you bring to the table." She figured she should distract him with compliments before one of them took that last step forward and did something they shouldn't do.
"That might be the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me," he said quietly, something she'd never seen before flashed in his eyes before it was gone and she realized her distraction technique had only served to bring them closer.
"I should tell you something else, even though it'll only expand your large ego," she said, ignoring the nearly imperceptible tremble in her voice.
He chuckled and she felt his breath on her face, telling her that she needed to step back from him but she couldn't bring herself to do it. "First you tell me that I don't see myself the way others do and then the next second, you're telling me that my ego is too big."
"You're right, I should have knocked you down a few pegs before I told you that you were right this morning with Barry."
His brow furrowed in confusion but he didn't say anything, waiting for her to elaborate.
"Sue and I, or well, Dr. Keaton and I took a look at the schematics this morning after I chased you out of here and we figured out what Barry was missing to get it working. I didn't do anything with it myself but I left him detailed notes that he can go over on Monday. I know I probably should have minded my own business, since I'm not a scientist and that looked like it was top secret government stuff but sometimes all it takes is some fresh eyes to see what you can't when you've poring over it for days."
He was regarding her with admiration and appreciation and it stole her breath away. "Thank you, Felicity."
"I'm sure Barry would have figured it out he got back," she stuttered.
"You're remarkable," he told her sincerely.
"Thank you for remarking on it," she managed to squeeze out of her air-deprived lungs. She wanted to reach up and kiss him, the feeling hitting her so abruptly she actually gasped. Oliver noticed and his head started to tilt downwards and she knew that she would be done for if his lips touched hers, there would be no going back.
Her phone began to vibrate in her clenched fist and it effectively snapped the moment, both of them stepping away from each other, trying to subtlety catch their respective breath. "It's Ronnie, I have to take this, I was supposed to call him an hour ago," she told him after glancing at the caller ID.
"Of course," he said as he stepped aside to give her room to walk past. "I'll see you Monday, Felicity."
"Good night, Oliver," she said after a brief hesitation. She avoided his gaze as she swept past him, answering her phone. "Sorry, I fell asleep here," she said into the phone before her voice faded out.
Oliver tossed his head back, taking a deep breath as he rubbed his hands against his face. Suddenly, his phone starting ringing and he pulled it out of his pocket, seeing that it was Tommy. "What's up?" He answered.
"Pry yourself away from work and get down to Verdant now," Tommy's muffled voice rang out from the tiny phone speaker, struggling to be heard over the loud club music.
"I was about to go home, Tommy, is it important?"
Tommy sighed dramatically. "McKenna Hall is here and she was asking about you. She also happened to mention that she has a rare night off tomorrow and I think it's the perfect way for you to move on from Felicity," he told him bluntly.
"I don't need to get over Felicity."
"Whatever you say, man, but you can't deny that you've been distracted for the last two months. You need a break and McKenna's the perfect girl for that. Trust me, have I ever let you down?"
He ignored that and considered what Tommy was saying. Maybe he had a point, he'd been wrapped up in Felicity and that wasn't going anywhere. She was still with Ronnie and she was still serious about her career, nothing had changed between them. With the exception of a couple charged moments between the two of them, they were exactly what he said they were. Friends. Maybe it really was time for him to move on. "Fine. I'll be there in twenty minutes."
The next night, Felicity arrived at Maddigan's, a nice upscale restaurant that was close to QC, and made her way to the hostess. She'd barely seen Ronnie the last week and after falling asleep at work yesterday, she knew that she had to make it up to him, so when he'd asked her to have dinner with him, she'd accepted. The truth was that she was feeling guilty about all the time she was spending with Oliver and she needed to do something to appease that feeling. That was also why she was ten minutes early for their date, insisting on driving herself. "Hi, I'm a little early and meeting someone here, reservation should be under Ronnie Raymond."
The hostess smiled brightly and grabbed a menu. "Your table is right over here." They rounded the corner and the hostess gestures towards her table, waiting for her to take a seat.
"Felicity?" Oliver's voice rang out from next to her.
Wide-eyed, she slowly revolved, finding Oliver seated at the table directly next to hers. He stood up and straightened his suit out, pulling her chair out for her. She thanked him softly and sat down, self-consciously playing with the ends of her loosely curled hair. "What are you doing here?" She asked once the hostess left them.
He shifted in his seat uncomfortably, eyes locked on the table. "I'm on a date."
"Me too, I'm waiting for Ronnie." They sat there in silence for a minute, each unsure of how to handle the situation.
"This is weird," Felicity said.
"I wasn't expecting this," Oliver said at the same time.
They shared an awkward laugh but before they could say anything else, Ronnie strode into the restaurant, leaning down to give Felicity a quick kiss before taking his seat, failing to notice Oliver. "And here I thought I was going to be the early one." It was that moment that his eyes drifted over Oliver. "Queen," he stated, irritation and disappointment ringing out through his voice. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm on a date and here she is," he said, standing up to greet a long-legged exotic looking woman that immediately managed to make Felicity feel frumpy. Oliver gave her a peck on the cheek before taking a seat.
"Sorry, I'm late, I had to go into the station and finish some paperwork, it took longer than I thought," she said, smiling at Oliver as she adjusted her tight blue dress that had ridden up slightly when she sat down.
"Uh, McKenna, this is Felicity Smoak and her date, Ronnie Raymond. Felicity and I work together."
"I'm her boyfriend and we're on a date," Ronnie unnecessarily clarified.
"Oh, I didn't realize this was a double date," McKenna said.
"It's not," Ronnie interjected.
"This is complete coincidence. I guess we have similar tastes," Felicity said.
Ronnie mumbled something under his breath and Felicity gave him a sharp look, silently telling him to behave.
"Why don't we push the tables together then?" McKenna offered with a graceful shrug of her shoulders.
Felicity tried to hide her uneasiness but she guessed she hid it about as well as Ronnie was hiding his irritation, which wasn't well. Felicity shrugged, unable to make it look as good as McKenna did. "I don't see why not." It was Ronnie's turn to give her an incredulous look which led her to shrug her shoulders again.
McKenna had already waved a waiter down. "Is it okay if we push these tables together?"
Once the waiter gave the okay, promising to be back soon to take their orders, all four of them got out of their chairs, carefully pushing the tables together. They took their seats, Ronnie and Felicity on one side with McKenna and Oliver on the other. Somehow, Felicity and Oliver had ended up across from each other, reminding both of them of their failed date. Oliver, Felicity, and Ronnie turned their focuses to their menus, doing their best to pretend that it wasn't awkward but it didn't escape McKenna's notice that something was bubbling underneath the surface.
"So how do you guys know each other? Work?" McKenna asked, trying to alleviate the tension.
"Actually, we have mutual friends. I went to college with Nyssa and her girlfriend, Sara, is the younger sister of Oliver's best friend's fiancée." It sounded complicated when she said it like that.
"I take it you're talking about Laurel and Tommy?" McKenna asked, continuing once Felicity and Oliver nodded. "I saw little Lance bartending at Verdant last night, met her girlfriend, too."
Felicity choked on a mouthful of wine. "Nyssa was at Verdant last night?"
"She stopped by to visit Sara," Oliver told her. "She was there for less than an hour."
"That's the Nyssa I know," Felicity remarked.
Ronnie cleared his throat. "How did you two meet?" He asked Oliver and McKenna as his arm came around to rest against her chair, brushing against her bare shoulders but she barely noticed, caught up with watching Oliver's eyes following Ronnie's hand as it caressed light circles on Felicity's shoulder.
"We've known each other since high school and we ran into each other last night. I don't get much time off so I don't get out much."
Oliver must have gone straight to Verdant last night after she'd left. At least he was listening to her and taking some time for himself, not that she'd meant he should take the first pretty girl he saw on a date but whatever made him happy. She'd keep telling herself that to drown out the pointless jealousy roaring through her veins.
"What do you do?" Ronnie asked McKenna.
"I'm a detective with the SCPD, it doesn't leave me with a lot of free time."
The conversation paused for a minute as the waitress stopped at their table to take their orders. More than once during the brief interval, her and Oliver's eyes found each other, lingering longer than was appropriate. Thankfully, nobody else at the table noticed or if they did, they chose to not say anything. The waitress left and conversation resumed normally, no mention of longing glances or inappropriate behavior.
"What do you do, Ronnie?" McKenna asked.
"I work at KORD enterprises. It's how I met Felicity actually, I work with Nyssa who insisted on introducing us to each other." Ronnie smiled at her and pressed a kiss to her temple and Felicity couldn't shake the feeling he was only doing it to rile Oliver up. "We've been together a month and half or so. I'm just lucky I was one of the first people to meet her outside of her friend group after she moved to the city." He said the words sweetly but there was an edge to them, one she was guessing was directed towards Oliver. Could this dinner get any worse?
Just as she thought that, she moved her leg, accidentally brushing against the inside of Oliver's leg. She nearly jumped out of her seat but somehow kept her face calm as she pulled her leg back, readjusting herself in the chair so her limbs were nowhere near Oliver's. She felt her face heat up and she avoided looking at Oliver, afraid of what she might see.
"Where are you from originally, Felicity?" McKenna asked.
Felicity cleared her throat, hoping her voice didn't reveal how frayed her nerves were. "Vegas originally but I left four years ago to go to MIT. After graduation, it was Starling or Gotham, and I ended up here."
"MIT, that's impressive," McKenna said after a low whistle.
"I just know my way around a computer, it's more impressive that you're a detective," Felicity said, deflecting the compliment.
"Trust me, it sounds a lot more glamorous than it really is."
"If you would have asked me in high school, I never would have guessed that you'd become a cop," Oliver said.
"You and me both but I got all my rebellion out when I was a teenager, as I'm sure you remember," McKenna said.
As her and Oliver continued to playfully flirt, Ronnie turned in his chair towards her. "I didn't know that Wayne Enterprises offered you a job."
"Well, they never technically got around to offering me a job, they called to set up an interview but I'd already decided to join QC," she told him quietly.
"Yeah but they didn't call just anybody for interviews. I never heard from them and I'm one of the best IT specialists at KORD." Ronnie said petulantly. "I know that if Bruce Wayne offered me a job, I'd take it in a heartbeat."
"Bruce Wayne never offered me a job and I like QC and Starling City," she said defensively.
"I'm personally glad that she chose QC, she's indispensable to the company," Oliver told him tightly through clenched teeth.
Now there was an awkward and tense air that hung over the tables, McKenna finally picking up on the fact that not everything here was as it seemed. "I'm happy to hear that. It's good to know that the company appreciates her so much, since she's there all the time. Hell, she even fell asleep there last night she's so dedicated to her job."
"Ronnie," she warned. She was shocked at the anger in his voice and she was starting to wilt under McKenna's intense gaze.
Oliver leaned back in his chair. "If you have something to say, Raymond, just say it."
"What is going on here?" McKenna snapped.
Felicity was about to say that they should leave when the waiter arrived with the food and McKenna's phone began to ring.
"Hall," she answered. "I'm not that far from the station, I'll be there in five." She disconnected the call, swinging her purse over her shoulder. "I have to go. It was...nice to meet you."
"McKenna," Oliver said wearily.
"Goodbye, Oliver." She stalked out of the restaurant without so much as a glance back while the waiter lingered around their table, unsure of what to do.
"I don't think we're going to be needing that," Felicity reluctantly told the waiter.
Ronnie stood up abruptly, almost bumping his chair into the woman sitting behind him. "You ready to go to your place?" he asked her but his eyes were locked on Oliver.
"I don't know if I want to be near you right now, Ronnie. You're acting like an idiot."
Oliver shook his head and got to his feet. "I better get out of your way." He left the table, not giving Felicity a passing glance.
"You do realize that he's my boss, right? If you had a problem with him, you could have told me about it in private instead of ruining his date."
"Of course you'd stand up for him."
"What is going on with you?" she asked in a hushed whisper.
"What's going on with you and Oliver? And don't say nothing because I've watched the two of you, both of you stare at each other when you're not already busy looking at each other. It would be sickening even if you weren't my girlfriend."
"We went on two dates, two dates that did not go well and I don't feel that way about Oliver, I told you we're just friends. You're making a big deal out of nothing."
"Keep telling yourself that," he scoffed before he followed Oliver out the door, leaving Felicity sitting at the suddenly empty tables.
She waited a minute before swallowing her humiliation and walking out of the restaurant, her head held high. Surprisingly, Oliver was standing outside the restaurant, leaning against a light post. She didn't understand how he made simply leaning against an object so unbelievably sexy but those thoughts were completely inappropriate, especially given the disaster that was tonight.
"I saw Ronnie leave without you so I decided to wait so I could apologize to you," Oliver said once he saw her, pushing off of the light post and walking over to her.
"Looks to me like we can't be in the same restaurant without something horrible happening, even if we're on dates with other people."
"You might be onto something there."
"Look, I'm sorry that Ronnie acted like that. I didn't realize that he had a problem with you, not that he should have a problem with you, I don't even know what his problem is." She almost said she didn't know why she was still dating him. She knew it wasn't going anywhere and she wasn't the type of girl who needed to be in a relationship, especially if it was the wrong one, simply because she couldn't handle being along, but saying that would have been giving too much away. There were bigger reasons than Ronnie and her job that were keeping her from taking that step with Oliver, reasons she was only beginning to understand, and she had to keep those to herself.
"No, I'm the one who should be apologizing, I shouldn't have antagonized him. To be honest, I probably shouldn't have let McKenna push the tables together to begin with." It seemed like he wanted to say more but he didn't, keeping things close to the chest just like her. Maybe that was why the air felt heavy whenever they were near each other, buckling under the weight of all things unsaid.
"We're date kryptonite, plain and simple," she stated matter-of-factly, drawing a small smile out of Oliver.
"That must be it."
"Good night, Oliver." For some reason, she reached out and gently squeezed his arm before turning away from him.
"Good night, Felicity," he murmured as she walked away.
