Chapter Twenty-One
Tim and Luke looked at each other then back to the card.
"Damn," Tim said with a slow chuckle. "Your sister is a total bad-ass."
"Felicity didn't steal his card," Luke said confidently as he tossed it back down on the table.
"Dude, it's got his name on it," Time pointed out.
"I don't care," Luke said. "Felicity gets paranoid if you eat a grape in the supermarket before paying for it."
Tim gave him a skeptical look, "How did she get the card then?"
Luke shrugged nonchalantly, "I have no idea."
"I repeat; your sister has turned into a total bad-ass."
"Lifting Bruce's card makes her a bad-ass?" Luke asked drolly.
"No, lifting Batman's AmEx Black makes her a bad-ass. Even I wouldn't do that and technically I'm family."
"You're a dumb ass," Luke said without heat. The doorbell rang and he looked up, "Huh? That was fast."
"I wonder why security didn't call upstairs first?" Tim asked with a frown.
"I don't know, man. Who cares, I'm hungry." He snatched the card and the cash off the table, shoved them in his pocket, and headed for the door.
"You're really using it?" Tim chuckled as he followed him to the door.
"Hell, yeah; motherfucker slept with my sister, least he can do is buy her dinner," Luke shot back before answering the door then froze, every muscle in his body going tense.
"Luke," Bruce said as the two men faced each other.
"Bruce," Luke returned icily.
"Oh, I just knew tonight was going to be chock full o' fun," Tim breathed as he looked from one man to the other.
"I didn't know you were back in town."
"Now you do."
"Maybe we should take this outside?" Tim said quietly, glancing back towards the kitchen.
"I'm not here to cause trouble, I just want to speak to Felicity," Bruce said, his expression never wavering despite the implied threat before him.
"See, you say you're not here to cause trouble but you talking to my sister?" Luke thinned his lips and tilted his head slightly to the side. "Yeah, that's going to be a problem because, as far as I'm concerned, that's the definition of trouble."
Tim cleared his throat and turned to Bruce. "Okay, before this escalates I think maybe it would be best if you just left."
"Or not," Luke growled.
"I'm not after a fight," Bruce returned with equal menace.
"Really? That why my little sister has bruises all over her?" Luke asked him. "Didn't seem to have a problem using your hands on her, what makes me so special?"
Bruce's eyes grew even colder and he tensed. "Do you really want to go there with one arm in a sling?"
"Oh, there's plenty I can do with one hand tied behind my back," Luke said, taking a half step forward.
The muscles in his jaw tensed but he didn't yield. "I understand where you're coming from Luke and, if I were you, I'd probably have the same reaction but—"
"But what, Bruce? Tell me, how should I be reacting right now?" Luke said, moving another step forward until he was in the hall. Tim followed him, closing the door behind him so that the girls couldn't hear. "Explain to me how I should react to finding out that a guy I thought was my mentor and friend screwed my baby sister?"
"I didn't screw Felicity," Bruce bit out, getting in Luke's face as his own temper began to come to a head. "The only reason I was even down there in the first place is because I was trying to keep her safe!"
"So I saw," Luke said, his hand balling up into a fist at his side.
Bruce's eyes flickered for a moment. "I didn't mean to hurt her like that and I already apologized for it."
"Before or after you fucked her?" Luke asked right before Bruce's fist caught him in the jaw.
Luke rolled with the punch and went down to the floor, his legs kicking out in a sweep that sent Bruce down hard. Before the older man could regain his footing Luke was on top of him, his thick thighs straddling his chest and pinning his arms as he pounded into his face with his one good fist.
Bruce lifted his legs and wrapped his calves around Luke's throat, jerking him backward until his arms were free then caught him in the solar plexus with a power punch that left him winded as he got back on his feet. "Don't make me hurt you, Luke," he gritted out as the other man sprang up into a battle stance, his bad arm held tight to his stomach.
"Bring it bitch," Luke managed, holding his ground.
"I'm just here to talk," Bruce repeated, keeping his distance but still obviously prepared to defend himself if need be.
"Where did you guys go? Is the food-?" Tam popped her head out of the door and gawked at the sight of her brother and Bruce in a standoff.
"Go back inside, Tam," Tim said tersely as he practically pushed her backwards.
"What's going on?" Felicity asked walking over and peering out the door. "What the hell?"
"Felicity—" Bruce turned his head toward her and Luke acted, his fist cutting through in an upper cut before he spun his body into a roundhouse kick that sent the other man flying.
"Whoa!" Tam exclaimed, wide-eyed.
"Luke, stop!" Felicity rushed past Tim and stepped between Bruce and her brother.
"Go back inside, Felicity," Luke said grimly as he stalked toward Bruce who was already getting back to his feet.
"No," she said, her tone laced with steel as she planted her hands firmly on her brother's chest. "I've already had one home destroyed in a bat-brawl this week, I'd rather not see this one trashed too!"
"I'm just here to talk to her," Bruce said, stepping toward them warily.
"So talk!" He spat out.
"Alone," said, the grim tone of the Bat coming to the foreground.
"Not gonna happen," Luke told him.
"Luke, go back inside!" Felicity ordered him angrily.
"I'm not leaving you alone with him!" Luke shot back.
"I can handle this myself," she told him. "You too, Tim." She looked over at the other man. "Take Luke inside and I'll be there in a minute."
"You sure?" Tim asked, looking from Luke to Bruce and back to her.
"Positive," she said, feeling the tension leave the muscles in her brother's chest despite the anger in his expression.
"I'll be inside if you need me," he said to her even though his eyes never left the other man.
"I'll be fine," she assured him. She waited until Luke walked inside with Tam. Tim offered her one last reassuring nod before shutting the door to give them at least the semblance of privacy. She eyed Bruce up and down for a moment before speaking. "It wasn't enough that you destroyed my entire house in a brawl back in Starling City you had to start one here too? Is this going to be a new thing for you?"
"Sorry," Bruce said, the anger leaving his expression although the tension he felt was still apparent in the way he held himself.
"Why are you here?" She asked him.
"I thought we should talk."
"About what?" Felicity asked. "The weather? Our shared hopes and dreams? Whether or not the Gotham Rogues make it to the Superbowl; what?"
"No, I-I talked to Queen after you left." Bruce cleared his throat, running his hand over his slightly mussed hair.
"Oh?" She asked coolly. "You two have a bonding moment after trashing everything I own? Nice to know some good came out of that, I suppose."
"He told me the truth about the Arrow and about what you were doing out there," Bruce said, not rising to the bait.
"And?"
Bruce's eyes met hers, "I'm sorry."
"For what?" Felicity asked facetiously. "Ruining my life, destroying my home, or sleeping with me and then dumping me for a second time?"
"All three," he said, sincerity coloring his tone despite the tension in his expression. "Look, Queen explained all of it and I just wanted to tell you that had I known what was really going on—"
She held up her hand to cut him off. "You show up after four years, take apart my entire life in a matter of days, threaten me repeatedly, and what happens? Oliver tells you the exact same thing I've been telling you for days and suddenly everything's cool? Nice to hear and, by the way, fuck you very much."
"You lied to me Felicity, how was I supposed to react?" Bruce said with a grimace.
"You weren't supposed to react, Bruce. You were supposed to mind your own goddamn business 3000 miles away on the other side of the country where you belong!" Felicity said, anger suffusing her face with color. "My life is none of your business!"
"Your life is my business!" He told her angrily.
"Why?" She asked, throwing up her hands in exasperation. "Just tell me that; why? Why me? Because of my dad? Because I once worked for you? What makes me so special, answer me that!"
"You know why," Bruce said tersely.
"I really don't," she said shaking her head. "It can't be because of the sex because I know for a fact that you've fucked half the East Coast Social Registry, so why?"
"Don't," Bruce told her.
"Don't what?"
"Don't call what we—it's not just sex, Felicity." Bruce said with quiet intensity. "It's never been just 'sex' between us."
"That's not what you told me."
"And I'm telling you now that no matter what I said it was never just sex," Bruce said stepping into her personal space.
"So what are you saying, Bruce?" She asked with a mirthless laugh. "That you didn't just screw me because I was a conveniently located warm body? That you're in love with me? That all this was your version of sending a girl flowers?"
"I don't know. I don't know what I feel, all I know is that you're the only person-" He fixed his deep blue eyes to hers, his anger giving way to something else. "I don't know what this is but it isn't just sex for me."
She closed her eyes, "I'm not inviting you in again, Bruce. Not again."
"Please," Bruce said quietly and she nearly broke but then she remembered what he had done to her and her resolve hardened.
"'Please' only works once and it's too late," Felicity said shaking her head, refusing to let him see her pain again. "I'm done, Bruce. I can't do this with you, whatever this is. I can't keep playing this stupid game of yours."
"I understand." He turned his head away, his hands shoved deep in his pockets, "Queen mentioned…"
"What?" She asked flatly.
"Are you and he…together?" Bruce asked quietly.
A pained laugh burst out of her throat and Felicity looked heavenward as if asking for strength, "Oh, I get it; you and Oliver shared some locker room talk after your little rendition of Fight Club and because he told you I let him into my bed during a moment of weakness now you want me again? Yeah, well, don't bother," she said with an edge of bitterness. "Oliver gave me the exact same speech you did after rolling out of bed so you can just move on, safe in the knowledge that apparently no one else wants me either."
Bruce blanched, "I never said I didn't want you."
"I don't care," she said turning her back to him. "Just go."
Bruce didn't move. He closed his eyes and waited a moment before speaking again, this time in a far more cool and detached tone, "Queen and his associate are down a man so I'm sending Barbara there to take your spot and I'm going to ask Tim to volunteer to go with her. I need someone to run Watchtower in the meantime."
Felicity turned and looked at him like he was crazy. "Do you honestly expect me to join you in the Batcave after all that's happened?"
"Not the Batcave, at least not the one at the Manor." He said. "There's a secondary Watchtower location under the Wayne Foundation Building. I rarely ever use it so it's horribly out of date but you can upgrade the system in any way you see fit and stay in the penthouse for the duration."
"You want to set me up in the place Page Six once referred to as 'Bruce Wayne's Pied a Terre of Passion'?" Felicity asked sarcastically. "And how do you suppose I explain that to my dad?"
"We'll keep it professional," Bruce said, his expression giving nothing away. "I'll tell him you agreed to act as a paid consultant and that I offered you the penthouse because I never use it which, by the way, is the truth. Despite what the rags would like everyone to think, I rarely go there unless it's an emergency. I'll give you a generous salary and you can live there free of charge plus I'll pay all of your expenses and supply you with any equipment you need. If we can't get it or if you'd prefer to not go through me, you can keep the card and use that or I can have Alfred give you access to an off-shore account."
"So let me get this straight: You want to pay me to live in your bachelor pad, take care of your 'needs', and you'll give me shiny things and let me keep your credit card so I can stay occupied while you're off doing other stuff." She rolled her eyes, "Do you really think people won't automatically leap to the conclusion that you're my Sugar Daddy just because everything is, wink-wink nudge-nudge, strictly professional between us?" She asked in a voice heavily laden with sarcasm. "Why bother telling anyone I'm a 'consultant' when you can just say 'hooker' and get it over with?"
"I think the word you're looking for is 'mistress'; hookers get paid then leave, they don't take up residence," Bruce shot back dispassionately. "If you don't want to man Watchtower, fine. I'll just let your team know that they're on their own."
Guilt? He's trying to guilt me into doing what he wants? The only reason the team is down a man in the first place is because- Felicity gritted her teeth and counted to ten. Oh no, she thought. Now I'm pissed. Watch this, you emotional blackmailing Bat-bastard. "Fine, I'll do it. But if I'm going to be living there then I want it understood right here and now that this is a professional relationship and that you will not enter my home uninvited, I don't care if it's an 'emergency' or not. Also, I will be paid generously, emphasis on generously. I'm talking the kind of numbers that hurt, not the little ones that just leave a tickle in the checkbook."
"Anything else?" Bruce asked without blinking an eye.
"Yes," Felicity said, thinking quickly. "My days are my own, sun up to sundown. I work when the Bat does and when Bruce Wayne trades in his Kevlar for a three piece suit our association ends. You have no right to ask me what I do with my time or with whom I choose to spend it."
A vein in his forehead stood out as emotion in the form of extreme irritation returned to his expression, "Done." It was close but not quite the reaction she was going for.
"Not yet," Felicity said with a touch of triumph. "I saw the photo spread Gotham Living did on that little love nest of yours and there is no way in hell I'm living in some Art Deco meets black enamel and steel Modern nightmare. You're paying to have the place redecorated, stem to stern, and if I decide to move I keep the furniture."
"Why don't I just sign over the deed to the building while I'm at it?" Bruce asked sarcastically.
Bingo. "No, but the deed to the penthouse will do."
He smirked at that, "You're not serious."
"Yeah, I think I am," she said with a nod. "The way I see it, you owe me for forcing me to leave my home and to top it off you destroyed most of my furniture and clothes."
"Between yesterday and today you spent over $126,000 on clothes, shoes, and handbags," he said wryly. "I think my debt has been paid in full."
"$126,000?" Felicity repeated, pursing her lips. "Got more bang for my buck than I thought. I should go back and get the really expensive stuff next time." She looked him in the eye, poker face in full effect. "I want a contract and a deed drawn up that says I retain full property rights to the penthouse for the sum total of $1 and that, should I ever decide to move, you get first rights to buy back the property for full market value plus 25%."
"I'll give you a lease," Bruce returned.
"Think of this as less of a negotiation and more like a divorce," Felicity told him with a malicious twinkle in her eye. "I get the house and full custody of Watchtower Jr."
"I'm not doing it," Bruce snorted derisively. "I've been more than generous in my offer; take it or leave it."
"Leaving it." Without even a second's hesitation Felicity turned to head back inside the apartment.
"There's no way you'd risk leaving your team back in Starling a man down and without a tech," Bruce said in an almost bored tone.
"You're right," Felicity said in an exaggerated manner as though finally realizing something. She tapped her finger to her chin. "I wouldn't, would I? This is why I'm heading back inside to get dressed, call for a cab to the airport, and then heading back there; tonight."
"Queen sent you to Gotham for a reason," Bruce growled. "You're blown, remember? You go back there and your freedom is forfeit."
"I remember," she nodded as she turned dramatically on her heel and faced him again. "The thing is, now that I've had time to think things through I'm not so sure he was right. In fact, I think that Isabel isn't nearly the threat he thinks she is."
"And if you're wrong?" He asked, his voice dropping into a registry more in keeping with the Bat.
"It's a risk I'm willing to take."
Bruce narrowed his eyes at her, "Queen won't let you. If you show up on his doorstep he'll just shut you out."
She frowned, "Eh, I don't think so. You see Bruce, your first mistake in coming here-besides thinking I would ever just cave and be grateful for your presence in my life because I'm just some pathetic former lay of yours," at her words he started forward before clenching his teeth in a grimace, "was that we were in some sort of negotiation. We're not. A negotiation occurs when one party has something the other one wants and vice versa. I know that there is no way in hell you would ever risk sending both Barbara and Tim to Starling unless there was something down there that you wanted. Since we both know it's not me, that means that you're betting that Ra's al Ghul is going to show up on Oliver's doorstep sooner or later and you want your people in the best position possible when that happens. What that means is that you're the one down a tech, not Oliver, so you're the one who needs me, not the other way around."
"You think you're so clever right now, don't you?" Bruce said with a tinge of amusement despite the firm line of his jaw.
She clucked her tongue at him, "Oh Bruce, I know I am and, despite what you may think, you're not that hard of a read." She let that sink in before continuing. "As I was saying, your second mistake was in assuming that Oliver ran his team in the same way you run your little dictatorship; he doesn't." She took a bold step forward, taking a play from the Bat's How to Influence and Intimidate Handbook, her expression one of deadly intent. "I only work for Oliver when I'm at QC, the rest of the time I'm his partner. He might wear the suit and provide the bankroll but there are three deciding members of Team Arrow and Oliver only accounts for one vote. He doesn't get to shut me out unless Diggle goes along with it and that won't happen. The only thing Oliver can do is put down the suit, in which case Diggle and I are perfectly capable of running the show without him which is something we've done before and can do again." At that Bruce's expression shifted, his eyes focusing on her with laser-like intensity.
That's right, Felicity silently told him. Five months. Barbara would have confirmed that Oliver Queen was gone for five months but the Arrow was still hanging around Starling City on and off the entire time. Do the math.
"I wasn't lying on that rooftop, Bruce; not entirely anyway. If you want to get down to brass tacks, I'm the one who runs the show down there," her blue eyes flashed cold as ice. "Oliver and Dig are vital to the mission but not irreplaceable and if something happens to either one of them we can put a guy in the suit but finding a replacement for me is a whole different matter and they both know it. Even if I have to go completely underground I can do it. I can fake documentation in my sleep and I can get access to unlimited sources of cash and information anytime I need to, so going back to Starling isn't really as big a hurdle for me as you'd suppose. You, on the other hand," she tilted her head in quiet contemplation.
"The way I see it, my closing ranks with Team Arrow puts you out of the loop on the whole Ra's al Ghul/Starling City angle and the last thing you want to do is start a turf war with Oliver while you're up here in Gotham. You need his cooperation and if I'm there he has no reason to make nice with you. That means that, not only do you need my help, but you need my physical presence here in Gotham for as long as it takes for that to happen." Her lips twitched into a confident expression of superiority as she watched him seethe with anger and frustration at being caught out so easily, "Bad guys aren't trains Bruce; they don't run on schedules. Ra's could show up at any minute or it could take years before he puts in an appearance. If you want me to agree to stick around for that long, you need to make it worth my while. Owning real estate sounds like putting down some pretty significant roots to me, don't you think?" She smiled, really smiled. Not a tight angry smile, but a big fat sunny shit-eating grin that matched his deepening glower in intensity. She had him and he knew it.
"You didn't even want to stay at the penthouse, remember?" Bruce said, unwilling to concede defeat just yet.
"That was when you owned it," she said serenely. "Now that I own it the idea is beginning to grow on me. After all, what kind of girl wouldn't be interested in her very own penthouse in the heart of Gotham City?"
"There is no way I'm giving you that property," Bruce told her. "If you want to go back to your boyfriend so badly then fine, I can't stop you."
"Okay then," Felicity said easily.
"I can make do without a tech, even one as talented as yourself," he told her, his face darkening in anger.
"Didn't say you couldn't," she said, turning to go back into her dad's apartment. "Goodnight Bruce."
He held his stubborn stance until she had her hand on the doorknob, "Wait."
She turned to him slowly, "I'm sorry, I thought we were done here; was there something else you needed?"
His eyes were closed and she could see the frustration written all over his face. "Are you enjoying yourself?" Bruce bit out.
"A little bit," she said with a smile. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the wall next to the door.
"What do you really want?" Bruce asked her.
"I just told you."
"No," he said, his eyes zeroing in on her expression. "You're not getting the penthouse and you know it, so what do you really want?"
"I want to know just how much your mission really means to you," she told him. "I want you to show me just how far you're willing to go."
He took a step forward, his muscles tight and his countenance grim, "As far as it takes."
"Apparently not," she told him with a raised eyebrow then watched in amusement as he ran an agitated hand through his hair and began to pace as he pinned her with another silent glare. "Oh dear, is having to concede a significant portion of the Bat's territory a problem for you? Doesn't it just ping your little control freak nerves to have someone get the upper hand for once?" She clucked her tongue and gave him a sad little pout. "Poor baby."
"This is a joke to you?" He growled menacingly. "What is this really about? Payback? Some petty little bid for revenge?"
"No, this is me teaching you a very important lesson," Felicity explained. "If you screw with someone then you'd better be prepared to get screwed back. Don't worry Bruce, it only really hurts the first time."
He rubbed his hand over his mouth and shifted his stance slightly, "Your father is CEO of Wayne Enterprises; what do you suppose he'll say when he finds out that I 'sold' you the penthouse suite in the Wayne Foundation Building for those terms?"
"Nice try," she said easily. "The Wayne Foundation is completely separate from your Wayne Enterprise holdings with you as sole shareholder, owner, and deed holder for that property. My father would never have any reason to see or have knowledge of our business transaction unless you showed it to him. Also, since the penthouse is considered separate from the Foundation and is your private residence there would be no need to disclose the sale in a public declaration of charitable holdings. If my dad asks I'll just tell him I leased it or I used my own private investments to purchase the property rights. He has no reason not to believe me." She smiled again and leaned forward, her voice dropping to a near whisper, "I might not have liked being an Executive Assistant but that doesn't mean I didn't pay attention during all those business meetings and negotiations."
"Fine, you want to go, we'll go," Bruce bit out. "If I agree to this then it will be quid pro quo; I want a contract," he demanded. "You agree to work for me for no less than five years and any escape clause goes one way; mine. If I need you to consult for any projects at Wayne Enterprises or WayneTech you will do so as a paid consultant under exclusive contract and any tech, weapons, or other intellectual properties developed while under contract are to be retained solely by me. At no time may you accept an offer of employment by any company in direct or indirect competition with Wayne Enterprises or its subsidiaries nor can you fraternize with any competitors on your off hours of which there will be none. You will be available on-call 24/7. If I choose to retain you at the end of the original contract then it will be at my discretion. If you choose not to sign a new contract then you will sign a non-compete clause which says that you cannot work for anyone else for an additional five year term. You will sign a confidentiality agreement in addition to an employment contract and if you fail to meet your end, any and all property rights will revert back to me."
"Nope," Felicity said, stifling a yawn. "No contract, no trotting me out with the other worker bees, and no way in hell do you ever get to even have the illusion of power over me. You only get me when the Bat does and even then you will keep your little bat-toes on your side of the fence. If I want to work for someone else, I will. If I want to invite Lex Luthor to my place for a quickie and sell him a big ass smart gun that fires bat bullets, you can't say 'boo'. This is a straight trade and any time I want to leave, I leave. If that leaves you in the lurch then tough shit; not my problem."
"You expect me to agree to that?" Bruce asked flatly.
"I don't care if you do or not," she replied. "Like I said, you're the only one with your hand out here, remember?"
He stuck his hands deep inside his pockets and threw her a look that would have caused any other person to flee in the opposite direction while babbling in fear. "Fine, it's yours! Tomorrow afternoon, five o'clock, my office," Bruce said through gritted teeth. "I'll have the paperwork ready for you to sign and then I'll take you over to the penthouse to show you the set up."
She looked at him for a few seconds before letting out a sigh. "I don't want your penthouse, Bruce," Felicity told him.
"What?" He asked, his expression livid.
She shrugged, "I was just messing with you."
"You were what?" He asked in disbelief.
"Think about it," she said with mischievous twinkle in her eye. "Why on Earth would I want a $50 million dollar penthouse? The property taxes on something like that would cripple me financially in no time." A look flashed across his eyes and Felicity knew she had him. "The maintenance fees on it alone would be somewhere around $14,000 dollars a month."
"Then why go through all of that then?" He burst out.
"Because you were being a dick," she told him. "Lesson number two: Don't be a dick."
"Fine," Bruce snarled. "We'll just sign a lease then."
"Eh, not really interested in it anymore," Felicity said off-handedly.
"What does that mean?" He asked, looming like an avenging angel on a mission.
"Just what I said," Felicity said absentmindedly as she turned to go back inside.
He placed a hand on her shoulder and spun her around, pinning her to the wall, "How do you expect to run Watchtower then? Unless, of course, you plan on moving into the manor or Barbara's apartment."
"I'm not going to work for you Bruce," she told him. "Not from the penthouse, or the manor, or Barbara's apartment."
"Yes, you are!" He said through gritted teeth, "Stop. Playing. Games. I'm not in the mood."
"Are you sure?" Felicity said languidly not the least bit intimidated.
His nostrils flared and he seemed to struggle with himself for a moment before he grabbed the back of her hair and pushed her into the wall, his mouth claiming hers in a hard, unrelenting kiss.
Her hands splayed over his broad chest as she allowed herself this one last moment of insanity. His tongue invaded her mouth as his hands travelled downwards to her hips. He gripped her backside and pulled her into his embrace so she could clearly feel him hard and ready against her.
There was a bump and a rattle of the doorknob along with the sound of raised voices in the penthouse and they broke apart, both of them turning toward the noise.
"I guess we have some eavesdroppers," Felicity said in a surprisingly level tone even though her brain was filled with a lust induced fog.
Bruce quickly stepped away from her, obviously struggling for control. "We can't do this here," he said with some inscrutable emotion in his eyes. "Go get dressed and I'll wait for you out here until Luke calms down."
"Why?" She asked calmly, pretending as though she wasn't just as affected by the kiss as he was.
"Because obviously we need to talk and I'd like to say what needs to be said in private," he told her.
"I think we've already said everything that needs to be said, Bruce," she told him.
"Obviously not, because you kissed me back just now and that wasn't one-sided, Felicity." Bruce turned away from her, rubbing the back of his neck in consternation, "You drive me—what's wrong with you?" He rounded on her. "You agreed to run Watchtower if I conceded to your demands and I did; to all of them." His lips tightened into a grimace, "I just don't understand you. I know you want to do this with me, I know you want to be a part of the mission-!" his eyes narrowed on her and his focus shifted, "I told you that I wasn't interested in a relationship so you're trying to punish me, is that it? I never would have imagined you'd be so childish and desperate that you'd stoop so low as to pull a stunt like this."
She arched an eyebrow at him, "Believe it or not Bruce, you're not as great a catch as you seem to think you are. I was mad, yes, but not because of that. I was more upset by the tone than the content but that's neither here nor there. The fact is that I've done the vigilante thing for years now and I'm ready to move on with my life. I actually have a few job prospects lined up and I'd like to pursue them. It's a bit hard to hold down a full time job when you're up all night hacking, running code, and monitoring communications for a bunch of masks. You and Oliver might be able to live off of catnaps and coffee but I'd like to avoid premature aging and insanity due to prolonged sleep debt."
"You expect me to believe any of that?" He said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I don't care if you do or don't, the fact is that I'm ready for a life away from all this." She didn't have to fake her sincerity on that one, it was true. "I already have a few prospects lined up, in fact."
"With who? What companies?"
"Why would I tell you that?" She asked with a soft chuckle. "So you can sabotage any chance I might have? Not hardly."
"I'll double any salary they offer, I'll even triple it if you like, but we both know that you'll never settle for an ordinary life," Bruce said confidently.
"It's not about the money, Bruce," Felicity said scrubbing her hands through her hair that had come loose from her messy ponytail and stretched. His eyes went straight to the neckline of her camisole and zoomed in on the fact that she didn't bother with a bra. "It's about quality of life."
"'Quality of life', huh?" Bruce repeated, his eyes following her as she moved to lean against the wall again and folded her hands over her chest to stave off the chill in the hallway. She watched as he observed the slight bounce of her unbound breasts under the thin material of her shirt. He cleared his throat and scowled, "Cut the crap, Felicity; just tell me what you want and let's settle this."
"Why do you need me to do it?" Felicity asked him with a curious tilt of her head. "Alfred can run Watchtower, can't he?"
"No," Bruce bit out losing his temper again, "but you already knew that plus you're one of Watchtower's programmers. You can keep up with the system, work code and hack as you go; at best Alfred can just monitor the coms but he can't do what you and Barbara do. Look, what it comes down to is if you don't agree to run Watchtower I can't send Barbara to Starling, period. Ra's and the League are coming for Queen and his crew and you need your people safe just as much as I need my people there. In the meantime though, I still need someone monitoring channels in Gotham." His focus narrowed on her again, "Unless you really are still thinking about going back to Queen?"
She shook her head, "Like I said, I'm over the vigilante thing. I was over it before I even left Oliver which is one of the reasons I quit. All I want now is a career and a chance at a normal life."
"A normal life?" He scoffed at the possibility of that being the truth again. "With marriage and babies and dinner by seven every night? I don't think so."
"Why not?" She challenged.
"Because it's a load of bullshit and you know it!" He said with a short bark of laughter.
She frowned, "No, seriously, why can't I meet someone and have all that? Not that I want that necessarily, nothing wrong with it either way, but why is that bullshit? Do you think I'm somehow defective or something?"
"You aren't built for that life and even if you were you already know you won't get it from me or anyone else you have your sights set on." The timbre of his voice lowered to a darker and more seductive level and he stepped close enough to her that she could feel his body heat through her clothes. "And since Queen is out of the running we both know who that leaves, don't we?"
Her lips quirked upwards, "I do but I have a feeling you don't."
"Meaning?" Bruce proffered.
She just smiled enigmatically knowing that it would bug the shit out of him later. "Fine, I will temporarily help you with Watchtower as long as Alfred agrees to start learning the system. You can teach him, I don't expect to have that much time on my hands."
"Alfred has his own duties to see to," Bruce said shaking his head. "Other than the occasional shift he can't man Watchtower every single night."
"What a coincidence, neither can I," Felicity said sarcastically.
"I don't have all night, Felicity," Bruce grimaced. "Out with it."
"Fine Bruce, I'll man Watchtower but there will be conditions."
"Naturally," he said sardonically, "What now? You want me to sign the manor over to you? Empty my bank accounts? I know," he said, snapping his fingers, "you want me to give you your 'normal life' and get down on one knee after asking your father for your hand in marriage. We'll have a spring wedding and make lots and lots of babies; twins, and we'll give them cutsie little names like Chrysanthemum and Churchill."
"That was a pretty detailed foray into the absurd, Bruce," Felicity said with a superior lift of her brow. "Is there something you need to tell me?"
"Not hardly," he threw back in an unamused tone.
"I won't live under your roof, Bruce. This is a temporary arrangement so I'll just commute for now."
"I need you on-site," he told her. "That means you stay at the manor, the penthouse, or Barbara's place."
She thought about it for a moment, "Fine, the penthouse, but you pay all my expenses plus everything else you offered," she paused for drama. "No, I did not forget the offer you made to pay me a generous consultancy fee or the unlimited toy budget. I will, however, be accepting a job soon and I can't be your 24/7 tech girl so there will be a schedule and you will adhere to it. Also, I need regular days off."
"What for?" Bruce asked with a frown.
Felicity blinked at him, "Because I don't intend to spend the rest of my life as a background character in Vigilante World, that's why. I'd like to be able to let the person I'm seeing know that I can be available to go out on a date occasionally without running it past you first."
"What person?" He snorted. "You've been back in town for all of two days."
"Oh Bruce, you'd be surprised at what a girl can get up to in just a matter of days."
That wiped the smug look off his face and his jaw clenched, "What kind of schedule?"
"I'll give you prime hunting hours; 10 pm until 3 am Monday through Friday with weekends off."
He shook his head, "Unacceptable; I work Gotham until close to dawn seven days a week. I need you on coms from at least 9 pm until 5 am, sometimes later."
"Tell Alfred to work the swing shift then because I need at least five solid hours so I can function at a job and take care of sleep debt on the weekends."
"Did Queen work those hours?" He demanded. "I doubt you complained about sleep debt with him."
She fixed him with a hard eye, "I was his EA, I made his schedule for him. If I needed a nap then then I took it. Plus, you're not him; any concessions I made in Oliver's situation do not apply to you."
"If you want a job I can get you a job; naps included," he said, completely unmoved.
"Pass." She said sweetly.
He tightened his mouth in frustration before answering, "Fine, I'll try to accommodate you but, as someone once told me, bad guys don't run on schedules. If I need you, you're there, understood?"
"That's reasonable," Felicity said. "But if I think you don't need me I'm logging off, understood? And when I tell you I'm down for the night or I need time you give it to me, no questions asked."
"We'll revisit it," Bruce said stubbornly.
"Not negotiable."
"Best I can do," Bruce told her. "I'll try but I can't promise you something like that." At her silence he sighed, "Ask me for something I can do and I'll give you that but I can't guarantee you a schedule."
"Well," she said, appearing to mull it over, "even though I'm really not excited about the idea of that penthouse of yours I suppose I could accept your offer of the decorator."
"My offer?" He snorted. "Whatever, fine; I'll even let you keep the furniture. I'd already planned on replacing your belongings and had your things delivered to the penthouse from your old place yesterday."
"I told them to deliver them here," Felicity said with a scowl.
"My company, my instructions," he said unapologetically.
'Whatever," Felicity rolled her eyes, uninterested in fighting over it. "There's one more thing."
"Name it," he told her.
"Access to my bed is not a part of the deal," she said with a confident bearing. "If I take money from you it's because you're paying me to be your tech, not a call girl, understood?"
His expression slammed shut and he surged forward, his mouth drawn into a grim line, "I've never treated you like a call girl and you know it."
"And I'm telling you that I won't be manhandled and your money doesn't buy you those kinds of services," she told him succinctly. "Even if I really do decide to hook up with Sexy Lexie, my personal life is my own and you are not a part of it."
"Sexy Lexie?" He asked, a spark of amusement in his expression battling with the tense line of his jaw.
"You know what they say about bald men," Felicity drawled. "I might have to find out if it's true for myself."
"You have a type, Baby, and Lex doesn't fit the bill," Bruce said in a sexy undertone.
"I don't know; older billionaire with a dark side?" She pointed out. "Sounds about right."
"I'm not worried," he told her, stepping a bit closer.
"Oh?" She asked coolly.
"I don't need to force my way into your bed, Baby," Bruce rumbled in a low tone. "Whether you admit it or not, you want me just as much as I want you but I'm willing to play it your way for now." His voice took on a sensual timbre, "The next time I take you it will be at your invitation."
"Consider yourself uninvited then," she said laconically.
"Are you sure about that?" His voice took on a languorous quality as he moved closer, his eyes dipping to the thin material of her top and her unbound breasts, trailing up to her lips before ending their journey by catching her gaze with his own.
"Do you want to take me to bed, Bruce?" Felicity purred, a seductive smile on her lips.
"Always," he said, his lips stopping just a hairsbreadth from hers, his arms leaning against the wall on either side of her.
"Good," she breathed into his mouth. "You needed to learn how to deal with disappointment sometime." She pushed him away with her fingertips and stepped out of the cage of his arms to touch the doorknob to the penthouse, "I'll see you tomorrow at 9 am at the Wayne Foundation Building."
"I have meetings scheduled in the morning," he scowled, the Bat replacing the lover at breakneck speed.
"Cancel them," she told him. "Consider it the first in a long line of concessions you'll be making from here on out," Felicity said imperiously.
"Fine, I'll start making a few concessions if you will as well," he told her.
"Like what?"
He looked down at her, his mouth drawn in a tight line, "Like the fact that I need to be able to trust you to act as a team out there. That means you have to get over your anger and stop treating me like the enemy."
"If I act like I can't trust you it's because you haven't given me a reason to," she told him.
He nodded, "Okay, I'll grant you that one. I guess a lot of this is my fault, most of it in fact." He looked at her again, his eyes softer and more sincere than she had seen in a long time. "I'm sorry for what…for what's happened between us." He frowned and shifted his weight a little, "I'm not used to apologizing to anyone but I really am sorry. I never meant to hurt you and.." he took a breath, "I want this to work, Felicity. I want to work with you, share the mission. I don't want to fight anymore."
Felicity felt her anger melt a little and grumbled, "If you can make the effort then so can I, I suppose." He grimaced and she sighed wearily, "Look, I'll try, okay, but I need you to start listening to me. Really listen. I know that you're used to being the boss but I'm used to being someone's partner. My team trusts me and I trust them. If I tell you something then I need to know you won't shut me out or make a power play to reassert your dominance or some other crap! I need to know that you can treat me like an equal. I don't mind following your lead but if you want us to really work together you have to stop treating me like I can't think for myself or that I'm incapable of taking care of myself."
"That's not easy for me," Bruce said reluctantly.
"Learn," she told him firmly. "Tomorrow I'll do my best to make a fresh go of it but tonight I still need to process all of this. I'm still really, really pissed off about everything that's happened. I still can't believe that you and Luke—" She stopped, took a moment to center herself, then exhaled. "Okay, I'm letting that go now. It's done. If you can keep it in the past then I'll try too, okay? Tomorrow though, today I get to be as pissy and vindictive as I want to be."
"Pissy and vindictive, huh?" Bruce asked, quirking a smile. "If you were really pissy and vindictive you would have nailed me at least a couple of times with those toasters and potted plants."
"Almost got you with the wine bottle," she pointed out with a raised eyebrow. "Probably ruined that sweater of yours too. Pretty pissy and vindictive of me, I'd say."
"Guess I won't push my luck then." Bruce smiled a little and nodded as he made a move toward the elevators. "I'll see you tomorrow. By the way," he said, pulling something from his jacket pocket and tossing it to her. "Your phone and something for your good buddy, Lex."
She caught the weighted bag handily, refusing to react to his pointed sarcasm since she knew exactly what was in the bag. Instead she reached into the sack and pulled out the lube. She tossed it to him and he caught it midair without even thinking about it. "That's for you. Lex and I won't need it but now that I've seen your negotiation skills in action I figure you could use the relief."
At that moment the bell to the private elevator dinged and four delivery people emerged with several boxes of food between them. Bruce glanced over at them as they began to approach.
"Pissy and vindictive," he said dryly as he pocketed the lube and headed for the elevator, his eyes still locked on hers as the doors shut. As soon as the doors to the elevator closed, the door to her dad's penthouse opened and the three stunned and somewhat impressed expressions of her companions were revealed. Tim and Luke quickly paid the deliverymen and Tam pulled Felicity into the foyer while the men handled the multiple boxes and bags of food.
"Holy shit!" Tam breathed; eyes bright and face alight in stunned amazement.
"So I take it you were all listening in on that?" Felicity asked dryly.
"Dude!" Tim marveled as he stepped in behind them with a large box of food balanced in one arm and several bags dangling from the other, "Your sister really is a total—"
"Bad-ass," Luke finished for him as he shook his head. "Damn Felicity, all I was planning on doing was roughing him up a little; you practically ripped his balls off and shoved them down his throat."
"And then made him say 'thank you and may I please have some more'!" Tim crowed.
"That. Was. Amazing!" Tam squealed.
"I can't believe you just totally screwed Bruce like that and then literally tossed him a bottle of lube," Tim said in amazement. "It was like the culmination of every fantasy I have ever had!"
She shook her head at them, "Not that I don't appreciate your concern, but did you really have to watch us from the peephole?"
"Yup, plus we kept the door cracked so we could hear better," he said with a weird expression on his face as he poked her on the shoulder with his finger.
"Stop it!" Felicity said, batting his hand away. "What are you doing?"
"I'm just checking to see if you're real and not some kind of amazing dream I never want to wake up from."
Felicity sighed, "You do realize that this means that you have to go help my team in Starling now, right?"
Tim shrugged, "That's cool, doesn't matter to me. I was planning on heading back to Bludhaven tomorrow anyway. One city is just as good as another."
"Are you going to be okay with Tim being 3000 miles away?" She asked Tam.
She chuckled, "Girl, I work for Wayne Entertainment; I'm on the West Coast every other week! We'll probably see each other a hell of a lot more now that he'll be there and not in Bludhaven, the scum-sucking capital of the world."
"Hey, I might actually be able to get a tan," Tim said cheerfully.
"Look, can we talk and eat at the same time?" Luke asked, jostling some of the food.
"Let's eat!" Tim said as they all filed into the TV room. "You can fill me in on the details of your team over heartburn."
*\?/*\?/*\?/*
Later that night when she laid in her bed she finally got around to worrying about the logistics of everything.
As much as she'd like to pretend that Bruce no longer affected her, he did. She'd felt that kiss in her bones and she knew that he knew it, too. It was just a matter of time before close quarters and unresolved sexual tension came to a head and then she'd be in the same situation all over again.
"I am not a doormat," Felicity told herself out loud as she stared up at the ceiling. "I will not have sex with that man no matter what." She sighed and rolled onto her side, "Oh who am I trying to kid?"
She was going to ride that man like a mechanical bull the first chance she got. Speaking of which…
Felicity reached into the white paper sack on her bedside table, popped the Plan B in her mouth before tossing the packaging in her wastepaper basket and took a sip of water from her water bottle. She then tossed the bag and its contents back on top of the nightstand. "One less thing to worry about at least."
She slumped back into her pillows and glanced at her clock. It was still pretty early. Tam, Luke, and Tim were still up and watching TV in the lounge but she just hadn't been in a company kind of mood.
"Hey," Tam said, opening her bedroom door a crack.
"Hey," she said back.
Tam walked over to her bedside and fished the pastel colored packaging out of the trash. "$49.99 plus tax?"
"Yup," Felicity said morosely. "And worth every penny."
Tam tossed it back in the wastebasket with a frown, "Why did they decorate the package in pastels if it's supposed to prevent pregnancy? Isn't that like the worst marketing idea ever? Damn thing looks like it should come with a free pair of baby booties."
"I don't know," Felicity said dryly. "Maybe because they think people with uteruses can't handle primary colors?"
Tam seemed to consider that for a moment, "That or they thought a picture of a baby bump with a line drawn through it might be too obvious?" She snorted, "Personally I'd buy it but, hey." She lay down beside her in the bed forcing Felicity to scoot over to give her room. She settled into the pillow and rolled over so she was facing her, "I meant to ask, can I move in with you?"
"Sure, you've already stolen my pillow and my side of the bed, why not?" Felicity snorted.
"No, I meant into the penthouse," she said.
"You already have the condo Dad bought you," Felicity frowned
"So?" She asked, "That penthouse has like five or six bedrooms, what do you care? Plus my condo board doesn't allow pets. If I move in we can get a tiny little doggie together! Maybe a Lhasa Apso, or a Yorkie, or one of those teeny tiny little poodles people stick in coffee mugs so they can post it on Facebook?" She made a little gesture with her hands, "We can dress it in cute little sweaters and do its hair and buy it tiny little accessories; a cute widdle puppy with a tiny widdle smooshy face. You know you're dying for one, right?"
"Tiny what? And who's going to housebreak it?" Felicity asked muzzily.
"Tim," she said easily. "He'll also walk it and do all the other gross poopie stuff we don't want to do."
"Tim's not even housebroken! Besides, he's going to be in Starling City, remember?"
"We'll hire a maid and a dog walker, I'll pay! Please! Pretty please! Please let me live in your penthouse!" Tam begged, her hands folded in supplication.
"Fine!" Felicity said wearily. "If you can figure out how I'm going to work with Bruce and not wind up in bed with him only to get my heart stomped for a third time then you can move in and get as many dogs as you like. Smoosh all the little widdle faces you want to all day long."
"Can't you just sleep with him and not get your heart broken?" Tam said easily.
"I doubt it," Felicity said morosely.
Tam grabbed the paper sack off the vanity and peered inside before pulling out the XL labeled condoms and grinned at her, "Are you sure?" She teased, dangling the box between her fingers.
"I don't think I can do this," Felicity said, not even cracking a smile.
"Sure you can," Tam told her. "It's like riding a bike." She winked, "A very well hung bike."
She snorted, "Not that, I mean work with Bruce again and not get hurt."
"God, you're bringing me down," Tam moaned dropping the condoms on the bed between them and burying her face in the pillow.
"I'm sorry if my life is making you upset," Felicity said sarcastically.
"What's the big deal?" She asked without looking up. "He wants you, you want him, I say hop on top and enjoy the moment."
"I can't, and I don't think I can work with him without that happening again either," Felicity said miserably.
"But you have to!" Tam said, lifting her head from the pillow.
Felicity sighed resignedly, "Because of the mission and the fact that it's the right thing to do?"
"No, because I really want a dog."
There was a knock at the bedroom door and Tim stuck his head inside with his eyes tightly shut, "Is everybody decent?"
"Unfortunately," Tam said sulking.
"Damn," Tim said in consternation as he opened the bedroom door the rest of the way.
"What are you doing in here anyway?" She asked, shaking her head at her boyfriend.
"Luke went to bed early and it felt weird being the only one in the TV lounge," Tim told them. "Got room for another in there?"
Tim plopped down between them and Felicity huffed as she was forced to the outer edge of the bed. "You know, a few boundaries would be nice every once in a while," she groused.
"What's got you so crabby?" Tim asked. "You just handed Bruce his ass out there; you should be celebrating not holed up in here bringing down the mood."
"Thank you!" Tam said, hugging him tightly and kissing his cheek. "I knew there was a reason I loved you; I told her almost the exact same thing just before you walked in here."
"No you didn't," Felicity said with a frown. "You said I should sleep with Bruce and basically chuck my self-respect out the window."
"What is-?" Tim squirmed on the bed and pulled the now crushed box of condoms out from behind him. "I really didn't need to know this about Bruce," he said reading the label.
"Felicity said she can't be a kick-ass vigilante anymore and she wants to give Bruce back our penthouse," Tam pouted, burying her head in his chest.
Tim wrapped his arm around her and turned to Felicity with a scowl. "No! No way! You can't do that after you—" He paused, "Wait, did she say our penthouse?" He looked at Felicity hopefully.
"No." Felicity told him.
"Damn," he breathed, his brows drawing together in consternation.
"Tim," Tam said in a whiny little girl voice. "Make her have sex with your dad again so I can live in his penthouse and get a little doggie!"
"I don't even want to think about Bruce and-! Wait, we could get a dog, too?" Tim looked to her again.
"No!" She said, throwing her arms up in exasperation.
"Well, that sucks," he said grumpily. "I always wanted a dog. All we had at the manor were stupid bats and you can't pet those things without the risk of rabies."
"Tim, the practical stuff, the logistics of me living there and working with Bruce just doesn't add up!" She heaved an aggravated sigh. "Right about now Bruce is realizing he has me over the barrel and the minute I cave and give in to him he's going to wind up stomping my heart all over again."
"So don't let him," Tim said blithely. "Bruce bulldozes over everyone around him and we all cave because he's so damn relentless it usually isn't worth it, but you didn't let him beat you out there. You won. You laid a smack-down on his ass and made him see what it's like for the rest of us. You aren't really going to give that up, are you? Because he wins whether you stay and cave or whether you run away and hide; either way, he knows he has that power over you."
"So he wins no matter what I do? Is that what you're saying? Great," Felicity said sullenly.
Tam plopped down beside Tim, "Ugh! Your life sucks and you're dragging me down with you!"
Tim shook his head at the two of them. "The problem with the two of you is that you aren't thinking this through."
"No duh, how do you think I got into this mess to begin with?" Felicity said, lying back until she and her sister were side by side with Tim between them, their matching expressions a fitting representation of doom and gloom.
"What does Bruce hate more than anything?" Tim asked them, arching one eyebrow haughtily.
"Commitment," Felicity said.
"Casual Friday," Tam said at the same time.
"Not being in control," Tim corrected them. He turned on his side, punching the pillow so that he was comfortable before speaking again, his mouth relaxed in a gentle smile. "Bruce hates not having control. He cares about you, probably a lot more than he wants to and it scares the crap out of him. It makes him feel out of control so he pushes you away because suddenly he doesn't hold the power position, you do. He's playing push me/pull me because a part of him thinks that if he keeps you off-balance then that means he's in control and he won't stop until you stop him and the only way to do that is to break him of the habit and show that, no matter what crap he pulls, you aren't falling for it."
"And how am I supposed to do that?" Felicity asked.
"You just did; out there just a while ago," Tim told her. "You took control and he let you. He fought it but once he realized that you weren't going to let him roll all over you he relented. Once you recognize that, you also begin to realize that the only thing that bothers him worse than when people don't do what he wants is when they ignore him altogether."
"What do you mean?" Felicity asked and both she and Tam looked at him with interest. "I tried ignoring him and it didn't do any good. He just showed up and-"
"Kissed you so hard it made the doorknob sweat," Tam finished for her.
"First off, I did not need that imagery; secondly, I don't mean 'ignore' as in 'not pay him attention', I mean total apathy." He told them. "You got him good tonight and it's bugging the shit out of him right now. He's out there on some rooftop deciding on strategies and formulating protocols even as we speak and tomorrow morning, bright and early, he'll call his secretary and cancel every meeting he has just so he can be at the door to his penthouse waiting to spring a trap on you and show you that, even if you think you got one over on him, he's still the one in control."
"And?" Tam prompted him, lifting her head from the pillow and rolling onto her side to face him.
"Think about it," he told them. "Bruce has been stewing over this all night long, he's got plans within plans, he's figured out every angle, he's determined to regain control over the situation; what is the one thing you can do that will completely throw him off his game?"
"Hand me the phone," Felicity said as she finally got it.
"What are you going to do?" Tam asked as Tim handed her the cell.
"Hold on," Felicity said as she looked for the name she'd added to her contact list just before she decided to go to bed. The phone began to ring and she waited.
"Hello?"
"Hi, it's Felicity. I'm not calling too late, am I?"
"No," Jake said. "I'm usually up pretty late actually. You don't need an on-call hero already do you?" He teased.
"Not exactly," she said, "I, um, I was just wondering if you were serious about doing something later?"
"Yeah, absolutely," Jake said brightly. "When?"
"Anytime really," she said.
"How about lunch tomorrow? Your dad has meetings all afternoon so he won't need me until he's ready to leave for the day barring any last minute change of plans."
"Lunch tomorrow sounds great," Felicity grinned. "That works out perfectly in fact. What time?"
"Any time after 11:30 works for me."
"I have to be in the area in the morning so why don't I just swing by Wayne Enterprises around that time and we can take it from there?"
"Sounds like a plan," he told her in his warm honey and whiskey drawl. "See you then Miss Felicity Fox."
"See you, Jake. Goodnight." She hung up the phone and Tam squealed in delight from her side of the bed.
"Oh my God!" Tam laughed. "I can't believe you just did that!"
"Wait, did you just play Bruce?" Tim said in shock.
"No, I didn't 'play' Bruce, I just made a lunch date with someone." She arched her eyebrow at him, "Besides, isn't that what you just told me to do? Throw him off his game by showing him that he can't manipulate my emotions whenever it's convenient."
"Uhh," Tim hesitated with a frown. "I guess I did."
"So who's Jake?" Tam asked.
"Dad's security officer."
"Oh yeah, he's yummy!" Tam goggled. "Ooh, that's going to drive Bruce out of his skull."
"Yeah, but that's beside the point," Felicity said dismissively. "I need to break the pattern and going to lunch with a nice, normal guy is a good place to start, right Tim?"
"Hmm?" Tim responded faintly, his expression troubled, "Oh, uh, yeah sure."
"What's wrong with you," Tam asked him.
"Nothing," Tim said quickly, "It's just…"
"Just what?" Felicity asked.
"Well," Tim cleared his throat nervously, "Aren't you, like, using this Jake guy?"
"No," Tam said, smacking him on the arm.
"Ow!" He said, rubbing his bicep, "I just meant that it seems like you might be giving this guy the wrong impression."
"What do you mean, 'wrong impression'?" Felicity frowned again. "He asked me to call him if I ever wanted to do something and I did; how is that giving him the wrong impression? I'm having lunch with him, not making a life-long commitment under false pretenses."
"Yeah," Tam said, giving him a dirty look of her own. "And besides, it's not like she's dating Bruce; he dumped her remember? Twice; and then he showed up again right afterwards expecting to get into her cookie jar like that was okay or something. If some guy tried that shit with me his balls would be aching. You, yourself, basically told Felicity to move on. You said to show Bruce total apathy by not letting him have his way so isn't going to stress-free lunch with a nice normal guy a good start in the right direction?"
"I said all that?" Tim asked then cleared his throat, "Oh yeah, I did. Sure. That was a…good plan of mine," He said faintly before picking up the box of condoms holding up them to her gaze, "Well, since you aren't going to use them mind if Tam and I take them home with us?"
"Tam honey, are you sleeping over tonight?" Lucius said as he opened the door then froze as he saw Tim holding a large box of condoms and in bed with both of his daughters.
"Hi Daddy!" Tam waved at him.
"Timothy," Lucius intoned, his face a mask of disapproval.
"Mr. Fox," Timothy said as he scrambled out of bed tossing the condoms behind him and quickly got to his feet. "Sir," he added.
Lucius took a moment to look from both his daughters who were still lying on the bed to the nervous young man standing in front of him. "Tim, son, why don't you say goodnight to the girls then come see me in my office," he ordered with another hard look before he shut the door behind him.
"Um, yes (gulp) sir."