Chapter 34 — The Show Must Go On

In all the years that Austin had known Zoey, he had never known her to be ruthless. But given that she was currently sitting with Samantha Wheeler opposite side of him in the conference room of Wheeler and Thompson, he figured she had changed. He didn't blame her. She had been hurt enough in her life. She had been betrayed by the one person she had trusted the most.

"Oliver, I don't even know if I can represent you," Austin argues, running a hand over his face. He had no idea Zoey had left him as a client. He had no idea she was going to file for divorce from Oliver.

"Austin, I trust you," Oliver counters. "What do I need to do to have you represent me? Because right now, I have a lot of stuff going on and I need someone I trust to take care of this for me."

Austin sighs. "All right, look, I'll represent you. But it will just prolong everything. I'll have to petition the court and if Zoey has Samantha Wheeler representing her, then it might be an uphill battle."

"Then let's do that."

"Your client is late," Samantha states. She was tall with blonde hair that was pulled into a slicked-back ponytail and ice-cold blue eyes. There was a reason everyone called a shark. She didn't take crap from anyone.

"My client has some personal business he needs to attend to," Austin replies. He had never gone to battle with Samantha before. He certainly wasn't looking forward to it at the moment. "I've already filed a response to the petition."

"And we've received it," Samantha says. "Let's cut to the chase. My client wants this done fast and quick."

Austin looks at Zoey. She wasn't a little girl anymore. Her hair was pulled into a tight bun and she wore a black form-fitting bandage dress with a blazer over it. She looked as if she was ready to go into battle. "Zoey, why do you want this done so fast?"

"My client has her reasons."

"I didn't ask you. I asked Zoey."

"Because I am done being in a marriage to someone who doesn't want to be with me," Zoey angrily says. "I am done being humiliated and used."

Austin sighs. "Look, Zoey, I get that you're angry—"

"This meeting is over," Samantha interrupts, standing up. "When you and your client are ready to meet, let me know." Zoey stands up and quickly walks out of the conference room. Samantha turns back to him. "You may have gotten a judge and my client to sign off on your being Oliver Queen's attorney, but don't think for a second that I'm going to let you abuse the once personal relationship you had with my client."

"Zoey is part of my family. I'm not going to let her do something that will hurt her in the end."

"You know for someone who claims to be family and doesn't want her to get hurt, all you've done is hurt her worse than anyone," Samantha says, then walks out of the conference room, leaving a confused Austin sitting there.

"I got your message and the flowers," Zoey says, stepping off the elevator and into the loft. She had no idea why she had shown up. She knew that if Samantha was aware, then it wouldn't have been allowed. Which is why Zoey had hired her in the first place. "So, here I am. What's going on?"

"You look good," Oliver tells her.

Zoey sighs. "Why am I here?"

Oliver presses a button on the new intercom he had installed. "Send them up."

"Oliver, tell me what's going on or I'm leaving."

"We're not getting divorced. At least not right now. In fact, we're reconciling. And in the morning, you're telling your shark to feast in someone else's waters."

The elevator door opens and Oliver pulls her against his side. Zoey's taken back by the cameras and reporters suddenly in front of them. She presses close to Oliver. Whatever he had gotten her into, she was going to make him protect her.

"Thank you all for coming," Oliver loudly says. "I brought you here to make an announcement. People have these so-called vigilantes all wrong. There's only one way for me to set the record straight. I am Green Arrow."

It's not until after the reporters and cameras are gone that Zoey finally moves away from Oliver. She sits down on the couch and buries her face in her hands. She was filled with shock. She looks up when Oliver sits down next to her. "Did you really think this through," she softly asks. "Because you are dragging me into something I don't want to be a part of."

"Chloe left because of me being Green Arrow," Oliver confesses. "Gordon Godfrey was going to expose me. Lois found out and stopped him."

"I didn't realize that Lois knew you were Green Arrow."

"Yeah, I'm not quite sure how she found out. But she did. And when she told me about Gordon Godfrey…Zo, you were the first person I wanted to tell."

"What about Chloe?"

"I care about Chloe. I felt like I could be myself around her. And I haven't felt like for a long time."

"You've been hiding stuff from me, Oliver. And I don't know if I can trust you."

"Lionel Luthor had my parents killed," Oliver softly tells her. "And I'm pretty sure that he had your parents killed too. Other than the trust, that's all I've kept from you, Zo."

Zoey stands up. "How-how long have you kept that from me?"

"A couple of years."

"Were you ever gonna tell me?"

"No."

Zoey stares at him, then sits down. She looks up at the ceiling. "I've been fucking Bruce to get back at you. I figured out you were seeing someone when you couldn't come with me to Gotham. So, what do you want to do?"

Oliver grabs her hand. "I can't do this without you, Zo."

Zoey squeezes his hand. "I'm here. I will always be here for you."

Zoey walks into the penthouse suite at the Four Seasons. Ever since Oliver's announcement, crowds had gathered wherever they went. "My professor had to call campus security because someone posted online that I was in the class," she says, sitting down next to him. She kicks off her heels. "He then lectured the class on student privacy rights."

"I got kids," a man on the TV declares. "What happens when they grow up and they want to be vigilantes like him?"

The scene on the screen switches to a woman. "Oliver Queen, if you really are the hero that you say you are, don't you think it's time to face the public? We're waiting for some answers."

Zoey grabs the remote and turns off the TV. "I'm guessing Clark hasn't called you back."

"No, he hasn't," Oliver tells her. He leans back against the couch and looks at her. "I'm sorry about your class, Zo."

She waves a hand. "It's fine, Ollie. How are you doing?"

"I'll be fine." He notices the worried look on her face. "Zo, I'm fine. I promise."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Are you gonna tell me what's bothering you?"

"It's just…I'm a little…" Zoey stands up. She bites her lip. "This whole reconciliation thing does it…"

"Zo?"

"Are we gonna have sex," Zoey blurts out. "We never really talked about what this reconciliation thing actually includes." Oliver stares at her. He hadn't actually thought about what their relationship was at the moment. "You never told me what's included in this. I called off the divorce. I just…What do I get out of this?"

"And you want to have sex?"

Zoey shrugs. "It'd be nice," she mutters. He just stares at her. "Right. Okay. Um, just forget I said anything. I'm just gonna go…be somewhere not here." She quickly runs out of the room, leaving a confused Oliver sitting on the couch.

"I'm just here for support," Zoey exasperatedly repeats. She couldn't remember how many times she had told the producers of Metropolis Morning Show that she was just there to support Oliver. She wasn't even dressed to take part in the interview.

"Look, I'm going to be honest with you," the producer replies, pulling her towards a quiet corner of the loft. "Ninety-five percent of our audience wants to know if you two are back together. People who will be watching this live could give zero fucks about Green Arrow. Housewives want a happy ending. If we can't give them that, then we have no reason to do this."

"Basically, if I don't do it, then you're not doing it."

"Exactly."

"Fine. Give me five minutes to get changed."

The producer steps back. Zoey wore jeans and an oversized beige sweater. "Let's go with what you're wearing. It's homely. It's relatable to housewives."

A production assistant runs over and quickly mics Zoey up, then leads her over to an empty armchair next to Oliver. He shoots her a questioning look. "I'll tell you later," she mutters as a make-up person appears in front of her.

"Zoey Queen, so glad that you're joining us," Rich, the lead anchor of Metropolis Morning Show, brightly greets. The make-up person vanishes.

Zoey stands up and softly smiles. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Williams," she replies. Oliver raises an eyebrow, not missing how closely Rich was standing to her.

"Call me Rich," he replies, smiling at her. He turns to Oliver. "And Oliver Queen, the man of the hour."

Oliver stands up. He holds out a hand to Rich. As they shake hands, he makes a point of squeezing a bit. "It's nice to meet you, Rich. I didn't realize that my wife would be joining us for this interview."

"Your wife is the main reason I even agreed to do this interview," Rich states. "We were about to walk when she finally agreed to do it." Oliver glances at Zoey, but she avoids his gaze. "Shall we begin?"

"Of course."

They all sit down in their respective armchairs. Zoey puts on the smile that she knew people at home wanted. "I am here with an exclusive interview with a couple of very special guests. She is the CEO of Queen Industries and stepping back into public life after a tragic event over a year ago. He just recently announced that he's Green Arrow. With me are Zoey and Oliver Queen. Thank you both for being here today."

"It's our pleasure," Zoey answers with a smile. Though, inside she was annoyed.

"It's not every day a billionaire admits to parading around in leather playing cops and robbers. Why do it? Seriously? Were you just getting too bored sitting around counting your money, decided to play dress up and it just stuck? Or how does that work, exactly?"

Zoey raises an eyebrow. Rich was going right into the hard questions. Oliver frowns. "Well, it-it-it wasn't—"

"I think our audience would like some answers," Rich interrupts.

Oliver notices Clark standing in the corner of the room. He turns his attention back to Rich. "I lost someone," he begins. "She was a good friend."

"So, for that, you want what? A merit badge and special rights?"

"No. No, you're right I'm not special, this isn't about who I am it's about what I do. And I don't think I'm the first rich boy who felt that way. It was John F. Kennedy who once said 'ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.'"

"So now you're comparing yourself to a fallen hero of this country?"

"Well, why not? He saw the hero in all of us. I'm not dwelling on revenge for past atrocities or looking ahead to what I can purposefully gain from a few tax breaks, drilling oil wells in the ocean, putting up razor-wired fences to keep out immigrants who only want what our grandparents wanted. In this world of arm-chaired bloggers, who've created a generation of critics instead of leaders, I'm actually doing something, right here, right now for the city, for my country. And I'm not doing it alone, you're damn right I'm a hero."

Zoey smiles at Oliver. She knew he had it in him. "Now, Zoey—" Rich begins.

"I fully support my husband in everything he does," Zoey interrupts.

Oliver grabs her hand. "We support each other. Always have and always will."

Zoey wraps a towel around herself and steps out of the shower. She had been riding a high since the interview earlier that day. Derek had called her and spent half an hour talking about the good press Queen Industries had gotten. The stock price of the company had gone up. She was more than ready to celebrate with Oliver. Her phone buzzes and she grabs it off the nightstand to see a message from Bruce.

'Saw the news. Congrats.'

"I didn't realize you and Zoey had gotten back together."

Zoey turns. The bedroom door had been left cracked. She hadn't realized that Clark had come to visit with Oliver.

"We're not," Oliver counters. "I'm just trying to protect Zo. If we're still married, then they won't go after her. She's too much of a beloved public figure to touch."

"And Zoey's fine with this," Clark asks.

"She knows we're just friends, Clark."

Zoey ducks back into the bathroom. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. What happiness she had was just been sucked out of her. She looks down at her phone, then types out a response to Bruce. 'Are you free this weekend?'

'I don't think your husband would like that.'

'It's just for publicity.'

'Alfred will pick you up at the airport Friday night.'

The show must go on
The show must go on, yeah
Inside my heart is breaking
My makeup may be flaking
But my smile, still, stays on