A/N: I'm back with the longest chapter to date with this story and that's only because where I ended this chapter seemed to make the most sense.
Something I feel as though I need to make certain that I address because the confusion has been made a few times, is that this story is an Alternative Universe. I got the idea after reading a prompt somewhere that talked about tabloids ruining someone's life and thus this story was born. Tommy doesn't know who Oliver is personally in this story, just knows him as the CEO of Queen Consolidated.
I'm happy to hear that people have been enjoying this story. I've slowly been working on this for well over a year now. I'm having fun sharing it at my pace.
I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Love always,
~starr
Queen Scheduled to Undergo Surgery
Adrian Chase
STARLING CITY - Oliver Queen, billionaire playboy and CEO of Queen Consolidated, is scheduled for surgery in the coming weeks to remove a tattoo. That tattoo is said to be a "mistake" from his college years.
But is it really a mistake or is it something that Queen would just prefer the world not know about? Luckily for the readers of this paper, we were able to figure out what exactly Queen was trying to hide.
Queen's tattoo is said to be that of a playful dolphin. It is remnants of his college days.
. . . . . . . .
"Where the hell does he get this stuff?" Oliver huffed, crumbling the newspaper and throwing it into the roaring fireplace inside his office. Scrubbing his hands over his face, Oliver carded his hands through his hair before returning to his desk. "At least this time it was only a tattoo he was creating in his demented mind."
The buzz of his cell phone drew him out of his thoughts. Voicemail from Felicity Smoak. Saving her number in his phone just made it easier for him to avoid her calls. The media was the last thing he wanted to talk to after all of these tabloid articles coming out. However, he knew that at some point he would need to talk to someone. At least maybe Ms. Smoak could do some good.
He lifted the phone to his ear to listen to what she had to say.
"Hello, Mr. Queen. This is Felicity Smoak from the Starling City Sentinel calling to schedule an interview with you for an article to run in the near future about Queen Consolidation since you have taken over the company. Give me a call back at your earliest convenience to schedule a meeting. My time is rather flexible, so I will make my schedule work with yours. Thank you and have a good evening."
"Evening?" Oliver mumbled as he lowered the phone away from his ear. Checking the timestamp on his phone, he shrugged before sighing as he pressed the redial button. At least if he returned her call, it allowed him a few more missed calls, right?
"Hello?" a somewhat familiar voice answered on the other end of the phone.
"Ms. Smoak? This is Oliver Queen," he replied.
"Oh, wow. Mr. Queen. Hello," Felicity stumbled, causing Oliver to smile slightly as he waited for her bearings on the conversation. "Thank you for returning my call."
"I do apologize for it taking a while. As I'm sure you're aware, I've been avoiding calls from the media," he replied. Oliver leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on his desk as he spoke.
"Oh, don't worry about it. I'm just glad you've returned my call," Felicity said. "I was wondering if you'd be willing to sit down for an interview. As a way to, you know, put your name back into the good light with the media."
Oliver laughed, "It would be nice to see an article about me and it not be painted full of lies."
"And I'd love to have the by-line for it," she replied eagerly. Her excitement radiating through the phone. "When would you be available for an interview?"
"There are a few things that you need to know before we can really get to an interview," Oliver began, "and besides, I have to decide whether or not I can trust you first."
"Oh, uh. Yeah, I guess that would make sense," she replied. He could practically hear her smacking her head against the wall, thinking about what to say next. It brought a smile to his lips. She seemed to be trustworthy, but he had to be sure.
"So, let's meet for coffee," Oliver suggested patiently as he waited for her reply.
"Coffee?" Felicity stuttered, almost dropping the phone from her hands.
"Yes, coffee," Oliver chuckled. "Tomorrow morning at nine is open in my calendar. Is it good for you?"
"Tomorrow at nine?" Felicity repeated and Oliver could hear the furious typing away of her on her keyboard to check on her availability. "Yeah, nine works. Uh, where should I meet you?"
"Corner coffee shop, block away from Queen Consolidated," he replied.
"I will be there. Thank you again, Mr. Queen," she said.
"Please, call me Oliver. I'll see you tomorrow morning, Ms. Smoak," Oliver told her.
"If you'd prefer that I call you Oliver, then please call me Felicity," she said, "and I will see you tomorrow morning. Have a good day, Mr. Quee-, er, Oliver."
"You too, Felicity," Oliver replied as he hung up the phone. He laughed as he placed his phone on his desk and interlaced his fingers placing them behind his head. The day may have just gotten a little bit brighter now that the next morning was beginning to look a little bit brighter.
. . . . . . . .
"Holy shit," Felicity mumbled, slumping down in her chair and spinning around just slightly as she sighed. She rested her head against the top of the chair and closed her eyes momentarily. It had only taken her six months, but she was finally getting the chance to sit down and talk with the one and only Oliver Queen.
"Whatever it is, I didn't do it," Tommy called as he walked past her office door, tossing his head back with a laugh.
Felicity rolled her eyes as she leaned forward in her chair. "Nothing can get me down today, Merlin! I have scored the meeting that I have been working on for months."
"Oh?" Tommy asked, popping his head inside her doorway. He quirked his brow curiously. "Queen finally called you back?"
The smile on her face was the only answer Tommy needed. He shook his head with a laugh. "Impressive. You are the first reporter to get a meeting with him since his return from the dead."
"Then I guess I'll need to make it one hell of a meeting. Now leave me alone so that I can get to work on those questions," she said, shoo-ing him back out her door with a laugh.
"Hats off to you, Smoak," he said with a bow as he backed out of her office.
Felicity just continued smiling as she flipped through the files on her desk. Each one of them containing the slim amount of research she was able to gather from Adrian Chase's assistants. She could barely call what was in the folders research because it was the bare minimum information that anyone with access to the internet could gather on the man.
She's said it once and she'd say it a million times more. That man was a sorry excuse a reporter and it infuriated her more than anything. He was known for his blatantly relentless spreading of lies and there was nothing that Felicity hated more than a liar.
Glancing down at her desk she noticed that there was a copy of the day's paper that Tommy must have left during his visit. She rolled her eyes when she noticed the by-line on the headlining article.
"Speaking of liars," she mumbled under her breath, picking up the paper. All she could do was shake her head as she read what he had to say.
. . . . . . . .
Vigilante Spotted Near Verdant
Adrian Chase
STARLING CITY - Everyone into the party scene has spent at least one regretful evening at Verdant, local night club/bar, owned by Thea Queen, sister of Queen Consolidated CEO, Oliver Queen. Apparently, the "friendly" neighborhood Vigilante even enjoys the party scene from time to time.
The Green Arrow was spotted last night lurking around the nightclub after hours as though he was looking for someone or something. Some believe that he was there looking for trouble and others believe that the vigilante was just out to have a good time.
Since the vigilante is next to impossible to track down for an interview, the people of Starling City may never know the truth. The likely answer is that the Green Arrow was out looking for trouble since a few hours later, a few masked robbers were dropped off outside the Starling City precinct with wounds that looked to be left by arrows.
. . . . . . . . .
"Where does he even come up with this stuff?" Felicity huffed as she practically tore the page out of the paper flipping to the next section where she hoped to find an article that would be much more pleasant to read. Unfortunately, in the Starling City Sentinel, reliable news was hard to come by since Chase joined the staff.
Sighing she set the paper aside and turned to her computer. She was finally able to snag a meeting with Oliver Queen, which meant she needed to do her research ahead of time so that when they finally sat down, no precious time would go to waste.
Her conscious decided that it was time to wake up and remind her of the reality of the situation however as she typed his name into the search bar of her internet provider. It wasn't the interview that she had been trying to score. It was only a meeting to see if she was worthy of knowing his secrets and to learn a few things that she needed to know before they could sit down for the interview the world was waiting for.
She was going to prove to everyone that Adrian Chase was a fake if it was the last thing she did in her career as a journalist. Being able to meet with Oliver Queen was just the first step she needed to be able to accomplish everything she needed to prove her suspicions.
. . . . . . . . .
"Have you seen this?" Thea announced, walking into Oliver's office with a page of the newspaper in her hands. She shook her head when she realized that her own brother hadn't even realized that she had come into see him. Stopping just in front of his desk, she slammed her hand down on the desk, jarring his attention away from whatever file it was that he was looking over. "Hello? Anyone in there?"
Surprised by the sound of her hand meeting his desk, Oliver slowly lifted his head up to meet the eyes of his younger sister. As their eyes met, he noticed that the youngest Queen was not happy about something. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a copy of the Starling City Sentinel in her hands and his head dropped with a sigh.
"What did he accuse me of now?" Oliver asked, lifting his head once again to meet her eyes.
Shoving the paper in his general direction, Thea collapsed into one of the chairs across from his desk as she crossed her arms over her chest. "It wasn't you this time, technically," she said, making quotation marks with her pointer and middle fingers.
With his brow furrowed, Oliver turned the paper around to see what exactly she was referring to and allowed his eyes to search the page for the byline he was becoming far too familiar with searching for. Spotting the name he was looking for, he quickly skimmed the article.
"Why can't this jackass just leave us alone?" Thea remarked, glaring at the piece of paper as if hoping that it would spontaneously catch on fire.
"I'm sorry, Speedy," he said sympathetically. If he was being honest with himself, he had been asking the exact same question since the first article had surfaced a few months ago. There was a small part of him that wished he could tell Thea the truth about why the Green Arrow would have been spotted near Verdant, but if he did that he was putting her in danger. Putting his baby sister in danger just wasn't an option in his opinion.
"What have I told you about calling me Speedy?" Thea sighed, rolling her eyes. Oliver laughed at her reaction, eliciting a glare from her that brought a smile to his lips. She rolled her eyes once again. "I don't even know what the Vigilante would want with my club. The guys that he busted up weren't dealers, like the last time.
"They were just robbers who happened to get caught by the wrong person. Hell, they are lucky that the arrows only maimed them. From what I've seen, the Green Arrow could have killed them if those arrows would have been aimed a little bit higher. It's not like he hasn't killed before. I wonder what changed," she huffed.
Taking a deep breath, Oliver thought about his next set of words very carefully. He was going to be toeing a very fine line and one wrong word would send his entire world crumbling around him. He already had enough riding on this secret when he sat down with that reporter tomorrow.
"Maybe the Green Arrow had a change of heart," Oliver said with a shrug, leaning back in his chair as he steepled his fingers before placing his hands in his lap. He watched as she thought over what he had just said.
"I doubt it," she said coldly. "My guess is that he almost got caught the last time he killed someone, so he's probably just laying low and luring the cops into a false sense of security."
Oliver inhaled sharply at her calloused words causing her to furrow her brow at him, only to have him shake his head in response. "You don't know what made him change his MO, Speedy," he snapped.
"And you do?" she hissed, pushing herself up out of the chair. "Whatever. It's not like you care about the reputation my club gets anyways. I'll talk to you later."
With that said, she made her way towards the door before his voice halted her in her tracks. Shaking her head, she took a deep breath before turning back around to look at him. She knew he meant well, but ever since their mother had died, it just didn't seem like the Oliver sitting in front of her was the same brother that she had known for so long.
"What, Ollie?" she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest, tapping her foot agitatedly.
"I do care about the reputation your club has. Why do you think I make it a point to stay away from it? If Chase got wind that I was hanging out around the club, he would find some way to twist it to shame both my reputation and the reputation of Verdant. If I can figure out a way to get him to keep our names out of the paper, then I will make it a personal goal to make sure that Verdant's name stays out his articles as well, okay?" he asked, tilting his head forward hoping that she would cave at least a little bit.
After a few moments of thought, Thea sighed. She knew better than anyone that if Oliver came around the club more than he already did on rare occasions that Chase would spin the story to make things worse for everyone. And if she was being honest with herself, she didn't need the SCPD spending any more time around the club. "Maybe your chat with Felicity Smoak will help to clear your name from Chase's bad publicity."
Taken back by her knowledge of the interview, Oliver furrowed his brow causing Thea to laugh. She pointed at the desktop calendar laying on his desk and he looked down and laughed. He had forgotten about writing down the appointment on his calendar after the two had gotten off the phone. "I was just about to ask how you knew about that," he said, shaking his head.
Thea laughed in response. "Well, I need to get back to the club and see if I can find a way to sort out this publicity. I'll see you around, Ollie."
"It was good to see you for more than a fleeting moment, Speedy," he replied after her.
She nodded, "Yeah it was. I guess we'll have to make it happen a little more often then."
"Sounds good to me. See ya, Speedy," he said, busying himself with a few of the files that were scattered around his desk.