A/N: Hey loves, sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out, but grad school and life have been kicking my ass lately. Plus my summer is officially over as I returned back to work last week. Along with work and grad school, I've been running a couple of comps and events for some groups that I run on facebook and it's been keeping me super busy.
Be on the look out soon for a crossover drabble coming from me between HP and Arrow though. It's a Bellatrix Lestrange/Slade Wilson story that I'm super pumped to get written!
If you are interested in following along with my updates for other stories or life in general, join my personal Facebook group: starrnobella Friends & Fans. I'm super active there and on tumblr under the name starrnobella.
Happy reading!
Love always,
~starr
You've reached Felicity Smoak. I can't come to the phone right now. Please leave your name, number, and a brief message after the beep. I will return your call as soon as I'm able to!
"Felicity, hey. It's Oliver Queen. I was wondering if we'd be able to meet for a drink. I'd like to finish the conversation that got interrupted yesterday. Give me a call back to set up a time and a place. Hope to hear from you soon."
. . . . . . . . .
You've reached Oliver Queen's cell phone. I can't come to the phone right now. Please leave a brief message with your name and a phone number, and I will get back to you.
"Hey, Oliver! Yes, I'd love to meet up for a drink to finish up that conversation that happened to get cut short. I'm in the office for the rest of the day, but I get off work at five. Give me a call back so we can pick a place. Talk to you soon!"
. . . . . . . . .
You've reached Felicity Smoak. I can't come to the phone right now. Please leave your name, number, and a brief message after the beep. I will return your call as soon as I'm able to!
Oliver sighed as he mouthed the words to her voicemail for the umpteenth time that afternoon. They had been playing phone tag for the last three hours trying to set up a drink for this evening. As he waited for the voicemail to beep, he decided to think of a restaurant that was nearby for them to meet at, and his mind was coming up blank.
Beep!
"Felicity, it's Oliver. We really need to stop meeting like this. I feel like I'm attached at the hip with your voicemail. How about you text me when you are getting ready to leave? I can swing by and pick you up. There's a place in Central City. I've heard good things about that I thought we could try. Looking forward to your text."
Holding the phone to her ear, Felicity laughed softly to herself as she listened to his message. This weird relationship she had with his answering machine was quickly coming to an end since her day at the office was almost over. She had sat staring at a blank document for the majority of the day.
As she watched cursor flicker on her screen, she sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair. Why was this so difficult? She was sitting on the story of the year. An interview with Queen Consolidated CEO, Oliver Queen. Although, at the moment, she only had the title typed across the screen.
"Get yourself together, Smoak," she grumbled under her breath as she lowered her hands from her head. This was so unlike her. Writer's block was not a term in her usual vocabulary, and right about now she was experiencing her worst bout of it since the start of her journalistic career.
She thought about it for a few minutes longer and sighed as the realization struck her. She was struggling to write this article because she knew that she was sitting on the brink of a groundbreaking story that was bigger than any interview she could get her hands on. So what exactly was holding her back?
She glanced down at the phone, laying on her desk. She knew exactly what it was, honestly, there was part of her that didn't want to write the article that was sitting in the back of her mind. She didn't want to make a career for herself by ruining the lives of other people. She wasn't Chase.
Picking up her phone, she took a deep breath and slid the lock across the screen. Opening the contacts app, she scrolled down until she found his name. It was now or never, but she knew she needed to act quick.
. . . . . . . . .
Oliver glanced down at the clock on his wrist and smiled. Reaching forward, he closed the lid of his laptop and slid back from his desk. It was time to meet with Felicity, and if he was honest, he was nervous about this meeting.
It felt as though they were preparing for a first date, even though there hadn't been any feelings expressed between them. There were butterflies in his stomach every time he thought about her, even though he barely knew her. When they met for coffee the day before, it felt like they were two old friends who were catching up after a long time apart.
Shaking his head, Oliver tried to wipe the goofy grin off his face. He didn't want John's suspicions to be proved correct. Inflating John's ego was not on the top of his agenda for the evening. Speaking with Felicity and finding out what she was planning to do with his secret was the main thing on his mind right now.
Exiting the Queen Consolidated, he jumped in the car that waited for him, and he was off. Only time would tell what the results of their conversation would be. He was prepared to offer her a job with his company as well as the chance to be the sole IT department for his evening job too.
Hopefully, she would see his side of things and accept the luxurious opportunity that he was going to offer him. From their conversations over coffee, it appeared that the two of them had quite a bit in common. Neither one of them had the greatest relationships with their parents, and secrets strained those relationships.
The subtle reminder of his father's secrets flooded his mind with sadness. He missed both of his parents, and he planned to do everything in his power to honor their memories, making certain that their legacy lives on with new meaning.
Taking a deep breath, he leaned back in the seat of the car and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He wanted to let her know that he was on his way to her building and what kind of vehicle to be on the lookout for.
In the time that passed during his commute between Queen Consolidated and the Starling City Sentinel, he allowed his mind to consider the possibilities that awaited him if Felicity accepted his offer for a position at his company. It would certainly raise questions as to why a former reporter was now a lead IT coordinator at one of the largest companies in Starling City. He could picture the headlines in his head that Chase would think up without bothering to pick up the facts.
As the car pulled up to the building, Oliver saw her waiting outside. Sliding across the seat, he opened the door and stepped out of the car. He took a few steps in her direction before she noticed him approaching out of the corner of her eye.
"Oliver!" she called happily, walking over to meet him and pausing in front of him as she reached out to hug him, but spotted his hand extended to her and lowered her arms quickly. She took his hand, shaking it briefly with a smile on her face. "Sorry about that. I'm a hugger. I know that not everyone is, and sometimes that comes across a little much."
"It's alright, Felicity," Oliver said with a laugh. He leaned forward and hugged her quickly before taking a step back. "My mom and my sister are huggers too, so I'm used to it. Ready to go?"
Felicity nodded her head. "Where are we headed?"
Leading her over to the car, Oliver placed a gentle hand on the small of her back as they walked together. A smirk appeared on his face as he thought about a rather clever response to her question but quickly pushed the thoughts aside. Now was not the time for cocky, smartass remarks. There were more important topics on the table for the time being.
"There's a small, quiet coffee bar I happen to frequent just inside the Central City limits," he replied, opening the car door for her. She smiled at him before ducking below the frame and sliding into the backseat. He followed quickly behind her.
"We're headed to Central City? Wow, this is a really serious conversation," Felicity said with a laugh.
Oliver smiled and nodded his head. "Just a bit. We just have a lot to talk about, and I'm sure you'd like to keep your name out of Chase's articles. I can barely go grocery shopping without my name appearing in one of his articles."
"You go grocery shopping?"
"You sound surprised."
Felicity ran a hand through her hair and laughed, turning to face him more directly. "I just thought someone your status would have people to do that for you."
Oliver smirked momentarily and laughed. "When my mother was alive, yes, we had people who did everything for us. From grocery shopping to washing our dirty laundry, but after she died and left Thea and me on our own, it just didn't feel right to keep paying those people to the things we were more than capable of doing on our own. Although I do pay a cleaning service to come in once a week."
"I can understand that. If it were something I could afford, I'd totally have a cleaning service. Although," Felicity said, pausing briefly, "they'd probably take one look at my apartment and quit before the job even began."
"I'm sure it's not that bad," Oliver laughed.
"Trust me; it's a scary place. I'm not even sure how it got to be so bad. If it weren't so terrible, I'd invite you over to han-," Felicity's mouth snapped shut as she realized what exactly she was saying and covered her face with her hands. "I'm sorry. I talk quicker than I think sometimes, and I lack the filter in my brain that tells me to shut up before I make an ass of myself. Which I'm doing again."
Oliver smirked at her. "You aren't making an ass of yourself. Actually, it's kind of cute the way you get flustered."
Her eyes widened at the word, and her cheeks flushed with color as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear nervously. He wasn't hard on the eyes at all, and he had just called her cute. If she weren't interested in making a name for herself as a reporter with her article about him, she wouldn't mind getting to know him on a more intimate level. Maybe after the interview was over, something more could happen if he felt the same way that is.
"Flustered is one way to put it," she replied. "So tell me more about this coffee bar. Did you save the owner from a mugger in the middle of the night?"
"Actually, she saved me from myself," he said, watching as her face went from happy to confused very quickly.
"Oh."
Why did it feel like her heart was breaking in two? It wasn't like they were dating one another. He could date whomever he damn well pleased. They barely knew each other after all. One quick little coffee meeting that was interrupted by an explosion, and her heart was feeling like he needed to reciprocate her feelings.
"Not in a romantic way, if that's what you're thinking," Oliver added. He could see the jealousy growing on her face, and he wanted to make sure that she knew the truth. Why that was, he had no honest idea. John's teasing was probably starting to get to him.
"Oh, okay," Felicity replied, her eyes lightened up once more as her smile returned to her face. "Not that it matters in the slightest what way she saved you."
"I actually met her during the three years that I was away from the city after my father died. I've made a lot of mistakes in my past, but meeting Tatsu was not a mistake. Actually, it was a lesson."
"Wow, it sounds like she really taught you a lot. Will I get to meet her when we get there?"
Oliver nodded with a smile. "Or at least she should be there when we arrive. If not, I'm sure her husband will be there."
"Good to know," she said, nodding her head slowly. "So listen, about yesterday…"
"It was a little crazy, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, just a bit. It was a lot of fun, though. I don't get to do much technical work with the computers at the paper anymore. I've actually missed my days of system hacking."
Oliver cocked his head to the side and raised one eyebrow. "System hacking?"
Felicity smirked. "Wouldn't you love to know the truth about my jaded past."
"Honestly, I would like to know more about you."
She was taken back by his honesty. For the first time in her life, Felicity was speechless. Normally, people weren't so blunt about their feelings regarding the desire to get to know someone's past, especially ones that they had barely gotten the chance to know.
"Well, maybe after all this craziness dies down we can find a way to do that," she replied with a smile beaming brightly from her face.