Tommy Merlyn hesitated for a minute or two before opening the door to what would be Oliver's new club. The old warehouse in front of him used to be a Queen Industries building and before Oliver had found it, it sat empty. The Queen Industries logo was affixed to the front of the building but other than that, there was no evidence of anything else.
Laurel had told him to ask Oliver for a job, or at least she had implied that Oliver would be more than happy to help him out. And Tommy was very sure that his best friend would help him but he didn't want or need any help. He would figure out the whole being broke and cut off from his father's money thing on his own.
He sighed and was about to nudge open the door when he heard someone coming, confident booted footsteps walking up next to him. Tommy turned to look and saw Oliver's new friend, Harry, standing next to him. The guy was wearing a dark green, long-sleeved shirt and jeans, along with comfortable looking shoes.
The guy looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Tommy?"
"I need to talk to Oliver. Do you know where he is?"
"We're going over the plans for the club," Harry offered, pushing the door open and gesturing up to the office in the warehouse. "He's up there."
Tommy nodded, glancing around the empty warehouse. There was a door in the corner, one that he figured led to the basement, and a set of stairs that led up to the office. "Have you guys figured out a name yet?"
Harry grinned a little but shook his head. "Nope."
"Tommy?"
They both looked up to see Oliver coming down the set of stairs, his arms held loosely at his sides.
"What's up? Are you alright?" Oliver questioned, coming to a stop next to Harry.
Tommy glanced between them, seeing the closeness, before sighing and crossing his arms. "My dad cut me off, froze my funds."
Oliver's eyes widened. "Really?"
Tommy nodded as he sighed. "Yeah."
"Why didn't you say anything?" Oliver asked.
"Embarrassment, shame, jealousy, probably a few other emotions that I'm not used to feeling," Tommy answered, shaking his head and shrugging.
"Well, my trust fund is your trust fund."
Tommy grinned warily, narrowing his eyes. "No."
"That…" Tommy started, looking between Harry and Oliver. "That is the easy answer. And believe me, I have loved the easy answers. What I need… is a job. I'm trying to change. I don't… want to be who I was anymore."
Oliver exchanged looks with Harry and then nodded, clapping Tommy on his shoulder. "It just so happens that I have a general manager position open. You're probably the right man for the job."
Tommy grinned. "Will I be getting dental? This smile wasn't cheap."
Harry snorted. Oliver smiled and Tommy's grin widened, enjoying seeing Oliver smile again. His best friend had seemed so… quiet, like a stone and Tommy wondered if he could talk with him more in the coming weeks, about what happened on that island. But then again, Tommy didn't want to push or pry. What happened on the island was Oliver's business and Tommy would be around to talk if he wanted to talk.
"I'll look into it," Oliver replied, shaking Tommy's outstretched hand.
"Hell, between the two of us, we should be able to manage that," Harry remarked, lifting his shoulders in a minute shrug. "I brought my savings from… home with me so there shouldn't be a problem."
"Where are you from anyway?" Tommy asked. "Oliver hasn't said much."
"London. More or less," Harry said, before looking around at the warehouse around them and heading towards the stairs. "We should have a balcony, with bar tables and the like so that people can see the action from above. It'd be cool."
"What does more or less mean in that context? You're either from London or you aren't," Tommy retorted.
"It means more or less," Harry offered, winking at him and Tommy's cheeks reddened. "I didn't spend much time in London when I was in England but yeah, I have… a lot of money too. If that's what you're really getting at."
"Tommy, let me show you around," Oliver interrupted, grinning at the both of them. "There's not much, the basement's flooded but otherwise the offices are upstairs and we'll have a place for a band to play."
"Live dj? And Oliver Jonas Queen, are you dating Harry?"
Oliver froze and Harry blinked, the both of them looking like they were foxes caught in the henhouse. Tommy snorted and let out a laugh. "Oliver, I'm your best friend. I'm not stupid."
"And here I was thinking you were," Oliver finally said, his eyes wide.
Tommy grinned. "You are dating each other then. Very smooth. And fast too, by the way."
"Tommy, we began dating on the island," Harry remarked, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow. "Or something like that. It was very unclear as to who started it."
Tommy laughed again. "I approve. You haven't dated a man in quite a while."
"There was some fake dating going on when we were children," Oliver offered, grinning a little and looking at Harry, his blue eyes going soft.
Tommy matched Oliver's grin. "You suit each other."
"Thanks," Oliver said, reaching out to pull Tommy into a hug, which he returned.
