'Relax, this is no big deal.' Felicity chanted to herself over and over as she paced around her cozy townhouse looking for something to wear to the gala in two nights. All of the dresses in her closet, beautifully expensive dresses, had been worn before; that was a death sentence in the world of rich businessmen and women. Every time they saw you at an event, you had better not look the same as before. It was a sign of wealth and prestige to say that you never wore the same thing twice. To add to Felicity's dilemma, every dress reminded her in some way of Oliver. The pink dress she had worn to his mother's welcome back dinner, the gold cocktail dress a thief had accessorized with a bomb collar, and every other dress she'd worn while Oliver's EA all had ties to Oliver, and she didn't want any dress to cross cut her memories. She didn't want her night with Ray filled with thoughts of Oliver. Felicity looked over to her dresser where an indiscreet silver box sat, taunting her to open it. She knew what was inside it; she knew what was inside it shouldn't have been inside her house.
"Felicity here!" Ray strode up to her as she was heading out of the office Monday night. She turned, her brow rising when she saw a small silver gift box.
"What's this for?" She looked at the box but didn't take it. Ray opened the box and pulled out a shiny black card, handing it to her.
"If you need it, for the gala or anything else." He smiled brightly. Felicity felt the card and almost dropped it as if it had scalded her.
"Mr. Palmer—" He narrowed his eyes at her, "Ray. I can't accept this; I'm not a kept woman."
"Of course you're not. If you were a kept woman, you'd be driving a nicer car; one that I bought you directly." Felicity huffed at his sarcastic tone.
"Ray, I cannot accept a Queen Consolidated credit card from you!" Felicity shouted incredulously. "This is completely inappropriate! My principles and morals are screaming." Felicity lowered her voice, looking around even though she knew no one was in the office so late.
"More inappropriate than when I fingered you in the conference room, or more inappropriate than when I ate you out in my office? Believe me, it wasn't your principles and morals screaming my name for more." Ray gave her a smug grin and Felicity felt her panties dampen.
"Besides, it's not a QC credit card; it's my personal card, debit btw." Felicity felt like she was going to lose her lunch. His own personal debit card, what was he thinking?!
"What if I get arrested while using this card?" Ray's eyebrow rose in humor and Felicity smacked her forehead for saying that out loud.
"You really haven't looked at the card have you?" Ray asked humorously. Felicity's eyes scanned the card and widened when she saw her name at the bottom. She looked up in shock. "I've already cleared it with my bank. You're the only one who can use it, well unless it's stolen and someone's parading around as you in which they will be arrested for using the card, but you get my point."
Felicity bit her lip and still looked unsure.
"Look, I know how hard galas and events are for women. You can't be seen in the same dress twice, and I know for women with more important things to spend their hard earned money on than expensive dresses, shoes, and accessories, it can be tough to keep up." He rested his hand underneath her chin.
"So I'm a charity case?" Felicity stepped back shaking her head. "I don't need your help and it's completely unethical that I take it. I have bought every dress for my job as an EA by myself, and I'm not going to start accepting favors." She shoved the card back at him and turned to walk towards the elevators.
"No, wait that wasn't what I meant!" Ray rushed after her, blocking her path. Felicity huffed and folded her arms under her chest. Ray briefly noticed the tug of fabric over her delectable breasts but quickly ignored it once he saw the outrage in her eyes. First he made her think he wanted her as some sort of mistress then he made her feel like a charity case who couldn't afford her wardrobe. He sighed, now it was time to blatantly explain his motives. He cupped her shoulders and bent down slightly to look her directly in the eye.
"Felicity, what I meant was, call me conceited or arrogant, but I would really like to see you in something that no one has ever seen you in before, something that my money bought." 'Something that Oliver has never seen you in,' he left off. Ray wasn't an idiot. He had seen it the moment he walked in that there was something more between Oliver and Felicity and he had heard the rumors when he hired her back as his own EA. He'd seen the unhappy look in her eyes when she referenced those rumors when they shared dinner, and how he had made those rumors true. Ray wasn't a jealous man, at least he didn't think he was, but he felt a connection to Felicity since the first moment he'd spoken to her at the Tech Village, maybe since the first moment he'd laid eyes on her after reading her file and résumé. He wanted her, as more than just his EA, but he knew the dangerous waters he was treading; he didn't care what they would say about him, he cared what they would say about Felicity, and still he wanted her, selfish and arrogant indeed.
Felicity bit her lip again and looked at the card. He wondered what was going through that ever racing mind of hers. She sighed, releasing the tension in her neck and looked him dead in the eye.
"Just because you give me this, doesn't mean that I'm going to use it. I'm doing this because my boss ordered me to take it." Ray smiled.
"He must be an arrogant bastard used to getting his way."
"You have no idea." Felicity smiled then stepped out of his grasp. Ray placed the card back in the box and handed it to her, watching her bright ponytail and the swing of her hips as she walked away.
Felicity cursed herself and grabbed the box, shoving it deep within her purse. She grabbed her car keys and phone, dialing as she turned off the lights and locked up her house.
"Hello?" A slightly gruff voice answered the phone.
"I need your help. Get dressed; I'll be at your place in 15 minutes." Felicity recited and hung up the phone.
"Why am I here again?" Roy slumped against the comfy couch drinking a sparkling water that a sales attendant brought him.
"Because I need advice. Usually I can do this on my own, but this isn't a usual charity gala and I need to look amazing, and since Thea isn't here and Lyla has more pressing things than to be dragged from store to store, I need you." Felicity twirled in the mirror, looking at the light blue dress and shaking her head. Roy took another sip of the fancy bottled water and shook his head.
"I like when you tell me you need me." He and Felicity grinned. She ducked back into the dressing room to try on another dress.
"Is everything alright?" The sales attendant from earlier returned slightly concerned. Roy guessed she was paid by commission because she had been hovering since they walked into the upscale boutique; she even did well to hide her disdain at his jeans, sneakers, and leather jacket because Felicity had whirled in like a pro.
"She needs a little help. You see she has a charity gala to go to and as a representative of Queen Consolidated, she needs to look her best." Roy sneered a little. He could almost feel the glare Felicity was shooting him from behind the black silk curtain. The sales attendant's smile brightened by kilowatts and Roy could almost see her calculating dollar signs.
"I have just the thing! Had I known you were from Queen Consolidated, I wouldn't have even wasted your time with clearly inferior dresses." The sales attendant rushed off in a blur of big hair and slightly overdone make up.
"By inferior she means under $100,000."
"I'll appear in a burlap sack before I wear something worth a very significant dent in my townhome mortgage." Felicity tossed through the curtain. The sales associate, Jenna, as she had finally introduced herself with batted eyelashes to Roy, handed her a selection of designer dresses and another associate brought a stack of designer shoes.
"These are all Neiman Marcus exclusives; no one else in Starling City sells these dresses. We've also brought a selection of exclusive shoes that will complement them perfectly." Jenna smiled then stepped away to give them some privacy.
"Please dear God, Felicity, find a dress in this store." Roy grumbled and took another sip. While he enjoyed spending time with her, shopping was never his favorite activity.
"I'm working on it." She grumbled back. An hour and a half later and Roy was pleading with Jenna for something stronger that sparkling water. Neither he nor Felicity could agree on the right dress. Something about them all said wrong, too flashy, too simple, a horrible color, a color that wouldn't stand out, a dress that hid her body shape, a dress that showed too much of her shape, the list went on and on. Finally they'd come to the last dress and if this one didn't work, they'd have to try another boutique tomorrow; Roy would rather have another arrow in his knee.
"I think this is it!" Felicity called before stepping out of the dressing suite. Her lithe body encased in a crimson red silk confection that hugged her like a second skin before lightly feathering outward at the bottom. Every breath she took shifted the fabric, making the light glimmer off of her. The dress was asymmetrical and showed off her collarbone and toned shoulders and arms. It was simple but the color was bold. Jenna nodded with glee.
"This is absolutely perfect! No alterations, no unsightly rolls or bunches," Jenna walked around checking hemlines. "This dress was made for you!"
"Oliver is an idiot," Roy murmured. His and Felicity's eyes met in the mirror. Roy stood and walked up to her, nodding for Jenna to give them some time alone. She nodded back and began taking the other dress back. "Wear diamond studs and pull your hair back on this side." He stepped to the side of her and pulled some of her hair up on the shoulder that had the strap holding the dress up. "Curl the rest and let it hang" He removed his hands from her hair. Felicity nodded and looked back into the mirror.
"What color shoes should I wear?" She whispered
"Gold, it looks better on you. Wear a gold bracelet too but that's all. The dress will speak for itself."
"How do you know all this?" She gave him a suggestive look. Roy laughed as he looked through the boxes of shoes.
"If Thea thought me anything, it was how to accessorize." He picked up a pair of gold heels and set them aside. "Wear red lipstick, fire engine not blood; we don't want it to look too similar to your dress but we don't want it completely different."
"Yes sir," She laughed and walked back behind the curtain to change into her clothes. When she was done, they both helped Jenna put away the rejected dresses and shoes and made their way to the counter. Jenna asked her if she had a gold envelope clutch that would go with the dress, to which Felicity replied no; she had one, but it would look too cheap next to the dress and shoes. Jenna picked out a surprisingly not so expensive clutch that wasn't so flashy to take away attention from her dress but wasn't so understated that it didn't belong. Felicity inwardly cried when she heard the total and Roy flinched at seeing so many zeros on a dress, shoes, and a purse. Felicity reached into her purse for her wallet and caught a glimpse of the little silver box. Pretending to look further for her wallet she inwardly debated her choices. Use Ray's debit card and like a terrible prostitute, or use her own card and burn through her rainy day fund for the next few months. Decision made. Felicity pulled out the silver box, then the black card, and smiled at Jenna for the little delay. Roy's eyebrow rose slightly but she shook her head and waited for a SWAT team to drop from the ceiling and arrest her for fraud and identity theft and then find out all the hacking she'd done and detain her under the Patriot Act, in which Oliver would have to break in, liberate her, and secret her away to Russia, a country that, thanks to him, she hated very much. Felicity never felt so relieved when the receipt started to print and Jenna handed her the copy for her signature. She intentionally forged the signature so that if she was caught she could say someone was impersonating her because the signature was different. Jenna happily handed her the bags and wished them both a good evening.
"So do you want to tell me where that new card came from?" Roy questioned once he was comfortably squished into her mini Cooper. Felicity stopped looking in her rear view mirror for cops and took a deep breath.
"It's a card from a friend, who gave me leave to use it for this event." Roy looked at her skeptically and called her on her b.s.
"By friend you mean someone with a Star Wars ringtone?"
"I might." She nervously looked over at him.
"Ok." He stated back.
"Ok?"
"Yeah Ok, I'm your friend, not your priest…or Rabi in your case. I'm not Oliver and I'm not going to judge you for what you choose to do, especially since until two years ago I was a street thief stealing from rich girls. Just make sure what you're doing makes you happy, and keeps you as safe as you can be considering you work with a vigilante. I'm happy for you Felicity; it's about time you get some." He smirked and Felicity laughed. She was glad she had Roy to talk to about this. She knew what Oliver would say, and she had a feeling Diggle would give her the look of disappointment before hugging her and telling her to be careful. One man on the team she loved so much down, one to go, and one she hoped she'd never have to tell.