—13—

Chloe was valiantly trying not to show how much she didn't want to be there. After all, she told herself sternly. This has to be way worse for Oliver, having me invade his home like this.

Oliver, meanwhile, was valiantly trying not to show how much he didn't want her there. After all, he thought firmly, it has to be much worse for her, not to be able to go home to her own bed.

Oliver flipped on the lights and they both hesitated for a moment.

"Wow."

"Edward and Mia did a good job," Chloe said.

"Yeah. They did."

Oliver's apartment was still distinctly recognizable as his, in spite of his visions on the drive home of an apartment filled with frills and floral prints. But it had softened. Chloe had been right when she said it was devoid of clutter, but a few orange and yellow throw pillows and a chocolate brown throw blanket had softened his living room. By the entertainment system, they had fished out a few of his family photos and framed them and arranged them neatly with photos of Chloe and her family. In the center, they had added a large print of one of the nicer of Chloe and Oliver's press photos together and framed it. For a moment even they had to admit they made a good couple just looking at it.

On the fridge was a list with three columns, written in Mia's neat, spiky handwriting. On the left was various to-do items and messages for Oliver, on the right for Chloe, and in the middle their names were coupled together with various items beneath that as well. Apparently Oliver's mother was expecting them both for dinner the next night and various wedding planners and designers wanted to discuss ideas with them. Chloe sighed, pulling the list off the fridge for further review while Oliver explored the rest of the apartment. In his workout room, a treadmill had been added to a corner. His office was relatively untouched, but there were some chocolate taffeta drapes over the window that he had to admit warmed the place up nicely, and on the desk there was a small framed photo of Chloe grinning like she'd been caught by surprise. He picked it up briefly to exam before moving on. He wondered briefly what Chloe would do about a work space while she was here. The largest noticeable difference so far was in the bathroom, where a second, lime green toothbrush was sitting in the cup next to his and various other female products—curlers, hair products, moisturizers, lipsticks—had been added beside his at the double sink.

He found Chloe in the bedroom trying not to laugh. "Wh—oh jeez." Oliver chuckled. His bed looked more or less the same, except a soft green throw-blanket that had been tossed over it. The covers were turned down. Several unlit candles had been added around the room and he saw through the open door that Chloe's clothes had made their way into his closet and her jewelry was on display at his dresser. The thing CHloe was laughing at, however, presented itself almost immediately.

Clearly as a joke, a matching set of pajamas had been left on the bed: a pair of long silk pants with red hearts all over them and a white T-shirt for Oliver and a matching button down shirt that would probably come down to Chloe's mid-thigh.

"This has Mia written all over it," Oliver laughed.

"Oh, I don't know," Chloe said, still giggling, "Edward would have found this hilarious."

"By the way all your stuff is in the bathroom. We'll have to move it to the guest room."

Chloe bit her lip. "Yeah, I was thinking about that when I found my clothes in your closet. I don't think we can move any of it."

Oliver frowned.

"Don't you think it will look weird if someone comes by and wants to use the second bathroom and they find all my belongings in there? I mean obviously I'll sleep in there, but we're going to have to make it look like I'm staying in your room."

Oliver sighed and ruffled his hair tiredly. "I guess so. Go ahead and grab whatever you need. I think I'm going to hold off and shower in the morning. I'm too tired. Anyway, make yourself at home. Help yourself to whatever's in the kitchen"

Chloe nodded absently, grabbing her part of the gag engagement gift and heading toward the door. "Thanks."

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "Are you actually going to sleep in that?"

She grinned at him and winked from his bedroom doorway. "Aren't you?"

The next morning found Oliver going through his morning routine and workout at a bright and early hour. At some point he was aware of hearing the shower in the guest bathroom, meaning his new roommate was up. Half an hour later he was in the middle of a sun salutation when something threw his concentration. A smell that could only be described as sumptuous reached him and he opened one eye pausing in his cobra pose, trying to decide what it was.

And then he realized. It was food. Coffee and bacon.

He abandoned his routine and padded down the short hallway toward the kitchen, forgetting that he was going to shower once he was done with his workout. Sure enough, there was Chloe bustling about his kitchen, mug of coffee in hand as she stirred pancake batter in a small mixing bowl. She was dressed and ready for the day, hair curled and her dress protected by a dishtowel she'd tied around her waist. It was odd. The only morning interaction he'd had with her was usually when she'd been woken up before she was mentally ready. He hadn't expected…this.

She looked up when she heard him enter and beamed. "I know you don't drink coffee, but I made some extra just in case. I noticed that you bought cream for me, too. Thank you. Pancakes?" she asked. "I'm making plenty."

"You're…cooking," was all he could say.

She cocked an eyebrow at him. "Yeees," she replied slowly.

"I just…you didn't strike me as the cooking type."

She laughed. "I cook a little bit. Kind of. Mostly breakfast food. And things that are frozen and can be microwaved in under ten minutes."

He chuckled. "I see why you don't have a boyfriend after all," he said, "Didn't you know the way to our hearts is through our stomachs?"

Chloe laughed but fastened him with a glare. "Hey. Don't think I can't eat all of these pancakes by myself." In truth, though, she would have been stung if he'd passed. The breakfast was her small way of thanking him for welcoming her into his home.

In response, Oliver snatched one of the pancakes from the top of the stack she was forming and took a bite out of it straight from his hand.

"—so don't forget that you're joining your fiance for dinner with his parent's tonight, so you'll want to leave the office early to get ready."

They were stepping out of the elevator at work and Edward was just finishing up their briefing. Chloe rolled her eyes and let out a grunt of distaste. Edward chuckled.

"Get used to it, darling. It's called having a life."

"Oh that's why I've avoided having one all these years," Chloe said sarcastically. She was just settling into her desk chair when another thought occurred to her. "By the way, how did the shopping trip go with Mia?"

It was apparent from his smug expression that Edward had been waiting for this exact question. "It was a nightmare. I've never met anyone so determined not to wear designer clothes. I had to fight with her tooth and nail the whole way."

Chloe leaned back in her desk chair and folded her arms, eyebrow raised. She wasn't fooled. "And?"

"Well…I had to fight her all the way up until she tried on the Ralph Lauren blazer." He smirked. "Then it was easy."

Chloe smiled. "Excellent."

"Just wait."

Sure enough, in half an hour's time Mia appeared, and at first it was evident that neither Louise nor Vivian had realized it was her. Chloe had carefully left her office door cracked open ever so slightly for this exact moment. She sipped on her coffee to hide her smile, eyes fixed on Mia, who had paused by the water cooler. She was dressed impeccably. It wasn't quite what Chloe considered business casual, but it was undeniably Mia. A charcoal leather skirt hugged her thighs down to three inches above her knee, and her remarkably attractive legs were adorned in sheer black tights with a classic seam up the back. The button-up, collared blouse was scarlet, sheer silk, and worn over a sweetheart neckline bodice. A chunky yellow and silver necklace was a bold choice, but worked with the bright yellow platform heels she was wearing. Chloe tried not to think about how someone like Mia could have such a practiced walk in such tall, spindly heels, of which she was currently adjusting the ankle strap. The transformation was completed with a bit of sheer red lipstick and her hair tied up in a french twist, a few flyaway strands of hair framing her face endearingly.

She finished adjusting the shoe strap and walked purposefully toward Chloe's office, but Louise's voice stopped her halfway to the door, her tone evidently bored. "You have to have an appointment."

Mia looked confused. "Edward said I was supposed to go see Chloe as soon as I got here."

Louise and Vivian both looked up, startled. "Holy shit," Louise said unabashedly and unflatteringly.

Mia was obviously controlling her facial features carefully. She arched a now-shapely eyebrow questioningly, as if she couldn't understand why they were reacting this way.

"What happened to you?" Vivian said. "You look…decent."

Mia snorted. "Right. Anyway." And she pulled the door to Chloe's office open and left them.

Chloe hurriedly looked at the page layouts on her desktop to pretend she hadn't been watching. The door clicked shut and Mia cleared her throat cautiously, causing Chloe to look up and smile. "Well look at you," she praised.

Mia beamed at her, spinning around so Chloe could fully appreciate the outfit. "I wasn't sure about it at first, but I feel really good about it, actually."

"The leather's a nice touch."

Mia chuckled. "Yeah, it's my favorite part. Wait 'til you see the leather pants. I'm wearing those tomorrow."

Chloe pressed her lips together in amusement. "Excellent. So you got more than one outfit then?"

"Oh my God Edward threw away practically my entire wardrobe! I had to hide my converse at Oliver's place!"

At this Chloe laughed healthily. "Oh, Edward."

"By the way, how was the weekend with Ollie? Did you guys have a good time?"

Chloe nodded. "Yeah, it was good. I missed work, though," she grinned.

Mia snorted. "You and he are exactly alike. You're married to your jobs. No offense," she added quickly, realizing she might be behaving a little too familiarly with her boss. Chloe just waved a dismissive hand. "Anyway, I'm glad you got him to actually take a whole weekend off. He's good about blowing off a little steam now and then, but getting him to take an entire day off, let alone a few in a row is like working a miracle. Guess that's what happens when he's in love with you," she shrugged matter-of-factly, as if she had just stated the most natural thing in the world.

Chloe, who had been taking another sip of her latte, choked and coughed violently for a moment, Mia rushing around the desk to slap her on the back helpfully.

"Woah! You okay?"

Chloe nodded, still sputtering a bit.

Oliver was bent over a list of numbers that had his eyes going crossed. One way or another he was going to get this settled.

"Trying to figure out where to cut down the cost of that factory in Oakland?" a voice said from his doorway.

Oliver rubbed his eyes wearily. "Hi, Dad."

His father chuckled. "Good morning, son." Robert Queen was a tall and handsome man, much like his son. But his son had inherited Laura's golden features, not Robert's chestnut brown hair (now almost entirely iron gray) and gray eyes. They shared height and bone structure though, and Oliver was very clearly his father's son in many ways.

Oliver leaned back in his chair to look at his father. "What's up?"

"Not much. Just bracing myself for the inevitable lay-offs and all the fun repercussions that come with," he replied dryly, obviously unhappy with the situation.

"Actually," and now Oliver leaned forward towards his father eagerly, "I think I've figured it out. The answer's practically staring us in the face," he gestured at his desktop, where the papers lay scattered beside his computer, and a sleek looking eTablet was lying at the corner.

Robert raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"

"Well…" Oliver rummaged through the papers until he found the one he was looking for. "Look at this," he handed the paper to his father, who pulled his glasses out of his pocket to better examine them. "The factory spends millions annually on printing off supplements to their employee manuals, which," he reached under his desk for something on the floor, "look like this." He dropped a square binder on his desk with a thud, the pages inside stacked a good four inches thick. "Every time they update equipment, the employees have to get a new supplement. They go through the hundreds of pages to take out anything referencing that machine and replace it with the new pages. Safety measures get updated; same thing happens. Employee responsibilities and procedures change; same thing happens. Any update, and thousands of pages get printed and handed out, and employees have to go through and throw out just as many. It's a hassle and a pain in the ass. I've tried doing one of the updates myself and it's tedious as hell. And—" he was clearly reaching his most important points "—it's expensive. Not to mention completely environmentally unsound."

"So you're suggesting—"

"We replace the manuals with tablets," Oliver held up the one on the corner of the desk. "Even with the cost of hiring a few extra people in the IT departments and training all the employees in how to use them, will more than take care of themselves. Plus it would be creating jobs instead of eliminating them, and it would make the factory environmentally friendly."

"You're forgetting the cost of the tablets themselves, not to mention getting the government to approve of the switch from hard to soft copy of the manual."

"I'm already talking to the government about the possibility of getting it approved, and I'm in touch with QI Tech about the newest test model for the "Quip," their new tablet. They love the idea and they're willing to work out a deal where they'll offer a discount to companies willing to make the switch, and they'll help with training. It's great advertising for the new product, not to mention it looks great for them to get behind the environmental aspect. People will eat it up."

Robert Queen made no effort to hide how impressed he was. "You've already got the ball rolling on this, haven't you?"

Oliver grinned. "Learned from you, didn't I?"

Robert nodded as he scanned the numbers and Oliver's notes about where the budget could afford the tablet. He glanced at the device in his hand, which was lightweight and glossy, clearly a thing of the future. "You should tell your fiance about this," he said mildly.

"I…what?" Oliver looked startled.

"Miss Sullivan. She runs that magazine, doesn't she? I've been reading a few of your mother's old issues. Her readers would be interested in a technological advance like this, especially since the head of QI Tech is a woman—Felicity Smoak. They'd eat it up. See if your better half would be willing to run an article—maybe even a spread—on it. I'm sure you could persuade her," he glanced up to wink at his son.

Oliver was staring at him like he was an alien.

Completely misinterpreting this reaction, Robert clapped Oliver on the shoulder. "Oh come now, it's okay to mix business with pleasure on occasion. I'm sure she won't be offended. But if you really have a problem with it, maybe I'll talk to her about it this evening."

"This evening?" Oliver said, still getting back his sea legs. This had to be the strangest conversation he'd ever had with his father. Robert hadn't even met Chloe and he was talking about her like she was already part of the family. Oliver had never known his father to so much as acknowledge the existence of a woman in Oliver's life, with the very slight exception of Tess, whom he had treated with grudging acceptance. "I…okay. What's this evening again?"

"Dinner. With your mother and I. Now listen," Robert said sternly. "I specifically had your assistant outside clear your schedule for tonight, and Chloe's assistant promised your mother that Chloe could make it. You'd better not forget. I want to meet her!" he said genially. "And in any case your mother's absolutely counting on it. And you know how she gets."

"Right," Oliver said dazedly. Then, snapping out of it. "Right, we wouldn't miss it."

"Excellent. We'll be expecting the two of you home in time for cocktails then."

Oliver swallowed. "Right. The two of us. No problem."

"You're doing it wrong."

"Excuse me?"

Chloe had popped into Oliver's bathroom in her robe, returning her makeup bag to his counter.

"Your tie. You're doing it wrong. It's been driving me crazy all weekend."

"What are you talking about?" Oliver said defensively, his hands frozen in the air, a knot in his tie halfway done.

"You should do a half-windsor knot. It would be much more flattering on you."

Oliver rolled his eyes. "Look, Sullivan, my father taught me how to tie a tie. I've always done it this way."

"Well, you've always done it wrong," Chloe said, pushing his hands aside and undoing his progress. "The four-in-hand knot is fine, but the half-windsor would look better on you. Like this," she said, biting her lip briefly as she concentrated on knotting his necktie. She pulled it tight and then turned down his collar for him, smoothing it with her finger tips. She looked up with a smile, but it faltered. They were close.

Too close.

Lift your hands, Chloe. Right now. Lift your hands off of Oliver Queen and step away. Immediately. Except that her body was simply not behaving. They were both frozen, and they were both exceptionally aware of their proximity to one another.

Oliver's eyes flickered to Chloe's yellow silk robe. Unbidden, ideas of pulling on the sash holding it together presented themselves to him. He could see her breasts pebbled slightly beneath the thin fabric. He swallowed tightly. It would be easy, so easy, to slip his hands beneath the robe and cup them in his palms. Her eyes would slide shut and she'd lean into him and sigh with pleasure as he brushed his thumbs across them, her own hands seeking him for support.

…or she'd slap you and then cut off your manhood. His sensible side seemed to have returned to stop him from doing something stupid, but it didn't stop the sudden rush of blood to his groin, and he was still having trouble stepping away from her.

Chloe was doing no better. She still hadn't been able to lift her hands from his collar. She was painfully aware of the toned muscle lying beneath her fingertips. Images of Oliver's naked torso, toned and glistening with sweat as he hovered over her in the bed in the next room were flashing through her mind's eye. Her mouth had gone very dry.

He would never let you live it down if he knew what you were thinking, Chloe Sullivan. But her awareness of the fact hadn't stopped a low ache from spreading through her thighs.

A beeping noise broke the spell. Oliver's watch was going off. He coughed and Chloe swallowed as they stepped several feet away from each other simultaneously.

"Right, we need to leave in five minutes then," Oliver said brusquely, pressing a button on his watch to stop the alarm.

"Right."

"Right."

"Right."

"Are you nearly ready then?"

"Right. What?"

"You're naked. I mean not dressed. I mean for this evening."

"Oh right!" Chloe looked down at her robe in surprise. "No, I just…need to slip on my dress," she said awkwardly, turning away from him and walking into the bedroom for his closet, where her clothes and shoes had been situated.

Oliver leaned over his sink and stared at himself sternly in the mirror, his reflection very clearly telling him to snap out of it.

"Ready!" Chloe yelled moments later, seemingly quite herself again, but with the slightest waver in her voice when she said, "Just need a little help with the zipper."

Oliver gave himself another firm look in the mirror before walking out to help her. He had helped many a woman with the zipper on her dress, both for dressing and undressing. He had never been quite so careful to perform the action in the least intimate, least suggestive way possible. No touching her bare skin. No brushing his hands against her ass. No breathing against her neck or brushing his lips against her ear. Absolutely no pressing against her.

Chloe sighed a deep breath of relief when he stepped away. See. Nothing to worry about. Absolutely fine.

"Well," she said, turning around to face him and beaming. "Ready, then?"

Oliver nodded, smiling in response to her smile. "Yeah."

"Do you think we'll need coats?" Chloe frowned, glancing out the window of Oliver's bedroom.

"Probably. It's getting cooler." For autumn was indeed underway now. Victor and Katherine's wedding had marked the end of summer, and the fall was bringing with it a whole new season of social obligations. There was the matter of Thanksgiving and where they would be spending it to settle, as well as the impending engagement party for Hal Jordan and his fiance Carol, as he had finally managed to pop the question the previous weekend. The winter would bring with it Bruce and Diana's wedding, in which both Chloe and Oliver were once again standing up with their friends.

Oh the complications of a fake engagement.

Returning with their coats, Oliver helped Chloe into hers and then led her down to the garage, both of them unusually quiet after their strange interaction in the bathroom. Chloe had other things on her mind when she saw them arriving outside of the Queen manor. The stone building was as beautiful as it was intimidating. Suddenly the prospect of spending an entire evening with Oliver's parents presented itself to her in full scale and she found herself nervously straightening the hem of her dress. She glanced at Oliver, who looked less unsettled than her, certainly, but also not quite himself.

"What's this going to be like?" she asked, a little anxiously. "I mean… your parents, will they like me?" She wasn't sure why she cared so much, as it didn't ultimately really matter. But she couldn't help it. She liked people to like her and she was a great believer in first impressions.

Oliver took his eyes off the road for a brief moment to look at her, then immediately flickered back as they approached the gate entrance. He smiled reassuringly, though. "Don't worry, my dad already loves you apparently. So I guess my mom must have given him a good report."

She didn't seem very reassured, so without thinking, he covered her hand with his and squeezed it encouragingly. "Trust me. They're more in love with you than I am."

Chloe laughed at that. "Not hard to be," she joked.

Oliver grinned, pausing briefly when he felt his fingers brush over the engagement ring on her finger. He pulled his hand back rather suddenly, suddenly conscious of what an intimate thing that was to do.

Within moments they had pulled up in front of the door and were walking through the giant front doors, where they were greeted by a butler who took their coats.

"You'll find your parents in the parlor, Mr. Oliver, Miss Sullivan," he said, nodding his head slightly before leaving them.

"Oliver," Chloe hissed, looking astonished. "You have a butler."

"I don't have a butler. My parents do."

"Oliver. You have. A butler."

Oliver rolled his eyes and took her elbow, gently guiding her toward the parlor where he knew his parents would be waiting with cocktails. He caught Chloe fiddling with her hair out of the corner of his eyes and smiled. "Relax," he said in her ear as they reached the door. "You look beautiful."

Chloe gave him a startled look that he didn't notice as he pulled open the door. She had just opened her mouth to say something, when—

"SURPRISE!"

Chloe clutched her heart and Oliver faltered back a step looking shocked as they stared at the room full of people and the large banner hanging over the fireplace that read: CONGRATULATIONS, OLIVER AND CHLOE!

"Oh my —"

"—God."

It was an engagement party. People were closing in on them. Chloe's mother and father had rushed in to hug their daughter and were gushing words of congratulations. People who were company friends from Queen Industry were slapping Oliver on the back and shaking hands with him.

"Well, Chloe, introduce us all!" Gabe Sullivan was saying, his arm wrapped tightly around his little girl's shoulders. Gabe was a pleasant, round-faced man with slightly ruddy cheeks and a merry expression. His wife, Moira, had the look of an elegant woman completely at ease with herself, comfortable in any environment. Oliver wondered briefly where Chloe got her features from, as both of her parents had dark hair and eyes.

"Now, everyone, let them breathe," Laura Queen was saying, dispersing people back to the cocktail bar and mini-buffet. "They'll have a chance to talk to everyone later."

Chloe sent Laura a look of gratitude. She was clearly the perfect hostess, easily able to control the room at her whim.

"Oliver?" she said to her son, "Would you do us the honor?"

Oliver started a little, still looking rather shocked. "Of course. Mother, you've already met Chloe, but Chloe this is my father, Robert Queen—"

"Call me Dad as soon as you're ready, Chloe," Robert said, leaning in to kiss Chloe's cheek in welcome. She blushed bright red.

"And Chloe?" Oliver looked at her questioningly.

She collected herself. "Mom, Dad, this is Oliver." They greeted him warmly, Gabe shaking his hand and Moira cooing over how good-looking he was. "And his parents," she added a moment later.

"Oh, we've already done those introductions," Moira said pleasantly, sipping on a glass of champagne. "Chloe I'll never forgive you for keeping all this a secret. Laura and I are absolute soul mates," she winked at Laura who laughed her agreement. Clearly the two women had already become thick as thieves.

"How long have you been planning this?" Oliver asked, looking directly at his mother.

Laura touched her chest defensively. "You just assume it was me."

A smile finally came out on Oliver's face. "Mother, this has your name all over it."

"All right, I confess!" she laughed. "I got in touch with Moira a little after our luncheon, Chloe. I just couldn't wait to be introduced. And she was dying to hear all about Oliver."

"Of course!" Moira said. "It's like pulling teeth to get this one to talk to me!" she nudged her daughter.

"Oliver's just as bad sometimes," Robert agreed, shaking his head.

"He/She works too much!" both mothers said at once. Gabe and Robert laughed.

"Two peas in a pod," Gabe grinned.

"I think so," Laura said knowingly.

Oliver and Chloe just stood there.

"Well, don't just gawk at us," Robert said, pushing Oliver toward Chloe. "You'll have plenty of time to talk to us. Go work the room. Everyone's dying to congratulate you. We'll have a proper toast in a little while. And I have an announcement to make," he added mysteriously, grinning at everyone.

Oliver frowned. "What announcement?"

"Never you mind," Laura said with a knowing look. "You'll find out soon enough. Now, Moira—" she linked arms with Chloe's mother, "—I want to hear the rest of that story you were telling me…" her voice trailed off as she steered Moira away towards a passing tray of champagne.

"I think we should make sure everyone has a drink in their hand, Gabe—and you have to tell me more about your factory's efforts to go green."

"Now, Robert, I can't go giving away all LuthorCorp's secrets, you know," Gabe laughed as he followed Robert away.

Chloe and Oliver stared at each other.

"My mother." It was all Oliver said, his face grim.

But Chloe smiled. "Don't worry about it." She slipped her hand into the crook of his arm. "It will be fun. Let's go impress all your coworkers with how brilliant I am," she teased, looking mischievous.

Oliver narrowed his eyes. "What are you up to?"

She smirked. "I just think you should get something out of this. Like being able to show everyone the committed, stable Oliver Queen. I imagine they have a slightly different view of you?" she added knowingly.

Oliver couldn't help smiling in response. "Well when you put it that way…shall we go get some champagne, dear?"

Her smile broadened even more and it occurred to him how pretty she looked when she was genuinely smiling.

Ten minutes later found the couple chatting with a gentleman on the Board of Queen Industries who was in his late 50s, whom Oliver had never particularly liked. He was constantly hinting that Oliver would never live up to his father. He had a rather sour expression on his face as Chloe flooded him with praises of Oliver's dependability and general charming-ness. Oliver was actually starting to blush.

They were interrupted by the sound of a lightly clinking glass and looked up to see Robert trying to get everyone's attention. Everyone in the room stopped talking at once.

Beaming around the room, Robert looked like he was positively bursting with pride. "Does everyone have a glass of champagne?"

There was a general murmur of ascent, some people lifting their glasses slightly in indication.

"Good, good. Well, in that case, I have a few things. First and foremost, I would like to raise a toast. I myself haven't had an opportunity to get to know Miss Sullivan yet, but I have heard glowing reports all around. I know my wife well enough to know that she would never praise where it wasn't deserved, and not one person I've spoken to who knows Chloe has left her unsung. Most of you here know my son Oliver and you know what an incredible thing it is that he would let someone into his life as fully as he has clearly let in Chloe—"

Oliver shifted awkwardly and Chloe felt her face growing hot.

"—and I can tell you, I am so happy for my son it's overwhelming. And I am so happy that he has found love in his life. I think I can speak for Laura—and the Sullivans as well—that I could not be more thrilled to be gaining this ray of sunshine in my life. Chloe, I hope you know how happy I am to be gaining a daughter, and how grateful I am for the love you are bringing into my son's life. To Chloe and Oliver." He lifted his glass and everyone in the room followed suit, repeating his words before taking a sip. Everyone clapped and cheered while Chloe and Oliver blushed madly.

"Kiss! Kiss!"

"Kiss her, Ollie!"

"Kiss the bride!"

Chloe's panicked eyes met Oliver's.

"Go on, Oliver!" Robert said, chuckling at the couples' apparent bashfulness.

Well, Queen, Chloe decided, grabbing him by the tie and pulling him closer, I'm game if you are. "Make it look good," she whispered in his ear, standing on her tiptoes and winking when she settled back.

The awkwardness broke and Oliver grinned devilishly. All right, Sullivan. Brace yourself. He grabbed her hand in his and wrapped his other arm tightly around her waist, spinning her to the side and dipping her low, causing her to emit a squeal of surprise to the delight of the whole room. After a brief pause to make her squirm, Oliver pressed his lips to hers.

The whole room vanished in sudden silence. Chloe felt her body flood with something entirely unfamiliar and unexpected, her ears ringing and her heart pounding with adrenaline. She gasped quietly.

Oliver's mind was humming, and his grip on her tightened. Her lips parted in surprise and he gently sucked on her lower lip, tugging at it as he backed off before setting her up right. He didn't let go, though. He was still holding her flush to his chest and they were both staring each other in the eyes, chests heaving, minds reeling in confusion. Slowly the sound of cheering and scattered applause seeped back into their consciousness. They broke apart and looked around at the room, completely silent.

"Now I do have another announcement to make!" Robert said loudly over the crowd, redirecting their attention. "It's an announcement I have been waiting for a while to make," he continued as people quieted down, "waiting for the right time. And I really can't think of a better occasion to make it than on an evening of celebration of the future. I want you all to be the first to know that at the end of the coming year, I will be retiring as CEO of Queen Industries and leaving my more than capable son in charge behind me. I couldn't be more proud of the man he is today, and I know I fully trust my legacy in his hands. I'll be making a formal announcement to the company this week."

There was a much wilder reaction of surprise this time, members of the board banding together to discuss one another's feelings about this startling development, others coming forward to congratulate Robert, and still other's coming to tell Oliver they knew he would do brilliantly.

Chloe was studying Oliver carefully. This news had obviously come as an unpleasant shock to him, and he was doing his best to hide it. His face had gone very pale though, and his eyes kept darting across the room to his father.

Impulsively, Chloe grabbed his hand and squeezed it tight. He clung onto it like a life-preserver, clutching it almost painfully tight, but clearly grateful for the gesture.

They made it all the way up to Oliver's apartment in complete silence. Oliver walked into his room and just sat on the edge of his bed, tie loosened and cuffs unbuttoned. He ran a hand through his hair and there was a distant, almost wild look in his eyes, like he'd had something valuable torn from him.

Chloe tiptoed after him and studied him from the doorway before hesitantly entering the room. "Oliver? Are you—is everything okay?"

"I had no idea." He shook his head, not looking at her, his mind clearly far, far away.

"I can tell."

"I just, I had no idea that he was planning on it. And—I don't know if I'm ready for this. And I don't like thinking about my father getting old, but this just makes him feel so much older." He shook his head again, desperation in his voice.

Chloe bit the inside of her lip indecisively before approaching him and sitting next to him. She put a hand tentatively on his shoulder. "Ollie, you're ready. I've only known your dad for a few hours and I can tell he wouldn't be taking this step if he weren't completely sure you were ready. He loves that company. Almost as much as he loves you. He would never do anything to harm either one of you. Trust him." She nudged him slightly. "He knows what he's doing. And anyway, he told me about the Tablet idea you came up with, and Ollie, that's really impressive. I mean, that's just…brilliant. If that's how you handle the everyday business, then even I don't have anything to criticize. And we both know how rare that is," she joked.

Oliver's body had relaxed noticeably at her words, but his eyes still looked uncertain, so Chloe stayed beside him. He turned his head to say something to her but paused when for what must have been the dozenth time that day, he found himself unnervingly close to her. Involuntarily his eyes flickered to her lips and he thought about kissing her earlier. Then he thought about kissing her now. It wasn't about her, he told himself. He wanted to take comfort in someone else right now. He needed sex and he needed human contact and she was the closest outlet for that. It would feel so good to just let go of everything and take pleasure in something so purely physical. Would she let him? It was doubtful. It seemed so easy, her sitting right next to him on his bed. All it would take was a little persuasion. A hand on her thigh beneath her skirt, his lips sucking on her neck, a quick removal of her dress. He could strip them both bare and bury himself in her, abandon all of his anxieties for carnal pleasure.

But it felt wrong. She might be there but she wasn't offering. Not that, anyway. She moved to say goodnight, and he decided to take what she was offering. Well. Maybe a little more. His hand seized her arm, though not harshly, to stop her from leaving. "Would—?" But he wasn't quite sure how to phrase what he wanted.

She seemed to know intuitively. She smiled gently and let him pull her back toward the pillows of the bed. They'd shared a bed all weekend, so it didn't feel entirely unfamiliar at this point, but there was still no denying that this was the first time they were considering it sober. It felt strange, but he was a friend who needed comfort, something she could give him. He lay back against the pillow and she willingly cuddled into his side,both of them disregarding the fact that they were still fully dressed. She vaguely recalled the tossing and turning she had done alone in her bed last night and was grateful for what promised to be a much better night's sleep as she rested her head on his chest.