Dear Readers! Here goes the new chapter, sort of a filling one before the rather eventful next. I hope you're gonna enjoy it! Thank you for all the new alerts/faves, and the reviews!
Huge thanks for Hip Karm for putting up with my questionable grammar.
REPLY TO THE GUEST REVIEWS:
Anastasia: Thank you for the feedback! I'm glad you're enjoying my story so much :)
Amber: Alfred is definitely in for some fun time with Felicity being there. Yes, Oliver is hypocratical but he also thinks that he knows Bruce and his ways as he was the same back in time so he thinks that he has a perfect reason to act like that.
As for Bruce… Felicity definitely has some surprises for him in the future as she isn't exactly the type of woman who he's used to.
Thanks for the feedback :)
I woke up with a terrible headache. My head was pounding like there was a heavy metal concert hold in it except that 'Roar' by Katy Perry kept playing in my mind like a vinyl that got stuck at one point. I had only myself to thank for the state I was in because Oliver was right, I got drunk. However, he was wrong about the timing. I was slightly tipsy when he decided to crash my meeting, and only got completely wasted afterwards when I got home.
All the stress of the last few months got to me last night. I was mentally exhausted, confused by Oliver's reaction, and very pissed at him, and the situation he pushed me into. My frustration got the best of me. I simply wanted to take a break from everything.
I didn't know what Oliver was thinking when he decided to hunt me down. I was already angry with him for coming after me but what he did afterwards was unacceptable. The situation was incredibly humiliating for me. Yes, Bruce might not have chosen the best way to approach me with the dinner and the gifts were definitely over the top, but he explained himself to me.
He was a billionaire after all, and Oliver should know well how it worked when one had the kind of money that couldn't possibly be spent in a lifetime. It was natural for someone like Bruce Wayne to buy presents for thousands of dollars, or to have an expensive dinner only to convince someone to work for them. I didn't buy the story entirely but I had turned Wayne Enterprises down as a graduate and they did have a reputation for agressively pursuing talent.
I actually had quite a nice time after almost leaving. Bruce Wayne was an interesting man I enjoyed his company even though I couldn't get rid of the feeling that he was hiding something. That look in his eyes that made me suspicious when we met had almost disappeared until Oliver stomped in. Then that something which I hadn't entirely figured out yet came back. His whole body language changed, he became cautious, and it was almost as if he had to force himself to act casual. If I didn't know better, I'd think he was trying his best to hide something.
From the moment I saw Oliver I knew he was there for only one reason, and that was to stop whatever was going on. If he hadn't made such a scene, I'd have asked for a little time to think the offer over. However, Oliver left me with no choice but to say yes. He said he was asking me not take the job but it wasn't even close to that, he was ordering me to say no.
I groaned quietly, my back hurting from spending the night on the couch. Most likely I passed out while singing along with dear Katy. I had an insane headache, and the room was still slightly spinning with me. Good job it was the weekend so unless someone was trying to destroy the city again, I could spend some time in recovery, and think everything over again.
There was a light but firm knock on my door. I couldn't possibly imagine who it could be at this nonsense time of the day. It was only 7 in morning, Saturday. One thing I was certain about, that it wasn't Oliver.
I stood up slowly, and leant against the back of the couch for a second to steady myself. I didn't even know why I drank whiskey when I got home. I always hated that, tasted like medicine. I bet Mary Poppins was making those poor kids drink whiskey as well. I only had a bottle at home all the time because I was trying to be a perfect host. Not that so many people visited me but it didn't hurt to be ready just in case. I walked to the door, taking each step slowly, not wanting to stumble and die by hitting my head to a chair, or something.
I opened the door, and was stunned to see Alfred there. A glance behind him, confirmed the black limousine parked in front of my house. Certainly, Mrs. Carpenter was playing Sherlock Holmes again. I could only imagine the type of thoughts she'd have by seeing the old butler at my door. She must have thought he was some kind of sugar daddy.
"Good morning," I said, or to be more exact, asked as I tried to block the sun from blinding me. My eyes always got very sensitive after having one too many drinks. Not that I often got drunk.
"It is certainly a good morning for many people but you're clearly not one of them," he said, moving his eyes over me. Still wearing the dress from last night, I could only imagine how my hair or face must have looked. "You're in need of the hair of the dog that bit you."
I made a confused face as he passed by me, and headed to the kitchen. I wasn't used to people serving me. Heck, never in my life would I have thought that I'd have a butler in my house trying to cure my hangover. I didn't want to make more work for him.
"Please, that's alright... You really don't have to..."
"This is my job and believe me, it would do no good for me either to take you to Master Wayne in this condition," he stated, rummaging around in the cupboard, nodding in satisfaction to himself as he found the things he was looking for.
"He wants to meet me now?" I frowned, sitting back to the couch. I didn't understand what he could possibly want from me. I thought we'd deal with the paperwork next week. What was the rush? Was he worried that I'd change my mind over the weekend?
"Yes, you have a contract to sign, Miss," Alfred nodded, taking a few tomatoes from the fridge, dropping them into the liquidizer. What on earth he was doing? "Unless of course you already have plans... with Mr. Queen for example."
"Please, just call me Felicity. This Miss thing sounds strange for me. I'm just an employee like you are," I said, earning a smile from the old man. "And no, I have no plans for today with anyone, especially not with Mr. Queen... He already said what he wanted to yesterday," I said the last part quietly, more to myself than to Alfred.
I was wondering though, why he was interested if I had plans with Oliver. It felt a little bit like he was prying. Was I right to think that Bruce had unscrupulous intentions as a reason to hire me, and Alfred was helping him? But then why wouldn't he have just tried something yesterday? He had been a real gentleman all evening.
"Very good then," he nodded, satisfied, pouring vodka into the machine as a last act.
"Why is it so urgent for him to get me to sign the papers? I don't believe Bruce Wayne's a workaholic, or is he?"
"Master Wayne can be very... devoted to some things when he sets his mind to them," Alfred explained, starting up the liquidizer, stopping me for a few moments from asking more questions.
He sounded odd when he said that his boss could be devoted to certain things. Did he mean that Bruce really wanted me as his employee, or did he mean that Bruce wanted more from me? Was this some kind of rivalry between Oliver and him that I got into the middle of? It certainly was a possibility after how both of them acted last night.
"What is that?" I asked, looking at the red stuff he poured into a glass. I decided to avoid further complicated conversations for a while. My head hurt enough as it was.
"Don't you know? Bloody Mary," he answered, placing the machine into the sink, and starting towards me with the glass.
"She died before I could have had a chance to greet her... and I tend to ignore mirrors during the night, never said her name three times, I like my eyes where they are, you know...," I glanced at him as he placed the glass in front of me, clearly supressing a laugh. "You meant the drink, right?"
"Believe it or not, I'm not old enough myself to have the privilege of knowing Miss Mary personally either," he said, a grin playing along his lips. "Drink it up, it will make you feel better."
"Alfred, I really appreciate the effort but I can't drink this," I mumbled, grimacing as I glared at the red drink in front of me. I was almost certain whatever my stomach contained would be out in no time after a sip of that awful mix.
"You can but you don't want to. There's a difference there," he smiled at me, shaking his head slightly. "Believe an old man, Felicity when they say something will make you feel better."
I sighed deeply, my stomach making rumbling noises just at the thought of drinking this. With a solid hold of the glass I closed my eyes, and started to drink the salty, spicy mixture of vodka, tomato and hot sauce. It was definitely one of the worst things that I'd ever got in my mouth, and that said something. How people could drink this of their own free will I couldn't even imagine.
"I'd say thank you but only if you don't make me drink something like this ever again," I growled, making a face as I put my glass down after finishing the drink off.
"It all depends on if you plan to repeat your last night," Alfred replied, taking the glass to clean it. I was wondering if he attended to some kind of class where they taught him how to keep a straight face, no matter what.
It was odd having someone in my house, doing things for me like washing the glass, or making me Bloody Mary. I was used to taking care of myself from a very young age. I was just a kid when I started run almost the whole household by myself. Mum was always working, and when not she was laying passed out on the bed. I had to learn quickly how to take care of myself.
"I definitely don't plan to do this again anytime soon," I laughed softly, already feeling a little bit better by Alfred's cure.
"Very well, then you have nothing to fear," he smiled, wiping his hands with a tea towel. "You might want to consider getting ready though. Master Bruce isn't known for his patience."
"There must be a point about not having patience as a virtue in the handbook of billionaires," I rolled my eyes slightly as I stood up, heading to the bathroom.
"That's correct, it was written back in the Middle Ages, and they haven't changed the points ever since then," he nodded, making me laugh again.
We started out soon after I pulled myself together. I was happy when I looked into the mirror, and saw that I looked way more human than an hour ago. I still found it odd that Bruce was so eager to start our time together. People among these circles were rather moody.
The car stopped in front of the same building where we had dinner last night, the future place of the subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises. I considered it a good sign that my new boss didn't want to meet me somewhere questionable such as his penthouse.
Alfred and I took the elevator, and lucky for me this time instead of the roof top we stopped one floor below. I wasn't surprised that Bruce had his office there. It was usual that the CEO's office was on the top floor, and the IT department on the bottom one, possibly underground. I always preferred that. There was something very relaxing and peaceful about being almost completely separated from everyone else.
"Good morning, Felicity," Bruce greeted me with a smile on his face, stepping out from his office what was only seperated from the hall with a glass wall. He was wearing a black suit with white shirt, and a black tie. If I hadn't read about his reckless ways, I'd have believed that he was indeed a serious businessman.
"Good morning," I smiled back at him, hoping he wouldn't bring up the embarassing part of yesterday. I didn't want to talk about it with someone who I barely knew, let alone with my future boss.
"I hope I didn't cause too much trouble between you and Oliver," he said but I could swear he was happy that he could mess with Oliver a little bit.
"Okay, listen, if the only reason you want to hire me is for some kind of sick game you're playing with Oliver then don't bother giving me a contract because I won't be used," I stated firmly. I didn't like it when Oliver was constantly lying to me in the beginning but he had good reasons for it at least. However, I wasn't willing to be a chess piece in a 'Cruel Intentions' game between the two men.
"You always seem to think the worst of me, Felicity," He stared at me, his eyes widening in surprise. Bruce might have been shocked by my outburst but I spent enough time around people acting to easily detect something like fake hurt in one's voice. "I was just concerned because you looked upset last night after Oliver took off."
"Of course," I looked away, still wondering if I should sign the contract or not. I was unconvinced that the only reason Bruce Wayne wanted to hire me was my admittedly exceptional IT abilities. Could I trust this man even though, I could tell something was off about him? Was I willing to jump into something questionable again like I did with Oliver? "How about we agree to narrow our relationship to strictly business? That way we can avoid further misunderstandings."
Surprise crossed his face. I wanted him to know that I didn't trust him. That whether he admitted or not, I knew there was something that he tried to hide. If it had anything to do with Oliver, or was something with an entirely different nature, I wasn't certain but practically, I had only known him for a couple of hours, and had already caught him acting way too many times.
"As you wish," he nodded, glancing at the butler who wore a quizzical face as he tilted his head to the side. Bruce rolled his eyes. "Following that line of thought, you could sign your contract... You may go home, Alfred. Thank you for picking Felicity up."
"I hope to see you again soon, Felicity," Alfred bowed to me before turning to leave.
"Likewise, thank you for the Bloody Mary," I waved after him before heading to the office.
I took the papers from Bruce. It was fortunate that I was a quick reader as some contracts could be up to a hundred pages. However, to my surprise other than the usual contract of just a few pages, there was only a one page long non disclosure agreement.
It stated that whatever I heard, or saw during my job could not be discussed, showed, or given out in any shape or form to anyone, not even among the walls of the company. The only people that I was allowed to talk about business were Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth and Lucius Fox. I found it odd that the butler was mentioned there but I guess, he was one of the only people who were close to Bruce.
"Who is Lucius Fox?" I glanced up at Bruce who was sitting in front of me, wondering who this man was who I could talk to about my job.
"He's the CEO of Wayne Enterprises, and he also runs the Applied Sciences division," He answered simply, with a small smile, as if at some private joke "You're going to meet him as soon as you signed the papers. Some gadgets have just arrived that I believe you'd enjoy taking a look at."
I frowned for a moment, trying to read among the lines because I was almost entirely certain what he said meant more.
I read the contracts one more time, and decided that it worth a shot to try and work for Wayne Enterprises. There was no reason for me not to take the job other than my paranoia. When I graduated at MIT I got several offers from various companies, and the final two that I decided between were actually Queen Consolidated, and Wayne Enterprises. In the end what pushed me towards the Queen's company was that they seemed to want me more. Also it was going to be good to be close to Bruce, in case he planned to take over Queen Consolidated. It was a possibility I couldn't rule out.
"Welcome on board, Felicity," Bruce smiled at me as I signed the papers. There was a knot in my stomach but what was done, was done. "Let's go and introduce you to Lucius, I'm sure he's going to be able to show you things you haven't seen before."
We took the elevator, to the bottom floor, -5 underground. I was wondering what they could have down there, and what type of gadgets might have arrived. I knew Wayne Enterprises manufactured military equipment but then I wasn't sure that I'd get all excited about weapons.
The door opened, and there was this man waiting for us with a huge smile on his face. I let my eyes wander around the enormous place, almost fainting as I saw computers that shouldn't even exist yet, many weapons and even some vehicles It might not have been such a bad idea to sign up to this after all.
"Hello. You must be Felicity Smoak. I've heard great things about you. I'm Lucius Fox," he offered his hand that I took, returning his smile.
"This place is breath taking," I said in awe, gazing around.
"Feel free to look around," Bruce encouraged, and I didn't need more.
"Oh, are those arrows there?" I asked excited, heading towards one of the cabinets so I could take a closer look at them. They looked like the explosive ones that Oliver used.
"Yes, glue arrows, a ball tip contains a highly reactive, fast drying, industrial polymer," Lucius explained. Oliver could use that as well, especially now that he had given up killing for good.
"I heard you worked with the Arrow?" Bruce added with a strange tone, making me to turn and face him.
"I believe I've already told you that none of the rumours are true about me," I answered quietly, cursing myself for letting myself get that obviously excited. "Someone like you should be well aware of this with the amount of stupid rumours flying around you as well... I'm sure it also isn't true you bought a chapel because your current mistress liked it."
"No, that's valid information, not just rumour," he grinned, making me roll my eyes. Talking about billionaires, and their toys.
"By the way... Why do you have arrows?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, questioningly.
"With highly dangerous criminals appearing from nowhere nowadays we're trying to come up with new options to capture them. We heard about this vigilante in Starling, and thought it would be worth a shot to try his methods," Lucius explained but I barely heard a word he said as I noticed the suspicion in Bruce's gaze. He almost seemed to be satisfied, or happy that he caught me, as if this was his plan all along. If I didn't know better, I'd think the arrows were intentionally placed there to see my reaction, and I foolishly fell for the trap. I had to be more cautious in the future. He definitely didn't seem to be as clueless as he appeared in the tabloids, or on the TV.