While chapters in this collection aren't connected, I wanted to write this little oneshot before I do a couple others I have planned. Because I do think Felicity will end up working for Ray this season. So here's my attempt at that. Enjoy!

xxxx

Felicity despised when her new job called her in for the night shift. One of the reasons she has chosen a simple job at Tech Jungle, instead of a regular nine to five job, was because she missed sleep. She had slept more in the past five months at this job than she had since she entered college, and certainly more than she had since Oliver Queen had turned her life on its head. Not that she was complaining, because she enjoyed what she did with him...they made a real difference in the city. But coming home at 3am and being due at the office before nine didn't leave much room for sleep. The only problem with the job as a technical associate at this hole in the wall computer shop was when they called her in for an evening shift...it made it difficult to help Oliver and Roy in the field when she was supposed to be "assisting customers." They had managed without major incident thus far, but every time she ran an op from the store's pitifully small computer screen, she felt like they were pushing their luck.

Thankfully, Starling City's criminal underbelly was quiet on that particular Thursday night. Roy and Oliver were at the foundry, rather than in the field, and John was home with his delightful baby girl, who had only been home for about a week. She supposed Lyla and he were taking sleep deprived to an entirely different level as they attempted to adjust to life with a newborn. The store was closing in less than ten minutes, and Felicity felt like they might make it through yet another night without a major catastrophe or bloodshed. Which was good, because she had experienced more of than enough of that in the past few weeks.

She turned to power off the store's computers, wondering if Roy would come to pick her up again. When things were slow in the field, he would often come to get her when she got off work...she supposed the early nights made the memories of what he had lost a bit more sharp. Although Roy rarely spoke about Thea, and didn't know the extent of how badly things had truly gone between them in his Mirakuru haze, it was clear that he missed her. So Felicity had no problem grabbing a late night snack with the younger man on occasion, especially when she could sleep in until nine.

The door chimed and she turned, smiling, a quip for Roy on her tounge. The words died in her throat and she did a double take at the tall, dark, all-too-familiar man who was striding toward her, eyebrow raised in challenge. He had lost the suit from last week's meeting (and numerous subsequent television interviews) in favor of jeans and a deep blue polo. For the life of her, Felicity could not think of a single reason that Ray Palmer would be in a computer shop at 10:55 pm on a Thursday night. "Can I help you?" She asked, trying to sound pleasant. This man, while incredibly attractive, had swept in and slid Oliver's company out of reach yet again. He was not, in her mind, a friendly face.

"You, Ms. Smoak, are a bit of an enigma," he said, leaning casually on the counter as if they were old acquaintances.

She pursed her lips. "Mr. Palmer..." She began, unsure of what to say or what on earth he meant.

"Please, call me Ray," he interrupted eyebrow again.

Felicity was utterly confused. "Why are you here, at nearly eleven o'clock at night, when you have an entire department that is better equipped than this store to solve whatever problem you are having? Not to mention I am sure you have people to do things like this for you...I have experience with billionaires, you know, and they don't run menial errands." She cleared her throat, realizing she might have said more than she intended.

"I am here," he said slowly, "because you aren't in the IT department anymore."

Whatever she had been expecting, it wasn't that. She was fairly certain her mouth was hanging open. "If that's a pickup line, you need some work."

He chuckled. "I looked in to you, you know," he said, dark brown eyes holding her gaze. "You were entirely overqualified to be working in IT at QC. And then IT to EA to the CEO. Well, that's not your typical career path."

Felicity felt her mouth open again. What on earth was this man going for?

"Of course, you may not be aware but the rumor at QC is that you and Queen.."

She threw her hand up, stopping him. "Oh, no thanks. I don't need a recap. I am well aware what people think, and i don't care. Now, Mr. Palmer..." There was no way she was calling this man by his first name. She supposed that this would have been similar to what Oliver would have grown into, had he not ended up in Lian Yu-cocky and self-assured, and a bit of an ass. "Was there something I could do for you?" She nearly groaned as soon as the words we're out of her mouth, wishing she had chosen different words.

He grinned at her. "I was getting there," he said. "I was intrigued that Queen brought you to the board meeting last week. Billionaires trying to get their company back usually don't bring their play things to board meetings-believe me, I would know. And you certainly aren't his secretary anymore. So I looked in to you, Felicity."

Oh great.

"it seems like Queen trusts you, and you have taken jobs that are beneath you for years. I was wondering if you might like to rectify that.". She felt like she was doing that fish-out-of-water thing again as she gaped at him. "I want to open a new sector in applied sciences, a tech division."

"The Applied Sciences Building was destroyed..." she blurted. She kept the "because I blew it up with my team of vigilantes" to herself, of course.

He laughed. "I'm well aware of that, thanks. But I want to rebuild it. And expand I nto the tech sector. But I need someone I trust to oversee it." He raised the eyebrow again, as of waiting for a response.

"Wait, me?" Felicity asked in disbelief. "You don't even know me. You don't know you can trust me."

"No, but Queen trusts you. And at the end of the day, it's still his company."

Felicity tilted her head at him. "That you control," she pointed out.

He shrugged, flashing the grin again. "Well, yes." He pulled out w card from his pocket and slid it in front of her. "I need to name someone for the position in the next two weeks. If you want it, it's yours. You worked hard at MIT. This is your chance to make a difference with that knowledge."

She almost laughed out loud, wondering what charming Ray Palmer would think if he knew what she really did with the things she learned from MIT.

"My private line is on the back," he said, standing upright. "I hope to hear from you soon."

She gapped at the card as the front door dinged once, and then again. Roy's voice broke through her muddled brain. "Hey, wasn't that..."

She threw a hand in his direction. "Not one word, Harper! Not. One. Word."

Roy laughed. "Okay then. Dinner?"

"Yes. And a drink." A glass of wine was definitely in order after that weirdness. "For me. Not for you, because you still aren't 21."

"Whatever you say, Felicity," he chuckled, holding the door open for her. She locked up, and they headed out. Making life altering decisions was better saved for daytime hours anyway.