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Oliver truly detests board meetings.
He honestly doesn’t think there’s anything worse than being forced to sit in a room full of men old enough to be his grandfather as they all ‘express their concerns’ over where QC is headed with Oliver at the helm.
As far as he’s concerned, it’s headed somewhere and that’s better than it was before he took over so he’ll count that as a win.
He may have returned to Starling on the basis of taking over the company and continuing his family’s legacy but his main concern right now is just keeping it afloat. There’s so much crime happening in the city that his priorities have become a little skewed towards his night job, he will admit.
However, he can’t exactly tell the board that his focus has been away from QC because he spends his nights running around the city as a vigilante so he’s doomed to listen to their rants about stock prices and revenue for the next hour.
At the very least, he might be able to figure out a tactical plan for the mission they’re planning tonight. It’s going to take all of his and Digg’s collaborative efforts to take down the gang they’re targeting, and Oliver knows he needs to be on his best game.
Suddenly, a melodic laugh drifts into his ears. It’s a welcome distraction and a usual one for Oliver. He knows this laugh, he knows its variants, and he certainly knows its owner.
Felicity.
Oliver’s eyes drift to the glass wall behind the board, his eyes seeking out the familiar sight of his executive assistant turned partner.
She’s stood by her desk, leaning on it with one hand. It’s getting harder and harder for Oliver to not stare when he sees her each morning and this morning was no different.
She’s chosen to wear her hair down today, a decision that Oliver always welcomes warmly, and she uses her free hand to brush it away from her face now to reveal her laugh’s accompanying smile. He can see her eyes sparkling, even from his removed distance, and the pure joy that’s lit up on her face forces Oliver’s own lips to quirk.
She truly brings so much light into his life, he can’t believe he tried to deny it and push her away before. Now, he cannot imagine what his life would be like without Felicity in it and he’s realising that, slowly but surely, she’s becoming the one person who knows almost everything about him. He can’t pinpoint exactly when she became the person he wants to turn to whenever he receives news, be it good or bad, but he knows he wouldn’t change it for the world.
Following her gaze, his mood dampens when he realises just what it is that is making her laugh.
It’s a delivery guy who seems to be taking far too much time doing his job. Aren’t these guys supposed to just drop the parcels off and tell people to have a good day? Lingering on an executive floor to talk to an executive assistant seems a little unprofessional to Oliver.
And that opinion definitely has nothing to do with the way that Felicity is laughing along to whatever the delivery guy is saying. Nothing at all.
“An important parcel, Mr. Queen?”
The sound of his name draws Oliver’s attention back into the board room and he blinks blindly for a few seconds, the whiplash from his change in concentration messing with his brain a little.
“Pardon?” He questions, but the board member’s question sinks in before the man has the time to repeat and Oliver jumps at the opportunity that’s just been presented. “Oh yes, actually, if you could all just excuse me for a second. This is extremely important.”
Without bothering to hear their reactions, Oliver is up and out of his seat in seconds and heading for the door.
“No, I’m far too clumsy to ever do what you do! I’d be tripping into customers right and left and then throwing their parcels on them. Honestly, it would be a complete and utter disaster!” Felicity’s voice reaches Oliver’s ears as he steps into her office area and her babbling would be endearing, if it wasn’t also making the delivery guy she’s talking to laugh.
“Miss Smoak, is that my delivery arrived?” Oliver questions as he approaches the desk and his words draw both of their attention. The shock is evident on Felicity’s face and she looks between him and the conference room with a baffled expression for a moment before she schools her face.
“Um… yes, Mr. Queen,” She answers and there’s a bite to her tone as there generally is when she’s required to use his title. He set the precedent by using hers and he feels a little guilty when she stares up at him with anger underlying in her eyes but the fact that the delivery guy is still lingering outweighs his guilt.
“Is there an issue with it?” Oliver asks directly, looking towards the worker who looks taken aback at being directly questioned. He startles for a moment but gets control, shaking his head.
“No, Sir.”
“Well, I’m sure you’re very busy. Wouldn’t like to hold you up. Thank you for taking the effort to come all the way up here. Has Miss Smoak already signed?” Oliver presses, a polite, obviously fake smile paints its way across his lips and the delivery guy swallows heavily, taking a few steps back.
“Yes, Sir,” He confirms with a nod and Oliver grins.
“Excellent. I trust you can find your way back?” He poses with a raised eyebrow and a clap of his hands that has the younger man jumping.
“Of course, Sir. Goodbye, F… Miss Smoak,” He stumbles, changing to Felicity’s title when Oliver crosses his arms in a completely unrelated gesture. The boy reaches for his clipboard and stumbles back a few steps again before he starts to make his way to the elevator, chancing a couple of worried glances over his shoulder at Oliver.
“Bye Matthew. I hope you get your time off!” Felicity calls after him with a kind smile. That stays on her face until the boy rounds the corner, at which point she quickly rounds on him, her voice dropping down to a hiss. “What are you doing out here?”
“Pardon?” Oliver frowns, the sudden change in her demeanour giving him whiplash. All his stumbling earns him is a scoff as Felicity reaches for the small package that’s sat on her desk.
“You and I both know that delivery is a hard drive for your office computer. It’s not exactly something you need to leave a frigging board meeting to oversee the handling of. Or am I really so untrustworthy that I apparently can’t sign for a parcel now?” She hisses, her voice that deadly tone that always terrifies Oliver. It baffles him how someone so small can be so damn scary.
“That’s not… I…” He starts but takes a deep breath when he realises that Felicity is staring at him, entirely unimpressed. “You and I both know how boring those things are. I was looking for any excuse.”
“Well, apparently you got it.” She scoffs and rolls her eyes, scooping up the parcel and starting towards his office. Her heels click against the floor loudly, leaving Oliver to wonder what’s just happened as she stalks towards his computer.
“Can you just explain to me what I’ve done to annoy you?” He questions as he finally wraps his head around the last minute and follows her through to his office.
“Aside from be extremely passive-aggressive to that poor delivery man who was just trying to do his job?” Felicity counters, raising an eyebrow and cocking her hip and Oliver blushes at the fact that she’s once again managed to see straight through him.
“He was taking his damn time,” Oliver mumbles under his breath, something still not sitting right about the scene he just dissolved, but it obviously wasn’t as quiet as he thought as Felicity scoffs loudly and turns away from him.
“Oh my…” She trails off, shaking her head as boots his computer up.
“Yes, aside from that,” Oliver tries instead, stepping up to the desk and Felicity stops what she’s doing, sighing as she looks up at him. The fight and anger leave her face and she regards him with the expression that he knows means something has gone completely over his head.
“The men in there already think you ‘promoted’ me because we’re sleeping together. You coming out here to watch me do the simplest of tasks doesn’t exactly do much to repudiate that narrative,” She explains in a much calmer tone and yet, her words hit him with a sinking feeling.
He knows how much the rumours circulating QC have been hurting her, how much she values her own intellectual integrity, and he also knows that it’s his actions that have sparked it. He’s the one who insisted she take the job as his executive assistant, selfishly wanting her by his side when he’s struggling in his position. However, he’s not the one having to deal with the consequences.
She’s the one the office are gossiping about, the one that’s being accused of manipulation and gold-digging. Oliver hates that his actions have sparked it but he really hasn’t done anything to actively disprove the story his workers have spun.
In fact, Felicity’s right, in his own selfish way, he’s only adding fuel to the fire.
“Felicity…” He starts but she sighs, holding up a hand to holt him. It’s clear that she doesn’t want to get into it right now and Oliver freezes, a little unsure as to where he’s supposed to go from here.
“Just… get back in there,” She tells him but, despite her words essentially being an order, her tone is soft and lacking any of the fire it had mere minutes ago. Oliver can tell that something’s shifted but he can’t figure out exactly what or why and that worries him.
“Okay,” He agrees and starts to walk towards the door but freezes mere feet from it, turning back to look at Felicity. She’s already looking back at the computer, her brow furrowing at something and Oliver sighs, the guilt rising in him all over again. “I’m sorry.”
Felicity looks up at his voice and she sighs again, her head tilting as she regards him with an expression he sees a lot from her but he still cannot work out exactly what it means. It’s soft and gentle but at the same time, almost pitying.
“I know,” She states gently before she nods towards the boardroom again. Oliver waits until her lips quirk into the smallest of smiles before he obeys, heading back into the room full of men who are looking at him as if he’s grown two heads.
“Apologies gentlemen, shall we continue?”
It doesn’t take very long for Oliver’s concentration to waiver again once the meeting gets back into its swing. However, now his brain is solely on Felicity and what he might be able to do to make it up to her.
He doesn’t want to do anything that seems impersonal, like he’s just trying to get her to forgive him for the sake of it. At the same time, he knows she’d absolutely murder him for a huge gesture and it would probably also come across as impersonal to her anyway. He wants it to be something special for her. Something that will communicate that he values everything she’s sacrificed for him and how much she continues to do for him every day. He wants her to know that he cares about how she’s feeling and not just whether she’s there to answer his phones.
He’s certainly got some thinking to do.
Felicity freezes when she makes her way into the office the next morning. The sight of Oliver at his desk when she arrives is a rarity indeed and the sight of him already buried in work is something that she doesn’t think she’s ever been greeted by.
Deciding not to burst this bubble of sudden productivity, she leaves him to it and heads to her own desk but the sight there makes her stop in her tracks as well.
Atop her desk are a coffee from her favourite place down the street and an envelope with her name on in Oliver’s familiar scrawl. She chances a glance back towards his office but he’s still buried in his papers and she’s almost certain that he’s avoiding her gaze.
Deciding to play ball, she places down her bag and removes her coat before taking a sip of the coffee. She realises it’s her favourite fall flavoured one that Oliver always pokes fun of her for ordering with a happy groan. Taking another long sip and allowing the brew to warm her, she reaches for the envelope.
Felicity,
I want you to know that I appreciate everything you do for me. Take the weekend off, your stay at the spa is covered until Sunday afternoon, with a plus one if you want to take a friend. Thea assures me it’s the best one in the city.
Enjoy the break, you deserve it.
Oliver x
Felicity shakes her head in disbelief as she pulls out the booking confirmation that Oliver has also placed within the envelope.
Her big, sweet lug of a vigilante.
Once she’s managed to blink back the tears, she collects herself and heads to Oliver’s office, pausing in the doorway. Oliver freezes, obviously aware of her presence, but he doesn’t look up from her work.
“You are entirely dense,” Felicity starts and Oliver raises his head, looking at her with a worried expression but she smiles reassuringly at him as she walks over to him. “But this is extremely sweet. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I really do appreciate everything you do for me. I’m sorry if I’m not the best at expressing it,” He tells her with such a sweet, shy smile that Felicity doesn’t think she’d have it in her to be mad at him even if she was.
“I know you do but it is nice to hear it every once in a while,” Felicity smiles honestly and Oliver nods, their eyes lingering on each other’s for perhaps just a second too long. “Oh, um, I guess I should go pack?”
“I’ll see you on Monday. I don’t want to hear from you before then,” He grins and Felicity nods.
“Try not to fall apart without me,” She can’t resist teasing but Oliver looks her head in the eye with utter seriousness on his face.
“We both know I’m a wreck without you.”
His words thrum through her and Felicity fidgets where she’s stood. She’s in far too deep, she already knows, but despite the waves constantly crashing over her, she has no desire to swim ashore. She’s in this for the long haul now.
“Right, well, yeah, um, bye.”
Stupid sweet idiotic vigilantes.