First Impressions

An: I do not own Arrow

Summary: Felicity discovers how first impressions can be very wrong when the men she thinks of as The Jerk, The Dick, The Stalker, and The Prince end up being different than who she thought they were. AU Olicity

Chapter 1 – The First Impression

Felicity Smoak was a blonde haired, blue eyes genius that loved computers. Her mother was a cocktail waitress in Las Vegas who worked long shifts to raise her. Her father left them when she was young. She could barely remember him. When she was a teenager she would do her homework in the employee lounge where her mom worked. When she had no homework she would sometimes sit in the security room and watch the monitors with the guards. They had a little game they used to play where they would bet what visitors to the casino would do. They would pick out the hard core gamblers, the slot machine enthusiasts and the people that were clearly there just for the food and drinks. It had been a great way to earn extra cash.

Felicity graduated high school early, choosing to go to the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology or as it is affectionately known, MIT. She loved every moment that she was there. Her classes were challenging and she found herself growing in a way she never thought possible. She graduated with her masters in Cyber Security. She knew she would not go back to Las Vegas. Both her and her mother knew that when she left to go to MIT she wasn't coming back unless it was to visit.

After working for a few companies, Felicity Smoak was approached by Walter Steele, a Vice-President at Queen Consolidated to head up their fledgling Applied Sciences division. The previous heads had failed miserably and since that division was Mr. Steele's personal pet project, he went out of his way to head-hunt her for the position. She had been working at Star Labs under the famous Dr. Harrison Wells handling all of their cyber security and programming projects. It was her work there that made her eligible to become the Head of the Applied Sciences division. The opportunity that Mr. Steele was offering her was a once in a life time opportunity and Felicity quickly accepted it even though it required her to relocate to a new city.

It was a nice sunny day, the perfect day to start her new life in Star City. She arrived via plane early that morning from Las Vegas. She took two weeks off between jobs so that she could spend some time with her mother. On her way to the apartment that Mr. Steele had arranged for her, she saw a small coffee shop and she asked the cab to stop for a few minutes so that she could sample the brew. It was very important to know where the good coffee shops were. She was pleased with the blend and decided that it was good enough to be her morning coffee place. A quick check of Google maps indicated that it was on her preferred route to work.

The neighbourhood was quiet and clean. There were several apartment complexes around and a park nearby. The moving van with her things would be arriving later that day. All she had as she walked up to the door was a little rollie and her cup of coffee in her hand.

The door opened and she was met with the sight of the most gorgeous man she had ever seen. He was six foot two, with sandy blonde hair, deep blue eyes and a dusting of stubble on his strong jaw. He was dressed in a simple black jeans, grey Henley t-shirt and a leather jacket. From the way the shirt stretched over his chest, she knew he was well built. She thought he looked kind of familiar and was wracking her brain for where she had seen his face before.

"Move," the man said roughly.

Before she could even register what was going on, he was shoving her aside, her coffee spilling all over her. He didn't even stop to apologise, what a jerk!

S-2

After the initial anger from the incident faded, Felicity realised she needed to cover up her stained clothes before meeting with the building manager. She didn't want him to think she was some crazy coffee lady moving in. Fortunately the coat she had worn on the plane was thrown over the handle of her rollie and it didn't get stained. She quickly covered up.

The building manager was a man named Floyd Lawton who had served in the military. He was a bit passive aggressive, giving her a long list of things she wasn't allowed to do in the apartment building. He gave her the keys to the apartment and did a walkthrough with her noting that everything was in pristine condition and he expected it to stay that way. She was on the second floor with a view of the park. The apartment was a lot bigger than the previous ones she had in Boston, New York and Central City. The kitchen had plenty of space though she couldn't cook to save her life. There were two bedrooms so her friends would have a room to stay in when they visited her.

After a quick shower and a change of clothes she headed downstairs to greet the movers. The foyer was large. The mailboxes for the apartments were on one side and the manager's office on the other. There was a security guard behind a desk but his face was glued to the monitors. There were also couches set up so that you could sit and relax. She introduced herself to the security guard. She discovered his name was Lucas Hilton. He was a former police officer who used to be the partner of Captain Quentin Lance. One of his daughters Sara Lance lived with her partner, Nyssa Raatko, on the third floor. In the hour, she spent talking with Lucas, she hadn't seen anyone come and go.

The truck soon pulled up and she gave the movers instructions on where to put her stuff. There was one box she was anxious to get her hands on, the one that housed her pet projects. She had specially labelled it and she wanted to move that box herself. She found the box and picked it up. When she reached the door, it was closed. She cursed her luck. Fortunately a guy in a red hoodie was coming up the stairs behind her.

"Can you open the door for me please?" she asked him. He was shorter than the jerk she first met but was just as good looking and chiselled. Did models live in her apartment building?

"Hey Blondie," the guy said looking at her.

"Can you get the door?" she asked again.

The boy smirked, "ladies first," he said not moving a hand to help her.

She glared at the guy, what a dick. Did all the men in this apartment building have personalities of trash cans! Just as she was about to adjust her box to try and balance it between her hip and one hand, one of the movers opened the door. The red hooded guy rushed forward and left her behind.

"Gee thanks," she called out sarcastically to him.

He turned around and winked at her, "no problem Blondie, anytime."

"That guy is a real dick," she said to Lucas who just shrugged it off.

She spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking her boxes and setting up her apartment. She had work the next day and she wanted to finish her unpacking because she suspected that she would not be in the mood for unpacking the following night.

S-3

For her first day of work, she made sure to arrive at Queen Consolidated early. She was greeted by the HR Manager and Mr. Steele, who insisted she call him Walter. She went through the standard orientation for new staff members after which Walter started introducing her to her staff. They had the entire 20th floor to themselves. The department was first started two years ago. They had tried to launch several projects but all had failed. They had been through quite a few staff members from what she could gather. No one she talked to had been there more than six months.

This was her first job where she had an Executive Assistant. His name was Jerry and he seemed very keen to work. He brought her up to speed on all of the commitments that the department had made. There were several projects on track, the most important of which was the collaboration with Palmer Technologies. She actually had a meeting that afternoon with Dr. Ray Palmer. She had never personally met the man but she knew Dr. Wells had had many dealings with him.

Just before lunch, Walter called her up to the 25th floor to meet the Queens. She was introduced to Robert Queen, the CEO and Isabel Rochev-Queen, Vice-President of Acquisitions, and his current wife. She remembered reading about the divorce from his first wife, Moira. Moira had cheated on him with Malcolm Merlyn and the result had been a baby girl. No one knew about it until a riding accident revealed her true paternity. The ensuing battle had been nasty. Isabel, who had been his mistress at the time, wasted no time in converting her position to second wife. She supposed the woman was suited to be head of acquisitions.

The final Queen she met was his eldest son from his first marriage, the infamous Oliver Queen. She knew she recognised The Jerk from somewhere. He was Oliver Queen. He was her boss's son and her co-worker.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Jerk," Felicity said. When everyone looked at her strangely and Isabel burst out laughing she realised she said Mr. Jerk instead of Mr. Queen. Felicity quickly tried to apologise.

"You would not be the first woman he slept with to call him a jerk," Isabel commented.

"Oh no," Felicity stated her hands trying to deny that she slept with him. She needed to correct that assumption right away. "He and I, never happened. Nope, definitely not," she reiterated shaking her head emphatically.

Isabel turned to Oliver, "Is there anyone left in Starling City that you haven't slept with?" she asked with disdain.

Oliver ignored Isabel and looked at Felicity curiously, "Have we met before?"

"Yesterday, you rudely shoved me out of your way causing me to spill coffee all over myself. You didn't even stop to apologise," she explained angrily.

"Ah," he said as he seemed to remember, "the gaping fangirl,"

"What?" Felicity asked her jaw hanging open, "I am not a gaping fangirl. For your information, I didn't even know it was you until just now,"

Oliver scoffed. He was the most recognised man in Star City. He also knew, he had fans in Central City and according to Felicity's resume; she was last based in Central City.

Walter graciously chose that moment to intervene explaining that he needed to introduce Felicity to other heads of departments.

S-4

At lunch time, she left to visit the company that she would be leasing her car from. She had chosen a red mini cooper. The car was small, making it easy to zip around but best of all easy to park. Felicity was not the best parker. She had googled the directions to the local Big Belly Burger, her guilty pleasure. She figured she could treat herself on her first day of work. She joined the long line inside. While she was waiting she observed the decor. It was similar to the one in Central City but slightly bigger. From the length of the line, she was sure they were very popular here too.

Having taken very long to reach the front of the line, she took her order to go, a big belly buster and a chocolate milk shake. After a few minutes her order was ready. She picked up her order and headed to the door. As she pulled it open she was met with the sight of The Jerk and tall dark man next to him who she assumed was his driver or bodyguard. She glared at him. She shoved passed him and let go of the door, hoping it closed shut in his face. She was thankful he had no say over her employment because she could surely get fired for a move like that. From the gossip she had heard, Oliver was in line to take over the company but Isabel had been shutting down all of Oliver's ideas and suggestions. A lot of employees felt Isabel was looking for a way to force Oliver out of the company so that the business would go to her children.

S-5

After quickly eating her lunch and reviewing the paperwork for the project with Dr. Palmer, Jerry informed her that he was there for their meeting. A tall man, with a strong jaw and short black hair entered her office. She had seen his picture in many technical journals and magazines but he was even better looking in person.

"Ms. Smoak, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. I'm surprised Dr. Wells let you leave Star Labs. I once made the mistake of mentioning to him that I was thinking of hiring you and he practically threatened my life if I were to take you away from Star Labs," he said holding out his hand to shake hers.

She shook his hand, "You wanted to offer me a job?"

"Yes, your work is well known. I'm surprised QC was able to get you," he told her.

"I suppose Walter didn't both to talk to Dr. Wells first," Felicity responded.

She pointed to a small conference room she had adjoining her office, "shall we?" she asked.

"Straight to business Ms. Smoak, I like that," he said.

"We have a lot to discuss Dr. Palmer,"

"Please call me Ray,"

The meeting went well. Felicity made a few suggestions to improve the prototype they were working on. Ray was ecstatic and promised to include them immediately. When Ray left just after five, Felicity decided to leave as well because she needed to get food in her apartment. She quickly reviewed her schedule with Jerry for the next day adding in an extra meeting with her staff to discuss a few project proposals that had been pitched.

S-6

Felicity stopped at a grocery store to stock up on wine, ice cream and microwave dinners. During that time she had received five messages from Ray. She answered them right away since she still thought it was conceivable for her to be in the office working.

When she reached her apartment building, her hands were filled with groceries bags and she was trying to figure out how to get the closed door open. This time a tall slim built man with slick black hair offered to open the door and help her with her groceries.

"Thanks," Felicity said truly grateful for the help.

"You're welcome. I'm Cooper, you must be the new tenant in 2B," he said.

"Yes, I'm Felicity. It's nice to meet you Cooper," she said

"Let me help you get these bags to your door," he said holding half of her load for her.

She smiled gratefully.

"The rumour around the building is that this is your first time in the city," Cooper said starting up a conversation with her.

"Yes. I moved here for a job at Queen Consolidated," she told him as they waited for the elevator.

"Ah, I should be your bitter rival then. I work at Merlyn Global. I manage their IT department,"

"You're in IT?" Felicity asked lighting up.

"Yes,"

"Me too!" Felicity said as the elevator pinged open. Cooper let her enter the elevator first.

"So you'll actually understand when I talk about the latest processors on the market," he commented.

That set off a debate between them about processing speeds and operating systems all the way to her apartment door. He held all of her bags for her while she rifled through her purse for her keys. As usual, when you're looking for something in your purse, it's the last object that you lay your hands on. Cooper waited patiently. When she finally opened the door, he was not presumptuous and let himself in. He offered her a few bags and waited by the door while she put those inside to come back for the rest. He said a simple good night and promised her that they would continue their debate at another time.

Felicity was happy that she had at least found one neighbour that she liked. He was such a prince charming. She looked forward to her next encounter with him. After putting away her groceries and warming up a microwave dinner, she settled in to a long skype conversation with her friends in Central City about her first day at work.

S-7

She popped into the building manager's office the next morning to check to see that all the bills were successfully transferred to her name. She casually asked him about the guy in the red hoodie. He explained that the boy's name was Roy Harper. He was a petty thief from the Glades and the boyfriend of Thea Queen- Merlyn who lived on the top floor of the building. He advised her to hold on to her purse tightly when she saw Roy coming. Lawton's information also explained why Oliver Queen was there. His half sister lived there. Her phone pinged with another message from Ray. He said he knew she was still home but he had sent her an updated design for the prototype that included all of her suggestions. She was surprised that he had worked that fast but then she wondered how he knew she was still home.

She found out later that day that Ray had been pinging her phone to know where she was. That set off alarm bells in her head. She had had that Lacrosse player at MIT who sat outside her apartment watching her. Was Ray Palmer a stalker? She had never heard any such rumours about him. Surely, someone would have said something? But then again, he is a billionaire. He has more than enough money and technical expertise to cover his tracks. Maybe she should make a call to Dr. Wells? He had always been great at offering her advice. She decided that Dr. Wells would be a last resort. She would give Dr. Palmer the benefit of the doubt.

S-8

That was how Felicity met Oliver Queen, Roy Harper, Ray Palmer and Cooper Seldon otherwise affectionately known as The Jerk, The Dick, The Stalker and The Prince.

An: There will be six chapters in this story. Each of the following chapters will be dedicated to Felicity discovering who each of these men really are. I am hoping to update once a week. The Stalker is up next.