A/N: Hi! :) This plot bunny planted it's little fluffy tail right in my mind and refused to leave so I had to write it. :) This is an Olicity fanfic where Oliver is just your regular CEO. As a result, you'll notice that Oliver isn't his regular brooding self...he simply has no reason to be (he didn't go through five years of hell).

Anyway, this chapter is MUCH longer than I originally intended it to be. I can tell you now that not all the chapters will be this long. I don't know exactly how many chapters there will be, but I don't think this fanfic will be too long. I italicize past events so that it's clear that I am talking about the past.

Enjoy! Let me know what you think!

Oliver sighed heavily, running a hand over his face. He glanced at his watch: 11:30. Another half hour before this meeting was over and that was assuming that the meeting wouldn't drag out. He knew that this was important, but he couldn't bring himself to listen anymore. All he wanted was to rest his head on the desk for five blissful minutes of sleep.

He jumped slightly when a soft hand came to rest over his. "Only half an hour."

He smiled gratefully at her. She'd repeated the information he'd known, but Felicity always made it better. He wasn't sure how he'd gotten so lucky to have a best friend like Felicity, but he was grateful for her presence in his life every single day. She retracted her hand and smiled at him once more before returning her attention to the meeting.

It passed relatively quickly and soon he was back in his office, leaning back in his chair, and staring listlessly at the city below. His phone rang and he took a moment to glance at the picture on the screen, smiling slightly: Tommy. "Hey."

"Oliver, guess who's back and will be at Friday's charity gala," Tommy said hurriedly over the phone.

Oliver could just picture a smug little smile on his face. He always had one of those whenever he did the 'guess who', or 'guess what'. But Oliver knew because Tommy had been the one to tell him that she was planning on coming back to Starling. His heartbeat sped up slightly at the very thought. "Laurel," he said. The one great love of his life. He'd screwed it up years ago in high school and now she was coming back. He'd spoken to her of course and they'd patched things up, but with her living in Central City, there wasn't really a way that they could have tried being in a relationship again.

"Yep. I'm heading over to the train station to pick her up right now. She's staying at my place for a few days until she gets her apartment furnished and whatnot, so if you want to casually drop by…," he left it hanging.

Oliver chuckled. He appreciated the effort to bring them together, but he wanted to give Laurel some space. He'd changed and she knew that, but he didn't want to screw it up again. This time he needed to do things right. "No. Spend time with your best friend. I'll see her at the gala on Friday."

"Alright, but she's your best friend too," Tommy reminded him.

"She's closer to you. Anyway, I'll stop by the club tonight just to make sure everything runs smoothly without my trusty manager."

Tommy chuckled on the other end of the line and they said their goodbyes.

It was around five when Oliver heard Felicity's heals approaching his desk. He looked up from the stack of paperwork, glad for the destraction.

"Really Oliver? I completely forgot about the meeting tomorrow morning. You could have reminded me that it's with Cruella de Vil!"

He could see that she was slightly peeved, but he couldn't help it, he laughed. His booming laughter filled the office and she crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for him to finish. Her resolve was slipping though, he knew, because she bit her lip to keep from laughing. He simply looked at her for a moment, lips pressed together. Sighing, she dropped her arms to her sides and smiled. "I swear Oliver. This Vice President of Acquisitions thing at Stellmoor International is just a cover up. At night she goes out and steals Dalmatians!" Oliver laughed again and this time she joined in, shaking her head. "Remind me again why I agreed to be your Executive Assistant instead of keeping my job in my cozy little cubical in the IT department."

"Because I need you and you're my best friend," he said simply.

She shook her head once more. "Right."

He shoved his papers to the side, deciding that they could wait until tomorrow. "So are you heading home now?"

"No. Stefan is taking me out to dinner."

The slight blush in her cheeks didn't go unnoticed by Oliver and he found himself smiling. She'd been with Stefan for about two months now and she was happy. As long as it remained that way, he had no problem with the young head of the IT department. "Have fun, but remember that we have an early meeting tomorrow," he teased. He added a wink for good measure.

He watched her bright pink lips form an 'O' and her clear blue eyes narrow as she snatched the day's newspaper off of the desk and walked around to swat him with it. He held his hands up to shield his face, laughing as she swatted him lightly on the shoulder, head, and arm. She aimed for his head once more, but he caught her arm in mid air. "Hitting your boss with a newspaper? What sort of behavior is that Miss Smoak?"

She pursed her lips to hide her smile and dropped her arm. "Not very professional behavior Mr. Queen, but once in a while everybody needs a good swat with a newspaper."

Oliver smiled. "Luckily, your boss is a nice guy and he forgives you."

"Really? I'm thrilled," she retorted flatly.

"Seriously, the third person thing is really annoying," a deep voice said from the door. They turned to find Diggle coming towards them. "Ready to go?"

"Yes." Oliver stood in one fluid motion, not noticing how close Felicity stood. She stepped back to try and avoid his solid chest, but lost her balance. Instinctively, Oliver grabbed her waist to hold her steady, but the quick motion sent her crashing into his solid chest anyway. "Sorry. You okay?"

She nodded against his chest. "You can let go now."

"Sorry," he repeated, clearing his throat.

She stepped back, pushing up her glasses and giggled. "Um… Oliver? I kind of left a mark," she said pointing to the bright pink lip print on his white dress shirt.

Diggle chuckled and Oliver looked down. He smiled slightly, "It's fine. It'll come off." He turned to retrieve the suit jacket from where it hung on the back of his chair and put it on. "Felicity's not coming by the way. She has more important things to do than sit with us and eat burgers."

"Really?"

Felicity shot Oliver a fake little glare, before turning towards Diggle. "I have a date with Stefan."

"Have fun."

"Thanks Digg," she said smiling.

"Why does he get a 'thank you' when he says it? I said the same thing."

Felicity didn't respond. She simply glared at him once more before turning on her heel and walking out. "Say 'hi' to Carly for me," she called over her shoulder as she headed to her desk and picked up her bag and coat.

"Will do," Diggle called back.

Oliver watched as she headed for the elevator. "Don't forget. Dinner at my house tomorrow and the gala on Friday," he called after her just as the doors of the elevator slid open.

"I'll be there."

When he stepped out of the elevator the following morning he saw her standing in front of his desk, placing a stack of papers neatly in the corner. She wore her hair down, straightened. Her dress was red and she wore a fitted white jacket over it. Her back was towards him and smiling, he approached her as quietly as he could. When he was only a few inches away, staring at the back of her blond head, he stopped. "Hey," he said softly.

She jumped at the sound of his voice, just as he had known she would. He chuckled, fondly remembering how he had scared her almost every weekend when they had met up for coffee during their college days. She turned, brows drawn together, finger ready to prod his chest with every emphasized word of the oncoming rant.

"Oliver Jonas Queen! How many times do I have to tell you not to do that! It's not funny. When I'm focused on something you can't just sneak up on me like that. What? Are you just going to keep doing that until we both grow old? You know, my heart won't always be this resilient and one day you might just give me a heart attack! Is that what you want? Do you want to kill me?"

He shook his head bemused, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Good. Now grab the necessary documents and put them in the conference room," she said pointing at the adjoining room. "Cruella de Vil hasn't arrived yet, but she'll be here soon enough to glare at us menacingly and steal our Dalmatians." Felicity smiled at her own joke and Oliver chuckled.

"Sorry. Won't happen again," he said. They both knew he was lying. He leaned down to kiss her on the cheek in apology, as he always did whenever he purposefully sacred her, and noticed, with some apprehension, that she smelled different. Her usual floral scent was there, but there was also something else there. It was faint, but it was definitely musky—a man's cologne or aftershave. Oliver placed a soft kiss on her cheek and moved around his desk quickly to busy himself with the documents needed for the meeting. "How was your date?"

"Good," Felicity responded happily. "How was Big Belly Burger?"

"Good, as usual."

When he looked up, papers in hand, Felicity was looking intently at the screen of her tablet. She bit her lip in concentration—something she always did. He noticed that she had zipped up her jacket all the way and that its collar was high. For some reason, he didn't want to think about why she smelled different, or why she had chosen that particular jacket, but he couldn't help it. A flash of someone's lips on her neck passed through his mind and he set his jaw. Shaking his head to banish those thoughts, he entered the conference room and set down the documents on the table.

He distinctly heard Felicity's heals as she left his office, but he didn't allow his thoughts to wander to her again. When she returned, he was rereading some of the information on Stellmoor International. She set down a cup of coffee in front of him and took her seat beside him. He thanked her.

This meeting regarded the possibility of going into business together, but unfortunately all of the company's leading officials were evidently busy and, as a result, they were sending Isabel Rochev to represent them. They had met once before and Oliver, along with Felicity, had concluded that he didn't like the woman, but there was no denying the success of the company she represented, so they had decided to continue negotiations.

Moments later, the heads of the departments at Queen Consolidated began filing into the room. Oliver noticed Felicity's bright smile when Stefan walked in. He was a year or two older than Felicity, with a full head of black hair and rare grey eyes. He wasn't as tall as Oliver, but he was a few inches taller than his girlfriend. Oliver purposefully looked away when Stefan smiled at her, his eyes lingering on the fitted jacket with the high collar. Isabel Rochev made her entrance just as the head of Human Resources took his seat. She looked gravely serious, but then again that was her regular expression. With a small smile, he sent Felicity a wink before standing and welcoming Isabel to the company once more. When he sat down again he noticed Felicity's eyes were trained on the screen of her tablet and she bit her lip to keep from laughing.

In the beginning he paid attention. It was an important meeting and, as it turned out, Stellmoor International was an interesting company. Half way through however, a faint purple marking on Felicity's neck caught his eye. The collar of her jacket had bent down and he could now see the hicky that Felicity had tried to cover with make up. He felt a flash of anger coarse through him at the sight, knowing that it was perhaps not the only place her boyfriend had left his mark. Some part of his mind told him that he had no reason to be angry. But the other part of his mind argued that it was natural. He'd always been protective of her. From the moment he'd met her, he'd wanted to protect her.

The more he stared at her marked skin, the more the anger grew, so eventually, he reached over and readjusted the collar of her jacket. When she turned towards him to mouth a 'thank you,' there was a faint blush in her cheeks and he forced a small smile.

The rest of the day went by in a blur. Everything and everyone seemed to move around him far too fast to see clearly—to focus on. There was one thing amidst it all that stood still. His sole focus point was his best friend, staring intently at her computer and occasionally pushing up her glasses. This is what his college years had looked like—a blur with a blond, talkative focal point.

He spent the day discreetly staring at her through the glass that separated them, trying to understand what it was that he was so upset about. He was sure that Felicity and Stefan had slept together before last night, and yet now it bothered him slightly. His excuse earlier had been that he had always been protective of her and yet, he knew that was void. He hadn't had any problem with Stefan until now.

"I heard Laurel's back," Felicity said smiling widely as she entered the office.

Oliver ran a hand over his face, in an attempt to shake whatever it was that was bothering him. "How did you know?" As soon as the words had left his mouth, he knew that it had been a stupid question.

"Tommy," they said simultaneously. Oliver smiled, shaking his head. He was thrilled of course that his best friends got along, but sometimes he thought that they teamed up to work against him.

Felicity, Tommy, and Thea had once all invited him to dinner. He had arrived only to find out that none of them were actually joining him, they had left him instead with a blind date for company, knowing that he would not have agreed otherwise. It was not the worst blind date as far as blind dates went, but he hadn't been too happy about being deceived.

"Please don't tell me that you, Tommy, and Thea have got this great 'get Oliver together with Laurel' scheme."

Felicity laughed. "No promises Mr. Queen."

Oliver groaned.

"No, but in all seriousness…are you happy, excited, nervous?"

He looked down at the city below. "All three I guess. I just hope she wants to give us another try and that I don't screw things up this time."

"You're not that guy anymore. You're not the drunk playboy anymore. You won't screw it up Oliver."

He nodded, hoping that she was right. He'd wanted this for so long. He'd waited years and now he finally had a chance to make it better. He finally had the chance to be with the beautiful brunette who'd stolen his heart years ago. Oliver had had girlfriends after her, but each failed relationship just made him miss Laurel more. He'd learned that one does not see the value of something until they no longer have it—he'd learned it the hard way.

"I'm ready to call it a day. How about you?" Oliver asked, stacking the papers off of his desk and shutting down his computer.

"Do you have to ask?" She turned on her heel and made her way to her desk to clean up.

Oliver followed her. "Are you coming with me, or did you bring your car?"

"No. I drove in with Stefan today, so I'm hitching a ride with you."

Oliver's eyes darted to the fitted jacket again. A small pang of possessive anger shot through him for the briefest of moments before he caught sight of her radiant smile. He shot her a genuine smile in return and reminded himself that Stefan made her happy; there was no reason for him to be angry or overprotective.

On the drive over, she talked excitedly about some new software that had recently come out. Oliver did not understand a word of it, but he still listened. Nodding, smiling, and raising his eyebrows in surprise whenever she mentioned some feature that she thought was ridiculously cool. She then went on to tell him about the reviews she'd read and how she was planning to buy it for her personal computers at home.

Felicity had just finished telling him about all the things she planned to do with the new software system when they arrived at his house. As they stepped inside, they saw Moira descending the stairs. She was on the phone and she waved at them before sending them an apologetic smile and pointing at the phone. They walked into the living room, knowing that it was slightly early and that dinner would not be ready yet.

He chuckled as Felicity let herself fall heavily onto the couch. He unbuttoned his suit jacket and draped it over the arm of the couch before proceeding to roll up the sleeves of his shirt. "You know, Thea will be upset to know that you've been here a whole three minutes without seeing her."

"Uh oh." Felicity stood up rapidly, losing her balance and falling back onto the couch behind her. Muttering something that sounded suspiciously like: "these damned heels are out to get me. Shoes? More like death traps," she quickly slid her feet out of the offending beige pumps and made her way to the stairs. "If Thea asks, we just got here," she called over her shoulder as she made her way upstairs.

He didn't see Felicity again until they sat down at the table. He hadn't expected to see her again. Thea had been very quick to become fond of his IT genius best friend and she always stole Felicity away when he brought her to the house. Sometimes he would get annoyed. After all, Felicity was his best friend, and he had brought her over so that the two of them could hang out.

After Thea had stolen her from him for about the fifth time he brought her over, Oliver had had enough. The next time he had brought Felicity over, he mentioned it to no one but Raisa and took her straight to his room. They had spent the entire afternoon watching movies, playing video games, and talking. Thea had entered the room just as the sun was setting, claiming that she had misplaced her cellphone. She had stopped mid-sentence when she spotted Felicity. She had then stomped over to Oliver and proceeded to scold him for not telling her that Felicity was here—of course she had done it in a very loud voice. She'd told him that he needed to learn to share and that Felicity was her friend as well. When she had finally finished ranting, she took Felicity by the arm and dragged her out of the room. Oliver didn't see her again until she left hours later. Since then they had tried it once more. That time, it had worked, but Raisa accidentally asked Oliver how he and Felicity had liked the pancakes she had made for them the previous day. Thea had been in the room when Raisa had asked and all hell broke loose. She'd proceeded to scold Oliver severely and then she had called Felicity and scolded her as well. They had both learned their lesson. Since then they hadn't tried to avoid the inquisitive Speedy.

"It's been a while Felicity. It's nice to see you again," Robert said as he sat down at the head of the dinner table.

Oliver smiled. No one could resist Felicity's natural charm. The entire family loved Felicity and Raisa had even, on various occasions, hinted at the fact that she had always wanted to see Oliver end up with a girl like Felicity. Whenever Raisa said such things, Oliver would laugh and remind her to refrain from saying those things around Felicity.

"It has Mr. Qu—" Felicity stopped as Robert raised his eyebrows in mock exasperation. "Robert. How have you been?"

Robert smiled and reached for the mashed potatoes. "I've been well thank you. My computers have been doing well too. All thanks to you."

Oliver let out a soft chuckle as Felicity visibly cringed at the last part. "You haven't updated them since the last time I've been here, have you?" Felicity asked apprehensively.

Oliver's father shrugged. "No. I suppose not, but they run just fine."

Felicity sighed. "I'll be over this weekend to update them Mr. Qu—Robert."

Robert sent her a small smile. "If you think it's necessary."

Oliver could see that Felicity wanted to explain to him just how necessary it was, but she bit her lip and cut her chicken into smaller pieces.

"Felicity, are you cold dear?" Moira asked suddenly, eying the white jacket. Felicity, mouth now full, shook her head violently, her cheeks slowly turning crimson.

Thea jumped to her rescue before Oliver could. "So Ollie, I heard Laurel's back in town….She's supposed to be at the charity gala this Friday."

"Is that right?" Moira asked.

Out of the corner of his eye, Oliver saw Felicity give Thea a grateful look. "Yes. I heard. Tommy picked her up yesterday," Oliver said casually.

"Are you going to ask her out?" Thea asked, leaning over her plate and staring at him intently. There was a glint in her eye and Oliver was now seriously suspecting that a scheme was in the works. He mentally cursed himself for leaving his little sister alone with Felicity.

Oliver cleared his throat and took a sip of water. "She hasn't even been here 48 hours Speedy."

Before Thea could say any more, Felicity saved him. "What's new with you Mrs. Qu—Moira?"

The subject was dropped and Moira spent the rest of the dinner telling Felicity about a charity that she wanted to start.

He was lying in his bed in his sweatpants and a white t-shirt, listening to music when there was a soft knock at his door. "Come in."

The door opened slowly and Felicity stepped in, closing the door behind her softly. "Hey."

Oliver sat up, pulling the headphones out of his ears. "Hey. Thea finally let you out of her sight huh?"

"Never." She laughed lightly. "I promised to come back on Saturday and Sunday though. I also reminded her that we both have to wake up early tomorrow." Oliver glanced at the clock: 11:00 PM. "I'm going to call a cab. I just wanted to say 'goodbye.' Please tell your parents that dinner was great."

Oliver swung his legs over to the side of the bed and stood. "You're not calling a cab. I'll drive you home."

Felicity shook her head. "Oliver it's way too late. Stay. Sleep. I'll call a cab and be home in no time."

"Unless you accept my offer to stay in one of the guest rooms tonight, I am driving you home," he said sternly. He knew she wouldn't accept the offer, so he moved into his walk-in closet throwing on a hoodie and grabbing the nearest pair of sneakers.

"I didn't even answer," Felicity said when he reemerged from the closet.

"You didn't have to," Oliver said grabbing his car keys and leading her out of his room.

"Wait. I have to say 'goodbye' to Speedy because otherwise we'll never hear the end of this. Remember the last time when I thought she'd fallen asleep and left? She literally made me feel bad about it for two weeks!"

"I'll wait for you downstairs," Oliver said with an amused grin.

A/N: There you have it! Let me know what you think! :)