She's just the IT girl, Oliver told himself for the second time since entering Queen Consolidated. The statement was beginning to sound like a mantra; he'd been repeating it for a while now, whenever he had… thoughts… about her. Thoughts he couldn't allow himself to entertain. She was the girl who helped him and didn't ask questions. That was it. That was all she was going to be. Oliver would admit that he did like her in a platonic way—she was nice, funny, smart, and kind of pretty—but heaven forbid if he had feelings for her.

Unfortunately, he had a lot of time to think when he was recuperating from his "accident," and found that he actually missed seeing her. Even worse was when he realized how happy he got when he found a project for her. Those annoying revelations both distracted him from his training and motivated him to work harder.

Oliver began nervously drumming the battered laptop in his hands as he entered the elevator. He was just here for her help; she was the only one who could get what he needed from this mostly broken piece of evidence. And the bottle of wine in the bag hanging from his wrist was only payment for last time.

He could feel sweat beading on his forehead as the elevator doors opened, which made him feel ridiculous. Girls never made him nervous, least of all the nerdy ones. Oliver nearly laughed out loud when he realized that he, a billionaire playboy who moonlights as a kickass vigilante, was getting nervous over an awkward, babbling IT girl.

This calmed him down until he reached her office. Felicity was typing away on her computer, brows furrowed as she stared at the screen. Oliver caught himself gazing at her slightly parted lips; the bright pink hue used to seem like a silly choice for lipstick, but it had grown on him and now he thought it made her look downright kissable. He shook his head in annoyance. Then he pushed the door wide open and announced his presence.

"I have another project for you," He waved the laptop. "And your payment for last time."

Her eyes widened as he held out the tall, skinny gift for her to take. She glowed with appreciation as she pulled the bottle of Rothschild from the bag. "Ohmygosh! Thank you, Oli—uh, Mr. Queen."

"It was no trouble," he replied, walking around to her side of the desk and placing the beaten laptop in front of her. "And if you could work on recovering whatever you can from this, I'd appreciate it."

Flustered and excited, Felicity looked up at him and tried to regain some professionalism. She placed the bottle on her desk and brought the laptop closer.

"Certainly, right away," And once she opened the laptop, she seemed lost in her task. Oliver knew he should feel thankful for such minimal interaction, considering his recent struggle. But what happened to Felicity's usual jibber-jabber?

"Is there something wrong?" Against his better judgment, he placed a hand on her shoulder.

She looked up at him, her cheeks turning pink. "No, um, I'm just, ah…tired, you know. Kind of out of it."

That's when he finally got a good look at her eyes. He pulled her glasses down her nose and looked more closely.

"Your eyes are puffy. Have you been crying?"

She blinked at him, growing redder. Then she pushed her glasses back up. "Um, yeah, a little bit. I had a rough night."

Oliver backed up fractionally, both to get out of her personal space and to keep himself from doing something stupid. He continued to look at her, his eyes full of concern.

"What happened?"

Felicity sucked her bottom lip and avoided his gaze. "I… uh, it's nothing, really."

Undeterred, Oliver raised an eyebrow. "I'm not leaving 'til you tell me."

"It was just a stupid blind date." Felicity blurted. "My friend in accounting insisted I go out with this guy she knows I kept telling her no but she wouldn't let up so I went and he ran out twenty minutes in and left me with the check." She looked so hurt that Oliver had to resist hugging her. "He didn't even fake an emergency! He just said he'd be right back and then left me sitting there alone at the table for thirty minutes and when I went looking for him the valet said he left! And I had tried really hard, too! I didn't ramble as much as usual and I wore a nice dress and I even bought new underwear! It's been like, a while since I got laid I was going to make it pretty easy for him—'Cause really, a vibrator can only do so much—but apparently I was so unworthy of him that he couldn't even finish dinner. He was way out of my league—I mean he was basically you minus the privileged childhood—but still… why are you looking at me like that?"

Oliver blinked. He'd been wondering about her new underwear. "Like what?"

"Um," Felicity shook her head in incredulity. "Never mind."

Feeling awkward, he stands and walks out of the office. "Call me when you find something." he says as he crosses the threshold.

Felicity took deep breaths, willing herself to focus on driving. There was no reason to suspect anything; he just wanted her to deliver the laptop to his house. That didn't mean anything. And it was getting late—nearly seven o'clock— but that didn't matter. He probably just wasn't in the mood to go anywhere… or something.

Especially with the way she acted earlier—mentioning wanting to get laid, her vibrator, buying new underwear—She'd made a total fool of herself. As if he was really going to try anything.

Dammit, Felicity! Even with what happened last night you're actually thinking Oliver—No, of course not. Don't be silly.

Then why did you change into your new underwear and your favorite work outfit before seeing him?

Felicity had never been to the mansion before, and it looked bigger than she'd imagined. A convertible with two teenage girls was waiting out front, the kind that teased her in high school. She self-consciously walked to the door, reminding herself that she didn't need to feel insecure. As she reached to knock on the door, it opened.

"Oh… who are you?" asked Thea Queen, looking confused and mildly annoyed.

"Just… um, I'm here to drop something off for your brother."

Shrugging, Thea pushed the door wider and waved her in. "Whatever. He's upstairs." And with that she trotted down the steps and hopped in the car with her friends.

Gulping, Felicity entered the intimidating house that reeked of prestige and luxury. She couldn't believe she thought the guy who lived here might be planning to seduce her.

With shaking legs, she climbed the stairs and decided to try the hallway to the left.

"Mr. Queen?" she called. "Hello? It took a while, but I recovered more than I anticipated…"

Suddenly a door opened. "Oh, Ms. Smoak," There he was, and damn did he look good. And… nervous? Maybe he was worried about what she'd found.

Yes, that had to be it.

Oliver was kicking himself for what he said to Felicity on the phone. She didn't need to drop off the laptop; he had no trouble going to Queen Consolidated to get it. But there were some key things she mentioned that he'd been thinking about. And despite wanting to keep his distance, he just couldn't take it anymore.

" ?" It sounds like she found her way to him. "Hello? It took a while, but I recovered more than I anticipated…"

Oliver took a deep breath and opened his bedroom door.

"Oh, Ms. Smoak,"He noticed that she'd changed her clothes; a silky blue blouse and a flattering pencil skirt. She looked… nice… and it didn't help his nerves.

"I figured out how to save most of it—"

"Good." He invited her in. Feeling his palms beginning to sweat, he ventured to pitch his new idea before he completely lost his nerve. "I also want to discuss your payment."

"You mean the wine?" She smiles, still hugging the laptop. "I haven't tried it yet, but I'm sure it's—"

"That's not what I'm talking about." Oliver could feel his face heating up, and he was pretty sure she noticed. He took the laptop from her and put it on his dresser. "I… thought there might be something else I could do for you that would be ah, mutually beneficial."

Attaboy, Ollie, he thought sarcastically. Use those sexy big words that belong in a conference room.

Unsure of his meaning, Felicity raised an eyebrow. "Um, you want to share the wine?"

"I mean not letting your new underwear go to waste."

Now it was her turn to blush. "What?"

She looked vulnerable, a little breathless. It gave him the courage to put a hand to the small of her back and pull her close. "Well, you mentioned that you haven't gotten laid in a while…"

Felicity gaped. "So, along with being your tech geek, you also want me to be your booty call?" She pushed out of his arms indignantly. Uh-oh. This was not turning out like he'd hoped. "You think that just because I'm having a dry spell I'm going to throw my self-respect out the window? Well, don't think I'm going to get weak in the knees for you, rich boy!"

It would've been a great dramatic exit, too, if not for her tripping over her own feet as she turned around. Her fall was pretty theatrical, though; she let a shrill squeak of surprise just before hitting the floor with a loud thud.

Oliver knelt down beside her, worried she had hurt herself. "Are you okay?"

Thoroughly embarrassed, Felicity flipped over and adjusted her glasses. "Can you believe you actually offered to have sex with a girl who trips so spectacularly?"

He smiles, but she shakes her head as if he doesn't get it. "No, seriously; you really wanna have sex with me? You could go out right now and bring home a model."

"I don't want a model." Oliver says. "No sense of humor."

"So, you were really serious?"

"I just thought we could have some fun. I didn't mean to make it sound so objectifying."

Felicity sat up, licking her lips. "Hm,"

Slowly, Oliver leaned forward and kissed her cheek. "If you're not okay with it, can I at least think about you?"

She felt tingly as she took in his burning eyes and devilish smile. "Why not? I already think about you."

Before she could realize what was going on, Oliver had taken her blouse in his fists and pulled it apart, making buttons fly everywhere. As her shirt began to slide down her shoulders and expose the lacy pink bra that matched her lipstick, Oliver unzipped her skirt and wriggled it down her legs. The Oliver stared at her, breathing heavily and clearly wanting to keep going.

"That guy you met last night really missed out." he commented. "Is this what you were wearing under your dress?"

Heady and aching with need, she nodded. Oliver kissed her, his tongue darting into her mouth. Her hand moved to his hair and then slid down his neck and shoulders to pull on his shirt. He complied and pulled it off, tossing it to the side. Then his mouth ventured down until he reached her breasts, probing his tongue beneath the scallop trim of her bra.

Feeling weak, Felicity let her arms give out and fell to the floor. Oliver continued his trail of kisses down her stomach. As he came to the top of her matching panties, he slid his hands up to the sides of her hips to slowly pull them off—

"Oliver, I'm home!"

Frustrated in more ways than one, Oliver rolled his eyes and buried his face into Felicity's tight tummy. "Nooo…" he moaned, his voice muffled. Felicity fought to suppress her panic-induced babbling.

They both tensed when they heard footsteps and realized Oliver's mother was coming upstairs and headed their way. Oliver dashed to his door and Felicity managed to hide behind the opening door before Moira could see her.

"Hey, Mom,"

"Get dressed, dear. We're going out to dinner."

"But, uh… why?"

"Now that I'm running the company, I won't get as many opportunities to spend time with you. We could go to your favorite place. Or have you already eaten?"
"I was about to,"

Behind the door, Felicity pursed her lips to keep from laughing.

"So what's the problem?"
"I just don't feel like going out tonight."

Moira was very nearly convinced until she spied something strange over his shoulder. That black thing on the floor… it looked too small to be a jacket or a pair of his pants.

Suspicious, Moira walked into the room and picked up what turned out to be a pencil skirt.

Then she looked to her left and saw its owner.

"Hmm…You look familiar."

Felicity stood terrified with her back against the wall, wrapping her button-less shirt tightly around her. She gave her boss a nervous smile.

"Oh, aren't you the girl who helped me with my computer a few days ago? Ms. Smoak, is it?"

Still too petrified to talk, Felicity nods.

Moira smirked and looked at her son. "She doesn't seem your usual type at all, dear; she's too smart. It's nice to see that your taste is developing, though."

Oliver and Felicity glanced at each other in awe as Moira tossed the skirt on the bed.

"Have fun, you two. I'll be having dinner with a friend."

After Moira left, Felicity crept slowly over to Oliver, her eyes fixed on the door.

"Did… Did your mom—who is also my boss—just give us the go ahead?"

"Yep," he replied, his brows furrowed as he stared at the door. "Right after she cockblocked me."

"So… what do we…?"

Feeling playful, Oliver scooped her up. "To the bed!"

Felicity giggled as he flung her onto the plush comforter, and then dragged her down until her legs were dangling off the side of the bed.

Without warning, he slipped off her panties and buried his face between her legs. She moaned as his swirled his tongue around and skimmed his hand up her stomach. After a few seconds he stopped, leaving her wound up and angry.

"Hey!" she whimpered. "What are you doing? I'm dying here!"

He smirked and licked his lips, then reached over and pulled out the drawer in the nightstand. Felicity gasped longingly when he held out a condom to show her. The tight, aching feeling became unbearable as she watched him strip down and roll it on.

"Oh no no," Oliver smacked her hand away. "Let me." Then he grabbed her hips and slammed inside her. She crashed like a tsunami after eight short thrusts, and Oliver came shortly after.

Felicity wrapped her arms around him as he collapsed on top of her. They lay there quietly, only the sounds of their ragged breathing breaking the silence.

Laying there in her arms, Oliver admitted to himself that he really, really liked Felicity. But he couldn't be in a committed relationship, and not for the same reason as before the island. Helena had been one thing; she knew how to kick ass. But to let Felicity into his life like that would be too dangerous. Having a girlfriend could mean giving an enemy another way to get to him, and he already had his mother and sister and best friend and… Well, the list was long enough. No way was he going to put Felicity in danger. But maybe they could still be together, if only they could be discreet…

"Do you mind not telling anyone about this?" he asked, panting. He lifted his head to look at her.

"So, you want me to just be the IT girl again?" She gave him a sad smile.

He gently kissed her lips. "No, you are not just the IT girl. I would very much like to slide my USB drive into your port again." Her smile got brighter and he nuzzled her nose. "I just think that we shouldn't let people know there's anything going on between us."

"I don't see how you could help me get promoted—"

"It isn't that."

"Then what is it? Your mom approves of me. What else are you worried about?"

He pressed his forehead against hers. "I need you to trust me."

She seemed to be struggling with the decision. Then she smiled mischievously. "Go down on me again and we got a deal."

Delighted, Oliver kissed her hard on the mouth. "Yes, ma'am."