smallville-ish au } { a nosy lawyer walks into an obscenly large company ...

[prosecutorial]

Felicity and Oliver break up. Felicity leaves the team.

Felicity gives Ray back his company and leaves Star City for Metropolis.

For some people, it would be a fairly straight forward line of events. Girl breaks up with boy, girl disassociates herself from boy, and if you happen to be really desperate, girl leaves town to get a fresh start without said boy. Laurel can’t say there aren’t a number of times she would have contemplated the same route for herself after the Queen’s Gambit went down, even if she never managed to take it for herself. It’s the next step of the story that has her the teensiest bit confused.

Girl takes job for rumored megalomaniac Lex Luthor.

To be fair, Laurel does her research before she arrives in Metropolis. Cisco and Caitlin all have great things to say about LuthorCorp’s tech advances, even though Cisco is quick to amend about how it would all be great “if her boss wasn’t super shady.” He even revealed that LuthorCorp was one of the companies scouting him before he decided to go work for STAR Labs and well. That worked out better than could be expected, but she didn’t think that Felicity would be the type to be swayed by a large benefits package just because she was trying to outrun Oliver.

Still, Felicity is her friend, and she’ll respect her choices, for the most part. That doesn’t mean she won’t check in on her as a worried friend should, which is what brings her to the lobby of the LutherCorp building when she’s visiting Metropolis for a case. She doesn’t mean to get nosy – it’s not like she can get past the security anyway – but while playing the part of a dedicated officer of the law completely attached to her phone, she’s glancing around to try and see what she can see, and if there’s any information she can take back to Oliver later.

She’s well aware that Metropolis is Superman’s territory, but if she can ease Oliver’s worries about Felicity, maybe it will help him move on. Or maybe it will make things worse.

With Oliver, you really never know.

Comments

[prosecutorial]

"No. No, I can definitely stay." Laurel is good at playing nice when she needs to, and she makes her way over to the seat and sits across from him, casually crossing one leg in front of the other. "I'm just surprised that I got intercepted before actually making it to her. I didn't realize you were that interested in Felicity's old friends from Star City."

[villainous]

"It's important to me that she feel at home here, Laurel." His fingers bent over the edge of the desk, settling him in as she took the offered seat. "And from what I understand, you're practically family. Anything that you need while you're in Metropolis, just say the word. Where is it you're saying?"

[prosecutorial]

"A hotel." She pauses for a moment, trying to figure out the most delicate way to put this while not seeming impolite. "And please don't take this as a rejection of your generosity, because while I appreciate the offer, I am still an assistant district attorney in Star City. I wouldn't want to have the ... appearance of impropriety."

[villainous]

"Ah, that's right." He says it as though he had forgotten, but something in the readiness of his reply cast the light of doubt on his memory. Disappointment aside, he clarifies, "Of course, of course. I would never want to give you the impression that I would try to," he pauses, as though stumbling over the term. A smile and a laugh excuses him, as though finding cheer in his lack of familiarity with such dubious and corrupt business practices. "Buy favors."

A pregnant silence follows, extending just long enough to hang awkwardly in the air.

"I only ask because I can send Felicity to meet you there. She's with one of my drivers right now."

[prosecutorial]

"Oh."

And now its her turn for a bit of feigned embarrassment. Not that she thinks she's wrong for assuming such, because the Luthors do have a reputation for a reason, but she can at least play nice.

"Of course. My mistake. I'm staying at the Hilton."

[villainous]

"Excellent." The smile he offers is alluring in the way snakes can often be. Hard to look away from, but somehow still threatening. He takes up his phone to fire off a quick message, but keeps the bulk of his attention directed at Laurel. "I hope you'll feel at home here, Ms. Lance. It's going to mean a lot to Felicity to have a friend around, and Felicity means a lot to me."

[prosecutorial]

"She means a lot to me too."

And there's the smile she was looking for. She's sat in front of a lot of snakes in her life, and she likes to think she can spot one when she sees them. She smiles sweetly in response, before starting to get to her feet.

"In fact, I think I should probably find her, because I am now late for our lunch date."

[villainous]

"Well, I wouldn't want to detain you, then." It was an uncomfortable phrasing, detain. As if the only thing that kept her free to walk out of there was the fact that Felicity expected her. But Lex's smile didn't falter, and if he noticed the double meaning, he made no indication of it. "I appreciate you making the time to meet with me. I hope I'll see you again before you leave town."

[prosecutorial]

"I hope so too," she says, her tone light, but she doesn't entirely mean it. That "detain" thrown in there is not something she likes to hear, but she'll let it go for now. "It was a pleasure, Mr. Luthor."