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Felicity Reynolds
Strictly speaking, Felicity wasn't so much of a bar person. They were loud, often too dimly lit for comfort, and until recently full of smoke as well. They were filled with too many people, all of whose voices were overly loud and full of liquor. Felicity never felt entirely at home in places like that. Although she wasn't usually a self-conscious person, she became just that around that many drunk, overly aggressive people. She liked to avoid places like bars but there were some occasions that just called for it, and this was one of those times. Her best friend, Lena, was so thrilled about it that she could hardly sit still on her stool. She kept wriggling around, forcing the well-worn legs of said stool to creak precariously.
"Careful, Lena, you're going to topple over if you don't settle down," Felicity laughed, nursing a watered-down gin and tonic. It was her go-to drink on the rare occasions when she did find herself in a bar, and usually, she was just fine with it. This afternoon, not so much. She compared every sip she took to the champagne from the gala. That stuff had tasted like the nectar of the gods compared to what she was drinking now. She took another sip anyhow and tried not to grimace at the taste.
"I know, I know, but I'm so excited! I can't believe you actually came out with me!" Lena squealed, giving another massive bounce to punctuate her point. She was small, hardly touching the five-foot mark, with a pixie cut that made her look like a teenage girl. Woe befall the man who approached her in the bar with an attitude, though. Lena gave no fucks and had zero issues telling a guy off for being too forward or just an overall dick. Felicity envied that about her; the ability to be a bitch when need be. Personally, she had a habit of being nice even when it wasn't called for. It was a nasty habit she was perpetually working on shaking off.
“It’s not like I never come out,” she said a little defensively. Lena rolled her eyes dramatically and took a big swig from her long neck bottle.
“Um, actually, that’s exactly what it’s like,” Lena countered.
“No way! We went out for Cinco de Mayo, remember?”
“I do,” Lena grinned, “which was in May.”
“So? Your point?”
“Nothing much. Just that it’s currently November. So that’s like, seven months. Seven and a half?”
“Shoot. Okay, you’re right. I should be around more often. I guess I haven’t been the best friend,” Felicity said, more than a little guiltily. It was also sort of terrifying, hearing that it had been seven months since the two of them had been out in the town. Not because she was afraid she would lose Lena; that would never happen. The two of them had been friends since they were very young and Felicity knew that would continue to be until they were both old, shriveled up, and gray. The terrifying aspect here was how quickly time passed by. Always working two, sometimes three jobs, going to school when she could carve out both the money and the time. The days were streaking past her so quickly they all blurred together; so quickly that seven months could go by without her noticing or realizing. This was her life. It was her life, and it was being lived without her consciousness or participation. All of a sudden the reason for her being here didn't seem so crazy, after all.
"Shit, Felicity, I was only messing with you. I wasn't trying actually to upset you or anything," Lena said, looking mighty uncomfortable from her perch. Emotions weren't really her thing, and she handled other people's upset poorly.
“No, you didn’t. It’s just...you’re right.”
"I'm what now?" Lena said, her surprise only half a joke. Out of the two of them, Felicity was the one less prone to fuckups. It was usually Lena telling Felicity she was right instead of the other way around.
“You heard me,” Felicity said with a small smile, “I said you’re right. I haven't really been living, have I?”
“Not so much, no. But hey, I know you’ve been busy. Your schedule? I don’t know how anyone keeps up with that. You’re like a superhero or something.”
"That's kind of why I wanted you to meet me here, actually," Felicity said quietly. The segue was terribly awkward, and her heart started thumping manically in her chest the moment the words were out of her mouth.
“Okay,” Lena said slowly, her eyes lit up with curiosity, “that’s all kinds of cryptic. Care to be a little more specific?”
“It’s kind of complicated,” Felicity answered, stuttering a little and hating herself for it.
“Um, no. You’re stalling,” Lena countered. That was the downside to having friends who’ve known you for years. They knew when you were dodging and evading.
“So, I met this guy,” Felicity started, looking down at her hands because it was easier than looking at her friend’s face.
“What? What the hell, lady? And you’ve been sitting here for the last twenty minutes without saying anything?” Lena yelped loudly enough that several people in the bar turned to check out the source of this new noise. Felicity grabbed her arm tightly.
“Lena, come on!” Felicity hissed.
“Felicity!” she hissed right back, unphased by the reproach, “You should have led with that part! You have got to learn how to prioritize, lady.”
"Do you want to hear the rest of this or not?" Felicity asked, defeated. This was precisely the kind of battle of wills Felicity would never win, and they both knew it.
“Of course I do,” Lena nodded matter of factly. “Spill it. Everything.”
And so, Felicity did just that. She told Lena about selling her grandmother’s ring, which turned out to be the most difficult part. Lena had known both Felicity’s parents and, when they died, her grandmother. When it was all said and done, Felicity was more ashamed of selling her grandmother’s ring than any of the strange things that had happened since. The strange things that were still happening, she reminded herself. When Lena didn't do more than wince at that part, the rest was easier to tell. Besides, Lena wasn't exactly a prude. Any judgment of that sort always happened the other way around, or so it had been before meeting the infamous Liam. Felicity had dated, of course, but nothing like her encounter with Liam. Nothing even close.
“So hold on,” Lena said slowly, carefully, when Felicity was done with the story. “You went to that party thing as his escort? Is this real life we’re talking about or have I finally gone off the deep end?”
“I wasn’t an escort!” Felicity protested, truly horrified by the label. Naive or not, it hadn’t crossed her mind to identify herself as such. At least not in such explicit terms.
“He paid you to go on a date with him?” Lena asked, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
“Well, yes, sort of, but-”
“And how is that not an escort?”
“It’s not that simple,” Felicity protested stubbornly.
“So you said. Tell me how?”
"As it turns out, I might be in some danger. I wasn't just his date, I guess. He suspected that there might be some people after the necklace he had me wear, and as it turns out there were."
“What kind of people?” Lena asked, her arms crossed over her chest. This was the second hardest part, which Felicity absolutely had anticipated. The words Lena shouted out when she figured out the position Liam had put Felicity in, would have gotten them both kicked out of a nicer establishment. If not that, it would have gotten them a strong warning for sure.
“So, Mr. Rich and Beautiful is a real son of a bitch. That’s what you’re telling me. You just went the long route to get to the point,” Lena demanded, one step below incensed.
“No, come on, Lena. That’s not what I’m saying.”
“Because you’re too nice. And now he wants you to live with him? Is he for real?”
“Yeah, I guess he is.”
"So, tell me how that would work out," Lena asked, signaling the bartender for a round of shots. Felicity rejected hers but only half-heartedly. When Lena pressed, she took it, wincing at the feel of fire sliding down her throat. Everything about Lena's disposition was skeptical, and Felicity couldn't find any fault with the reaction. It was the normal reaction, maybe the only sane reaction, to the plan Liam had laid out. So then why was Felicity even entertaining it? More than that, why was she already on the verge of accepting the bizarre offer, with or without Lena's stamp of approval?
"I guess the best way to put it is kind of a live-in assistant, of sorts," Felicity started haltingly, searching through her words for the best way to proceed. Lena let out a bark of harsh laughter, and Felicity winced. Clearly, whatever the "right" way was, her way hadn't been it.
“Oh yeah?” Lena asked sarcastically, “What are you going to be assisting him with?”
"It's not like that, okay? I told him. I told him that what happened before couldn't happen again. I'll be living in his house, but we'll be in different rooms. He actually said different wings, whatever that means."
"It means he's freaking loaded," Lena inserted, laughing again but this time without quite so much of the judgment.
"Anyway, he'll pay me a better wage than I've been making working all my other jobs combined, and he'll keep me safe. I'm mixed up in something I don't really understand, but he'll keep me safe. He says he's got a whole team of people to help him do just that," she answered, picking up confidence as she spoke. It was an insane plan. She had known it earlier, when she had only been carrying it around inside of her head, and now she was doubly sure after saying the words out loud. It should have been enough for her to put off the idea entirely, hearing those words and seeing the look Lena got on her face, but instead it was having the opposite effect. She was more sure than ever that she wanted to say yes, if only to have something different. It was difficult to wrap her head around the idea that she might actually be in some kind of danger. The story about the potential ring of jewel thieves was something out of a spy movie, not real life; certainly not her real life. She understood that Liam believed it and for some reason, she believed his fear was real. It didn't factor into her wanting to take him up on his offer at all, though. The chance of excitement, of monetary freedom, those things were real. She had given up on the possibility of truly being able to have either of those years ago, if she'd ever believed in them at all. The idea of attaining them now was simply too tempting for her to reject.
"Felicity?" Lena asked softly. Felicity glanced at her friend's face and felt a twinge of remorse. With all of her usual bravado gone, Lena just looked plain worried, same as any other well-meaning friend might. Felicity put a comforting hand on her knee, and Lena laid her own over it.
“I’m going to take him up on the offer,” she said gently. Lena’s eyes widened. She opened her mouth, started to say something, and Felicity shook her head slowly.
“I’m going to do it, Lena.”
“Don’t you want to hear my opinion? I thought that’s why we came here in the first place.”
“It is. I mean, it was, only I decided. You still helped. Saying it all out loud helped.”
“Okay,” Lena shrugged, “if you’re sure. Just don’t come crying to me to fix everything when it all goes to shit.”
“Please,” Felicity laughed, “like you wouldn’t come. You love picking up the pieces.”
“I love drinking our sorrows away. On second thought, definitely call me. Maybe I can get you to do more shots.”
“Maybe you can,” Felicity smiled, “but seriously. You’ll still be there for me, right? Even if this all blows up in my face?”
“Please, girl. Try and stop me. Now go call what’s his name-”
“Liam,” Felicity corrected, “his name is Liam.”
“Right. Whatever. Go call Liam and tell him you’re in on his psychotic plan.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure. I can tell it’s what you want to do, and you aren’t going to pay attention to anything else until it’s done. When you come back, we’re doing more shots. And before you protest, I’m sure about that part, too.”
Felicity laughed and made her way outside to call Liam. She tried her best to ignore the butterflies in her stomach, to assure herself that this was just for business and nothing else. When her heart jumped into her throat at the mere sound of his voice, she tried to ignore that, too.
“Hello? Liam North, here.”
“Hi, Liam. It’s Felicity.”
“Felicity. I was hoping to hear from you. What can I do for you?”
“I’m in. Your whole plan? I’m in.”
