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Liam North
“Right. Are you sure about this? Are you sure you’re going to be okay? Because I can easily cancel my meetings.”
“What, for the rest of the month? Or however long it takes to get this mess sorted out?”
“I don’t know. Yes?”
Felicity smiled at him gently from her perch at Liam's large kitchen island. Seeing her sitting there made him want to smile. After careful inspection of his absurdly large home, she had declared the island as her absolute favorite part of the house. He'd laughed at that because obviously, she was joking, but she'd insisted that there was no joke. She had always wanted a kitchen island but had so far lived in nothing but tiny apartments, most of which didn't have a designation between rooms, let alone a kitchen island. He hadn't ever given this a thought, but now it made him smile every time he went into the kitchen. This morning's smile was quick and then done, though. He was in a piss-poor mood to be sure. He fucking hated feeling anxious, and the anxiety he felt now was raw and relentless.
“You can’t do that, Liam. It doesn’t make sense. I wasn’t aware that part of the deal was for you staying home and babysitting me.”
“It’s not, but you’ve only been here for two days.”
“Yup. That’s called a weekend.”
Liam glanced up just in time to see Matt and Sampson snickering to each other over the snarky response. He couldn't help it; he bristled some. He had to bite his tongue to keep from telling Felicity that she needed to learn to mind her tongue. Having her live with him was his idea, and he was pleased to have her accept it, but it had been a long time since he'd had another person living with him who wasn't one of his typical employees. It was true that he was taking care of Felicity and therefore if he wanted to, he had the right to demand a certain level of respect. After two days, though, that was something he wasn't prepared to get into.
“I just want to make sure you’re safe,” he said levelly, concentrating on keeping his shit together, “that’s why you’re here.”
"I know, but that's also why you've got this lovely security team, right? Who you were just about to introduce me to?" she answered brightly, smiling first at him and then at the boys waiting for their cue. Liam's jaw clenched when Matt and Sampson smiled back. There was nothing unprofessional about it. Nothing overt, anyway. He didn't like it, though. He didn't like them looking at her, noticing the same things he'd noticed about her the first time he'd laid eyes on her beautiful face. He didn't know if she realized how good she looked, sitting there in her yoga pants with her legs curled up beneath her and her hair all piled on top of her head in a messy bun. She saw him watching her and smiled brightly. Jesus, she had no idea the kinds of thoughts running through his head. She made it hard to leave the house; he wanted to taste her again so badly. And the real kicker was that he'd agreed to keep things strictly business. He could have almost any woman alive and had more than his share already. He hadn't thought twice about agreeing to keep things platonic between the two of them when there were so many others he could have. Looking at her now, though? It was going to be a hell of a lot harder than he'd anticipated.
“Liam? Did I say something wrong?” she asked, little lines of worry building in the corners of her eyes. He could feel Matt and Samson's eyes on him, too. Eight o’clock in the morning and he was already losing his shit. Not a good sign for the rest of Felicity’s stay, unless the novelty of having her around wore off.
"No, not at all. Guys, come on in here," he called to the boys waiting in the wings, "I want to introduce you to your new number one priority properly."
Matt and Samson shuffled into the room, Matt sticking out a hand and shaking with Felicity heartily. Sampson just looked at her, and after a while, he couldn't do that either. His face kept turning red, and Liam almost laughed out loud. The guy was massive, for Christ's sake, more of a beast than human. How he could be embarrassed on meeting one chick, was beyond Liam but it looked like that was what was happening.
“Right,” he said, clearing his throat to give them all a chance to compose themselves, “so this is part of my security team. I can’t introduce them all at the same time because-”
"Because then there would be nobody to guard the compound?" Felicity asked playfully. Matt and Sampson both smiled, but Liam frowned at the three of them.
"That's right; there wouldn't be. It's not a joke, Felicity. There are people out there hell bent on doing damage, and now some of them have you in their sights. Not something to laugh about, in my opinion."
“Right,” Felicity said, flushing and looking down at her lap, “sorry. I make jokes sometimes. When I’m nervous, mostly.”
“Please, ma’am-” Matt started, shooting Liam a reproachful look he pretended not to see.
“Ugh, please don’t feel like you have to do that,” Felicity broke in, wrinkling her nose with distaste.
“Sorry, ma’am, but do what? What’d I do?” Matt asked, confused and anxious to please. Liam didn’t love catching that eager-to-please vibe, either, but he kept his mouth shut.
“I meant don’t feel like you need to call me ma’am. Or miss, for that matter. Please just use my name, It will make this whole thing feel a little less weird for me.”
“I can do that,” Matt smiled. Felicity smiled back, that smile that made her face look like it was lit from within, and Liam cleared his throat again.
“Okay, Matt. Make the introductions to the rest of the boys as the opportunities arise. I’m going to work. Call me if you catch wind of anything strange. And I do mean anything.”
Matt and Samson both nodded while Felicity just looked at him with that deer in the headlights look again. There was an awkward second where Liam stood there like an idiot, trying to decide whether he should give her a hug or something before going. Seeing as they were not together, he turned and hurried to his car without looking back. The car ride, it would turn out, was the only part of his day where he got a second of peace.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
"BOSS, I SAY THIS WITH all the love in the world, but where in the hell have you been?" Percy asked in a high, strained voice. The tendons in his neck were all standing out, and his face was whiter than it should have been. Liam had seen him worked up like this before; it was part of the territory when you dealt with Perry. Today, though, he wasn't in any kind of mood for this shit.
“What is it?” he asked brusquely, striding past Percy towards his office. Percy chased after, following so close he was almost stepping on Liam’s heels. Liam made it all of five steps before turning around again.
“What, Percy? What the hell has you so jumpy?”
“There’s someone here to see you, sir,” Percy answered. The relief in his voice was comical. It was like he had been waiting a lifetime to say those few words.
“And? People come here to see me all the time. It’s my company. Seeing people is part of my job.”
“Yes, I understand that, sir, but not people like this man.”
“Yeah? What’s so special about him?”
“His name is Conrad Davis.”
“Don’t know him,” Liam quipped, turning and heading back to his office.
“I should hope not,” Percy panted, hurrying to keep up.
“Why is that?”
“Because, he’s from the FBI.”
If Percy had been going for dramatic effect, he’d succeeded. Liam stopped short so that Percy actually did run into him this time, and he turned to look at his assistant closely.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?” he asked slowly.
“FBI, sir. He’s with the FBI. And he’s sitting in your office.”
“And you didn’t think this was something you should call me about?”
“I thought about that, sir, but you’ve told me not to call before you get into the office. So I didn’t call.”
“Thank you, Percy,” Liam said, willing himself to use all his self-control. “I have said that a time or two, haven’t I?”
“Exactly! You have!” Percy said loudly enough for several people in the office to turn and look over at them.
“Yes, I did. For future reference, though, when an FBI agent shows up asking for me, you call.”
"Yes, sir," Percy mumbled, looking at the floor. Under normal circumstances, Liam would have felt bad for making Percy feel like shit but today was not his day for sympathy.
“Good. No disruptions while I meet with-”
"Mr. Davis. Mr. Conrad Davis," Percy supplied his need to be helpful one step above pitiful.
“Right. No calls, nothing. Unless Felicity calls. If she calls, if anyone calls and mentions her name, put the call through to me directly.”
"And Felicity is...?" Percy asked. Liam liked Percy, but right now it was hard not to see him as a sneaky little shit. Even with all of this morning's chaos, he couldn't stop fishing for gossip.
"My girlfriend," Liam answered. He did his best to ignore the lick of maliciousness that shot through him when he saw the shock register on Percy's face. It had been a long time since he had called anyone his girlfriend; before the Percy era, that was for sure. Percy hadn't ever come right out and asked about it, but Liam wouldn't be surprised if his personal life was one of the hot topics for conversation amongst his employees. If he were right on that, he'd just given them something to talk about for the next six months.
“Your girlfriend?” Percy asked, driving the point home, “Did you say your girlfriend?”
“That’s right. I did. Felicity. She always gets through.”
Liam left Percy standing there in the middle of the hallway, totally dumbfounded, and stepped into his office. When Percy said the FBI agent was waiting for him, he wasn't exaggerating. The guy was sitting at Liam's desk with his feet propped up on the desk and his arms crossed behind his head like he lived there or something. Liam's chest tightened with anger and he swallowed hard, pushing it back down again. Getting into it with an FBI agent wasn't going to make his day go any smoother.
"Hello. Percy said I had somebody waiting for me," he said slowly, measuring his words. The man turned to look at him but didn't bother taking his feet off of Liam's desk. That was the thing that tipped the scales on whether or not Liam was willing to give him a chance. You didn't put your feet up on another man's desk but you sure as hell didn't leave them there once you’ve got caught. What you did was apologize, and it didn't look like there were any apologies forthcoming from his new friend Conrad.
"Mr. North! I was starting to wonder if you were coming in today," he said, his voice chipper in a way that made Liam want to punch his teeth out. Instead, he opted for settling himself behind his desk so he could look the guy in the face. The guy didn't look embarrassed of his forwardness the way he should have been, but at least he had the decency to pick up his damned feet. So that was something.
"For future reference, you'll have an easier time reaching me if you call first. My office hours change from day to day. It's best to make an appointment if you don't want to deal with the wait."
"Right, sure. I get that. A busy man, right? An important man?" The agent's tone was light, conversational, but Liam didn't like the implication there. He didn't like anything about the conversation, and it hadn't really gotten started. All of a sudden, Liam was trying to come up with a good reason not to tell the guy to get out of his office.
“You said it, not me. Look, is there something I can do for you...?”
"Detective Davis," Conrad supplied with a goofy smile like he was doing Liam some great favor by giving his name.
“Good. Detective Davis. If there’s something I can do for you please let me know. I’ll be happy to help. Otherwise, I hate to say it, but I really am busy today.”
"Right, no, I get it. The old heave-ho. I just need to talk to you about the other night."
"Can you be more specific?" Liam asked. At this point, he didn’t bother to keep the annoyance out of his voice. He had an idea that getting people annoyed was a special talent of Mr. Davis'.
“You and your lovely girl were at one of those fancy parties the other night, right?”
“Are you talking about the gala?” he asked, then felt like an idiot when he heard the word “gala” out loud. This wasn’t the kind of man you talked about galas with. He made the word seem too prissy.
“Sure, that’s it. The gala. Let’s talk about the gala.”
“Look, I don’t see-”
"Let's talk about the death wish you must have for you and your girl, getting yourself into line of sight of a group like that."
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Liam asked, genuinely taken aback. It pissed him off too, to be so obviously surprised. It was exactly what the good detective was going for, and they both knew it.
"The Cobras," Detective Davis answered, lightning fast.
“Are you fucking with me? The Cobras?” Liam asked, looking for some sign of a joke. Perversely, all of the laughter seemed to have gone out of the agent’s face. He leaned forward, his hands clasped tightly and his face very serious.
“Do I look like I’m fucking with you? Does this look like the face of a man who’s fucking around?”
“No. I guess it doesn’t, so you better tell me what you’re talking about.”
"Look, I'm not going to get into the details because, frankly, it's above your pay grade, but those guys aren't the ones you want to dick around with. Using your girl as bait? You could have gotten her killed, man. Do you realize that? You could have gotten her killed."
At last, it hit home for Liam; really hit home. There was an FBI agent in his office, and it was because of the jewelry thieves he'd been trying to get to for more than a year now. And how the hell was he supposed to feel about that? On one hand, there was fucking vindication, knowing he'd been right. On the other hand, though, hearing that he'd put Felicity in that kind of danger from legitimate law enforcement was like a swift punch to the guts. Everything Davis said after that came to him from far away. He heard him giving another warning, telling him that keeping up with what he was doing was asking for trouble. Then the good detective left his card and walked out the door. For a long time, Liam just sat there, stone still. When he was able to move again, the first thing he did was pick up his phone. Matt, God bless him, picked up on the first ring and there was none of the joviality that sometimes got in the way of it seeming like he gave a shit.
"Yeah, boss?" he answered in that reassuringly clipped, professional tone.
“Matt. Tell me everything’s okay there, man. Tell me you’ve got her safe.” He heard the tremble in his voice and wondered if Matt noticed it. If so, he was decent enough to keep his mouth shut. That was good because Liam had a feeling, he was going to be making several such phone calls in the foreseeable future.
“Christ,” he hissed to himself after abruptly ending the call, “what the hell did I get myself into?”
