It was just after ten in the morning, a sunny Tuesday in the middle of June, and Steve had no idea where his day was taking him. He'd gotten up at five as usual and made his bed the way he liked it before going for a long run. A shower, shave, and quick breakfast later, he took his protein shake with him for the bust ride to work. Finally getting to the office, he and his messenger bag went through security before moving on to his office, opening it with his badge before stepping inside. Ready to go to the break room and get a coffee to start his day, Steve turned to leave his office again. And that's when it had all started to get weird.
Sitting inside a small, driverless, blue vehicle that he'd mentally nicknamed the Stark Cart, Steve moved through the Stark compound, his messenger bag on the empty seat. Jennifer from HR had just told him that someone had wanted to talk to him, and he was to report to another human resources employee at the end of this ride. He wasn't sure what this was about, as as much as he told himself to stop freaking out and enjoy the ride, it wasn't quite working.
He couldn't think of anything he'd done wrong, everyone at work seemed to like him, he hadn't been inappropriate with someone, all the clients had given him good reviews. Jennifer herself had told him that he was one of the best employees on the customer care team. Though, the more he thought about it, the more he realized it wouldn't make any sense to send him to the other side of the Stark compound to be fired. He was pretty sure he was heading where the labs were, but he wasn't nearly qualified to work there, so he knew it wasn't for a consultation.
He had no idea where he was heading, he didn't know exactly who he was supposed to talk to, he just knew that the cart was going to come to a stop and things would be "handled" from there. And something about that term made this seem even stranger. As the car drove down to the end of a hall, it turned into a small bay just before the door at the end, pulling into the only vacant spot. Not sure what to do now, he got out of the car and stood beside it, but he wasn't going to have to wait long.
"Mr. Rogers," Stepping out of the door was a tall woman in her fifties, her hair and clothing impeccable and screaming business. In her hands was a Stark tablet, her hand dancing over the surface for a moment before closing it, offering Steve her hand and a smile. "My name is Patricia Carr, head of human resources here at Stark Industries."
"Nice to meet you, Ms. Carr," Steve said, shaking her hand, his nerves kicking up a bit.
"You must be so curious as to why you're here. Come, follow me," Ms. Carr said, using her pass to open the door, walking down a hall, not turning to look back to Steve until she came to a door with a placard beside it that said 'Conference Rm. #3'. Flipping the sign down, she pressed her thumb against it, closing it back up when she heard the door unlock. Opening it, she motioned for Steve to walk inside, revealing a rather plain room that pretty much looked like the conference room the client care team used for their meetings.
Jumping a little when the door closed, Steve nervously fiddled with the strap of his bag as a thought occurred to him. The door closing, now that was different, this one was much heavier, and Steve could hear the click of the lock. He wasn't even sure if the meeting room locked, and now that he had a moment to look around, this room was definitely different. There were no windows, no plants, no water cooler, and Steve was pretty sure there was a camera in the corner.
"Please, have a seat," Ms. Carr said, taking one herself at the head of the table. "Before we begin, we're going to have to ask you to sign a contract."
"A contract? For what? I don't even know what I'm doing," Steve said, taking the closest seat to her, though he did pull it back a bit further.
"It's nothing much. It mostly states that if you repeat anything said in this room, you will lose your job, and be sued for breach of contract," Ms. Carr said, bringing it up on her tablet, turning it so Steve could look it over.
"Oh, I-seriously? I work in client care, I really think you have the wrong guy if you're thinking of top secret, I just make sure clients are happy and-" Steve shook his head, wide eyed, hoping this was all some weird mistake. "I don't get why I'm here."
"Mr. Rogers, we are definitely sure it's you we want. You're a good employee, you fit the job, you've got a clean record," Ms. Carr said with a stiff smile, not taking her eyes off him. She wasn't going to mention that it was also him being married that helped seal the deal. "If you choose not to sign the contract, you can leave now and the matter will be dropped, you can return to your old job. You don't have to take this new job, but you must sign before I can tell you about it."
Looking at the stylus sitting next to the tablet, Steve thought it over for a moment. It wasn't that he was completely attached to his job, he liked it, though he didn't make as much as his wife, Peggy, but the benefits were great and it was a short commute. He had been hoping on a promotion soon, and a raise, so he could look into buying a nice hybrid car for himself. He was also wondering if he could ever pay for a place of his own. It wasn't that he didn't love Peggy, but he knew he was a much different person than he was when he married her after college. She deserved someone with a lot more passion for her, and he deserved to be happy.
"…tell me about the job, please," Steve said, picking up the stylus and signing his name on the tablet, pushing it back over towards Ms. Carr, hoping he was doing the right thing.
"Excellent, Mr. Rogers," Ms. Carr said, taking the tablet back, sending off the contract before opening Steve's personnel file, selecting it so it appeared over the tablet for both of them to see. "You have an exemplary record here in your five years at Stark Industries. You have multiple notes in your file about excellent service, your problem solving skills are great, and you've never has so much as a complaint from your co-workers. You're a star employee."
"I-thank you," Steve said, stammering for a moment as his eyes looked over his file. "I just try to bring a good attitude and my best effort into everything I do."
"And that is precisely why you're here," Ms. Carr said, clearing her throat. "Mr. Rogers, this position is going to involve you keeping one person happy. You are going to provide them with company and stimulation, you're going to cater to their needs, for which you'll be given a company credit card, and you are going to keep us abreast in your interactions with the client. You must also be available twenty four seven for his needs. For this, we will be doubling your salary, giving you a company car, and you will need to move closer if you're not within a five minute drive. We will help with that, of course."
"All of that, just…for one client? Can I only call them from here?" Steve said, questioning a lot of what Ms. Carr was saying, but not wanting to sound like he was being too critical of the job opportunity.
"The client is here on the premises, you'll be dealing with them face to face," Ms. Carr said, knowing that this was where it was going to be harder to keep Steve. "Your client is a young man, he'll be eighteen in a few weeks, his name is James Barnes, and he lives here where we can monitor him. He's very special, and we want him to be happy and comfortable, so we have a member of staff take care of his more social and emotional needs." "O-ooh…" Steve blinked, a little surprised that they picked him to babysit a teenager. He used to babysit the boys next door growing up, but he had a feeling this was going to be very different. There had to be a catch to this, it all sounded too good to be true. "Where will I be doing this?"
"If you accept the job, and we approve of you, we will show you where he is. You'll also be given top level clearance for this division of the building, and you'll be reporting to Howard Stark himself on occasions," Ms. Carr said as she opened up another contract on her tablet to show Steve. "All we ask is that Mr. Barnes is never discussed outside of people with red star clearance. He must remain a secret for his own safety."
Steve turned to the contract, looking over the job description to see if there was anything Ms. Carr had neglected to mention. His eyes stopped when they hit something she hadn't brought up yet, looking up at her curiously. "What does this mean? This part about his eighteenth birthday?"
"That means he will be leaving here and moving on to his new home, where your services may still be required," Ms. Carr said with a tight smile as Steve went back to reading the contract. "If you choose to end your employment when he turns eighteen, you will be rewarded handsomely for your silence in this matter. To put it lightly, you won't ever need to worry about money again whichever path you choose."
Steve couldn't believe what he was hearing. This job sounded amazing, but he was still looking for the catch.
"What's he like? If I go in there, is he going to tear my head off?" Steve asked, wondering if he was going to be a gigantic pain in the ass. "What makes him special exactly?"
"The last person to have your job liked him, he called him Bucky, so he'll probably ask you to as well. He's prone to anger sometimes, but he's never hurt anyone, he's more quiet than anything really," Ms. Carr said, not planning on answering the rest of the question, figuring Bucky would tell him if he really wanted him to know. "I do have a couple more questions for you before you sign."
"Alright…" Steve said, still wondering about Bucky and what he was going to be like. "May I ask what happened to the last guy?"
"Car accident, unfortunately," Ms. Carr said casually, not mentioning that he was already dead when his car went into the river. "Mr. Rogers, this may seem forward and inappropriate, but I'm still going to ask you for a list of your sexual partners."
Steve's eyebrows raised immediately, looking at the woman as if to ask if she was serious. When she didn't even blink, he knew that she was waiting, and if he really wanted this, he better speak up.
"Oh wow, uhm…" Steve cleared his throat, feeling horribly put on the spot. "A girlfriend in high school, then I met someone else in college before I met my wife, and…that's it. May I ask why it's relevant?"
"Mr. Stark requested that I ask," Ms. Carr said, not going any further. "Are you a socially active person?"
"No, not really, I just stay at home most nights, or I go out with friends, but I'm usually back at a decent time," Steve said, shaking his head a little. This question made a little more sense, but he quickly guessed that there was more to this job than she was going to tell him.
"I can't say I blame you," Ms. Carr said, not reacting to the voice in her ear signalling delight at Steve as a candidate. "You're exactly what we're looking for, Mr. Rogers, the position is yours if you want to take it. I would tell you to take some time to think it over, but time isn't something we have much of. Bucky has already been alone for a while."
"I…oh wow…" Taking a deep breath, Steve looked at the job description again, skimming it over. He didn't know if he could say no, though, he wanted to separate from Peggy, and this would allow him to do that. This would allow him to do lots of things, maybe he could actually afford a bigger place, he could have an art studio. And if he didn't do this job, someone else would, maybe not as well as he could do it, and he'd be back at his own desk.
"Would it sweeten things if we tripled your salary and bought you a Corvette?" Ms. Carr asked as she leaned forward.
"…could you make that Corvette a vintage Indian motorcycle?" Steve asked, the corner of his mouth tugging up a little in a nervous smile.
"Just tell us which one you want," Taking the tablet in her hand, Ms. Carr made a few changes to reflect the raise and motorcycle before turning it back towards Steve with a smile on her face. Though it looked happy enough, Ms. Carr felt more like a spider who had just trapped a fly.
"Wow…I…" Steve shook his head and laughed out loud, signing the contract. This wasn't what he was expecting when he came into work today, but he wasn't going to complain either. "When am I going to meet Bucky?"
"You'll have a car come to pick you up at nine out front of your building tomorrow, you can contact us with this," Ms. Carr said, reaching into her bag to pull out a Stark phone in a box, setting it in front of him on the table. "You'll get your clearance tomorrow, and then you will meet him."
"Does he know you're getting someone new for him? Will he know about me?" Steve asked, his hand resting on the box.
"Oh, he'll know," Ms. Carr said with another sweetly sinister smile. "He'll be waiting for you."