Prologue

New York was one of those cities that you could never forget. It was vast, and bustling, and so many scents that you couldn't pinpoint one. Buildings were tall, and they melted into one another on every street. Men and women dressed in all kinds of fashion from ragged second-hand stores couture to high-end suits made from the most expensive of fabrics.

Growing up in a small town in the middle of the Mid-West I never thought I'd find myself standing in the largest city in America. It was because of my mother's encouragement that I decided to leave. With bags in tow I said goodbye to my life; to the friends that I had grown up with, to the woman who had raised me, to the family that had bared with me from cute baby to impatient teenager.

I'd seen plenty of movies to prepare me for what was ahead. A city of people with culture and fashion mixed all around. A place where you could get Chinese delivered at two in the morning, and where dreams could come true. But, I also watched crime shows to warn me not to talk to strangers and to avoid anyone with promises of stardom unless Google checked them out as safe. Not that stardom was what I was in search for. No, I wanted something much more important than stardom.

Little did I know that the New York I'd seen in films and on the TV wasn't exactly as glamorous as I'd expected. Sure I could get Chinese delivered at two in the morning, and yes there were a lot of people with different stories and filled with culture and search for dreams come true. But, New York was a dump. And, for as many people as there were it was pretty lonely.

Lonely might not be the exact word I'm searching for. After all, my neighbors offered a lot of company. They didn't know me. But, from the constant screaming and-other noises-I knew an awful lot about them. So far I've learned their names were Dumb Bitch Slut and Tiny Cock Douchbag and that DBS worked nights at a strip club and that TCD was jobless and didn't support DBS's life decisions. Oh, and that she was a dumb bitch slut and he had a tiny cock. Basically all I really needed to know about the couple.

The view I'd been promised when searching for an apartment wasn't the city skyline view I was promised. Instead it a window above an alley way that looked straight into an Armenian family whose overweight and hairy father liked to walk around shirtless. And, the spacious living room, wide dining-room and beautiful bedroom were all lumped together into one area with a closet for a bathroom.

As disappointing as it was I didn't plan on being there long. I had a mission and once it was done I'd head back to Iowa to where I belonged. There wasn't room in New York for a small town country girl who enjoyed looking at the stars and riding horses when she was feeling overwhelmed.

With my purse clenched tightly to my chest I left the small studio apartment and took the first cab I could get a hold of to Stark Tower. Today will be the day your life changes forever, I told myself as I stared at the large silver building. The word STARK glistened in the sun overhead nearly blinding me as I stared at it.

Inhaling deeply I walked inside and listened to my booted heels clack against the marble floor. A woman in a neatly pressed suit looked up from behind her desk. She greeted me with a perfectly trained smile and in a formal voice asked if she could help me.

I licked my lips and felt as though my chest was about to explode. This is it, you can do it., I said to myself. The woman's smile began to falter and I realized I'd been standing at her desk silently staring at her for a few moments too long. "I'm here to see Tony Stark."

She nodded and turned to her computer. Her manicured fingernails clacked along the keyboard as she asked, "Do you have an appointment?" I shook my head no and felt my confidence wavering. The woman looked at me with a frown. "You need an appointment to see Mr. Stark. However, I can make one for you. His next available opening is in December on the third." Her fingers moved quickly along the keyboard. She turned from the screen and her trained smile appeared once more." What is this in regards to?"

"I'm his daughter."