Holly Baxter stood on the sidewalk outside of Stark Tower and stared up at the building silently. The sheer size of the building was enough to make her feel tiny but the added fact that her charges were some of the strongest heroes the world had ever known- yeah she felt inadequate. 'I really should have taken the Director up on his offer to give me the tour' Holly thought as she checked her watch. It was now or never.
To her surprise Pepper Potts was waiting for her in the lobby. The blonde woman smiled at her and shook her hand lightly. Holly couldn't help but smile at her female boss- she had been so nervous at all of her briefings with Fury she hadn't cracked a smile until she was well away from S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.
"Miss Potts." Holly spoke as she shook the woman's hand. "It's so nice to finally meet you in person."
"Holly Baxter. Don't be so nervous, I don't bite." Pepper smiled devilishly. 'That's not what I've heard' Holly swallowed. Pepper instantly led them down a huge hallway towards the elevator and didn't speak again until the door was closed. She turned to her new employee then and handed her the folder she had been holding.
"Here is your cardkey, all of the access codes and clearances you will need along with a layout of the tower. As of right now you are cleared for every area except for personnel suites which is understandable." Holly skimmed the paperwork that Pepper had handed her before meeting her eyes.
"Where will I be staying? I didn't see a room marked for me."
"No worries. I set up a room for you on the 'family floor' which is the first floor under the top R&D labs. I call it the family floor because that just happens to be where we stuck all of them" Pepper chuckled. She grew a little more serious when she mentioned them. "What were you told exactly?" Pepper inquired.
"Nothing." It was Holly's turn to hand Pepper a folder. "I wasn't given any background information on them so that I can go into this job with a clear mind. All I was given was a picture, a name, and a few small pieces of information."
"What exactly is your assignment from S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Pepper asked looking over Holly's personnel file and realizing she hadn't been given an official title or job explanation.
"To be honest, I don't know why Fury wanted me here so bad. I was told that I'm here to help you and the Avenger's out. I'm supposed to be a tool to help keep the peace."
"Isn't it hard to do that with no background information on who you are going to be living with?"
"My thoughts exactly." Holly sighed.
"I'm sure JARVIS will be more than willing to help you out." Pepper squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. They were almost at the "family floor" and Holly felt her stomach turn.
"Just curious…what were you told about Tony?" Pepper asked.
"Mr. Stark? Not much: Iron Man, Doesn't play well with others, off limits." Holly giggled.
"It really said he was off limits?" Pepper asked. Holly nodded.
"Not like I needed them to tell me that though. I've seen you and Mr. Stark on the television before- there is a lot of chemistry there. I wouldn't try and damage that. Besides, Fury told me that you needed a babysitter." her comment made them both laugh until the elevator chimed that they had reached their destination.
"Don't worry. You will be fine. Here is your Stark Phone. If you need anything just ask JARVIS to patch you through to me, okay? They aren't a very trusting bunch at first so don't take it to heart."
"I won't. Thank you Miss Potts for everything." The CEO smiled at the girl as she walked out of the elevator. She could tell in her stride that the girl with the light brown hair was trying to locate her room as fast as possible.
As Pepper headed up to her flat, she glanced at Holly's file. It was as if Fury had gone and plucked her from under a rock and asked her to care for some of the most dysfunctional people that existed. They had extensively researched her- making sure she didn't have any relatives in the military aside from her sister's who also worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. it appeared. Then to not give her any information about the Avengers was a real gamble. But they wanted an "outsider's perspective" or at least that was what the file said. Pepper sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Pepper could do nothing but hope that Holly was still in peace when she saw her again.