The familiar flashing bulbs and excited voices of reporters lined his way down the red carpet. Glad he remembered his sunglasses, Tony Stark confidently made his way to the stunning building where very soon, he would be giving yet another speech. Blonde bimbos tried to claw their way into his path, cooing, "Remember me, Tony?" Glancing cursorily at their seductive winks, he brushed them off with a casual "Nope!" Finally reaching the doors he was besieged by yet another crowd, led by Obadiah. He groaned internally. Obi's publicity addiction was starting to get under his skin. The man was as vain (if not more so) as Tony himself, which was no mean feat.
"Look who it is!" Obadiah's wide grin was meant for the cameras rather than Tony as he grabbed the billionaire's shoulders in a bear-like embrace. After the usual niceties, they were escorted inside to a table close to an enormous glittering stage. Leaning over to whisper quietly, Tony observed, "I don't know who any of these people are, help me out a little here. Did you make me some flashcards or something? What am I here for?" Obadiah sighed and slipped Stark a few sheets of printed paper. "Just say that word for word and you'll be fine". Moments later Tony was brought backstage. As he skimmed over the pages, he remembered that this event was a dinner to toast the success of Stark Enterprises in keeping world peace. He couldn't help but chuckle as he noticed the many references Obi had made to his own role in the company throughout the speech. Feeling somewhat rebellious thanks to the champagne he downed upon entering, he balled up the speech and went out into the spotlight completely unprepared.
After the speech (which was of course, a success) Tony decided not to sit back at his table. He would deal with Obadiah's scolding later. He snuck around to the back of the room, and seated himself comfortably at the bar. Sipping a martini, he observed the rest of the festivities. The main course of the evening was being served, some kind of fish with green sauce. Tony wrinkled his nose in disapproval. Fish was passable, but he was in the mood for something he could sink his teeth into. He motioned to a nearby waiter: "Excuse me, could you send an order back to the cook for a bacon cheeseburger, extra bacon, extra burger?" The waiter, noticeably intimidated, scurried off immediately. Tony returned his gaze to the stage, but soon lost interest, as they were showing a video of the weapons demonstration he had recently done overseas. He toyed with the idea of controlling the screens to show something much more entertaining, and took his handheld out of his dark blue suit pocket. As he did so, he felt the sensation of being watched. He looked up casually, but everyone's eyes were on the screen, or their plates. He turned his eyes back to his handheld, but couldn't shake the feeling. He rolled his shoulders, trying to shrug it off. He took off his glasses and raked the crowd again, looking for his observer. Then he saw her.
She was half-hidden by the shadow of a pillar, not far from where he sat. From what he could make out, she was wearing a long purple dress, and had propped herself up against the column. Her face was completely in shadow, yet her body was turned in his direction. Curiosity sparked in his chest, and he slipped his handheld back into his pocket. He slid his glasses on again and casually slipped off the barstool. He stood, and looked over the crowd, as if searching for someone. He started to make his way over to where she stood. When he reached the pillar, he started to make a joke about the video . But there was no one there. Taken by surprise, he looked around, to no avail. It was as if the girl had vanished.
The rest of the evening passed too quickly for Tony's taste, as his continued efforts to find the mysterious girl bore no fruit. He would have asked Obi's help, but he was too busy talking with the few reporters that had been allowed inside. Tony couldn't understand why he was so intent on finding this girl. Albeit, his curiosity was killing him. No woman had ever simply looked at him, they all had to come over to touch his sleeve, to talk with him, to try to flirt. This girl, or woman, whatever she was, had done nothing. She'd practically run away from him, for crying out loud. Tony checked his breath, and his armpits. Nothing odorous there. His vain mind continued trying to figure out what could have caused her to vanish, all the way to his limo. Then, just as he was about to step inside, his eyes widened. She was inside the car, sitting serenely in his usual seat. She smiled coolly at him. "Good evening, M. Stark".