The streets of New York City were particularly busy one morning. Shouts, yells, and honks could be heard throughout the streets as a young woman, in her early to mid twenties pushed her way through the crowd.
The young woman was rather small, no taller than 5'2", and held a cellphone to her face. She was speaking quickly to whoever was on the other side of the phone call, and not really paying attention to her surroundings. As the light changed and the pedestrian signal shown she stepped out into the street but was quickly grabbed by the back of her jacket sending her to the ground, her cellphone flew into the street.
"What the hell!" She shouted as she looked up in time to see a car run the red light, flying by, right where she was standing. The other cars were able to stop in time as the car drove through the intersection, but not without honking their horns. She had almost been hit if it weren't for whoever had pulled her back.
The same hand that had ripped her back and flung her on the ground was now picking her up and grabbing her bag. "I'm sorry, ma'am." She just noticed the man, He was wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses.
Finally standing on her own she brushed him off and looked around for her cellphone. She was on a call for work before being pulled back. "Don't worry about it."
Her phone lay in the street crushed by the passing cars. With a groan she began to cross the street again, once the signal changed. This time, making sure it was safe first.
She needed to quickly get to the office and call back. The young woman walked as fast as she could through the streets and pushed through everyone that was in her way. It wasn't until she was almost to the building that she noticed that her bag was missing.
Everything was in her bag, but that wasn't her biggest concern at the moment. Her largest concern was that her boss had probably thought that she had hung up on him.
Quickly she ran into the building and waved at Mark, who usually checked their badges. She was lucky enough that he knew who she was, since her badge was in the missing bag.
As she entered the elevator and watched as the numbers ascended she finally allowed herself to take a breath while she leaned against the wall. It was then that she realized that she had almost been killed. The situation would have knocked anyone else in their ass, but she couldn't let herself be consumed by the thoughts of, 'what ifs'.
The elevator rose, and as it got close she straightened up and took one last deep breath. The elevator doors opened letting her enter the busy office where her assistant, Anita, immediately was before her. "Miss Williams, Mr. Stark has called your office five times."
With a groan, she nodded to the older woman. "Thank you, Anita." As Miss Williams briskly walked through the room to get to her office at the back of the room she received strange looks from the other office occupants.
Her office was large, and being halfway up Stark Tower, it had quite a view. Sitting down at her desk near the window, she reached across and pressed the button to close the curtains to the large windows looking out to the rest of her department. If she were going to be tore a new one, she would prefer it be in private.
With a final sigh Miss Williams picked up the phone and dialed Mr. Stark's number. Leaning back in her seat, she turned to look out over the city.
The phone had rang three times before the line was picked up. "You're alive." Was the bored drawl of the company's owner.
Confusion crossed the young woman's face before she responded. "Yes sir, I am." Before he could go off on her she continued, "I wanted to apologize as well sir, I did not mean to hang up on you." There was a pause on her side as she turned to look at her large office. "There was an incident."
She held her breath as she waited for a respond from her boss, "I figured as much from the shouts and horn honks." Of course he would, he was a genius. "Now that we have established that you are very much alive, let us continue with our meeting."
"Yes sir." She quickly pulled the copy of the documents she had earlier out of her desk and began where she had left off. All that the young woman could think of, was how lucky she was that her boss was so understanding.
The young Miss Williams, now sat in her office, alone and relieved. She was terrified of what was going to happen during her phone conference with Mr. Stark, but it had gone really well and he was happy with the progress she had made.
To be quite frank, Miss Williams was surprised that she was even put in charge of the Human Resource Department of Stark Industries, being that she was only twenty three years old, and had been in charge of H.R for two and a half years.
Miss Williams had graduated high school and started university at the age of sixteen. She graduated university at twenty, with a bachelor's degree, majoring in business with a minor in human resources.
That is why the young woman was surprised that she had gotten the job. She was probably the least qualified for the job, and was definitely the youngest. But for some reason, she had made an impression on Mr. Stark and he hired her on the spot, not even waiting for the rest of the interviews.
So there she was, a twenty year old, fresh out of university, being thrown into the head position of the Human Resource Department of Stark Industries. She was about to give up, a month into the position when Mr. Stark has found her crying in the stairwell.
How he even found her there, she didn't know. But in his own, condescending, sarcastic way, he had snapped her out of her funk and she came back and learned everything she needed and is now the best damn Human Resource Director Stark Industries has ever had, according to Mr. Stark.
"Anita." Miss Williams head poked out of her office as she called for her assistant. The assistant immediately came rushing over and into the office, waiting for the young woman to give orders. "I need you to send these Documents to Ms. Potts and hand deliver these to Scott Dugan in Accounting."
Anita grabbed the two documents out of Miss Williams hands and gave her a nod. "Yes Miss Williams." The younger woman's gave her a smile and waited for her to go run those errands.
However the older lady paused as she began to walk away and turned around. Miss Williams eyebrow rose as she gave her a questioning look. "Is there something you need Anita?"
The older woman looked over at the security guard before turning back to her boss. "I overheard the guard say that there was a man downstairs asking for you, but they didn't want to disturb you since he didn't have clearance."
The younger woman looked to the guard standing next to the elevator and hit gnawed on her lower lip. Who would be looking for her? Giving the woman a nod, "Thank you, Anita."
Anita then left her to go do her work. Miss Williams went into her office and began sending emails to the employees who had emailed her with their concerns.
She had gotten through three emails when her curiosity got the better of her and she got up and walked out of her office. As she neared the elevator the security guard pressed the button and gave her a smile. Thanking him, she stepped in and pressed the button for the lobby.
Standing right in front, she watched as the numbers descended until she hit the lobby floor. Without saying anything to the guard she walked right up to Mark and leaned against the counter.
"What can I do for you, Miss Williams?" Always so polite.
She just looked at the man before giving him a slight smile. "Heard there was a man looking for me down here."
Mark's face went serious as he glared at the guard next to the elevator. "I'm apologize Miss Williams, I told Cary not to bother you."
Miss Williams just waved a hand at the man and smiled. "Don't worry about it Mark, I needed a break anyway." She looked around and then noticed a man, who stood out quite a bit sitting in the front lobby. It was the same man from this morning.
She gave Mark a pat on the arm and walked over to the man who was sitting in a chair, while looking out one of the large glass windows.
He didn't seem to notice her as she approached, it wasn't until she stood in front of him that he looked up at her. "You stalking me?" The young woman asked as she crossed her arms and stared the man straight in the face. Being in her position of work, she had grown to be a very confident woman, one who wasn't afraid to speak her mind.
The man quickly stood up, and that's when she saw the bag sitting next to him, more specifically, her bag. His eyes were still covered in sunglasses, not allowing her to see his expression. "No ma'am." He picked up the bag and held it out to her. "Your badge said Stark, so I figured you were here."
Reaching out she grabbed the bag and began checking it over. Everything was still inside. Looking back up at the man she smiled and held her hand out. "My name's Lennon."
The man quickly reached out and grasped the woman's hand, giving a firm, but still light to the touch shake. "Steve."
With another smile she hoisted the bag up on her shoulder. "Thank you, Steve. It was really nice of you to return this to me." She pulled out her clutch and waved it at him. "I was just about to cancel my cards."
His face contorted into a look of confusion as he took a step away from her. "Why wouldn't I bring it back to you?"
Lennon gave him a small smile as she realized something. "You're not from around here, are you?"
Steve had now taken a few steps towards the exit. "I am, actually." Her eyebrow rose and he gave her a smile at her surprise. "Brooklyn."
The shock was still evident as she took a couple steps towards the elevator. "Well, thanks again, Steve." Giving him one last little wave, she turned on her heel and walked over to the elevator.
She gave Cary a nod as she stepped into the elevator. It was when she leaned against the back wall and looked back out into the lobby she saw him for the last time. His back was to her, and he was walking out the glass doors, heading into the busy streets. And that was the last she saw, before the doors closed and blocked her view.
The bar was dark and filled with many different types of people. It often was extremely busy on Friday evenings, with the regular crowd. On that Friday the bar was filled with the usual people, but there must have been some event going on, because there were quite a few out of towners.
"My day sucked." A slim, average height man, with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes said slid into the barstool next to Lennon.
The tiny brunette smirked at him as she slid him her beer. "I had a pretty decent day." She paused and took a moment to look at his face. "Besides, the almost dying part."
The beer that she just handed him was put down as he looked at her in disbelief. "What happened now?"
Lennon's mouth dropped open and she snatched her beer back from him as she scowled. "It's not like I'm always getting hurt."
The man just gave her a look, as if to say 'really'. He put his hand on her arm and shook his head in mock sympathy. "Do you know how many hospital visits we made last year?"
She scoffed and pushed him away before downing the rest of the beer. "There were six visits, and two of them were yours, mister." She gave him a hard poke in the chest with her last word.
He waved down the bartender and ordered them another round before turning back to her. "Okay, truce." Holding up his hand he gave her a smirk that would have made any other woman swoon. "So what happened?"
They both drank their beers as Lennon told him of the events that had taken place that day. He had done really well, and only interrupted twice. To which she ignored and continued on.
"So the man saved your life," he paused long enough for her to answer with a , 'yep'. "And then he even brought your bag back to you." Once again He paused waiting for an answer, this time she nodded. "With everything still in it?"
"Yep, nothing missing at all." Stacy, the bartender approached them and handed them their drinks, both orders going towards their tab. "I was surprised myself."
He picked up his beer and downed half of it before turning to her with a grin. "Remind me to thank this Steve."
The woman beside him laughed as she took a sip of her beer. "I'm sure you'll never meet him, Dean." Looking up into the television behind the bar, she watched as a basketball game was played,
They sat in silence for a while, until an attractive man with blonde hair came and sat on the barstool, on the other side of Lennon. Both Lennon and Dean ignored the man, and Lennon had even leaned closer to Dean to put space between them.
The man obviously didn't notice as he leaned closer to her and grinned. He was definitely drunk, and most definitely was not from here. "What you drinking sweetheart?" She heard a bit of a southern accent and rolled her eyes at Dean who was trying to suppress his laugh.
She held up the beer she had just gotten. "I'm full, thanks." Lennon had tried to dismiss him as she turned her back to him and faced Dean, but the man was obviously not taking the hint.
"I'll get your next one." She rolled her eyes once again but didn't acknowledge the man. "So, you from around here?"
The whole time the man was trying to gain her attention she was staring straight at Dean, begging him with her eyes to intervene. Finally, he decided that he would help the girl out.
Getting off his barstool he stepped around the girl, and put his arm around her. "Hey man, my name's Dean." He held his hand out to the man.
The man slowly grabbed the offered hand, but was looking at Lennon the whole time. "Rob."
Lennon then swung around in her seat, and put her arm around the Dean's waist, who was now standing next to her stool. Rob's eyes widened as he finally got the hint.
Sliding an arm around the woman's shoulder he gave the man a grin."Nice to meet you, wanna beer?" Dean asked as he waved Stacy down. Even when he was crushing a man's shot he was still polite. But his polite was more of a sarcastic politeness, so it hardly ever seemed genuine.
The man shook his head and just continued to watch the both of us for a moment before he slid out of his seat and walked away.
He wasn't even a few steps away when Dean started laughing at the man. Lennon reached over and smacked his arm. "He can hear you."
Dean shrugged as Stacy walked up to them. "Let him." He turned his dazzling smile to the woman in front of them. "Can I get two more, Stacy?" Nodding to the man she went to go grab the beers.
"God, you're such an ass." She told him as she turned back to the basketball game.
With a smirk he slid into the barstool next to her and bumped her shoulder. "You're the one who asked for my help."
Lennon was rushing around trying to quickly ready herself. She was not expecting company, especially said company being her boss, and boss' girlfriend. Why Mr. Stark was wanting to meet with her at her condo, she didn't know. But her hangover was definitely not helping.
All the possibilities kept running through her head as she ran around living room, picking up anything that made it look cluttered. She hadn't even been able to dress yet, meaning she was running around in her underwear. Lennon was just getting out of the shower when she got the phone call.
"Shit!" In her hurry she had knocked over a glass lamp, sending shards of glass flying across the floor. At this point she knew that Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts would be getting close and left the mess until she was dressed.
Quickly she entered her room and passed through to the walk in closet in the back. Each side was filled with different clothing items. One side held her work clothes and heels, while the other held her casual and sandals, sneakers, and boots.
The dilemma was what to wear. Was it a meeting? Was this personal? Finally with the decision of it being a meeting she slipped on one of her pencil skirts and a red button down. As she ran out into the living room she put her heels on and pulled her hair back into a ponytail.
Just as she finished her hair the buzzer rang. She cursed as she ran over to the intercom. "Yes?"
Gary the morning guard was who buzzer. "You have guest Miss Williams, a Mr. Stark and a Ms. Potts." She looked over at the broken lamp still on the floor and sighed.
"Send them up, Roy." She didn't wait for a response and quickly ran over to the lamp and began picking up the pieces.
It was when there was a knock on the door that she panicked and grabbed a shard a little too hard, slicing her hand open. "Damn it." Dropping the shard she ran into the kitchen and pulled a towel out of the drawer next to the sink.
The door was knocked on again. She gave her hand one last glance before walking over to the door. Giving her skirt a brush down with her good hand, she opened the door.
Mr. Stark was the first to walk in, he immediately began looking the place over. It was as soon as he saw the broken lamp that he looked back to Lennon and saw the cut. But in Ms. Potts case, she had already seen it and asked if she were okay.
"What'd you do kid?" Mr. Stark asked as he walked over and sat in the armchair next to the, now broken lamp.
Ms. Potts was sending him a glare before turning back to Lennon with an apologetic look. "Ignore him."
And Lennon was going to do just that. Ms. Potts took the few steps before sitting down on the couch. Both were dressed semi-casually and she felt completely over dressed.
Not wanting to prolong her already stretched curiosity she dove straight in. "What is it that you needed to speak to me about, Mr. Stark?"
Both Lennon and Ms. Potts waited for an answer and Mr. Stark eyes the young woman. He looked to be watching her in a calculating way. It was a few moments before he spoke, "Is this what you usually wear during your weekends?"
"Tony!" Ms. Potts eyes narrowed at the man, as Lennon looked over her outfit. She definitely should have gone casual. Mr. Stark was wearing blue jeans and a plain shirt, while Ms. Potts wore a summer dress.
She felt the need to explain her outfit. "Well, you called this meeting, to which, I thought was a business meeting." She motioned to her outfit with her uninjured hand. "Therefore, the business meeting clothes."
He nodded slowly as he looked her over again. "Did I not tell you this was casual." A smirk came over his face as he shot Ms. Potts a wink.
"Must not have got the memo." Lennon sat forward in her chair and stared the man in the eye. She had heard of his sarcastic ways, but had really only been in his presence a hand full of times.
Tony Stark leaned back in his own chair and chuckled. He liked working with people who didn't take what he said to heart. Made work a lot more fun. "So, we came here kid, to talk about your job."
Lennon's heart immediately dropped into her stomach and she felt as if she couldn't breathe. That was it, she was getting fired. Before she could open her mouth to speak, Ms. Potts spoke up. "Don't worry Lennon." Her head turned to look at the woman, "You're not being fired." She must have been able to see the panic on her face.
Her brows furrowed together as she looked between the two of them in confusion. "If I'm not being fired, what is there to discuss about my job?"
Ms. Potts once again took the initiative. "Are you aware of my position with Stark Industries?" Tony had now stood up and began walking around the room. He seemed to be taken with an art piece next to the hallway entrance.
Lennon looked back to Me. Potts and nodded. "Yes, Ms. Potts." She once again followed Tony Stark with her eyes until he disappeared into the kitchen.
When she turned back to look at Ms. Potts the older woman was once again giving her an apologetic smile. "I apologize for Tony, since I know he won't." She tried to look for him as well, but he was out of sight. "He doesn't seem to get that its impolite to snoop around other people's homes."
Lennon was about to respond when Tony came back into the room and flipped down on the chair again. "Nice place." He gave Ms. Potts a look, "Did you talk about the job yet?"
Ms. Potts shot him a glare. "I was getting ready to when you interrupted us."
Tony just shrugged his shoulders as he smiled. "Continue."
The bickering between these two, was endearing. It made Lennon really admire them as a couple, and realize that Ms. Potts must be a saint.
"Anyway, as I was saying Lennon," she paused and gave Tony a pointed look. "You realize that my position with Stark Industries is crucial." Even though it was said as a statement, Lennon still nodded.
"I've heard that you're the glue that holds Stark Industries together, without you it would fall apart." She told the woman.
"Hey now." Stark had said, being indignant. But then he shrugged as he thought for a moment. "Fair enough." He then nodded at Ms. Potts to continue.
"And although I do love my job," she paused and looked over at Tony for a moment, "I do not want to work forever."
Lennon was now getting slightly confused at what was being said. Was she trying to leave Stark Industries?
Ms. Potts leaned forward towards the younger woman. "What I'm trying to get at, is that I would like for you to be the one to fill my position when I decide to leave."
Shock, that was all Lennon felt. Ms. Potts pretty much ran Stark Industries, and she wanted her to take over for her. It was a lot to take in.
"You don't have to answer right now." Lennon looked up from where she was staring at the floor. Ms. Potts was giving her a comforting smile and Mr. Stark had a smirk on his face as he looked at the younger woman.
Lennon began to shake her head as she looked between the two of them. "I would be honored."
A large smile broke out over Ms. Potts face as she reached over and squeezed the younger woman's hand. "We are so happy that you accepted." Lennon looked over to Tony who was giving her a nod. "You are who we both agreed to, we think you will do great."
Lennon smiled at the two before looking back to Me. Potts. "So, what does this mean?" She had a confused expression on her face as she watched Ms. Potts. "What does it entitle? And when would I start?"
Tony Stark let out a laugh as he stood up and walked over to the couch. "Slow down there kid." She looked up at the man who was now standing behind Ms. Potts. "We can worry about all of that Monday."
Ms. Potts stood up next to the man and gave Lennon a large smile. "Yes, we can." Lennon got up from the couch and followed them as they walked toward the door. As they reached the door, the elder woman paused and turned back to Lennon. "Have a great weekend, we will discuss terms on Monday."
Mr. Stark opened the door and allowed Ms. Potts to go first. "See you Monday." Lennon couldn't help but let the large smile grow across her face as he stepped out into the hall. But at the last second he turned around and peaked his head back in. "You might wanna get that looked at."
His nod toward her hand had brought her attention back to the cut, and almost simultaneously, the pain. He seemed to notice and shot her a smirk before closing the door.
Quickly she ran into the kitchen and began to clean up her hand. As she was drying it off she picked up the phone and called her best friend. After a few rings, the line was finally picked up. "You will never guess what just happened."