"Kathleen, there is a Miss Potts on line for you, I believe." You heard your secretary say through the intercom on your phone. "Who?" you questioned back. "Her name is Miss Potts, and she calling for a Mr. Stark, that's all she said ma'am."

You sat silent for a moment. Stark, now why does that sound so familiar. "Uh-yes, go ahead and send her through I guess."

"Yes Miss Abbott."

"Thank you Willow." you said as your speaker phone beeped. You confirmed that you were on the phone as you said your name, "Kathleen Abbott." Then a quiet voice began to speak, "Uh, yes. Miss Abbott, my name is Virginia Potts, and I am calling on behalf of Mr. Stark."

"Oh--well see, I don't think I've heard that name before." you replied. "Well I his personal assistant, that is why, but he wanted me to-" you cut her off mid-sentence. "No, I mean I don't believe I having prior knowledge to the name Stark." You two sat awkwardly silent on the phone, well it was awkward to you at least, for a good thirty seconds or more. She finally broke the silence, "Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Tony Stark of Stark Industries...ring any bells?" You slapped your hand to your forehead as you glanced up to see your secretary Willow staring anxiously hoping to try and mouth out the conversation. You mouthed the name Tony Stark over-dramatically. She nodded her head in confusion, but showed great interest. You realized you had not been paying attention to the other woman on the phone, so you quickly diverted your attention back to the phone call. "Uh, Miss Abbott, are you there?"

You quickly answered, "Yes, I am here. Sorry I was distracted." you pleaded guilty. "Please continue, and yes I know of Mr. Stark, the super-hero wanna-be, correct?"

"Umm, Mr. Stark in no way thinks of himself as a super hero Miss Abbott, he simply is trying to make the world more peaceful after the trouble his company has caused by their missiles production and all. So please, don't judge him based on what the news media is saying." You realized that you had offended Miss Potts, and could tell she had become quite defensive. "Oh, I see. Silly me. But--isn't it ironic that he creates this alter ego "Iron Man" to stop the production of his own product? Hmm. Sounds like an attempt at even more publicity."

"Actually, Miss Abbott, the media is posting the stories on their own, I, on the other hand, am simply trying to correct the mistake that I had been blindfolded from for years. Now, I don't believe Iron Man is my alter-ego however, we are one in the same, he is me, and I am him. Now each person is entitled to their own opinion and I will not try to change it, however I am going to correct you when you are wrong until you believe it." Your stomach churned when you heard another voice on the phone-line. "Uh-umm, Mr. Stark?" you hesitated to ask.

"Yes dear?" he responded. You stuttered, but finally got the words out, "Oh, Mr. Stark, I-I-I do apologize. But, I don't believe you will be able to convince me." He continued, "Well then, I guess I am just going to have to prove it to you, and that my friend is why I had my lovely assistant Pepper contact you. I would like for you to be her replacement as my PA, she's read over your resume and looked into your background, and has decided that I think you would make a great assistant." You were surprise at his offer. You honestly had no idea what to say, oh wait, yes you did. "That is a very generous offer Mr. Stark-" he interrupted you. "Tony, please." you continued, "--uh, Tony. But, I am next in line for being the CEO of my father's company. I don't think it would be the smartest career move for me to demote myself to the personal assistant of Tony Stark, do you? No offense Miss Potts."

Tony sat silent for a moment. "Miss Abbott, are you CEO yet?" You replied no. "Do you have any older brothers or sisters?"

"Well I have an older brother that works here too, but--" he interrupted you again. "You're not gonna be CEO. He is"

"What?" you asked stunned. "I said you're not going to be CEO he is. It is how it's done, your brother is going to get the job, and you're going to be left floundering in whatever position it is that you are holding now. So, therefore the wise decision, yes, would be to be my personal assistant. So...why don't we meet at 7 o'clock Tuesday evening at Best Italian, my trea--what?" You could hear Tony and Pepper discussing their personal matters. "Oh it seems I'm being awarded a Nobel Peace Prize during that time. We will do it the following night then. Seven, don't be late and don't wear white!"

"Mr. Stark wai-" before you could finished the tone of the phone call ending sounded. You looked at Willow bewildered. She walked in to your office, and you began to explain the phone call and your predicament. "Well Miss Abbott, if I may, I think you should go to the dinner and see him lay all that he has on the table, and then decide." You looked down at your charts and graphs lying on your desktop and sighed. "You really think I ought to go?"

She nodded yes. You let out another disgruntled sigh, and made the decision to meet him. "Oh, also if you don't mind," your secretary began, "wear something intriguing." You gave her a surprise look. "What? He's handsome!" she finished, and left your office. What have I gotten myself into. You thought as you slammed your head down onto your desk.

You slipped your feet into your flat, black gladiators which added the final touch to your simple, black dinner dress, and long curls-do. You grabbed a taxi at the end of your block, and head to the Best Italian restaurant. You arrived fifteen minutes later or so, and walked into the restaurant, and was greeted by the sophisticated, restaurant owner. "Ah, Miss Abbott, we've been expecting you. Mr. Stark has rented the back room for your dining pleasure, your waiter will lead you." You were lead to the very back of the restaurant into an empty room which could seat at least another two dozen people. The lighting of the room was dimmed to a romantic-type setting, and you spotted a table in the middle lit by candles and a single rose that lay across a dinner plate with a card attached. You sat down at the table and picked up the card, it read:

"Dear Miss Abbott,

Please excuse my tardiness, I had a few things I needed to finish up on my new edition of the Iron Man costume. Do not hold this against me or the job offer. I will arrive shortly.

Signed,

Tony Stark/Iron Man"

You let out a slight laugh as you read the signing of the note. "Ah, so she does have a sense of humor." You heard a voice say from behind you. You turned to see Tony walking towards the table. You quickly turned your smirk into a slight frown. "I'm doing very well, thank you, and how are you?" Tony said sarcastically as he took his seat. "How did you know I would be here?" you asked him demanding.

"Because you don't like your job." was his simple reply. You looked at him questionably, but realized that he was actually right. "And how do you know that?"

"Because if you liked it; you wouldn't be here." He half-smiled at you, and subconsciously you smiled back. "And that beautiful smile hidden behind a pitiful frown." he commented. You blushed at his comment. You then cleared your throat and insisted that you two discuss his job offer. You discussed the pro's and con's, although Tony insisted that there were absolutely no con's to the deal, of the job for a good hour or so. But, using his charm and wit he persuaded the conversation to a casual, yet intellectual conversation, which to your surprise you actually enjoyed. It was nice to actually carry on an intellectual conversation with someone who could actually comprehend it, and not mention that your secretary, Willow, was right, Mr. Stark was quite easy on the eyes. But, you quickly diverted your attention to a question that had been floating in your mind since you walked in to the romantic atmosphere. "Mr. Stark, why did you really ask me here this evening?"

He looked your directly in your eyes, and placed his hand on yours and leaned in. You, in turn, leaned in closer as well. "I asked you here, to offer you a job as my personal assistant." You felt your face turned blood-red as warmth spread across your cheeks. "Oh, right, of course." you looked down too embarrassed to look at him.

He then leaned back in his chair placing one arm at the back using it as an armrest. "Well?"

You sat silent for a moment and stared down at your glass of wine. A million thoughts had been running through your mind, and you actually found yourself charmed by the famous Tony Stark, but you couldn't let that happen. You weren't going to abandon your father's business , which just so happened to be staying afloat because of your business skill. "I'm sorry Mr. Stark, but I can't accept it, my father's business is not exactly in the best position right now, and I'm what is keeping it afloat." His smile quickly switched to a look of disappointment and shock. "It really is a nice offer, and I am somewhat convinced that you're a decent guy, but my father's business is very important to him; it's his whole life and whether I become the CEO or not, I just can't do that to him."

--Tony's Point of View--

As she said this, she swiftly got up from the table and left. You sat there bewildered by what had just happened. You were sure she was going to accept the offer. But, you weren't sure if it was the job offer being turned down, or the fact that she had rejected you. Not many people turned you down, especially for a job.

As you sat in the back of the limo, you couldn't help but think about what had happened the night before. You began discussing the predicament with Pepper. "If she doesn't accept it, then that business is going to stay alive." you said to Pepper. "Well sir, I'm sure with you being persistent you could have her convinced. But, it may take some time." You looked out the window at the passing buildings. You then turned back towards Pepper and commented "I need that land to expand. It's the perfect location, and just the amount of land we need, I have to get her to accept it." Pepper suggested that you meet up with her again, but in the meantime turn your attention towards more important matters, and you agreed. But--you couldn't help keep your mind from wandering to the previous evening. You found yourself subconsciously smiling at the thought of her blushing at your charming comments. Then it hit you, perhaps you weren't being the charmer, but actually were being charmed, by her. Had she really made that much of an impact on you in that little amount of time. No, that was impossible, she is merely just a potential PA. That's it. You thought to yourself, you rolled the divider down to see the driver.

"Harry, we're going to make a quick pit-stop by Abbott Reality."