Stane was a fool; a mere pawn in Von Doom's game. He whimpered like a mere simpleton, trying to gain favor in Doom's presence. At least he recognized how idiotic and lowly he was. Blowing up such a spineless man would send a thrill of personal pleasure; ridding the earth of someone like that would make mother nature and evolution proud.
Yet he did have one regret; that beautiful, brilliant woman who was forced to work for that fool would unfortunately die as well. Doom could see her seething brilliance, her infinite patience working hard just to be demeaned. His spies in Stark Industries had told him of how cunning she was; how she had sabotaged Stane and made certain that the ones flying the Guardsmen armors were criminals. Doom knew that her manipulative mind was planning Stane's downfall so Stark would certainly take over; his spies also uncovered random memos and notes that noted that she had been due for a raise, more benefits and a promotion before Stane took over. And when the average person looked at her, they saw a charming, meek lady. Not the cunning, great manipulator she truly was.
Such manipulative brilliance. Such hidden fire. It reminded him of Susan, a little; in fact, part of him was relieved that this beauty was spared when Iron Man stopped the bomb. That part was insignificant compared to the large amount that was angry at his latest plan's failure, but there was a small part there none the less. And he was curious as to what this lady was truly capable of.
Trisha sighed. Her new boss decided to play with fire, and he got burned. Could've seen that a mile away, if you would bother to listen to me. But no, Stane never listened. So she was stuck with a moron of a boss who wouldn't let her climb up. No, that raise just had to be stopped, as the money needed to be put towards project Iron Monger. None of the benefits she was due for, nothing. And Stane treated her like an idiot.
So she continued to pretend she had no fangs, that she was meek, when in reality she just always hid them. How else could she have survived office politics if she did not have a secret weapon or two? She had to deal with belligerent men and crazies all the time. And nobody suspected anything from the meek secretary.
Which is why, when Stane found out about the missing mask, O'Brien never searched her records. That is why she sabotaged Iron Monger's control system. Anything to prevent him from taking over.
Trisha smiled. She was done her day's work- and sabotage- so she finally could reflect on recent events alone. Dr. Victor Von Doom- now that was a man who could do anything. For most rulers, setting a bomb to blow up New York in a high profile company's head quarters would be cause for declaring an act of war if they dared do such a bold act; for Doom, it was a simple thing and he did not come off worse for it, even diplomatically. That took skill, daring and intelligence. Most people would call being able to do something like that the highlight of their career as manipulators; Doom did that regularly when it came to damages caused by his fights with the Fantastic Four and other incidents like this.
She had studied him before; as a developing country with a promising rise in industry and technology, Latveria was a frequent topic in her business. As the one responsible for that and a genius inventor/scientist/everything, Doom was a figure that required constant attention and study. As a result, she knew what he looked like before he donned that suit of armor; he had been wondrously handsome. Enough so to be a super model. Looks, intelligence, cunning; Doom had it all, and she knew it from before she met him.
That knowledge did nothing to insulate her from seeing him in person. It had been electrifying to see him, standing there with his burning eyes promising that getting in his way would be the last thing you did. It had sent icy chills down her spine, and it had taken everything not to grin widely.
In her research, Trisha found his rule to be extremely Machiavellian. Those subjects who hated him were quashed; everyone else feared and loved him. Yet for the man who turned her current boss into a chicken, Trisha held nothing but fascination and awe; combined, those two turned into attraction.
She had to admit, while she preferred to work in the shadows and be looked over but permanent, the raw power and force of Dr. Doom was intriguing as well.
Trisha walked down the New York street, alone but safe in the knowledge that this area did not have a high crime rate, as a limo with the Latverian flag drove up next to her and parked.
Cliché and dangerous? Yes. Was she going to go in anyway? Of course.
She entered and saw nobody other than the famous dictator himself. It was oddly awe-inspiring to find someone so important taking such a personal interest in her; she was certain it was going to be someone recruiting her to spy on Stark Industries for them.
"What would the leader of a country like with a secretary?" she asked meekly. Hey, her attitude was not much of an act; she just preferred to do things in a more cloak-and-dagger method.
"You were the one who sabotaged Stane's Iron Monger armor so that it would go out of control. You turned many of his efforts into failure because he would not give you the power and money you believed you deserved." There was no question in Dr. Doom's voice, merely (if merely could be used for someone like Dr. Doom) stating it as an absolute fact.
Trisha smirked. "I cannot become CEO, but I can affect who is."
"Company rules may prevent you from becoming Stark Industries' CEO, but it does not prevent you from leading another company; you have the business skill."
"Yes, but when I disagree with someone I tend to sabotage them. Anyone aware of my abilities in that area would try to limit my power and keep me contained; most would be wary of me quitting a company I have been at such a rank for years," Trisha explained. This was interesting; it seemed like he was offering her a position in Latveria without saying a word about it.
"It is a shame that someone like you lives in America," Doctor Doom replied. Yep, definitely a job offer.
"It is a shame that someone like you does not have more territory or higher up positions; you really turned Latveria around."
They looked each other in the eyes; Doctor Doom's smoldering eyes contrasting against his armor sent shivers down her spine. Something in her face must have sparked something in Doom as well, for he lent in and they kissed. Trisha walked out of the car, and went her separate way, quietly mourning the lost potential.
Trisha frowned as the frigid white haired woman sat at Trisha's desk. That… woman made a shooing motion, and Trisha managed to act meek and submissive with her box of items until she went down to her new desk at her new position. This would not do.
She may have been kicked downstairs, had a reduce in salary, benefits and pension, but she still had connections. Anyone who liked working for and remembered Howard Stark would feel moral outrage; anyone who liked working under Stane would remember how he took the company seriously and did not make everything a play or game. Anyone who worked under both would certainly revolt. It would take years, but eventually Hammer might be replaced.
Her phone began to ring as she sat down at her new, smaller desk. She frowned, and flipped it open. "Hello, Tony?"
"Hi, Trisha. Ever since I heard the news about Hammer-" Trisha flinched at those words- "I've been thinking of something, and I wanted to have your advice. I am starting up a new company called Stark Solutions; anything I need to know about how to begin?"
Trisha smirked- this would make life so much easier. If she sabotaged Stark Industries, and Stark Solutions grew enough to buy it, she would be at the top of the food chain again, and much sooner. Ah, the Starks; giving her exactly what she wanted with no manipulation on her part. She actually felt respect and a sort of platonic connection with them. Tony was like the eager younger brother asking his adult older sister for help on a school project.
"Well Tony, to start, you need seed money…" she began.
...I like crack pairings. And I kind of want to do a bunch of crack pairing fics for this fandom, but I have other fics to work on.
Yes, this version of Trisha the secretary is highly head cannon. But then again, she's not exactly a main character, so I get to do a few things.
Many thanks to Soap Lady for being a beta.