Chapter rewritten, 2017

Make you feel my love, Book I

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel or any of its characters or movies/series. All I own is my own OC and her story.

~ Chapter 2 ~
Stark Industries

The trolley was heavier than ever that day. Though not because there were more things on it than usual. No, it was because Maria had stayed up so late the night before. After her and Matt had said farewell, she had made her way back to Midtown, slowly, scouting the streets in the process. Although it had been a calm night, she had still been up too late and she had barely had two hours of sleep when she finally got back home to her small apartment on the outskirts of Midtown. And because of the early shift that she had, her eyelids felt like they were made out of sandpaper; very heavy sandpaper.

She was in the last room that needed to be cleaned which just so happened to be Tony Stark's main office. It was a room which he didn't use very often. Especially not after he had become Iron Man. Then again, he didn't spend much more time in his office before becoming Iron Man either. When he was in his office, he was usually with a secretary, which Maria hadn't enjoyed finding out on her own. Because of those horrid memories, she knocked three times on the wooden door - yawning as she did - just to be on the safe side.

"Come in!" she heard from inside, her eyebrows shooting up in surprise as she hadn't thought that someone was going to be in there.

"Mr Stark?" asked Maria as she slowly opened the door, peeking inside.

"Tony, remember? Call me, Tony," said Stark, his eyes glued on the screen that was placed on the desk in front of him.

"Sorry, sir." Stifling another yawn, she pushed her trolley inside of his office.

"No, Tony," corrected Stark with an exasperated sigh before looking over at Maria. "What are you doing?"

Maria turned her head to Tony, a mop in her hands. "Cleaning? Just like you pay me to do?"

"Ah, yes. Keep forgetting that," said Tony, earning a frown from Maria before she rolled her eyes, dipping the mop in the bucket filled with hot water that was attached to her trolley. "You know, soon you won't have to clean up anymore."

"Oh, really?" asked Maria absentmindedly as she started wetting the floor with the mop, making sure that she could see her own reflection in it so that it was extra clean. After all, Tony did pay her a lot of money just to keep the floor and toilets clean and she wanted to do her very best in order to feel worthy of that big amount of money.

"Yes, I'm working on something that is going to make you lose your job," said Tony, a sentence which made Maria turn her head and look at him surprised, and a little afraid. "You know, so you can get a better job here at, uh, Stark Industries."

"As if there's anything else that I can do here," mumbled Maria, leaning on the mop as she watched Tony stand up, inspecting her.

"Secretary," suggested Tony with an implication behind his words that made her frown slightly.

"Not after all the secretaries I've found you with … in this room… on that desk," said Maria, earning a raised eyebrow from Tony.

"Mad scientist. Someone that opens the door for everyone. Name it, and I'll give the job to you," said Tony, picking up a whiskey glass that was standing on his desk before walking over to the small table that had a large glass jar holding his precious whiskey. He poured himself a glass before downing it almost immediately.

"Why give someone that doesn't have the potential to do anything a job here when there are so many more brighter minds out there?" asked Maria, watching Tony pour himself another glass of whiskey.

"Because I know that you have potential. You're a strange young woman, Miss Dalton," said Tony, pointing a finger at her as he downed the whiskey once again before placing the glass on the table, pouring himself yet another. "There are no records of you in any schools in Hell's Kitchen. No graduation, no testimonial, no nothing."

"I've already told you that I didn't finish school," said Maria, her heartbeat racing.

"Yes, but there should be some school with your name in it then. If you ever did go to a school," said Tony, grabbing his now filled glass and walking over to Maria. "I'm trying to figure you out… and I can't do that if you're working for someone else."

"You're saying that it's okay to investigate your own staff. 'Cause it's not," said Maria, staring Tony straight in the eyes although she felt slightly intimidated by him at the moment. She hadn't known that he had been digging into her past and she knew that if he ever found anything that he didn't like, he'd confront her, wanting answers and… it weren't any answers she wanted Tony Stark, or rather Iron Man, to know about.

"When they work for me, it is," said Tony, shrugging. "Plus… I'm Tony Stark."

Maria stared at Tony for a while. For some reason, it felt as though he stared back at her in order to make her feel intimidated. Had he already found out what she had been trying to hide? Had he found out about her past and was he waiting for her to tell him the truth? Though, why should she? She didn't know him that well. Of course, they were acquaintances and he was her boss. But they weren't friends… were they?

"I… I need a raise," said Maria suddenly, the words slipping out of her mouth although she hadn't meant for them to come out at such a bad moment.

Tony kept staring at her, most likely noticing the small amount of sweat that was appearing on her forehead, making it glisten in the dim light of his office. He narrowed his eyes at her, lifting his glass up to his lips as he continued to inspect her every facial expression and although she tried to keep a serious face, she knew she was showing the panic she was feeling inside of her.

"Okay," said Tony suddenly, breaking the odd atmosphere that had appeared in the room as he turned around. "I've got this week's payment here so… next week you'll get a little extra."

Maria mentally sighed, taking a deep breath in order to slow down her heartbeat. "Thanks…" she mumbled as she followed him to his desk.

"Oh, and leave the office be. It was cleaned yesterday anyway," said Tony, opening one of the drawers from his desk and taking out an envelope. It was bulging slightly and she knew it was because of the money in it.

As Tony turned to Maria again, she reached out for the envelope but Tony flinched away, staring at her once again as he held the envelope away from her outstretched hand. "You've been working here for three months now. For three months, I've been paying you in cash. Why not get a bank account like any normal person would?"

"I have my reasons," said Maria quietly, her heartbeat once again raising. "Please… Stark, just give me the money."

Tony raised his eyebrows though she didn't know if it was because of her quivering voice or of her begging tone.

"Just… tell me if there is anything wrong, okay?" said Tony, his soft tone surprising Maria as he handed her the envelope which she cautiously took. "I can help. I'm Iron Man after all. And if you don't want Iron Man's help, I can help you as Tony Stark as well. Maybe Happy can escort you to your apartment or mayb-"

"Tony," said Maria, using his first name for the very first time since they had met which made Tony shut his mouth and look at her. "I'm your cleaner… I clean the toilets. Why do you care what happens to me?"

For a long moment, Tony just stared at her, blinking a few times. His mind seemed to be processing what she had said and for some reason, the kindness that he showed towards her made her heart slow down again and warm up instead.

"You're not like the other women here… not even like Pepper," said Tony. "You're different…"

Maria had met Pepper once since she had started working here and that had been on her first day when Pepper showed her around and told her what she had to do on her shifts. In other words, what toilets needed to be cleaned, what floors needed to be mopped etc. Her entire life, Maria had never felt at ease with a woman before. Women had always turned out to be difficult to socialize with, for Maria at least. The reason was quite clear to Maria; it was because of her mother. Though why other women never seemed to like her, she never knew. Perhaps because she was different from the others around her even though she still enjoyed buying clothes, jewellery and makeup. They just never seemed to approve of her, but Pepper had.

"Something about you just makes me…" said Tony, trailing of at the end. His words worried her. Was he going to say something negative or positive? Maybe even something creepy! "I don't know… I just care, that's all. Now, go, leave. Go to a bar and drink, dance or whatever you young people do nowadays."

Maria rolled her eyes, placing the envelope in the pocket of her grey jumper before walking back to the trolley, placing the mop in its place and starting to steer the trolley towards the still open office door.

"Hey, Tony?" asked Maria, turning around one last time to find him already sitting down behind his desk, glass against his lips. "Thanks."

Tony simply nodded his head, waving his hand for her to leave. There was no trace of a smile on his lips, though she had seen it in his eyes. Maria turned around and left the office, grateful that that encounter had not turned ugly.

Thank you for reading! Don't forget to let me know what you thought by leaving a comment!