Author's Note: Next chapter up a little earlier than expected - I had some free time. Just some quick notes: first off, thanks to everyone for the follows/favorites/reviews. You guys rock! Second, I listed the category as "Avengers" because for some reason Iron Man wasn't listed under movies, only comics. And since this is based on the movieverse, I didn't want to label as comics. So, despite the tag, it is an Iron Man story, not an Avengers fic. Reviews are always appreciated! Next chapter should be up this weekend.
"Well, Ms. Potts, you're certainly qualified. I'll be sure to pass your résumé along to Mr. Stark."
Obadiah Stane turned his oily smile on Pepper, who tried not to flinch. There was something subtly odious about the man – like a beloved grandfather prone to random tirades of racism. Still, he was the head (ex-head) of Stark Industries and, more importantly, the man who could decide whether or not to patch her application through to Mr. Stark.
Yes, the Tony Stark. Pepper had been as surprised as anyone when the news had flashed across the her TV screen that night. She'd dropped her toothbrush, almost choking on the minty foam in her mouth, before rushing to compile a résumé. After all, if her mystery informant had known that Tony Stark was returning to the company, perhaps he was right about the PA job as well.
And he had been – she'd applied and now, only 2 days later, she was being interviewed in the swankiest office she'd ever seen. Everything was high-end, high-tech, and high class. Sharp white edges with veins of electric blue light – Stark Industries was everything the papers said and more. Pepper couldn't help but feel out of place; she was in her finest, a high-waisted black skirt and a wine-colored blouse. She felt certain every employee could smell the cheap scent of clearance prices that hung about the outfit – she had yet to see a single woman here in shoes without a red sole.
At least, thought Pepper dryly, I got an interview before I got evicted and couldn't shower.
"I think that will be all for now, Ms. Potts," said Obadiah, and Pepper realized his last comment had been a dismissal. Blushing slightly, she grabbed her purse and stood, extending her still-quavering hand. She was a tad disappointed she hadn't gotten to meet Mr. Stark, but overall, she wasn't surprised. Even if she got the job, Pepper didn't think she'd see much of the billionaire, PA or not.
"Thank you again for your time – "
"Obi! What'd I miss?"
The doors banged open and the Tony Stark blew in like a cool breeze.
Now, Pepper Potts was a levelheaded woman. She didn't pour over trashy tabloids like they were Gospel, and she didn't stalk celebrities across the web. They were just people, a fact of which she was well aware.
But then, Tony Stark was a close to a celebrity as she'd ever meet, and okay: she was a little bit starstruck.
He wasn't as young as he appeared on her crappy TV screen – not old, not by any stretch of the imagination, but up close she could see little wrinkles worming their way around his eyes and nestling in the corners of his mouth. He was shorter in person too, but his height hardly mattered when his personality was larger than life. His hair was soft, ungelled and unstyled, as though he'd simply rolled out of bed, into his two thousand dollar suit, and over to Stark Industries.
To complete his cocky schoolboy persona, that trademark for which he was so well known, Stark was chewing an apple as loudly and obnoxiously as possible.
"Tony!" shouted Obadiah in a booming, genial voice. "I didn't think you were coming in today."
Stark shrugged easily, hopping onto the edge of Obadiah's desk and sitting cross-legged. "I thought picking out my personal assistant should be, you know, personal. So I came to conduct some interviews." He cracked his knuckles for emphasis.
Pepper glanced uncertainly between the two men. There was the tiniest crackle of tension filtering through the air, and she couldn't help but wonder if the passing of the reins from Stane to Stark had been as smooth as the papers claimed.
"Well, that's a good idea. But I was just finishing the last interview now. I trust your judgment, Tony," added Obadiah hastily, noticing, as Pepper had, the coolly raised eyebrow and pouty lips forming on Stark's face, "I just know how you get with pretty women. And the majority of the applicants were pretty women." Obadiah waved an airy hand at Pepper in example. She supposed he meant it as a compliment, calling her pretty, but she wasn't sure she liked the insinuation. As though she only applied so she could ogle Tony Stark all day!
"Right. Well, speaking of pretty applicants, while you're here…" Stark reached across the desk and quickly snagged her application from Stane's hand. "Virginia Potts. Cute, very…rustic…So, Ms. Potts – it is Ms., yeah? Good. Okay. So, Ms. Potts, are you an aspiring young inventor?"
"Uh, no – "
"Do you know the atomic weight of iridium off the top of your head?"
"Um – "
"Have you ever programmed an artificial intelligence system?"
"Isn't that your job?" asked Pepper, feeling a bit annoyed. She hadn't applied for any kind of engineering position, for heaven's sake! "I don't know much about the cutting edge technology at Stark Industries, but I know how to find information on it. I don't know how to program – robots, or whatever – but I know how to organize your life. And I'm not an aspiring young inventor because I'm an experienced veteran of the business world already."
Obadiah looked shocked, which Pepper understood; she'd been feeding him the same old "reliable, hard-working, dedicated to the cause!" bit that most employers wanted to hear. Stark, on the other hand, grinned at her. "Think fast," he replied, tossing the apple at her. Pepper, slightly disgusted (she wasn't a germaphobe, per se, but she hated spit) lashed out instinctively, backhanding the apple by some divine intervention straight into the trash can. Tony whistled through his teeth.
"I like you. You're…snappy."
"Snappy?" asked Pepper. It sounded like a compliment, but an odd one at best.
"Snappy!" gasped Tony, snapping his fingers for emphasis. "No, not snappy…Spicy! You're Pepper, aren't you?"
Pepper blinked. She'd gone by Pepper since she was a child, but the nickname wasn't anywhere on her résumé.
"From the bus stop, remember? You had excellent taste in coffee. Well, not so much whatever was in the other cup. I was pretty hungover, but I remember the name. Photographic memory, and all. I guess my overwhelming charm convinced you to apply?"
"That was you?" Pepper blurted, eyes growing wide. Oh, for the love of all that was good, she'd told Tony Stark, of all people, that she was broke and nearly homeless? Certainly he wouldn't hire her now – not knowing what a failure she was.
"Yep! Congratulations, you were the first to witness the heroic return of the prodigal son. Or at least I think that's what they're calling it. Well!" Stark leapt down from the desk, clapping his hands together with relish. "I guess we're done here. I need to get back to the lab, I left something of a…delicate nature waiting. Does eight tomorrow work for you? Pepper?"
"Oh!" Pepper hadn't realized he was talking to her. Keep it smooth, Potts. "Does…wait, what?" So smooth.
"Eight? Tomorrow? Morning? I mean, I won't be up, unless the zombie apocalypse starts or something. But I have a mess of emails you can start sorting through and of course, I know the PR people want to get to some events, throw my face out there a little. Like I haven't been in the magazines enough. Anyway. Eight?"
"So does this mean I'm…hired?"
Stark nodded. "Yep! Grab a badge from Happy on your way out, it'll be your keycard for the building. My office is on the top floor, which means your office is on the top floor. We can figure out salary later. And here."
Stark fished something out of his pocket and, once again, tossed it to her. This time, Pepper managed to catch it. It was a sleek, black rectangle. She would've thought it was a phone, but they couldn't really be this thin, could they?
"I saw that old transistor radio 'phone' you were lugging around the other day. Consider this a gift from the company. My number is already programmed into it – house, office, cell – and so is Obi's. And there's a direct line to JARVIS too, if needed."
Stark grabbed her free hand, still hanging weightless at her side, and pumped her arm up and down in a quick handshake. "Welcome to Stark Industries, Ms. Potts." And then he was gone.
"So…that's it? Just like that? Can he do that?"
Obadiah sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Tony can do whatever he likes. He's never been big on convention. So, I guess, yes. You're hired." He stood then, gesturing with a sweep of his broad arm to the door. Not wanting to push her luck, Pepper scurried out with another quick "thank you" and retrieved her badge from the man at the desk who was, in fact, named Happy.
On the cab ride home, Pepper turned her new phone over and over in her hands, fingers sliding wonderingly across the blank surface. A clean slate. A fresh start. Of all the questions still nagging her about her unexpected luck, one pounded the most insistently through her head.
"Who on earth is Jarvis?"