Nights - Chapter 3
Leah's POV
"I still can't believe you fucking blew it," said my sister, sitting beside me on the couch, her laptop on her thighs. "I didn't blow it, Ok? That arrogant pain the ass was just too much to handle, I couldn't take it."
Yesterday had been a nightmare. After my horrible encounter with Mr. Stark, I made my way to Nights Industries, and my boss was not in the best mood. Hell, I almost got fired on the spot. "Leah, what the fucking hell!? This was supposed to be the thing that would finally make us competition with the big titled magazines! Who knows when we get to book another fucking person half as famous as Tony Stark!" I remember him saying, "I don't know why, but I'm going to let this pass, but try anything like that again, and you are done!"
At that moment I was so relieved that I got to keep my job, I started to regret what I'd done. I suppose I could have stuck up with his narcissistic ass a while longer, and I could've gotten the promotion of my life. It was just half an hour, but the past is the past and I decided to just enjoy the rest of my week off. It was originally two weeks, but my boss decided my punishment would be to reduce my time off.
"If I were the one to interview him, I would be freaking out! I don't think I would ever be able to leave!" said my Tony Stark-obsessed sister. "Well I don't have a huge crush on him like you," I replied, noticing she was ogling pictures of him on google images. I rolled my eyes.
The next two days went pretty well. I slept 'till noon and spent most of my time watching The Big Bang Theory marathons on CTV. My week was going perfectly, despite my annoying sister and her remarks on Stark, and the fact that I thought about him more than I should've. I tried my best to keep my mind off of him most of the time. Just as I was moving on to the next episode, my cell phone rang. I felt myself starting to get a bit nervous when I realized it was my boss calling.
"Hello?" I said, trying to hide it in my voice. "Hello Leah, I hope you are enjoying your time off so far," he said, as if he had never lashed out at me just days ago. "Yes I am, thank you."
"Good, now I know that you should be getting the rest of the week yourself, but would you mind attending another event tomorrow? I'll be willing to extend your time off again to two weeks," I considered his offer, "I can think about it, what event would you be talking about?"
"It is a fundraiser to raise money for more funding in technology for local universities. Many celebrities will attend, and a few stuck up billionaires hungry for publicity. It's more of a social gathering, and the perfect place to redeem ourselves after you're incident with Mr. Stark." It did sound like a pretty good way to get that promotion I wanted.
"Will Mr. Stark himself be attending?"
"I highly doubt it, it's this Saturday and , uh, his playboy ways usually bring him to bars and clubs on the weekends."
"Yeah, I see it on the news all the time..." I recalled a few stories I've seen, and they were pretty disgusting.
"So you'll take the job?" he said, hopefully. "Sure, why not."
"Great! It's this Saturday at eight o'clock, and remember to dress nicely, it's a fairly formal event."
"Of course," I said, and hung up after a few goodbyes. This time I knew I would try my best to get a few things for Nights, it was my only hope to not get fired, and maybe even get a promotion.
Tony's POV
I sat in my garage, tinkering with the motor of my new Acura. I was just finishing up, when I heard the clacking of heels near the entrance of the garage. I look up to see Pepper, holding an iPad in her hands. I didn't know why she settled for that piece of crap when I could build a device ten times better.
"Hey Pep, what's up?"
"Well, I just finished escorting another thin blonde out of your bedroom. But, other than that, it seems you have gotten another invitation to a fundraiser this Saturday," I sighed. "Just send them a check for a few million, you know I hate attending those things on weekends," she sighed. "Tony, I'm not going to let you pull another embarrassing stunt at the club. You need to clean up your act!"
"Pepper, causing trouble is what I do best, I think you know that by now. Besides, what can I do about it, the ladies want what the ladies want. I can't blame them for not resisting this," I said, pointing a greasy finger at my face. Pepper let out a chuckle, "You are going to this event and don't think of it as a way to pick up models."
"Fine, I'll go. But what can I do, when chicks are all over me?" Pepper sighed once again and made her way out the door.
Saturday night, I got dressed in one of my best suits, which were basically all of them, and hopped into the front seat of my newly fixed Acura. Pepper decided to stay home with Happy, since they were now engaged to each other, they took the night to continue planning the big day. I got to the Ceremonial Hall not very far from my mansion in Malibu, and gave my car keys to the man attending the valet parking. I smiled at the paparazzi around me, pushing themselves over one another trying to get a good shot. I saw one reporter not snapping a single picture, and instead stood there looking disappointed. She had light brown hair and striking blue eyes. I gave her a wink when she set her eyes on me, and instead of swooning like I expected her to, she rolled her eyes. I was taken aback, but tried not to show it and continued to put on my best smile for the rest of the crowd. Who was she? How could she not have fallen in love with me with my charming smile? And for some reason, she looked familiar...
Leah's POV
I had put on my fanciest dress, it was black and strapless, and rather short. I liked the way it looked on me, so I finally decided to wear it. I got to the event with my camera and my recorder, ready to interview whoever I could. I stood in the ocean of paparazzi, and once or twice almost fell over from the pushing and shoving. I did my best to get a few shots of celebrities as they walked to the entrance from their expensive cars. Everything was going rather well, until Tony Stark walked out. I was once again pushed farther back into the crowd, when I heard everyone cheer even louder than usual, especially girls. I tried to push my way back into the front to take a glance at who was making the crowd go even crazier and my heart stopped when I saw him walking out of his car. A bunch of female reporter grew red as he nodded toward them. I just stood there staring, until he laid eyes on me and winked. All I could do was roll my eyes, and I decided to leave and go inside. My goal was to ignore him the whole night, and get a few interviews here and there.
I got inside and immediately saw him over by the open bar, chatting up some reporter who seemed to be at the point of fainting. I tried to stop staring and went over to a few guests, sparking up an interview. By nine o'clock I had gotten a good twenty celebrities to stay with me and answer a few questions. I was going out the door, my boss would be more than happy with what I've accomplished, when I saw Tony once again. He was just about to leave, two girls by his side, pretty enough to be models and showing way too much cleavage with their dresses. He caught my eye and introduced himself.
"Hello gorgeous, would you like to join us?" He said, the two girls giggling. "No thanks, not after that day," I said, trying to sound as rude as possible. I wanted to send him a message with my tone of voice. He looked confused.
"I'm sorry, do I know you?" he asked, I was surprised and at the same time disgusted that he didn't remember me. "You don't remember me?"
"Why, did I sleep with you? I'm sorry, it wasn't supposed to mean anything long term-"
"I didn't sleep with you, and I never will. I'm Leah Cooper and I'm the reporter from Nights that you disgusted a few day ago." It took a while, but eventually a look of recognition went on his face.
"Oh, hi! I see you're not my biggest fan, but one day I know you will be. They always eventually fall into my charm. In the mean time, I have waiting list so see ya soon!" he said, and the girls giggled once again. I didn't even want to know what would happen between those three next.
I jumped into my car and tried to stop thinking about him, though his words continued to repeat in my head. I see you're not my biggest fan, but one day you will be. They always eventually fall into my charm.
Hey guys! Sorry if it took long to update, I've had tons of work from school to do, and a lot of studying. Please review and leave suggestions, they would really help!
:)