While Cassidy went to be sure that everything was going as smoothly as it should with the entertainment, the food, the bar and all those little details that actually made the event a success, Elizabeth went to greet the early arriving guests, talk with the board members, to make sure that the media had all the information and that the S.H.I.E.L.D agents placed among them appeared like they were enjoying the party instead of just looking around and be stoic.
She was talking to a group of journalists that used to be her classmates, laughing and still working around Mr. Stark's schedule while they requested interviews; there was always someone that wanted to interview him and this new piece of Stark technology was bound to bring even more of them, her boss wasn't going to be pleased about it but she'd booked the next week for most of the interviews and promised to look for a couple of more slots.
She waved them goodbye and walked as fast as she could and got to The Green Room; this part was reserved for her boss or the board in case any of them wanted to step out of the party for a moment, but since it was still a little early the place was empty and she sat down to solve one of those ever annoying last minute issues regarding the information she sent the day before to the Japanese team they were working with about the clean energy cooperation between them.
She knew she could skip the first part of the event, the campaign presentation, the showing of the new phone and it's features, the board representative speech, but she couldn't skip the next part, her boss already said he wasn't going to be there and Miss Potts specified that she was going to be late, so she had no other choice but to give the speech herself.
She started to work her way up to the stage when the board representative joked about what a privilege it was for everyone because tonight the genius and charming Anthony Stark decided to join them and give the speech himself, she froze a few steps from the podium and swallowed hard. After two weeks of working relentlessly to forget about that had happened and to compensate for the three hour breakfast, after spending time at Stark but outside his office so she didn't have to see him unless it was mandatory, which never happened because he decided not to show up… there he was.
The photographers went crazy, like they usually did when he was on sight, for a few more seconds she stood there until one of the photographers tried to approach the podium more than he should, she immediately walked over to him and warned him about the place where the media had to be and signaled a couple of security guards to keep them there.
He was all smiles and poses and a few comments about how beautiful the female journalists looked today and she stood there until all the rest of the formalities were over, and then he walked over to her.
"I guess I have to answer some questions now."
"Yes, over here." she directed him towards a place in which he could answer the questions with ease and the media followed them. The master of ceremonies asked the guests to enjoy the rest of the evening and reminded them about the ball room and the amazing music provided by a new and upcoming band.
Most of the guests took his word and left the mezzanine almost empty, however her boss was still answering questions and she had to stay there; after about thirty minutes of questions she stopped them and encouraged the journalists to join the rest of the guests at the ball room; she knew they weren't going to do it or that most of them wouldn't do it, as journalists they had a deadline and they couldn't afford to miss it.
Instead of saying anything to her he simply walked towards the ballroom and she followed him to the bar.
"Good night, Miss Morgan."
"Hello, Bob. It's nice to see you again."
"Hi, Bob! Give me a scotch." His voice interrupted and Bob, the bartender, poured him a glass.
"Do you need me for something, Mr. Stark?" he simply looked at her and smiled sardonically.
"Go and do whatever it is you do when I'm not around."
"Elizabeth" a voiced called her from behind; she turned around and smiled warmly, she could hear her boss shift around on the stool. "Stark."
"Captain. I didn't think I would see you here." He smiled sarcastically.
"I didn't have much of a choice, Doctor Banner asked me to be here instead of him." He said half joking and half amused at her sad pout.
"I should've known he wasn't really going to come, I would've loved seeing him tonight."
"He knows that and he specifically said that it was my duty to make sure you enjoyed the night since you've been working a lot."
"Yes, well, that's what she gets paid to do." Her boss' voice interrupted and Steve's blue eyes looked at him in anger, but decided to ignore him and instead he extended his hand towards her when he heard the name of the song that they were going to play.
"Would you like to dance?" she nodded, before taking off the bolero she'd being wearing the whole night and placed it over the counter along with her purse.
"Would you mind watching this for me, Bob?"
"Not at all, Miss Morgan, I'll have someone take it to the cloakroom."
Steve turned around to greet a couple of S.H.I.E.L.D agents; suddenly she felt the soft brush of fingertips over her left shoulder blade and a voice whispered in her ear.
"It doesn't matter how much make up you use to cover it, I know it's there." She turned around and watched the sarcastic smile that her boss was giving her, and then he winked before sitting back down and pointed towards Steve and the fact that he was finishing the conversation.
"I didn't know that women still wore this kind of dress." He looked at her and she blushed. "You look beautiful." He said and placed his hand at her waist, leading her to the dance floor.
She heard the ice tingling behind her, the same sound when her boss wanted more scotch and then the pouring of the liquid and the scoff of annoyance she'd heard before and decided to ignore the feeling that his eyes were following them as they walked, Steve Rogers held her in his arms and started dancing.
She didn't really like to dance and she'd heard he didn't like it either, but there was no question over the fact that he knew how to lead and she just had to follow. A man used to lead a group of soldiers was bound to take the lead, even if he didn't do it consciously.
The smell of is cologne surrounded her and she had to resist her need to rest her head in his chest and just smile while the beauty of Glenn Miller's Moonlight Serenade filled her thoughts. Not having to be on guard and just enjoying herself was an amazing feeling and she needed it desperately, all the years she'd been fighting against her past, against her memories and the constant struggle of the present was taking a toll on her and even she wanted if to deny it she had to admit that she'd felt like this with three people in her life, one of them was the man in who's arms she was at the moment, the other was there looking at them while they danced and the third one… well, the third one was no longer there.
The firm grip on her waist subsided a little and that's when she noticed he was caressing her back, well, he wasn't as shy as she thought he would be and smiled pleased to be in his arms, though by now it would be obvious that this seemed like a confirmation of the rumor that she was planning to "snatch him because what else would someone like her do" and she flushed furious about this and angry at herself for thinking about it when she was supposed to be enjoying the moment…
(Oh, hold on a second, where have I heard this before?)
The song ended and they both turned to clap with the rest of the guests and then walked out of the dance floor and sat down.
"Steve!" a deep voice called him and he smiled towards the man that approached them "I was going to ask how you were, but since you are in the company of a beautiful lady I judge my question to be unnecessary."
"It's nice seeing you here." He turned to Elizabeth. "This is…"
"Thor, Asgardian God of Thunder." She said breathlessly and they both laughed.
"While on earth I go by the name of Donald Blake." He kissed her hand and she blushed embarrassed.
"I am so sorry." she blushed. (Seriously, Morgan! What the hell is wrong with you?! You were prepared for this and now you are basically squealing like a schoolgirl?!)
"Don't trouble yourself about something like that." She still felt embarrassed, but smiled back at him.
"This is Elizabeth Morgan, Stark's assistant."
"It's nice to meet you." He turned to Steve. "I did not plan on being here, but in the end I decided to stop by and see what a Midgardian celebration is like. If I plan to stay here for a while I need to familiarize myself with Earth."
"It's a good thing you decided to come visit, Stark has a whole floor on the building for you and I am sure Elizabeth would love to show it to you as soon as she can."
"Oh, I would love to and if there is anything you need you just have to ask." She smiled and squeezed Steve's hand as a thank you gesture. "I would also love to hear about Asgard."
"I would say that libations are needed and when I come back I will gladly tell you about the beauty of Asgard. "
They watched him go, but it seemed their plans would have to change since Doctor Erik Selvig appeared out of nowhere and Thor was so pleased to see him that it would be awful of them to interrupt just to remind him about their conversation; if he was really going to stay for a while there was plenty of time for that. Thor turned around and Steve assured him with a gesture that it was fine.
"So what was that?" Steve joked. "You looked exactly the same way you did when you were playing with the toy." She pretended to be mad at him and nudged him with her shoulder.
"When you read about Norse mythology you never dream you are going to meet the 'characters' in the stories, I mean, he's Thor!" Steve chuckled and she had to laugh softly. "I shouldn't have done that, it just slipped."
Suddenly something caught his eye; he turned around and spotted Clint Barton having an argument with a woman he was sure he'd seen before at S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Who's that woman talking with Agent Barton?"
"She's my roommate, her name is Jessica." She directed her eyes to the couple and felt her cheeks flush again, but this time it was out of anger. Whatever Clint said to Jessie it seemed awful because she was about to bolt.
"I'm going to go and stop them, he shouldn't be upsetting her." Steve stood up, but Elizabeth didn't let him walk and placing a hand on his chest she looked up at him.
"Let me handle this, please."
"If you need any help, just let me know." Elizabeth smiled and walked over to meet Clint Barton before he followed her friend, this was getting out of hand and she was tired of it.
"Agent Barton" she said walking up to him and blocking his path.
"You again?!" he said annoyed.
"Yes, me; but this time we are going to talk and don't believe for a second I will take no for an answer." She smiled pleasantly and hooked her arm with his, slowly but firmly directing him out of the ball room and to a place in which they could talk or at least he would listen to what she had to say.
He was annoyed, the stiffness of his body made it clear and she was sure she had a few minutes before he either yelled at her or simply walked away, after getting out of sight from everyone else she let his arm go and he leaned over the wall crossing his arms and glaring at her.
"You need to back off."
"Is that a threat? Because you looking absolutely beautiful in that dress do not count as one, unless you have a gun hidden somewhere, which would be really sexy, I don't see the…"
"It's not a threat; it's common sense, Barton. She's been very happy these past days; Derek is a good guy and I happen to like him…"
"Are you playing matchmaker, Morgan?"
"Of course not! She has the right to choose whomever she wants!"
"But you don't like me." He volunteered amused at her anger.
"You make it so difficult when you upset her every single time she sees you!"
"You told Cassidy's older brother not to meddle in her affairs, Morgan."
"Cassidy is a whole other person and you know it. I know where you're going and yes, Jessie might be older than me, but you are missing the point here." he tried to interrupt. "I don't mean you should go pour your heart out to her, get all corny, because I know you are not and will never be like that but you are either in or out of her life for good! And also if you even think about being with her, whatever it is you two have then you have to realize that she's always going to be like this! I'm sure you've read her file, so you know why she is the way she is and I would think that you being you then you've have already thought what being with her means."
"Such a high and mighty speech for someone that hasn't shared the truth about her past with her friends, don't you think?" he smirked and raised an eyebrow. "I've read your file too."
"So many big words from someone that keeps running into the same wall over and over again. Why don't you just face the truth, Barton? It's not a secret."
"Is this really where you want to go, Morgan?" he leaned over to her, his lips inches from hers and he emitted some sort of a growl when she didn't move back.
"No, this is not a quarrel to see who has the darkest or most painful secret, because we both do in our own way."
They looked at each other eyes for a few more seconds, both breathing hard, his hands inches from her arms and her fingers curled close to his tie and then they both walked away at the same time.
She walked back into the ballroom, grabbed a glass of water and drained it, of course she was pissed at Clint Barton for mentioning her past, but she kind of ran into it and couldn't blame him for trying to defend himself; she looked around and spotted a shot haired blonde woman walking over to the bar and directly to her boss.
Cursing inwardly she walked as fast as she could towards the counter, but it was already too late, the woman got there first and flirted a bit with her boss before getting a recorder out of her purse and laid it on the counter. She heard the question and froze a few steps from them.
"Is is true that you plan to remove Miss Virginia Potts from being CEO of Stark Enterprises?"
"Miss Potts is a great asset to the company and her work is impeccable, she's still and will be the CEO for as far as she wants to and her job is as it has been so far."
"What do you have to say about the rumor that Miss Potts is dating your employee Mister Happy Hogan? Because the last time I checked you two looked like a happy couple." He left the glass over the counter and smiled confidently at her.
"Above anything Miss Potts and I are in a professional relationship and her job doesn't depend on any personal matter. As for women, I tend not to attach myself to any of them." He looked at her and smirked. "Most of them are easy to obtain and even easier to forget, miss… what was your name again?" Elizabeth had to suppress a scoff at the face the journalist made and the angry flush that filled it and after smirking at her again he simply turned the recorder off and walked away.
"Good night, Miss Morgan." he walked by and whispered. "Take care of this."
"Right away, Mr. Stark." She waited until he left the room and then turned over to the journalist.
"So you are Tony's new assistant." She drained the glass that she had in her hand. "I guess I have to deal with you from now on."
"No, Miss Everhart, you won't deal with me."
"Aren't you supposed to do anything and everything he asks you to do?"
"That is what an assistant is hired to do, including pest control."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I guess this is not the first time you've heard something along this line, is it?" she smiles. "I'm here to tell you that you are banned from any Stark related event and from speaking with Mr. Stark from now on."
"Because I asked a question he didn't like? You are a journalist too, that is what we do."
"No, because you didn't abide to the rules for the press conference, Miss Everhart; please, don't make this into a scene, leave and tell your editor that he needs to send someone else from now on." A pleasant smile appeared on her face before she turned around. "I think there is a coworker of yours that used to be my classmate, tell your editor that I think she would be a great."
"I was there first, you know?" Elizabeth faced the blonde woman again and her face was red with anger, but with a sardonic smile on her lips.
"You forget something important about journalism, Christine; it's not about who gets there first, but about who gets deep enough into the matter to understand the heart of it." The confident and pleasant smile on her lips angered the journalist even more, but she picked up her recorder and her purse and walked out.
Elizabeth wanted to find Steve and apologize for leaving him for so long, but before she could actually look around the place and try to find him someone called her name.
"Hello, Miss Morgan!"
"Nice to see you, Miss Potts. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to find you before."
"It's not your fault, I was actually very late today; the negotiations took longer than expected." She smiled. "Where's Tony?"
"Mr. Stark already left; do you need me to call him back?"
"He won't like it, but I need him to look at these documents and sign them, they need to be sent first thing in the morning. Do you know where he is?"
"He didn't say." She took out her phone and was about to speed dial his number when Pepper's hand stopped hers.
"No, don't call him, just find wherever he is and take this to him." She gave her a folder with a few documents inside. "If there is a chance to send them tonight..."
"I will send them tonight, Miss Potts, don't worry about it."
Tony Stark had a few apartments around Manhattan and this one was the one he used to escape because only three people knew about it and she was sure he was there. She pressed the code, her finger on the biometric reader and slid her ID in order to open the door;
She left her purse over the small coffee table and walked over to the bar, the bottle of scotch was open and his jacket was over a stool, but he wasn't there. She heard footsteps coming from the balcony and when she stepped outside he was leaning over the rail and looking at the city lights.
"So Capsicle managed to let you out of his grasp." He said without turning around to look at her.
"I was not in his grasp."Elizabeth walked over and stood next to him.
"I don't know why everyone finds him so charming. He's an old guy and a virgin if I might add."
"I didn't know that not having sex in a while or at all was some sort of a crime..."
"Why don't you tell me about it, since you seem to be an expert on the subject?"
"Guilty as charged, Mr. Stark." She smiled. "You are kind of off your game tonight."
"Why are you so cheery right now? I don't recognize you if you're not barking at me." She sighed and smiled despite herself.
"These documents need to be signed and sent now." She showed him the folder and instead of waiting for her to leave them on the rail he took it from her hands. "I didn't want to bother you, but it's urgent." He signed them and gave her the folder back.
"There." He faced the city again and played with the ice in his glass.
She walked over to the door, where Franz was waiting to pick up the folder and then send it. Closing the door she walked over to the bar and poured herself a glass of water.
"I don't want your pity, Miss Uptight Assistant." He said leaning on the threshold. "You can leave."
"You knew, didn't you? That's why you left, you knew but didn't want to believe it, is that it?"
"I don't think I pay you to be my shrink, however if you want to stay and join me for drinks then just say so. I plan on getting drunk."
"Drunk? Don't be ridiculous! You are never drunk! You pretend to be so you can get away with doing or saying anything you want!" she said amused at the face he made.
"Oh, so there you are, Miss Uptight Bossy Pants." He leaned over towards her and winked.
"Is that the best you can do, Mr. Stark? Should I really worry about the fact that it seems like alcohol is impairing your sarcasm?"
"I can think of other things I can do..." His mouth crashing with hers silenced her before she could utter a word; he pushed her against the counter and kissed her furiously provoking a few moans to escape her lips. "Stop pretending you don't want this. You stayed for a reason now own to it." He said out loud before pinning her hands over the counter and kissing her again. "I bet you are not thinking about Captain Flashy Pants now…"
"You're thinking a lot about the fact that he danced with me… Does it bother you that much?" she smirked at him.
"I don't like people touching my stuff." He cupped her face with his hand and she brushed it away. "You tend to stop yourself when the going gets rough… and we're not even starting."
"Last time I checked I was not yours, Mr. Stark nor was I stuff." He leaned over and grazed his lips over her shoulder and slowly placed a kiss in her neck.
"Didn't I tell you I plan my moves ahead of time?" his hand moved around her waist and pressed her against his body. "You like this, building up the tension, don't deny that right now you feel the urge to rip each other's clothes off." he whispered in her ear and smiled when he felt her shiver.
"You are my boss."
"So I order you to do as I tell you."
"Are we getting possessive and ordering me around now?" she smirked. "Face it, you enjoy the idea of breaking me, because no one has ever said no to you and it pisses you off."
"Face it" he said whispering in her ear and moving his hand lifting her dress. "You like pushing the limits, you want to me to break you, don't pretend otherwise."
She looked into his eyes for a moment and lost all her resolution, to hell with everything, her insecurities, the doubts, the fear and most of all to hell with the constant need to be perfect to prove that she was not a failure.
She ran her eyes over his body and lingered over the unbuttoned shirt and the undone bowtie and decided that if this was going to happen then she would make the most of it.
"Doesn't it make you angry?" his eyes flared and he smirked understanding what she meant. "Doesn't it piss you off that I have the nerve to deny you?" she kissed him close to his mouth. "Don't you feel the need to rip my clothes off when I say no?"
"Say no to me." His hand moves slowly to her perfectly styled hair and buries his fingers in it before pulling slowly and forcing her head back. "Do it…" instead of saying anything her lips grazed his and she smirked, the grip in her hair grew tighter and he pulled harder. "Say it!"
"No…"
The taste of scotch intoxicated her and the force behind his kiss sent her body into overdrive, both of them gasping for air and tearing each other clothes from their bodies; his fast hands unzipping her dress while he bit her neck hard enough to mark her, her hands unbuttoning his shirt and pulling him for another kiss.
He lift her and slammed her against the wall, making her whimper a little at the pain in her back, slipping the dress off her shoulders and kissing his way down her breasts while her hands pulled his hair; letting her place her feet on the ground he turned her around and kissed the spot of the unseen tattoo finally getting rid of her dress and then pressing her against the wall.
"Who would've thought that this is the way you like it, Morgan." He whispered in her ear unclasping her bra with one hand and forcing her head back to lean on his chest with the other.
She freed herself from his grasp and turned around grazing his back with her nails and moaned into his ear.
"You have no idea, Mr. Stark" her words sparked his need again and this time he lift her in his arms hooking her legs around his waist and he rushed to the bedroom, throwing her to the bed, and then he pinned her hands over her head. She pulled him down with her legs as fast as she could and rolled him over so she was straddling him. "You didn't think this was going to be easy, did you?"
"I would be disappointed if you made it easy…" he said before she started kissing his neck, biting it softly, moving her hands down his body, grazing her nails and leaving red marks in his torso before unzipping his pants as fast as she could, tracing the obvious arousal with her hand making him grunt before slipping them off and throwing them off the bed.
"I would be disappointed if you didn't fight back" her voice turned into a purr in his ear, they finally got rid of their underwear; he looked directly into her eyes, pinned her against the mattress before entering her as fast and has hard as he could, her hands fisting the covers. "Fuck…"
"Such an awful word coming from Miss Uptight Assistant." He mocked her and started to move slowly, she pulled him down for a kiss, and placing her hands on his ass she forced him deeper. "Damn it" he said and bit her again. "You're so…"
"Harder… fuck, harder" she requested digging her nails on his back. "Just do it harder…" he could feel his orgasm building up and just one look at her told him that she was almost there too.
"You've been avoiding it all this time, now I want you to say it!" she pronounced it, but it didn't satisfy him. "Louder!" He pinned her hands against the mattress and thrust harder, pounding harder into her, their breathing and moans, the grunts and whimpers filling the room and escalating with each second that passed. "Scream it for me, Elizabeth!"
"TONY!" the clench of her muscles around him drove him to the edge and before she was able to ride her orgasm down he laced their fingers together and reached his own.