The (unofficial) Avenger's building was not the largest in New York. That did not make it any less imposing. At about a hundred stories tall, the giant steel and glass monolith rose up over Manhattan like a giant temple to all things modern. Built on the bones of an old office building, the structure seemed to glow in the morning light- a sort of beacon of tomorrow. Rose was sure that Mr. Stark had meant for it to be a shining example of what the future could be. It was eco-friendly to the extreme, beautifully designed, and arguably the most secure building on the planet.
The petite blond just felt like it was glaring at her.
She'd taken a three hour train ride into the city, gotten into a fight on the subway, lost her backup inhaler…and now couldn't seem to move past the front door. Running a shaky, pale hand through her pixie cut hair, the blonde fumbled around in her satchel looking for the only inhaler she had left. Her chest wasn't too tight, but she figured being able to breath could only work in her favor. Rose fumbled around in her bag, further wrinkling her already mused pant-suit before finally finding the little blue hunk of plastic. Making a triumphant noise, she thrust her hand into the air, waving the inhaler around before shaking it and shoving it into her mouth. She pressed on it and went to take a breath and…
Empty.
The damn thing was empty.
She gave a half hysterical, wheezy laugh before shoving the useless thing back in her bag.
"Awesome Rose. Just awesome." She mumbled to herself, rubbing her pale, sweaty palms on her baggy pants. "It's only the most important damn interview of your life." In a sudden burst of anxious energy, the petite woman began to pace in front of the large glass doors, blatantly ignoring the looks she was receiving from a small group of tourists taking pictures in front of the building.
"Not only do you look like a twelve year old boy that just got beat up on his way to Junior Prom," the tiny woman gestured angrily at her overly large, tan pant-suit, pausing in her pacing to gingerly touch the bruise forming on her cheek. Taking a breath and resuming her frantic pacing, she continued, "but now we get to sound like a broken, wheezy, SQUEAKY TOY!"
At her shout, the huddle of tourists shot her an assortment of startled looks before clutching their various bags closer to their bodies and shuffling a couple feet away. Rose winced and blushed scarlet before shooting the group a sheepish wave. She received a chorus of suspicious glares in response.
Hunching over slightly, the blonde anxiously picked at the zipper on the front of her bag before scuttling in the opposite direction of the gaggle of sightseers. She'd really be late if someone decided to call the cops because she couldn't get her shit together. Wincing again at the mental image of being tazed by a group of anxious officers (or building security), Rose idly contemplated just going home. Miss Lewis would take one look at her and laugh the tiny, ugly girl out of the building. No one wanted to hire a sickly looking, twig of a girl, with a face suited for radio.
Ironically, it was the self- depreciating, mean thought that finally gave her the push to go into the building. Rose was a lot of things, but a coward wasn't one of them. And she couldn't stand bullies…even if that bully was herself. Tilting her chin up stubbornly, she tugged at her clothes (one last desperate attempt to make the suit less wrinkly… it didn't work, but at least she could console herself with the thought that she'd tried) and marched into the lobby.
And promptly froze again.
It was without a doubt the nicest building she'd ever been in- all sleek lines and shining marble floors. The whole place smelled like expensive coffee (probably from the small coffee counter in the front corner of the lobby) and something sharp- almost citrusy, like high-priced furniture polish. She felt like someone was going to pop up from behind the giant modern front desk and charge her for breathing. Bravado all but forgotten, Rose crept up to the centrally located desk and smiled sheepishly at the first receptionist to catch her eye. The receptionist, a pretty dark-skinned woman with a name-tag that read "Abigail", waved her forward with a pearly, expectant smile. Heart pounding, Rose scuttled forward, shooting Abigail a sheepish grin in response…and then waited.
Rose bit her lip and played with the strap on her bag.
Abigail stared.
Rose could feel herself break out in a cold sweat.
Abigail tucked a long piece of dark hair behind her ear, her smile falling a little.
The blonde tried desperately to keep herself from bouncing in place.
The brunette receptionist raised an inquisitive eyebrow before finally breaking the awkward silence.
"Sir, can I help you?" Abigail asked, her smile considerably dimmer. Rose winced. It wasn't the first time she'd been mistaken for a man, and she doubted it would be the last.
"It's… Ma'am actually. Well, actually, it's Rose Grey. Or Rosie. Most people call me Rosie- actually, no they don't. My friends call me Rosie," Rose paused her anxious rambling, taking in the wide eyed look being shot at her. "Or, well, they'd call me that if I had any friends."
Shut the hell up Rosie! Way to look like a weirdo, you awkward, pistachio flavored fuck-nut!
Smile now noticeably strained, Abigail nodded.
"Right. Okay. I'm here for an interview? With Darcy Lewis?" Rose hedged, scrambling to grab her phone out of her bag so she could show the receptionist her appointment email. Abigail glanced at it quickly before typing into her holographic keyboard. Not a second later her keyboard flashed a sort of minty green color. Looking visibly relieved, Abigail typed a couple more sentences before grabbing a clear plastic card seemingly from nowhere. She popped it under the desk for a second before handing the bit of plastic to the blonde. It now had an HD picture of her face on the front. She hadn't even seen any cameras.
"You don't need to see any ID?" Rose said.
Abigail smirked before making a halfhearted gesture at the ceiling. "The building AI knew your whole history as soon as you stepped within ten feet of the tower. I don't need it."
Rose gaped.
Still smirking, the receptionist gestured behind herself to a line of elevators. "Miss Lewis will be meeting with you on the 88th floor. The elevator will only take you to that floor, and floors one through five which are open to the public. They're all retail space: shops, restaurants, two bars, even a spa."
Rose nodded woodenly, desperately memorizing everything she was being told. Abigail continued. "Please keep your ID with you at all times. It acts as a key to allow you into any permissible room. Good luck with your interview…Ma'am."
Rose nodded again, feeling a little bit like a bobble-head and went to shuffle by the desk before being stopped by a soft hand on her arm. She startled and glanced down before shooting the secretary a questioning look. Abigail glanced over her face quickly before tapping at her own cheek and then gesturing to Rose's.
"You okay there honey?" Abigail said. "You got a little bit of a shiner on your cheek."
Rose winced and idly poked at the throbbing spot on her face. "Yeah, I'm okay." Rose grimaced before giving an awkward thumbs up. "You should see the other guy."
Stop. Don't make jokes. That was almost painful.
Wincing again at her own deadpan inner dialogue, Rose shuffled to the farthest elevator possible, trying to ignore the concerned eyes on her back. Before she could even press the "up" button, the elevator in front of her opened, the light inside flashing the same minty green. Swallowing nervously, the tiny woman quickly stepped into the elevator before shoving herself into the far right corner. As a rule, Rose wasn't fond of elevators. Being surrounded by strangers with no clear way to escape was not her idea of a good time. She could feel herself tense as she waited for a rush of people to follow behind her. However, no sooner had she stepped onto the elevator did the doors close, leaving her alone. There was a small pause, and then the elevator began to rise.
Panicking that the elevator was going to go to some random floor, Rose lunged for the buttons on the elevator, only to stop when she realized the 88th floor was already lit up. Rose blinked.
"Am I going crazy?" She mumbled to herself. "Did I press it on my way in? Did my bag hit it?" She paused "...is the tower haunted?" She side eyed the empty elevator before slowly walking back to her corner. Before she could descend into more anxious rambling, a posh British voice filled the elevator.
"My apologies, Miss Grey. I did not mean to frighten you" Rose was not proud of the high pitched noise that came out of her mouth. "I took the liberty of selecting the correct floor for you. I am JARVIS, the artificial intelligence that runs Stark Tower."
Right. Okay. The building is talking to me…. The furniture better not be sentient too.
Glancing at the ceiling, Rose gave a sheepish wave before responding.
"Its fine- I hear the occasional panic attack is good for your heart." She gave a weak chuckle. "Or is that wine? I can never remember."
"I believe that is wine, Miss." The AI paused before continuing, seemingly hesitant. "Do you need medical attention Miss Grey? I have detected multiple contusions, and we will be stopping by the medical floor shortly."
Rose winced and absent mindedly touched the darkening bruise on her face, pointedly ignoring the other aches on her body. She really wished that she had brought make up with her. The blonde was almost tempted to take the AI up on his offer- lord knows she could use some Tylenol.
Or ice.
Or both.
Probably both.
But…she had an interview. An interview that she had to reschedule because she'd gotten milk shake (and blood) all over her nice dress. She definitely could not reschedule again to get ice for her face. She said as much to JARVIS.
"Very well, Miss Grey. Perhaps afterwards?" She made a noncommittal noise in response, warily watching the numbers on the elevator slow down before stopping on the 76th floor. Before she could comment, and say they were on the wrong floor, the doors opened.
And she came face to face with the two most attractive men she'd ever seen.
The men were apparently joking about something, beautiful grins on their faces, relaxed in the way people are when around someone they love- an almost softness around the edges, like the other's presence made it possible to breath. Their bodies were angled towards one another, shoulders absently brushing against each other in a way that screamed they were used to touching; it was like they were each trapped in the other's orbit.
The taller of the two, a blond, was the first to notice her lurking in the elevator and shot her a congenial nod before gently tapping on his companion and gesturing for the elevator. The shorter one (not that either of them could really be called short- they were both about 6 feet tall. Rose was barely scrapping 5 foot), a brunet shot her a quick glance before abruptly freezing, blue-grey eyes widening in shock and horror as they locked with her own. His blond companion paused in the threshold of the elevator, shooting her a suspicious look before focusing on (what she assumed was) his boyfriend.
Rose felt any fuzzy feelings and romanticized thoughts she had evaporate, her chin raising in stubborn defiance.
Her whole life, Rose had gotten shit about her looks. Being sick her whole childhood (and adulthood) had left her small in every sense. It had also made her socially awkward and generally weak- which painted a huge target on her back for people who thrived on hurting those they perceived as lesser than themselves. She imagined some people would shy away from conflict after that. That they'd want to hide when facing someone bigger than them.
It had only ever made her angry.
As a result, whenever someone bullied her (or bullied someone close to her…or just in her general vicinity), she tended to get in fights. Like a lot of them. At least once a week. However, just because she picked these fights, did NOT mean that she won them. In fact, she kind of got her ass kicked a lot. Her face was a reflection of this (and the fact that some foster parents would not drive you to the hospital for anything less than a stab wound).
She liked to imagine that she could have been pretty if she hadn't been punched so much. As it was, she always looked…off. She wasn't ashamed of standing up for herself- or for other people. She just wished it hadn't left her looking like blonde, anemic road kill.
She also didn't appreciate this asshole staring at her like she was the most horrific thing he'd ever seen. Before she could start cussing out the seemingly insensitive dick, the tall blonde spoke up.
"Buck- you ok? What goin' on?" The brunette blinked rapidly and placed a trembling hand on the blond man's shoulder.
"Steve…Stevie please tell me I'm not hallucinating. Are you seein' somebody in the elevator too?" The blond, apparently "Steve", frowned and glanced at Rose, nodding slowly in obvious confusion. The elevator, apparently tired of waiting to be filled, tried to close on the tall blond.
It was summarily ignored, the door opening again with an angry beep.
Rose was starting to feel confusion creep through the all-consuming chant of "fight me" going on in her head. He thought he was hallucinating? Her chin still raised stubbornly, Rose went to reply to his question before being cut off. Again.
"You're not hallucinating Bucky- there is a man in the elevator." Steve soothed. Rose felt herself flush bright red, while the brunet (apparently "Bucky") relaxed before shooting her a sheepish grin and finally stepping into the elevator.
Mistaken for a man twice in less than an hour. That's a new record.
Somewhat placated (but completely mortified), Rose went to correct their assumption before being cut off by Steve…again. Except this time, he at least appeared to be talking to her.
"My apologies, son. Hope we didn't hold you up too long." She didn't think she could blush any harder. She was wrong. She opened her mouth to correct him (and hopefully end her own humiliation), when Bucky spoke up.
"Yeah…sorry about that. It's just- you looked like this punk," he smacked Steve on the shoulder before absently rubbing the back of his neck (with a fucking metal arm), "when he was a kid. He even had the same suit." Steve shot her a grin, absent mindedly eyeing the ugly, ill-fitting suit she was wearing before chuckling, seemingly in agreement.
Rose scowled, chin tilting up high again before startling when the brunet snapped his fingers and pointed at her.
"You even tilt your chin kind of like he does." He paused, eyeing the bruise on her face and then shooting a glance at the faint ones on her knuckles. "It looks like you pick fights like he did too." Steve scoffed in response.
"Please Buck, I did not pick fights! If anything, fights picked me." Bucky scoffed, about to apparently refute his boyfriend's statement before the blond continued, his navy blue eyes sparkling with mischief. "And everyone knows that I never break the rules Bucky." The apparent cyborg (because HOLY FUCK THAT IS DEFINITELY A METAL ARM) made a high pitched, indignant noise, an irritated flush climbing up his cheeks and ears.
"Steven Grant Rogers that is a damn LIE- you have never followed a rule in your god damn life!" The big blond near cackled, clutching at his pecs while he laughed at his boyfriend's irritation. Rose was feeling decidedly less amused. She knew they weren't intentionally making fun of her- after all, if she was actually a teenage boy (like they seemed to believe) wouldn't she want to grow up to look like Steve? His jawline alone was something some poet would write entire sonnets about. And, on top of his near perfect face, the man was stacked.
However, the fact was that Rose was a woman. A very self-conscious, easily riled woman. A very self-conscious, easily riled woman who'd just been interrupted at least three times.
"I'M NOT A BOY!" The two men froze, shooting her startled looks- whether it was from how loud she'd yelled or the fact that her voice was definitely female, she wasn't sure. Either way, the startled looks quieted down some of the humiliation she was feeling. Voice at a reasonable level, she continued.
"I'm not a boy. I know the suit is…confusing. And I'm not much to look at. But I'm definitely not a boy." She shot them a sheepish grin, running an anxious hand through her hair while eyeing the numbers on the elevator. Two floors left. Indignation now almost completely spent, and now afraid of what the two men would say, Rose defaulted to what she always did when anxious. She babbled.
"And, like, this suit isn't even mine. Well I mean, it is mine- I did buy it. But, like I got into this fight on the subway on the way here and this big guy just punched me right in the face (I think he thought I was a boy too), and I landed on this dude carrying a milkshake and it got all over my only good dress-" She paused to take a breath, willfully ignoring the men's simultaneously amused, confused, and concerned faces, "- and then I was in midtown and everything is so expensive here, so I had to go to a thrift store. But, like, it didn't have any women's business wear in my size. So I had to get this suit from the boy's junior section and it barely fits, but like, I'd already had to reschedule this interview once and I desperately need this job so—" There was a ding and the elevator stopped, finally opening up to the 88th floor. Rose let out a relieved sigh, glancing at her phone before cursing when she realized the time. Clutching at her satchel she darted through the door before all but sprinting down the hallway.
She really hated elevators.
She'd almost made it to the intersection of the hallway, some six doors down, before she backpedaled abruptly to wave frantically at the slowly closing elevator doors. A metal hand shot out and stopped it from closing before two pairs of blue eyes peered out at her, looking confused. The brunet spoke up.
"You forget somethin' doll?" She blushed at the endearment. It was very old school- and usually kind of creepy. But Bucky made it seem so smooth that it was actually almost a power move. It didn't help that the only endearments she'd ever been given were from nurses while she was in the hospital. She felt her words get stuck in her throat for a minute before she pushed through.
"Yes! I just- I'm sorry. For yelling. I know you guys weren't trying to be mean. And the babbling. Which…I'm doin' again." She huffed before about-facing and scuttling away, ignoring the chuckling now coming from the elevator. She then heard a thump, not unlike someone being smack upside the head before someone called out "Hey miss!"- But she couldn't turn back. She was already late…and all the running was making her wheezing worse. So she rushed forward, absently following the signs to door 8828.
When she finally found the right door, Rosie had to pinch herself to see if she was dreaming. The entire floor was very modern- marble floors, tasteful neutral colors, shiny espresso doors framed by frosted windows.
All except for 8828.
Like the other doors, it had the number in shiny silver right in the middle. That's where the similarities ended. For starters, the damn thing was an electric, neon blue. And glittery. While the other doors had names like "Dr. John Wilson, PhD" and "Mrs. Carrie Carlisle MD, PhD"- this one had a list of titles that stretched halfway down the door. It read: "Darcy of the house of Lewis, First of her Name, Queen of the Labs, Lightning Sister, Wielder of Betty, Breaker of Chains (and Faces), Mother of Pedro the Dog". All of this was done in sparkly, silver paint. Below it, seemingly scratched in sharpie, was the name "Sailor Moon".
This is either going to be the greatest interview I've ever had, or I'm about to wake up in a Mental Hospital.
Swallowing her nerves, Rose hesitantly knocked on the door. There was a pause before a high, somewhat nasally voice called her to enter- "if she dared". Now thoroughly amused, Rose pushed into the room- and promptly swallowed her tongue.
Sweet baby Jesus that's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.
For once, Rose agreed with the snide voice in her head. Darcy Lewis was beyond gorgeous. Sitting in her rolling chair, hands tucked underneath her chin like an old school Bond villain, the brunette looked like some kind of mischievous angel. Her skin was almost glowing porcelain in the morning light, a beautiful contrast to her dark, raven colored hair, placed in a messy bun on the top of her head. Navy colored eyes laughed at her from behind large, pink glasses perched on the end of her almost dainty nose. When she sat forward to place her hands on her knick-knack covered desk, the blonde felt her eyes get unwillingly drawn to the brunettes (bodacious) chest.
I guarantee that no one mistakes her for a man. Ever.
Rose swallowed thickly. She'd never been attracted to a woman before but holy shit. The snide voice in her head was quiet- probably knocked unconscious by the sheer beauty of the woman in front of her.
Then Darcy smiled, red lips parting to reveal a charming gap in her teeth.
The blonde felt all of the blood in her body rush to her head. She kind of felt like she was having a religious experience. She made a strangled squeak, clapping both hands to her burning face. The brunette, now snickering, gestured to the chair in front of her desk.
"You wanna sit down kid? You look like you're about to faint." Rose nodded faintly, floating to sit down in the chair.
If she asked me to bark like a dog, I'd just ask her the damn breed.
The brunette, still hopelessly amused, pulled out a tablet and began rapid cycling through it before stopping abruptly, a low, pleased sound escaping her.
Rose whimpered. Darcy asked her a question- and it went right over her head.
Holy shit! You tiny blonde moron! This is not the time to have a crisis about your sexuality! The guys in the elevator were just as hot and you didn't have any trouble yelling at them! Pay attention to the lady who might be your boss- assuming your dumb ass doesn't fuck everything up!
Swallowing again, and doing her best to focus, Rose sat up from where she'd slumped in her chair and tried to put on her best "I'm a professional, I swear" face.
Darcy stared at her.
….you fucking idiot she asked you a question.
Right.
"I'm sorry- could you repeat that?" Darcy laughed out right.
"I asked if you were ok- you look kind of like a skinny, terrified puppy. Like, I have to physically stop myself from giving you scritches. You're adorable." Rose tried not to swoon.
"I'm fine!" Her voice gave an embarrassing crack before she wheezed breathlessly. Darcy snorted inelegantly.
That was the grossest noise a person can make and she still did it beautifully.
"Whatever you say dude- I love the suit by the way. Very Katherine Hepburn." Rose felt her blush abruptly turn into a bright, beaming smile. She loved Katherine Hepburn. Really, she loved any of the original leading ladies. She suddenly felt less ugly- a true rarity in her life. Feeling somewhat less intimidated, the blonde gave Darcy a small thank you, idly playing with the straps on her bag. Darcy winked in reply before spinning her chair in a circle and then stopping, popping her lips in thought.
"So, Katherine, what brings you to my lair?" The blonde shot her a confused look.
"Its…Rose? And I have an interview for an assistant position?" The brunette rolled her eyes.
"I know that- but you look like more of a Katherine. What with the suit and the 'I definitely got into a fight on my way here' look". Rose blushed and poked at the bruise on her cheek again. Hit with a sudden boost of courage she replied.
"You should see the other guy." Darcy cackled, slapping her desk.
"Really? Oh, now you have to tell me the story. All of it. I want details." Still blushing, but now smiling too, Rose decided to humor her.
"Ok so, you should know that today was my first time on the subway. In New York anyways- I've been on the one in DC. Which, like, they're both disgusting-"Darcy scoffed in agreement "-but I think New York wins. The seats are gross- and I was wearing this really cute pink dress and I didn't want to get anything nasty on it. So I decided to stand." Rose took a breath before continuing, eyeing the brunette in front of her anxiously.
"Then, like two stops before this one, this creepy guy gets on and stands like, right in front of me. Then, like, a million other people get on, including this adorable teenage girl- she couldn't have been more than 14." The brunette frowned. She had somewhat of an idea where this story was going and she was not here for it.
"Well, the girl ends up squished against creepy asshole's-"Rose paused and cleared her throat. "I mean creepy dude's front." Darcy snickered and replied.
"You can say asshole. I'm pretty sure I said worse shit fresh out of fleeing my mother's womb." Rose laughed loudly before slapping and hand over her mouth in embarrassment.
Laugh louder you idiot. I'm pretty sure people on the ground floor didn't hear you.
Darcy seemed un-phased, waving a brightly manicured hand at her to continue.
"So, we get to the next stop and we brake really hard- which like, I don't know if you've seen me, but I'm not exactly a bastion of muscular strength." Darcy snorted. "So, I fall into him. And he drops his phone. And I realized that he'd been taking pictures up under this teenage girl's skirt." Darcy perked up in her chair, looking kind of like a bloodhound on a scent.
"Please tell me you hurt him in some way. Like, I would have tazed him until his balls fried off." The blonde gave her a crooked half smile.
"I shoved him and asked him what the fu-" Darcy gave her an encouraging nod, silently telling her to 'curse away' "fuck he was doing. He realized he'd been caught red handed, whipped around, and punched me in the face." The brunette pointed to the bruise on her face. Rose nodded.
"Yup. Knocked me over. I landed on a guy carrying some sort of fast food- with a milkshake. Ruined my dress. Hence the whole 'boy on his way to Junior Prom' outfit." Darcy cackled again, before waving her on.
"Right, well, I guess he was hoping I'd stay down because he didn't move very far away from me. Jokes on him. I've been hit in the face a lot." Rose gestured at her face as if to say 'yup that's why I look like hamburger meat'. "So, I popped right back up, crouched a little, and punched him in the nuts." Now laughing helplessly, Darcy wheezily asked if that was it. Rose shook her head.
"Nope. The guy was pretty pissed off, so he didn't go down. Instead he like, lunges at me like he's going to choke me or something- but this teenage girl finally starts paying attention and sees this phone with creepy pics on it, sees the guy, and put two and two together. He's so busy reaching for me that he's not protecting his 'man meat'…so she whips off her back pack and slams it right between his legs!" Rose slapped her hands together for effect before finishing. "I've never seen a man drop so fast let me tell you." The blonde started to snicker, happily listening to the brunette's continued laughter. "To add insult to injury, she dropped the bag on his head. Knocked him the hell out." At that Darcy completely lost it, smacking at her desk and wiping at the tears of laughter leaking from her eyes. It was a solid minute before she managed to calm down. She shot Rose an assessing look before a wide grin broke across her face. Rose tried not to swoon. Again.
"Right, Katherine, I'm hiring you. Congrats on being my new science minion." Rose gaped.
"That's it? I mean, you don't have any other questions for me? You're not going to tell me what the job is?" Darcy blew her a raspberry.
"Nope. No questions. I mean, Tony basically gave me your whole life story-" Rose felt herself pale abruptly. Her past looked more like a medical record than a biography. "-and besides your like, weirdly long list of allergies, I don't have any questions. You're also super qualified, and you only looked at my tits for like, a solid thirty seconds. The only person to beat that is Captain America…though I'm not entirely sure I just haven't caught him at it." Rose gaped, before shooting her a tremulous smile.
"And the position? It just said 'assistant' in the ad." Darcy scrunched up her face oddly before idly touching her wrist, seemingly tracing a metallic looking arrow tattoo.
"Right, well I have a lot more responsibility recently. I used to just manage the labs, but now I'm doing social media stuff for the Team along with this kind of 'family' gig that just sort of…fell into my lap. So to speak." The curvaceous woman flapped her hands again, seemingly waving the topic away. "Anyways, I need some help keeping organized and handling paperwork and shit. A peripheral brain. And someone not afraid to stand up to…strong personalities." She shot the blond a considering look. "You don't look like much, but I've got a good feeling about you."
Rose felt herself glow.
This….
This was the first time in her life someone had looked at her and not seen everything wrong with her. Had listened to her speak and, instead of wanting her to just "shut up already", had even encouraged her talking. Darcy Lewis, this beautiful, funny, clearly successful woman- saw something. In her. Rose had never had a friend before. She was too sick. Too weird. Too odd looking. But, she decided, she was going to be the best friend- the best assistant that Darcy had ever had. Sitting up proudly in her chair, Rose stuck her thin, pale hand out and shook Darcy's much softer, manicured one.
"I won't let you down Miss Lewis. I'll take it." Darcy beamed smugly before abruptly standing and walking around the desk, pausing at the door.
"I knew you would, minion. Come on. We have a shit ton of paper work to get through. How soon can you start?" Rose scrambled to follow her, all but bouncing with nervous energy.
"I mean I have to find an apartment-" Darcy waved her off.
"Don't bother. There are guest apartments in the tower. Besides, we're only here for a little while anyways. We're moving full time to the compound soon." Rose stammered out a thanks, following the brunette as she power walked down the hall towards the elevators. Darcy was tall.
Compared to who? You? You're like the size of an Oompa Loompa. You've been asked to join the Lollipop guild on numerous occasions.
Rose tried not to scowl at her inner voice. It was right. She was short as hell. Darcy couldn't have been more than 5'6".
Something besides her height was bothering her though. They'd made it to the elevator before Rose got the courage to speak again.
"Hey, Miss Lewis?" Darcy hummed absent mindedly, distractedly telling her to call her Darcy. Or Supreme Overlord. Whichever. "Right. Darcy. What did you mean by compound?" She paused, another thought occurring to her.
"And what did you mean by team?"
Darcy guffawed.
"Ooooh boy- Rosie Posy…You are going to be in for a hell of a shock. It's going to be a wild ride." With a ding, the elevator arrived and Darcy quickly stepped in, dragging the concerned blonde in by the lapel of her jacket.
"Please keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times….And try not to drool too much." Rose gulped.
Was it too late to change her mind?