CHAPTER FIVE

( THE STUPIDEST LUCK )

"YEAH, I'M GETTING ready for the interview right now, mom," January hisses to her mother over the phone. She had gotten home around one-thirty in the morning, drunk off her ass. The alcohol really didn't hit her until she was in the cab, not talking to anyone. She was rocking a killer headache and her mother's trill voice was enough to make her want to punch a wall. Of course, she didn't tell her mother she went out last night, her mother would be mortified, or worse she'd actually fly to California and literally kill her. It was a miracle that she actually got up this morning to prepare for the interview.

However, because of how crucial it was for her to get the job and seal the deal, her stomach wouldn't stop churning, plus with the alcohol leaving her system, there was a high probability she was going to vomit. Her hand shakily reached for her eyeliner, only to stop when she saw her hands shaking. She huffs out a puff of air, trying to steady her nerves. "You sound nervous, honey," her mother coos over the phone. Although most people may take it as a sign of a caring mother January took it as disingenuous. She knew how her mother operated, she knew she would give anything to bring her back home so she could analyze every part of her life. "It's a little nerve-wracking, it's a big company -"

"That promotes death!" her father's voice rings in the background. It was obvious that he was listening in on the conversation. "I thought you were into that dad, being a red-blooded conservative," January retorts while leaning in towards the mirror to pick the imperfections of her face, specifically her eyebrows. "Not when my daughter is on the line," he replies gruffly, forcing January to roll her eyes. He had always been protective of her, after all, she was his only daughter. His little flower. "Okay, well it's either work for a weapons manufacturing company or starve," she states. "Or you could come back home!" her mother is quick to reply in a cherry voice.

"Yeah, with your degree you could work anywhere you'd want," her father chimes in, sounding equally as excited. A job like this in Wisconsin? Not likely. Unless she was working for the Packers - they really weren't famous for anything besides them and even that was iffy. "Yeah? Like where?" January asks, her voice sounding monotone. Her father grunts as he thinks. "Anywhere. The insurance agency, the vet office, the police department -"

"And all those would be good for me and my degree, how? Do you even know what I majored in?"

The line is silent for a while. She had officially stumped her parents with a simple and obvious question that most parents should know. "Advertising?" her father's voice sounded unsure. She was the youngest of four children, of course, they'd forget. "Public relations," she hisses out. Although they appeared to be over-loving, nurturing parents they didn't even make an appearance at her graduation due to her brother, Conan, getting in a little trouble with the fuzz. That was more important than watching her walk up to the dean and nabbing her diploma, more important than the years and money she spent learning about what she wanted to do most. January considered them to be neglectful at times, which came with the territory of being the youngest.

"Public relations!" her mother exclaims as if she had known all along and was just testing her, however her father grunts in disapproval. "What's that again?" he questions, making January groan internally. It wasn't like she had already told them several times. As she opens her mouth to speak her mother quickly answers him in a hushed tone. "She deals with celebrities and their drama in the magazines," her mother reminds her father in a scolding manner. January can't help but slide her hand down her face out of frustration. "That's not what I do," she tries to clarify but her father talks over her. "I don't see the problem here, you have very good relations with the public over here. Are you saying that's not adequate for you? That you'd rather work for a hot-shot celebrity?"

January hesitates for a moment, letting her father's words sink in before she slowly answers, "Yes,"

She knew the longer she waited to answer the question the more ridiculous he sounded for not knowing how her industry worked. "That's what my degree is for,"

"Lousy, degree," her father harrumphs. January pinches the bridge of her nose in irritation. "And that's not what a publicist does. I handle people's livelihoods. I manage their schedules, who speaks to who, I give out statements when they don't want to -"

"So you're a glorified assistant?" he grumbles. Once again January restrains herself from lashing out at her father. It wasn't her fault that they didn't go to college, nor did any of her brothers, they wouldn't completely understand. It's enough to make her headache with frustration, something she didn't need at the moment as she prepared for her interview. "Well, this has been a super encouraging conversation to have before my big interview. Hopefully, I won't bomb it and have all of my dreams crushed," she says sarcastically over the line.

"What a shame that'd be," her father retorts. She can feel her blood start to bubble up as her hopes were quickly starting to wither away. She wouldn't let him discourage her, that's exactly what he wanted. "Oh, stop," she hears her mother cluck over the phone. "Jan, baby, you're going to do great. We love you bunches," her mother's cheery voice drones over the receiver making it sound fuzzy, especially when she fakes kissing sounds into the receiver. January sticks out her tongue in disgust before bidding her parents farewell.

January sucks in a deep gulp of air as she grabs ahold of the edge of her sink, phone clattering to the floor. Her hands were shaking and her knees felt weak like they were going to give in at any time. Her mind becomes violently fuzzy as she felt her stomach lurch forward. Not only was she hungover but the nerves that she was triggering for this interview seemed to be causing her stomach to flop. She groans in agony as she steadies herself to stand up. Her face was paler than usual. As long as she didn't feel this way while at the interview she would be fine. It was all in her head anyway, at least that's what she tried to convince herself it was. There was no way she was going to vomit after getting her makeup all done for this.

Below, Jiji brushes up against her legs, mewing loudly. January slaps herself mentally as she stares down at the small cat, of course, she had forgotten to feed Jiji in all this mess. "I'm sorry, pookie," she tuts in a baby voice, picking the cat up in her arms and holding her like an infant. The cat quickly squirms out of her hands, scratching her chest in the process. January hisses in pain, as she follows the cat out of the bathroom. If the pain wasn't a wake-up call to stop moping around, then nothing would help.

"Mommy's going to be gone for a little while," she coos at the cat, as she fills a cup full of food, causing Jiji to howl in excitement. "Just don't get into any trouble," she states, filling her bowl up. January places a light kiss on the top of her head (or at least attempts to as the cat squirms to get to her food), before giving her one last look as she heads out the door.

~ BOOK ONE: IRON MAN ~

THINGS ARE DIFFERENT this time around as she comes in for her interview. Instead of just sitting out in the lobby, the receptionist guides her down into a room - presumably a meeting room - where she's instructed to wait until Pepper comes. The room is certainly darker than Pepper's office, however, she only assumed that was because of the dark interior and the lack of windows. All the way down the table, sitting perched upon a wall was a flat-screen TV. It was new. Something she would only see in movies that portrayed someone as poor but still make enough money to live in Manhattan and afford a flat-screen TV. Other than that, the meeting room felt lifeless. There were bookshelves to her right, but those were just for decor purposes and not for actual reading or fact-finding she assumed. Everything about the building seemed a little pretentious to her. Whether it be the newfound tech or the overly expensive decorations that she wished she could afford.

She jumps in surprise as she hears the door open, her heart starting to beat faster as she's greeted by Pepper. Although she looks like she's been through hell, like she had just got done yelling at people, she still manages to straighten her posture and display a welcoming smile as she rests her gaze upon January.

"Miss Jenner, how are you today?" she greets, extending her hand once again for her to take. January quickly and discreetly brushes the palm of her hand off on her skirt to wipe off the nervous sweat before encasing her hand with Pepper's. "I'm good. You as well?" she questions, trying to make her voice sickeningly sweet.

"Oh, I'm great," she forces herself to say with a clenched jaw. A clear sign that she was upset. January narrows her eyes at her in confusion before shrugging it off and giving her an awkward smile. "Before we start, we have to wait for Mister Stark," Pepper breathes out, hoping it would come across as sincere but she can detect a sense of dread (almost exhaustion) in her voice. "Oh," January quickly mumbles before following Pepper's lead and sitting back down in her chair.

"Don't worry, he's not as intimidating as you think he is," Pepper forces out a smile as if she actually had to say that to calm her nerves. It didn't help. All January could do was nervously chuckle as she looked down at the table. Across the way, she could see the Pepper clearly had her resume and a manila folder. The resume looked fairly clean with the exception of a few remarks on the side for her. She wondered if Pepper had written those down as good notes or if they were ripping on her lack of experience. January's confidence started to shrink smaller and smaller with each passing second. She just wanted to curl up into a ball in the chair and hideaway.

Although she knew she was fighting for this position. She had to make herself stand out more than the other contenders for the job. "So," January starts, her voice barely audible until she clears her throat again, catching Pepper's attention. "How have you been? Do anything fun last night?" she questions the assistant, who merely perks a questionable brow up at her. This must be the first time someone's ever asked her how she was instead of Tony Stark. "I've been fine. I went to a Zumba class last night," Pepper answers.

"Is it fun?"

Pepper shrugs her shoulders with a small smile on her face, "It's a workout, that's for sure,"

"What about you? Do you work out?" Pepper asks, feeling more relaxed now. January lets out a small chuckle, "I haven't in a while. But I was on my high school swim team,"

"I see that," Pepper hums out. "It's on your resume. You won state for freestyle," she plucks out the piece of paper that has her achievements on it. "Why'd you stop?"

"Oh, you know," January sighs out. "Parents couldn't afford my coach and then I went to college,"

"No scholarships offered?" Pepper questions, genuinely curious. January shakes her head, "None worth the time."

Pepper inhales a deep hiss of breath. "I'm sorry it didn't work out for you. You might've gone to the Olympics," she replies in a pitiful voice. January sighs in agreement, however, she really didn't care for swimming. The countless times she got swimmers ear, waking up at five in the morning to go under the brisk pool water, never did amount to winning state. January opens her mouth to reply but the door bursts open with a new - yet vaguely familiar face. The man, who she could only assume was Tony Stark, had large circles under his eyes from a restless night of sleep, his hair was somewhat messy from what she could only assume was a quick run-through of a brush. He looked exhausted. But familiar. Not only had she seen him on television before, but she had seen him somewhere else.

Her eyes drift towards his facial hair and then it all comes slamming back into her mind at a million miles a second. This was her chivalrous, mystery man last night. But how didn't she recognize him last night? Was she really that drunk? Her jaw plops open slightly as his eyes connect with hers. "Miss Jenner, I'd like you to meet Mister Stark," Pepper's voice alerts her of what's going on, however it felt distant. "Oh my god," she whispers out under her breath.

She could feel her hands becoming shaky as she watches him approach the table, his eyes riddled with visible confusion. "Huh!" he gasps out befuddled as he goes to take a seat. She can feel her cheeks warming up with embarrassment. Time to chalk this interview up as a failure already. Tony cracks open a small pill bottle from in his pocket, dumping a couple of creamy colored tablets in his hand - unmistakably ibuprofen for his hangover.

"I know you said our paths would cross again but I didn't take it literally and so soon," he finally speaks up, confirming January's worst nightmare. Pepper looks between the two who continued to gaze at each other in confusion. "You two know each other?" she questions, her voice slightly rising an octave. January is the first to immediately drop out of the trance to answer, "No." Just as Tony shortly answers with a, "Yes."

This only caused Pepper's face to become more contorted with confusion just as January's cheeks become hot with embarrassment. "We met last night at The Capital," he quickly answers Pepper's question. "This was the second interview you were celebrating?" he asks with a slight smirk of disbelief on his lips. January wants to roll her eyes but she refrains. Pepper clears her throat gaining her attention. "So, did anything happen...?" she trails off as she points between the two with the pen in her hand. This causes January to blush violently.

"Oh no! He just bought me a shot and kept me company for a bit," she tries to explain in as little detail as possible, ensuring her with a sweet smile. "Her friend abandoned her, I was her knight in shining armor," he comments, leaning back in his seat. "Can I see her file?" he asks, reaching front of Pepper and grabbing her resume and whatever notes she had put in the folder. It takes a moment for Pepper to even register what was happening but, she easily relaxes into a forced smile. "Well, lucky you, meeting the star of the company already -"

Pepper can't even finish her sentence before Tony begins to blurt out whatever he's thinking. "Your name is January?" he questions, brows furrowing. "Is this real or did you change it when you moved out here for like a stage name for the limelight...or the red light district -"

"It's my actual name," she interrupts with a soft chuckle of nervousness. "It was my grandmother's name," she informs him, causing him to perk his brows up in astonishment. "Got any siblings? February, March, April?" he teases in a monotone voice that makes January think he isn't joking. Meanwhile, Pepper rests her head in her hands while whispering out a low, "Oh my god."

"I do," January answers honestly. "All brothers - not named after the months of the year." she clarifies. Tony hums at the answer as he puts the file back down on the table, meeting her gaze. It was as if he were analyzing her for flaws. Pepper takes this moment to take in a deep inhale and collect her thoughts as she turns to January. "So do you have much experience in this -"

"You have animal fur on your blouse," Tony points out, talking over Pepper which ultimately frustrates her. January glances down at her blazer to notice the white fur attached to her. Of course, Jiji's fur got on her when she held her this morning. "What do you have? A golden retriever? A yellow lab? Samoyed?" he begins to list off.

"Close," she smirks. "A cat,"

"You're a cat person?" he sounds amazed at this point as if she had thrown a wrench into his thoughts. She nods her head as she watches him relax back down to a leaning position. "Makes sense you look like your self reliant, independent, you don't take shit from people," he comments, making January think that this wasn't even about the interview. It wasn't. This was about their unorthodox meeting last night. "Uh," she hums out not sure of whether she can take it as a compliment.

"Never been a big fan of cats. Maybe I can change," his tone is soft but she knows where this is leading. He had tried to hit on her last night. He was doing the same now in a professional setting. January didn't know whether to applaud him for having the balls to do it or be offended since this was supposed to be a serious interview. "Tony! Please," Pepper raises her voice as if she were warning him to be on his best behavior. "Please tell me I don't smell bourbon on your breath," she warns him in a low tone that was supposed to be hushed but January could still make it out. Bourbon? This early in the day? She quickly pegged him to be quite the alcoholic which would explain why he could hold his own last night.

"January, do you have experience in this field?" Pepper sighs out, obviously over her frustration from Tony. "Well, no, but I did graduate from college with the degree and I'm a fast learner. I can handle anything that's thrown at me," January answers, totally ignoring Tony's presence as he was there to only serve as a distraction. "I can tell," she says under her breath. "And if we were to hit you, you do have reliable transportation? It's vital, just in case you need to actually go out and find the source of whatever is being said about Mister Stark,"

"Yes," she answers, almost robotically. So far this has been easy for her. "And do you have a problem with people being rude -"

She can't even finish her sentence before Tony starts speaking once again. "I'm going to say something that could cause a potential lawsuit for sexual harassment -"

"Oh, god, Tony please don't," Pepper begs him, closing her eyes tightly as January turns her attention to the renowned billionaire, intrigued. He hesitates for a moment as he meets her gaze, lingering on her for more than just a few moments. January wants to shift uncomfortably in his gaze but she challenges him as if she was waiting for him to say something stupid.

"I'm going to marry you one day."

She didn't expect it to be that stupid. Or bold. Her mind draws a blank as she furrows her brows in confusion. Did he really just say that. Maybe she just misheard him. Judging by Pepper hiding her face behind her hands, she definitely didn't misunderstand him. "What?" she asks in a soft tone, hoping for some reason she was wrong. The smirk on his face only grows as he continues to look at her.

"Miss Jenner, I'm so sorry, he gets like this when he's drunk," Pepper apologizes on behalf of the billionaire, giving her hand a tight squeeze with her own before turning back to her boss. "Tony that was so uncalled for," she hisses at him, only to watch him chuckle. "No I'm serious," he affirms as he takes his gaze off of Pepper and returns it to January's unsure eyes. "I have never been wrong about something in my entire life. Comes with the genius territory and good looks and being handsomely wealthy,"

January bites down on her bottom lip as she realizes that he only wants his ego stroked. Maybe watching her feel uncomfortable made him happy. "Mm," January hums as she shrugs her shoulders. She looks directly into his eyes, a fire burning behind them as she's never felt this frustrated before. She had been sexualized by strange men before but none of them had ever straight up said they were going to make her their wide.

"Well, it looks like you're going to be wrong Mister Stark," she jeers, the tiniest smirk playing on her lips as he returns it. This was just fun banter to him. Making comments like that was just for his mere amusement. "Can we continue please?" Pepper desperately tries to get this interview back on track. "Tony, I'm just going to need you to please be quiet for a couple more minutes,"

"No we don't need to continue, she's hired," he boldly states. January's heart stops dead in her chest, a nervous sweat building up on the back of her neck. She was sure he couldn't just do that, although he was the owner of the company. There was no way. However, instead of asking the right questions she joins Pepper in a very confused, "What?"

Tony clears his throat as he picks through the manila envelope once again, rereading her file as he begins to list off why she's the perfect candidate for the position. "Your background check came in clear, you have a master's in this area of expertise. You don't have any experience but I think you're a fast learner. You pass the test," he says breathlessly as if he were actually giving her good news. He turns to Pepper with a deadpan look. "She's my publicist," he states, pointing to her with the manila file.

Pepper pats him on the shoulder, sharing the same confused face as January. "I don't think you're thinking this through with your head,"

January dares to nod her head in agreement. "Yeah me neither," she speaks up.

"You don't have a say, you're unemployed," he states his gaze never leaving Pepper's glare, causing her narrow her eyes at him as if she were insulted. "Yes, Pep, I'm thinking this through in my head and it feels right -"

"Which head? Because you basically just proposed to a woman you just met when you have a girlfriend," Pepper criticizes, frustration filling her voice. January watches as he anxiously taps the folder on the desk numerous times. She could actually see the wheels in his head-turning. It didn't matter if he was drunk or sober, he still had an intelligent look to him. She almost feels embarrassed as he turns and catches her staring at him. "I retract the proposal statement for now, but the offer still stands," he notes.

January couldn't tell if that was an apology or if it was just another bold statement. He turns back to Pepper, who ultimately looks like she wants to quit from how angry she was. "I want her." he simply states once again, his tone unwavering as he challenges his assistants glare. After a moment, Pepper sighs as she swivels back around to face January. Tony's word was law, no matter how stupid it was. "When can you start?"