A/N: Welcome, welcome to chapter two! Exciting, isn't it?! No? Just me then...
Disclaimer: ...nup. Still not mine.
Stuff & Nonsense - Chapter Two
The older woman's grey eyes narrowed at Darcy sitting primly in the lightly padded chair as she picked up her resume again. Darcy crossed her legs at the ankle, channelling lessons from the Princess Diaries as opposed to Basic Instinct. Her inner voice conjured up an upper class accent from some BBC period drama, 'Darce is all class.' Her full lips pulled into an grin at her rhyme.
Ill-timed grin, it seemed, as her interviewer (Janet? Judy?) chose that moment to look up from her brightly coloured resume.
"So, Ms Lawson," she began with a touch of frost, "What would you bring to the public relations team at Jotunn?"
Darcy's lips twisted. Don't say class. Don't say class.
Janet/Judy pursed her lips and began to scratch something on her resume. "I believe I would bring approachability to Jotunn," Darcy forced out. Maybe a little loudly, seeing as the older woman dropped her pen in fright.
"Yes? How so?" Recovering quickly, a spark of interest flared in Janet/Judy's eyes encouraged Darcy's next words.
"Jotunn is a world class security firm, and has built itself up very quickly over the last two years." Janet/Judy nodded in agreement. "But what it does not have is a public image. Not a recognisable one. Not yet, anyway."
Darcy smiled again. Less creepy and more professional-like hopefully this time. "I'd like to be apart of the team that changes that, and helps to unleash Jotunn's full potential upon the nation."
Her interviewer looked surprised. Darcy didn't take offence. Most people underestimated her, and she had no issues with taking advantage. The interview seemed to go a lot smoother after that. Darcy was attempting not to fist-pump and yell, "BOO-YAH!" every time she made Janet/Judy chuckle or nod in agreement. It was not that sort of interview.
Finishing the interview with a handshake and a promise to be in contact, Margaret (where the heck did she get Janet/Judy from?) walked her to the floor's reception desk. They were twenty four floors up, almost smack bang in the middle of the skyscraper Jotunn Secure called home. Her interviewer left her to her own devices and Darcy slowly walked over to the floor to ceiling window opposite the reception desk. It showed a fantastic view of the city, Jane's office/lab had those frosted windows that obviously covered up the fact that their view was of another building's windows. But, here, the view was fantastic. And she would bet that higher up would be better.
Darcy covertly swept her eyes across the near empty foyer and seeing no one heading for the lifts, she casually tapped her way over and pressed the up button. With a gentle 'bing' one of the three lifts opened and she slipped inside, pounding on the highest number without a key hole then the close doors button. "Move it, buster!" She muttered and the doors slid closed. She hummed to herself as the lift rose to the fifty-eighth floor. The doors opened to a very quiet foyer, smaller than the one she left, with a shiny, black marbled floor and clean white walls with the occasional piece of bright artwork. Where there were no walls, windows opened out magnificent views of New York, floor to ceiling again. Conscious of the echo of her heels, Darcy tip toed her way to the main windows, looking only slightly ridiculous as she wobbled her way on the balls of her feet across the very clean floor.
She gasped as she looked out. What a cool place to work in. All so modern, and clean with non-frosty windows- "May I help you?"
Darcy jumped and whirled around, swiftly loosing her balance and reaching out a hand to steady herself. The young man frowned at her and she plucked her hand off the previously fingerprint free window. "Ah, sorry about that. I was just-"
"Stop scaring the poor woman, James. Everyone needs to stare out a window once in a while."
The young man, James, turned to a man who personified 'Tall, Dark and Handsome'. Darcy felt her jaw drop. And a little drool gather. A few seconds passed as TD&H turned his bright green eyes over in her direction. In slow motion. The music swelled.
Blink. And again. Like a normal person, Darce.
Good girl.
Oh, that's right. Breathe in, and out.
Repeat.
"And the view here is pretty arresting," he continued in his smooth, accented voice, gazing at Darcy, a mischievous twitch pulling at his lovely mouth.
Oops. Forgot that breathing thing again.
TD&H strode over on long legs and held out a hand. "Loki Laufeyson." Darcy remembered to shut her mouth before smiling in return and taking his warm hand in hers. "Dar-Dana Lawson." Shit. Cover almost blown at the first hurdle. Wait, did he say-
"Loki Laufeyson? As in, in charge of Jotunn, Loki Laufeyson?"
"That's me." He looked entirely too pleased with himself. "So what brings you to my office today, Dana?"
Darcy's stomach dropped. "Oh, shit. I'm sorry! It's just, I just came for an interview and I was thinking, 'Wow, if this is the view from the middle of the building-'"
"- it must be even better from higher up?" Loki finished.
"I really didn't know this was your office! Sorry, dude- I mean-" Agh! She mentally face palmed, "Mr Laufeyson."
"Loki, please."
"Loki," she grinned up at him, cheeks growing warm. And blotchy. Hoorah. "Well, now that I've blown my job prospects out of the water, I'll get going. Back to the office with the view of more offices..."
She pointed towards the lifts with a thumb and backed up casually, but couldn't stop her eyes doing the scan thing. And the customary check of the left hand. Ring free! Yes! Fuck! Stop eye molesting the CEO of Jotunn. Not that he seemed to mind too much. That boy was not thinking of rainbows and unicorns. Oh, no sirree...
Good thing the lift was ready to go. Darcy leapt inside with as much grace as she could muster (nearly breaking an ankle in the process) and turned for one last glance at the man who looked nothing like his brother. Well, he was adopted, apparently. Big scandal, blah blah. Changing his surname, blah blah. Leaving the family business, blah. But it was funny how there never seemed to be any photos of the guy. He was a celebrity hacker, and hot, after all. Darcy would think with Thor being the playboy he used to be, Loki would jump on the celebrity bandwagon too. Maybe do a Stark. He certainly had the money. And the looks. Boy, those looks.
Speaking of, Darcy's ideal, yet completely unattainable, TD&H was watching her leave. Squeal! He noticed her! In a sexy way! Well, maybe she shouldn't get ahead of herself, it might just be a 'let's just be sure that the crazy fingerprinty woman leaves and never returns' way. She'd prefer the first, but would settle for the second. Whatever. He still noticed her.
The doors closed and she sagged against the lift wall, fanning herself. Then she widened her legs, leaned over, and fanned up her skirt.
Eh, she'd never pass for a lady anyways.
Loki Laufeyson's life needed a bit of spicing up. Possibly not in the same way as it was two years ago, no way in hell did he need that sort of drama again, but recently he found he just wasn't having fun anymore. Well, work was fine. Great, in fact. Really great. But as much as he enjoyed the company of his employees, and the success of his business, there was that invisible barrier that stopped him from relaxing completely. So when the paperwork for several job offers, including one to a certain 'Dana Lawson' came across his desk, he didn't bother holding back a very naughty smile. Loki was incorrigible in his younger days, playing cat and mouse with some very influential people.
They were, obviously, the mice.
His hacking skills and his semi-public reveal several years ago had earned him the nickname 'Silver Tongue' - the one man able to talk his way out of what could have been a very lengthy prison stay. His powers of persuasion had also helped immensely when he began Jotunn Secure. He knew his adopted father's business backwards and felt no guilt abandoning the man he used to call brother to his own devices. It was Odin's fault anyway. Who doesn't tell the child he raised he was adopted until he was thirty one years old? Thirty one! No wonder he was never considered as CEO for Asgard; Thor had that in the bag from the moment he first stepped into his father's building.
But that was firmly in the past. Now, Loki Laufeyson (taking the name of one of Odin's former business rivals - the one that eventually had Odin shifting his entire family and fortune across the Atlantic - pissed off his former father and satisfied himself no end) was successfully stealing Asgard's clients and business prospects with the future looking bright.
But bugger it if he wasn't bored.
Dana Lawson had been playing on his mind on and off since he found her leaving fingerprints all over his reception's windows. He scoffed at himself after she left, thinking she was everything that he shouldn't want. She was too short, too curvy, too potty mouthed, too cheeky, and, looking at the notes attached to her job offer for his eyes only, way too clever.
But she wasn't boring.
He knew that if he wanted this woman, there was no way in hell he should be employing her, let alone googling her name- Stop! Holy crap, he was slightly appalled at himself. But at the same time, the adrenaline dump he was hit over the head with at the thought of having her in the same building as him brought him back to the good old j0tunn days.
Bugger it. He signed his approval. She starts on Monday.