This is where the story starts properly. I've planned everything in my head, whether it turns out that way is a different story. Enjoy!
P.S. I have no idea if I'm naming actual job titles, I'm pretty much just stringing fancy words together and putting them into Wikipedia to see if I get anything. Pretty much the same with the PhD's and whatnot, the furthest I got in education was GCSE's and two failed attempts at college, I have a very limited idea of what comes next in the UK, let alone the US, so just bare with me.
New York, Manhattan, December 2010
Starbucks. God bless it in all its globalisation glory. You only have to turn a corner and bam! Instant caffeine. Much needed caffeine at that. Virginia was getting sick of the constant travelling, but no one ever said that being the executive assistant to the senior director of a large shipping company was easy. Yes, it was a good job, with a more than decent pay, but she'd now been on the road for an entire week, travelling right across the country for meetings she was fighting to stay awake in. Meetings that probably could have been done via video link should the company ever dare spend money on such 'unnecessary' technology. But until the day that hell froze over, she was resigned to racking up the air miles and attending dull meetings with even duller people.
And good Lord it was cold. Even for New York the weather was biting. The door of the shop opened and a harsh wind rustled its way in. Virginia shivered and wrapped her woollen trench coat round her more securely, reaching for her black coffee (still slightly amazed that such things existed without the need to speak fluent Italian) and taking a long sip, revelling in the tangy burn it brought with it. Her reverie was interrupted by the sharp trill of her cell. Sighing internally, she reached for it on the table in front of her and looked at the caller ID, which brought an audible sigh as she flipped it open.
"Jerry, what can I do for you?" she put her coffee down and reached into her bag for her planner, preparing to take notes.
"Potts, where are you?" came the voice of her colleague. Virginia bit back the tart reply she would have given had the man on the line not been the son of the owner of the company. He held the same position as she did for another board member, yet because of his father, he deemed himself above her, and boy did he show it.
"I'm in New York, I just came out of the Takanashi meeting." She said curtly, tapping her pen on the pad in front of her.
"Great, we need you in Washington by tomorrow morning." He said with an air of distraction, Virginia imagined he was probably preening himself in his computer screen and pretending to work. "There's a 9am meeting and we need you there."
"D.C.? Uh, well-"
"No, the state." Jerry butted in. Virginia paused.
"Excuse me? You want me to fly across the country for a 9am meeting? Jerry, it's half past three in the afternoon now, the flight alone will take around nine hours, that's assuming I can get a direct flight, and who knows how long I'll be waiting for that, it's just not possible." she snapped.
There was a pause on the line and then Jerry sighed dramatically. "See, that kinda creates a problem for us back here Potts. One of our primary buyers could be about to make a huge order, and we need someone down there. If you leave now you could make it." He suggested.
Virginia closed her eyes and shivered again as the door opened. A man and woman brushed past her, talking loudly, making their way towards the counter. "Not to be rude, Jerry, but couldn't you go? Or send someone else? I'm seriously exhausted here, and Colorado's a hell of a lot closer than New York."
She heard Jerry let out a small laugh and could practically see the smug look on his face. "Oh no, I'm needed here Potts, and there's no one else who can go. I suppose I could tell Dad he's giving you too much work…"
"Jerry, we both know the workload isn't the issue here, it's just not humanly possible for people to function on coffee and power naps alone for a week." She looked up as the man who had just walked in laughed loudly and leaned towards the woman behind the counter. The woman standing next to the man rolled her eyes and focused on her handheld.
"Look Potts," Jerry's voice turned domineering. "The bottom line is you're being given a task to do, a task that you are paid to do, and you're telling me you can't do it?"
"No, I'm saying the time frame you're giving me to do it in is ridiculous." Virginia's voice rose.
"So now you're not only unable to do the job, you're criticising it? I think we need to re-evaluate your position here."
"We?" Virginia was in full rant mode now. "Jerry, we hold the same position! You don't have any influence over my job."
Jerry chuckled again. "That's where you're wrong Potts." He said smugly. "I just got promoted to Junior Board Member, so I have major influence over your job, and I feel it's within the best interest of the company to…re-evaluate." She could hear the mirth in his voice.
"You arrogant son of a-"
"Now, now, none of that." Jerry tutted. "Tell you what, you make it to the Washington meeting by nine tomorrow morning, and we'll forget this whole conversation, but should you be unable to make it…" he left the sentence hanging open ominously.
"Jerry, I-"
"Let me know how it goes." He sang cheerily before hanging up. Virginia's mouth hung open as she snapped her phone shut. She glared at it angrily before dropping it onto the table and shoving her pen and planner back into her bag. She drained what was left of her coffee and stood up abruptly.
"Stupid asshole." She muttered and turned towards the door, bumping into someone in the process.
"Hey now, what did I do?" a deep, amused voice said close to her left cheek. She looked up briefly and recognised him as the man who been flirting with the waitress earlier.
"Sorry, I didn't mean you." She flashed a small smile and backed out of the front doors, walking down the street towards the hotel she had booked for the night to collect her luggage and get the hell back to the airport.
"You do realise you're late don't you?" the same voice from the coffee shop came from behind her and she stopped walking, turning towards the man.
"Excuse me?" she looked incredulously at the jovial looking stranger as he jogged up to her. He had shaggy brown, almost black hair, chocolate brown eyes and the weirdest goatee she'd ever seen, it flicked up oddly just past the mouth. Something in the way the man's mouth quirked in his smile made something flicker in Virginia's memory.
"You heard me." He practically beamed at her. "You were supposed to meet me for our date."
Virginia shook her head. "I think you have me confused with someone else." She turned around again but the man jumped around her.
"Oh no, I'm definitely thinking of you." He winked at her.
"Well, would you mind doing your thinking someplace else? I'm kind of in a rush." She tried stepping around him but he dodged with her.
"I know, 'cos you're running late for our date. Hey, that rhymes." He was still smiling confidently but Virginia's patience was waning.
"Are you through?"
"No," he chuckled. "Give me the God-damn time of day will you?"
That did it. "Oh, I'm sorry, was I not paying enough attention to you? Must have something to do with my entire career being on the line which can only be salvaged by me getting to the airport within the next hour, something I apparently can't do due to the abnormally large douche currently standing in front of me. Is there anything else I can do for you today?"
The man remained silent, something Virginia thought wise.
"Fantastic." She spat and bustled around him, continuing down the street.
"Ok, ok, look." The man caught up to her again, coming to a stop in front of her and holding his hands up in surrender. "That was a joke, clearly a very bad one." He smiled that smile again. "Maybe I should start over, I'm-"
"Mr. Stark! What the hell are you doing?"
Virginia gaped in shock as a rather stunning brunette ran up to them (in itself a miraculous feat given the heels the woman was sporting) holding two take out cups.
"Relax Natalie, I'm just talking to my friend here." He relieved the woman of one of the cups when she stopped.
"You're Tony Stark." Virginia muttered, more a statement than a question. Tony's smile widened and Natalie rolled her eyes again.
"Ah, so you know who I am, it appears it's only me who's left in the dark." He leered at her over the lip of his coffee cup.
"We've met before." She mumbled. She couldn't take her eyes off him now, and she was surprised she hadn't recognised him before, the only thing that had really changed was a degree more facial hair.
"We have?" his entire expression had changed to one of nervousness again and she smiled kindly at him.
"You probably won't remember, you were really drunk." She smirked even more as fear flashed before his eyes.
"Uh…"
"Maybe we should start over," she held out her hand. "I'm Virginia Potts."
Tony's brow creased as he took her hand. "Potts, that's an unusual name." he said. "Kinda like…" his face slackened somewhat and his grip on Virginia's hand tightened.
"Tony?" Natalie looked slightly concerned at the look on his face.
"Jesus, Pepper?" Tony all but whispered her name. Virginia was genuinely shocked he remembered her after all this time, but she nodded.
"Yeah, it's me, it's good to see you Tony." He was still holding her hand in a death grip and she opened her mouth to say something else, but before she could utter a single syllable, Tony had yanked her into his arms and span her around, nearly knocking Natalie over in the process.
"I can't believe it!" he laughed loudly. "It's actually you, this is unreal." He placed her gently back on the ground, hands on her waist, and stared at her, a huge smile on his face. "I can't believe it." He repeated. "I can't believe I didn't recognise you the minute I saw you. You haven't changed one bit."
"As fun as this little reunion is, we really have to get going Mr. Stark." Natalie said. "You've got a meeting with the board about Hammer industries and-"
"Natalie," Tony interrupted her. "I'm going to need the rest of the day off. Make it so." He wafted a hand at her, taking his eyes off Pepper briefly.
"Mr. Stark, not only has this meeting been rescheduled four times, but Director Fury-"
"Fury can shove it up his ass for all I care." He spat at the brunette.
"Tony, I don't want to disrupt your day." Pepper interjected. Tony's head snapped towards her.
"Hey, you're not interrupting anything. Nat," he turned to Natalie again. "Re-arrange the meeting, tell the board…well, tell them what you usually tell them, and the team can handle anything else that pops up."
"Stark, I really think-"
"Natalie, I haven't seen this woman," he gestured at Pepper. "for over sixteen years, and she's the reason I'm able to disrupt your entire schedule today, so please, I'm actually begging you here, just let me have today."
"Tony, honestly, I'm actually on my way to Washington right now, so I have to go-"
"Nonsense, I'll give you a ride."
Pepper raised her eyebrows. "You'll give me a ride?"
"Ya-huh." He bit his bottom lip and grinned. "Private jet. I can get you there in...three hours, tops." He watched her as she contemplated this and then looked at Natalie. "Get the jet ready for seven."
Still looking slightly enraged, Natalie exhaled heavily and held her phone up to her ear, presumably calling the pilot. "Fine, do what you want, but don't expect me to have your back when Fury finds out." And with that, she turned back towards the Starbucks, leaving Tony and Pepper alone.
"Sorry about that." Tony chuckled. "Natalie can be a bit...pushy, sometimes. Likes to get things done on time."
"You didn't have to do that you know." She smirked at him.
"Nonsense." He said again. "It's the least I could do. Now," he clapped his hands together and beamed. "I could do with some food."
They decided to dine in the restaurant inside Pepper's hotel as they didn't really have time to go anywhere else. While they waited for their food, they chatted and caught up on each other's lives.
Pepper had come away from education at the age of 26 with a PhD in Business Management from the University of Chicago, and had immediately been recruited by Ploughman & Creed, which was essentially a glorified delivery company based in Boston. They specialised in 'national and international product transference' and she had been employed as a secretary in their Colorado office. Not the most ambitious start to her working life, but a job was a job. She quickly made a name for herself within the company and steadily climbed the career ladder to where she was now.
Tony had taken the reigns of Stark Industries like a pro, continuing his father's legacy in all areas of technological development, and up until two years ago he'd still been making weapons. He was very brief on the details, all he'd said on the matter was he'd had his eyes opened during his kidnapping. He wasn't very detailed about that either, but there was very little left to cover that the media hadn't got down at the time. When she'd asked about the mysterious Iron Man, he'd barely even bullet pointed, but again, most of the relevant information could be found in the media. She knew that Iron Man was, for lack of a better title, Tony's unofficial bodyguard, or at least was an associate of his. She knew there was a lot of conspiracy theories floating around concerning the Stark Expo the previous year, but she didn't bank on getting much more out of him than already existed, so she didn't bother, instead sympathising softly when he spoke briefly of Obadiah's death.
"So, you never told me what got you all hot and bothered earlier." He said, not looking at her. Pepper got the impression he was trying to change the subject, but she let it slide.
"Oh God, don't even get me started." She laughed mirthlessly and began to tell Tony all about the past week of travelling, Jerry, and why she had to go to Washington. By the time she'd finished her story, Tony looked horrified.
"What the hell? That's ridiculous!" he exclaimed.
"That's what I said." She agreed. "But, you know, he's the bosses son so..." she shrugged and stared at her coffee. Her words seemed to anger Tony even more.
"What...no, Pepper, you can't let people treat you like that."
Pepper looked up, swirling the coffee remaining in her cup around the bottom. "It's not like I have a choice Tony. There's not a lot of demand for my career track at the minute unless I take a humungous pay cut, and if I don't go to Washington I'll more than likely get fired so that'll make looking for a job even harder, what else can I do?" she reached into her bag for her cell phone to check the time and sighed as their waiter came over and placed a small tray with their receipt on the table. "It's almost six, we should probably get a move on." She swapped her cell for her purse and reached for the bill.
"I've got it." Tony said sharply. Pepper shook her head.
"No, it's on me, seeing as I assaulted you earlier." She pursed her lips in amusement.
"What?" Tony shot her a confused look and then saw her purse. "Oh, no, not that. Well, yeah, that too," he pulled the bill towards himself and reached for his wallet. "but I meant I've got a solution for your work problem."
"And what would that be?" she asked, reluctantly dropping her purse back into her bag and folding her arms on the table.
"Come work for me." Tony tossed a black credit card onto the tray and crossed his own arms smugly. Pepper stared at him.
"Run that by me again?" she leaned forwards slightly and inhaled sharply when Tony did the same.
"Come on Pepper, it's a great idea. I'm actually in need of someone to handle admin at the office, you're more than qualified. The pay is more than fantastical, and I'm not as much of a douche as Jerry sounds!" he threw his arms up and grinned. "It's perfect."
"Tony," she sighed but couldn't help smiling at his excited demeanour. "I live in Colorado, your office is in LA."
"So you'll move to LA, come on, it's not like the weather could be much worse. Ok, fine, we do have the occasional earthquake, but less people die of being hit by lightening, and I don't think that's a risk you can take." He nodded affirmatively and thanked the waiter as he came back and took the bill with him.
Pepper stared at Tony and shook her head. "This is crazy. I mean, we barely know each other and you're offering me a job."
Tony scrunched his eyebrows together. "Pepper, we've known each other for nearly seventeen years."
"Technically, we've known each other properly for around three hours." She smiled at him jokingly. Tony's face became serious and he reached out, taking her hand in his own, much to her surprise.
"Pepper," he said in a low voice, staring her straight in the eye. "if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be here today. You saved my life. Is it too much to ask for me to make yours a little easier?"
Well, she thought, how can I say no to that?
TBC