Chapter Two
At 7:05, Charlie was walking into Tony's malibu mansion. She stopped when she saw a woman walking around, dressed only in one of Tony's shirts. She crossed her arms as the woman tried to walk into a restricted room.
"You are not authorized to access this area," said Jarvis. The woman jumped.
"Jesus!" She froze when she saw Charlie.
"That's Jarvis," Charlie introduced. "He runs the house. Your clothes are pressed and hanging in the bedroom, curtesy of the staff They've been dry-cleaned and pressed, and there's a car waiting for you outside that will take you anywhere you'd like to go."
"You must be the famous Charlotte Tremblay."
"Indeed, I am. Though I wouldn't go as far to as "famous"."
"After all these years, Tony still has you running around.
"I do anything and almost everything that Mr. Stark requires, including, occasionally, taking out the trash." She gave the woman a sarcastic smile. "Will that be all?"
As soon as the woman, Christine Everhart, was in the car and through the gates, Charlie walked down to Tony's lab.
"Jarvis, lower the music, please." The music dimmed and Tony glared at her.
"Please don't turn down my music."
"Get up," she ordered.
"No."
"Tony, we have a flight to catch."
"So?"
"Tony…"
"How'd she take it?"
"Quite nicely actually."
"Why are you trying to hustle me out of here?"
"We have a flight to catch, and I would like to take a nap."
"You know… I thought, that with it being my plane and all, it would just wait for me."
"Come on, please."
"I mean, doesn't it kind of defeat the whole purpose of having your own plane if it departs before you arrive?"
"Tony."
"Twenty-minutes."
"Fine. I've got a few things I need you to answer. Larry called. He's got another byer for the Jackson Pollock in the wings. Do you want it? Yes, or no?"
"Is it a good representation of his spring period?"
"Um, no. The Springs was actually the neighborhood in East Hampton where he lived and worked—"
"So?"
"Not "spring" like the season. I think it's a fair example. I do, however, think it's incredibly overpriced."
"I need it. Buy it. Store it."
"Okay. The MIT commencement speech—"
"Is in June. Please, don't harangue me about stuff that's way, way, down."
"Well, they're haranguing me, so I'm going to say yes… I need you to sign this before we leave."
As she went to hand him her tablet, he grabbed her wrist, holding it up. He studied the simple gold chain.
"When'd you get this?"
"Birthday present from Pepper."
"Birthday?"
"I share one with Pepper, remember."
"Right. It's your birthday."
"Yes."
"I knew that. Already?"
"Yeah, that's the funny things about birthdays. They're kinda an annual thing."
"Well, get yourself something nice from me." She gave him a teasing smile.
"I already did."
"And?"
"Oh, it'll be very nice when I have a chance to wear it."
"Yeah."
"Very tasteful. Thank you, Mr. Stark."
"You're welcome, Ms. Tremblay."
"Twenty minutes, Tony. I mean it."
"Okay."
Twenty minutes turned into three hours. She didn't know how the time passed that quickly. Now she found herself in Tony's sports car, eyes shut tightly. The car squealed to a stop when they reached the private jet. Tony jumped out, grinning at Happy who climbed out of the other war.
"You're good!" Tony cheered. "I thought I lost you back there."
"You did, sir," Happy said. He pulled Charlie and Tony's bags from the trunk of the car. "I had to cut across Mulholland." Tony grinned as he opened Charlie's door.
"I got you! I got you!"
"What the hell is wrong with you!" called Rhodey.
He stood in the doorway of the jet, glaring at them
"What?" Tony asked.
"Three hours," Rhodey seethed.
"I got caught doing a piece for Vanity Fair."
"For three hours. For three hours you've got me standing here." Tony shrugged, shoving past Rhodey.
"Waiting on you now. Let's go. Come on. Wheels up! Rock and roll!" Rhodey turned to Charlie.
"You were supposed to get him here sooner."
"I tried! You think he listens to me?" Rhodey groaned, taking her bag from here. "Let's just get in the sky, Rhodey. Everything will be fine."
A few hours later, Tony collapsed into a chair beside Charlie, tapping on her book. She and Rhodey had taken to reading for a while. She, a novel, and him some legal document.
"Whatcha reading, platypus?" She turned the cover, allowing his eyes to scan the romance cover. "Accidently yours," he read aloud. "Never pegged you for a shirtless romance girl."
She shrugged, "Never pegged you as a jerk."
"Touché." He glanced over at Rhodey. "Don't be mad, either of you."
"I'm not mad," Rhodey muttered. "I'm indifferent, okay?"
"I said I was sorry."
Charlie met Tony's eyes as an attractive flight attendant walked over, with a tray.
"You are so predictable," she complained.
"Good morning, Mr. Stark," said the Flight attendant. "Hot towel?" Tony grinned, taking the towel.
"Charlie…"
"Don't 'Charlie' me, Tony. If you were really sorry, you would have listened to me beforehand."
"You don't respect yourself," Rhodey snapped at him. "And you don't respect us."
"I respect you— Hey!" he called after the flight attendant. "Heat up the sake, will you?"
"We're not drinking!" Rhodey exclaimed. "We're working right now."
"You can't have sashimi without sake."
"You are constitutionally incapable of being responsible."
"It would be irresponsible not to drink. I'm just taking about a nightcap." Rolling her eyes, Charlie left them alone, heading to the back of the plane where a private room was waiting her. She locked herself inside and balanced her time between reading and sleeping. It was a long flight after all.
Half an hour before landing, she walked back to where they were. Rhodey was nowhere to be seen and Tony was swirling around a glass of red wine. He held it out to her, and she took it.
"Are you okay?" she asked quietly. He looked up at her, eyes still a bit glazed from his drinking… and probably exhaustion.
"We're almost there."
"I know. Do you need anything, Tony?" He shrugged half-heartedly as Rhodey walked over to them.
"Morning, Charlie," he grumbled.
"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty." He waved her away, collapsing on the couch with a groan.
With a small beep, the voice of the pilot came over the intercom.
"Touch down in fifteen-minutes." Charlie looked for the seatbelt on her chair and secured it around herself. She glanced at Tony with a raised eyebrow.
"We're not gonna crash, mom." But he put on his seatbelt anyway.
When they arrived at Bagram Air Base, Charlie pulled her hair into a hasty bun. It was way hotter than she had been planning for. Rhodey shot her an apologetic look as she scowled at a passing solider. The guy gave her body an appreciate smile and she resisted giving him any indication that it bothered her.
They were driven out to the middle of nowhere in Humvees and a few hours later, Tony stood with his back to several mountains, cameras pointed at him. He held white cue cards in his hands. Charlie watched him, using a hand to shield her eyes. She leaned against one of the Humvees as he spoke.
"Is it better to be feared or respected?" he began. His speech was well written, better than the first time she had met him.
A man in a messy suit stood in front of a crowd. He was obviously drunk and flirting terribly with any woman who crossed his path.
He's really bad at speeches," said a voice behind Charlie. The young woman turned, nodding her head at Pepper Potts. This was the woman Charlie was taking over for. The woman was gorgeous and several times that night, she had seen Pepper shake Tony off her. God, that man was a terrible flirt. Pepper was different than most women Charlie saw around Stark Industries. She was down to earth and a planner. They got along well enough, but Charlie knew that her messy nature often gave Pepper small heart attacks.
She accepted the flute of champagne that Pepper offered her, taking a small sip.
"Loosen up, Charlotte," Pepper suggested. "Relax. As soon as he's off that stage he'll disappear until he needs you tomorrow. It's rather easy."
"I would if I could, Pepper." Pepper grinned, understanding where the blonde was coming from. "Should he have been allowed on stage?" Charlie asked as Tony stammered and slurred through his speech.
"Probably not, but he is anyway. You'll get used to it."
She didn't mean to jump when the missiles exploded behind Tony, but she couldn't help it. It wasn't noticeable, but it still bothered her. By now, all the demonstrations, all the science experiments, should have gotten her used to it.
As the demonstration came to an end, Charlie moved away from the Humvee to an open cooler. It was full of beer, but she managed to find a bottle of water buried deep in it. Her boss came up behind her, pulling out a bottle of beer.
"To peace!" Tony exclaimed, nudging her shoulder. He pulled out his phone, pulling her into the camera's view.
"Tony!" called Obadiah on the other side. "Charlotte!"
"Obie, what are you doing up?"
"I couldn't sleep until I found out how it went. How did it go?"
"It went great. Looks like it's gonna be an early Christmas."
"Hey! Way to go, my boy! I'll see you both tomorrow, yeah?"
"Sleep well, Obadiah," Charlie said.
"Good night, Char—"
"Why aren't you wearing those pajamas I got you?" Tony cut in. Obadiah rolled his eyes as he went to hang up.
"Good night, Tony."
Charlie chuckled as the black screen popped up. The man was driven, that was for sure. And he could put up with Tony, which said a lot. In fact, Obadiah had been a key piece in hiring her to work for Tony. Pepper and the rest of Stark Industries hadn't been sure about it, but Obadiah had seen something in her… something even Charlie hardly saw.
Wrapping his arms around Charlie's shoulders, Tony walked over to the Humvee, and helped her into it. Rhodey jogged over and Tony shook his head.
"I'm sorry, this it he "fun-vee". The "hum-drum-vee" is back there." Rhodey shook his head.
"Nice job." Tony gave him a small smile.
"See you back at the base."
Shutting the door to the Humvee, Tony took a swig of his beer before holding it out to her. She shook her head, arms folding primly in her lap.
"You gotta drink something," he told her.
"I've got a bottle of water in my bag."
"Fine… do you drink anything other than wine and water?"
"I'm partial to bubbly water with lime." He glared at her until she winked at him. Then everything went to hell.
All rights belong to Marvel & Disney
Hi! I've had a lot of people asking for face-claims for different characters and for Charlie, I picture Blake Lively!
-Amy Thorton
