CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

( THE ASSISTANT )

THE APARTMENT WAS surprisingly quiet for once. No cello music, no neighbors romping around upstairs, no loud voices coming from the hallway. For once there was peace and quiet, the first time since she'd moved to New York. It's ironic really, the busiest city in the world and she could lay in bed in total silence. Only the sound on her breathing and Rudolph's soft snoring could be heard.

She smiles widely to herself, getting giddy from the butterflies that arose in her gut. She felt as if she was on cloud nine with everything that has happened in the past twenty-four hours. Even though the man she had feelings for was out on a mission right now, she didn't seem to have an ounce of worry in her. He was always so careful to come back, even if he had a few scratches on him.

She never believed for one moment in her life that Steve Rogers would actually reciprocate her romantic feelings towards him. How she thought of him constantly, how badly she wanted to be beside him, she finally learned that he was also longing for it as well. She could already see Jo's shit-eating grin spread across her face once she told her the news.

If there was news.

A fleeting thought crosses her mind, thinking whether or not Steve would want anyone to know about what had happened last night. She cringes at her stupidity, she should've asked him last night before she left. She sighs before sinking her fingers into Rudolph's silky fur. His wagging tail thumping against the comforter was the first sound she's heard all morning beside her own thoughts.

She had to tell Jo what had happened last night, it was only fair. She had been rooting for them to get together since the start. As she grips her phone it begins to vibrate against her hand, creating an irritating tingling sensation. She narrows her eyes down at the screen to read the name of the annoying caller.

Stark Industries.

She can practically feel her eyes roll in the back of her head. It was bound to be Priya calling to lecture her about something that she somehow found out about. She debated on even answering the phone. However, the thought of describing their date in full detail to her sounded even more delicious than letting her go to voicemail.

On the fourth ring, she picks up. "Hello," she greets in a sing-song voice, hoping to only run salt in Priya's soon-to-be wounded ego. "Miss Cruise?" An unfamiliar voice beckons her name, catching her off guard. She swallows her large ego to replace with skepticism. "This is,"

"Hello, Miss Cruise, I'm calling from Stark Industries HR department. I was wondering if you could swing by the building today. We'd like to talk to you about Steve,"

Quinn's heart flutters in her chest at his name. Worry instantly replaces her carefree high. She instantly shoots out of bed, feet landing firmly on the wooden floor. "Is something wrong?"

Rudolph is quick to follow his owner out of the room as she begins to pace with panic. How stupid was she to think that he couldn't get hurt, or worse. Before the woman can even speak Quinn quickly cuts her off. "I'll - I'll - I'll be down there in a few. I'm on my way!" she shouts over the receiver, quickly ending the call. "Shit!" she curses to herself as she shimmies on a pair of jeans.

She had never been more stressed in her life, she could feel an overwhelming amount of anxiety build up in her chest. He didn't tell her what the mission was - nor could he even if he wanted to. It must've been dangerous, and she merely shrugged it off as just another mission. She's moving as fast as she can as she hurries to get ready, causing Rudolph to yip with excitement.

As she exits her room, she jumps in surprise as she almost bumps into Robin. "Where's the fire?" she questions, as she watches Quinn jog to the bathroom. She only watches the door frame for a moment before Quinn is walking back out, her hands tangling a ponytail holder in her golden hair. Her eyes were filled with panic.

Robin instantly feels worried for her. "Hey, what wrong?" she beckons for Quinn's attention as she passes her once again, plopping herself down on the couch to put her shoes on. "There's an emergency I have to go to at Stark Tower," Quinn informs her, each word falling out like vomit. Robin audibly gasps. "Oh my goodness,"

Quinn bolts up from the couch, haphazardly placing her coat over her thrown together outfit. "Can you, um,"

She can't even think of a coherent sentence as she gnaws at her bottom lip. She swipes her forehead to clear the sweat that was starting to build on her brow. "Can you just watch Rudolph for me, please?" her words bounce off her tongue like fire, as if it's urgent - which it is.

Robin looks between her and the golden retriever for a moment, the stress was now starting to eat at her. "Yeah, totally, go to the tower," Robin ushers her, grabbing ahold of Rudolph collar to calm him (and herself). Quinn lets out an out of breath "thank you" as she makes a beeline for the door.

Even the cool fall air couldn't help her think straight. She had to push her way past people who were gathering at each intersection, as she narrowly dodged traffic. If Steve was in trouble she was going to be there for him.

He had done the same for her just about a month ago. He had been patient and kind and informative on what she had forgotten about their whole friendship. He even stood by her through some setbacks, like her legitimately not knowing him for quite some time and being extremely standoffish with him. All of that didn't mean anything to her now, she cared for him, she couldn't think of a world without him in it. If he got injured and she brushed it off like it was nothing she would feel extremely guilty.

Her legs pumped as fast as they could. The tower was a mere few blocks away. She could see it's tall presence looking over the other buildings. Steve had called it gaudy, she had argued and said it was art. Now it looked like hell on Earth to her.

She bolted up to the doors of the building, pushing through them so fast that it almost hit the other side of the door. She couldn't think of a time where she had run faster, not even in D.C. Of course, she was out of practice from running daily, but this was incomparable to what she did with The Joggernauts. Even faster than the time, she beat Maddox.

Fly-aways strewed from the messy bun she pulled together, it clearly looked sloppy, not even slightly convincing the passerby's who stared at her for panting in the middle of the lobby. Her eyes inspect the lobby for anyone trying to reach out to her, surely they knew who she was by now seeing as Priya had made her sign something.

She wanted to compose herself as she was gaining disapproving looks from businessmen who passed her but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Someone who she cared about was hurt or dead. "Miss Cruise?" A familiar voice calls out to her.

She recognizes it to be the same as the voice on the phone. She clutches on to the right side of her abdomen as it begins to cramp up, slowly turning towards the small woman who had called out for her. She half expected it to be Priya but was relieved to see another woman in a sleek navy dress clutching on to a clipboard.

"Follow me," she instructs her, quickly turning on her heel and leading her away from the lobby. Quinn takes her time in following the pristine woman, gazing upon the architecture inside the building. Though she had been in it before she hadn't paid attention to what was inside.

Nothing but tall glass windows, accompanied by sleek balconies that people could sit on which were all connected by their own individual glass walkway. She couldn't help but admit to herself that Tony had a way with interior design.

The woman waited for Quinn to step on to the elevator, clearing her throat to catch her attention. Sheepishly, Quinn stepped inside with an apologetic smile. Out of her peripheral, she could see a couple of men in tidy suits try to approach the elevator.

She instantly became nervous, as she knew she must've looked like a hot mess. However, they stopped in their tracks once the woman shook her head once. Obeying her, the men milled about awkwardly as Quinn watched them confused while the doors slid shut in front of her. Her gut dropped once she realized she was alone in an elevator with an unknown woman.

She had gotten too close to Steve once again, she began wondering if this was another Hydra attack. They'd be pretty gutsy if they attacked her in Stark Tower but that didn't stop her mind from jumping to conclusions. Her heart hammered inside of her chest, her hands twitched up into fists, sweat was now starting to bead her brow once again.

She kicks herself for being convinced that Steve was hurt and she needed to come to the tower right away. She had been too careless to get caught once again, but this time she wasn't going down without a fight. Cautiously, she follows the woman out of the elevator and down the hallway, taking note of any exits she can make in need of a quick getaway.

"This way," the woman calls out for her, beckoning for her attention as she opens up a glass door to an office. Quinn observes the outside of the small room. There's inscribed writing across the wall: Stark Industries - Personal Assistant. Her eyebrows raise at the title before she follows the woman's lead and enters the office.

Compared to Doctor Woodruff's office, this one seems more neat and tidy with a bit of peaceful feeling to it. She notes the tiny zen garden placed on the desk in front of her. Something she thought she could invest in. "How was your commute over here?" the woman questions, attempting to make small talk as she unlocked her computer. "Not too bad I hope," she chides with a forced smile.

This is the first moment where she actually feels embarrassed by how she looked. One look at her reflection in the glass and she can tell she looks like a hot mess. Her cheeks start to burn with embarrassment as she takes time to fix the bun in her hair, making sure to smooth out the edges. "I was in a bit of a hurry to get over here," she attempts to sheepishly explain as she fixes up her appearance. "Someone said that something happened to Steve -"

"Yes that was me who called you," she declares, affirming Quinn's suspicions. She shuffles through a clutter of paper on the desk in front of her before looking at her once again. Quinn notes that her dark eyes hold some defense, she looked poised like a dragon. "Steve is not in danger or hurt," she sighs out, clasping her hands together in front of her on the desk.

Quinn's mind draws a blank as she narrows her eyes at the woman. She couldn't tell if she should try to escape because she thought this was a Hydra thing or if she should start sobbing that Steve was all right for the time being.

"But on the phone -"

The woman holds up her finger as she interrupts her. "I merely suggested that I wanted to talk to you about Steve. You jumped to the deep end and hung up on me,"

Quinn can feel heat rush to her cheeks. She had always been the worrywart. But how could she blame herself? When she didn't worry she got hurt or someone close to her did. "Sorry," she sheepishly mutters out under her breath. Embarrassment fanned across her face as she tried to look everywhere except for the woman's eyes. The woman, in turn, lets out a sigh as she swipes a stray strand of dark hair behind her ear. "Yes, Priya did mention you tend to do that often,"

Her eyes want to roll at the name. Although her time with the PR rep had been brief she had left a bad taste in her mouth. Frankly, this woman seemed to be doing the same. Perhaps it was what Stark had trained them to do. "So why exactly am I here?" Her voice turns a dramatic sharp tone as her arms cross against her chest.

The woman straightens her posture as she gazes lazily at her. "My name is Asami Swan. I'm Mr. Stark's personal assistant," she introduces herself, sticking her hand out which Quinn firmly shakes. Her brows furrow in confusion. "I thought Pepper Potts was his assistant?" she questions as she retracts her hand.

Asami forces a chuckle out. "Ms. Potts was promoted to the new executive CEO a few years ago. I've been dealing with Mr. Stark since then,"

Quinn nods her head. "I see,"

"Quinn," Asami begins before clamping her mouth shut as if she had just cursed. Her hand immediately presses on her lips as she taps the desk with her pen, looking onto Quinn as if she had messed up. "Is it okay if I call you that?"

Once again Quinn's brows raise at the question. She had messed up. She wasn't formal enough unlike Priya. Although she didn't mind this, it made her feel more comfortable. "Yes," she hums out with a polite smile.

"Quinn, it's been brought to Mr. Stark's attention that you and Captain Rogers are romantically involved,"

She purses her lips at the thought of word getting out about their relationship. Had it really spread like wildfire? Impossible. He was in disguise, he must've told someone. She tilts her head from side to side before answering.

"As of last night, yes. You guys work fast,"

"We tend to be diligent," Asami forces out another chuckle before continuing. "Anyways, I just wanted to go over a few things with you and offer you something in return, if you cooperate,"

This perks her interests. "Things like what?"

"Any details about your roommate, your mother -"

"Okay, that should already be on file. Priya should have it," Quinn interrupts. She hated telling her life story on repeat, it made her feel small and insignificant. Like she was a screw-up.

"Ah, yes, about Priya," Asami chides, leaning forward on her desk to get closer to Quinn. "Captain Rogers has relayed some troubling information to Mr. Stark who relayed it on to me regarding Ms. Khatri. As of today, I will personally be handling the Captain Rogers account,"

Quinn's nose scrunches at the term. Of course, the Avengers were nothing but numbers to businesspeople and the government. "Steve is a person," she hisses out, her lips straining into a frown.

Asami seems nonchalant about her disdain, merely shrugging at it. "We know, that's why we wanted to talk to you," she purrs. Something seemed fishy to her. Even with the transfer from Priya to Asami there still should've been information about her on file, unless someone got rid of them.

Perhaps Priya was a little too jealous since word got out. However, the process of explaining everything seemed painstakingly repetitive. She pinches the bridge of her nose trying to sustain the headache she knew was about to hit her.

"Why?" she asks, more curious than upset. Asami shuffles the pages on her desk once again, perhaps out of nervousness. "Because you're the only civilian that Steve meets with frequently. Everyone else is -"

"A superhero?" Quinn interrupts with a smirk on her face.

"More or less," Asami affirms, returning the smirk. She fiddles with the pen in her hand as she loosely scans over the sheet in front of her. "I do have some information on you. Can you start by saying if this is true or false?"

Quinn leans back in her seat, her posture beginning to relax. This was going a lot better than when she had talked to Priya. "Go ahead," she invites.

"Let's start with your full name, Quinn Louise Cruise, is that correct?" Asami lists off. Quinn's face drains of color from the use of her full name. She had always hated her middle name. She sighs and nods her head, watching Asami scribble down a checkmark next to the first question.

"Born February third, nineteen-eighty-four in Charlotte, North Carolina?"

Another nod.

"Parents are Marianne and Arnold Cruise? One brother Maxwell Cruise. Arnold and Maxwell are deceased?" Asami looks up at Quinn to see her bite down on her lower lip. Of course, deceased relatives had always hit a blunt nerve. It also brought back painful memories to her. "Yeah," she mumbles, trying to push through her feelings of missing her brother and her father.

Asami's face softens as she notices the slight tears that are starting to build up. "My condolences," she whispers out before tapping her pen on the paper nervously again. "Went to school for law enforcement, lived in Washington DC with Jo Kapplin, worked at S.H.I.E.L.D., now you live in Greenwich with Robin Cooke and work at Apple?"

Quinn sighs as she nods her head. Although her memories of everything leading up to this point seemed painful, she hated this and deemed it boring. Asami purses her lips as she looks at the page before making a checkmark next to her employment. "Bit of a downgrade,"

Quinn immediately perks up, her core heats up with annoyance. First, she was tricked (even though it was technically her fault) into coming here, forced to think about her past and go over the information that they already knew was correct, and now Asami was insulting her?

The furrowed brow and frown made Asami place her hands up anxiously by her sides. She didn't mean to offend but she obviously had struck a nerve in her ego. "We'll talk about that in a second," she notes before droning on. "Marianne has moderate Alzheimer's, treating under Dr. Woodruff -"

"I'm sorry but how do you know that?" Quinn cuts her off. Her hands grip the sides on the chair she was in. The hair on her neck is starting to bristle. This all started to seem familiar, almost like Hydra to her. They had known about her mother and her closeness with Steve, that's how they were able to bribe. At least that what some of the captured agents of Hydra explained.

"Mr. Stark did his homework," Asami simply states. Even though she seemed relaxed Quinn could tell that she was starting to widdle on being anxious just by glaring at her. Reading someone's body language was one of the few things that Blair had reminded her to do on a day to day basis and she had.

Quinn tries her best to relax to make Asami seem more comfortable. "I can tell," she mutters out. "So you know basically everything about me but I know nothing about what's going on. This couldn't have been a phone call?"

"Frankly, Quinn," Asami starts as she shuffles another pile of paperwork in front of her. This time instead of it being looseleaf paper it was in a neat manilla folder with a black stamp near the top. Something about it reeked of being top secret. A little spark of hope lights up inside her. Was this something for her? Was this all the information she needed to know about Steve's missions that he wouldn't tell her about?

She tries to suppress an eager smile but the feeling turns darker as she realizes that this could be the very same folder that Steve had received to join the Avengers. Fighting aliens and Hydra was not her forte, in fact, she had deemed herself as the least qualified person for the Avengers. "I wanted to speak with you because Mr. Stark has an opportunity for you," Asami continues as she opens up the folder.

"An opportunity?" Quinn chuckles darkly while shaking her head. "I don't want to join the Avengers,"

Asami's eyes drift off to the corner of the room, as they narrow at her statement. "Uh, you're not qualified for the Avengers, no," she sheepishly admits, causing Quinn to be confused yet embarrassed at the same time. "But, you are certainly more qualified to work somewhere other than Apple,"

She rolls her eyes. Of course, she was more qualified than Apple but jobs in New York appeared and vanished in a blink of an eye. It would take a miracle to get a good job here. "Oh?" she manages to say, her interest fleeing her as quickly as it appeared.

"Like the Federal Bureau of Investigations,"

Her breathing stops at the drop of the name. The FBI? Was she really qualified for that? She shakes the thought, of course, she wasn't. If she wasn't qualified to be an Avenger then she most certainly wasn't qualified to be a special agent. Quinn lets out a nervous chuckle.

"I'm sorry, I'm not following,"

"I'm sure you're very aware of Mr. Stark's and Captain Rogers's role in protecting this world,"

Quinn's gaze turned from curious pessimist to disinterested know-it-all in a heartbeat. She tries her best not to be facetious, only nodding her head to answer. "Have you heard of the Iron Legion?"

"Steve's mentioned it. I don't know the full details," she answers.

"That's okay, all you need to know is that it's helping the world out and it was developed by Mr. Stark," Asami yips excitedly, causing Quinn's brow to perk up at the sudden outburst of energy. "Because of this, Mr. Stark has some heavy pull in the government. Which is very beneficial in your case,"

"Why's that?"

"We'd like to offer you a position in the Federal Bureau of Investigations,"

This was a cruel joke. There was no way this was actually happening to her. People worked hard to become a special agent and they're telling her that it can be gifted to her on a silver platter? She lets out a wry chuckle. "You can't do that -"

"I can't but I can assure you Mr. Stark can," Asami interrupts. Confusion floods her veins. Of course, this was a wonderful opportunity, something she couldn't pass up but something just didn't settle right with her. This was all happening so fast. Everything. Her and Steve getting together and now she was being offered a once in a lifetime job opportunity? This couldn't be real.

"I'm confused. Why would he want to help me?" Quinn asks, certain that there's a catch involved somewhere in this. Even though she didn't personally know Tony Stark she knew he wasn't the most generous person, up until a few years ago he was manufacturing weapons and sleeping well knowing he was.

"You're important to Captain Rogers, he's beneficial to the team. A happy captain means a happy team," Asami answers causing Quinn to scoff. Of course, it all revolved around what benefitted Steve and the Avengers. Stark wanted to take advantage of their relationship in a way.

"I don't need his charity work," she states grumpily, feeling insulted. Her leg bounces up and down before she decides to get up. If being with Steve meant doing these little sit-downs every time he was away, then this is not going to work out. Especially if she looked like a charity case. As she reaches for the door, Asami's voice lures her attention.

"Are you sure? This is what you went to school for and you'd be making a lot more money than what you do now. Perhaps triple,"

Triple? She wasn't making much now but if she had made triple she'd be making more than what she did at S.H.I.E.L.D. She wouldn't need a roommate, she could finally pay off Doctor Woodruff. Her mother is the first thing that pops into her mind.

Thinking about how happy she'd be out if the city and in the care of the most experienced hands and potentially getting a grasp on her disease. Her mind was ablaze as she thought if the opportunity this could provide her but she hated thinking about how she got it. Begrudgingly, she turns to look at Asami over her shoulder. "I'll think about it,"

"Mr. Stark hates waiting," she presses, causing Quinn to let out a sigh of frustration.

"Fine, I'll take it," she huffs out. She could swear she could hear Asami laugh at her desperation. "Didn't really have to pull your arm. I'll alert Mr. Stark of your decision," she teases.

"Are we done?" she spits out, glaring at the assistant. "For now," Asami affirms, not even bothering to look at her as she waved her away. "Have a good day," she calls out just as Quinn slams the door shut. She wants to shout at the top of her lungs in frustration but also out of joy. She was torn. She was delighted to potentially have a job in her field but hated how it was just handed to her.

She tries to look on the bright side of things, maybe Stark could only get his foot in the door for her and she'd have to work her way up. Thinking like this seemed to alleviate some weight from her chest. Only some. Her hands trembled as she stepped into the elevator. It isn't until the doors close that she realizes she looks like a complete slob.

She was thankful that Steve actually wasn't there, although she'd love to see his reaction to her looking like this. He had seen her with her face bloated and beaten and peppered with bruises, this look wouldn't matter to him. If anything it'd cause him to ask why she looked like she had just woken up. A wave of happiness burrows its way into her chest as she thought about him, how relieved she was going to be when he came home.

She had to tell him about the news, in fact, she was dying to tell him about it. She wasn't quite used to preferential treatment, nor did she think she could ever get used to it. Things like this were never handed to her. It made her feel wrong. Her feelings of being conflicted over this were starting to take over.

The sudden ding of the elevator brings her to her senses. She tries to straighten her posture to assure whoever was coming in that she wasn't on a rollercoaster of emotions. To her dismay, she unhappy with whom she sees step in. Her lips tug down into a scowl as Priya places herself beside her, binder in hand. Of course, Priya wasn't happy to see Quinn as well, she had every right to. Quinn was quite rude to her, but she couldn't help herself.

"Have you heard from him?" Priya questions as the elevator starts to descend. At first, Quinn is confused as to why she's even speaking to her. Was she not mad about getting kicked off of handling Steve? Her brow perks up in confusion but she doesn't let her see it. "No," she replies in a monotone voice. "Really?" Priya sneers, followed by a dry chuckle. "That's strange, we talked for a while last night. All nonsense really,"

Quinn can't help but roll her eyes. Of course, she knew she was trying to goad her for a reaction but she didn't want to give her the satisfaction. Her arms defensively across her chest. "How can you talk to him? He's on a mission," her question is directed at the rep but her eyes stay trained on her reflection in the elevator door - a sure sign that says she's not worth her time.

"Perks of working for Stark Industries," Priya giggles mockingly. The game that Priya was playing seemed childish, which was spot on thanks to her snobby nature. She just wished it could've been better, just as easy as Stark getting his foot in the door for her for the FBI. After a few silent moments in what Quinn would seem hell, the elevator doors open to the lobby.

"Well, if you talk to him again tell him I said hi and that I can't wait for him to come home. I have something planned for his return," she informs her, a coy smirk appearing on her face. If Priya wanted to play dirty she could play dirty. Instead, Priya gives her a condescending, empathetic look of disdain. "Haven't you heard?"

Quinn shakes her head, which earns a smug smirk from Priya and a tilt of her head. "People saw you and him together last night. This is now a safety hazard for him and yourself. It's part of the agreement you signed,"

Quinn could feel her cheeks heat up out of anger. Her knuckles turned white as she clenched her fists together in her pocket. There was no way she was going to get the best of her. Instead of wanting to throttle her, she returns the smug smirk. "Oh, the thing I was forced to sign and never got a copy of? Listen, I know you're bitter about being kicked off his account,"

Priya's brows raise. It looks like she was caught off guard. Just where she had wanted her. Flustered, she begins to speak up, "I didn't -"

"But maybe it's better this way," Quinn states faking an empathetic voice to her, all the while placing her hand on her shoulder. "You're pretty Priya, I'm sure you could find someone who is actually interested in you," Priya scoffs at her, making it obvious that she had something personal against her. To spite her even further, she lets go of her shoulder, waving at her as the elevator doors slide shut.

She's able to walk out of the building with her head held high. Today she accomplished getting rid of her Priya-Problem and has made an impact on Tony Stark enough to where he can get her an actual job. Triumphantly, Quinn walks towards the hospital to visit her mother, maybe a visit with her could bring her back to the real world.