Bab 14: Ch14. The end of Natalie Rushman
Tony sat in his office at the Stark Industries headquarters. He was not yet legally removed from his position in the company so no matter what Obadiah said or wanted, Tony had full right to turn up in his company.
Alas, Tony was not here to piss off Obadiah by strutting around as if he owned the place... which he did.
At least, that was not the main reason.
Tony had a... scheduled meeting and didn't want to use his house in Malibu for that, not to mention his workshop.
Now that he thought about it, Tony realized he really needed something like the Stark Tower where he could live, have his labs, offer living quarters for important employers, and hold meetings all in one place.
'Another project that needs to be done.' He wistfully sighed, 'Things just keep piling up and I don't have enough time. Damn, how did I manage to do all this stuff when I was younger?' He jested.
It was then that the door to his office opened and in walked a red-haired woman wearing a perfect example of office clothes with a white dress shirt, black knee-long pencil skirt, and black court shoes.
"Hello? I am Natalie Rushman and I was told to come here..." The woman introduced herself, putting a timid smile on her face as she slowly entered, looking a bit overwhelmed and maybe even scared.
Her attire was perfect for a new employee but with his knowledge of the woman, Tony could see some of her intentions in her clothes. An apt example would be how quite a big part of her legs was bare, how several of the upper buttons on her shirt were not fastened, giving off a casual vibe while also showing enough cleavage to make it enticing but within the rules of propriety. And Tony really didn't want to start on her body language as she walked towards his desk.
It was all subtle but Tony worked with Natasha for years and while she did confess she hated the seduction part of her job, it was something ingrained in her and she never managed to fully stop doing it. Not until she became a full-time part of Avengers.
Things like picking clothes that would emphasize her figure, draw the eyes of men and even women... it came naturally to her and the fact her employers demanded it of her didn't help.
The most disturbing part for Tony was the knowledge that if he started flirting with her, she would definitely play along and he was not sure how far the woman would be willing to go.
Or rather he didn't want to think about it because he was painfully aware of the answer and while he would have been all for it in his younger days, now it just made him quite uncomfortable.
It was far too easy to forget what kind of job the woman did in her past when they fought side-by-side against this or that idiot who thought the world domination a good pastime activity.
Tony let her stew in her act for a while, just quietly observing her while she stood in front of his desk, fidgeting and looking uncertain with just a touch of discomfort bleeding out as his eyes sharply looked over her.
He really had to commend her acting. She had her role down the pat. If he didn't know her, he would have never suspected her of being a spy. The small chewing of her lower lip that portrayed uncertainty, the unsure wandering of her green eyes all over the office with something akin to a small amount of awe and surprise in her expression... and while she was doing that she no doubt also mapped every possible exit route and assessed the threats in the room.
It was also such a stark contrast to the confident image she portrayed when he met her for the first time in his past. She was high on the career ladder in his company then so she was expected to be a confident and resourceful woman but now that she played a new employee, she looked almost pitiful and dare Tony to say frightened to neet someone like him, the big boss of the company she joined who was also a known womanizer.
The fact that statistically, the womanizers who usually preyed on their employers liked the less confident women was not lost lost on Tony.
"Sir, may I know why I was called here?" 'Natalie' lifted her head and asked when Tony didn't seem to be inclined to start talking before she quickly looked down to stop from making eye contact as it wouldn't do for a shy girl to be too assertive.
"Because I dislike black furry one-eyed animals and was never a fan of Robin Hood." Tony sarcastically said. "Why else, Miss Romanoff?"
And that was enough to have Natalie's personality do a complete change and the real Natasha appeared, her body language slowly shifting into a defensive stance while still appearing totally relaxed in the eyes of an amateur Tony Stark was supposed to be.
"How?" She simply asked.
The references Tony used were far too on point for her to pretend she knew nothing. He clearly was aware of her identity so her mission was already a failure. There was no reason to drag on the farce.
"You think a spy can enter my company without me knowing? It hurts me you have no confidence in me, Red." Tony put his hand on his chest in a mock gesture. "What would Bruce say if he saw you trying to seduce me though... Or was it Steve? One never knows with you."
Natasha flinched at these words but her eyes instantly narrowed as disbelief settled in them.
"You... Tony?" Natasha quietly asked, looking at Tony with something akin to hope.
"Well, bravo, Natasha! You know the name of your employer. Sorry, we are fresh out of awards." Tony snidely replied, slightly biting into his tongue before he could let out a more venomous remark about her time in the Russian kid spy academy. She deserved a lot but that would have been a too cruel verbal jab even for him.
"Tony, you are here too!" Natasha exclaimed in happiness and was about to start walking forward before Tony stopped her with a stop hand gesture.
"I'd rather you didn't come closer." He dryly said, showing her he didn't trust her which for some reason seemed to shock her.
Tony wondered why. He didn't have a meaningful conversation with her for the last seven years in his perspective and he didn't count his time in the orange realm in that. At this point, they were practically strangers.
Did she really think he would let her come closer while knowing how dangerous she could be?
It was extremely uncomfortable but Tony opted to have his empathic abracadabra activated for this meeting and he could feel she was genuinely happy to see him. He felt how elated she became when she realized he was from the 'future' too and he also felt how tearful and regretful she felt now despite her face showing exactly nothing of her emotions.
Natasha stopped herself and slowly nodded before a smirk appeared on her face, "Just for the record, I and Steve were only friends and not the kind you prefer to make, while there was no time for anything to happen between me and Bruce." She said, trying to lighten the mood by redirecting the topic.
"And I said, one never knows with you." Tony said mockingly, showing he had no desire for idle talk about the past, future, or whatever.
What followed was the two looking at each other in silence. Tony didn't have much to say to Natasha so he waited for her to start while Natasha had no idea what to do.
Her feelings were such a confusing mix of things she had a hard time understanding that even Tony who felt it all through the empathy felt as if ants were crawling on him and wanted to involuntarily shudder. There was no hostility, anger, or hatred for him but it was a mightily uncomfortable experience even without those.
Natasha eventually took a deep breath and Tony could feel her pushing her emotions down, leaving only steel-hard determination untouched.
As Tony had his habit of being an ass when he felt uncomfortable, Natasha tended to switch into her 'work persona' and that was exactly what happened here.
"How did you know I remember the... well, you know what." She asked Tony while her eyes mistrustfully flickered around the room as if looking for cameras and bugs.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone