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Entry tags:
Stark.
Pepper's Task List:
* Get address of Asgard from Thor, send certified bill for damages to Odin. (if necessary, use messenger service or send certified bill to Thor?? can't let TS win.)
* Send for Bill of Sales from accounting, contact purchasers of art. Offer ten percent over sale price to reacquire paintings. Will not pay more, regardless of what TS says.
* Inform contractor that the lettering will be larger. Yes, larger.
* To be included in statement to press:
- "Our future at Stark Industries is looking brighter than ever, quite literally. With technology capable of withstanding such an incident, we look to recover quickly and turn our eye towards the thought of how to use such advances during other natural disasters" yada yada yada. To be refined and then sent as Tony's statement.
- Messenger press release to Fury's office prior to release. Something Avengery? He will need to add such. It is not in my job description to figure out that as an adjective.
High above the New York City skyline, the off-kilter A is all that is left of the STARK that once adorned the top of the city's newest skyscraper. Far below -- very far below -- Tony Stark stands on the sidewalk and looks up. It is actually a pretty terrible angle, but that doesn't stop him as he says, "Do you think Thor's dad would pick up the tab if I sent a bill for repairs to Asgard?" He's looked better: dark bruises fade yellow at the edges while cuts heal, so that butterfly bandages are likely to come off tonight, and not be needed in the morning. "Maybe we could get some artwork to hang in the tower, too." The sidelong look that he slides Pepper at that carries a note of sheepishness in its edges.
"I would send it certified," Pepper suggests, and against the vision that is one Tony Stark, she looks positively delightful. Hair pinned in its usual neat chignon and colors faded towards muted pearl and charcoal this morning, she holds a Stark Industries tablet in one hand as she assess the damages herself with an untrained eye. "And what type of artwork would you like? More Monet or Kemeny?"
Stark looks briefly enchanted by the idea of sending Odin a certified bill. "Do," he says to Pepper, no really, he's telling her to go find Thor and send off a certified letter with an invoice for repairs via Thor to his dad. If there is a note of challenge in his voice -- a tease, matched to the cock of his eyebrow daring her to rise to this new demand -- then it is very light. "No. Ugh, no florals," he dismisses her poor suggestions. He blocks a shape off against the sleek walls of the tower. "Lines. Math. I want math on the canvas and in their heads. I want people thinking, not daydreaming." He pauses, very briefly. "Although daydreaming does have its place. Maybe /one/ Monet."
Her brows mirrors his where it subtly curves upwards at the command, the slightest hint of humor touching her gaze even as Pepper agrees easily, "Of course." She even enters the task into her tablet, finalizing it as she bends a moment over the electronic device to bring her gaze closer to it given her eyesight issues. She listens patiently at his description of the artwork, only adding after, "Like the artwork you sold?"
"Mm," Stark says, the sound winding around his tongue and down his throat as he twists on his feet. He twines closer to Pepper, much closer, and drifts close in a press of warm body heat and subtle cologne to peer over her shoulder at the tablet. He is trying to distract her. "Mm, yes, maybe a little like the artwork, are you ever going to let that go?"
"You pay me to remember things like that," Pepper counters, her fingers lifting unbidden to brush an escaped bit of hair behind her ear as he draws closer, a smile touching at the corners of her lips as she taps her pen against the tablet. The list of tasks is quickly exchanged for a browser, another second before his artwork appears in bright, led pictures that she slides through. "I take it you'd like me to now reacquire them?"
Stark hooks a comfortable arm around Pepper's waist in a too-easy gesture so that he can look over her shoulder -- I hope her heels aren't high -- and study the artwork. As she slides through he goes, "Yes, no, no, yes--" So I hope she is taking notes. "Ugh, I can't believe I bought that," he says at one point. At another he goes, "You sold that?!" like he didn't tell her to in a fit of oh-god-i'm-dying tragedy.
They are low and sturdy, fashionable slingbacks rather than stilletos. Likely she gave those up long ago when hired as Stark's personal assistant. Pepper leans sliiiightly into that hooked arm, for all that her own hands are busy with work as she makes quick marks against each picture in indication of her employer's reactions. She even manages to reply with a completely straight face, "I always do exactly as you tell me to, Tony."
"I'm a terrible influence on you." Stark remains close until she finishes, at which point he pulls away to look up, up, up again at the shattered windows and broken lettering of the tower. "You are lying." His chiding is not very serious at all. "I can hear it, you know. When you lie. And you get this furrow--" He points at his own brow, between dark eyebrows. She doesn't. He's lying.
"Yes, well. Maybe about that, but you did tell me to sell it," Pepper says, lifting her own fingers to smooth along the line of her brow quickly as she looks up at the tower. "I have already contacted the insurance company and the contractor. The latter asked if you would like to take the time to reconsider the size of your lettering."
Stark considers. Then he says, "Yeah, good point. Make it bigger." Isn't that what the contractor meant?
"Of course. We would not want anyone to think that you are compensating," teases Pepper lightly at the request, though it is marked duly on her tablet.
"Oh, come on." Stark's look at Pepper is sly; it's a look more often found on a fox in the margins of a fairy tale. "You've seen enough to know better." He gestures, full-bodied. He does not thrust his pelvis. He is not /crude/. "I'm celebrating. Not compensating."
Pepper's lips quirk into a smile at the response, though her gaze remains on her tablet rather than lifting to Stark as soon as she catches that slyness. "I'll put that in the press release," she offers professionally.
"You're the best, Pep," Stark says. He says it as he always does: with a breezy lightness that does not entirely diminish the deep foundation of earnest respect ... but it sure could make a lady second-guess it. "If Fury has been nice, run it by his office, see if they want to add anything ... Avengery." He sketches a short gesture. Avengerish.
"I know." It is also light, said in the way of habit for all that Pepper's smile lingers as she looks to Tony. She begins closing the cover of the tablet, the leather-bound enclosure emblazoned with the Stark Industries' logo. "Is there anything else you would like to add to the statement?"
"We're great. We're super. We saved the world?" Stark suggests with a smile gleaming from the dark of his neat beard.
"I was thinking more along the lines of something specific to Stark Industries, Tony. Something to promote our latest technology in development?" Pepper counters, smoothing her fingers against the leather as she meets his gaze steadily and lingers.
Stark digs his toe against the pavement. It doesn't do good things to his very, very expensive shoes. Looking up, he sighs and again studies the lights of the building. "Remind them how the lights of Stark Tower stayed on, then, self-sustaining, renewable, not a draw on the city's power grid blowing all the lights out like when Richards starts experimenting--." Bitter? No.
There is a flick of Pepper's gaze to Tony's foot, some mental note made to get the shoes fixed later perhaps made in that brief moment before she nods to his response. She confirms, "I will include it and then have it forwarded to Fury's office."
"Excellent." Rocking forward to the balls of his feet, Stark gives over to momentum and pushes forward. "Let's go check out the damage, shall we?" He smiles back over his shoulder at her, and then onward they go into the dark tower to figure out what to patch and what to pitch in favor of some better, brilliant new ideas.
Pepper is a professional personal assistant.
* Get address of Asgard from Thor, send certified bill for damages to Odin. (if necessary, use messenger service or send certified bill to Thor?? can't let TS win.)
* Send for Bill of Sales from accounting, contact purchasers of art. Offer ten percent over sale price to reacquire paintings. Will not pay more, regardless of what TS says.
* Inform contractor that the lettering will be larger. Yes, larger.
* To be included in statement to press:
- "Our future at Stark Industries is looking brighter than ever, quite literally. With technology capable of withstanding such an incident, we look to recover quickly and turn our eye towards the thought of how to use such advances during other natural disasters" yada yada yada. To be refined and then sent as Tony's statement.
- Messenger press release to Fury's office prior to release. Something Avengery? He will need to add such. It is not in my job description to figure out that as an adjective.
High above the New York City skyline, the off-kilter A is all that is left of the STARK that once adorned the top of the city's newest skyscraper. Far below -- very far below -- Tony Stark stands on the sidewalk and looks up. It is actually a pretty terrible angle, but that doesn't stop him as he says, "Do you think Thor's dad would pick up the tab if I sent a bill for repairs to Asgard?" He's looked better: dark bruises fade yellow at the edges while cuts heal, so that butterfly bandages are likely to come off tonight, and not be needed in the morning. "Maybe we could get some artwork to hang in the tower, too." The sidelong look that he slides Pepper at that carries a note of sheepishness in its edges.
"I would send it certified," Pepper suggests, and against the vision that is one Tony Stark, she looks positively delightful. Hair pinned in its usual neat chignon and colors faded towards muted pearl and charcoal this morning, she holds a Stark Industries tablet in one hand as she assess the damages herself with an untrained eye. "And what type of artwork would you like? More Monet or Kemeny?"
Stark looks briefly enchanted by the idea of sending Odin a certified bill. "Do," he says to Pepper, no really, he's telling her to go find Thor and send off a certified letter with an invoice for repairs via Thor to his dad. If there is a note of challenge in his voice -- a tease, matched to the cock of his eyebrow daring her to rise to this new demand -- then it is very light. "No. Ugh, no florals," he dismisses her poor suggestions. He blocks a shape off against the sleek walls of the tower. "Lines. Math. I want math on the canvas and in their heads. I want people thinking, not daydreaming." He pauses, very briefly. "Although daydreaming does have its place. Maybe /one/ Monet."
Her brows mirrors his where it subtly curves upwards at the command, the slightest hint of humor touching her gaze even as Pepper agrees easily, "Of course." She even enters the task into her tablet, finalizing it as she bends a moment over the electronic device to bring her gaze closer to it given her eyesight issues. She listens patiently at his description of the artwork, only adding after, "Like the artwork you sold?"
"Mm," Stark says, the sound winding around his tongue and down his throat as he twists on his feet. He twines closer to Pepper, much closer, and drifts close in a press of warm body heat and subtle cologne to peer over her shoulder at the tablet. He is trying to distract her. "Mm, yes, maybe a little like the artwork, are you ever going to let that go?"
"You pay me to remember things like that," Pepper counters, her fingers lifting unbidden to brush an escaped bit of hair behind her ear as he draws closer, a smile touching at the corners of her lips as she taps her pen against the tablet. The list of tasks is quickly exchanged for a browser, another second before his artwork appears in bright, led pictures that she slides through. "I take it you'd like me to now reacquire them?"
Stark hooks a comfortable arm around Pepper's waist in a too-easy gesture so that he can look over her shoulder -- I hope her heels aren't high -- and study the artwork. As she slides through he goes, "Yes, no, no, yes--" So I hope she is taking notes. "Ugh, I can't believe I bought that," he says at one point. At another he goes, "You sold that?!" like he didn't tell her to in a fit of oh-god-i'm-dying tragedy.
They are low and sturdy, fashionable slingbacks rather than stilletos. Likely she gave those up long ago when hired as Stark's personal assistant. Pepper leans sliiiightly into that hooked arm, for all that her own hands are busy with work as she makes quick marks against each picture in indication of her employer's reactions. She even manages to reply with a completely straight face, "I always do exactly as you tell me to, Tony."
"I'm a terrible influence on you." Stark remains close until she finishes, at which point he pulls away to look up, up, up again at the shattered windows and broken lettering of the tower. "You are lying." His chiding is not very serious at all. "I can hear it, you know. When you lie. And you get this furrow--" He points at his own brow, between dark eyebrows. She doesn't. He's lying.
"Yes, well. Maybe about that, but you did tell me to sell it," Pepper says, lifting her own fingers to smooth along the line of her brow quickly as she looks up at the tower. "I have already contacted the insurance company and the contractor. The latter asked if you would like to take the time to reconsider the size of your lettering."
Stark considers. Then he says, "Yeah, good point. Make it bigger." Isn't that what the contractor meant?
"Of course. We would not want anyone to think that you are compensating," teases Pepper lightly at the request, though it is marked duly on her tablet.
"Oh, come on." Stark's look at Pepper is sly; it's a look more often found on a fox in the margins of a fairy tale. "You've seen enough to know better." He gestures, full-bodied. He does not thrust his pelvis. He is not /crude/. "I'm celebrating. Not compensating."
Pepper's lips quirk into a smile at the response, though her gaze remains on her tablet rather than lifting to Stark as soon as she catches that slyness. "I'll put that in the press release," she offers professionally.
"You're the best, Pep," Stark says. He says it as he always does: with a breezy lightness that does not entirely diminish the deep foundation of earnest respect ... but it sure could make a lady second-guess it. "If Fury has been nice, run it by his office, see if they want to add anything ... Avengery." He sketches a short gesture. Avengerish.
"I know." It is also light, said in the way of habit for all that Pepper's smile lingers as she looks to Tony. She begins closing the cover of the tablet, the leather-bound enclosure emblazoned with the Stark Industries' logo. "Is there anything else you would like to add to the statement?"
"We're great. We're super. We saved the world?" Stark suggests with a smile gleaming from the dark of his neat beard.
"I was thinking more along the lines of something specific to Stark Industries, Tony. Something to promote our latest technology in development?" Pepper counters, smoothing her fingers against the leather as she meets his gaze steadily and lingers.
Stark digs his toe against the pavement. It doesn't do good things to his very, very expensive shoes. Looking up, he sighs and again studies the lights of the building. "Remind them how the lights of Stark Tower stayed on, then, self-sustaining, renewable, not a draw on the city's power grid blowing all the lights out like when Richards starts experimenting--." Bitter? No.
There is a flick of Pepper's gaze to Tony's foot, some mental note made to get the shoes fixed later perhaps made in that brief moment before she nods to his response. She confirms, "I will include it and then have it forwarded to Fury's office."
"Excellent." Rocking forward to the balls of his feet, Stark gives over to momentum and pushes forward. "Let's go check out the damage, shall we?" He smiles back over his shoulder at her, and then onward they go into the dark tower to figure out what to patch and what to pitch in favor of some better, brilliant new ideas.
Pepper is a professional personal assistant.