mrtonystark (mrtonystark) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-01-09 16:00:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, lorna dane (polaris), tony stark (iron man) |
Who: Tony Stark (Iron Man) and Lorna Dane (Polaris)
When: BACKDATED November 4
Where: Stark Tower
What: Job Interview
Rating/Warnings: Low/None
Status: Complete!
Lorna was dressed well for her interview, but when she saw Stark Tower she realized she wasn’t nearly slick enough to blend in with the regular workers. She tugged the hem of her jacket down self-consciously, but she didn’t let it get to her. She would be a fresh perspective and that would make her an asset.
She hoped.
She followed the instructions she was given, looking around at the beautiful art and architecture of the building. It only got more beautiful the closer she got to where she was going.
Tony’s personal secretary was waiting for Lorna when she stepped out of the elevator. Lorna smiled cheerfully and checked in, making sure to be polite to the woman. Word was Tony was something of a wild card, so Lorna thought kindness toward the secretary was the best course of action.
She took her seat and settled herself, focusing on her breathing to keep herself relaxed and confident.
The large, double-doors that led to Tony’s office and labs opened. Tony poked his head through and glanced around the room. The little speaker in his ear had told him that his next appointment had arrived. He pulled the little speaker in his ear out of his head, and tossed it aside. Then he finished welding before coming out into the lobby area.
There was only one person waiting in the lobby area. Tony’s eyes fell on the girl, and he nodded once. “Miss Dane?”
Lorna stood and marched over to Tony, holding her hand out to shake. She focused on looking confident and friendly, which wasn’t terribly hard for her. “Mister Stark. It’s nice to meet you.”
“The pleasure’s all mine.” Tony said, reaching a hand out to shake hers. So far so good. First impressions meant a lot, and this one wasn’t bad. Tony took a step back and motioned toward the door he’d come through. “Come on in. Check out the lab, and see what’s on the slab.”
Lorna giggled and nodded. “I’m shivering with antici. . .pation.” It felt like a good thing that Tony was joking with her right off the bat. A fun workplace would definitely be nicer than a boring one.
Tony chuckled. It was good when he got on with his employees. Or, well, future employees. He was pretty sure this girl had the job. She seemed competent from her application and resume, and she had a sense of humor. Good signs.
“You’re here for an interview?” He asked over his shoulder as he led the way into his lab. “Tell me a little about yourself.”
“I’m an astrophysicist, I bake for a hobby, I’m way more into geology than most people and I’m a team player.” He was acting nonchalant so she might as well do the same. If she didn’t get the job at Stark she had three other interviews in the next week. So far, though, none of them seemed as fun as this.
“Will you bring cupcakes in to work? Before you answer,” Tony added quickly, cutting her off just in case she was ready to respond, “understand that I’m a very harsh cupcake critic. And I expect my cupcakes to represent geological configurations. Not out of the box crap, either.” He was teasing, of course.
He opened the door to his lab to lead her inside, motioning with his arm at the state of the art equipment. “Don’t touch anything if you’re not sure what it does.”
“I’d never pass off box cupcakes to someone with a discerning palate,” Lorna said with a laugh. Geological cupcakes actually sounded like a lot of fun to make.
When he showed her his lab Lorna let out a whistle of appreciation. “Sure thing,” Lorna said, looking around curiously. The urge to touch things was pretty strong but she did as she was told. “What do you do here, exactly? I mean I know it’s your name on the building but this looks like you do actual work.”
“I invented most of the patents that bring in the majority of the company’s money. And the things I didn’t invent, I tweaked to become more productive, more efficient.” He paused for a moment, trying to see the lab from the eyes of someone who wasn’t there every day. It was difficult, as he was there every day. He’d built this lab from the ground up.
“So, I suppose the rest of this interview is mostly a formality.” Tony added, moving over to one of his benches. “Just answer me one question.” He sat on a stool and turned to face her. “Why do you want to work here?”
“Well, I’ve got a few options as far as work goes. Stark is the top of my list and it’s because of you, in a way. Having a boss who’s on my level, or even smarter than me, someone who can understand what I mean when I talk about technical things is a dream come true. I don’t want to just be another line on a payroll sheet, I want to be part of a team. Stark employs the best so I’d be among the best. Plus that would mean that I’m one of the best and who doesn’t like to have a job that strokes their ego?” She laughed a little, her nerves melting away. Tony was surprisingly amiable.
Tony chuckled softly at the ‘even smarter than me’ comment. He knew how infuriating it was to have superiors who weren’t actually smarter than him, but who thought they were. He could tell he was going to enjoy working with this young woman--though the chances of them working on the same projects were relatively slim. He’d like having her in his employ, then. That was better. No expectations there. And everyone who worked at Stark was the best, she was right about that.
“I couldn’t have put it better myself,” Tony said, nodding his approval. “When can you start?”