Chemical Poison . Howard Stark

Chapter 7

Click-Click-Click

The sound of her heels echoed across the hard floor, ricocheting through the air. She was all too aware that the silence, this strange quietness was not from the crisp noise when her heel hits the floor, but from the fingers wrapped around her waist. The long, warm fingers digging into her blouse.

All eyes, every single eye, was on Howard Stark's fingers resting on her waist. His hips far too close to her own, attacking all modesty she upheld in every aspect of her life. She knew her cheeks were flushed, she was beyond embarrassed. Her eyes remained on the floor, knowing she couldn't stare at any of the employees in the eye. 

"I hate you," Anneliese hissed, not bothered to cover her accent, "I hate you, I hate you so mu-"

Howard's fingers jerked slightly lower, causing an involuntary yelp to leave Anneliese's mouth. She had never turned her head so quickly to face him, glaring at him. His boyish grin plagued his lips, a sense of proud achievement. She absolutely loathed him, detested him.

The very second they appeared in front of the boardroom, Anneliese smacked Howard's fingers away from her waist and harshly grabbed her bag from his hands. Puffing loudly as she stormed past him and into the office, Anneliese was beyond angry. Ironically, it seemed Howard had managed to make two Lorenz's utterly and most certainly pissed off. And that, in fact, was dangerous. 

Without any care Alexander and her father's presence, she waited for Howard to leisurely enter the room before she slammed in closed. Breathing loudly as she stared at the man, her bag long forgotten on the floor. She couldn't stop her fingers from curling into a fist which were stretched straight towards the floor. 

"What have you done," she asked calmly. Trying her best to count her breathing.

Breath in, breath out, breath in-

"-It was the perfect solution."

Scoffing, Anneliese couldn't believe what she was hearing. She stormed past Howard and towards the table where a copy of the morning paper rested, Anneliese and Howard on the very front. Harshly scrunching the paper under her hand, she waved it above her head before the onslaught ensued. 

"This? You call this a perfect solution," Anneliese rapidly waved the paper more vigorously, almost dangerously so. "This is a stupid solution, an absolute joke. All this will do is prove Mr Anderson to be partially correct, that I slept my way to the bloody top!"

Her voice grew with each deep breath, but her eyes never left Howard's. Infuriating her more as she watched his smile grow. "Do you think that's funny?"

The question was a rhetoric one, but Howard nodded.

She was going to murder the man.

Screeching under her breath, Anneliese stormed back in front of Howard, waving the paper in front of his eyes. No longer caring if she injured him, he could fire her for all she cared for. She didn't want to see his curved smile no more.

"OH FOR-", Anneliese yelled before pausing, forcing herself to breath. In a lower voice, but no less venomous, she spoke, "It is already hard enough for any man to listen to listen to me as a women, let alone a German."

Her accent returned, no longer the ditzy New York one she usually always used when she was with anyone but her father. It seemed to get the message across quickly as she watched Howard's wide slowly begin to tick. "Do you understand how much harder it is going to be for me to do my job? I don't have a wealthy banker father behind me or your male privilege. i don't get second chances or first ones. I have to do everything correct on the first go, or that's enough for me to be done for. And now you have thrown yet another challenge in my face. It solved your issues for hiring such imbeciles, but it only makes my life harder!"