A THOUSAND LIVES ▹ N. Romanoff

FOUR. in which natasha and evelyn are liars

[ A THOUSAND LIVES ]
chapter four; in which natasha and evelyn are liars

❝ How I do what I do doesn't concern you, doll. ❞

THE NEXT MORNING, TONY AND EVELYN SIT IN THE FORMER'S OFFICE. The two had been going through Tony's schedule for the next week, choosing what galas to attend and what speech to give at what event. This is interrupted when Natasha peaks her head in. Her eyes scan the room, no doubt looking for potential threats. Which is why her eyes briefly lock onto Evelyn.

"What do you want, Romanoff." It's not a question.

"We're supposed to train, you're officially-" She checks her watch. "Twenty minutes late."

"I could lie and say I forgot, but I don't care enough to do that. I didn't want to." Tony quips without looking up from his hologram screen. "Thanks for your time though, Romanoff. You're an angel." Everything he says is coated in sarcasm.

"Hm, an angel, huh?" Natasha's gaze stays on Evelyn for a split second longer. Evelyn blinks and feigns innocence. "I think you're deaf." Tony hasn't looked up from his screen, so the tension goes straight over his head. "Thanks for checking in, though!"

"If you do this again, I'll break everything in your office."

"Thank you for your enthusiasm." Tony nods, Natasha's footsteps retreating down the hall. Evelyn says nothing, trying to refocus on the task at hand. Thor's such a little snitch. "Anyways, where were we?"

"Avengers at Comic-Con. Yes or no?"

⭑ ⭑ ⭑

Evelyn sits in her office, reading over Tony's speeches. There's always some inappropriate part that she has to erase and rewrite. She wonders why he can't just be PG-13 sometimes. She also wonders how much Natasha knows. She knows that Thor can't keep his mouth shut, but he's more loyal than that. What'd she bribe him with? There's nothing on Midgard that Thor'd wa-

"Those fucking Pop Tarts." She says to herself in a low voice while erasing another line of the speech. "It's a fucking strudel, Thor, we can get strudels from anywhere..."

As she shakes her head, she can see a figure at the door. She's shocked to see Steve. "Mr. Rogers, how may I help you?" She prays he didn't hear too much.

"Miss Carlson, I'm sorry if I'm interrupting," He begins politely. This is why Steve is her favorite (behind Natasha, of course.) "But Bruce is going on a coffee run, would you like anything?"

She hasn't told anyone yet.

"Yeah, just a iced latte. Thank you, Mr. Rogers." Evelyn gives him a genuine smile. Steve nods once before allowing Evelyn to return to her vulgar speeches. Seriously, if she had a dollar for every crude word or even cruder joke, she'd be as rich as Tony himself.