Parenthood (Tony Stark's Daughter)

-Chapter 2- Business Meetings

       As Happy drives down the busy streets of Malibu, Tony sitting shotgun, sneaks subtle peeks through the side mirror at the little girl. His daughter. His mind is working at incredible speeds as he figures up the math in his head. He had gone out with Melissa Harrison for three months (maybe four?) and that had been before he got stranded in the cave with Doctor , before he had become Iron Man. That was almost eight whole years ago, making Maggie exactly how old she was currently. There were no lies. But Tony was certainly no fool. He would give her a DNA test as soon as he could, just to be certain.
       Melissa was someone he had met at one of his parties. She was the bar attendant who had a pretty smile and a low-cut, black shirt. However, it wasn't just her beautiful face or nice rack that attracted Tony, it was her sassy wit. She was hard to get, and that thrilled him. Every supermodel and her sister threw themselves at his feet just to have the bragging rights that they slept with a billionaire. But not her. She was different. She was refreshing.
       The two had eventually broken it off after months of being together. She hated the spotlight, the fame. Word eventually (like it always did in the life of a billionaire) got out about their relationship. She could not even go to the grocery store without a hoard of cameras and microphones being shoved in her face. She wasn't cut out for that life. So she left.
       It hurt Tony to see her go, but he knew it was for the better. He got over her quickly, with the help of keeping himself busy with his work. And after a few months, he had forgotten she'd even existed in his life.
       Now the memories of her floods back into him as he looks at Melissa's daughter. For the first time in Stark's life, he has no clue what to say.
       "So . . . Maggie, you're seven right?" Happy asks and coughs awkwardly. His eyes darts over to Tony, begging him for help in the conversation, but Tony quickly looks away.
       She doesn't say anything in response, and Tony turns to see why. She has red headphones on her head that he didn't even notice she had. They were red, the first thing on her that wasn't over the top girly.
       Tony sighs and leans back into his leather seat, relieved that the worry over making conversation with her was over for now. They head to the large building where they were to pick up Pepper Potts and head over to the Stark Enterprise building.
       When his eyes catch the slim figure of Miss Potts as she walks down the steps of the building, his stomach does flips as he steps out of the car to greet her. He is nervous. How is he supposed to tell her? Could he lose her from this? No. He won't let that happen. Pepper means more to him than this random little girl. He just needs to word this carefully.
       "Hey, gorgeous," he starts off with flattery.
       Her face breaks out into a pretty smile as she waves to him. She is dressed in that sexy grey dress that he bought her a few months back for their anniversary. Her red pumps click on the sidewalk as she meets him at the car.
       "Hey, handsome," she says as he gives her a quick peck on the cheek, "you're in a good mood today. I have the papers that Google has signed for our petition to let the Thor enter in the Olympics."
       She moves to open the door to the backseat, but he pushes the door shut again and smiles apologetically.
       "What's going on?" Pepper asks as she raises her perfectly manicured brow.
       "You know I love you, right?"
       "Tony-"
       "There's something I want to talk to you about, but we don't have much time, so I'm just gonna say it. There's a little girl in there and she showed up on my doorstep this morning. I just need to watch her for a few weeks." he rushes and opens the door for her.
       "What?" she is at a loss for words. This time, it's her turn to push the door close, "Explain,"
       "She's seven."
       "Okay? What else?" Pepper narrows her eyes.
       "She likes pink."
       "Every girl does at seven."
       "She might be my long lost daughter."
       "What? Are you serious?" Pepper's mouth drops open.
       "Don't freak out, babe," Tony rubs her arms soothingly, "That dress looks really good on you."
       She pushes his hands away, "Your daughter? How . . . when? You better start explaining yourself, Stark."
       "I will, I promise. But I can't right now. We have the meeting with-"
       "I think this is more important," she tilts her head to the side, trying to glance at the young girl in the seat.
       "Pep, we need to go. I'll explain everything later," he says quickly as he opens the door again and ushers her inside.
       "You better," she makes severe eye contact with him before she shits the door behind her and goes back to his passenger seat.
       The ride is unnaturally, uncomfortably silent. Tony avoids all eye contact of Pepper from the rear view mirror. Happy sighs as they pull up to a red light. They've hit every red light on the way.
       Pepper, who is the queen of getting out of uncomfortable silence, turns to the young girl, "So, what's your name?"
       She takes her cheap headphones off, "I'm Maggie. What's your name?"
       "My name is Pepper, like the spice. So, you're seven?"
       "Yep, I'm seven and a half, actually. By the way, your hair is pretty." Maggie corrects. Her voice is sweet and kind. The voice fills Tony's stomach with butterflies.
       "Thank you, sweetie." Pepper smiles and flicks her strawberry blonde hair off her shoulder.
       Maggie returns her smile, "I had a friend that had red hair, she moved to California, though. But she really liked carrots. Do all red-haired girls like carrots? Do you?"
       Pepper looks overwhelmed now. She is around middle aged men and women who run some of the world's most influential companies. She isn't use to kids who ask way too many questions about random topics. "Umm no..?"
       Maggie, accepting that answer, turns from Pepper and asks Tony, "Where are we going?"
       "Meetings and boring stuff," Tony answers her casually.
       "Tony, this is serous," Pepper retorts with an exasperated sigh.
       "Don't you work with the Avengers?" Maggie tilts her head to the side.
       Tony turns around in his seat to face at her, "Yeah, not only am I the handsome billionaire owner of Stark Enterprises, but I'm also a very famous super hero. I'm sure you've heard of me."
       Pepper rolls her eyes and Maggie replies, "Yes, I've heard of you, but I like Captain America better."
       Tony's mouth falls open in disbelief, "What? How could you like him better than me? I literally build the coolest machines on the planet."
       Maggie shrugs her little shoulders, "He's patriotic. And handsome."
       Tony, flabbergasted, doesn't  have enough time to give a sarcastic reply before they pull in front of a tall, glass building, the glowing sign of Stark rose above every other skyscraper. They exit the limousine, and Tony mentally prepares himself as he is swarmed by news reporters. He smiles as they ask him questions, each one competing to be heard over the other.
       "Mr. Stark, Mr. Stark, who's the little girl with you?" a female reporter questions as she shoves her mic in his face.
       "No comments," Happy answers for him as he ushers them through the crowd and into the building. The door shuts behind them, silence any conversation the reporters were trying to make with the billionaire.
       Pepper steps over to the receptionist as Tony glances down at the girl before him, "You need to wait down here with Happy, kid."
       Happy moves closer to his boss, "No can do, boss. I gotta stay with you at all costs while we are out."
       Tony inwardly groans, "I think I'm fine in here. They have security everywhere."
       "I'm paid to stay with you. I have to do my job." Happy shakes his head.
       "I know, I pay you. But I need someone to watch her during this meeting." Tony motions to the little girl who stares up at them.
       "I'm coming up, and I'll bring her, too." Happy decides, sealing their fate.
     The reluctant trio gathers into the elevator and wait for their floor to come. Stark glimpses l down at Maggie, who only came up to his waist.
      She feels his gaze in her and turns to look up at him, asking, "Can I hold your hand?"
       Tony grimaces and shoves Happy towards her, "Hold his hand instead."
       She nods, disheartened and grasps Happy's large hand in her small one. The lift pings when it reaches its destination, and they step out onto the 9th floor. It is a large room with a conference table in the middle, where men in business suits await them. The large windows at the far end of the room cover the entire wall, allowing for a charming view of the city and great spacious feeling to the room.
       Stark and Potts greet the business men, and Happy excuses himself to the other end of the room, where he sits. The CEO of the company turns towards the little girl who stands quietly beside Stark.
       "Hey, Dave, how's it going?" Tony asks insincerely. He's never liked David Callfore, but he truly was a smart businessman. Just not a good person in general.
       "Who's this?" Dave spoke with slight impatience to his deep voice, ignoring his question.
       Maggie steps forward, "I'm Maggie. Do you always wear dorky ties? My old neighbor wore really dorky ties and it turned out that he was gay. Are you gay?"
       The man clenches his jaw, his vein in his forehead popping angrily, causing Pepper to laugh nervously and grasp Maggie's hand. She pulls her towards the large window.
       "Why did you bring a little girl here, Anthony?" David turns directly to him.
       "Uh. . . she's . . . an intern." Tony says pathetically.
       "Really? Do you really think I'm that dumb? Never mind, it doesn't matter. Come sit, let's talk business." Dave insists as he takes a seat at the head of the table.
       Pepper leaves Maggie nearby the window and joins the men at the table. Maggie stands at the window looking at the city. She has never been to Malibu before, never seen the ocean. She lived with mother in Illinois. She looks down in sorrow, the memories of her mother flooding into her heart.
She was with the babysitter when they got the call. She was in shock. A day later, Therese showed up, and they went to Tony. She misses her mother - a lot. It hurts so much just to think of her, to remember her. So she doesn't. She puts her mother's memory in a box and locks it in the back of her mind.
       Maggie turns slightly from the window and sneaks a glance at Tony. He is different from the dads at the park or her friend's fathers. She wants him to love her, to hold her and tell her that everything will be alright.
       She frowns after a few moments of staring out the window. Now, she is officially bored. She takes off her backpack and roots through it. There is plenty to do in there. Therese helped her pack for the long plane ride and car drive that it took to get to Tony. She smiles when she finds her pink notebook. She glances at Happy who looks as if he is half asleep in his chair, before she trots over to Tony.
       Tony sits lazily in a chair, barely listening to what Dave and the others are saying. He realizes he knows how to fix the buggy AC, but now he's stuck with this meeting.
       Pepper, as usual, is doing most of the talking. She stands at the head of the table presenting the topic. Most of the men's attention is on her, much to his dismay. He feels a light tap on his shoulder from behind. He spins his office chair to see who beckons his attention. Maggie stands before him holding a pink sequin note book. She has a small grin on her little face. The same ornery grin Tony himself gives many times.
       "Do you wanna play a game?" she whispers, raising her eyebrow.
       "How about the silent game?" Stark whispers back.
       Her once angelic face twisted into a menacing glare, "I know what that is. Let's play Tic-Tac-Toe."
       Tony groans quietly, eyeing the men who had no clue he was no longer paying attention as she put the pink folder in front of him on the table. She has already drawn the lines of the game. Maggie hands him a pink glittery pencil. He quickly draws an x in the center of the boxes. He knows the strategy to this childhood game.
       "I want to be the x's," she whispers to him.
       "Too late, I already drew them," he challenges.
       She huffs, scribbling the smallest circle Tony has ever seen in a box. Their childish game only takes a few more turns of this until Tony wins, crossing his x's in a row.
       "Dang it!" Maggie whines in defeat, which causes Tony to smirk in triumph, tossing the pen on her notebook.
      "Mr. Stark, were you even listening?" Dave mutters as he grits his teeth. All of their attention was now drawn to them. They looked completely annoyed, realizing that he was not even paying attention.
       "No, not really," Stark replies casually.
       Dave pinches between his eyes, "I can't deal with this. . ."
       "Dave, can I just say -" Pepper begins, but Dave interrupts her.
       "No, I'm not dealing with bratty little kids today." he berates harshly.
       "Hey, I'm not bratty! Your bald head is clouding your vision!" Maggie fires back.
       Tony can't help the snicker that leaves his mouth as Dave stands quickly, "Get out, all of you!"
       Tony rises from his chair, and Maggie inches behind him, her bravery diminishing from the man's loud voice. Happy, in an instant, moves from his chair, stepping beside Tony.
       "Mr. Callfore, I assure you he won't always have the little girl-" Pepper begs, a last-ditch effort to keep this meeting under her control.
       "No, I cannot work with someone who can't take his work seriously. Leave or I'll call the security." Dave warns lowly.
       "You're fires, Dave," Tony states calmly.
       "What?" He looks shocked. He still thinks he's in control.
        "I own this building. I own your company. I own you, Dave. Don't talk about my kid like that. Don't talk to me like that." Tony narrows his eyes as he watches Dave Callfore's eyes widen.
       "No, that's not what I meant-"
       "I got what you meant. Now it's time you got what I meant. You're fired. Pack you stuff and leave. I don't have time to deal with this all day." Tony turns and moves for the elevator.
Pepper, hiding a smile of approval, grabs Maggie's hand as they retreat over to the elevator. Maggie is the last to get in, and the lift begins to move. An awkward silence fills the air.
       "Where are we going to now?" Maggie asks in a small voice.
       Her question is met with silence.
       Maggie's face glimmers with guilt, "I'm sorry,"
       Pepper sighs and rubs her forehead, "You know what? That's okay. Let's go drop you off somewhere okay?"
       Maggie looks over at Tony in question, who just shrugs in return, "Where?"
      "Avengers' Tower."