CEO??

Chapter 22

"Ooh, what flavor?" I asked as I entered the room, causing him to jump slightly.

"Oh! Hey, Peter. It's mint something. Loki suggested it."

I hissed, backing away from the tub slowly. "That thing goes nowhere near me or my food," I hissed.

He stared at me in confusion until he heard laughing from the hallway. I dragged Loki out by the ear and glared at her. "Not sorry," she said unapologetically.

"You can stab me all you want, but never mess with my gelato," I hissed. The smell of mint was making my senses overload and I frantically tried to block it out, but that only seemed to make it worse. It started to hurt and I whimpered slightly, covering my ears and squeezing my eyes shut.

Loki quickly realized what was happening. "Friday, SO protocol," she whispered, though it sounded like she was yelling to me. The light dimmed and Loki quickly disposed of the gelato so I could no longer sense it.

"What's happening?" Ren asked quietly, watching me curl into myself with wide eyes and a scared expression.

"Ren, I need you to go ask Ellie if she finished those hearing aids," Loki ordered. "Tell her it's an emergency."

Ren paled and ran out of the room. I could hear him talking to Ellie. "Those hearing thingies!" he said. "Are they done?"

"I just finished them, though I haven't finished the exterior design yet."

"Come with me," Darren said hesitantly. "Bring the thingies and be quiet."

She seemed to understand as they didn't speak anymore and soon Ellie was at the doorway, eyes wide as she registered that I was having the sensory overload that Spider-Man gets. She quickly rushed over and gently handed me the hearing aids, gesturing for me to put them in.

I did and turned them on. All sound around me decreased and I sighed in relief. "Thank you," I said.

Loki smiled and handed me a pair of glasses that also help. "Anything for you, Little Brother."

I rolled my eyes. "I was speaking to Ellie, but thank you as well, Lokes."

"You..." Ellie trailed off.

"Yeah, I'm Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man," I confirmed.

"Wow," she breathed. "That's so cool! So when we made that stuff for Spidey, it was really for you?"

I laughed nervously. "Yeah, sorry. I swear that isn't the reason you got the job. You guys are all brilliant." My sensory overload died down a bit and I took out the hearing aids to study them, leaving the glasses on. "So... will these always cancel out my enhanced hearing?" I asked as I studied them.

It had a sleek white design, lacking the usual decoration that Ellie was so excellent at, but she had said she wasn't finished. They fit well enough, but would need to be adjusted.

She shook her head. "No. Only when you say so. Or you can manually adjust the volume."

"Wonderful," I praised as I turned it around in my hands. "What design were you thinking?"

She shrugged. "I was going to ask you if you would get in touch with Spider-Man so we could figure that out together. However, seeing as you are Spider-Man, what do you think?"

I hummed. "Something professional, so I can wear them while working, but beyond that, I will leave the design to you. You are the expert after all."

She blushed and nodded with a smile. "Anything else?"

"They will need to be adjusted slightly to fit better, but other than that, they work perfectly. Let me know what you decide on for the design," I said. Then I added, "I should get your input on the rest of the Avengers' equipment. Clint's suit could use an upgrade."

Her eyes were wide as she said, "Are you certain?."

I waved a hand dismissively. "Each of the others have already been assigned a project for an Avenger. Plus, you're a designer, and I'm certain you'd do well with their suits. Of course, I would help with some things, and you'd have to get them in here for measurements."

"I'm not really qualified," she said unsurely.

"I read your resume and ran a background check on you, Eleanor," I said. "You have a degree in fashion design. I'd say that's more qualification than I have."

She smiled and accepted the project.

"Darlin'! Friday told me you were back," Harley said as he entered the room. "How'd it go?"

"Excellent," I beamed. "Now, Fri, please set a tower-wide ban on anything mint. Just say it is coming as a request from Spider-Man because of his enhanced senses. Thank you."

"Can I tell the Spidey Club?" Ellie asked.

I sighed. "Sure, why not. Hey, Darren, can I talk to you alone for a few minutes?"

He nodded and followed me to my office. "What's up?"

"I want to offer you a full time position as my assistant," I said. "Your mother has given me permission to offer this to you and we have figured a way around the school thing."

He grinned. "Of course! What do I need to do?"

"Sign these. You'll basically be doing what you've been doing this week. You'll be given your own office, if you would like, and a permanent badge. You will be paid $16.50 an hour and your hours will be from 6:00 to 7:00, though you can stay later than that if you want," I explained, handing him the forms.

He signed them, trusting that I wouldn't try to trick him in any way. "Thank you, thank you, thank, you!" he chirped, tackling me in a hug.

I laughed and hugged him back. "You deserve it, Kid. Now, let's go back out there and we'll let everyone know, yeah?"

He nodded and followed me out the door, a large grin still plastered on his face. "Guess what?" he exclaimed as he reached the room where everyone had congregated so Ellie could tell them my identity and Shuri was waiting to make sure I was okay.

"What?" Shuri asked.

"I got a job as Peter's assistant!"

"That's great!" Loki cheered. "That means we can hang out more!"

"Peter," a voice sounded from behind me, "why is Loki in my tower?"

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Thoughts?