Cooking for the Avengers

7. Good Luck

I looked at Jason curiously as he pushed the button for floor 78. "I appreciate you helping me, but don't you have work to do or something?"

He scoffed. "Yeah, work. My "work" mostly consists of me getting coffee, making copies, and running around the tower like a mad man delivering messages that are "too important to be send by email"." He uses air quotes. "But yeah, I've got so much work to do!" he adds sarcastically.

"So why do you stay?"

His mouth curved into a smile and his eyes sparked with excitement. "I want to do great things, invent great things to help people improve their lives. I want to do what Tony has done- make the world a better place!"

His shoulders slump forward and he suddenly looks less confidant than before. "This is how I get my foot in the door." He fiddles with his glasses as his voice becomes quiet. "I've been here two years. I only wish I had more opportunities to show them what I can do..."

I examine the floor, unsure of what to say. This obviously means a lot to him. What do you say to a guy whose worked so hard, and yet his dream is still out of reach?

I balance the tray in one hand and place an arm around his shoulders in a hug, hoping to give him some comfort.

He turns and flashes me a grin, masterfully hiding the pain from before. "So anyway..." he says as the doors open. "This is when I leave you!" he puts his foot in front of the doors to keep them from closing.

"Thanks Jason, it was nice meeting you!" I say cheerfully. I quickly shuffle out the door and into the hall.

He removes his foot and slips into a bow with unexpected ease. "No problem milady!" From his stooped position, he lifts his head and winks.

I raise my brow and shake my head, smiling at him. I had to admit, he was pretty cute.

He straightens and leans against the wall with his arms crossed. "See ya Al!"

I wrinkle my nose at the horrid nickname.

He smirks. "You can call me Jay, by the way... and hey, good luck!" he calls as the doors close.

Why does everyone keep telling me that?

I turn around and face the long corridor. I take a deep breath and walk through the lab.

There are several tables throughout with equipment I didn't even know the name of. I walked by several mechanical arms that seemed to follow my every step. "Mr. Stark?" My call is met with silence.

All right, this is getting creepy. To my left lay a table mostly uncovered. I looked around once more before setting the tray down. I'll just leave this here where he can see it-

"Allison Noelle Hart!"

"GAH!" I shriek as I jump into the air. I swirl around and see Tony standing behind me looking intently at a folder in his hand. He seemed unconcerned about the heart attack I just had.

"Mr. Stark! I-"

"Born in Orlando, Florida on July 4th, 1992 to George and Sondra Hart. Did well enough in school, graduated from Edgewater High with a 3.30 GPA." He looks up. "Tsk tsk Miss Hart! English is not your strong suit is it?"

"What are you-"

"Just looking through your file Allison!" Tony answers.

I have a file?

"Now where were we? Ah yes! Went to Le Cordon Bleu where you excelled! Well that's good to know, wouldn't want you poising me eh?" he chuckled.

"Um.. Mr. Stark-"