Heartlines | Steve Rogers

XIX

NINETEEN
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"Ms. Stark, I'm just saying, this program I created would be worth your while. If you just gave it a chance and implemented it, then you'd see that!" A pleased man followed after her as she was leaving work.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Smith." She replied as she continued to walk towards the double doors of Stark Industries HQ.

"Ms. Stark, please!" He grabbed her arm, pulling her back. She gave him an odd look. Was he really trying to disrespect her like that? What kind of person just grabs someone they don't know like that?

"Hey, she said no. Don't you know who you're speaking to?" She heard a familiar voice say. The man still held onto her arm as he narrowed his eyes at both of them.

"Your name may be Meredith Stark, but that means nothing. You're nothing. It's your fault all those people died in Sokovia." He spat before walking off. She stood there a moment, not knowing how to take what he said. She'd been okay for a while, but sometimes all it took was one thing.

"Hey, it's okay." John gently grabbed her. She stopped staring ahead and turned to look at him. He was still just the same, perfect jawline and perfect form.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, giving him a surprised look. He'd never made a special trip to come see her, so she wondered.

"Seems like you needed a friend." He shrugged with a smile. She returned a sad one and he pulled her in for a hug. "Don't listen to him or anyone else. It's okay."

"Why don't you think the same as all those people? I mean, they're all right." She shook her head as she pulled away. She eyed him closely, and he knew he had to find the right words to say.

"No, they're not. I get it, Mer. I know what you and Tony and Dr. Banner were trying to do. It was an incredible initiative, and I'm sorry it didn't work out as planned." He apologized. There were so many oppositional reports about it, but he knew Meredith never would've intended what happened. When he watched her interview, he understood what had happened then.

"I'm Deborah Norville with Inside Edition. Tonight, we're sitting down with Meredith Stark for a special episode. Ms. Stark, thank you for agreeing to do this." She welcomed her, and nervousness evaded her. She did this all the time with people who she spoke about worse things with. Meredith couldn't help but inhale sharply before she spoke.

"Of course, yeah, I'm glad to be here. And, just call me Meredith." She reached over and shook her hand professionally. She adjusted her sitting to make herself look more presentable on the screen. This was all live, and while she normally had nothing to worry about considering she was well-collected, she had to make sure she said the right things and chose her words carefully. She didn't want to say the wrong thing or say anything that could be turned into something wrong. Then again, people will always be able to twist her words and anyone else's.

"Okay, Meredith." She gave her a reassuring smile. She was able to detect when anyone was feeling nervous in her studio. That was the usual, though. But they both knew what they were about to talk about. Tony had done everything to convince Meredith not to do this interview. He'd gotten asked to be there, too, but instantly declined. She didn't want anymore people to have the wrong idea of what happened or of her— even though they always would. Steve had expressed his hesitance with the situation, too, saying that he didn't want something to be said to her and have her lose it on TV. Both of them were tuning in that night. All the Avengers were. "Firstly, I'd like to just say that you look stunning tonight, as always. You've been named the world's most stunning woman a multitude of times. How does it feel?"