Chapter 6
Six
Harley Keener
Harley couldn’t take his eyes off of the TV, watching Captain America shove his shield into the chest of the Iron Man suit.
He felt nauseous.
He opened his phone and opened the thread that he had with Tony.
Nothing for a little while, almost two months.
He opened a new thread to Tony’s AI.
FRIDAY, is he okay?
No. But he’s alive and getting better every day.
Okay, thank you for letting me know. Let him know I asked about him.
Yes, Mr. Keener.
“Is he okay?” His mom, Emily, asked as she dried her hands as she finished washing the dishes.
“As good as he can be. He’s recovering.” Harley answered.
“Well, let him know we wish him a fast recovery.” His mom told him. “Lily!” she yelled. “Come on! You need to finish your social studies report!” She shouted. She turned to Harley. “Did you finish everything you needed to, Harley?” She asked.
“I’m all caught up. Thankfully finals are soon, then summer.” He said gratefully.
“I know…” She sighed unhappily. Harley watched her body language, little cues giving him little pieces of the red flag that went across his mind.
“Do you have work tonight, mom?” Harley asked as he opened his smartphone, opening Twitter and ignored the Iron Man tweets that were trending. He looked at her out of the corner of his eyes, able to view her body language better if she thought he wasn’t paying attention.
“Oh, not tonight, honey.” She said as she wiped down the counter. “Lily!” His sister’s door opened and she stepped out, wrapped in a bright pink Hello Kitty robe.
“God, Mom. I said I was coming…” Lily pouted at her.
“No, you didn’t.” Emily stared down her daughter.
“I so did.” Lily sat down at the table and opened her binder to her project.
“Lily, you know Mom can’t hear you through the door.” Harley said, giving his sister the stink eye. It seemed whenever their Mom wasn’t working, Lily was giving her a hard time, instead of enjoying the free time that their Mom had, like Harley did.
Lily grumbled but didn’t argue.
Emily shot her son a grateful look.
She didn’t have the easiest time since her husband left her when she was at work, telling Harley he was going to get scratchers and never coming back.
She was sure that Harley had some resentment, anger or trust issues from that event but he never showed it, just watched over his sister without complaint, helping around the house without being asked and took over the garage for his little projects.
Her little boy was turning into a wonderful, intelligent young man.
He deserved better than this backwater town.
Especially hearing the conversations that he had with Tony, sometimes she overheard the back and forth’s they had about an invention.
If her son could keep up with Tony Stark, then that was an indicator of her son’s intelligence.
Which made her feel even worse about what was on her mind.
She got a pink slip, fired, however anyone wants to say it, the fact of the matter is she no longer had an income.
She kept a job at the local diner for the last fifteen years and she showed up to work two days ago and was told they were letting her go.
No reason at all.
Her state was a state where they didn’t have to give you a reason. So, she was screwed.
She tried to go to other businesses and was told that they weren’t hiring.
She looked at the two teens who depended on her for their food and way of living.
Her bills were already suffocating her, she could barely make ends meet as it was, being the only income in the household.
She helped Lily with her homework and kissed Harley on the head as he went to bed and turned off the lights and cried herself to sleep that night.
Harley stood outside his mother’s bedroom door and listened to her cry, his heart clenching, not knowing what to do.
He turned around and went back to his room.
“What are we going to do if Mom doesn’t have a job?” he asked himself. “Maybe I could get a job.”
At the other end of the phone, FRIDAY recorded the audio and forwarded it to Boss.
Immediately, FRIDAY saw an email from Boss to HR asking what positions were open that needed to be filled ASAP.
After she saw her kids off to school, watching the bus fading out of her vision, she heard a car roll up behind her. She whipped around and saw a woman step out of the car.
“Can I help you?” Emily folded her arms around her abdomen.
“Emily Keener?”
“Yes?” She frowned.
“My name is Vanessa McNair, I work at Stark Industries. Is there anywhere we could talk?” The woman had a smart suit on. Well, hell, if this was a job interview, she was glad she wasn’t wearing pajamas. But she doubted it.
She was wearing a casual pair of jeans and a nice sweater, with flats on her feet.
“Yes, we can go into the house, if you’d like?” Emily hoped her voice was warm and open. She made her way over to her door and closed it behind the two of them. Thank god she cleaned the kitchen last night, like a mad woman. “Coffee? Tea? Water?” Emily offered.
“Water would be great.” Vanessa smiled.
Emily wordlessly handed her a bottle of water that she took from the fridge.
“Dr. Stark has had a line of communication with your son Harley for some time.” Vanessa began.
“Yes, they talk on the phone often. Harley loves it.” Emily took a sip of water.
“Dr. Stark is starting a bit of a mentorship program. He has his eyes set on a young man in New York and Harley and possibly his younger sister as well. He would ultimately like to see him in New York as well, as that is where Dr. Stark lives.”
“Ultimately, I would like to see Harley and even Lily in New York, so many more opportunities for them. They are great kids.” Vanessa smiled politely.
“Dr. Stark would like me to be aggressive, but I’ll ask you point blank: What would get you to New York?” Vanessa asked, opening her folder, leaving Emily to gape at her.
“Um…what?” Emily felt mental whiplash.
“Dr. Stark wants your family in New York. What can I tempt you with to get you there?” Vanessa made eye contact with Emily.
Emily looked around her house. She saw the wear on the house, the stove that half worked because she couldn’t replace it, the fridge that was three years out of warranty…
“A job, an apartment’s down payment, money to get this place to sell and a moving truck. And it will have to wait six weeks, until the kids’ school year ends.”
Vanessa smiled; teeth full.
“Let’s talk numbers.” She said, shark-like. “We will set you up with a suite on floor 85 of the Stark Tower, it will include three bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, two bathrooms, one in the master and one in the main hallway of the suit, laundry room. Rent amount will be $1,000 per month. Do you agree to this amount?”
“Yes.” To be honest, it was a hell of a lot less than she was paying now. “Utilities?”
“Managed by Dr. Stark’s arc reactor technology. The Tower is self-sustaining.” Vanessa answered.
“Handy.”
“Indeed. No need for an apartment deposit.” Vanessa crossed that off of Emily’s demand list. “We will give you $20,000 and a list of contractors in this area to make this house as expensive looking as possible.”
“That is very generous.”
“Well within the budget Dr. Stark gave me.” Vanessa smirked. She crossed that off too. “And $7,500 for a moving truck and movers plus settling any expenses here in Tennessee.” She pulled out a check from her folder and handwrote the amounts in, Dr. Stark had already authorized it. She handed the smaller check to Emily. “You can cash this immediately.” Vanessa pulled out a business card. “Please forward the contractor’s invoices to my email and we will pay directly to the contractors. This fund is managed by our accounting department and they want to ensure the money is spent correctly.”
“Of course.” Emily agreed.
“And the job. We will set you up with a meeting with our HR department upon you getting settled into Stark Tower and find the best fit for you.” Emily nodded, grateful for this opportunity.
“New York is looking forward to having you.” Vanessa handed her a thick folder. “Here is the standard NDA and Employee Handbook that every employee and resident must adhere to. “Please have these signed upon arrival.”
Emily took the folder.
“Thank you for your time.” Vanessa stood and Emily opened the door for her and they said their goodbyes.
Emily looked at the check and felt a sigh of relief.
Maybe things would work out after all.
She jumped in her little car and made her way to the bank.
Fifteen minutes after she went into the bank, she exited with a bigger bank account than she ever had. Sure, the bank called Stark Industries, to make sure but it was in her bank account. She made sure to take out $455.87 exactly, to the penny.
She made her way over to the pediatrician’s office and made her way to the counter.
“May I help…oh, Mrs. Keener. Here to make a plea for another extension?” The rude receptionist asked.
“What was my balance again?” Emily asked, sweetly.
“$455.87.” She said as she typed some things into the computer.
Emily slammed the envelope on the counter.
“Here’s your blood money. It’s hilarious how little you have empathy for a single mother with two kids who works on tips. No empathy at all. I would like my kid’s medical files. We’re moving away from this hell hole.”
“We can only make copies, it’ll be a while…” The receptionist felt the eyes of the waiting parents.
“I’ll wait.” Emily smiled viciously.
“What did your child need?” A mom asked her, her hand wrapped around her son’s shoulder.
“Basic immunizations.” The fellow mother sighed. “The restaurant has no insurance for us, I had to pay out of pocket. State insurance only covers so much.”
“Criminal.” The mother glared at the receptionist’s desk.
“Here.” The receptionist said curtly.
Emily took the folders and made her way back to the home. She felt stress disappear from her shoulders as she called the cable company, the electric company, her credit card companies and paid off everything. Only made a small dent. The remaining money should be able to cover food and utilities for the next month and a half.
Then she picked up the phone and called the realtor.
Harley and Lily opened the door, chatting happily and they saw her mother sitting at the table.
They immediately quieted and their mother gestured to the two seats in front of them.
They sat silently.
“I didn’t tell you but I lost my job a few days ago.” Their mom began. Lily began to quietly cry. Harley stared stone faced back. Emily realized that perhaps her son was able to read her better than she initially thought. “But I got a visitor today.”
“From who?” Harley asked. Lily sniffed as she wiped her tears away.
“Stark Industries.”
Harley squeezed his hands together and Lily looked on confused.
“We will be moving in six weeks to New York.” Emily began. “I know this will be a big change, but if you give it a chance, I hope that…”
She was interrupted by a teenage girl shrieking.
“NEW YORK?!!” She squealed. “Omigod, can we go now?” Lily demanded.
“Lilian Elizabeth!” Emily scolded. Lily wilted. “Of course not, you have to finish your school year.” Emily softened. “But I will need your help packing the attic and garage, the movers will help with the rest.”
Harley and Lily nodded.
“Of course, Mom.” Harley confirmed.
Harley opened a thread on his phone.
Thank you, FRIDAY.
Anytime, Harley.
He looked around his bedroom with a vacant eye.
“Goodbye shithole.” He said vindictively.
“Boss, Miss Potts is calling.”
FRIDAY’s voice cut through his latest invention binge, causing him to pinch his fingers.
“Son of a…”
“Shall I call the doctor, Boss?” FRIDAY asks sweetly.
“Goddamn…No. Put her through.”
“Yes, Boss. I’m relieved you’ll be able to recover.”
Tony rolled his eyes. The sass.
“Yes, Pepper?”
“Who is Emily Keener and why do I have her application for moving into Stark Tower in front of me with your signature on it?” Pepper cut right to the chase.
“Uh, because that is what I wanted her to do? And she’s from Tennessee.”
“That is literally no more information than what I already had. I can see she’s from Tennessee. How did you meet her?”
“Well, meet is such a relative term, Pepper.”
“You haven’t met her.”
“Not as such.”
“And she’s moving into the Tower.”
“Yes.”
“Why.” Pepper growled.
“Well, I wanted Harley to be here, you know from when I crashed in Tennessee after the destruction of the Malibu mansion. And Emily lost her job recently.”
“How could I forget?” Pepper asked dryly. “Emily is Harley’s mother?”
“Yes.”
“Any other surprises?”
“There is also a sister.”
“A sister.”
“Younger.”
“So, three teenagers in the Tower.”
“Affirmative.”
“I want to meet Emily.” Pepper said in her no-nonsense tone.
“You can, after she settles in. I don’t want you ambushing her. She’s had a hard life. She deserves a break.”
“Fine…” Pepper sighed.