Day 74
The high ranking company officials always shoot for the offices with the best views. Views overlooking the powerful cities they reside in. People like good views. People like to look out at their great view close to the sky. Not Tony Stark. Tony Stark looks down, and three or four times a week Tony Stark contemplates the cement sidewalk 90 stories below him.
“Tony, can you please focus?” Stane interrupts Tony’s thoughts of the cold ground below. He snaps his attention back to the room of stiff corporate leaders that he has been ignoring for the past few hours.
“Yes, sorry dear,” Tony says with a mock smile. He knows being flirtatious makes everyone in the room uncomfortable, so he uses it.
“We are talking about a major company merger and you are staring off into oblivion Tony!” Stanes words are harsh, and angry, “This a very big deal! And if we don’t play it right we could lose the whole company!”
Tony sees no problem with this. Tony crosses his arms and sits back in his chair. He eyes Obie up and down. He doesn’t care if the company goes under, in fact he prefers it does. The company goes under, he can just cut his losses and run.
“Okay,” Tony shrugs, “Where the papers for me to sign? Let’s sink this puppy!”
Tony’s response to Stanes statement about the company going under is met with nothing but irritated silence.
“Mr. Stark. This isn’t a joke!” A strawberry blond lawyer pipes up from her place at the conference table. Tony swivels his chair around to face her, one eyebrow raised, to his surprise she doesn’t flinch under his gaze, as a matter of fact she glares back. Lady’s got balls. That’s rare. Tony respects people who aren’t going to take shit. He makes a mental note to get her name from someone later.
“Look, guys I honestly couldn’t give a rat’s ass what happens to this company,” Tony waits for the grumbles and and angry remakes to quiet before he continues, “This was my father’s company, and I wanted no part of it.”
“Except the money,” Some indiscernible person states masking the comment with a cough. Tony still hears it, but chooses to ignore it and continues his speech.
“You people are the ones who care what happens from here on out,” Tony continues, “So I just had a wonderful thought! You guys figure all this out,” Tony gestures vaguely, “And then give me the papers to sign. It will save so much more time. My time. Your time. Everybody’s time.”
Tony pushes his chair out from the table, and stands up collecting his things.
“You can’t just get up and walk out!” Stane cries as Tony makes his way to the door. Tony stops at the door, and smiles belligerently the man.
“Watch me.”
Tony slips through the door and slams it behind him. He glances at his watch. 3:00 PM. Damn he has been in there for a long time. Tony shakes his head a little, and marches down the hallway.
“Mr. Stark? Is that meeting over?” An assistant calls to him.
“Nope,” Tony replies and keeps walking.
“Um, sir your four o’clock is here early, if you want to go ahead and meet with him.”
Tony stops in his tracks. He doesn’t want to go talk more stuffy business. He honestly doesn’t even remember who he has plans to meet with. Might as well get it over with now.
“Sure, yeah. Send him up in about fifteen minutes,” Tony replies and begins to move toward the elevator, but changes his mind. He’ll take the stairs. He has time, and he needs exercise. Time to clear his head is also a plus.
Tony arrives in his office panting. He sighs, he really needs to get out more and exercise. He walks to his chair, and thinks about sitting down, but instead goes over to the window. He looks down. Way down. People mill about down below on the cement. Tony squints down at the ground hundreds of feet below him. Grey and dark. He places his hand on the glass. Only about a half an inch of glass stands between him and a 750 foot drop to the ground. Tony does the same math that he has been doing for a long time. He always thinks about it when he is alone in this room. 17 seconds. Half an inch of glass and 17 seconds of free fall is the only thing between him in the ground. Tony pears down at the ground. All he would have to do would be break the window and step off, then his life would be out his hands. Tony sighs and steps back away from the window. I
“Are you quite done staring out that window?” Tony nearly jumps out of his skin at the sound of the gruff voice; he spins around to face the tall military man standing in front of is desk.
“What? Yeah?” Tony has never been caught contemplating before. He is always careful. The last thing he needs is people worrying over him. He doesn’t think he will ever actually do it, so there is no point in anyone knowing he thinks about it. Doesn’t everyone from time to time? It is normal right? Tony thinks it is. That is enough for him. He is never wrong.
“Should I could come back some other time?” The angry black man with the eye patch demands. The question seems rhetorical to a degree as if the man has no plans to leave.
“Sorry, no. Have a seat,” Tony gestures to one of the chairs in front of his desk. The man eyes him with a skeptical look and sits. Tony smiles halfheartedly, and sits in his office chair.
"So tell me about this Jericho missile design you have going."