Chapter Text
He pushes her buttons! Has tech’s hottest billionaire finally cracked the code…. to love?
Beauty and the Geek: Tech’s hottest billionaire proves that smart boys finish first with Russian stunner!
Talk nerdy to me baby: Could this be the Casanova the tech industry has been waiting for?
“Ass-anova, more like,” Darcy Lewis muttered under her breath.
Three tabloid gossip rags were spread out in front of her, their content the same as per-freaking-usual - but for one small difference: a hint of permanence. Her boss’s son, out on the town/yacht/country club dance floor, cosying up to a woman with legs up to ears and hair down to her legs.
Loki Laufeyson, darling of the billionaire set, tech wizard extraordinaire, and, luckily or unluckily for her, total playboy.
“Lucky for me, I guess,” she murmured, curling her hand around a mug which read “PLEASE WAIT… SARCASM LOADING” with a little progress bar at 42% below the slogan.
Lucky for her , because her job for Asgard Tech Ltd was PR for the heirs of the business, Thor and Loki.
Thor was a PR girl’s dream. Tall, broad, and sunny as an English countryside morning in midsummer, Thor was genial, kind, and could tell a good, if slightly bland, joke. He looked wholesome in adverts and on TV. He attended to little old ladies. He was the sort of guy you would totally bring home to meet your mum, and he’d probably even talk about baking and shit with her. Add in the fact that he had recently romanced Asgard’s head of marketing, Jane, and you had yourself a regular vanilla dreamboat.
If Thor was the sort of man who you’d be happy for your mum to meet, Loki was the kind she warned you about. The kind who’d break your heart - and quite possibly your vagina as well. Darcy pressed her legs together.
She’d thought about it a few times. Who had seen him and hadn’t?
But she reckoned she was beneath Loki’s notice. She didn’t have mile-long legs. Or mile-long hair (it took ages to grow, OK?). Her eyes were large, but not really seductive or catlike, and she didn’t dress in size 2 outfits. Or in fact, any outfits that the billionaire, yacht-owning, matcha drinking set could afford. Right now she wore a red t-shirt with the slogan BELIEVE IN YOURSELF! Emblazoned across it, black jeans and keds with little rainbows dancing across them.
Not traditional office wear, but Jane wasn’t a stickler for that sort of thing, as Darcy excelled at her job and was hardly ever customer facing.
She glared at the tabloids again, then at her shirt. She wanted to believe in herself, but lately she just wasn’t feeling her job, as much as she loved writing, being creative, and the constant spin and twist that was PR for a huge company.
Because there’s something you want more.
The little voice inside her wouldn’t be quieted and Darcy sighed to herself. She couldn’t afford it, so she needed to forget it. End of story.
“Morning!” Jane breezed into the office, her sleek ponytail of chestnut hair trailing behind her. She smelled of freshly ground coffee and Marc Jacob’s Daisy. “You’re in early.”
“I saw the news.” Darcy pointed at the tabloid claiming Loki was “in love” for the first time that year - a record, and one she’d been waiting for. “Think it’s the real deal? Shall I buy a new hat? I’ll make sure it’s super fancy.”
Jane smirked. “Masterful work.”
They grinned at each other. Jane set a bakery bag down in front of Darcy. “Pain au raisin, your favourite.”
As they ate breakfast, Darcy reflected on the fact that one of the major tabloids had picked up her “anonymous source” tip off about Loki being in love. It helped her cause that he was spending a lot of time with the famed Russian model, Mia Solokov.
Darcy very much doubted that there was a ring in Loki’s pocket, much less anywhere near Mia’s finger (unless it was a cock ring, she thought with a snort), but it looked good for her for this to be published. Thor and Loki’s parents were traditional in their views, and Loki’s father particularly did business with some Asian companies who valued family and honour rather than screwing around (although Darcy would bet her pet cat Frosty that those companies had their share of playboys - or playgirls, equal opportunities after all), and so if Loki were to be seen to make a commitment, or even be close to one, Odin would be pleased, Asgard Tech would look family-friendly, and Darcy would keep her job, maybe get a raise one day.
How Loki would take the news that he was apparently in love and three feet from the altar would be another story. Not that she and the black sheep of the family spoke very often, hence her oft-referencing him as “ass-anova.” Whenever they crossed paths the most Darcy got from him was an unreadable look and a cordial “ Miss Lewis .”
She had long ago assumed that as she wasn’t a) on the books of a modeling agency or b) a size 2, she was beneath his notice. Quite literally possibly, as without heels her head only came to his shoulder. She snickered at her own joke - a girl had to get her kicks somewhere, and Darcy had limited options.
“Don’t forget to brief Thor for his commercial shoot today,” Jane said as she made her way to the white board on the far wall of the office where she and Darcy habitually added projects, notes and any pertinent info regarding the brothers they managed.
“Piece of cake. Well, not a cake I’d want to eat.” Thor had an initial shoot today for a famous diaper brand. He would play the dad. A million mums and mums-to-be would eat it up, Darcy thought, remembering his meeting with the baby who’d been cast. Huge dark eyes and chubby little hands.
The baby actually looked more like Loki than Thor, she reflected. Although she couldn’t imagine the darker brother holding a baby. It would probably sick up on his Armani suit.
The office phone as Darcy was finishing her breakfast. Jane snagged it.
“Morning! Right…. Now? Okay, I’ll send her up.”
Darcy balled up the bakery bag. “I guess I’m going places?”
“I think your little tabloid venture has filtered up. Loki wants to see you in his office.”
Darcy picked up her coffee. “I’m caffeinated. Bring it on.”
