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Meetings had always been the one grown-up thing that Tony had often wondered would never be her place to host.
She'd thought, at nine years old, that they were sophisticated or made her authoritative, and fed into the idea that she would be an amazing business-woman one day. Now however, at 18, she felt none of those things.
Howard had an excavation to oversee and had left the opening meeting for a new company's nuclear energy proposal with Tony to deal with. Obadiah had originally been the host but he was on holiday in the Maldives for the time being and there had been literally no one else but Tony.
A fact her father had been loathe to admit.
It was the first time she would host a meeting herself, without Howard breathing down her neck or Obadiah cutting in and speaking on her behalf. She thought she should be excited or nervous. She'd never met the man she'd be speaking to but that didn't feel like the issue right now either. Her issue was mainly the fact that she had just fixed up an old motorcycle, had increased it's engine's efficiency by 12.3% and she really really wanted to take it for a ride.
Instead she was stuck in a stuffy boardroom, waiting for a business man to arrive and talk at her for 1 and a half hours. A man who was 5 minutes late by now and she felt herself slump with boredom. After another few minutes, she stood and went to stretch and pour herself a glass of water from the refreshment table. She'd just taken a sip when the door opened and an around 40 looking man walked right in like he owned the place. Great.
She knew his type; she had one for a father.
"Hey sweetheart," He greeted her, nodding at the drinks, "You couldn't fix me a drink too could you. Coffee, milk. No sugar." He took a seat and started taking his laptop and folder out of his bag, "I'm meeting with the Stark heir in a few minutes."
Tony blinked at him, feeling hot anger fill her veins but keeping it back. For a few moments, she didn't move. Just waited. Eventually, the man seemed to realise that his 'request' wasn't being followed and looked up.
"Is there a problem?"
Tony gave him her best paparazzi smile, taking a few steps forward and holding out a hand for him to shake, "Hi. Antonia Stark," She said, her eyes burning into his, "I'll be hosting this meeting."
The man, a Reginald Hammer according to the files on the table, stared up at her like he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"I - uh," He stammered, taking her hand and shaking it, "Oh. Reggie Hammer." He introduced himself, swallowing visibly.
Tony just coolly nodded, taking a seat herself and pulling her own laptop free from her case. She then switched on the television to reveal the stats for the company and all the research that she'd done previously on what her dad had given her. The surname made sense, what with the company apparently called 'Hammer Industries'.
"Shall we get started?" She asked, not really expecting an answer, and inwardly reveling in the flush that was on Hammer's face.
"Of course." He started fiddling with his papers, the confidence that he'd had when he'd walked in now out the window, "But I uh - I just want to apologise before we do, quickly. I'm sorry about before, I didn't realise you were the heir, I just - I was expecting an adult."
Tony had been in the spotlight all her life. The world knew she was 18.
"An adult?" She asked, smiling sweetly and raising an eyebrow, "Or a man?" Whilst Hammer blustered, the door opened and his father's secretary Abi walked in, "Hi Abi." Tony greeted, "Could we have two coffees please? One with milk, no sugar." She met Hammer's gaze at that, her smile gone, "And one black. Thanks."
Once Abi was gone, Tony turned her body toward Hammer and gestured he begin, "Now Mr Hammer. You can start your proposal. Convince me that our company should take on your idea of nuclear-powered energy."
Just by one look, she could already tell that Hammer didn't have his heart in it anymore. There was no way he'd convince her now.
As he spoke, she noticed a ring on her finger and sighed. She'd seen that he'd had a son in her research, and knew he was a few years older than her.
God help her if she ever had to meet the son of a guy like this one day.
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