Tony
had seen what the guy could do, had seen what could be possible with
him, but they had yet to actually see him. He had tried to be careful
with ex-hammertech but this guy seemed genuine and he was willing to
give him a chance after everything that had happened.When he had gotten to the office he relaxed in a corner while Pepper
took her seat at the head of the table. He wondered just what might
happen, what the guy was like, whether he hated Tony or not, he didn’t
know what to expect and he just hoped that he could get through the
other about what to expect.When he saw him walk in and stared at the suit and tilted his head a
little. It was bold, different, a little strange, but not everyone had
what he had and he knew that. He stood and nodded to the man offering
him his hand to shake as he introduced himself playfully.“Stark, Tony Stark, the Tony Stark, but I’m sure you know
that. Interesting outfit, certainly makes you stand out from the crowd.”
He wasn’t trying to be mean he was just trying to make a lighter
atmosphere for the guy.Carlos winced very slightly at the mention of his attire. Damnit. He should have rented something
black – finances be damned.“Uh, well… um, blue and red are my favorite colors,” he
stated lamely. Normally he would have just taken the comment in stride and
would just have been more proud of his suit, but he was just too damn nervous.“Um, Carlos Ramon,” he then said, reaching to gingerly shake
Mr Stark’s hand. Carlos then looked to Ms Potts and offered his hand to her as
well. “And you must be Ms Potts. Good-good evening.”Carlos felt so of it. It was like a weird dream and any
moment now he could float away straight out the window – he was actually looking Stark and Potts in the
faces and he’d shaken Mr Stark’s hand. For a bit, he felt like he was in an
alternate universe where Hammer Industries never existed. Except of course he
was still wearing his stupid suit. His free hand was gripped tight onto his
documents’ case to the point of near-pain.Tony noticed the wince and sighed softly. “Never said it looked bad on you, just different, we want different here. Without different we don’t have the tech we have do we?” He smiled softly and laughed as he firmly shook his hand.
Pepper smiled softly to him and shook his hand gently. “Ignore him, he has no filter, whatever goes on in his brain comes out of his mouth. Sometimes it’s good, means he’s willing to try anything he thinks of, but doesn’t always make him a great people person. Trust me, he wasn’t saying it to be mean or nasty to you, just a little too honest, but you’ll get used to it.”
Tony rolled his eyes at her comment and shook his head. “Anyway, onto the bit we have to do cause we can’t show favouritism. I looked over your CV and everything and I have to say you have some interesting credentials. I don’t take it personal you went to Hammer, but the guy always has a way of bringing the best in and ruining their chances. I thought it fair to at least see what you might do. Not gonna judge cause of your boss, the guy is an ass but his staff? They’re being dragged down for no reason, well…most are.”
He had a blank blueprint in front of him with some plain paper next to it and some stationary to draw with. “You wanna show me what goes on in that head? I’m sure Hammer had it stifled. Whatever you think of sketch it out for me. Take as long as you need.”
Carlos listened to Ms Potts speak, and just nodded along
with her. “Yes, ma’am,” he said. He’ll ‘get used to it’; Carlos wondered if
that meant there was a chance of him
getting work with them, or if she just said that to everyone.
He looked to Stark and tried to keep some of the skepticism
he felt from his face. He had to appear a little confident, or at least
understanding of Stark’s stance; though Carlos found it hard to believe that
someone would be capable of an unbiased stance when it concerns a point where
their life was on the line. He kept quiet though and nodded to indicate
understanding.
However, the blueprinting exercise threw Carlos a bit – he hadn’t
expected it. He had an idea of what to show Stark already – a sort of mental
pet project he’d been thinking about for a long while. But there were things to
ask first…
“Uh, before I begin, Mr Stark… can I ask what happens to the
blueprint I produce? And… er, I really don’t mean to sound, um… suspicious, I
guess, but… where would the usage rights lie of this particular print?”
The Perfect Scientist 