What If?
Pairing: Bucky Barnes x CEO!Reader
Word Count: 2,448
Warning: None.
Summary: Being the CEO of your own well-known company came with a price. A decision must be made when a fellow well-known CEO approaches you with an agreement.
CEO AU
Wattpad
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Bucky Barnes Masterlist
As you stood in the elevator, you focused on the calming music, attempting to keep the racing thoughts at bay until you made it to your office. Once the doors opened, the sound of your heels clicking along the floor echoed through the office. Many of the employee's sat up straighter, some of them scattering like insects.
Letting out a sigh, you continued your strut through the office. Many of the employees were fearful of you, as your mother had installed that fear into them. You didn't want to be one of those CEO's that was feared. Making it to your office, you quickly shut the door letting out a breath you didn't know you were holding in.
Sitting in your chair, you swiveled around gazing out at the city that was behind you, admiring the architecture.
"Miss Y/N." Your assistant called through the speaker phone.
Sighing, you turned your attention back to your desk. "Yes?"
"Mr. Stark is here."
"Again?"
"Yes ma'am. He is insisting to speak with you this time."
"Is he alone?" You pondered allowed.
"No ma'am." She muttered through the phone. "He...He has two guys with him."
Letting out a frustrated sigh, you brought your hands to your face. Gently resting your head in your hands.
"Miss Y/N?" Your assistant questioned.
"Yes?" You questioned.
"He's on his way to your office."
Hanging up, you quickly stood up. Smoothing down your black pencil skirt, you began fussing with your pale blue blouse that you neatly tucked in your skirt. Tugging your black cardigan tighter around your body, you swiftly made your way towards the door. Closing the door behind you, your gaze fell upon Tony and two mysterious men accompanying him.
Walking down the hall, you met him halfway.
"Mr. Stark."
"Please Y/N." He spoke. "Call me Tony."
You rolled your eyes in response. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Always so classy, Miss Y/N." Tony teased.
The corners of your mouth turned upward a little at his comment.
"Still avoiding me I see."
You scoffed. "I'm not avoiding you." You crossed your arms over your chest. "Follow me. Let's go somewhere more....Private."
Leading them to a conference room, you held the door allowing the three men to enter first.
"Tony." You began.
"This is Bucky and Steve." He introduced motioning towards the men as he talked.
You scoffed. "You had to bring bodyguards this time?"
"They're not bodyguards."
"No?" You tilted your head to the side. "Then what are they?" You teased.
"They're-"
"Miss Y/N, your eleven o'clock meeting is here." Your assistant spoke over the speakers.
"Would you look at that?" You grinned. "We're out of time, Mr. Stark."
"Y/N-"
"Sorry, Mr. Stark." You spoke heading towards the door. "I have more important things to attend to." You snapped, your back to him.
"Please." His voice almost sounded desperate. "We need your help."
"Help with what?" You questioned your hand on the door handle, beginning to pull it open. "What could I possibly help Tony Stark with?" You voice laced with venom.
"Thanos." Tony let out a defeated sigh. "He's back. Please. We need your help."
"MAX?" You questioned.
"Yes, Miss Y/N?"
Silence fell upon the room, as their eyes, silently questioned your actions.
"Clear my schedule for today." You sighed. "Activate office leave protocol."
"Are you sure Miss Y/N?"
Squeezing your eyes shut, you let out a long sigh pinching the bridge of your nose. Your mind was going a hundred miles a minute.
Were you really going to help Tony? What if you don't go?
The curious side of you won over the logical side.
"Yes, MAX." Opening your eyes you stared back at the three men. "Thank you."
"It's no problem Miss Y/N."
An awkward silence suffocated the room.
"Who's max?" Tony questioned in confusion.
"I am Miss Y/N's Artificial Intelligence Assistance." MAX Spoke.
Tony's gaze locked with yours, his expression was filled with confusion.
"Did you..." Tony started. "How did you..."
Chuckling you nodded. "I created Max, yes. You're not the only smart person in New York, Mr. Stark."
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Tony had convinced you to ride with him and his two "Friends," to a tower that he did most of his work in. Steve was sitting in the passenger seat, leaving you and Bucky to sit in the back. The ride was filled with chatter between Tony and Steve, while you and Bucky sat in silence.
As you watched the long haired man beside you, it was easy to tell he was fighting with himself about talking to you or not. He kept fidgeting and glancing at you whenever he thought you wouldn't notice.
"Were here." Tony spoke, unbuckling and exiting the car.
Following his actions, you looked around. Your mouth falling agape as you stared at the tower in front of you. Taking in each and every detail the tower had, you noticed the Avengers logo on the top.
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Tony took it upon himself to give you a quick tour of the building. Glancing around as he talked, Steve had wandered off, while Bucky stayed beside you and often offered commentary throughout the tour.
The sound of squeals filled the air. Before you could realize what was happening, there was a few bodies throwing themselves at you, pulling you in for a hug.
"I can't believe you're really here!" "You're my idol!" These were just some of the things being told to you.
Giggling you thanked them. The girls talked to you about their goals and dreams.
"Okay, okay." Tony interrupted. "Back to shield you go."
Grinning you waved back at the girls, as they retreated back down the hallway.
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"This is the lab." Tony spoke, opening the door allowing you to enter first. The sight of the lab was enough to take your breath away. It was one of the most beautiful tech labs you had ever seen. There was lab techs everywhere, as well as their current projects.
"Tony." Bruce spoke rushing toward your small group. "There you are. I've been looking for you all day."
Glancing at the group, his eyes locked with yours as shock spread across his face.
"You're...You're..."
"It's nice to meet you, Bruce." You spoke softly with a grin.
Bruce had been one of the main reasons you started your own tech company. He was one of your idols.
Your palms began sweating lightly, as you looked at Bruce.
"You know who I am?" He questioned in shock.
You giggled. "Of course." You spoke. "You inspired me to make my company."
A toothy grin spread across his face, as he let out a giggle.
"Okay ladies." Tony chuckled. "Let's get to the main reason why you're here. Then you can fangirl over each other later." He rolled his eyes.
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Finishing the project you had started, hours passed feeling like minutes.
"Kid." Tony softly spoke, placing a hand on your shoulder. "Do you know what time it is?"
Your focus was still engrossed on your project, not hearing a word that Tony spoke.
"Okay, that's enough of that." Tony spoke, snatching your project away.
"Hey!" You exclaimed furring your eyebrows together, turning to face him. "I was working on that." Reaching for the object, Tony moved it out of reach causing you to frown.
"It's after midnight." Tony spoke. "What have you been working on this whole time?" He asked in curiosity.
"Nothing." You quickly responded.
"It's not nothing." Tony frowned. Turning the object over he examined it. "What is this?"
You frowned in response, dropping your gaze to your lap lowering your head.
"This was a mistake." You muttered as tears began pooling in your eyes. "I...I have to go."
Briskly, you got to your feet. Gazing around the room you let out a heavy sigh. Your cardigan was long discarded somewhere in the lab, while you shoes were laying in the middle of the room.
Gathering your shoes and purse, you didn't care about your cardigan at that moment. MAX had made sure a car would come pick you up, within a few minutes. You hadn't given Tony a minute to question your work nor did you give him an explanation. The feeling of embarrassment washed over you. Reaching the entrance to the tower, you saw your car waiting for you.
Rushing into the car, your chauffeur began driving to your apartment. Many people would be surprised that you lived in a small one bedroom apartment, instead of a bigger place or even a mansion.
Shutting the door you leaned against the shut door. Tossing your heels to the side, you dropped your purse. Locking the door, you quickly entered your bedroom changing into something more comfortable. Crawling into bed, thoughts about the day had clouded your mind. Sighing, you allowed sleep to overwhelm you.
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Weeks had passed since you had seen Tony much less been to the office. You had decided it would be better to work from home as much as could. It also allowed you to avoid Tony. MAX had told you he had been visiting the office three times a day. However, recently, he had been visiting about five or six times.
Sighing, your phone began ringing uncontrollably. Standing up, you walked to your room opening your window. Crawling out, you sat in the fire escape. Sitting on the stairs, you placed your forehead against your knees, as you closed your eyes. The sound of honking, along with the bustling of the city filled your ears.
Lately, you have been second guessing your decision to take over the family technology company. Your mother had fallen ill and would only step down, if you had agreed to replace her. Her demand had caused a riff in the family, as they didn't miss a chance to let her know what they thought about the situation. They had made sure to let her know that they thought you weren't fit to take over the company, that your brother was more well suited to take over the company.
Tears began pooling in your eyes. It was a hard choice for you. Meaning, you had to give up everything you dreamed about doing, fresh out of college you were thrown into the family business and had become CEO. Your dream was to open up your own bakery, the minute you had accepted the position your dream flew out of the window.
Being the CEO of the family business, meant working at all hours and even odd hours. Most days you didn't have a problem handling the stress and rapid pace of the job. But every once in a while you would begin to crack under pressure. Today just so happened to be that day.
Slightly you began rocking yourself, as you were perched on the metal stair. Tears began racing down your cheeks as the sound of your phone ringing echoed. Sniffling you continued your motions.
"I brought your sweater." A husky voice spoke.
A scream fell from your lips, as your heart began beating rapidly. Looking upward, your eyes were met with piercing blue ones.
"You scared me." You muttered, as you placed a hand over your chest, quickly wiping away stray tears in hopes he wouldn't notice.
"Sorry." He stated, as a pink tint rose in his cheeks. "I...I just thought you might want this." He extended his hand that was holding your jacket.
"Thank you." You offered a weak smile. The realization of your outfit dawned on you, causing your cheeks to heat up. You had decided to wear a ratty old band t-shirt with black sweatpants and a flannel over the tee. Tugging the flannel closed you cleared your throat. "How did you...What're you doing here?"
He shrugged in response.
Frowning, you nodded, dropping the subject as you turned your attention to the street below you. A comfortable silence fell between you, as he sat down facing you in the fire escape. As you sat together in silence, your phone continued to go off. Sighing you stood up. Forgetting your cardigan beside you.
"Thank you, for bringing me my sweater." You smiled. "I...I should get back to work." You muttered, sadness evident in your voice.
He was quick on his feet. Standing next to you, he spoke. "You don't have to."
You sent him a confused gaze.
"I..." He muttered trailing off, sighing. "Do you trust me?" He asked, tilting his head to the side slightly.
"No." You chuckled. "I barely know you. Why would I trust you when I've known you for five minutes?" You quipped.
He chuckled at your response. "Fair enough." Holding his hand out for you, he looked at you expectantly.
"What?" You questioned with a scowl on your face.
"I know a place we could go."
Tilting your head to the side, you gazed at him then at his hand. "You might be friends with an Avenger." You started. "But that doesn't mean you're trustworthy. Just because I'm a female doesn't mean I'm in the Bucky Barnes fanclub." You snapped.
Dropping his hand he let out a huff. "That's not what I meant."
"You insinuated it." You quipped. Shaking your head you climbed back into your window. "Unlike other girls, Mr. Barnes. You have to earn my trust." You spoke in a firm voice. "Just because you bat your eyes and give me your signature smolder doesn't mean I'll swoon over you like the other girls. Have a good day, Mr. Barnes."
Not giving him a chance, you shut your window as you locked it. Yanking your curtains closed, you leaned against the wall. The butterflies in your stomach erupted, as your chest rose and fell at a quick pace. You could feel the heat in your cheeks. The short interaction you had was enough to make you blush.
Pushing off the wall, you began doing the work you had been avoiding. Hours passed before you looked up, darkness had set in for the night. Groaning you stood up, stretching for the first time in hours. A light knock on your window echoed through your bedroom. It was so light you had thought you had misheard.
Making your way to your room, you opened the curtains and unlocked your window. Opening it, you were met with your cardigan and a small bag. Picking up the items, you placed it on your bed before you followed the same actions as before, yanking your curtains shut.
Opening the bag you were met with a note.
Miss Y/N,
I fully intend to earn your trust. I know you've been busy working all day and probably forgot to eat. You can thank MAX for giving me information on things you like.
-Bucky
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