Conditions for Business | Yandere CEO Steve Rogers x Male Reader (Part 2)
Pairing: (Verse) Steve Rogers x (Verse) Male Reader
Summary: Steve Rogers is one of the most prominent tech geniuses in the United States after his idea in software broke the industry. But he couldn't have done it without the encouragement of his high school best friend and secret crush- you. Unfortunately, you and Steve had a falling out, and after that, you two were out of each other's lives for good.
At least it seemed that way until Steve needs a new assistant and posts a vague job listing on LinkedIn. Steve's surprised when your application comes across his desk, but he's not going to let you get away this time. Not without any answers, anyway.
Warnings: Another Dark Series I fear. Light for now, but I will tag accordingly when the time comes.
Feel free to like, comment, and reblog if you like what you're reading, y'all KNOW I eat that shit up! It also makes me feel more reassured in my writing so help a brother out!
Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel characters and this fic is for the enjoyment of myself and others! Don't sue me! 😃
Tagging: lemme know if you want to be added/removed for this story: @romeoandromeo , @smurfingonthem , @blurredx18 , @namjooncrabs , @glitchybrit , @awkward0ghost , @v0idl1nq , @mcahri , @hirayag , @raspberryyuuki , @aesthetic-history , @teaologyzzz , @n-e-o-w-r-i-t-e-s , @abbatoirablaze @drainfury, @qlqstqr , @tkishcabral, @marxenash, @evilive , @baka-daa, @stevieuwu @anonymouswolf87
Author's Note: Trust the process, y'all, I was busy this week, I'm posting this after giving it a good clean up!
Me: *tells self this won't end up as long as Your Asset*
my Google Doc seeing me sporadically type up plot for this: yeah sure buddy, whatever you need to sleep at night
The formatting for this chapter was kicking my ass 😭. But I made it! I hope y'all are ready to go on this journey with me! And as usual, if I say something that doesn't make sense, smile and scroll, y'all 😃. Sound off in the comments!
<Read Part One Here and Part Three Here >
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Part Two: Don't Lose Control
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From: y/[email protected]
CC:
BC:
Re: Subject:You Have Been Chosen For An Interview
Tues, April 12, 1:36 pm
Good afternoon Jessica,
Attached are the documents you requested from me. Does tomorrow work or is that too soon?
Thank you,
Y/N (First and Last)
From: [email protected]
To: y/[email protected]
CC:
BC:
Re: Subject:You Have Been Chosen For An Interview
Tues, April 12, 2:04 pm
Good afternoon Y/N,
Tomorrow works! Do you think you can come in at 9am? You’ll be interviewed at our headquarters located at 1918 Park Avenue. Upon arrival, check in at the front desk and tell them that you have a meeting with Ms. Nguyen, and show them this email to confirm. Please prepare.
See You Tomorrow,
Jessica
From: y/[email protected]
CC:
BC:
Re: Subject:You Have Been Chosen For An Interview
Tues, April 12, 2:07 pm
Good afternoon Jessica,
9am works!
See You Then,
Y/N
“Ms. Nguyen? Any updates with Y/N?” Steve calls out of his office, adopting a neutral tone although he’s anxiously tapping a pen on his desk. The sound of typing abruptly stops.
“Yes, Mr. Rogers. He’s coming in tomorrow at 9am for his interview,” Ms. Nguyen answers politely and Steve’s surprised. That’s really soon, and now Steve is plagued with second thoughts and whether or not he can go through with this, getting stressed all over again.
“Mr. Rogers? Is that okay?” Ms. Nguyen asks, and Steve can hear a hint of concern in her voice, and that snaps him out of it. He has to be in control of himself!
“Of course it is! Thank you, Ms. Nguyen,” he responds, feeling all out of sorts, and he looks down at his hands and wishes he had a pencil in them. Whenever he’s overwhelmed, Steve likes to sketch things, whatever comes to mind until he feels a bit more clear-headed. But he can’t do that at the office, not when he has so many things to do. Right. He has many things to do, and he can’t spend any more time thinking about Y/N. He’ll save that for tomorrow.
“See you soon, Y/N,” he says to himself with a little smile, ignoring how his stomach flutters just from speaking your name.
Meanwhile
You close your laptop and breathe out a deep sigh, feeling a large weight drop onto your shoulders. Getting a job at Cap Incorporated, no matter how short lived, can be quite the notch in your belt and employment history. It’s a big deal, and you can’t pretend like it isn’t. So everything needs to be perfect for tomorrow- you need to be perfect for tomorrow.
What was it that Ms. Nguyen said? ‘Please prepare'.
“Prepare how?” You moan to yourself before getting up and walking to your closet sadly. Sure you had nice clothes, but you don’t know if they’re “Cap Incorporated” nice.
It’d be silly for you to bust out the three-piece suit for an interview, right, especially for a position as someone’s assistant? Or maybe it’s not silly at all, because you need to dress to impress, don’t you? It is mentioned that you won’t be a secretary to anyone, but a senior member, so it will be someone important.
Fuck. You wish interviews wouldn’t be this complicated. There are studies that find the workplace to be more lenient on corporate attire, but you don’t want to test that out. You look over your clothes again, feeling even more stressed by the minute. You had foolishly set your appointment date for tomorrow, so you don’t even have time to go out and rent an outfit, and your credit card cannot handle a purchase you know you can’t afford. There’s always the good old ‘buy it and return it when you’re done’ option, but you’ve already turned a new leaf on that lifestyle.
You’ll just have to go with what you already have. You pull out a navy button down, brown dress pants, a brown leather belt, and brown dress shoes you’ve had for years. You don’t have a sports coat, so that’s all you’re going to wear. The weather’s getting warmer and if you pull on a v-neck sweater over your shirt, you’ll die of heat exhaustion on the way to the interview and you don’t want to arrive sweaty and frazzled.
You set that outfit out on the arm of your couch so you can wear it as soon as you step out of the shower tomorrow and return to your room, digging around for a nice cologne Monica had gifted you a couple of months ago for your birthday.
“Oh my God, where is it?!” You mumble in frustration to yourself, looking all around your room until you finally find it in your drawer.
You set your alarm for the next morning at 7 am, although it’ll only take you an hour to commute there but you’re not taking any chances with public transportation, because what happens if the train gets delayed? You’ll be fucked. No, you schedule an Uber for the next day, although you feel like crying at the checkout because you really don’t have money like that, but it will be worth it if you get the job.
Besides, if you don’t, you can always walk home.
The rest of the day, you flit around the house anxiously preparing. Many times you consider picking up your phone and messaging Monica because she’s your girl and you share everything with her, but you don’t want to tell her just yet, just in case nothing comes of this. Because what if you tell her and she hypes you up and then you don’t get the job? You would feel embarrassed, and no, you’d rather tell her only if you get the job or if the interview goes well tomorrow.
Your stomach feels clenched like a fist, and you’re so chock full of nerves you force yourself to cook something light so you don’t end up eating HotPockets. You watch television without being able to focus on anything that comes on, and you try to relax, and pretty much fail at it. You look over your nails, and take the time to trim them down so you look nice and well maintained. It's the little details that count.
You watch a bunch of videos on Cap Incorporated, ignoring the ones that included an interview with Steve, so that you can properly research the place you had drunkenly applied to. With each video you find, you can't help but be impressed, which only increases your anxiety for the job interview tomorrow.
Later that night, you look at yourself in the mirror for a long time, simply staring.
"You got this, Y/N," you whisper softly to yourself, and then you slip into bed, trying to get as much rest as possible. You have an exciting day ahead of you.
The Next Morning
You don't sleep well, but you do sleep, so you count that as a win as you get up and start to get ready, putting on everything you've preplanned, spraying cologne on yourself lightly. Too much and you'll end up walking around smelling like an Axe Body shop.
Your stomach feels all knotted, but you cook yourself a nice spinach omelette anyway just so there's something on your stomach. You take the last few sips out of your carrot juice, letting out a satisfied sigh as you put the glass in your sink, checking the clock on your wall to make sure you aren't taking too much time.
You finally walk out your apartment closing your door, when you look over and see your neighbor doing the same, staring at you in surprise. It's Mr. Velasquez, who as far as you're concerned, a nice guy with an even nicer family. Mrs. Velasquez had invited you over for a few parties and while you initially declined the offer a few times because they seemed like family functions, you accepted once and had a great time.
Everyone was really nice to you and you somehow ended up dancing with a few people by some miracle and that night, you went home with delicious leftovers that you devoured for the next two days, and the drinks were amazing… you still had a bottle of Rumchata™️ (Horchata con Ron) in your cupboard. Ever since then, you pop in on them ever so often, especially when they have parties, making sure to bring something of your own over.
"Y/N! How are you? I don't usually see you come out this time," Mr. Velasquez kindly greets you, eyebrows raised, and you rub a hand on your neck.
"I'm good, Mr. Velasquez, and I'm on my way to a job interview actually," you reveal bashfully, and Mr. Velasquez looks at you with surprise, before giving you a wide smile.
"Ah, that's good! No wonder you're up so early, you're trying to impress them, no? You're dressed nice," he remarks, gesturing to your outfit and you try to hide how pleased you are by his comment.
"I do want to make a good impression," you confess, and Mr. Velazquez gives you a thumbs up.
"You did good," he says and then there's a loud honk from outside, and you check your phone as a notification comes across your screen.
Your driver, Yvan Ronavich, has arrived!
"That's my Uber, Mr. Velazquez, I'll catch up with you sometime soon, okay? I gotta go, now," you say apologetically, and he waves you off.
"Go, go," he smiles at you, "and good luck, Y/N!"
"Thank you!" You yell as you race down the stairs, because the elevator in your building sometimes takes a little too long and you didn't want the Uber driver to charge you a fee for making them wait too long.
You get outside and see a Black Sedan parked in front of the building and go to it, showing the driver your phone with your special code, and he nods before unlocking the doors so you can get it.
The ride over to Cap Incorporated is quiet and peaceful for the most part, and you're okay with that, scrolling through Twitter to calm your nerves, checking the stock market, and even reading some local news.
"We're here," Yvan quietly announces, and with a "Thank you!" you climb out the car and step out, staring at the skyscraper with awe.
This is what Steve built.
It's amazing, and you hope this place will be your new (work) home.
What if you see Steve today? A voice in your head asks, unbidden, and you shake that thought from your head again.
You have to be cool. And if you see him… no you won't even think about that.
You check your phone for the time, wishing you had a nice watch, but you unfortunately do not have nice watch money (yet).
It's 8:40am, which isn't bad at all. You're not too early and closer to right on time.
You walk into the building and to reception, showing the receptionist your email from Jessica, and to your surprise, the security guard prints out a guest pass for you in order to gain access to the building.
"It's really secure here," you remark to yourself, but the guard overhears you, nodding her head.
"We have to be- Cap Incorporated has the attention of the world right now," she expresses, and you can tell that she actually gives a damn about her job, and well that's a good sign. No one's dedicated to a job that treats them like shit, so Cap Incorporated must take good care of their own. Another plus.
"Must be tough," you comment and she shakes her head.
"Not really, if you know what you're doing," she comments with a smirk, and you can't help but smile back at her, finding her attitude quite refreshing. You scan her ID clipped to her shirt for her name, Salma Chaudri.
"Well, I hope the executives appreciate someone as competent as you are, Ms. Chaudri," you retort, and she hums and shrugs.
"A fruit basket once in a while wouldn't hurt, Mr. Y/N," she sings back, wiggling her eyebrows and you're almost tempted to ask how she knows your name before you remember you had to show her your ID for your access pass.
"I'll have a strict talk with them on your behalf," you offer before you realize you might be getting ahead of yourself, "if I get hired, of course."
"Well," Salma dials a few numbers on the desk stand phone and picks up the handset, "I have a feeling I'll be seeing a lot more of you," she tells you reassuringly, while her phone rings before someone on the other side of the line picks up with a clear "Hello?"
"Hi, Ms. Nguyen, I have a Mr. Y/N down here for you," Salma softly speaks into the receiver and she pauses, waiting for the other's reply.
"Okay, I'll send him up now," she says after a moment, hanging up on them.
"Alright," she addresses you, "you're going to go straight through here and scan that little pass I gave you and then take a sharp right to the elevators. You're going to the 42nd floor. Any questions?"
You shake your head. "No, but thank you for your help!"
"It's what I'm here for," she says, but her smile is genuine. You like her, she's a nice person.
You do as she instructed, surprised to find no one else waiting for the elevator with you, but it's okay, that means you don't have to force yourself into an elevator crowded with a ton of other people.
The elevator arrives with a ding, its golden doors opening before you, and for a second you almost feel a little out of place, but you shove that feeling down.
The building only has 46 floors, and you find it very odd that you're headed to the 42nd floor.
Typically in high-rise buildings, the higher your floor is, the more important you are, and CEOs of companies tend to live within the top 5 floors, so in the case of Cap Incorporated, that would mean that Steve would reside somewhere between floor 41 and 46, but more realistically between 41 and 45, because 46 is likely an extension to the roof.
Why are you thinking about Steve? The application had said you'd be working for a senior official, and a senior official could possibly be working on a higher floor. You can't be so paranoid.
The elevator's ascent is quick and smooth, and you're appreciative that while the style of the skyscraper is more modern, you're happy that the architect didn't choose glass elevators. You don't think your stomach would be able to handle seeing how high up your elevator is going currently. Your stomach flutters a little nonetheless, but you ignore that feeling.
What you can't ignore is the fact that this interview is kind of weird.
First, the fact that you're even being interviewed in such a short time period after submitting your application is miraculous. Most employers don't get in touch until months have passed by, and while you admit that you are qualified for the job and that your resumé fits their standards, you're unsure as to whether it warrants such an early interaction. Maybe they were desperate to fill in the position, but they didn't indicate as such in their hiring post with the typical "Urgently Hiring" notice some employers add on.
Second, you already tried to ignore this but it's the issue of the floor number again. Employers don't recruit employees on the top floors of their building, not for the first interview. Especially not the candidates with subpar resumes.
Something's not right here.
The elevator doors open before you're given much time to dwell on that and you square your shoulders, take a deep breath and step out. It's game time.
A woman with her hair up in a tight ponytail and shocking red lipstick is waiting for you outside of the office and greets you with a smile that doesn't exactly meet her eyes.
"Y/N?" She asks, and she gives you a once over with a quiet "Hmm" under her breath and you nervously smooth down the front of your shirt.
"Yes, and I presume you're Jessica?" You ask her, and her eyes snap up to yours.
"I am, nice to meet you," she holds her hand out, and a silver, diamond encrusted bracelet watch catches your eyes and whatever job she has, you know it pays well.
You shake her hand lightly, and then she turns around and leads you through two glass doors into a huge brightly lit office, with another one directly behind that has an amazing view, but it's empty though.
She leads you to sit down at a desk and you're a bit confused because there doesn't seem to be any cubicles at all, so you are right in guessing that you were on an important floor.
"Lemon water?" She offers, and when you look there's a water cooler in the corner full of lemon slices and you almost accept but you don't want too much liquid on your bladder.
"No thank you," you respectfully decline, and Jessica sighs and reaches down into one the drawers of her desk, pulling out a blue folder with your name labelled on it. She opens it, and pages through it, and you can see your resume and references there.
"Alright, let's get on with this. I've been reviewing your profile and you come across as a really strong candidate for Cap Incorporated, which is great, but as usual, pieces of paper don't tell us enough. So, tell me about yourself, and why you think you'd be a good fit for this position, for Cap Inc," Jessica asks, folding her arms across the desk and looking up at you and giving you her full attention.
You nod, and give her all the pre-planned answers you spent all night thinking of, hoping you come across confident and self-assured.
"Alright, now onto a small issue of your employment history," Jessica says, and you look at her startled.
"Issue?"
"Don't be alarmed, it's just that it appears that you haven't worked with, or for, high-profile clientele. The position you're applying for happens to be an assistant to a man who is constantly in the public eye, and by transference, that public eye can fall onto you, as well."
"I see…" you say, and scour your mind for an appropriate response.
"There certainly are a lot of precautions being taken for this role," you say, stumbling over your words, and Jessica quirks an eyebrow and gives you an unimpressed look.
"Well, management isn't just going to let anybody apply for the position of being the assistant of our CEO, Y/N," She scoffs, but you freeze.
WHAT? Assistant to the CEO? The CEO of Cap Incorporated, Steve Rogers? That CEO?!
"Excuse me?!" You ask loudly, and Jessica jumps.
"Is something wrong?" Jessica asks, eyeing you with concern and you nod and chuckle to yourself.
"Yes, Jessica, I'm afraid there is," you say wryly.
"You see, this must be some sort of mistake, I didn't apply to be an assistant to Steve Rogers."
Jessica looks at you with confusion, and then picks up that damn blue file.
"No, there's been no mistake, that's the position you applied for. You've even been noted to do a follow up with Mr. Rogers today at 10."
"What?!" You breathe to yourself and it suddenly feels like there's a vice grip on your chest. You can hear your heart pounding and you can sweat start to form at your hairline. You look around your surroundings and you were right earlier, you don't belong here. If you stay, you have to see Steve, and you're not prepared for that. What would you even say to him? What are you still doing here?
You abruptly stand up, chair scratching along the floor behind you.
"Y/N?" Jessica questions, starting to rise as well.
"I'm sorry, Jessica, but it appears I made a mistake. Thank you for seeing me and I do apologize for wasting your time." You speedwalk out of there, and head to the elevators, pressing the down button furiously.
You have to get out of here. You don't know how long it'll take for the elevator to get there and you curse the fact you're on the 42nd floor.
You hear the clack clack sounds of Jessica's heels running behind you, and you turn to see her coming at you fast.
"Y/N, wait! Wait! You're supposed to stick around for Mr. Rogers," she tells you frantically, and you can't help but flinch at the mention of Steve's name. The elevator dings and you stare at it, then Jessica, then you step inside.
"Well, tell him I'm no longer interested in the position, and that I'm sorry," you say mournfully, and then you close the elevator doors on Jessica's surprised face.
Once they shut, you let out a deep breath and lean against the wall of the elevator, trying to regain some sort of control.
"Fuck," you curse quietly under your breath, rubbing a hand over your face. A job at Cap Incorporated would've been great, but working with Steve? You can't do that. You aren't prepared to see him, not after the way you two had separated.
You get downstairs, and you can exit the way you came, but you're too ashamed to pass by Ms. Chaudri and tell her that the interview didn't go well. To your luck, you see a back door and you hurriedly walk out of it, blinded by sun. You don't see Steve, of all people, entering the building just as you exit onto the backstreet.
Meanwhile
When Steve wakes up this morning, he does so with a small smile. Today is the day he gets to see you, and yes, he is still a little hurt and angry that you ended you guys' friendship, but he still can't wait to see you.
He can’t help but wonder how you’ll react when you see him. Will you be happy to see Steve? Will you smile at him and pretend like nothing’s wrong, or will you be visibly uncomfortable? Will you apologize or try to offer an explanation, or will he say nothing? Will you even recognize Steve? The last time you had seen him he had been a little shrimp, due to puberty waiting to hit him like a truck right after you two had the falling out. And although he’ll never vocalize it, there’s a little voice in his head that wonders if you’ll like what you see, this new unfamiliar Steve, will you like him?
And it makes Steve feel like some sort of horned up schoolboy, wondering if his ex-crush likes him, when he knows he’s good looking, knows he’s able to pull anybody of his choice. There's many people who fell into his bed, but they never stuck around after they got whatever they wanted from him, whether it was clout or money. It seems to be Steve's curse. No one ever stays, not even you.
He laughs bitterly to himself.
Listen to him. Just the thought of meeting you has Steve lamenting over the loneliness of his lifestyle, like meeting you is suddenly going to change that.
No dice. Steve isn't going to let you get as close to him, anyway. He can fight those inane urges of his telling him to be close with you again.
He fights every impulse to move faster as he prepares for the work day, prepares to see you. He is not some damn golden retriever waiting for their beloved owner to return.
He will be cool, professional, and he definitely isn't choosing one of his best outfits because he's seeing you today, but because he likes to be well dressed when he comes to the office.
He also doesn't check his teeth three times in the mirror because he's anxious about seeing you but because he cares about his dental health.
He, for sure, isn't wearing his best cologne, because it's not like he's trying to impress you, or anything.
Yeah… Steve doesn't sound convincing to himself, either.
He's supposed to go into the office at 10, allow Jessica some time to break you in, (something she had suggested after hearing Steve's idea to interview you himself) and see if you're really fit for the job. Steve is supposed to see afterwards if you're fit for working with him.
Steve arrives at 9:30, because he's the boss and he does what he wants and as he's coming in, he hears the sound of the backdoor opening and slamming shut.
"Ugh, I hate it when visitors use that exit instead of the front one," the receptionist groans and Steve turns to her.
"Why?"
"It's so loud," she huffs and Steve can't help but laugh at that, making her smile at him.
"Well, that's a good reason to not like it," he agrees as he passes her and salutes her before he goes to scan his ID and walk inside to the elevators, pressing the button for the 42nd floor.
He originally had thought that he would need to require some sort of authentication feature into the elevators to verify people coming onto his floor, but surprisingly there was little need for it.
People only ever sell out the CEO of a company to inform them of bad news, and people try their best not to do that. Therefore, no one bothers going to his floor that shouldn't.
The way up, Steve stays silent and enjoys the calm of the smooth ride up, fingers tapping anxiously against his leg his only tell.
When the doors open, Steve takes a second to breathe in and out deeply, closing his eyes momentarily before stepping out.
He approaches his office, confused, because he doesn't see you there. Sure, Steve knows he was supposed to be coming in later, but you should be here already, but all he sees is Jessica at her desk. Where were you? Were you in the bathroom or something?
"Where is he? Where's Y/N?" Steve demands as he walks to the door, and Jessica looks at him, startled, standing up at his entrance.
"Mr. Rogers- oh, you're asking about Y/N? Yeah, he's gone," Jessica rambles nervously, and Jessica doesn't get nervous, so Steve's face must be doing something scary right about now.
"Gone? What do you mean, gone?" Steve questions Jessica intensely, and he knows he's being intimidating but he can't help himself, he just needs to know.
"I mean, he left, he said didn't want the position and he apologized for wasting my time," Jessica hurries to reply, and Steve can't believe his ears.
"He said he didn't want the position? Why?!" Steve can't help but parrot, feeling overwhelmed by confusion. Cap Incorporated has done quite well for an ambitious startup, and there were thousands of people dying to get a foot in the door, so why would you pass this up?
"That confused me too, but it seemed to do with you, sir. The moment he learned that the position was with you, he declined it immediately," Jessica tentatively explains, and of fucking course you declined the position because it was with Steve!
You don't want to try and reconnect, or smooth things over. You had left him behind in the past, it seems, for good!
Anger burns within Steve, and he keeps it buried down just long enough to ask through gritted teeth, "Did he say anything? Before leaving?" And Jessica eyes him worriedly before nodding.
"He said to tell you he was sorry," she says hesitantly, and Steve freezes as he is hit with an instant flashback to that day five years ago, when he was sitting on the couch with Bucky, in the dorm they shared, crying into his shoulder after you decided to end your friendship.
"The prick said to tell you he was sorry right before he blocked me," Bucky had grumpily reported to Steve at the time, and Steve had scoffed, "As if that changes anything."
And now here you are, telling someone else to tell him sorry, and Steve wonders why can't you do it yourself. Why don't you want to see him?
Do you hate him to the point of fleeing from a great job opportunity, if it meant not being near him?
Steve is trying very hard not to take this personally, but your rejection of the job feels very much like a rejection of him.
"I'm surprised, though, you really just missed him, boss. He went down and it feels like five minutes later you came up," Jessica adds and Steve's mind feels like it's going fifty miles an hour.
The backdoor! That was Y/N leaving. He literally missed him by minutes, no seconds- if he had seen Y/N leaving he would've chased after him.
No, Steve has to calm down... he's too angry.
"Ms. Nguyen, please reschedule all of my morning calls," he says slowly and she looks at him confused.
"It's 9:40 am, sir, you're supposed to be speaking with Director Schneider from-" Steve sighs and rubs a hand over his face. He really wishes people would listen to him the first time he talks.
"I said RESCHEDULE IT. I'll be back." And with that, Steve turns on his heel and walks out of the office, tugging at his tie. He heads straight to the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator, and heads one floor up to his personal gym.
No one else is allowed there, and it does require a keycard to access, and Steve hurriedly scans his card, slamming the door open. He strips and finds a spare gym suit he keeps there for times like this and puts it on, before he goes ahead and wraps his knuckles in athletic tape. He's left his gloves at home, but it doesn't deter him as he heads straight for the punching bag he's got set up in the center of the room.
He holds it for a second, using the moment to bring up all of the anger he's been feeling to the surface, and then unleashes it on the punching bag with a series of 'one-two's, jabs, and hooks, losing himself in the punches. Sketching may help him with some stress relief but sometimes hitting something gets a lot more done for Steve.
The empty room echoes with the sound of Steve's hits on the bag, and Steve keeps going until sweat drips down into his eyes and his knuckles sting and his arms are tired.
He has to regain control, and while he's showering, he knows exactly how to do that.
"Ms. Nguyen, I want you to pick up that phone and make Y/N an offer he can't refuse," Steve announces when he returns to the office, and Jessica looks at him, shocked.
"But sir, there's other candidates-"
"I want him! Now, pick up the phone and call him! And if he's not here in my office by the end of the work day," Steve pauses, taking in a shaky breath to calm himself down, "well let's just say it won't be good."
Jessica swallows, and nods her head.
"I'll see what I can do."
"You do that," Steve sends her a tight-lipped smile, and then storms into his office.
"Fuck!" Steve growls, slamming his hands against the smooth wood of his desk.
You weren't even here and look at the way Steve's acting- he can't let you have this power over him.
Back to You
You sigh despondently as you head to the train station. Who did you think you were, taking an Uber knowing how broke you are? Especially just for you to not get the job, ugh!
Just then your phone rings, and you think it's a call from Monica so you don't even bother to check who it is before answering, "Hey, girl!"
"...Hello, Y/N? It's Jessica Nguyen from-" Jessica awkwardly speaks, and embarrassment floods throughout you.
"Sorry! I thought you were someone else!" You hasten to say, and Jessica chuckles.
"It's fine," she says, and you wonder why she's on the phone with you. There's no need for a follow-up seeing as how you turned the job position down.
"Not to be rude, but why are you calling? Did I leave something behind?" You ask, exasperated.
"That's not rude at all! And I'm calling because I would like for you to rethink your decision on our offer." You sigh.
"I'm afraid I already said no-"
"We never got around to talking about salary, Mr. Y/N. How would you like to make 75K a year?" Jessica offers and you scoff.
"This is New York, 75K for being an Executive Assistant to a CEO is next to-"
"100K," Jessica says and it stops you in your tracks.
"What?"
"Make that 125K, with guaranteed 10% bonuses at the end of the year, and the ability to delegate a junior assistant to ease the workload when necessary. You're allowed an expense account, too, Y/N." Your heart pounds.
"Jesus Christ, are you even allowed to make these offers?" you breathe, and you can practically hear the smugness in Jessica's voice when she says, "Of course, it's all been authorized by Mr. Rogers."
Well, shit. You may not want to work with Steve, but it appears that Steve wants to work with you,
and you can't say no. Maybe he possibly wants to smooth things out between the two of you. The cost of living is high, and you need a job.
You take a deep breath.
"When can I start?" Jessica's voice, full of trepidation, softens suddenly.
"Well first, you actually need to… "
...
"Oh, hello again!" Ms. Chaudri greets you as you walk in the building again. "Didn't see you leave!"
"Well," you start awkwardly and she grins as she reprints your access pass.
"Just joshing ya, here you go!" She hands it to you and you thank her as you re-enter and return to the elevator.
Strangely enough, you're not as nervous as you were before and the fact that Steve wants you to work with him somewhat quells the nerves you have.
You're going to see Steve! You don't know how much he's changed, especially since he's some sort of big shot now. You've seen the reports about him and actors and models and they've tugged at your heartstrings, but not as much as when you see him and Bucky together. On second thought, you better not think about Bucky right now.
The elevator finally stops and you step out, heading to the office where once again, Jessica is waiting for you.
"Straight through there, Y/N, Mr. Rogers waiting for you," Jessica says and you nod, pushing through the heavy glass doors.
You can see the outline of Steve, back to the door and God, he's really grown taller, hasn't he? And his shoulders are so broad, and the suit that he's wearing is tailored to perfection on him.
His hair looks nice, too, cut a bit short and styled differently to the longer style he wore back then. Steve looks good- no, he looks like a CEO. More importantly, he looks like a man that is your boss.
What had Jessica called him? 'Mr. Rogers'? Maybe he doesn't like for his assistants to call him by his first name, which is a pretty fair expectation for most bosses. And when the two of you had last seen, or rather texted each other, it had been on a bad note, so he may not want you to be so informal with him either.
"You wanted to see me, Mr. Rogers?" You ask cooly, and Steve turns around, with a perfectly neutral expression. His eyes meet yours and he doesn't look away.
"Hello, Y/N," he says in a low voice that conveys nothing, "it's been a while."