Getting Past The Door

"Yes You Can Help Me. My Name Is Aaron Cross and I'm From Omen Enterprises. I'm Here To See Ms. Stark.," An unsettling calm fell upon Aaron as he reached toward his jacket with his right hand.

Seeing Aaron reach for something, The Guard on the left lunged swiftly toward Aaron, grabbing him by the wrist and lifting him several feet into the air while The Guard on the right reached into his own jacket. Aaron heard a familiar click... Like the hammer of a gun.

Unfazed Aaron spoke in a calm and almost unnaturally smooth tone., "Why so Serious? I was only reaching for my wallet. I assume you want proof of my identity before you let me enter."

The two Men looked at each other briefly before the one reaching in his jacket relaxed, Aaron heard another click before he removed his hand from his jacket., "Alright Aasir grab The Blanco's wallet and see who the little runt is so we send him packing."

"As you say Brother Melokuhle.," The other Guard responded without pause and reached into Aaron's jacket, removing his wallet from his inside pocket and handed it over.

"You could at least put me down.," Aaron stated in a flat tone, a bored expression on his face but The Guard who he now knew was called Aasir holding him aloft in the air barely looked at him. He was too busy watching his Brother rifle through the contents of Aaron's wallet. Aaron meanwhile was contemplating retaliation... Planning the most effective means of ****, maximum impact with minimal effort.

Suddenly Melokuhle froze, His eyes widening comically as large beads of sweat formed on his forehead the moment he caught sight of a Black Card in one of the pockets of Aaron's wallet. It had a glossy black sheen and it was obvious that it wasn't made of plastic but metal... Titanium to be precise. The more Melokuhle looked at the card the more unsettled he seemed to become, his hands shaking visibly.

"Aasir Put Him Down Now!," Melokuhle demanded in what sounded almost like panic.

Aasir's head whipped around to stare at his Brother who was stalking toward him like a charging Elephant. Melokuhle slapped Aasir's hand., "I Said Put Him DOWN!"

Aaron dropped gracefully to his feet and nodded in appreciation as Melokuhle gave him a slight bow. Aasir on the other hand rubbed his hurt wrist and glared at his older Brother., "What The HELL Was That?! Don't Tell Me You're Afraid of This Puny Little BLANCO!!"

Without so much as a hint of hesitation, The moment those words left Aasir's mouth Melokuhle backhanded him across the face so hard it split his lip and loosened several of his teeth, a faint trickle of bright red blood against dark skin streaming down his lip from the right nostril of his nose.

"YOU BAS...," Before Aasir could shout the obscenities that were no doubt about to pour forth from his lips his Brother shoved Aaron's open wallet toward him before growling., "SHUT UP and Look!"

Aasir snorted derisively and sneered down at the wallet, taking it from his Brother.

"We're very sorry Mr. Cross... Please accept my Brother and I's most sincere apologies. We get all kinds of riff raff trying to get in and we over reacted."

Aaron's expression took on a more sinister aspect as he dusted off his jacket and straightened his tie., "That's quite alright. I understand perfectly."

Meanwhile Aasir was looking for what could have upset his Brother to such a degree when he saw peaking out from one of the pocket's of Aaron's wallet the same shiny Black Card. Aasir's eyes widened and his face visibly paled, A disturbing sight given how dark Aasir and his Brother's skin were. Aasir's reaction was even more intense than his Brother Melokuhle's as he stared at the ominous Black Card. Like his Brother he didn't have the courage to touch it or take it out and look at it. What he could see of it was frightening enough... It had the image of an Octopus emblazoned on it judging from the tentacles he could see on the portion sticking out and the more he looked at it the more he felt as if he could see those tentacles squirm about softly on the card's glossy black surface.

"My wallet if you don't mind, My Good Man?," Aaron asked in equal parts polite and condescending as he gestured toward the marginally shorter of the two Giants.

Aasir's attitude like his Brother's took a complete one-eighty as he carefully handed Aaron back his wallet which he handled as if it were a fragile antique that he was positively terrified he might break.

"Thank You.," Aaron offered, placing it back in his inside pocket.

Melokuhle smacked his Brother on the arm and the two gave Aaron a small bow before the two opened the large double doors and gestured for Aaron to go inside.

As the doors closed, behind him Aaron could hear the two Men speaking in their native language.

"That was a close one.," Said Melokuhle.

"I hope for our sake he doesn't hold a grudge.," Replied Aasir.

"Yeah.," Melokuhle gulped.

It was several minutes after Aaron entered the building that the oppressive feeling the two Guards felt began to lift. They were still in shock that someone like him held one of "Those" Cards. Melokuhle and Aasir made it a point to remember Aaron's Name and Face... They had been spared once... Another showing of such stupidity and they feared Ms. Stark might need to find new Guards.

"That Actually Went Smoother Than I Expected.," Aaron thought to himself as he made his way through the lobby of Stark International. He could hear Gog sigh with relief., "All Vitals Returning To Baseline."

"Thank You Gog And I'm Sorry If I Worried You."

"That's Alright Father But Try To Take It Easier In The Future. I Don't Know How Many Scares Like That My Digital Heart Can Stand."

The Receptionist was busy talking on the phone so once Aaron reached the front desk he waited patiently for her to finish her call., "Yeah some Omen Enterprises Bigwig is supposed to arrive at any moment.," Aaron heard The Receptionist tell whoever she was talking to before looking up to see him standing there., "Excuse me Jenn but I have someone waiting. I'll talk to you later."

"Bigwig Hmm? I've Been Called Worse Things That's For Sure.," Aaron chuckled to himself before addressing The Receptionist., "My name is Aaron Cross and I believe Ms. Stark is expecting me. I'm here to negotiate on behalf of Omen's CEO Viviyan Sinclair about an upcoming Military Contract."

The Receptionist who seemed less than impressed by Aaron immediately bolted out of her chair and offered her hand to Aaron., "Please forgive me for making you wait Mr. Cross. There were some issues with one of her projects and Ms. Stark is taking care of it. She left word that when you arrived that I was to escort you to her office and make you Comfortable."

Aaron felt a shiver race up his spine as she emphasized that final word but he didn't let on and smiled instead.

"My name is Amber.," The Receptionist offered in a bubbly tone as she walked out from behind her desk and intertwined her arm with Aaron's and began pulling him toward Tanya Stark's office.

"Been working for Omen long? What do you do there? Ms. Sinclair must really trust you if she's sending a handsome young Man like yourself to negotiate military contracts...," The bubbly brunette with the tight little backside and scandalously short skirt and 6 inch heels fired off question after question in rapid succession but Aaron found it hard to concentrate on her questions. The warmth of her body pressed against his and the intoxicating scent of her perfume made it difficult not to mention that given the plunging neckline of her blouse he could see her modest but still eye-catching breasts.

She kept inundating Aaron with questions until they reached Ms. Stark's office. The moment Amber laid eyes on Ms. Stark's Secretary she froze and Aaron who had been trying to answer the flurry of questions was taken by surprise that she had finally fallen silent since he was sure she didn't need to breathe, having not taken a break from her incessant questioning for the past fifteen minutes to take a breath.

Aaron gulped when he saw what or more precisely who had caused her to lose her voice. Sitting behind a exquisite and very expensive desk was a charming and very attractive redhead hard at work with three large stacks of papers assembled in front of her. She gave off an air of Dignity and was dressed somewhat conservatively in a business-style dress suit though it was obvious that she wasn't just another bean counter or stuffed shirt because her business attire was a bit tight, emphasizing her curves and there was just a hint of cleavage.

Aaron looked back and forth between Amber and the obviously intimidating Secretary and he quickly realized that Amber was afraid of her.

"Umm Ms. Potts there's someone here to see Ms. Stark.," Amber asked hesitantly, fear apparent as she spoke.

"Argh What Is It Now? Can't You See I'm Bus...," The sexy redhead looked up in irritation before looking over at Aaron with a frown., "What is it Amber... Can't you see I'm incredibly busy here? I don't have time to meet another of your trysts.," The overworked Secretary gestured at the mounds of paperwork ahead of her.

"No, No it isn't like that... This is the young Man we were told to expect. He's here to inspect The Sentinel Program and negotiate on behalf of Omen Enterprises for the contract with Ms. Stark.," The embarrassed Receptionist quickly corrected. Ms. Potts who had been eying Amber disdainfully looked back at Aaron with a more appraising gaze, Her eyes widening and her expression softening.

"Is he now?," Ms. Potts purred, standing up., "That will be all Ms. Jilcor... I will take it from here."

Amber bit her lip as she looked between Aaron and her immediate superior before sighing defeatedly., "As you wish Ma'am but before I go...," Amber turned to Aaron and pulled a card with her name, number and home address on it from her bra and slipped it into Aaron's pocket.

Standing on her tiptoes she gave Aaron a quick peak on the lips before giggling and rushing out of the room like her skirt was on fire.

"So You must be Aaron Cross, Yes?!," Came the redhead's silky voice as she approached Aaron with her hand extended.

With a sigh, Aaron shook her hand and replied., "Hello again Ms. Potts."

"Again?," Ms. Potts asked curiously as she cocked an eyebrow., "Have we met before Young Man?"

"I'm not surprised you don't remember it was over a year and a half ago..."

Ms. Potts looked closer at Aaron's face., "You do look familiar but I still can't place you. Where did we meet?"

"It was a tech party at The Romani Hotel. You were there with Tony Stark."

At the mention of Stark International's former CEO, Ms. Potts stiffened., "It's a bit embarrassing and I'm sorry to be the one to tell you but while Tony... Urr Mr. Stark and I were talking you came over and he introduced you as his lovely personal assistant and then he introduced me and shortly after that he had to step away to take an urgent call at which point..."

Ms. Potts visibly paled, Obviously remembering some of that night.

"... You came on to me and..."

With every word Ms. Potts' face revealed more and more shock until her hand flew up to cover her mouth as her mind flashed back to that night and she remembered being in a drunken daze after a little too much Champagne and then Tony taking a call and then...

Ms. Potts gulped, Her heart thumping like a runaway freight train as her blurry memories of that night came into sharp focus and right before her eyes she was reliving that night...