Sterling Stark - Chapter 1

    I was terribly excited to start my new job. I never thought I would be so proud to be a replacement. But, there I was, jumping up and down after I got off the phone.
     I had been outside working when I happened to hear my phone in the house. I ran in and answered it up right before the machine had picked it up. I answered out of breath, and found it to be my old school buddy, Pepper Potts. I was happy to talk to her, and even happier when she asked me what I was doing for the next month.
    Pepper was going out of the country to visit some relatives, and Tony Stark needed a new assistant. Now, I wasn’t only excited because it was Tony Stark, but because we have been friends for years, and we kind of fell out of touch when our lives got busier. So, I was going to have a great job with an old buddy, and I’d also be helping a friend out. Yep, I was flying high that day.

    I packed up some things and shoved them into my truck. It was a four hour drive from my place to Tony’s, but I had needed some time alone for a while now, so I wasn’t upset. I packed the rest of my stuff, and my cell phone rang. “Hello?” I answered.
“Hi! This is Pepper,” Pepper said.

“Hey! What’s up?”

“Oh, I was just wondering when you were going to set out.”

“Well, I am packing right now, and I’m almost ready to leave. I was going to stay at a hotel in the city tonight, and then get to Tony’s tomorrow morning.”

“Oh……Well, I was kind of hoping you would stay with us tonight. I mean, you don’t have to! But I thought it would be nice to see you again.”

“Great! I would love to! I just thought you wouldn’t want me in your hair when you were getting ready to leave. But I would love to see you too!”

Pepper laughed and said, “Alright, I’ll see you tonight.”

“Oh! Pepper! I forgot to ask you something!”

“Yes? What is it?”

“Well…Um…Do you…I mean…Do you think Tony would mind if I brought my dog?”

   Pepper laughed harder and reassured me, “He would be fine with it, I’m sure.” I exhaled and thanked her, and we hung up.

   As I got my dog’s supplies, I took note of the time. Okay, I thought,  It’s noon now, so I should be there before five. I called my big black Great Dane, and he jumped in the passenger seat. I laughed at him, and he smiled back at me.
   I got in and sat for a moment. I looked around the inside of my truck. I wondered what Tony would think of it. True, it was no Audi, but I had to admit, this was an awesome truck.
   It was a black 2009 Chevy Silverado, that was lifted ten inches with forty inch tires. All the accessories were chrome, and it had too much engine for most guys to handle.
   My truck did get a lot of attention, and then when people find out that a girl owns and drives it, it gets more. I drove out of my driveway and locked the gate. “Well,” I said to my dog, “Just you and me for a while.”

   Four hours later, I was in the city. I looked down and remembered that I was wearing driving clothes. I stopped at a Costco and got out my good clothes.
   I went inside and changed.  I also re-did my makeup and put m hair up. I came out a different person.
   I was in black pants, a black dress shirt, a black leather jacket, I had dark - but not too dark- makeup on, and my hair was in an up-do. But, true to myself, I had cowboy boots on. They were black though, so they blended a little more.
    I walked back out to my truck and drove to Tony’s house. About twenty minutes later, I pulled in the drive. I slipped on my wrap-around shades to look cool for them, and stepped out of (more like jumped down from) my truck. Pepper came running outside and we hugged for almost a full minute.
   We laughed the whole time and talked about how much we missed each other. “I haven’t seen you in so long!” we said.
   We talked for a few more minutes and then my dog started to whine. “Well are you going to leave him in there the whole time?” Pepper asked me. I laughed and let him out. “He’s kinda big,” I said.
   He jumped up on Pepper and was eye level with her. He rested his paws on her shoulders and licked her face. I laughed and told him to get down, and then apologized to Pepper. “It’s okay! He’s so cute! What’s his name?” she asked.
  “His name is Chevrolet Thunder, but we call him Chevy.” I told her. We talked for a minute more, when we heard yelling. As the front door of Tony’s house opened, we heard the last bit of the conversation.
“No, Jarvis! I will not do that!”
“Sir, I believe it’s necessary.”
“I refuse to argue with you, you stupid computer. I say no, and that’s the way it is.”
Tony slammed the door as he came out and then collected himself again. He was his normal, cool self when he came down the steps.
  Pepper and I laughed and Tony looked up. He grinned at me and said, “Hey you.”