Strange Connection (Stephen Strange x OC)

Chapter 2

At 1:55pm, there was a knock on the door to the New York Sanctum. Wong was running errands, so Stephen went to the door himself. He knew to expect a woman, but had assumed it would someone younger than the woman who presented herself to him now. She seemed to be about his age.

"Doctor Strange?" She spoke as she slipped the phone she'd been examining into a clip attached to her belt.

"Yes, and you are?"

"Ariana Miller," she said, holding out her hand for a handshake.

He looked briefly at her hand before taking it to shake, choosing not to be rude at that moment before this already intriguing woman. She appeared to be in her 30's, wore black jeans and a loose-fitting purple top that went to her thighs. She wore tennis shoes that also were primarily purple in color and carried a large black backpack on her back.

She noticed him glancing over her and tugged at the hem of her shirt nervously. "Sorry if this isn't appropriate appearance, but I didn't have time to go home and change, plus, I had no clue what proper dress code for such an—intriguing—location, might be."

"Your appearance is fine, Mrs. Miller. Please come in," he said as he waved her into the foyer of the Sanctum. "I apologize if my gaze lingered too long, I couldn't help but notice your affinity for the color purple."

She smiled bashfully and glanced down. "Oh, yes, well—I do like purple—a lot. Is that a problem?" she said with a frown.

"No, no—why would that be a problem?"

"I just—I don't know exactly how things work here, didn't know if there might be some restriction on certain colors."

Stephen chuckled. "No, no restrictions on color, Mrs. Miller. Your purple is safe here. Please, follow me and we'll go through to the library. Wong, my assistant, and I use it as our office."

"Thank goodness," she said as she followed after him. "It was going to be difficult to explain to Mr. Stark why I wouldn't be able to work for you. I don't think I could bear not to wear purple. It keeps me happy."

"Then please, continue wearing purple, Mrs. Miller, I wouldn't want to be the cause of your sadness."

"It's actually Miss, Doctor. But, you're welcome to call me Arianna."

Stephen nodded, though wasn't sure if he should be so familiar with her—yet.

As they sat, he noticed her hefting the large backpack off her back. "Do you frequently carry along such a large bag?"

"Oh, um, it has everything I might need for any IT emergency I encounter at Stark Industries. My laptop, tablet, a few tools I can't live without, spare cables—plus a few books I carry along for breaks, you know—important things."

"I see."

"Oh, speaking of important things—Mr. Stark said I should bring along my credentials, resume, and CV—just so that you could see that he sent someone over who was well prepared to handle any issues you might have arise—regarding IT I mean." She pulled a leather document holder out of her bag, placed her finger on it, a latch released, and she opened it to pull a few papers out, passing them across the desk to Stephen.

"Thank you, Ms. Miller," Stephen said as he glanced over the papers. "Really this interview was more to ensure you were prepared to handle the more unique nature of the job environment than to question your qualifications. While I may question some of Mr. Stark's methods, I am confident that he only hires the best of best for positions within his company. How informed are you regarding the Masters of Mystic Arts?"

"Mr. Stark had me review Stark Industries files on your Order on my way over. I'm aware that there are several locations, and I've seen some video footage of your people in action using some of their skills. I was present for the Battle of New York, and I've met all the Avengers and a few miscellaneous other superheroes. If your concern is regarding my being able to maintain decorum and be professional when faced with a sorcerer wielding magical powers, I believe that won't be a problem. There'll be no fangirling or freaking out from me." She said the last sentence with a grin.

Stephen couldn't help the small smile that appeared as well. "Very good." He finished looking over the papers, well satisfied with her paperwork. "I'm unsure of what your typical work hours are, Ms. Miller—how soon would you be able to look at our wi-fi issue?"

"I typically work 10am to 6pm, unless otherwise needed. I'm flexible and can work projects in evening hours if they require systems to be down that are needed during typical work hours. I'm a night owl, so my preference is nights as to mornings."

"Well, there are no typical work hours for the Masters of Mystical Arts, but you'll find that there aren't many who are desperately missing the wi-fi at Kamar-Taj, that is, except for me. It's been down a week and it probably wouldn't have been brought to my attention had I not noticed it myself."

"Where exactly is Kamar-Taj? I didn't get that far in the files." she said the name slowly, hoping to properly pronounce it.

"Kathmandu, Nepal."

Her eyes went wide. "I'm going to Nepal?"

He smiled. "If you're up for it."

"I'll need to pack."

"Actually, it's a rather short trip."

"Short? It'll take at least a day to get there by plane!"

Stephen smiled and slipped his sling ring on as he stood, coming around the desk and forming a portal. He glanced back at the sound of a gasp behind him. "No 'freaking out', remember?"

Her eyes were still wide as she stared into the portal, but she attempted to shake it off and cleared her throat as she stood slowly. "No, of course not, sir—Doctor—I mean—"

"So, how soon did you say you could get to work?"

"Um, I can get to work as soon as you would like, sir," she said, still staring through the portal.

Stephen glanced through the portal and frowned, closing it back. "Well, I would say we'd start now, however, it's midnight in Kathmandu, and I'd rather not upset the Masters at Kamar-Taj having you tinker around in the middle of the night."

"Yes, I think I'd prefer not to upset anyone with mystical powers, thank you very much," she said with a grin as well.

"I'm afraid that either means you work rather late in the evening, say 9 or 10pm, or incredibly early in the morning. I think I can guess your preference."

"Yes, sir, I'd prefer evening hours."

"That'll put it around 6 or 7 in the morning in Kathmandu, which won't be a problem as most of the Masters and trainees are awake by then."

"Remind me not to become an apprentice of the Masters of Mystical Arts—I don't think I could handle the hours."

Stephen smirked. "That's a shame, we could use someone with technical prowess."

"You stick to the early morning magic, I'll stick to the late night tech—seems like a perfect partnership."

Stephen watched her more carefully for a moment, till she blushed under his gaze realizing what she'd said, but he spoke before she could correct herself. "I do believe you might be right, Ms. Miller."

She swallowed slowly. "Well then, should I return closer to 9 then?"

Strange nodded and stood, she following the motion herself. "That will work nicely, thank you."

He walked her to the door and watched as she hopped down the steps, tucking her thumbs into her backpack straps, and walked down the sidewalk. Something about Arianna Miller captured his interest, he just wasn't sure what yet.