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"I'm ready to test the new system," small orange coiled hair pops through the small opening of the door to the meeting room the next afternoon. Emerald eyes are met with a line of a dozen unfamiliar faces and a tightening pit forms in her stomach.
"Sorry, Sir, I was unaware of a meeting. The core system is ready for testing." She clasped her dainty hands behind her back as she looked from Steve to Sam, before locking her gaze with his, shifting her weight between her two heeled feet.
"Awesome, Miss. Ember. While we have you here, these are a few of our investors and partners. Everyone this is Poppy Ember," he locked eyes with her and smiled.
As she dared look up around the room, a gruff old voice booms, "this is the felon you insisted be hired?" An older gentleman spoke in an incredulous tone as he scanned her up and down, judgement on his face, and he wasn't the only one. A furious wave of protectiveness covered James' demeanor.
As Sam gave her a sympathetic look, she looked at the older man, a twinkle of animosity in her gaze. "Yes, Sir, I am the felon," her words were seeping with venom. Something always shifted in the miniscule woman when she was doubted or made to feel small. The fire inside her always ignited when she had to defend her character.
"But I am also the reason the security system in this place won't be hacked anytime soon, which I imagine will make you some money. I plan on continuing to use my talents to help BBR grow. You shouldn't judge someone's character based on decisions of their past, mistakes." She felt stares narrowing in her direction and she looked down. "It was only a question little missy."
All three of her friends knew as soon as he said it and held their breath. She rolled her eyes and planted her feet on the ground and hands on her hips, "my name is Poppy."
With a small huff of a breath she looked sympathetically towards Steve and Sam before rushing toward the door, glancing at the raven haired man once more. She felt a small wave of shame, "ready when you are. I'll be in my office."
As the last orange coils disappeared from their vision, Steve was the first to clear his throat. "Sir, she is more than a felon, so please, let's avoid that topic."
Tattood palms met the table with force, "I will have zero patience with anyone insulting or judging Miss. Ember, she is an asset and has already proven her worth for our growth. Understood?" He looked around the room, it filled with silence and tension. Everyone that works with Barnes knows he is a serious control freak, he is great at controlling it until he is upset. Sam and Steve nodding to him as they start to work with the group of upset business people infront of them.
Before the meeting had even ended, the CEO was on his way to her office, barging into the door with a force he hadn't meant to.
As the door swung open, there she was, typing away on her laptops with a focused stare until she blinked and her gaze met him.
Before he could apologize for the gentleman that upset her with his rude question, she let out a quiet breath. "I'm sorry if I was rude. I just hate that no matter what i do, I'm a felon first. But that guy is an old fart, James."
He let out a chuckle that she mimicked as the anxiety lifted. "They are all farts, every last one of 'em," he joked as he plopped down in the seat infront of her desk.
"Are you alright?" He asked as the quiet filled the room around them.
She nodded, "I've been judged my entire life, nothing new." She tosses a nonchalant wave infront of her face that made his lips upturn slightly.
She stood up and walked around the front of her desk. He noticed how tall she stood today and smiled at her tiny feet sitting inside platform heels that lifted her petite frame a solid seven inches from the ground. He stood and studied her for a moment, noticing the dainty little septum ring that hung from her nostrils.
"Oh, baby doll. When did you get that?" His touched her nose lightly as she crinkled it in response.
"Had it since secondary school, she only comes out to play when I need an extra boost of bad bitch." She joked as he laughed with a nod, "you're adorable."
She shook her head as she looked up at him, "am not."
Her fingers gently danced along the fabric of his grey fitted button up. Her eyes exploring the sight before her, his fitted black trousers showing off his assets well. He groaned with a whisper, "I miss the taste of you."
As he enjoyed the sight before him he nervously inhaled a large shuddered breath, "come to dinner with me tonight?" He breathed out quickly as he stood inches infront of her.
A smile feathered her bare pink lips, "are you asking me in a date, James?" She flirtatiously asked. He nodded slowly, "I'm hoping that's alright?"
She chuckled, her hands fixing her black wild thing cotton tshirt as his hands touched the skin just under where her red skirt ended, "of course it is. I was ready to climb you like a tree as soon as we left but dinner first sounds nice." He groaned in realization as she licked her lips.
She pressed up towards his chest and kissed his cheek gently before scurrying towards her laptop to prep for her other bosses arrival and the launch of her newest system.
Before long, three excited men towered behind where she sat. All the computer screens before her being prepped as she smiled over her shoulder, up at them. She explained how each part would work for their artists' and act's protection and what all it would cover. With a few clicks she clapped once with fervor, "and now, gentleman, we wait."
She let out a calming breath as she pulled at her hair, tightly winding it into a messy bun atop her head. As her hands pull at her hair, icy blue eyes notice something on her skin he hadn't before. At the base of her hairline, on her neck was a link of round burns, grey and crimson in hue. They nearly blend into the area where skin and hair meet, nearly hidden. His breath hitched at the sight of it, Steve and Sam taking notice and following his eyeline as she clicks away before them, looking down at the small tablet next to her keyboard with progress information.
She felt their eyes burning into her as she worked, brushing it off as excitement. It was a few minutes later that she raised her hands and smiled, high fiving herself. "She did it," she hummed with a giggle before turning around to see three sets of kind eyes looking at her with sad concerned stares.
"Guys, I said I did it. Your system is officially kickass." She stared between them questioningly as her wheels turned over what they were worrying about. "You're welcome?"
They didn't say anything for a moment, Sam gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Good job Poppy, that's awesome. You're the best," Steve and Sam moved towards the door. She rushed to the middle of her office. "That the hell did I miss?" Sam and Steve look at the ground as she lets out a groan, "what?"
Blonde brows press together on her face as her hand meets the nape of her neck nervously. Round emerald eyes widen at the realization of her bare neck. "Guys...no. it's nothing for any of you to concern yourself with."
James eyes were on the floor, sadness in his hunched back, making her feel more nerves flooding in. Steve cleared his throat, "are those cigarette burns?"
She ran her pale finger across the bumpy line of skin below her hairline, nodding. "It's a piece of my past I don't wish to revisit. Is that alright?" The last bit was more flustered.
She didn't wait for their answer before looking back at her screens. The test run was going smoothly as she looked back at the men who stared back concerned.
"Goodness, I really am okay. It was years ago, long before prison. Anywho, look, system P is successful," she beamed. Sam and Steve mirror her smile as she turned the small screen. As they watch the numbers and symbols flow by, she looks behind them at the icy stare that lives in her dreams.
He finally looked at her, only his gaze was as if she was broken, a stare she refused to accept.
"James, stop looking at me like a broken toy. My mother was an addict, you don't think I have a large closet full of trauma? The cigarette burns from her ex are just a small slice of my life. So, please, leave the pity at the door or we should quit while we're ahead."
She looked around and realized she was in her office and let out a mousy groan before walking towards her office door, "watch the algorithm Wilson, I'm going to smoke."
Those tiny platform covered feet moved at a jog pace all the way down to the ground level. Lighting her smoke the moment cool air hit her face.
As she pulled in a large inhale of addicting smoke, she heard a familiar chuckle. "Hey you!" Behind her, standing from a bench, was one of the baristas from the coffeeshop she frequents almost daily. "Peter, right?" She inhales another off as he nods with a surprised wide eyes smile, "yes, Peter Parker."
"You're Poppy, the caramel obsessed ginger," he retorts with a smirk as he pointed to her. She smirked as she enjoyed the way the inhaling of the addictive smoke soothed her, "do you remember all your customers names?" She teased with a raised eyebrow.
She watched the red hue fill his cheeks, his right hand meeting the back of his neck nervously, "just the ones I uh- just special ones."
After the stressful moment she just had, his light heart-felt sweetness was a bright light. She smiled genuinely at him, "Parker, the barista that quotes motivational posters, you think I'm special?"
He smirked and nervously looked at his feet. Attempting to change the subject, "hey do you work here?" He pointed to the building as she nodded, "yes I do. Up towards the tippy top," she proudly winked.
He nodded, "very cool. I actually have an interview for an internship around the corner but it was nice seeing you! Hey, could I get your number?" The last bit was quiet and more nervous which made her smile.
She nodded, "absolutely, text me. Maybe I can show you how to quote something more interesting than posters,.... like songs." She smiled sweetly as he turned with pink cheeks and a half smile. "Hey ya that'd be great, but they aren't all from posters," she heard the Queens in his accent and she thought it was cute. "Whatever you say Parker," she teased.
She took another few puffs as she felt relief washing over her before making her way back up.
As she opened the door, only he was present in her office. His raven hair pushed back, icy eyes hidden from her sight until he turned to look at her with a half smile.
"I'm sorry we pried," he looked from her feet to her eyes, tracing her in between. The small red pleather skirt and the loose cotton tee shirt, he adored everything about his unpredictable little girl.
She nodded, "I understand. You all just care, I'm just..." she looked from each of his eyes. "There are things about me you don't know...some, nobody knows. And to be completely honest, I've never had anyone wanting to pry."
She took a few large quick paces towards him as he stood to face her, she put her hands around his large inked mitt and pulled it towards her hair behind her head. His fingers meeting the raised scar tissue where she was burned as a teenager.
"These, were my mother's husband, Ian. He was a heavy smoker and an angry, violent drunk. I only stayed to protect my Mum, any time I did step in...he, well.. you can feel."
His brows were waved with concern, his free hand gently tracing down her arm as she spoke, "he burned you for protecting your Mother?" His voice was soft and sad, like he wished to help her somehow.
She nodded with a whisper, "he was a horrible man."
He looked back into her eyes, "was?"
She nodded and turned on her heel, walking back to her computers quickly, "yeah, he's dead now. Long gone," she waved off as she started to type on one of the seven screens before her.
He took in a concerned breath, "how did he die?" She snapped to look at him, he noticed a twang of anger in her tone that he hadn't heard before, "doesn't matter, he's gone."
After a long lull and an awkward silence, she looked back at him and back at her work, whispering a quick, "karma is real, I made sure of it."
She quickly changed the subject, nearly giving him whiplash. In her sweetest voice, "so, this last system I'm finishing this afternoon will put a lock on the upper end of the files. Stuff like song copyrights, secret releases, contact information..the stuff you don't even want your employees to see."
He studied her as she began to type away like she didn't just drop a bomb. I'm so fucked, is all he could think.
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