Rendezvous

by queenB

"Mr. Worthington?"

"Yes, Margaret?" Warren Worthington looked up from his messy clutter of a desk, prying his eyes away from the Lehman and Shuzter's merger market report as his administrative assistant pushed her glasses higher onto the bridge of her nose as she peeked her head through a crack in the door, gray hair glowing like a halo of silver from the bright light of his office waiting and reception area.

"Mr. Lehman is here to see you."

A split second of panic raced through Warren's mind as he began to pile the clutter of papers and portfolios on his desk into small, barely organized stacks. He smiled sheepishly, "Three o'clock already?"

From the doorway, Margaret nodded and then stepped in to help him tidy his desk and the conference table in the corner of the room. "Yes. Three o'clock it is."

"How time flies." He took a deep breath and then surveyed the room. Not too bad. Looked lived in. Looked like people actually worked here. Which they did. Warren eyed the black, leather sofa in the corner. Sometimes, during a crisis, they even slept here. He put a hand on the Lehman-Shuzter report. He'd have to play it by ear. He'd read the financials a dozen times. And if he wasn't quite up to speed on a few of the logistics, he could bluff it. After all, the numbers were good and that's all that mattered. The rest of the details could be ironed out later. Cinching the deal was the one thing he was sure on. He cleared his throat. "Give me five minutes, Margaret. Then let them in."

He watched her leave and then shut the door behind her as he headed for his washroom. Looking in the mirror, he smoothed his suit and adjusted his tie. It had been a long couple of months at Worthington Enterprises. When he had started working on the X-Men reserve team in order to return to the family business and bring it back to its former glory, he had never expected this. He decided to expand into high tech technologies more than in the past as well as a few well-established dot-coms and regionalized suppliers and wholesalers. Worthington Enterprises was, as they say, diversifying. If it buzzed, ticked or blinked, Worthington either patented it, held a share of it, invented a chip for it or knew someone who did. Warren wasn't too sure on the specifics, but he had someone one working for him who did at all times or had a file that told him the whys and hows. As CEO, his strength was in the big picture. And dealing with lawyers and accountants.

Today it was accountants. Specifically Marty Lehman of Leman and Shuzter, the biggest accounting firm in New York City and the East Coast, with a finger on the pulse of every money-making corporation therein. Lehman had taken personal interest in the merger between Worthington Enterprises and BlitzNet. And the fact that Marty had insisted on reviewing the documents firsthand made Warren nervous to no end. He felt like he was under the lens of a microscope. And Warren had never reacted well to being under the gun... unless of course he were in an X-Men uniform.

A few minutes later when Lehman and one of his junior partners were sitting comfortably around his glass conference table, Warren released a silent sigh as he listened to the two of them drone on, their voices blending together in a sonorous chorus of figures and dividend share averages. There was no need for anxiety. It was becoming apparent the only reason Lehman was present himself was that he wanted a part of the pie and a pocketful of Worthington stock before the merger went public. It mean Warren and his staff had made a brilliant play which was sure to pay off well for Worthington Enterprises and its shareholders.

He leaned back in his chair and pressed his hands together, listening to Lehman's proposal and nodding at the appropriate times. He let his mind wander, half listening to the lop-sided conversation taking mental notes of Lehman's subtle demands. He smiled to himself. It seemed he wasn't the business slouch he had always feared that he would be or merely his father's pale imitation. He was more than a X-Man and more than a suit with a set feathered wings folded tightly against his back. He was the kind of person who could make things happen. And he could do it without shooting beams from his eyes or controlling people's thoughts. He couldn't help but be satisfied. For the first time in a long, long while. Things were going well. They were close to perfect. Only one thing, one person, was missing.

As he let his chair rotate toward the glass, windowed wall that covered the far side of his skyscraper office. He caught a glimpse of a pair of birds chasing each other through the New York afternoon. Their altitude was higher than he would expect of such small birds, but their flight path was adventurous and flirtatious, even. It brought a smile to his lips as he watched them dip and swoop and tumble over one another. He could almost hear their happy chattering in his ears... And then he remembered.

He turned his head to look at large-handed antique clock on his wall. Five minutes to five. He had no idea it had gotten so late or that Marty Lehman could talk so long. She'd be there any minute. His heart lept in his throat.

He stood abruptly, no doubt appearing rather rude to his two colleagues, but it couldn't be helped. He had an appointment he had to keep. And keep it he would.

Extending his hand first to Lehman and then his associate, he said cordially, "It all sounds spectacular, Marty. But I seem to be short on time. I hadn't realized how late it was. Send me over a written proposal as soon as you can and we'll see what we can do, okay? Thanks for coming all the way out here. It was a pleasure."

And with that, he grabbed his coat and walked out the door. But before he could make it past the reception area, Margaret flagged him down. "Mr. Worthington, I've got Joseph Salinsky on line two. He's been holding for you to finish with Mr. Lehman."

Warren winked at the woman who had been his assistant for years and his father's assistant before him. "Take a message. I'm done for the day."

She shook her head, obviously either in one of her moods or pestered into submission by the impatient Salinsky. "He insisted."

Warren nodded and smiled, understanding the position Salinsky must have put her in. So he picked up the phone, punched line two and said with a grin before he hung it back up in its cradle, "Hello, Joe. Good-bye, Joe. I'll see you on Tuesday."

Margaret stared at him for a moment in shock before she finally giggled in spite of herself. As Warren walked down the hallway toward the elevators, he slung his coat over his shoulder and said, "Have a good weekend, Margaret."

Standing in the elevator vestibule, he was approached by Rob Ballister from Legal who sprung a series of contractual inconsistencies in the BlitzNet merger. Warren merely raised his eyebrow as he quickly assessed the situation and assured Bob it could wait until Monday. No need to keep the clerical pool in late to fix a few bullet points.

As Warren fidgeted with his necktie and rocked gently on his heels, Rob looked at the elevator call button and asked, "Going up, boss?"

The elevator then arrived and he stepped in as he removed his tie and said with a smile. "Yes. Going up."

When the elevator came to a stop, he used his special key to open the glass doors to the private, rooftop gardens. As the taxis and commuters honked their cacophonous symphony below him, he couldn't help but grin like a boy home from school for a long weekend. It felt good to be free.

Behind him, he heard her speak softly, her words smooth and familiar. "You look happy."

He turned to look at her, her figure silhouetted in a slinky, red shift that hugged her curves in all the right places. His cheeks grew hot and he took off his shirt. "I am happy."

She stepped behind him as she undid the clasps that kept Warren's large wings tight against his back and then helped him ease them out of the strappy, leather contraption. As they sprung free, she wrapped her arms around his bare stomach as she pressed her body to him between his wings and kissed the back of his neck. "You know, if you were with the X-Men full time again, we'd have more time to do this."

He turned her in his arms and tucked a lock of her purple hair behind her ear. It was shorter now, but still just as flattering as it tickled at her chin and shoulders. "My place is here now, Betts."

She shrugged. "Are you sure?"

He nodded and kissed her forehead. "Yes. Things were going well. And now that you're here, they're perfect."

She grinned. "Flatterer."

As he reached out to grab her hand, he smiled. "Always."

He pulled her into his arms and squeezed her tight, letting the smell of her fill his senses, realizing after all this time she still amazed him. Her familiarity never ceased to comfort and her passion always left him breathless.

He whispered into her ear, "Where to, my sweet?"

Pointing out over the city, she grinned, "The second star to the right and straight on 'til morning."

Laughing, he took to the air with a few powerful thrusts of his wings and said, "But it's still daylight. There's not a star in the sky!"

She smiled as she reclined her head against his chest. "Then you'll just have to use your imagination, I suppose."

As he took them high above the city, he gave her a kiss and then said mirthfully, "I suppose I will, then."

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