Her Assistant | Natasha Romanoff

35. Still Adjusting

Natasha POV
I wasn't expecting Y/N to wake me up this morning especially with what's happening, but what was I thinking? She held her position in high regard, this wouldn't turn her away from doing what she was first instructed.

"Good morning, Miss-... Natasha." She corrected herself mid-sentence. My lips curled when my name rolled off her tongue, and I wished to hear it everyday. "Today's a simple arabica roast. Breakfast is being prepared by Wanda today. It will be served later."

The sweet smile that I had was replaced with a frown, why was she treating me like I was someone to be served. She's serving me as if she has to. There's just a hint of forcefulness that is so uneasy especially when I had just confessed to her. I patted the spot next to me, silently asking her to sit. She took the hint and sat next to me. "Do I make you uncomfortable?" I asked.

Surprised by my question, she shook her head. "No, not at all. It's just that I haven't been in a relationship for a long time and I don't really know what I'm supposed to do." She looked at her fingers as she spoke. I held her hands and she looked up at me.

"You can just treat me as a friend, not your boss." I suggested. "Just treat me like how you treat your friends."

"I don't treat my friends very well." She chuckled. "I don't have much anyway but I haven't seen them for a long time."

"Sorry, I should have given you more time off."

"No it's alright. They are busy too. I think one of them is overseas at the moment. Not sure when she's coming back."

After sitting and talking for a while, Y/N decided it was best to head to the dining area and have the day started. She passed me my clothes for the day before heading to see if Wanda needed any help.

I decided it was best that the entire household went to the office today. I wanted to officially give Wanda and Pietro a position in the company and Bucky could hang around with Y/N. There were lots of things to be done today.

"Do you think it would be a good idea to invite Williams for the launch?" I asked Y/N, not too sure it would be insensitive of me to be discussing business when they were still grieving for the loss of their daughter. Y/N looked at me and for a moment, I thought maybe I shouldn't have asked her as well. "It's okay, I can call to check with them myself."

I raised my phone to call them but Y/N pushed my hand down. "It's better if I call them. The launch is tomorrow right? Do you want them to come to the office first?" I looked at her stunned that she was going to do this.

"Are you okay?" I asked. I was thinking perhaps I shouldn't have rushed her into work so quickly, the launch could wait.

"Tomorrow? In the office?" She repeated her question, avoiding mine.

"Yes please." I watched as she exited the room quietly. I sighed when the atmosphere in the room had changed. Not only was she not experienced being in a relationship, neither was I. I spent the majority of my life building this company and before that, I was just an innocent girl. I pushed this to the back of my head and called Wanda and Pietro in.

From experience, I know after the launch it would be busy and hectic. I have decided to handover this project to Wanda to lead, mostly for the after sales support. I roughly told her what we did for the other projects so she has something to rely on. Mainly, she needed to collect data about the sales and demographics.

I showed Wanda and Pietro the team they were going to be working with. I could tell Pietro was a bit uncomfortable with the dominating number of women in the team but unfortunately I was slightly biased towards hiring women, so he'll just have to deal with it. I'm not sure if any of them are his type though.

"I expect the same level of results for the upcoming launch. Get to know each other well and start work tomorrow. If I hear any unreasonable complaint, be prepared to explain it to me. I wish to see the first report in 3 months."

When I returned to my office, Y/N was already back. She told me that the Williams will be in the office tomorrow early morning before heading to the flagship store for the launch.

"Did they say anything else?"

"They are heading to Germany the day after launch. They told me to update them about the profits. Apparently, Charles' company is assigning him a position there so they have to move." I nodded as she explained. There was a second of sadness in her eyes but she quickly adjusted out of it.

"You have the rest of the day off." I quickly decided. I just couldn't bear to see her trying so hard not to be sad anymore. I don't want her to drown herself in work to forget everything.

"Can I... go to the factory?" I looked at her with her weird request but accepted nonetheless. Being the CEO of a company, there just seem to be never ending things to do. Why isn't it like in the shows where they are allowed to take random leaves or throw their work to someone else without having any repercussions?

>time skip<

Finally, after a few hours it was time to leave the office. I called the factory supervisor to check if Y/N was still there but he said she left long ago.

After Bucky dropped us at our place, I took the car and went to find her. I should probably start to interact more with her friends so I'd have an idea where she is but I heard her friends were busy too.

I drove to the only place where I thought it was possible to find her.

Your POV
I sat there sharing the chocolate with her. I was almost done with mine but hers were still left untouched. "Do you like chocolate?" I asked but she was unable to reply. "I hope you do, I would love it if you're a fan of it but which kid wouldn't like chocolate?"

I took my final bite of chocolate as I sat there. From where I sat, I could hear the footsteps of someone approaching. There was only one person who was able to produce a heavy and light footstep at the same time.

"I knew I would be able to find you here." She said. I turned my head just in time to see Natasha sitting next to me. I didn't say anything and we just sat there in silence for a while.

"I took the first batch of chocolate from the factory. I wanted Evelyn to be able to enjoy them as well." I explained, knowing they would have to do a stock count before distributing to the stores and account for them.

"I understand. Have you eaten anything else?" I shook my head to answer her question. Other than driving to the factory and sitting in my car for a long time gaining the courage to come here, I did nothing else. "Do you want to have dinner with me?" Natasha asked. I just nodded my head and followed along. Since we were both driving, she told me to follow behind her as she led the way.

I looked around the place when we arrived, it didn't look like the place where Natasha would normally visit. I'm not one to judge a place by its looks but I couldn't see Natasha eating here. Natasha saw the look I was giving her. "I used to beg my father to bring us here to eat. I know it's not something you would think I would like but this used to be a privilege for us."

I nodded my head along with her explanation. Even though I may know a bit of her history, largely still remains unknown. Since she has become a prominent figure in the business, lots of reporters wanted to find out more about her but she was able to maintain it largely a secret. I just assumed it was due to her relations with SHIELD that allowed her to remain so invisible.

"The burger here is the best. You wouldn't want to eat anywhere else after this." Natasha excitedly said as she dragged me in. The owner seemed to recognise her and quickly showed us to a booth. "It's been years since I came here, nothing seems to have changed."

It's nowhere near midnight but it was late enough to think that most customers would have returned home by now as only Natasha and I were here along with a few handful of customers. Very quickly, Natasha ordered for the both of us and the dishes were served.

A messy burger is the nicest burger indeed. It was hard to grab the burger as the sauce was dripping, making the burger patty threaten to drop as well. It was hard to eat elegantly but it was not something I had to be aware of with Natasha.

"I love you." 

Posted on 21 March 2023