2012-07-11 Peter and Pepper Peruse...

Pepper Potts is back at her desk after the INSANE Senate hearing. She'd been hoping to not have to use that bill against Stern, but he overstepped his bounds. And like someone from a Harry Potter book, she swatted that bludger back with extreme prejudice.

Checking her messages from while she was out, she's surprised to hear that there's a young man waiting for his interview with her. She must have walked right past him on her way back to her office. Hastily contacting the lobby, she asks the front desk to send Peter Parker up, and pulls his file -- application and other bits of useful data she's gleaned -- from the pile of application folders.

Peter Parker, 18, wearing a shirt and a tie with a light blue jacket over top, a satchel and a pair of comfortable looking slacks and shoes enters, looking a little overwhelmed by the enormity of Stark Industries. "Miss Potts? I...I'm Peter Parker. I'm here about the internship position."

Pepper Potts stands and steps out from behind her desk, approaching Peter with a smile and her hand outstretched. "Hello, Mr. Parker. I am so sorry you were kept waiting."

"Oh," Peter says and shakes his head with a smile, "That's okay." He shakes Pepper's hand awkwardly and lets go quickly.

Pepper Potts seems to not notice Peter's awkwardness as she gestures toward the chairs in front of her desk. "Please, have a seat." She claims one of the seats herself, as if aware that her desk -- while not nearly as ostentatious as anything Tony would use -- is an intimidating piece of furniture. "What interested you in this internship, Mr. Parker?"

Peter sits and holds his satchel in his lap, "Well, I love science. And as you've probably seen from my resume I study at Midtown Manhattan's Science School. It's a school that's based on science." He smiles and chuckles a bit, realizing that was probably an obvious thing. "It's really a chance to work for Mr. Stark...he's the best in the business when it comes to engineering."

Pepper Potts ahs and nods, smiling a bit. "I have to admit, he's designed some pretty unusual things. His work style is ... unorthodox, though. Will you be able to adapt on the fly?"

"Miss Potts," says Peter with a smile, "I think if you're a good scientist you have to adapt on the fly. Sometimes the only way to get results is through thinking in a way that someone else hasn't. Otherwise, we'd all be doing the same thing over and over. And not getting anywhere other than the obvious."

Pepper Potts ahs and nods, then tries to throw Peter a curve ball. "Does thinking outside box take precedence over morals or ethics?"

Peter shakes his head defiantly, "Not...Not for me, Miss Potts. Ethics is something you think about when you're starting out. You generally think outside of the box when you need to adapt to new schema."

Pepper Potts is starting to like this young man. Heck, he might even (gasp!) be a bit of a good influence on Tony. "That's wonderful to hear." She looks over Peter's file again and then asks seemingly idly, "What sort of compensation were you expecting from this internship?"

"To be honest, I wasn't really sure. The advertisement didn't say, only that there would be a compensation package. That's not always the case with internships, of course. It really depends on the hours. If it's not much, but there are lot of hours...I need to help out at home with the bills, so..." Peter shrugs. Basically he'll have to get a third job if this one doesn't pay much, but he's not fessing up to that per embarassment.

Pepper Potts nods at Peter's answer, already doing some quick mental math. "Fair enough. Do you have any questions I can answer for you?"

Peter swallows with some difficulty and then tries to think, "Well, what I'm most interested in is the projects. I guess I'm wondering what sorts of things we would be working on. The interns, I mean."

Pepper Potts smiles amusedly. "Well, to be honest, I'm not sure yet myself. Tony's been keeping that information to himself. I can pretty much bet there will be very few dull moments."

Peter smiles broadly and nods, adjusting his glasses slightly, "Really that's the only question I ha...well...I guess I'm wondering about the set up. Would I be working with staff people? How does that all work?"

Pepper Potts chuckles softly, closing the folder on her lap. "Well... I'm still working on that part. Since this is the first time we're doing this, it's going to be a bit ... freeform until we figure it all out. You aren't going to hold that against me, are you?"

Peter laughs awkwardly and shakes his head a few times, "No, of course not, Miss Potts. It's not really a big deal, I was just curious. I'm sure whatever you have the intern doing will be fantastic."

Pepper Potts smiles. "Thanks. I do promise, you will not be fetching coffee or carrying dry cleaning."

Peter laughs out loud now and looks down nervously at the floor. "I suppose that's a shame because I'm really good at fetching coffee and carrying dry cleaning."

Pepper Potts laughs also. "Well, now if you offer, I doubt anyone will refuse. But it's not going to be expected of you."

Peter giggles a bit and nods awkardly, "Well, I suppose I can charge extra for it."

Pepper Potts says, "Depending on how badly my feet hurt, I just might take you up on that. Well, I'm all out of questions, how about you?"

Peter smiles and nods, "Yeah, I'm good. Thank you very much, Miss Potts."

Pepper Potts sets the file on her desk and stands. "You are most welcome, Mr. Parker, and thank you as well. We'll be contacting you soon, whichever way we decide on your application."

Peter nods solemnly and reaches to shake her hand before thanking her once again. Afterwards, he heads for the door.