Chapter Text
Scott Lang. A hardworking, intelligent but adorably goofy man going up against Hope van Dyne, another hardworking and intelligent woman, but with the outward appearance of someone serious and sour. She was the daughter of Hank Pym, the owner and founder of Pym Tech, and although they had a rocky start to their family relationship (hence the change of Hopes surname) they are now a close, happy and functioning family along with Hopes mother Janet.
I don’t stand a chance Scott thought to himself as he approached the entrance to the Pym Tech building. He was usually a man with considerable confidence in his abilities, if at times a little bit cocky, but the thought of fighting for a top spot in the company against Hope, the oh so smart, talented, evil, incredibly hot, daughter of their boss Hope, had him doubting his chances of success more and more each day.
He had hoped to avoid running into Hope this morning on his way into work, in fear of her making some snappy comment or perhaps fulfilling her plan to silently kidnap and murder him, which given the way she always seemed to glare at him, he was so sure she had. But alas, as Scott made his way through the lobby, there she was, observing some paperwork dressed in a slim black suit that fit her body just right and added that little bit more to the dead serious look she always wore. He gave a heavy groan and stopped in his tracks as she spotted him, her green eyes already narrowing and eyeing him down as the approached with her signature, purposeful ‘i’m all buisness’ strut.
“Good morning, Scott” She lightly smirked, tilting her head slightly to the side as she spoke, as if he was a child. Oh how she loved to provoke him.
”Good morning, Hope” He replied seemingly through gritted teeth, but contrary to his wishes, his eyes roamed her slender figure. Eyes up Lang.
”I want you to come by my office later, once you’ve settled down, to talk about that spot as CEO”. Scott internally screamed, very nearly externally. “Is that alright with you?” She asked, not truly caring whether he wanted to or not, they both knew if she wanted it to happen it would.
Scott finally focused his line of sight on Hope’s face, rather than absolutely anywhere else in the room. He was only a smidge intimidated by her. “Uh yes, that’s absolutely fine. I’ll be there in about 20 minutes.” And before Hope could get another word out, he gave a forced smile and nod, making a break for it and rushing toward the elevator, heading up to his level.
Scott slumped down in his chair once he reached his desk on the engineering floor. “Eyy Scottie!” Came the sudden loud and cheery voice of Luis, who was perched on the edge of the desk next to Scott’s, snapping him out of his newly Hope-induced grump. “What’s up man?” Luis inquired with a beaming smile.
”I saw satan on my way up here in the lobby, she told me to meet her in her office in about 10 minutes to talk about the CEO job” Scott grumbled and peered up at Luis, dread filling his eyes.
”Oh dang, do you think she’s gonna kill you?” Luis knew all well about Scott’s suspicions of her plans to kill him off.
”She’d do anything to get that job, even if it meant stuffing my body into the trunk of her car and dumping me in the river” Scott’s head was now in his hands, staring at himself in the reflection of his monitor, he was sure he was way overthinking things, but Hope had him thinking and feeling all kinds of ways.
“I’ll be praying for you man” Luis gave a light smile, holding up his hand for a fist bump, both of which Scott gladly returned.
Scott and Luis had been best friends since childhood, an inseparable pair is what their parents called them, and had turned out to be true. They suited each other perfectly, and it was just their luck that they managed to get a job at the same place, in the same division, seated right next to each other. Although they annoyed the hell out of Hope when she visited the engineering floor, she frequently referred to them as idiots and children.
Glancing down at his watch, Scott begrudgingly rose from his seat “Right, better go face the devil. I’ll see you later if i actually end up making it out of there alive” He said with a sarcastic tone, and with that he trudged toward the elevator once again.
”Good luck bud!” Luis called after him in the most supportive tone he could muster.
Yep. He’d need all the luck he could get.
Scott’s ride up to Hopes office was interesting to say the least. Hope had somehow managed to get distracted on her way up, which meant that she and Scott had ended up in the same elevator, alone and in very uncomfortable silence. She caught Scott stealing a few glances now and then, but she put in down to him being slightly intimidated by her. And as they inevitably arrived at Hope’s office at the same time, she had made Scott wait outside while she prepared herself, which is where he was at this exact moment, in the brink of a nervous meltdown.
Oh god.. oh god okay, she’s not going to kill you, that would be stupid right? She’s just going to you know, h-hash it out, tell you the ins and outs of the job! You’re gonna be fine just-
Scotts train of thought was abruptly brought to an end by Hope swinging open the door to her office “You can come in now” Was all she said in a flat tone. He edged past her and stepped inside the office, which was lined with plain white walls that featured a few paintings dotted around the room. He knew how much she liked art.
“Have a seat, Scott” Hope spoke again, and he did as he was told, placing himself in a rather comfy looking leather chair situated in front of Hopes desk. He began twiddling his thumbs in his lap, something he often did when he was nervous. Hope knew that.
”You don’t need to be nervous Scott, it’s not like i’m going to kill you”
Scott’s eyes widened like moons as he swallowed heavily. Jesus Christ.
” Scott?” Hope raised an eyebrow, snapping her fingers in front of his face. “Can you focus please?”
”wha- oh yes! sorry, carry on” He diverted his attention back to Hope and settled on her face. Already distracted, he began tracing her features with his eyes. Despite everything between them, Scott couldn’t deny that she was incredibly beautiful. The light freckles that dotted her face complimented her darkish green eyes well, and her long, brown hair that fit the shape of her face perfectly. He didn’t like Hope, she was the devil incarnate after all. He just couldn’t help but notice.
Dude. Focus.
Pulling himself out of his thoughts once again, he diverted his attention to what Hope was actually saying this time.
She stood on the other side of her desk opposite Scott, hands on her hips in her usual professional manner. Sighing, she focused on him and straightened her posture just that little bit more.
”Listen Scott, i know you’ve applied for that job as CEO too, i don’t blame you. You’re a... hard worker, you’re not dumb although you do sometimes act like it and you’ve got potential-“ Scott was slightly taken aback by the words coming out of her mouth, was Hope Van Dyne actually complimenting him ? This was an extremely rare occasion. He was about to seize the moment and make a snarky comment, but before he could get the words out, he’d been left sorely disappointed “-but, i want you to retract your application.”
“Excuse me?” Who the hell does she think she is?
” Look, Ive been at this company a lot longer than you, and ever since then i have been working my ass off towards this job. And when Darren got fired, i knew this was my chance” Hope looked at him with pleading eyes that he was more than surprised to see. “Im not asking you to do this because i don’t like you Scott, i just know it should be me”
For the first time in his life, Scott was speechless, and he could only look up at Hope with disbelieving eyes. Out of all the things he thought she could’ve said to him, this was definitely not one of them.
Hope stood behind her desk staring back at him and they shared a few minutes of uncomfortable silence as what she had said lingered in the air.
Finally, after 5 minutes of absolutely nothing Scott built up the courage to speak his mind. He sympathised with her, but he couldn’t let her do this. “I can see how hard you’ve worked Hope, and i admire that, but you’re not the only one. This” He gestured to the situation around them. “Isn’t fair, if you’ve worked hard to get to this point then you should carry on until you get to where you want to be, not try and threaten me out of it, it won’t work.” His tone was more assertive and bold than anything Hope had ever heard from him. “And i have a daughter to help provide for. So no, i will not be retracting my application” With that Scott stood up, his posture matching Hope’s, but he wasn’t nearly as threatening as her.
”Fine.” Hope said and gave a smile that dripped with annoyance. Although she admired his confidence to stand up to her and in all honesty was a bit shocked that he didn’t comply straight away, she still wanted that job more than anything.
”Now if you’ll excuse me, i’ve got work to be getting back to” Scott said as he stepped away from the desk and approached the door “I’ll see you later Hope” There was a hint of disappointment in his voice, but neither said anything more before he quickly opened the door and left.