incitethemuse It is a great ability to be able to conceal one's ability.
Tony Stark was becoming a problem. Every time that Fury muttered those words in Natasha's presence, she refrained from pointing out the obvious; Tony had been a problem for sometime. The Iron Man mess with Stane had prompted Fury to slide Romanoff in to Stark Industries. She was placed as a shadow agent to keep an eye on Fury's problem child. She would remain in Legal until such a time came that it was best to remove her completely from the company and on to a new assignment, or to move her closer to Tony.
When she was called in to make the transfer of power of Stark Industries to Pepper Potts official, she called to let Fury know what was up. His instructions were simple; make Tony Stark want Natalie Rushman closer.
Tony had a well documented history, partially recorded by Natasha's own observations, of being easily distracted by beautiful women. He especially liked redheads who were self-sufficient. Her resume, should he look into it, and she would ensure he did, would prove to be just his type. She would be the natural choice to fill Pepper Pott's stylish Louboutins as Tony's personal assistant.
Tony was in the middle of a boxing lesson with his driver and body guard, Happy Hogan, when Natalie Rushman arrived with the paperwork for Pepper and Tony to sign. She needed signatures and fingerprints, and that would be that. Peter Pan would be relieved of his duties as CEO of his company, and Pepper Potts would be officially recognized for the work she had been doing since Obadiah Stane's death. Natalie was instructed to come into the boxing ring and take a lesson from Happy.
The boss, as he was still the boss until he signed those papers, wanted a show. Who was Natalie to turn him down? Happy humored her. He asked if she boxed, and Natalie answered yes. Then she kept the innocent look when he patronized what kind of boxing she had probably indulged in. Natalie Rushman was meant to take all of this in stride. Natasha Romanoff wanted to give Happy Hogan a few lessons of her own.
When he caught her off guard and she demonstrated that her skills were a bit more developed than the latest craze at the gym, she worried for a moment she had blown her cover. Pepper had a look on her face that worried her. Pepper, unlike the men in the room, didn't seem to be distracted by Natalie's physical attributes enough to ignore that someone in legal shouldn't have been able to put Tony Stark's bodyguard on the ground without breaking a sweat. Fortunately, the display only cemented Tony's desire to make her his assistant.
When she received the call, from him personally, telling her that she had been promoted and to handle the arrangements in Monaco for the weekend race, Natasha realized three things. One, Pepper Potts had obviously not been informed of this promotion. Two, Natalie Rushman was going to have to be much more careful with concealing her abilities so that her cover would stay intact. Third, Tony Stark was becoming a more self-destructive problem than usual, and there was no telling what she would be facing in this new phase of her undercover assignment.