It’s kind of amusing how the word ‘shit’ is his telltale sign that he’s won her over. For as annoyed as she seems, there’s still something that changes in her demeanor and that tells him he’s got this in the bag. That she’s going to help him with this. It’s difficult to contain his excitement, but he manages somehow – there’s maybe a small hint of a smile on his face.
When she finally speaks, his eyes go wide the a moment and he raises his hands.
❛ What? No, no, no. Maggie, she — she’s not all bad, I promise. She’s a really good person. We just, uh — we were going through a rough time, y’know? Prison and all. She hated visiting hours. She did it for Cassie, mostly. I think she hated my guts at the time. Which, in retrospect, is kind of understandable. ❜
It’s then he realizes she knows more than he’s told her and he hasn’t even said much about it. Maybe dropping Captain America’s and Hank Pym’s name in the same sentence was enough for her to deduce that his special ties had something to do with the mysterious unnamed ‘hero’ in Austria. Maybe Captain America’s name alone was enough.
Either way, DAMN, she’s good
❛ …Damn, you’re good. ❜
Nothing wrong with admitting it aloud.
❛ — Okay, for brevity’s sake let’s just say yes, I do have some ties to the Avengers – however out of sorts they are at the moment. Like I said, it’s kind of the only way I could have afforded your services in the first place. Is that a problem? ❜
coming up with different excuses for people’s shitty behavior only reinforces it. being the way she is, jess understands that truth & is quick to see through that kind of apologetic garbage. seems like she’ll be seeing a lot of that out of him – fits what she knows about his character so far from what she’s observed. unlike most abrasive people, the private eye doesn’t really accept people defending her abhorrent personality. little more than a loathsome prick; that’s how she’d describe herself if anyone ever asked. or she’d just deflect with some scathing sarcasm.
in spite of her unabashedly cuntish demeanor, she’s good & she knows it. nobody gets the job done quite like her, but that’s mostly due to them having some kind of social compass hindering their progress. most private investigators are like a surgical scalpel, but jones is more like a forceful multi-tool. serrated scalpel, a kickass rib splitter, maybe a few hammers of varying sizes – she’s able to adapt. willing to do what needs to be done in order to see her job through to the end. so, yeah, she’s good.
damn good, even.
pride swells up in the form of a tight-lipped smile. “ yeah, i am. “ jessica replies, holding his gaze to search for anymore secrets he might be hiding. “ no. it’s not a problem.not unless some of those hydra assholes decide to come knocking at my door. then you & i might have a few words. “
tugging open one of the drawers in her dingy little work desk, she fingers through a stack of papers until her hands are on a contract. “ this is a standard contract, “ one hand slams the document down onto the table, the other finds a pen beneath the tiny table lamp, “ half now, half when the job is done. you cover costs & expenses. you can look over that if you feel like wasting the time, but it’s all the normal shit you’d find online. but by all means, “ she places the pen upon the paper, sliding it towards him, “ knock yourself out. “