Chapter 54
Pepper was busy at work, but she didn't really mind. She had no one to return home to, so she could be here all day and night, going through the flood of papers and emails. Plus, it calmed her thoughts, which was exactly what she needed. Especially after Tony's morning visit.
"I knew you'd come back!" a woman's voice said suddenly in the room, and Pepper screamed in fright.
She looked at the blonde, trying to calm her furiously beating heart. "I forgot how you like to sneak up on people," she breathed.
"You are not the only one. I scare Tony like that a few times a day,” she grinned and sat down in a chair. She threw her feet on the table, but Pepper chose to ignore it. After all, she was used to Natasha's strange sitting creations.
"Then he must be really happy," Pepper laughed, only half forced. She couldn't help but smile at the thought.
"Maybe I'll cause him a heart attack. How's the work going?” she asked, taking her legs down so she could lean against the table and be a little closer to her.
"Three weeks of absence is three weeks of absence. But I have it under control and by the end of the week everything will run as it should," she replied confidently. If she was sure of anything, it was the work she was doing.
"Everything?" she asked.
"Everything about the company. And please, I don't want to talk about anything that concerns my personal life."
"Okay, but only for now. You know you can't avoid it! Do you think that you can slow down a little and find time for me? Tony and Peter aren't the only ones who miss you, you know?” she said. Like Tony, she wasn't a big fan of showing her feelings.
"Of course I'll find time for you, Nat! We could go to lunch, for example," she suggested, and Nat smiled with relief.
"And don't you happen to be looking for an assistant? Like in the old days?”
Pepper could see a light bulb shining above her head. "You want to be an assistant?" she asked suspiciously.
"Assistant aka bodyguard," she replied, shrugging.
"What would I need a bodyguard for? Plus, I have Happy here.”
"Happy is fine, I'm not saying he's not, but honestly? That doesn't calm me down. I don't want to scare you, Pepper, but I don't feel good about this whole situation. Ross pardoned me, but do you know why he did it? Because Mary spoke for me," she said, and Pepper's blood froze.
"I'm glad you're free," she said. She was happy! She just had to come to terms with the fact that it was Mary who arranged it.
"Me too, don't get me wrong, but I need to know why she did it. What's in it for her?!”
"Tony and Peter," she whispered, closing her eyes so Natasha couldn't see the tears that began to press in her eyes.
"Bullshit! Pepper, you're back at work. Come back home too. We all have to stick together now."
Pepper opened her eyes and the first tears ran down her cheeks. "I can't go back, don't you understand? I have to let them go, but I don't have to let go of the company. I've already lost them. And I can't even hate them for it, because she's their family!"
"Боже мой! Can't you see how absurd it is? Why don't you see that neither of them cares about Mary?!” Natasha shouted in frustration. She didn't understand how Pepper could get stuck like this and keep saying the same things over and over again.
"Nat, I know Peter is seeing her. And that's okay, really. She's his mother. Yes, it hurts so much, but in time it will pass," she said, wiping away her tears. It was a lie, and they both knew it. Something like that will never pass.
"What are you talking about? Peter hates her."
"Then why are they seeing each other?"
•••
"How was school? Weekends could be longer, right?” Mary asked as they ordered.
"I don't mind school. Plus, I have physics on Monday and that is the best subject that exists," he replied, and even though he still did not feel safe or perhaps comfortable in her presence, he was able to talk to her a little more relaxed.
"Oh, so you're following in your father's footsteps? I'm not surprised," she said with a small smile.
"Chemistry is my second favorite subject, but biochemistry? That's not happening, Mary," he laughed.
"What can be done? I'm sure you will excel in whatever you choose. Even if it has nothing to do with science."
"We'll see, but for now, I'm holding on to taking over the company from my dad one day," he said proudly. He couldn't wait to graduate and start participating in the running of the company. Dad always said that the company meant nothing to him, because it always took his father's attention, but with the arrival of Pepper, he learned to like SI. Probably because it meant so much to Mom. And he would do anything in the world for her.
"You're definitely ambitious after me, but keep going," she said, and Peter paused. These were sentences of this type that always reminded him of who he was talking to.
He wanted to change the subject, but the doorbell rang, announcing the arriving guests, which he wouldn't normally notice, but a flash of strawberry-blond hair caught his attention. Before he could react in any way - to be happy to see her; panic that he was here with Mary and she would misinterpret it - a man came in behind her and put his arm around her waist. Peter frowned at the scene he saw but tried not to jump to any conclusions. Pepper looked happy, and he dimly tried to remember the last time he'd seen her like that. That was before the excursion to Oscorp.
Then a stranger leaned over and kissed her. And Peter had to rub his eyes and look again if he could see right. What the hell was that supposed to mean?