Pepper was always in it for the money
This theory is pushed by prop-Tony folks themselves, usually when they're complaining how "mean" Pepper is to Tony and how much she ignores his "trauma." (They berate Pepper for not coddling Tony while PEPPER is being attacked in her own bed by Tony's weapons, her home destroyed by Tony's irresponsibility, and kidnapped and experimented on by a villain Tony helped bring into existence. Because EVERYTHING is about Tony--to them at least.) Let's take a look at Pepper achieving her goal of being the wealthy Widow Stark. (This is set before Far From Home.)
***
Morgan skipped off to play with Cassie Lang and the Barton kids, Laura and Clint promising to come back in two hours. Pepper smiled at her daughter's delight at having actual kids her age (and actual kids) to play with.
Pepper waited until the side door to her office closed before she looked at Happy and said, "Send him in."
She stood and walked around her desk to meet Quentin Beck. His frown did not bode well for the meeting. Pepper held out a hand and said, "Mr. Beck, thank you for coming."
Beck nodded and stiffly sat on the couch. He said, "I'm not really sure why I'm here, Mrs. Stark."
Pepper frowned and said, "I never actually took his name. Please call me Pepper."
Beck's head tilted as he looked at Pepper. He asked, "Really, why am I here?'
Pepper sighed and said, "Well, Mr. Beck, as you may have heard, I've inherited half of Stark Industries, and I'm caretaker for my daughter's half until she's of age. This granted me access to ALL of Tony's files--files he deliberately kept hidden from the board and his CEO, not to mention his wife. In them, I discovered that Tony made a habit of stealing other people's ideas and then firing those people. Worse, he ruined their reputations so if they broke their Non-Disclosure Agreements, they'd be laughed at rather than believed."
She shook her head and said, "I don't---I know you have no reason to believe me. And I know that nothing I do can truly make up for the horrible things Tony did to you and the others. But I'd like to try. Starting with issuing statements about the TRUE creators of Stark Technologies that Tony stole and reimbursing you for the wages and profits lost because of Tony's actions."
Pepper continued, "I don't know if you'd WANT to come back, but I'd like to treat this as a blank slate. I'll send you a new offer on continuining your work. I believe it and YOU can make a difference in the world."
Beck sat back, shocked. He said, "I...this changes EVERYTHING. But I need to be sure--are you going to reinstate EVERYONE? Because it's quite a list."
Pepper nodded and said, "I have a preliminary list. If you know of anyone else Tony harmed, please let me know and I'll add them immediately."
They both stood, Beck still looking dazed, saying, "I can't believe it. We'll all...we won't have to...I can't believe it."
Pepper shook Beck's hand and said, "If you have a few minutes, please go over the list with my assistant before heading out."
Happy came in as Beck walked out and closed the door.
Pepper returned to her desk with the feeling that she'd just avoided something. She asked Happy, "Did you contact May and Peter Parker?"
Happy nodded and said, "They're coming this afternoon before they finish preparing for a fund-raiser later this week."
Pepper nodded and sat back. She pulled a drawer open and took out a glasses case. She asked, "And when were you going to tell me about these?"
She opened the case and put on the glasses, flinching again at the blatant privacy violations and listing of drone weapons ready to fire on ANYONE, ANYWHERE at her simple command. She continued, "And WHY were you planning to hand over such a dangerous weapon to a TEENAGER?"
Happy shuffled and looked down. He replied, "That's what Tony wanted."
Pepper slammed her hand on the desk, making Happy jump. She said, "That doesn't make it RIGHT! How could you know about this and not tell me? Or James?"
Happy shook his head without replying.
Pepper frowned and walked over to Happy. She said, "Happy, you're one of my oldest friends. Morgan loves you. But I can't trust you if you're going to hide things like this from me."
Happy nodded and said, "Yeah, I get it. The boss was a mess. Maybe I better not assume his decisions were good ones just because he was Tony."
Pepper hugged him and said, "THANK YOU." Then she leaned back and said, "Maybe you want to check on Morgan for me? It would make me feel better knowing you were watching over her."
When Happy smiled and left, Pepper heaved a sigh of relief and took off the glasses. She'd have to talk to Clint and Scott about them when they came back from their outing. Get the Avengers involved in deciding who to contact about this violation of privacy and international treaties--or decide to send the satellite into the sun where it couldn't harm or spy on anyone.
She walked over to the windows and looked out over New York. She'd worked damn hard, all these years. Getting Tony to trust her, cementing her place as the head of one of the leading technology companies. She'd been forced to marry Tony to seal the deal, but it all worked out in the end. She'd always known she'd be a young widow--and a rich and powerful one.
She smiled. Success at last.