Chapter 11
Tony was overjoyed that it was Thursday and he’d be able to see his sweet Pepper again. He was literally standing in the doorway waiting for her to walk through the door with balloons and flowers and a giant “Welcome Back” banner. He heard the door click open and Pepper walked in. She was surprised. He snapped a quick pic so to capture the moment.
“Tony this is too much” Pepper said as she took the flowers and balloons from him.
He got down in his knees and literally was kissing the ground.
“Has it really been that bad without me?”she asked as she went into the kitchen to put the flowers in water.
“She’s out of control. She cut school and stole my car. She drove all the way to the mall in Beverly Hills and got her nipples pierced. She’s on lockdown. She can’t access anything without my override codes” Tony seemed to say all in one breath.
“Oh my God Tony” she said.
“So that’s what I want to talk to you about” Tony said.
“What?”she asked.
“I need you here” he said.
“I am here. I’m back from vacation” she said.
“No I mean everyday. I need you Pep. I want you to move in. I’ve already called a contractor to give you your own wing” Tony said.
Pepper was taken aback by his words. She felt a wave of emotions hit her. This would be a serious move and she just wasn’t sure.
“Tony I don’t think that’s a good idea. I can’t be around you that much. We work together and now seeing each other round the clock is just too much. I can’t” she said.
“Pep I’ll triple your salary” he said with the eyes of a desperate man.
“Tony I can’t” she said.
“I can’t get through to her. I can’t do this by myself and I don’t have anyone but you” he said.
“I can help you out for awhile but this has to be temporary. Once she settles in and you guys get into a groove I’m going home. This is not healthy. I need my own life” she said.
“You don’t know how much that means to me” he said pulling her in and hugging her tighter than usual. They never really hugged before the MIT reunion and now it’s becoming a thing.
Pepper couldn’t believe what she had just agreed to. She was so shocked that she hardly noticed the mess in the kitchen. She sat there for a moment and flipped through the stack of papers waiting for her while her laptop was firing up.
“If I didn’t tell you before Pep you look gorgeous.Vacation suits you” he said.
Pepper felt herself blush like she always did when Tony complimented her.
“Thank you” she said quietly.
Tony was downstairs scanning the picture Pepper sent him of her in a bikini onto his private server when he heard her typing in his code. He quickly swiped the computer away and turned to face her.
“I need your initials on these” she said holding a form and a pen. Much to her surprise he was already dressed for his meeting.
“You’re dressed already. You’re not going to get ready five minutes before the meeting starts and stress me out.? And you tied your own tie. I’m very impressed Mr. Stark” she said.
“Can you just go upstairs and get my cufflinks and then we can head out? They are on the nightstand. I forgot to grab them” he asked.
“I’ll meet you by the front door” she said.
She went up to Tony’s room and it smelled just like his cologne. He often liked to bathe in it before meetings and she realized how much she missed that smell. She went over to the nightstand and the cuff links were right where he said they’d be and then she noticed a picture on his nightstand. She picked it up and it was a photo of the two of them from the MIT reunion. She felt a flutter in her stomach and put the frame back where it was. She had so many things going through her brain. Tony gave her butterflies and it was starting to get out of hand.
“You ready?” he asked from the bottom of the stairs.
“Yeah come on” she said as she hurried to catch up with him.
Pepper was leaning back in her chair trying to stay awake through this meeting since she knew Tony wasn’t paying attention. And then he surprised her. He stood up to speak. He actually knew what the meeting was about. She leaned back to relax again when Tony turned his wrist up and something on his phone caught her eye. It was Tony’s phone screen. He put the picture she sent him of her in a bikini as the lock screen background. If she could see it so clearly then she knew everyone else could see it. Some of them looked at the screen and looked at her. She felt her eyes on her and refused to look up. She felt her face getting redder and redder.
“Excuse me” she said as she grabbed her bag and hurried out of the office.
She hurried down the hall and went into the bathroom. She sat there for a minute and tried to catch her breath. She took a few more deep breaths until and tried to calm herself down. Her phone buzzed and it was him.
“Hey meetings done. Where r u?” It read.
“The bathroom be right there” she sent.
She touched up her concealer and grabbed her purse and opened the door where she found Tony leaning against the wall like a child.
“You want to get some lunch?” he asked.
“Whatever you want” she said coldly as she walked with him to the car.
“What’s wrong? What did I do now? I thought you’d be impressed that I paid attention during the meeting” he said.
“Do you know what people say about me?” she asked as she got into the passenger's seat.
“What are you talking about?”he asked.
“They think that the reason I still work for you and the reason I got this job to begin with is because they think we’re sleeping together” she explained.
“Pep no one thinks that. Why would they think that? Who is saying stuff? I’ll fire them” he said. Once again he was completely clueless.
“They whisper about it when they see a private photo I sent to you as your lock screen background. Tony I worked hard to get here and I get my job done everyday no matter how insane your requests are and I try and do it while touching you the least amount of times as possible. These people think I don’t do anything all day. They question my abilities and job skills” she said balling up her fists.
“I’m sorry Pepper. I just thought it was a beautiful picture of you. I’ve never seen you look so Happy before and I just put it up there for me. Do you want me to ignore you in public and act like I’m repulsed by you? I will do whatever you want” Tony said.
“It’s not your fault. You meant it in an innocent way. You don’t think it’s serious because you’re you. It’s because I’m a woman they think I’m trying to sleep my way to the top and your reputation with girls not that I care what you do, it just doesn’t help the situation when you have my bikini pic as your lock screen” Pepper said trying to keep her cool.
“Here. I’ll take it off” he said removing her as his lock screen and going back to the generic background.
“I really am sorry Pepper” he said.
She knew Tony was being sincere but she was still so angry with the stigma this would bring.
Tony could tell Pepper was still really upset and he decided to give her some space. He went downstairs and asked Jarvis to prepare a statement and send it over to Yahoo news and then he emailed the human resource department and told them what he wanted to do.
Pepper finished her work and sat on the couch. She flipped on the television. She still felt so humiliated. She sent that to Tony as a means of flirting. She missed him and thought he would like it and he did.
Why are men so clueless? It's not ok to post a picture of your female personal assistant in a bikini as your lock screen when you’re Tony Stark she thought.
She knew he really didn’t think but she was upset anyway. She was about to grab her phone when she heard.
“CEO of Stark Industries just made a major announcement. He said since they’ve hired more women to work at Stark Industries the business has flourished and he will now close the pay gap and men and women will get equal pay for doing the same jobs effective immediately”
Pepper smiled so big at the television. This was why she stayed with Tony for so long. He had these moments of great potential and it impressed her. The balance was still off kilter but he was improving everyday. Tony walked into the living room and smiled.
“I hope I called the right people in HR” he said.
“Tony that’s so amazing. I can’t believe you did that”
“People need to know how amazing you are. And how much you respect yourself and how much I respect you” he said.
Pepper pulled him in for a hug and she was totally intoxicated by the Chanel De Bleu he likes to wear. They were still hugging when Tiffany walked through the door.
“Thank god you’re back” she said tossing her backpack on the chair and looking through the fridge for a snack.
“Hello daughter” Tony said.
“Hello Tony” she said back as she bit into the snickers which both her and Tony preferred to eat cold and out of the fridge.
“You guys are so much alike. Maybe we should all have a sit down and talk about things. Since I’ll be living here for a bit I can mediate” Pepper suggested.
“She’s the one with the problem. I have given her anything and everything she’s asked for since she got here. I don’t hover. I try not to be a helicopter Dad. All I ask is that she goes to school and ask me if she’s going to have someone over. And not to steal cars or do drugs. Those are reasonable requests” Tony said throwing his hands up as if he was helpless.
“I said I don’t want another father. My father is dead. I watched him die. And my mom is dead too. I don’t have a choice but to be here and as soon as I’m eighteen I’m out of here” she said as she grabbed her backpack and stormed back upstairs.
“And that’s what I’m dealing with. This is hard on me too. I don’t know what the hell I'm doing. I have zero experience with kids. She thinks she’s the only one dealing with this. I worry every night that these people are going to find her and kill her and I would have failed the one thing Rachel asked me to do before she died. How can I protect her from someone I don’t know? I called Natasha in on this one. What am I doing wrong Pepper?”he said.
“Nothing. Tony she’s a teenager. They have mood swings and she just lost both her parents and got uprooted across the country to a new school. It’s hard. Just keep showing her love. It will pass eventually” Pepper said.
“I really hope you’re right. I never see her smile anymore” Tony said not being able to shake the image of his daughter’s sad eyes.
“Just try and put yourself in her shoes” Pepper said.
“Lets get cleaned up and have some dinner” Tony said.
Pepper watched as he headed up to his shower and she went down the hall to the other bathroom. At lunch she packed a bag from home with a few days clothes until she had time over the weekend to pack up her stuff. She was really doing this. She was going to move in with Tony. When Pepper emerged from the bathroom Tony was in the kitchen cooking. She watched as he had several pots and pans over the burners.
“What are you doing?”she asked.
“I’m curing cancer. What does it look like I’m doing?” he said.
Pepper was admiring how the t-shirt hugged his toned physique and how cute his butt looked in the jeans. She could still smell faint traces of his cologne even after his shower.
“I didn’t know you could cook” Pepper said.
“I never had a reason to before. Why cook for one person? When you leave for the night I’m alone with my bots so it didn’t seem worth it and now I have Tiffany and you so it seemed like the perfect time” he said.
“Can I join you?”she asked.
“Sure”he asked.
Tiffany came into the kitchen and watched them from behind playfully bumping into each other and smiling and laughing at each other. She rolled her eyes and pulled a chair out.
“What are you making?”she asked.
“Pasta and mushrooms and shrimp in a cream sauce” Tony said.
“Sounds good” Tiffany said as she felt her stomach growl.
“I like your after work outfit. You look adorable” Tony said as he admired Pepper in leggings and a button down shirt.
“You look like someone’s Dad” Pepper teased him as she stared into his gorgeous eyes.
“Like a DILF?” Tony asked as he held Pepper’s gaze trying to get her to admit it.
“You wish” she said with a laugh. Pepper made a face at him and went back to the pan in front of her.
“I bet this is what it would be like to be married. I don’t hate it” he said getting close to her face again.
“Tony you’re not marriage material” Pepper said turning away from him as his gaze was just too much for her.
“I could be” he said as a grin formed on his face.
“Seriously? You guys do this all day long. You flirt and make goo goo eyes and find excuses to touch other. You bicker all day long like you’re married. Everyone thinks you’re together so why don’t you guys just bang and make it official?” Tiffany asked. Pepper felt herself flush and Tony could feel Pepper’s embarrassment.
“That wouldn’t be appropriate. And besides Pepper is too good for me anyway” Tony said as he began to load the dishwasher with dishes they weren’t using anymore.
“I just don’t think we’re a good match. We’re better as friends” Pepper said trying to come up with an excuse that someone would actually believe and she could see that Tony really believed that he wasn’t good enough for her. It hurt her for him to think that about himself.
“Hey Tony that was pretty cool what you did by closing the pay gap at your company” Tiffany said changing the subject.
“You are the future of Stark Industries. I want to set a good example” he said as he placed a dish in front of her.
“Thanks” she said.
“I would be willing to cut back on some of your restrictions if you would be willing to call a truce and go to school and not steal my car and follow a few simple rules” Tony said offering his hand.
“I think I can manage that” she said taking his hand and shaking it.