A/N: Yay! New chapter time. Thank you so much for the reviews so far, they mean so much! Love you all. ~ LikeThreeOlives.
Yoü And I - Chapter Two.
A day prior;
Pepper Potts flicked happily through the important documents on her desk, rummaging in her drawers every couple of minutes to look for something more to fiddle with absentmindedly. She was worried, edgy, frightened. Just as she always was when Tony went away on a mission. Her office felt cold and empty without the man's presence bothering her 24/7.
A knocking came to her wooden door, echoing around the glass office with ease and causing the former CEO to jump with fright; a hand covering her heart to try and steady the beating.
"Miss Potts?" a voice rang cheerfully in an unusual sing-song like accent. The words tumbled effortlessly from the speakers mouth. It was a man, a tall one at that, with short flicked out hair and mesmerizing blue eyes. To Pepper, he reminded her of a certain un-dead character from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, one that had gone by the name of Spike.
"Yes, how many I help you, Mr...?" She trailed off in reply, not wanting to seem rude as she stared at the man blankly.
"Lockhart." He informed chirpily, the brilliant smile never leaving his pale face as he walked further into the room, taking a seat in one of the comfortable looking chairs in front of Pepper's well organized desk.
"As in like Gilderoy Lockhart from Harry Potter?" the ginger blurted out, unable to hide her inner fan-girl. She'd been given the first book a while back as a present from her beloved mother and had fallen in love with them ever since. A hard-back copy of the Half Blood Prince lay snugly in her bag to remind everyone of her undying addiction to J.K's stories.
"Umm, yeah, but my first names actually Christopher or just, you know, Chris for short." He laughed with a definite nod of his head, tapping his knee's in a nervous manner, which Pepper expertly noticed, but chose to ignore.
"Right, so, what can I do you for, Mr Lockhart?" She asked, completely business stricken as per usual, placing some completed work on the send-out pile on the right hand side of her work space, where the swinging sticks kinetic desk sculpture sat happily, whirling round in a distracting manner.
"I was actually wondering if I could... take you out for lunch? I know we're competitors and everything, but I, naturally, thought it might be nice to bond a friendship and possibly conjoin forces, bit like an alliance or something." Chris suggested with the gentlest of smiles.
Competitors? Pepper thought. Then it hit her like a bull in a china shop. "Oh! You're from Lockhart Internationals, right? The-" she trailed off, snapping her fingers in an effort to try and remember the companies means. "-fashion firm!" she blurted triumphantly.
"Yeah, we deal with all sorts, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Chloe, Alexander McQueen, you name it. We noticed that Stark Industries has a card for most of these stores, if not all of them, though I'm not quite sure what Tony Stark would want with a silk charmuese blue backless fishtail dress." Christopher laughed, remembering back a few months to when it was ordered from their business card.
"Oh, that was my birthday present. He's quite eccentric, let's me buy nice things every now and then." Pepper informed, almost defending Tony's name in a way. Chris seemed kind enough, but the ginger knew men like him. All sweetness coated in sugar. She also knew that Lockhart Internationals had recently started buying into the weapons manufacturing business, as well as having a long line of fashion couture behind them. They had friendships with most countries that SI had yet to gain alot of.
"Naturally, Miss Potts. But, yeah, so think we could go get a bite to eat? I have a few things I'd like to discuss with you, if that's okay?" he quizzed in a slightly pushy tone.
"I'd... love too, really I would, but maybe another time. I always wait for Tony when he gets back from his missions and I'd hate to leave and come back to find him dead or something because I wasn't there with the first aid kit as usual." she rambled, standing from her comfortable office chair, picking up her bag and folder in the process as she made her way to the door.
"Of course, Miss Potts. Naturally, I hope to see more of you soon." he grinned a beaming white smile before standing, shaking her small hand and leaving the room in a rush, which Pepper found a little strange.
"Naturally." she muttered to herself, almost in a questing manner, zoning out for a moment before shaking her thoughts and making her way to Tony's workshop, where a bruised hero lay breathlessly on the floor.