Meeting Obadiah for the First Time

Pepper's office telephone rang just minutes after Bernie left her office. Pepper eyed the telephone set suspiciously as she noted that the display indicated the incoming telephone number as 'Private'. Obviously the caller did not want her to call them back. She picked up on the third ring.

"Virginia Potts" she answered quietly and professionally.

"Ms. Potts" a feminine voice confirmed in her handset "This is Melissa McCoy; Mr. Stane's secretary. Mr. Stane would like to meet with you in his office at 3:00 this afternoon."

Pepper knew by the formal tone of Melissa's voice that this meeting was not optional at all for her. "I will be there, thank you." Pepper politely replied.

"I know you are fairly new to SI. Do you need directions to Mr. Stane's office?" Melissa asked sounding only mildly concerned.

"I should be able to find it, thank you though." Pepper replied wanting to make sure that Melissa understood that she wasn't that new to SI.

"We will see you at 3:00, then." Melissa replied cheerfully. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye." Pepper repeated politely as she hung up and placed the handset back into its cradle. She stared at her telephone for a few seconds wondering why Mr. Stane would want to meet with her. But then again Bernie had warned her.

She had heard enough about Obadiah Stane to know that he was a cold business man with a no-nonsense attitude when it came to SI personnel. He was not well liked as an executive by most of the people that Pepper knew at SI. Some of her friends in accounting had told her that Mr. Stane in his title as COO was actually the one who ran Stark Industries, and not the current CEO, Tony Stark. But after seeing Tony Stark in action at the meeting this morning, Pepper was actually glad that someone other than Tony Stark was at the business helm of the company, she herself having just signed up for SI profit sharing in the payroll department only yesterday.

Not wanting to take a chance in being late for the meeting, Pepper left her office at exactly 2:45 for Mr. Stane's office which was located on the top floor of her building, deep within the executive suits that filled up the entire top floor. The elevator ride upstairs was uneventful and Pepper found herself thinking back to her earlier conversation with Tony Stark in the R&D conference room. She had to admit to herself that accepting his offer to be his PA on the spot was so out of character for her. She usually took the time to think out important decisions. She had asked herself repeatedly if Tony Stark, like his cologne, had somehow distracted her into making an unwise decision. So far she hadn't come up with an answer. But at least she had enough presence of mind to agree to a trial period of 60 days. But then again 60 days was more than enough time to regret a bad decision.

Quickly bringing her mind back to the present, she was more than just a little suspicious why it was that Mr. Stane wanted to meet with her this afternoon. Her instincts told her to proceed with caution around Mr. Stane. A redundant theme in the stories that surrounded Mr. Stane in the SI rumor mill indicated that he was not happy with Tony Stark being appointed to CEO. If Pepper was going to be working for Tony Stark directly, then maybe Mr. Stane would also harbor ill will towards her for accepting the job as Tony Stark's personal assistant.

She arrived on the top floor with 7 minutes to spare. The floor was arranged so that the private offices sat around the glass windowed lined perimeter, with the open space in the middle filled with stylized low-walled cubicles. It didn't take her long to figure out where Mr. Stane's office was located: she just followed the trail of expensive furniture. It eventually led to a huge mahogany desk with the name 'Melissa' in stylized script etched upon an expensive looking crystal name plate placed strategically on her desk leaving no doubt in anyone's mind who she was or who she worked for.

Melissa looked up expectantly at her when she walked up to her desk. "You must be Virginia Potts." Melissa said with practiced ease as she smiled in welcome "I'm Melissa." At that Melissa stood up and offered her hand in greeting to Pepper.

Pepper smiled at her and shook her hand warmly. "Yes, I am. And I am very pleased to meet you." Pepper knew that she would be coordinating with Melissa closely at least for the next 60 days so she intended to be as pleasant as possible. "But please call me Pepper."

Melissa released her hand and walked swiftly over to the set of large double wooden doors to her left. "Pepper, just a moment and I'll let Mr. Stane know that you are here."

Pepper watched as Melissa quietly knocked on the door, entering only after hearing a low voice behind the door. In less than 3 seconds, Melissa walked back out of the office. "Mr. Stane will see you now." She said with a smile as she held the door open for her.

"Thank you Melissa." Pepper politely replied as she walked toward the door and then into Mr. Stane's office. She heard the door quietly click closed behind her.

As Pepper continued walking towards the enormous mahogany desk near the windows, Stane stood up and walked around his desk slowly. As he got closer to her, he held his hand out in greeting. "Ms. Potts" he said as he shook her hand gently. "Please sit down." He requested as he motioned to one of two chairs placed in front of his desk.

"Thank you, Mr. Stane." Pepper replied politely sitting down in one chair as Stane walked back around his desk and sat back down heavily in his chair. Pepper had noticed how soft Mr. Stane's hands were, and quickly judged that he had probably never done what her Opa called 'an honest day's work' in his life.

"I've heard that you emptied out the R&D conference room this morning." Stane stated once seated, a small, crooked smile breaking out on his face as he carefully scanned her face waiting for her response.

"Actually it was Mr. Stark who emptied out the conference room, not I." she replied smiling back at him.

"That's my boy all right." Stane laughed ruefully as he looked at her. "He doesn't take too well to being proved wrong, especially in math, and most especially in a meeting in front of his engineers."

"My goal was to simply have the error corrected in the meeting, Mr. Stane." She replied formally. "Not to embarrass Mr. Stark." Pepper was not at all surprised that Mr. Stane immediately started their conversation on the offensive given his 'hard ass' reputation. Pepper was not one to be intimidated easily.

Stane looked at her in surprise for a split second, and then furrowed his brow at her as he began to speak again. "Tony is like a son to me, Ms. Potts." He began slowly as if concerned she somehow needed time to absorb the meaning behind his words. "I appreciate the fact that you were doing your job in the meeting this morning by pointing out the math error. Just next time try not to do it in front of an audience."

Pepper was confused at first with his response, but then quickly realized that Stane was not really concerned about Tony's feelings as much as he was any damage to SI that could be done as a result of Tony Stark's engineering skills being somehow tainted. Pepper continued to lock eyes with him, willing her face remain neutral. "Yes, sir." was her unemotional reply.

Stane's face lightened at her answer and he smiled tightly at her again as he spoke quietly to her. "Let me be very frank with you here, Ms. Potts. I did my best to talk Tony out of hiring you to be his PA, believing that your accounting talents would be wasted in becoming a glorified baby sitter for him. But he pushed back at me hard, and actually came up with some very sane and rational reasons for wanting you to be his PA." He paused looking intently at her, gauging her reaction to his words. "I know you are over 21 and evidently quite capable of taking care of your self. And I am sure you are well aware of his reputation with the ladies. But if you accept the position of PA to Tony, do you realize that you will be PA number 63 for him?" He frowned at her as if trying to make the large number of PAs a major point in their conversation.

Pepper let out a quick breath of surprise, not being able to help herself, as the number '63' actually sank in. "No, I did not." She answered honestly.

He stared at her, reading her facial expression as the realization of his words sank in to her, and Pepper could have sworn that she actually saw a fleeting look of sympathy cross his face. "I have to admit though; you are the first PA that he had actually insisted on having." He continued. "And not intending to sound sexist here at all, Ms. Potts, but you will also be the first PA for Tony whose IQ even comes close to his." He suddenly smiled a sincere smile at her. "And after speaking with Bernie and Claire this afternoon, you may even be able to give Tony a run for his money in the IQ department. I know Tony well enough to know how much he values intelligence in the people that work for him."

Pepper couldn't help but smile back at him in return for his left-handed compliment.

"I just want you make sure you have a clear understanding of what you will be in for being Tony's PA." he explained as he got up to move around his desk, sitting down on the front corner of his desk closest to her, his eyes now locked intently with hers. "Yes, Tony is a certified genius who is the very best weapons designer on the planet, but he is also very eccentric when it comes to interpersonal relationships." He patiently explained to her, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he looked down at her. "He is either hard at work in his lab, forgetting to eat or sleep most of the time when he is in 'invent' mode, or he is out on the town partying like there is no tomorrow and picking up any woman or women he wants to for a few hours of fun. He doesn't have a lot of close friends because he suffers from multiple trust issues and the resultant emotional trauma from the loss of his parents when he was 17. And he has a ton of pet peeves, one of the strangest of which is a strong aversion to being handed anything…and don't ask me why because I just don't know. He's extremely moody especially during holidays and around the anniversary of his parents' deaths."

Pepper nodded at him in understanding and he retuned her nod, drawing a deep breath in order to continue. "And without exception, the first 62 PAs have never lasted more than a month. Most of them filed sexual harassment lawsuits either before or after they quit or Tony fired them." Stane continued. Then Pepper noticed as Stane paused, a small smile played at the corner of his lips. "Tony's revolving door of PAs has been so bad that SI's legal and PR department's only Christmas wish every year is for Tony to find a PA that will stay with him since it would cut down their workload tremendously." He chuckled to himself as if this were somewhat of an inside joke.

His eyes suddenly became serious once again. "So what do you think, Ms. Potts?" he asked her point blank.

Pepper quickly took in a breath to steady herself, hoping her next words were the right ones to say to him. "I think, sir that I made a promise to Mr. Stark that I would give him a 60 day trial period to see if the PA job was a good fit for me and him, of course." Pepper said slowly as Stane's eyebrows shot up on his face. She quickly added. "And I don't go back on my promises." She shifted slightly in her seat and continued to look him in the eye noting the surprised, almost amused look in his eyes at her words. "But I do appreciate the fact that I have retreat rights to SI Accounting if the PA job doesn't work out."

Stane unfolded his arms placing both hands on his knees. "Bernie was not happy at all when Tony called him today telling him that you were going to be his new PA." Stane said his face now serious again. "Bernie called me immediately after he got off the phone with Tony to formally protest and ask for my help in talking Tony out of hiring you away from him. And Bernie has never ever asked me to involve myself with any personnel matter in the 35 years I have known the man." he continued looking at Pepper with a hint of respect on his face. "So of course we will honor your retreat request when the time comes."

Pepper thought it odd that Stane had used 'when the time comes'. She knew right then that Stane definitely didn't believe that she would make it to the 60 day mark as PA for Tony. And in a weird, irrational sort of way those last four words immediately angered her. Ever since she was a little girl, Pepper had never liked anyone telling her that she wouldn't or couldn't do something that appeared to be beyond her abilities. She always took great pleasure in proving them wrong. She also took a great deal of pride in her 'poker face' when dealing with 'difficult' people a category which Mr. Stane was definitely in. She would never let him know that his words had literally thrown down the gauntlet to her. "Thank you, sir." She replied, her face as serene and composed as she could make it.

He stared at her for a few seconds actually trying to figure out if she was sincere or not. Somehow satisfied with her answer, he then stood up quickly reaching out to shake her hand again as she stood also. "Welcome to the Stark Industries Executive Management team, Ms. Potts." He said formally as they shook hands.

"Thank you, Mr. Stane." Pepper replied politely.

"When do you start?" he quizzed her still holding onto her hand.

"Tomorrow morning at 8:00, sir." Pepper said as he finally released her hand.

"Well, good luck then." He said with a smile before walking her towards the double doors, opening them up for her, and then walking outside his office to stand by Melissa's desk. Melissa stood up and smiled broadly at Pepper. "Melissa will help you with anything you need help with, won't you Melissa?"

"Yes sir, Mr. Stane." Melissa replied quickly looking at Pepper "Anything you want or need to get you set up in your new office, just let me know."

"Actually Mr. Stark wants me to report to his home office tomorrow." Pepper replied causing Stane to raise his eyebrows once more. "But when it's time to set up my office here, I will be happy to take you up on your offer of help." She replied pleasantly smiling broadly at Melissa.

"Tony hasn't even let me set foot in that mansion of his yet." Stane remarked, unconsciously rubbing his hand through his beard. "He's been working on it for so long, I wasn't even sure if even he was ever going to move into it. Looks like you'll get to see it before I do, Ms. Potts."

Pepper smiled at him just before Stane turned away and walked back into his office, quickly closing the doors behind him.

"Good luck, Pepper." Melissa called out to her as she waved good bye to her.

The trip back down to her office took longer than the trip up because of time of day and the fact that many of the SI employees left work at this time. When she finally made her way back to her office, she found Claire sitting in her guest chair apparently waiting on her to return.

"You didn't let Obadiah scare you, did you?" Claire teased as Pepper moved to sit down in her chair.

Pepper immediately noticed the cardboard moving boxes pre-addressed with Mr. Stark's Malibu mansion's address on them stacked neatly in the corner of her office and a brand new Blackberry with Bluetooth in the middle of her desk with a note under them addressed to 'Ms. Potts'.

"No ma'am." Pepper answered with a small smile looking up a Claire. She reminded her of her Oma so much that Pepper always enjoyed being around Claire. She was definitely going to miss working for her.

"Tony came by while you were out and I let him in your office." She explained "He said he wanted to drop off some things you would need for tomorrow tonight before you left work. But I suspect he really just wanted to talk to you. He seems to like you a lot already."

"Mrs. Borden!" Pepper exclaimed feeling heat rise to her face "Why would you say that? I'm just his new PA, that's all."

Claire quickly stood up and walked over to the door closing it quietly. She returned back to her chair quickly, her eyes now serious and her voice sincere. "I've known Tony his whole life. And I know that Tony is smart enough to appreciate having a strong woman in his life, that's all." Claire replied with a smile.

"You're making it sound like we're getting married or something." Pepper replied without thinking, immediately regretting using the 'm' word at all.

Claire's face seemed to brighten even more. "You just never know!" she said with a laugh. "Lots of marriages begin at work." She winked at Pepper and began to laugh and Pepper laughed quietly with her very glad now that Claire had closed the door. "In spite of all of the awful rumors you have heard about him, Tony's a good man at heart. And at this time in his life, he is in desperate need of some good role models in his age group, you being one of those good role models of course!"

"You've thought this out, haven't you Claire?!" Pepper replied not be able to stop herself from blushing slightly.

"You bet I have!" She teased. "But enough of this sentimental chit-chat. The whole office is taking you out to dinner right after work tonight in order to celebrate your promotion, so just make sure you get packed up early." She instructed as she looked at the clock on the wall noting the time "Just leave your work on top of your desk and I will redistribute it tomorrow. We certainly know where to find you if we have any questions."

Pepper nodded as the two women smiled at each other, fully understanding one another.

"You know what I find really strange?" Pepper confided as Claire shook her head, encouraging her to continue. "Mr. Stane is so sure that I won't last 60 days with Mr. Stark, and that I will retreat back to accounting. And here you are giving me a going away dinner to celebrate my promotion."

"Well dear" Claire replied quickly "Mr. Stane doesn't know everything, now does he?"

Pepper shook her head and laughed. "No, ma'am, he doesn't." she agreed.

Claire stood up and walked towards the door. "Remember, dinner is at 5:30 and we are taking you to Duke's."

Duke's was one of Pepper's favorite restaurants. "I'll meet you at Duke's at 5:30 then." Pepper acknowledged getting up out of her chair and walking towards the door in order to see her out. She quickly pulled Claire into a big hug. "And thanks so much for everything, Claire." She said sincerely, adding quickly "And if this job doesn't work out, you know I'll be back here with you again."

"I have a feeling you aren't coming back to accounting, Pepper." Claire replied with a smile and a wink.

Pepper couldn't quite explain what she felt as Claire left her office, closing the door behind her. For the first time since the meeting this morning, she felt a confidence in her decision to take the PA job. She sat back down at her desk and stared down at the Blackberry and Bluetooth. She moved them to one side as she picked up the note to read it. In blocky draftsman script it read:

'Ms. Potts

You can just throw your stuff into these boxes and I'll have them hand carried to your office in my Malibu home by tomorrow morning.

The Blackberry is yours. Speed dial 2 is programmed to dial Jarvis, my AI. Jarvis runs the house for me. You will need to call him when you get home tonight so he can provide you with directions and security clearances that you will need tomorrow to get to my house.

And, of course, speed dial 1 is ME, just in case you need to call me with any questions.

See you tomorrow at 8:00AM sharp.

AES'

Pepper smiled at the note and folded it neatly in half as she packed it, along with the Blackberry and Bluetooth, away in her purse. She was suddenly looking forward to tomorrow morning.