EMERALD

It was three weeks later that I found myself staring at the smartest minds working for Stark Industries. Granted, they were holograms in front of me, but I still felt intimidated.

The weeks that passed since Tony and I left the hospital were a blur. Without Pepper, I was the sole person left in charge of the company. Tony volunteered to come and help every now and then, but he was more interested in building new technology than the actual logistics. It wasn't my cup of tea either, but it was what I signed on for when I became CEO of the company.

Granted, the only reason that I became CEO in the first place was to try and save Stark Industries from falling into the hands of Aldrich Killian. That severely backfired anyway. This time, however, I was determined to do better. I wanted to be the person that people could look up to, the same way that I used to look up to Tony when he was in charge.

While I was on bedrest, I did all of the research that I possibly could about the company and the production of the industry over the next ten years. The little that I remembered from college days was slowly returning back to me the more that I read. Tony was constantly on my case about resting both my body and my brain, but I had work to do.

Stock prices had taken quite the dip since Pepper's arrest, and I even suggested to the board that I step down until all of this was resolved. Much to my dismay, they declined my offer. Apparently, it was better for the vision that I remained on as CEO to moral support amongst buyers and supporters. Once again, I was being used as a puppet show.

Unlike Aldrich, I was resolute in the fact that I was going to prove them all wrong. Sure, I wasn't a technological genius like Tony was, but I knew how to market and sell a product. The rest was down to delegation, something I begrudgingly became really good at.

That was how I found myself standing in front of about ten holographic faces from across the globe, all engineers working in different Stark Industries plants to help me market the next image. We needed a big breakthrough if we were going to put Pepper and Aldrich's mess behind us.

"So, you're telling me that by cutting hydro-electric funding to England and increasing production in factories at home, we'll double our earnings and make back what England owes us in a single year?" I recapped what they just informed me, my eyebrows skyrocketing to the top of my forehead.

One of the engineers nodded enthusiastically. "Specifically in the Texas, California and New Jersey plants," he responded. "Our focus there is on new products rather than the production of what we already know how to make."

If I wasn't in a business meeting, I would swear right in front of them. Shaking my head in disbelief, I squinted at the numbers printed out in front of me. They weren't wrong.

"How did you possibly come up with this solution?" I questioned, curiosity earning the better of me.

Another engineer shrugged her shoulders, trying not to look as excited as I knew they all were. "That's our jobs," she pointed out. If I didn't respect all of the employees before, I definitely did today.

I nodded at them all, a tiny smile crossing over my lips. "I know you're not used to me making the decisions around here," I said softly, understanding their initial hesitation to share confidential information with me. "And frankly, it's a lot of pressure on all of us to repair Stark Industries, but Tony trusts all of you and so do I. We're all learning here. Great work."

I pressed the end call button on my phone, watching the holograms disappear in one pop. I placed my hands back on the conference table, hanging my head as I heaved a sigh. This was way out of my league, and yet, I was pretty damn proud of myself for handling all of this. If only talking to the board of directors was that simple.

Shuffling my papers together, I tried to organize my thoughts on what the engineers just told me about production status, scribbling some notes down before I forgot them.

"For the record, I think you're doing a great job."

I practically levitated in the air at the sound of a voice in the doorway, not expecting anyone to be cutting into my thoughts. Still, I broke into a wide grin as I spun around, meeting Tony's eyes. My heart rate slowly returned to normal.

"Your company hasn't fallen into shambles yet," I observed. "Although if we don't do something about these stock prices, we're in deep shit."

"We'll rebound," Tony answered nonchalantly. I wished I had as much faith as he did. "We always do."

His presence at Stark Industries was more frequent than not over the past few weeks. His support was what kept me going, even when the board constantly shot down everything I said. He definitely had a way with them that I hadn't discovered yet.

Still, he wasn't supposed to be back in California until tomorrow. I didn't waste another minute to wrap my arms around him in a hug, not caring about the public display of affection that people were always yelling at me about.

"I missed you," I said softly, pulling away all too quickly. "How was your trip?"

"Happy's safely in the Caribbean taking a well-deserved vacation, Harvey has a lot of new toys to keep him occupied, and two more terrorists are behind bars."

Tony was traveling for the past week, making sure all loose ends were tied up before we got back to business. I wished I had the chance to meet Harvey, the kid who helped Tony rebuild the suit and find me, but alas, I was stuck here running a business. I didn't have the leisure time to jet off to different adventures anymore.

"Sounds more productive than me sitting here having no idea what I'm talking about," I joked.

Tony threw me a look, knowing how hard I was constantly working to understand everything. To reaffirm his point, he tossed a magazine in my direction, a smirk appearing on his face. To my dismay, it had a large headshot of me on the cover with the words "Stark's New Image" plastered at the bottom. I barely wanted to read the article, but if Tony was promoting it, maybe it wasn't all bad.

"They love you," Tony said, his eyes searching mine. "No matter if you know what you're talking about or not. Everyone knows you're doing a great job."

"They love you," I corrected, raising an eyebrow. "I'm just by association."

Tony shook his head, snatching the magazine back from my hands. "You're modest," he said, the knowing look returning to his face.

"You're not, so one of us has to be."

I laughed at Tony's reaction to my comment, scooping up the papers from my meeting. The board of directors could wait. Stock prices weren't going to repair themselves in two hours anyway. Besides, if they knew that Tony was in the building, I would have a better chance of actually getting my point across.

"We'll find someone to take over for real," he promised, judging my hesitant reply.

I was way over my head, sure, but I was treading water for now. I just wasn't sure how much longer I was going to last without someone at my side, pushing for the same positive change in the company that I was. I needed a new Pepper.

Sighing, I looked up from my papers, giving Tony the most serious glance I could muster. "We need to find someone to represent Pepper," I retorted.

"She has a lawyer, and she already pleaded guilty," Tony pointed out. Those were minor details anyway. Lawyers changed all of the time, or so that's what I learned from watching How to Get Away with Murder.

I shook my head. "There has to be something we can do," I said.

"You already did."

I lifted my head up, giving Tony a questioning look. He gave me a small smile, resting his hand on my shoulder reassuringly. "You saved her life," he finished his statement.

Rolling my eyes, I shrugged his hand off, not wanting that pressure on my shoulders anymore. "To do what?" I cried. "Rot in jail?" The entire situation hardly seemed fair.

"That was her choice," Tony responded before he paused. "What's different about this?"

I pretended to not know what he was talking about. "About what?" I asked, putting on my best confused face.

"You know what I'm saying."

I did. I just didn't want to see all of the comparisons.

I heaved a sigh, hating that Tony was forcing me to actually say the words out loud. "You're asking why I'm fighting so hard to save Pepper when I shipped Val off to prison for practically the same reason," I finally said, venom lacing my words.

"Em."

"Maybe I thought I could save her this time," I said softly, shaking my head. "I tried to save Val, and I lost her. I thought I could save Pepper."

Tony gave me a look of pure sympathy, and I shook my head, frantically changing the subject. I couldn't think about this any longer without completely breaking down. I needed to save the anxiety for when I wasn't at work and constantly on display.

"So, what's next partner?" I asked, forcing a smile on my face. "How's your arc-reactorless chest?"

If he wanted to say anything else about the Pepper and Valencia correlation, he knew better than to push the subject. The conversation was officially tabled for later.

"For once, I don't have shrapnel creeping towards my heart, so I can't complain," he said.

I smirked, taking the opportunity of his good health to pop the next question. "You should come back to the company," I immediately responded.

The look Tony gave me in return was enough to have me chuckling. I practically asked him this question for the past two weeks straight.

"That is a terrible idea," came his typical response.

"What about as CEO then?" I tried a new angle. "I can be the owner of the company and sit back and boss you around."

Tony shook his head with a laugh of his own. "I just got rid of one health hazard," he retorted. "I don't really need another."

"You're ridiculous," I scolded, although I echoed his snicker.

"I have a few ideas in mind, don't worry," he answered. "I won't leave you for the wolves."

He held out his hand for me to take, but I continued to shake my head at his ludicrousness. Shifting my papers to my other arm, I accepted his hand, walking out into the hallway. I knew I was probably going to get a lecture from someone later about this, but I barely cared anymore.

Tony and I were one of the most gossiped about couples in the media these days. If there was a person on this planet that knew we weren't dating, I would be genuinely shocked.

"How are you feeling?" Tony said, jarring me from my thoughts.

I glanced up at him with a smile. "As good as new," I replied. "I do have a few upgrades in mind for the suits, though."

"Oh, you do?"

I had a feeling Tony wasn't expecting me to get back on the horse so soon. Still, I raised my eyebrow, trying to recall everything I read in my spare time. I barely knew what spare time was anymore.

"What do you think about having a suit shrink down to nano-rays?" I suggested.

If I recorded Tony's facial response and uploaded it online, it might get a million hits. I laughed, shaking my head. When I first read the research, I felt the same way.

"That's impossible," he finally said when he found his voice.

I smirked. "Darling, nothing is impossible," I responded before I shook my head. "But seriously, there's some research I found by a Hank Pym that really interested me."

"You've been going through my dad's research?" Tony asked, surprise ringing in his tone.

I wasn't entirely sure if he was surprised or angry, but I paused in our tracks, squeezing his hand gently. I knew how sore of a subject his parents were, and to be perfectly honest, I never really talked about mine either.

"He was onto a lot of things, Tone," I added with a reassuring grin. "I can see he passed along the genius things."

Only knowing what I knew about Howard Stark from watching the Captain America movie on repeat, I tried to immerse myself in this world the best that I could without looking completely crazy. At least with Tony, I passed it off as learning whatever I could to help our tag team.

"I like to think I got most of my genes from my mother," he replied after a moment's pause. He glanced down in my direction, his eyes brimming with sadness. "She would have loved you."

I wasn't expecting that.

My mouth forgot how to formulate words for a moment, so I continued to stare in his direction like a lost puppy.

"My mom," Tony repeated. "She would have really loved you."

I finally recovered from my clear shock for I shook my head, jerking myself back to the present. Daydreaming wasn't an option right at this moment.

"I think she would have loved to see her son so happy," I observed, smiling in response.

Tony tilted his head to one side, resuming our stroll down the hallways of Stark Industries. "And what about your parents?" he questioned.

That was a hard question to answer, given the whole alternate reality concept I kept forgetting about.

Still, I laughed off the bad feeling. "Once they got over the shock that I'm dating someone fifteen years older than me," I said honestly. "Yes." I paused, unable to stop a tiny chortle from escaping my lips again. "You are everything to me, and they would see that in both of us. So, the answer is still yes."

"Ms. Maitland?"

The unfamiliar voice bumped me from the sad thoughts flooding my head. Tony and I spun around in unison, staring at the worker standing behind us. I still had his hand clutched in my hand, and I tried to pass off the blush in my cheeks as best as I could.

"Yes?" I responded, leaning forward in anticipation. Whatever he had to say, I hoped it was worth the interruption.

"Oh." The worker, Pete I believed his name was, immediately took a few steps backward when his gaze shifted to Tony's. "Hi, Mr. Stark," he babbled. "I'm sorry for bothering you. It's nothing. It can wait."

If he didn't look so scared, I would have laughed at the entire situation.

Employees around here were so intimidated by Tony when he was probably the friendliest boss anyone could hope for. Even though, technically, he wasn't our boss anymore. No, that was me now. The thought sobered me almost instantly.

"Pete, right?" I asked. "What's going on? It's alright."

Pete froze for a few more seconds before he rested his terrified glance back on me. "You told me to alert you if there were any hits on your… portal theory," he said, his voice still shaking.

That was where I knew this guy from.

After Aldrich showed me his accomplishments for creating a portal between different universes, I felt obliged to test it out for myself. It was just me and Pete in the room when we first unsuccessfully tested it out. I kept it running in the background for the past couple of weeks, just to see if anything held true. For all I knew, it was another ploy by Aldrich to sway me to his side.

"Portal theory?" Tony questioned, his forehead crinkling in confusion.

Pete nodded, semi-enthusiastically. "Yeah," he started to blurt out. "She was-"

"Way over my head," I cut him off, not ready to explain everything just yet. "I was trying to see if something Killian said to me held true." I paused, directing my attention back towards Pete. "I don't need it anymore," I finally decided. "Shut it down."

Pete was relentless and, apparently, didn't know how to take no for an answer.

"But you got hits!" he exclaimed, his mouth running faster than his brain could catch up. "There was one in D.C. like today, and-"

"Pete," I interrupted again. "Shut it down."

Tony gave me an inquisitive glance at my insisting tone. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked one more time.

I nodded after a moment, smiling back up at Tony. "Yeah, I have everything I need right here," I said, feeling more relaxed than I was in a long time.

No matter if the portal existed or not, it no longer mattered. I had Tony back, I had my life back, and finally, things were returning to normal. I was back to my optimistic self.

I only had one more thing left to do.