The next chapter! I hope you like it, please let me know what you think! And thank you so much for the reviews!It makes me happy to see that you like the story!
I don't own the characters or places!
"A wedding in April." Tony narrowed his eyes. "And you're sure that this is a good idea?"
Pepper raised her eyebrows. "Why not? You said a wedding in spring sounds perfect."
"I did." He agreed slowly and shrugged. "Alright, it's April, then." He smiled slightly and Pepper grinned."
"And we won't make it public." She reminded him. "I don't want –"
"A bunch of strangers on our wedding, I know." Tony interrupted her softly and squeezed her hand. "I'll make sure that no one bothers us. And on our honeymoon." At those words, he winked at her.
"You'll have to tell me where we're going." Pepper said.
"Not a chance." He grinned. "This is a surprise."
She rolled her eyes. "I've still got about six months to find out."
"You won't."
"So the others will know about it, but I won't?" She looked sceptical and he knew that she was already thinking of how to get that information.
"Nope. At least not all of them." He didn't tell anyone about his ideas for their honeymoon yet.
"You'll tell Rhodey and Steve." Pepper shot back.
"And they won't tell you anything, sweetheart." He kissed her cheek.
It was a warm day in Paris. Tony and Pepper were walking along the Seine, close to the Eiffel Tower, holding hands. They had decided to start their time in Paris with a trip through the city. After looking at some sights, they ended up at the river.
Until now, no one had recognized them, or at least not said anything. Tony thought that he'd already seen a few curious glances. Disadvantage of being famous.
"We'll see about that." Pepper muttered, but then she dropped the subject. They had been talking about their wedding very much in the past days. Pepper was eager to plan everything and to Tony's (and Bruce's) surprise, Natasha wanted to help her with it. Tony had decided to let Pep plan everything since he wouldn't be of much use anyway. And he would never admit it, but somehow the wedding made him nervous. After all, this was his wedding and he was marrying Pepper. Everything had to be perfect for her. He wanted to make her happy. Unfortunately, Tony had a talent of ruining special moments.
"So what's next on our plan?" Tony asked curiously. They were just walking past the Eiffel Tower and Pepper looked at it with a smile.
"Actually, I wanted to visit the Louvre." She said hesitantly. "But maybe we could go up there first?"
Tony looked at the tower in front of them and grinned. "Of course."
Once they were on the viewing platform, Tony wrapped his arms around Pepper. "We should go on a vacation more often." She whispered and he nodded.
"We really need more peace in our lives." He agreed.
"No company. No meetings you have to attend. And no phone calls." She whispered yearningly.
"No missions. And no Avengers who get on your nerves." He grinned at the last words.
"You would not last a week without it." Pepper threw in thoughtfully. "We've already tried that."
"Alright, maybe you're right. Then let's say no intrusive fans who scream your name once they see you and insist on getting an autograph." Tony threw in.
He just finished his sentence when they heard loud voices behind them. And then someone screamed. "Oh my god, there's Tony Stark!"
"I take it back." Tony whispered and heard Peppers laugh, before he turned to the fans with a wide smile. "Next time we come up here will be at night." He told Pepper over his shoulder before a pen was forced into his hand.
When they finally made it to the Louvre, Tony had signed two phones, an arm, a pair of sunglasses and seven postcards. The fans had been disappointed that he didn't want to take any photographs, but luckily, Pepper saved him from that.
"It's an honour to meet you , Mr. Stark." Jim Meyer, the owner of the biggest energy company in Paris said with a wide smile. "I must say that your request to meet a few days ago took us all by surprise."
Tony smiled widely and they shook hands. "It's good to meet you too, Mr. Meyer. I've heard very much about your company."
"Please have a seat." Meyer smiled at him. "Would you like some coffee?"
"That would be great." Tony agreed.
"It surprises me that you've heard something about us." Meyer said and handed Tony a cup of coffee. The fact that he did it by himself impressed Tony. From what he read a few days ago, he thought that Meyer would be arrogant. However, he was the complete opposite. "After all, we're just a small company. And our entry into clean energy is slow."
"But your ideas have potential." He told him. "With a little help, you could be a big deal for clean energy in Europe."
Meyer's smile grew wider. "And Stark Industries offers us this help." He concluded, not sounding offended. Tony thought that he rather sounded happy. And just like Pepper said earlier, this was a chance for Meyer. Working with Stark Industries would get them more opportunities than they have by themselves.
"We like to support companies with good ideas." It was true, about a year ago, they'd made a deal with an important company in Canada.
"Let me be honest, Mr. Stark." Meyer said and leaned forward. "A deal with Stark Industries is something one can only dream of. And I dreamt of it, naturally. But until a few days ago, I thought that this dream could never come true."
Tony grinned. If Meyer only knew why they were offering him this deal. It had nothing to do with the work of his company, even if he had to admit that their ideas were very promising. Pepper thought so too, which was the main reason why she agreed to this.
They had decided that Tony would talk to Meyer in private first. When he would agree to work together with SI, Pepper would join them and handle further negotiations.
"And here I am." Tony held out his hands. "You shouldn't underestimate your company, Mr. Meyer. We've been looking for a promising partner in Europe for some time by now." Luckily, this wasn't a lie. However, their targets had been companies in Germany so far. "Our goal is to bring our technologies into the entire world. Being our first partner in Europe would be a special position for you."
Meyer beamed at him. "As I said before, it is an honour to have you here."
"If you would agree, you would be an official partner of Stark Industries." Tony explained. "You would be invited to the meetings of the business council twice a year, together with our partners from the other countries. There, we present the latest changes in the company. Additionally, on those occasions I present the latest inventions for the company. You would have access to them, if you agree to use them under the name of SI, of course. With that technology, you would be able to run Paris completely with clean energy, just as an example." He smiled slightly. "The nice little tower you're building together with this architecture office and those engineers would look small next to the projects you could afford then."
Meyer looked surprised. "You know about the tower project?"
Tony nodded simply. "I have my contacts." He said vaguely, not wanting to mention Gerald yet. "And I have the feeling that it's a very expensive project for your company."
Jim Meyer hesitated a few moments, before he nodded with a sigh. "It is, Mr. Stark."
Tony raised his eyebrows. "Why did you agree to it in the first place?"
"Someone from Brown and Co., the company which employs the engineers, told us about the project about two years ago. It sounded to good to be true, a real win-win situation for all of us." He smiled ironically. "When the project started, there were problems. Many of them. Until now, we've already spent more money than we can afford." He looked uncomfortable now.
Tony had known all those things already but hearing it from Meyer and seeing his devastated expression were something else. He'd seen in their files that this project could cost them everything if it didn't work. The person who'd given the idea to Meyer had been Gerald Fink. Pepper had been shocked when she'd seen the results of their research. When Gerald had told them about the project, it had sounded very good. Now they knew that it was indeed good for Gerald, but not for anyone else. The money that vanished wasn't used for repairs at the building at all. Tony had known that Gerald was an ass right from the beginning.
He'd seen with a dark satisfaction that this made Gerald even more unattractive to Pepper. And it made her even more furious. Helping Meyer and his company and gaining an ally for SI had been mostly her idea. Tony just wanted to crush their deal, but this was even better.
"What if I'd say that you don't have to worry about this anymore?" Tony asked slowly and smiled when Meyer looked at him with disbelief.
"We signed the deal, Mr. Stark. I doubt that there's much we can do anymore."
"Oh, there is, you can believe me." Tony's smile turned into a grin. "I can offer you a deal that is better than the one you made two years ago." He pulled out his phone. "You can keep the tower and it will be run by clean energy, with a technique I invented myself. And Stark Industries will get new engineers and everything else you need to finish the building."
Meyer's eyes grew wide. "How should this work? We can't just cancel it."
Tony typed on his phone and in front of them, a few tables with various numbers appeared. "What if I'd tell you that someone has betrayed you?"
Suddenly, Meyer's surprised expression turned into a shocked one.
Then Tony began to explain.
"Mrs. Potts, it's good to finally meet you." Jim Meyer shook Pepper's hand. "Mr. Stark has already told me so much about you."
Pepper smiled charmingly. "I hope only the good things."
"Only the best." Meyer smiled. It was the day after Tony's first visit and Meyer was looking tired. After everything Tony told him the previous day, he wasn't surprised. He didn't want to imagine what he would look like if he found out that someone has been betraying him for years. Oh yeah, that really happened to him, when he thought of it again. He pushed the mental image of Obadiah Stane away.
"Mr. Stark already explained to me that you have knowledge that someone I'm currently working with is betraying my company." Meyer started the conversation once they sat down. "He's proven it to me and I've checked the files by myself" he glances at Tony apologetically "just to find out that it's true." He tried to hide his disappointment very hard, but Tony noticed it either way. From the look on Pepper's face he knew that she saw it too.
"And we can offer you a way out." Pepper said with a smile.
Meyer nodded.
"Did you think of it?" Tony asked and raised his eyebrows.
Meyer's lips twitched. "I would be insane not to consider that offer. I talked about it with my council this morning."
"We know that this came very sudden, Mr. Meyer." Pepper said in an apologetic tone.
He shook his head. "Oh no, Mrs. Potts. It's fine. You don't have to worry about us. You took us by surprise, that is true. But our conversation was short and the opinions were clear." He reached for a piece of paper on his desk and showed it to them. It was a list with names and their decision. Tony saw with satisfaction that no one voted with no. "We'll accept the offer and would like to be an official partner of Stark Industries."
Pepper smiled widely at him and Tony grinned as well. "It makes me happy to hear your decision." She said.
"Welcome on board." Tony added.
Meyer cleared his throat. "About our problem…" He began hesitantly, but Tony interrupted him.
"We will deal with that." He promised. "Our own people will finish the building. We already contacted the architecture office and made a new deal with them." Well, JARVIS did, but that didn't matter. "And I will personally talk to the responsible persons at Brown and Co."
Meyer still looked uncomfortable. "Maybe I forgot to mention that I have an appointment with Mr. Fink, the responsible engineer, today. In two hours, to be more exact. I'm so sorry, I forgot about it."
Tony exchanged a look with Pepper and her lips twitched. He smiled at Meyer. "That's no problem, then I'll just talk to him here."
Meyer looked relieved. "Thank you, Mr. Stark."
"Shall we talk about everything then?" Pepper changed the subject.
The next hour, Tony pretended to listen to them. He knew that Pepper had everything under control. The deal was good for SI and their council had agreed to it immediately. A partner in Europe was a good start for their future in the whole world.
His thoughts kept wandering back to Gerald. The image of him kissing Pepper appeared in his mind and he clenched his fists under the table. Luckily, Pepper and Meyer were focused on their conversation and didn't notice that he was distracted.
In the end, they decided to look at the current projects of Meyer's company. Which made Tony pay attention again, even if he already knew the plans. He talked about it with Meyer for some time and promised to send someone with the current projects of SI soon. He already knew who that person would be when he thought of it more. The image of a young man at a new facility in LA appeared in his mind.
"Are you sure that you want to do this, Mr. Stark? I could also talk to him." Meyer offered for the third time in a row. "You don't have to bother yourself with him." He glanced at Pepper as well.
Tony shook his head. "It's alright, I can handle him." He smiled slightly. "And besides, you're part of SI now. So it's also my responsibility." He also didn't want to miss all the fun. Unfortunately, Pepper couldn't join them yet. She wanted to have a look at the rest of Meyer's company first. Since they would only be here today, she needed the time.
"Thank you." Meyer smiled at him and looked somewhat relieved. "You can call me when you talked to him."
"I will." Meyer left the office, so that Tony and Pepper were alone now.
"Don't be too hard." She said and touched his cheek softly.
"You don't mean that." Tony muttered. "He kissed you against your will, caused trouble and betrayed a very nice man with the heart in the right place." Did he really just say the last part? "I won't make it easy for him."
Pepper narrowed her eyes. "Do what you have to do." She said finally. "And tomorrow, we'll have the day for ourselves again."
"Of course." He promised. She kissed him quickly, before she followed Meyer.
However, Tony didn't have to wait long for a knock on the door. Meyer's personal assistant knew about their plan, which is why she wasn't surprised when Tony sat on Meyer's desk instead of her boss.
"You can go in." She told Gerald, who entered the office with a wide smile. The assistant (Tony forgot her name) closed the door behind Gerald, but not without exchanging a grin with Tony.
"Mr. Meyer, I've got good news!" Gerald stated loudly and only then it seemed like he really looked at the person in front of him. The smile vanished from his lips slowly, his eyes widened and Tony thought that his face lost a bit of colour. Slowly, his mouth formed into a thin line and he narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing here?" He demanded to know and stopped in front of the desk, his arms crossed.
Tony grinned at him. "And that's how we meet again. Why are you looking so angry, is something wrong?" He raised his eyebrows and tried to look clueless. From the fact that Gerald's face was slowly turning red, Tony knew that it worked.
"Where is Meyer?" Gerald asked slowly, ignoring Tony's comment.
"He won't come." Tony said simply and raised his eyebrows at Gerald. He was wearing a green suit with a fitting tie. "Nice suit, by the way." It looked horrible. "Where did you get that? You could give me the address because I'd love to –"
"What is going on?" Gerald interrupted him loudly and clenched his fists. "And stop with your stupid comments, Mr. Stark." Tony didn't like the way he emphasized his name. It sounded like a disease. Luckily, he was used to that.
"Your deal with Meyer blew up today." Tony said seriously. "This company is now an official partner of Stark Industries."
Again, Gerald's eyes widened. "You can't do that."
"I can. And we did." Tony told him. "Meyer knows everything. There was never a problem at the tower, you betrayed him and took his money. He signed the deal with SI an hour ago. The contract with your company and the architecture office has been annulled. And before you say anything, yes, we can actually do that." He smiled slightly. "You should look for a good lawyer, Mr. Fink. You will need it."
"Can you even prove that I should have taken money from Meyer?" Gerald asked contemptuously.
"Of course." Tony answered simply. "I've got all the files. I know when you've taken the money, for what you've spent it and where the rest is."
Gerald stared at him in silence, his face a deep shade of red. He clenched and unclenched his fists slowly and took a step towards Tony. "You…" He began and shook his head. "I always said that you're an asshole."
Tony raised his eyebrows. "Says the man who betrays others and tried to take away my fiancé." He stood up slowly. "Let me be totally honest. If you wouldn't have shown up at New York last week, I wouldn't have cared what you were doing at all. You could have betrayed as many people as you want. But when you visited Pepper, flirted with her and even kissed her, you crossed a line."
"And what about you? You killed thousands of people with your weapons. And even now, people are dying because of your actions. You aren't a good person. Pepper doesn't want to hear this, but everyone knows about it. She deserves so much better than you. I wanted to make her see that. How many times did she get in danger because of you? How many times did she nearly die just because you couldn't shut your mouth? She should have a normal life with someone who can really love her. Who doesn't bring her in danger." Gerald breathed in deeply. "It was a mistake to leave her all those years ago."
"She told me something different." Tony threw in, remembering Pepper's words about her relationship with Gerald.
"It took some time, but I realized my mistake. But at that time, she already met you!" Gerald growled. "Next to all the things you did, taking some money from someone isn't a crime!"
"I never said that I'm a saint." Tony replied immediately. "And she knows this. I'm trying to make up for all the mistakes I made. Because I don't like the person I've been anymore. I'm trying to do good things now. Pepper knows this as well. And she understands." He ran a hand through his hair. "What I don't want is to be like you."
"And what am I?" Gerald asked angrily.
"The short version? A bad person." Tony shrugged. "You should have stayed away from her. I don't like it when someone messes with the ones I love."
"Don't talk to me about love!" He was shouting now. "I loved Pepper more than anything! We were happy all those years ago! I wanted her to come with me to Europe, but she said no. She wanted to stay with her friends and family! And when I asked her again, she still said no! I thought she was joking when she first told me that she was working for you now. Out of all people she chose you!" He was breathing heavily now. "And now, years later, she still choses you! How can anyone be so blind? The world would be better off without you!"
"I think she made a good choice." Tony said without really thinking about it.
In the end, he didn't know what did it. His comment, the fact that Gerald was very angry or completely insane. He threw himself at Tony and his hands reached for Tony's throat.
Tony reacted without thinking. All the training with Steve had improved his reflexes. He moved aside and Gerald's hands grabbed Tony's shoulder instead. Tony hit him in the stomach hard and with his free hand, he twisted Gerald's shoulder. In one fluid movement, he threw Gerald to the ground and placed his foot on his stomach.
Tony didn't think that Gerald was badly injured, but he was breathing heavily. "I told you not to mess with me." He told Gerald and looked over his shoulder when the door was opened loudly.
In front of him stood Meyer's assistant. "I heard loud noises!" She shrieked and her eyes widened when she saw Gerald lying on the ground.
"He attacked me." Tony said simply. "And it's good that you're here. Would you be so nice and call the police?"
"Oh that won' be necessary." A voice behind her said and Tony grinned when he saw Pepper and Meyer standing thee. "I already did that. We heard the sounds as well and I thought that something must have happened."
"Pepper…" Gerald panted, but she ignored him.
"Are you alright?" Her words were directed at Tony.
He nodded. "Of course. You can't have thought that someone like him could hurt me?" He raised his eyebrows at her.
"No." She replied quickly. Then she glanced at Gerald. "I told you that I didn't want to see you again." Without one more word, she left the room again.
Meyer looked at Tony with wide eyes. "What happened?"
Tony shrugged. "Seems like I forgot to tell you that we knew each other. And that we aren't best friends if you understand what I mean."
Meyer nodded quickly. "Of course, Mr. Stark." He avoided to look at Gerald, who tried to free himself now. "My employees ask if you could see them later?" He asked sheepishly.
Tony grinned. "Yeah, I'd like that."
Well, I don't think we'll see Gerald again.
Does anyone know whom Tony might send to Paris to give the plans to the company there? He just had a small role in one of the earlier chapters, but somehow, i thought of him today. It's not a bad thing if you don't remember ;) I was just wondering.