I'm terrible, aren't I? ;)

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We rode in a black BMW sedan with dark tinted windows through the busy streets of London, with the gorilla twins in the front seat and Vanessa and I in the back. I stared out the window at the moving traffic passing by, as if I were stuck in some kind of live action theater production or performance art display, and what was happening in my own life was the only reality. It seemed surreal that we were moving on the same streets as we had yesterday, and so much had changed since then. Yet the traffic, the city itself, and the life moving through it, appeared no different. That's what made this all feel like a nightmare I couldn't wake up from- because no one knew I was in it. No one except me, Vanessa, and the meat heads in the front seat.

But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was Pepper didn't know. And she couldn't know. If I were to slip and say anything to her that Vanessa might find suspect, I could put her in extreme danger. And if anything happened to her, I couldn't live with myself.

I could feel Vanessa's eyes on me. She reached for my hand, but I jerked it away. "Don't touch me," I growled.

"Oh, come now, love," she urged sweetly. "Surely, none of this is worth a lover's quarrel?"

I snapped my head around to look at her sternly. "We are not lovers. Not any more," I fumed.

Vanessa huffed and crossed her arms indignantly. "You know, for not having any cards to play, you certainly are acting like you've got a winning hand," she said snidely. "But I suggest you change your strategy, Tony. I don't like having my patience tested."

"You need me," I pointed out flatly. "Or your little plan goes to shit."

"And you need me," she jabbed back. "Or your little Pepper gets eliminated, might I remind you!" she warned. I watched as she slid closer to me after a moment passed, and rested her hand on my thigh. I almost batted it away, but she leaned in and began to speak. "Time for you to perform, darling," she said. "You're going to call Obadiah right now, and tell him that you feel Stark Industries should get involved with our new projects as soon as possible. And you're also going to tell him our wonderful news!" she said, grinning and wiggling her ring finger in front of my face, the diamond managing to glint and sparkle in the dreary light from outside.

I frowned at her. "You want me to tell him all of that now? What in the hell am I supposed to say?! 'Oh, hi, Obie! Yeah, could you just do me a solid and agree that we should hitch our wagon to this crazy nut job's company? She says it'd be a really good idea if we did. Oh, and by the way? We're also engaged, suddenly, and for no explicable reason. What's that you say? It'll all a little too rich, and you can't believe I'd even suggest such a thing?!' " I mocked. I rolled my eyes and sat back hard against the seat in a huff, staring out the window again. Then I whipped my head in her direction again. "Do you know how crazy that sounds? You don't think we need just a bit more time to work all of this out? To make it even half waybelievable?" I asked. Vanessa just glared at me with gritted teeth.

"Do it, or I will make the one call I know you don't want me to make," she seethed.

I stared at her silently. She had me over a barrel. Nothing had changed there. And I knew she wasn't going to let me forget it. But to tell him everything in one phone call would make my feigned enthusiasm to partner up with Vanessa sound even more shallow and convoluted. I jerked my phone out of my pocket, and brought up Obie's number from my contacts. "I'll tell him I think we should collaborate. But that's it. Anything more, and he could accuse me of nepotism. And besides that? I'll have enough to try to convince him of without throwing that wrench into the works," I insisted. "When the time is right, we'll tell him. I promise. Deal?"

Vanessa stared at me for a few moments, working her jaw as she considered my offer. Then she exhaled sharply. "Fine," she said, relenting. She shifted her gaze from me to out the window. "I suppose the news of our engagement can wait," she said. (And I mentally breathed a big sigh of relief.) "But," she said. (And that relief quickly turned back into fear.) "There is one problem with that taking that tack," she stated.

I looked at her wryly. "And that is?" I asked curtly.

She lolled her head back in my direction and smirked. "I wanted to wait to surprise you, but very well," she said, grinning mischievously. "We have a plane to catch tomorrow afternoon to the Cayman Islands, my darling!" she said, raising a hand to run her fingers through my hair. I caught her by the wrist, and looked at her trepidaciously. She continued, ignoring me. "I've made all the arrangements! We'll have a simple ceremony, on the beach, and then you'll be able to transfer all your assets to me legitimately," she explained.

I spluttered. "What?!" I cried in disbelief, throwing her arm away from me. "You want us to get married tomorrow afternoon?!"

She looked at me blankly. "Well, of course! The sooner the better! Why wait? You can't keep up appearances and legitimately sign everything over to your new bride if you don't actually have a new bride, now, can you? Don't be ridiculous!" she said, waving a hand in dismissal and chuckling in disbelief. "I mean,really, Tony! Why do you think I want you to tell Obadiah the news?!"

I stared at her, wide eyed, my phone suspended in my hand. She waved her hand at me in a coaxing gesture. "Well, go on, then!" she said. "Tell him whatever you want, I suppose! It's either the news of the engagement now, or the marriage, later! You take your pick!" she said with an air of exasperation.

I shifted my eyes back to the phone, which still displayed Obie's number, and back to her. She cocked an eye brow, and chewed her lip impatiently. I shook my head. "Unbelievable," I muttered. "This is just...how in the hell did I ever..."

I jabbed the call button with my thumb, and it began to ring. Please go to voicemail, please go to voicemail, I pleaded in my mind. But I was out of luck.

"Tony, my boy! Having a good time in London, yeah?" Obie bellowed jovially.

I scrubbed a hand over my face, and took a deep breath. I flicked my eyes to Vanessa, who was still looking at me expectantly.

"Yeah, hey Obie, uh...do, uh...do you have a minute?" I asked shakily. Please say no! Please say no!, I begged him desperately to myself.

"For you? Always," he replied good-naturedly. "What's on your mind, champ?"

I exhaled slowly. Okay, here goes, I thought. "Well, as you know, I've been looking over some of Vanessa's company projects they've got cooking for the near future, and..." I said. I swallowed hard. I can't believe I'm about to do this, I thought. "I, uh...I think they're pretty promising," I said, trying to sound upbeat.

"I'd imagine they are," he agreed. "Matthews Energy seems to be leading the charge on nuclear developments, from what I gather."

I cleared my throat, and ran an anxious hand over my goatee. "Hehheh, yeah," I replied, chuckling awkwardly. "And, I think..." I said, taking another deep breath. Spill it. Just get it over with, I told myself. "We should look into collaborating with them on them. Their new projects, I mean," I stammered.

"Re-ally," Obie replied. By his tone, it was hard to know what he honestly thought. I wasn't sure if he was showing great interest, or if he was just humoring me. He must be thinking I'm saying this only because Vanessa and I have been sleeping together, and now he's patronizing me, I decided.

I sighed with frustration. "I'm serious, Obie," I urged. "I really think it all shows a lot of promise, and I want us to be a part of it." That sounded convincing, right?, I thought to myself. I glanced at Vanessa, and raised my eyebrows questioningly. She just smiled and gave me an approving nod.

"Well, my boy, you know I'm gonna have to have a look at these prints you've studied before I can say yes," he said, predictably.

"Of course," I said. "I'm sure Vanessa will be happy to send copies over right away."

"But, if they're half as good as what you're telling me you think they are," he said. "Then, I'd say go ahead! You know I'm game for exploring other markets! I'm excited to see what she has to offer."

I frowned. What the hell?! No, Obie! Come on! Give me a little more push back, here! I need something to work with, man!, I screamed at him in my head.

"Uh, wow, okay," I said, not able to contain my surprise. "I gotta say, I didn't think you'd be so gung-ho! I was sure I'd have to..."

"Let's don't get too carried away, here. I still do want to see the plans she's got," he assured. "But I've followed Marcus Matthews for a long time in this business, Tony! And if there's one thing I've learned, it's that he doesn't lay bad eggs! I would imagine his daughter takes after him in that regard. So, in my mind, it's worth serious consideration! Tell her to send those plans as soon as possible. If all is in order, I think we should proceed immediately, yeah?" he encouraged.

I closed my eyes, and swallowed hard, my throat suddenly as dry as Death Valley. "Yeah," I croaked out, helplessly. I cleared my throat again. "Yeah, Obie. Okay. Whatever you say," I said, deflated. My stomach turned as Vanessa beamed victoriously beside me. "I'll be talking to you soon," I said weakly.

"Sounds like a plan, Tony! Later! And good work!" he said, and we disconnected.

I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, and squeezed my phone in my hand with frustration. Damn him!, I thought. I was counting on Obie to buy me more time than that. Like months, I'd hoped. But I guess I didn't take into account that he'd always been one to follow other leaders in other industries closely. He had always been the one to wine and dine the brass from other companies, while I was the bird dog and demoed our latest and greatest to the DOD. We'd always worked in tandem like that, so I guess it only stood to reason that Matthews Energy had been one of the ones on his list of companies to watch. Why wouldn't they be? From all stand points, they were a thriving nuclear energy company that had been well-established in Great Britain for decades. Obie was right. Marcus Matthews knew what he was doing. And from what I'd heard, he was as much of a titan of industry as my father had been. Which led me to wonder- where was Marcus in all of this? I knew he was still alive, but no one had heard from him for at least the last five years. He used to be a pretty prominent figure in the business world. And, it suddenly occurred to me, it seemed he'd dropped off the face of the Earth inexplicably.

I looked sidelong at Vanessa. She was still beaming.

"I take it you're pleased with my little performance?" I chided.

"As punch, darling," she cooed. She snaked her arms around the crook of my elbow, and laid her head on my shoulder. She stroked my arm affectionately, which made my skin crawl. "My sending the plans over is as good as a formality, from what I gather," she said giddily.

"Yeah," I said flatly. "Obie says he knows a lot about your dad's impressive track record, and that he, quote, 'doesn't lay bad eggs'," I said, making air quotes with my pointer fingers. "No accounting for you, however," I said under my breath. "Which leads me to ask- where is your father in all of this, Vanessa?"

She raised her head and looked at me curiously. "What does that matter? What has my father got to do with anything we're doing here?" she asked defensively.

I cocked an eyebrow skeptically. "Well, dearest," I snarked. "I know he's not dead, so where is he? I'd think he'd at least want to meet his future son-in-law, wouldn't you? Maybe we could even discuss out recent business developments? You know, business man to business man? I'd love to pick his brain about how it was you fell so far from the tree. As I recall, he used to be a pretty stand up guy. At least, that's what Pop always said."

Vanessa smiled curtly. "I'll see what I can arrange," she said coolly.

I smirked. "You do that," I replied haughtily, narrowing my eyes at her.