I know, I know, it's taken me longer than I thought it would to post that chapter. In my defence, the vacations have been far more eventful than I planned on ( and not in a good way, unfortunately), so you only get it now.
However, be warned. I post fairly quickly during the summer, but the rest of the year, I get incredibly slow. I'm still in college, will be for the next five years at least ( hello PhD ),so don't get mad or too impatient. Get a reader alert on the story and move on until the next chapters are posted. I prefer to tell you now so that you're not too disappointed when it takes me two months to get my head around writing and posting. I love writing fanfics, it's honestly the best part of my week when I get to unleash the creativity on a universe I adore. Unfortunately, responsibilities get in the way and I don't get to do what I want.
Now, this chapter, there's a fair deal of Pepper getting sh*t done at her job. it won't always be like that, do't worry, but I needed to get Pepper at a certain place in her life, and therefore, business!Pepper is abound in this chapter. Don't worry, Tony Stark is never far.
Lots of love and kisses, Callie xx
While still in London, Pepper finds the courage to read Andrew's letter. It's a short one, Pepper isn't surprised. Andrew had always been a man a few words, if always well-chosen. It doesn't mean her hands are not shaking when she reads them.
"My dear Pepper,
I suppose that if you read this letter, then I am not among the living anymore. You've also probably learned by now that I have nominated you to succeed me as CEO of VAST. Please, consider this decision carefully. I have absolutely no doubt that if you do choose to become my successor, you'll be nothing short of amazing. But this job is both a blessing and a curse. At least it was to me. I have built this company from the ground up. I have given it my best years and I am proud to write that it ultimately paid. However, it wasn't without immense sacrifices. I know I haven't been the husband Aurelia deserved or the father John and Casey needed. I was rarely there and even when I was, I always had a foot at the office. Don't make the same mistake as me. Now that I am close to the end, my most bitter regrets are that I gave everything I had to something that never loved, me back. I know you're young, full of energy and ambition, but life has far more to offer than just money and success. Aurelia was my salvation and the boys, my miracles. Find it for yourself, Virginia, and never let it go. My wish for you to take VAST's head is not an obligation nor is it a life sentence. One day, maybe you'll want to create something for yourself and VAST will not be part of these plans. So leave it someone else when it's time for you to move on.
You deserve all the happiness in the world, my dear. Claim what is rightly yours.
Goodbye, Virginia. Be well."
Xxxxx
Pepper sleeps poorly the following night. She cries, an act of weakness she hasn't indulged in since her mother passed away, during her freshman year at college. She only stops because she's exhausted from the week she's had. As for her tears, they're for Andrew, her parents and her loneliness. Pepper closes her eyes and doesn't dream.
Xxxxx
Somewhere off the Mediterranean cost on his yacht, Tony Stark is passing out from too much to drink. He'll wake up in the morning only to finish the half-empty bottle of whisky. Funerals always bring out the worst of him. He curses Pepper Potts for being so damn beautiful.
Xxxxx
Pepper comes back from London one day after Aurelia and her sons, mostly to give herself some time to think far from the frenzy of her office and the emptiness of her flat in Malibu. Not that her hotel suite at the Savoy is any better but at least she isn't surrounded by familiar objects and photographs, staring accusingly at her.
The truth is that she has absolutely no idea what she's supposed to do. Yes, she wants to make Andrew proud as well as Aurelia. Becoming CEO of VAST is therefore unavoidable. Not that the idea of becoming one of the very few women CEO of a fortune 500 company is in any way repelling. But Aurelia was right when she had said that Andrew and herself had never expected Pepper to take Andrew's place so quickly.
She knows that she is ready, nonetheless, to lead VAST into a new age. She has plans, well-thought out leads concerning the future of the company. She knows she can be more than excellent at her job. And yet, she looks around her, in a small café near Kensington High Street and she can't stop staring at the two young women seating at the table a little further on her right, gossiping about fashion, old friends and potential boyfriends. A sigh escapes her. They're probably just a couple of years younger than her. Pepper is 26. Where are her college friends? She doesn't know. Her colleagues with whom she used to hang out after work when she was still an anonymous face at the financial department haven't kept in touch with her either. She has seen them, just a few times, in elevators, parkings or at work functions. Just a few "hellos" and "how are you's" have subsided between them. She almost chocked on her coffee once, when Daniela from accounting with whom she used to drink margaritas and complain about unspectacular lovers called her "Miss Potts" when she had always been Pepper to her. Success is a lonely business, she thinks. And Louboutin pumps can only satisfy her so long. CEO is a demanding job and she doesn't want to be alone at the top. The board is bloodthirsty enough as it is, she's not going to let them corner her into seclusion. She seriously needs some allies and she needs them now.
Xxxxx
The short version is this: the board, after some persuasion, finally comes around to honouring Andrew's wish and letting Pepper take on the role she's been assuming unofficially for months now.
The long version is slightly more complicated.
Pepper arrives to the meeting ten minutes early so that she can mentally prepare herself for what she's about to do. She's about to bet her leadership on the next 30 minutes of this meeting. Well, bet may be the wrong verb. Pepper never bets. She takes calculated risks. And this one is the biggest she's taken so far in her short- if eventful- career.
Of course, as soon as she exposes the new situation to the board, half of them protest in earnest. The second half remains suspiciously silent. Well, suspiciously for the other half of the board.
There are twelve members around the table and Pepper is the thirteenth. Three women – apart from Pepper – and nine men. On the way back to California, Pepper had concocted a plan. Either the board was with her or it was against her. And if it was the latter, then she would get rid of it while severing their golden parachutes and other advantages on the ground that they hadn't respected the terms of their contracts. Therefore, she had only called six of them – the six she knew she would have less difficulties working with – ensuring their votes and full support in exchange for a renewal of their contracts by the end of the year. An offer they all but jumped on, as December was dangerously getting closer, and as was the end of their five-year contract with VAST.
As for the six others, Pepper had done her research. Most of them weren't ready to let go of their old ways when it came to business or weren't in agreement with the way things were since Pepper had taken on Andrew's responsibilities. She also knew that two of them had been conniving with some sub-contractors in order to make money on the side. One of them, Stanley Jameson, was no more than a misogynist with too much money and seniority. Pepper was more than ready to let him go. She'd hire new board members that she trusted and wouldn't have to fight more than necessary.
"You expect us to just relinquish our seat on this board?"
Pepper smiles. "Yes, that's exactly what I expect you to do. And you will do so quietly, if you want to receive your full exit package, which should amount to quite a few millions, if I am not mistaken."
Jameson speaks and frankly, Pepper would be more than happy to forego his right to his golden parachute: "I think you've gotten yourself in over your head, young lady. This is not how things are handled among gentlemen."
Pepper's smile turns vicious. "I would agree with you, Mr. Jameson, had I not seen the state of your finances. You've taken several bribes from numerous subcontractors over the years – all of them you've personally brought to VAST – so that you'd see that their collaboration with this company would be renewed. Same thing for you, Mr. Olsen. So let's forget the niceties and false wounded prides. You are taking your golden parachutes, you will retain your shares in the company or you'll find yourself answering very well-documented accusations in front of a court of law. Am I making myself clear?"
Jameson tries to protest again but Pepper cuts him before he can utter a word: "And before you say that I won't risk VAST's reputation in order to sue you, may I say that if you try to force my hand, your wife will receive a very interesting package containing several pictures of you entertaining sex-workers in hotel rooms, and all of this on company money. Please leave this building and never come back."
The last threat is a bluff. She doesn't have the pictures because she'd only just learned about the prostitutes thanks to one of the board members she'd decided to keep on. But he doesn't know that and he pales almost immediately. He leaves the room without the help of security. The other departing members, if disgruntled for being so expediently dismissed, accept their fate more elegantly, for which she is grateful. Once she is left with the six remaining members, things go more smoothly.
They all accept to help her nominate their former colleagues' replacement, asking them to choose people with solid background in environmental circles, may they be engineers, PhDs or former NGO consultants. Pepper has a very clear idea of what her board should look like: six members with strong business skills and backgrounds and six others with real environmental concerns that have been around long enough to know what they are talking about and what needs to be done. And as the thirteenth member, her vote will be the deciding one if they ever come to a tie on any matter. VAST is on its way to become the leading authority on green energy and at the forefront of consulting companies. Andrew wanted to protect the planet for future generations. Pepper wants to revolutionize it.
Xxxxx
Interviews for new directors and section chiefs to complete the board go as well as could be expected. Of course, the press takes hold of the story:
NEWCOMER PEPPER POTTS SHAKES THINGS UP AT VAST: IS SHE REALLY QUALIFIED?
She resents the way they portray her, as if the last three years have been for nothing. However, she knows that the only way to shut them up is to go forward and do a good job.
Now, it's three months later, and the board is once again constituted of thirteen members. Pepper is quite proud of her new collaborators and apparently, the financial market agrees with her as the shares for VAST go up for the first time since Andrew's death. They're not yet back to their former glory but she's confident she can get it back and double it once they show what they can do. She has the marketing department organize a fundraiser to help dig new water wells in African countries where she also introduces the new board directors. It's a huge success, both the fundraiser and the marketing operation and the press ecstatic. Soon, VAST will regain its former glory as new and fructuous contracts have been signed with the government and private corporations. Aurelia has a few tears running down her cheeks when Pepper inaugurates the Andrew Wanamaker foundation for refugee camps. And John, to everyone's surprise, announces his engagement to a young socialite from New York with whom he went to Harvard. The wedding should take place next July. Aurelia is smiling again and Pepper believes that the future can be brighter.
So Pepper thinks it's time for her to take some well-deserved vacations. Her vice-president, Victoria Dowling, is more than able to handle the company now that things have calmed down once again. She goes to Hawaii with a smile on her face.
Xxxxx
Sometimes, Pepper – who is not a superstitious person – really thinks that the universe has a very, very twisted sense of humour.
Xxxxx
When she first meets Major James Rhodes, she finds him absolutely charming. They are at a bar, on the beach at Maui and he buys her a drink after making her laugh for twenty minutes with military stories and poor college-related decisions. He went to MIT and even though he doesn't have the same intelligence than some of the PhDs now sitting at the table of her board of directors, she is well aware that the man is more intelligent than your average military guy. And he is extremely good-looking as well.
"You know, you still haven't told me what you do in life, Virginia."
Pepper wants to be honest and tell him, and maybe she will. But not right now. She doesn't want to think about work more than she has to. So she doesn't elaborate and hope he'll take the hint.
"I have a business in California. Green energies." James smiles at her and doesn't pry more. Smart man, she thinks again. He asks her if she'd like to join him for dinner. She accepts. The holidays are looking up.
Rhodey – "that's how my friends call me" – takes her to a small fish restaurant away from the tourist crowds. The food is delicious and she is having a wonderful time. They order dessert and she excuses herself to go to the bathroom. She wants to check her make-up one last time. She doesn't know just yet if she's asking him back to her room tonight. She doesn't want to rush anything. He is based in California and she can easily see this becoming more than casual. She comes back three minutes later and Rhodey is talking to another man who has his back to her.
"Tony, can you please- "
"Is everything alright?"
The man turns and Tony Stark is staring at her in a blue shirt and what are probably the most horrendous pair of Hawaiian shorts ever.
"Are you kidding me?" Tony stark turns back to Rhodey, looking offended and completely ignoring Pepper. "You abandon me to go and have dinner with… Pepper Potts? I thought we had an agreement about this kind of things?"
"That's Pepper Potts?" Rhodey is standing and looking at her, obviously confused. Pepper is confused as well, if she's being honest. "I'm sorry, do you two know each other?"
Tony turns back towards her: "You were just having dinner with my best friend. Do you have no respect, woman? There are rules about this kind of things, y'know? And I never share." He winks, and Pepper sees red.
"I can't believe this. I knew you were a jerk, Stark, but I didn't think you could sink to such a level of disgusting- "
Rhodey seems to wake up from his trance: "Wait, that's not what you believe, I had no idea you knew each other. I swear, I just saw you at the bar not knowing who you were and-"
"Who I was? And who's that, Major Rhodes?"
Stark whistles. He's obviously had a few drinks already: "She's using rank AND last name. You're in trouble, Rhodey."
"Sit and shut up, would you?" Stark obeys, knowing what's good for him, for once. "Virginia, I'm sorry. Tony had mentioned you and if I had known who you were, I would have been completely honest about my connexion with that sorry ass. I swear I didn't mean to conceal anything from you."
Stark apparently forgets what's good for him because he speaks up again: "Wait, you're apologizing? She's the one who didn't tell you who she was. Not the other way around. I mean, that's a bit idiotic, isn't it?"
Rhodes is visibly fed up with his best friend's antics: "No Tony, that's not idiotic, that's only polite. And she did tell me her first name. I just didn't make the connection. And I didn't tell her I was here with you either."
Tony laughs. "Afraid of the competition, were we?"
Rhodey wants to say something, but Pepper beats him to it: "I think I've heard enough. And I'm sorry I wasn't forthcoming with my identity, Major. But I was in vacations. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go back to my hotel. Thank you for dinner. It was lovely while it lasted. Tony, come with me outside a minute."
Stark stands up immediately. "Yes, ma'am." He winks at Rhodey: "Don't wait for me tonight, sweetie"'
He follows her outside and they walk silently to the beach. She stops in front of the water before looking at him directly. "How drunk are you, right now? Is this a conversation you'll remember tomorrow or am I wasting my breath?"
He seems to ponder the question for a few seconds. "I'll remember. Is this is where you insult me and scream that you never want to see me again? 'Cos I'm not really fond of this kind of conversations"
Pepper has a bitter laugh. "No, this is the conversation where I tell you to get your act together, Stark. This, back at the restaurant, was not okay. You cannot just barge into my life and do whatever you like. You cannot tell me what to do and just expect me to be fine with it. That was incredibly demeaning. You humiliated me back there, Tony."
He puts his hands to his chest: "I humiliated you? You were about to jump my best friend! You-"
"And what of it? I am not your property, Tony. Just because we had a fling or two doesn't mean anything. I was either lonely or upset. Not that you took advantage of me, I was always a willing participant and I don't regret it. Don't make me change my mind about that. If you want us to be friends, just say it. But don't you dare act offended when I show interest in someone else than you, best friend or not. That's not fair and you know it."
Tony looks away, not willing to concede the point just yet. He isn't drunk enough for this conversation, he thinks. Maybe that's a good thing. Pepper would be a good friend. God knows he doesn't have many of them.
"Does the offer of friendship comes with benefits?" He smiles like he just didn't ask her to have sex with him on a semi-regular basis.
Pepper laughs. "I don't think so, Mr. Stark. I think you already indulge more than enough in this type of activities without my help."
He puts his hands in his short. "You can never have enough of these activities. And really, I was more looking out for you than for me." He is really close to her now and she can smell alcohol in his breath.
"For your information, you stink of alcohol and that's really not a turn on. And I'm serious. If we are to be friends, no fooling around with each other. That's my condition."
He stares intently at her, as if he wanted to see what was exactly going on in Pepper's head. He comes with a condition of his own. "Okay, but no fooling around with Rhodey, that's weird. Unless he is your one true love. But I have the feeling he won't be."
Pepper smirks. "You seem awfully sure of yourself, Mr. Stark."
"Pepper, you may be a lot of things, most of them are probably better than I deserve, but you are certainly not a woman for Rhodey. The man may be extremely enduring for having been my friend for so many years, but you'll eat him up alive. You're a fire breather, Potts. The good kind, even. Rhodey, even if he'll ever admit to it, is someone far too traditional for the likes of you."
She thinks about it for a few moments. Stark may be a jerk but she believes him when he says she might not be the woman for the Major. The few hours with him had somewhat hinted that he was looking for something slightly different than her, which was one of the reasons she had not wanted to rush things with him. She'd have to talk to him about that.
"Very well. But you let me tell him. He deserves that it comes from me."
"Agreed. Shall we shake on it?" He extends his hand to her and that's so business like that she can't stop herself from laughing. He raises an eyebrow. "Is something the matter, Miss Potts?"
Pepper gathers herself and cups his cheek with one hand. "For a genius, you've got a lot to learn."
She closes the distance between them and kisses him on the other cheek. "There, no need to be so formal about it."
She doesn't know if it's the sun setting or him, but she does believe that Tony Stark is blushing. "Yeah, formality, who cares about it?"
Xxxxx
They walk back together to her hotel (for once, they're not staying at the same one). They have their first real discussion in the few months she's known him and when she talks about what she's been doing since they last saw each other, and for the first time, she believes that he cares about what she has to say. It's a nice feeling, she thinks. She'd forgotten what it was to have someone to talk to, even when they are a bit drunk and having a hard time not to look down your cleavage.
"So, this is you. Are you sure you don't want me to come up and tuck you in? I sing a mean lullaby."
That's a test, Pepper knows. He is making sure that she's really serious about becoming his friend and she's suddenly back in his hotel room, in Tokyo, as she was about to leave and he looked at her as if she were abandoning him. Well, not this time.
"I'm sure, Tony. Go back to your hotel and go to sleep. You're dead on your feet."
He kisses her cheek. "Yes, ma'am."
"Until next time, Mr. Stark."
He laughs. "Until next time, Miss Potts."
The next morning, a bunch of flowers is delivered to her room. On the card, it says: "I believe I owe you an apology for being a drunk ass last night. Prepare yourself to soon open a flower shop. More will be coming over the years. You're stuck with me, Potts."
Pepper shakes her head, amused. There might not have been any contract last night but she's certainly bound to him now. She chooses to see it as a good thing. It is a good thing, right?
Xxxxx
The remainder of her vacation in Hawaii is spent between the beach and one of Tony's yatchs. She speaks with Rhodey as soon as she gets the chance to, and they both agree that being friends with Tony is already a feat in itself, but trying to have a relationship with him in the middle, now that would be asking for trouble. Pepper is glad, nonetheless, to get Rhodey as a friend. Tony is less enthusiastic: "You'll just team up on me. Not fair."
He gets over it fairly quickly.
Tony takes them to parties when he is not hosting them on his yacht and Pepper meets a new side of the man: the life of the party. She'd read about it in rags but had never witnessed it for herself. She gets it, really. The man is a human magnet. More than just the money, he's got true charisma, the talent to make anyone at home, anywhere they are. Pepper envies him that particular gift. She's always been polite and well-meaning but she's never been able to truly be at ease among a lot of people. Rhodey goes to her during one of the parties and says:
"He's quite something, isn't he?"
She smiles and nods, partly become the music is deafening and she doesn't want to go back to work with a voice extinction. She also doesn't know what to reply to that statement. She gets that Rhodey means that this is just a façade. Something people get to look at and remember him by. She wonders if he's always been like that or if it came with time and over-exposure. She'll ask Rhodey, when she knows him better and isn't afraid to appear indiscreet. For now, she observes and takes notes.
The mornings after the parties, she barely sees him or Rhodey. They are both either sleeping it off or getting further acquainted with the lavatories. Well, Tony more than Rhodey. But she doesn't complain. She's having a really nice time and Tony is a born entertainer. Her few days of vacation go by without her having to worry about what's next on the program and her vice-president only calls to keep her in the loop.
The last evening, Rhodey is not here with them. He has met a beautiful Swedish tourist, according to Tony, and has asked him not to interfere. Which is code for: "don't even dare calling me before noon tomorrow" Tony grins.
"Well, it's been a while since he had fun in that department. No offense."
Pepper laughs. "None taken. Better someone else than me. I was planning on making him wait."
They are both sitting on a couch, on the deck of his yacht. Pepper stops herself from asking why he's rented a room at the hotel if he spends his time more the ship than in his room.
"Oh, really? That's a side I haven't met yet: Careful Pepper. I had pegged you as someone more… spur of the moment."
She's fairly sure she's blushing. "That side of me is something very few people have seen. I'm usually extremely careful. Almost to a fault." She finishes her Tequila Sunrise and decides it's going to be the only one tonight. Tony's cocktails are deadly. He gets closer to her but doesn't touch her.
"Are you telling me I bring the worst out of you?" He is half-joking, half curious. She bites her tongue and feels hot all of a sudden. "I'm saying, you sometimes unnerve me. And therefore, I don't act like I usually would."
She regrets saying that as soon as the words are out of her mouth. But she doesn't have time to reformulate her answer. Tony's lips are on her neck.
"Tony, I-"
"I think I'm not good at that chaste friendship thing, Potts. Are you sure you don't want to rethink your condition? I promise, no strings attached."
Pepper gets up before she does something she'll regret. He stays seated, looking at her expectantly. "Tony, that's the thing. I may not be against one night stands but this, whatever this is you're asking of me, I'm incapable of it. I can't just take and not give back. And I don't want you to do that to me either."
Tony frowns. "You want… a relationship?"
Pepper laughs without mirth. "No, I don't think you're quite capable of that. You are a consumer, Tony. In almost everything you do. You must always have more than you already have and for someone with so much power and money, you consume everything extremely fast. Women being one of those things. You are aware of that, aren't you?"
He gets up as well and brushes his hand against hers. "I don't deny that. But maybe, with the right person… You could be that person, Pepper."
She looks down, on his hand now holding hers and she's already feeling the knot around her stomach. Why does it always come to this point between them? She knows who he is. And yet, she seems to yearn to get something more out of him than just that façade she's seen at parties. She knows one day, he'll be capable of being more than what he thinks he is. But not today. And she knows it's going to create a rift between them. It makes her want to cry.
"I'm sorry, Tony. But I can't have my heart broken because you want to try out being in a relationship. I think you're amazing. I've really appreciated spending these few days with you and Rhodey. I'm just not ready to give everything that I have for something you only half believe in."
He kisses her and it's forceful, as if he were trying to stop her from rejecting him. She wants him. She's been a fool to believe she could be his friend without first being his. But it's too much, too soon and Pepper has a company to run. She's got tears coming down her cheeks.
"Why do you always leave?" He asks and she knows he doesn't expect an answer from her. He backs her against the side of the cabin and raises her skirt around her waist.
He bites her bare shoulder while getting rid of her panties. He's in her a few seconds later and sets a punishing pace. She holds on to him, his hair in her hand and the other against his back. It's fast and rough and she comes quickly. He doesn't come. He stops before the end and makes himself presentable, as if he hadn't been deep in her a few seconds before.
"You should leave. I'll get the yacht to the nearest docks."
Pepper nods, dumbly. She's not sure what's happening. She just stays there, staring at the water. The boat is moored and he reappears next to her. "We're there. Do you need me to call you a cab?"
She shakes her head. "No, I'll manage. Thank you." He nods, avoiding to look at her directly.
She says this before leaving: "For what it's worth Tony, I still consider you as a friend. Don't be a stranger."
"Until next time, Miss Potts." He says it without meaning it and it tears something inside her.
"Until next time, Mr. Stark."
Xxxxx
He doesn't listen to her. Rhodey calls, from time to time, gives his news and Tony's. He regrets that Tony isn't able to get "his head out of his arse" and see that he's hurting himself by refusing to call her. What he doesn't say is that he's hurting her too. Pepper lies and says it's alright. They are both busy. She hangs up and looks at the envelope in front of her.
"You are cordially invited to the wedding of Mr. John Aidan Wanamaker and Miss Annalise Morgenstein."
Well, maybe a wedding will cheer her up.
Reviews are love ( and they make me write more quickly). Constructive criticism is always welcome. Still looking for a beta BTW.
