It was the beginning of the wedding weekend and Thursday was like a casual getting to know you drinks kind of thing for the guests to all get to know each other so they would feel comfortable at the reception. It was completely unnecessary and a bit extra in Pepper's opinion but Lisa Cawley always had to show off especially her wealth. Pepper just rolled her eyes many times.
"Well everything is all set with work. I told them I will be answering emails. I packed your things, is there anything else you think you will need or want?" she asked him.
Tony shot a flirtatious eyebrow up at her.
And Pepper gave him a warning glare.
"Shall we?" Tony said motioning for her to go first.
Pepper went out front and Tony locked the door behind them.
The ride took about two and a half hours with traffic to get to San Diego. They pulled into the hotel and Pepper couldn't wait to stretch her legs. She opened the door and stretched her arms for a minute. Tony got the bags out of the car and followed her inside.
"Reservation for Potts" she said as she went up to the counter.
"Yes I have it right here. Oh wait there's a note on your account. We had to give your room to a last minute addition to the bride's family. She said you wouldn't mind. We moved you to a smaller suite with one king bed" he said.
Pepper was boiling inside. That bitch she thought. Tony stared at her waiting for her to cut this man down but instead she gave her best smile and took the key.
"Thank you"
"Do you want me to take care of this and get our room back?" he asked.
"Nope. I refuse to let that spoiled bitch know that she somehow inconvenienced me" Pepper said.
"Well let's go and check out our room" Tony said leading the way.
Pepper opened the door and looked around.
"It's not a bad room, but it's not the room I wanted. Look at this bathroom. It's the size of a closet. The suite had two bathrooms and two beds,"
Tony was super excited about their only being one bed but he wasn't going to bring up any sleeping arrangements. He was going to cross that bridge when he got there.
"Pepper I can go down there now and take care of this," Tony said.
"No, I told you. I will not give Lisa the satisfaction. We will make do" she said tossing her bag onto the bed.
Tony watched her busy herself with hanging their garment bags in the closet and she took her toiletries into the bathroom. Busying herself was something she did when she was angry or stressed. She came out of the bathroom and nearly smacked into Tony.
"At least there's two sinks. Give me your toiletries and I'll put them next to your sink" she said.
Tony just smiled at her. He reached his hands out to stop her for a moment.
"This is our arrangement for the next three days. If you're not ok with this tell me now" he said.
"It's fine Tony," she said.
"So what's on the schedule?" Tony asked.
"Right now I just want to get a drink because I'm so fucking pissed off right now" Pepper said.
"Just to be clear it's not at me right?" Tony said slightly afraid of Pepper when she dropped F bombs.
"No. You're my amazing date that adores me and that everyone will be so jealous of. So just pretend you're super into me and I'll play along" she said as she smiled at him.
"That won't be hard for me to do at all," Tony smiled at her.
Tony and Pepper went down to the hotel bar and took a seat.
"What can I get you?" the bartender asked.
"I'll have a vodka martini dry with three olives and a shot of kamikaze," Pepper said.
Tony nearly did a double take. Pepper never drank like that. She obviously cared what this Lisa Cawley thought and he was going to deliver.
"Bourbon for me, thanks," Tony said.
"Ginny is that you?" said a voice behind her.
Pepper spun around it was her friend Heather. She was wearing a beautiful Diane Von Furstenburg wrap dress and strappy leather sandals.
"Heather hi," Pepper said, getting up from her seat to hug her.
"You look beautiful. This is the Ginny I remember," she said as she took in Pepper's appearance.
"Thanks so do you," Pepper said.
"Oh My God. Is this Tony Stark? Your-
"My date," Pepper said, putting her arm around his waist and another on his chest.
Tony was soaking it up. He was loving it so much.
"Pepper is my girl," he said as he kissed her forehead gently and Pepper wanted to melt.
"I thought you said you guys weren't dating" Heather asked suspiciously.
"It's very new. But I've always wanted Pepper. She's been curving my advances for years" Tony exclaimed.
"Tony, this is Heather, an old friend from high school," Pepper said.
"It's lovely to meet you," he said as he took her hand.
"Can you believe how ridiculous this all is? Who has four day wedding festivities?" Heather said to Pepper.
"A spoiled rich bitch who thinks any of us give a shit about her wedding," Pepper said again.
She was so angry she squeezed Tony a little tighter. Tony was smirking at her.
"We were just having a drink before we get ready to have drinks at this thing tonight. If you want to join us," Tony said.
He motioned for her to take the bar stool he was sitting on and he stood behind Pepper really close and leaned to give her a kiss on the cheek. He started to play with her hair while he let the two of them talk. He was hoping it was going to drive Pepper nuts.
Pepper was feeling so much heat coming off Tony's body pressed so closely against her that she could barely get her words out. They chatted with Heather another twenty minutes and then they went back to their room to order some dinner. It was six o'clock and they were pretty hungry.
"Room service it is honey," Tony teased once they were behind their closed doors.
Pepper cracked a smile.
"Your friend Heather seems nice. She was definitely jealous" he said.
"Well she did say you were a whole meal," Pepper disclosed.
"Well she's out of luck. I'm your meal if you want me. The old Tony would have obliged but this Tony isn't into that sort of thing anymore" he said as he laid back against the pillow and opened the room service menu.
"You're not into sex anymore?" she said.
"I didn't say that," Tony said.
Pepper sat on the edge of the bed and grabbed the menu from him.
"So what are you going to do if you don't want to sleep with random women?" Pepper asked as she scanned over the menu.
"I'll tell you if you tell me what you're doing about sex?" he asked.
"That's none of your business," Pepper said.
Tony would die if he knew about Mike and what happened with Amanda she thought.
"Are you being taken care of at least? Is there someone attending to your needs at least?"
"Again Tony, that's none of your business," Pepper said sternly.
"That's a yes. Who is it?"
"It shouldn't be any concern of yours,"
"So then you admit there is someone?" Tony asked.
"Get me the turkey club sandwich," she said as she glared at him and continued to unpack her stuff.
Tony hung up with room service and got up and decided to follow Pepper's lead and put his clothes into drawers.
"I'm sorry. It's just that you deserve to have your needs met if they're not. You're right. It's none of my business. I'm truly sorry. Forgive me please" Tony said, staring at her until she met his eyes.
Pepper smiled at him and he knew he was forgiven. And then Tony surprised her again and he pulled her in for a hug. Pepper hugged him back for a moment and then pulled away.
"Thanks again for coming with me. I really appreciate it,"
"Anything for you Pep," he said.
Tony and Pepper finished their food and started getting ready for the evening.
Pepper emerged from the bathroom and Tony's jaw nearly dropped.
"Be honest. I don't usually wear red, but I love this dress. Do I look ok?" she said.
"You're always a ten out of ten," he said as he kept trying to check her out without her noticing.
He felt his blood pressure rising because he wanted to kiss her so badly and he didn't know how to get the energy out.
"Are you sure because when you have red hair and you wear red-
"You look fantastic and you smell good too," he said.
Pepper chose a spaghetti strap cocktail dress that hit mid thigh and she had on black high heels and her hair pulled up with some soft whisps coming out.
Tony chose a fitted Hugo Boss shirt with a blazer and some dress pants.
"You look nice," she said as she fought the urge to push the single strand of hair that was falling off of his forehead.
"Let's go," he said, putting his arm out for her to take.
She slipped her arm in his and they headed to the pre wedding drinks mixer. As soon as they walked in all eyes were on the two of them.
"Tony everyone is staring," she whispered to him.
"Well I would be staring too if you walked into my party in that dress. Lucky for me I get to walk in with you," he said as they headed to the bar.
"Hors d'oeuvres?" a man asked as he placed a tray in front of them.
"Yes thank you," Pepper said as she reached for a tiny crab and avocado toast not realizing the waiter was checking her out.
"Ok that's enough. Move along" Tony said shooing him away.
"Tony what is your problem?" Pepper asked as she looked back at him.
"Pepper, his eyes were crawling all over you," Tony said.
"WOW," a voice to her right said.
"Brad" Pepper said as she went to hug him.
Tony sized up the high school crush. But he remembered that Pepper mentioned he was married.
"Where's Marisol?" she asked.
"She's not feeling well. She couldn't make it," he said.
Tony was watching her facial expressions change. He watched the way she smiled and laughed and he was jealous. He wished that he could make Pepper look at him that way.
"Oh my God I'm being rude. This is my date Tony," she said as she stepped back so they could shake hands and then Tony put his hand around her lower waist possessively.
"Your work must be very exciting. No one expected Ginny to get a job in finance. She was a brilliant musician. We all knew she'd be famous one day just for different reasons than we thought. Are you guys?" and he motioned with his hands to ask if they were together.
"Dating? Yes but it's still very new,"
"Yes Pepper's my girlfriend," Tony said, emphasizing that last part.
Pepper smiled nervously and kept tucking the wisps of hair behind her ears.
"Love is a crazy thing. Pepper has stuck by me for over ten years. She takes care of everything, the business, my money, my schedule. She makes sure I eat and sleep. And then one day I realized she's been here all along and I couldn't let her get away. Lucky for me Pepper felt the same," he said and he turned and stared at her as he was leaning in and Pepper felt her insides fluttering and panicking. Before she could deflect he put his hand on her cheek and pressed his lips against hers softly and Pepper nearly lost her footing. She had to wrap her arm around him to stand and that's when he pulled away.
Pepper couldn't hide her blush and Tony was staring at Brad with a smug look on his face.
"I'm going to get a drink. I'll be right back," she said as she hurried to the bar. She needed to recover from that kiss somewhere away from Tony.
"Lucky guy. Ginny was the one who got away. I always had a crush on her in high school but it just never happened between us," Brad confessed.
"I'm very lucky,"
Pepper downed her vodka martini and ordered a second. She was about to head back when she was approached by lots of friends and classmates all asking questions about Tony. Pepper was smiling and answering their questions but her mind was racing.
Did he really use the word love? I know this is pretend but LOVE? And that kiss. OH MY she thought.
And then Tony came to her rescue.
"I know this isn't the time or place but this is something I just can't hold in anymore. It's been a long time coming. I, Tony Stark hereby appoint Pepper Potts as CEO of Stark Industries effective immediately," Tony said.
Pepper nearly dropped her glass. She felt herself blush but also she wasn't sure if this was for real or for part of Tony's show.
"What are you doing?" Pepper whispered into his ear.
"Making you CEO it's real," he said.
Everyone was clapping and cheering for Pepper and Lisa was absolutely scowling at them and Pepper felt a moment of sweet revenge.
"I can't believe it. I don't know what to say. This is so overwhelming," she said.
Tony needing to feel her lips on his again pulled her in for a celebratory kiss.
Pepper was on fire from her lips to her cheeks and down her neck and her limbs and fingers. She was tingling and it was because of Tony. She broke away and smiled at everyone.
"Thank you," she said.
"Can we get a drink and get some quiet?" she whispered to Tony who she desperately wanted to talk to alone.
Tony led Pepper away to the other side so they could have quiet.
"What you just did back there? I-"
"The kiss? I thought you were ok with it. You should have seen lover boys face. When you walked away he said I was a lucky guy and that he had it bad for you in high school. He said you were the one who got away. I made him real jealous," Tony said.
"He what?" Pepper said, completely forgetting about him making her CEO.
She had a sparkle in her eye and it made Tony jealous.
"He said you were the one who got away," Tony repeated.
Pepper downed her drink and wanted another one.
"Pepper are you ok?" Tony asked with sincerity in his voice.
"I'm fine," she said but her eyes were red and full of tears threatening to spill out.
"Did you mean what you said about making me CEO?" she said, trying to force a smile.
"Of course. You're the most capable person I know and you deserve it. Of course that means I won't be seeing you that much once this thing switches over," he said quietly.
"What?"
"Well you won't be my assistant anymore so you'll be in the office and I'll be in the shop. I won't see you except for occasional meetings and stuff," he said not prepared for the coming absence of Pepper in his life.
"Tony we'll still see each other. You're my best friend," she said.
"Yeah," he said.
Pepper was feeling a deep hurt inside at the thought of not seeing Tony on a daily basis.
"Can you get me another drink?"
"Don't you think you should slow down?" he suggested.
"Probably but I want just one more," she said.
Tony went to the bar to get Pepper's drink and he looked back and she was suddenly laughing hysterical with that Brad guy.
He returned with her drink and she grabbed it and she hugged him tightly.
"Isn't he the best?" she said planting a kiss on his cheek and staring right at Brad.
Tony was ready to go back to the room when a tall blonde was heading towards them.
"Ginny, how good to see you? I saw you before but I didn't want to come over during all the commotion," see said.
"Lisa, you look lovely. Congratulations are in order" Pepper said as she went over to hug her sloppily.
"Are you tipsy already? It's only the first night" Lisa said.
"We were celebrating her promotion to CEO of Stark Industries. I'm Tony by the way, Pepper's boyfriend," he said with emphasis.
"Thanks for coming," she said with a snotty look on her face.
"Does anyone else remember Lori Johnson's party? The one where Ginny drank too much and tripped and puked all over her brother Bart ," Lisa said.
"That was a doozy," Brad said.
Pepper suddenly felt all the liquor from the entire night hit her and she didn't feel well. She whispered in Tony's ear.
"Well it was great meeting you all but we're going to turn in a bit early," Tony said as he grabbed Pepper's hand and they walked down the hall together.
Pepper was so quiet and Tony didn't know how to react. They got into the room and Pepper flopped on the bed.
"Tony I need your help. I'm drunk. Can you get my pajamas?" Pepper mumbled.
"Sure," Tony said as he went into the drawer and he found a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that looked like pajamas.
When he turned around Pepper was on her back with her legs in the air using her heel to kick the other heel off and then her barefoot to take the other shoe off.
"Help me up," she said.
Tony pulled Pepper up and steadied her.
"Unzip my dress," she instructed.
He held her tightly against him and unzipped it slowly. Pepper took her arms out of the holes and held the dress against her.
"My bra too," she said.
Tony reached around with one hand and unsnapped her bra.
"Is that how you do it with all the girls? One handed?" she said as she fell against him and her dress was slipping.
Tony moved quickly to get her shirt on and over her head before her dress dropped and he watched as she laid back in very skimpy underwear with her legs in the air. He put the shorts on and she lifted her back to pull them over her butt. She patted the bed next to her and Tony sat down. But she pulled him down aggressively until he was lying beside her.
"Tony ever since my high school reunion I feel so…." Pepper said as she was fighting sleep.
"So what?" Tony asked, brushing her hair off her face.
"Lost. I couldn't remember any of this stuff until ….." Pepper was drifting again.
Tony was going to let her be and she popped up again.
"It's like me now erased who Pepper was back then and I don't like it," she said as tears spilled out of her eyes.
"It's ok. Who you are now is wonderful," Tony said trying to comfort her.
"I could have had Brad Stevens, I could have toured with my band. I could have a life but I freaked out and left everyone without explanation. I love my life now and I don't want to remember what could have been," she said sadly.
Tony wasn't sure of the words to say.
"Do you know what I did last weekend?" she said getting close to his face.
"What?" he asked.
He knew this was clearly the alcohol making her spill her emotions.
"I had sex with Amanda. I'm totally losing it," she said, grabbing at his jacket roughly.
Tony's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"There is nothing wrong with that if you're into that sort of thing but honestly Pepper I just think you need sleep and you'll feel better in the morning," Tony said trying to calm his mind of sexy images of Amanda and Pepper.
"Wait come here," she said, pulling his face close to hers.
"What is it?"
"I love…" she said and her eyes were slipping for a moment.
Tony's heart was beating so fast waiting for her to finish.
"Your face," she said as she grabbed it between her hands and kissed his cheek.
"Goodnight Pep," he said as he kissed her head and Pepper was out cold a minute later.
Tony grabbed an unused pillow and undressed down to his boxer briefs and decided to sleep in the chair. He closed his eyes but so many things were going through his mind that he knew he wasn't going to be able to sleep.