Sorry it's so short, but the next chapter is where the action starts and it'll be a bit longer, and also a bit sexier ;)

Tony felt like a bit of an ass the next morning. He'd basically thrown a tantrum because Pepper was dating someone else other than him. Did he expect her to stay single? No, but he sure as hell hadn't thought she'd find someone else so quickly. Maybe it was him. He shook his head free of the thought as he walked into the office, bidding good morning to the receptionist and other staff. They were friends, she'd said that herself, and so what if she wasn't attracted to him, he was lucky to have her in his life.

As long as he didn't screw it up.

The first person he saw when he entered the HR department was Daniel, leaning against Alex's desk and chatting to her. Tony walked straight up to them both and smiled.

"Alex, how's it going?" he asked, not waiting for an answer before turning to Daniel. "I need a word, Mr Dowling, care to join me in Steve's office?"

"Um, sure." Daniel agreed nervously, following him.

Tony led Daniel into Steve's office, closing the door behind them and leaning against the only desk in the room. "You look nervous, Dan." Tony said, pleased that the other man clearly found him intimidating. "Something on your mind?"

Daniel swallowed and straightened himself up a little. "Well, I don't know if you've heard, but Pepper and I are dating. I assume that's why you've brought me in here? To tell me off or something?"

Raising an eyebrow, Tony smiled. "You think that's something I'd do?"

"I don't really care, sir." Daniel said firmly. "We're all grownups, Pepper can make her own decisions and so can I, and that decision is that we're dating."

Tony sighed and looked away for a moment before stepping forwards, towards Daniel. "I actually brought you in here to discuss Steve." He said. "Folan got an email from him yesterday to say he was extending his leave for the next six months, so while he's flourishing you with instructions, you'll be standing in for him. Think that's something you can do?"

Daniel's jaw dropped and he spluttered for a moment. "Mr Stark that's…that's amazing, thank you!" he grinned, delighted.

"Great." Tony said, now standing in front of him. "Now, about Pepper." His face became deadly serious and he stared Daniel right in the eye. "If I even get so much as a whiff of something about you, regarding Pepper or anything else, you are done, understand me? She's a friend, she's important to me, and I don't want to see her hurt." He'd reduced the other man back to a bundle of nervous energy again and Daniel simply nodded, swallowing. "Great." Tony said again, stepping back a little and holding his hand out to shake Daniel's. "Congratulations on your promotion, if only temporarily. Steve must have great faith in you."

Daniel nodded quickly and straightened his suit as Tony stepped back. "I won't disappoint either of you, sir. Thank you again."

"No sweat." Tony said with a sweet smile. "Enjoy the office." And with that he walked out and headed towards Pepper's own office, leaving a seething Daniel behind.

"Fucking asshole." He muttered, heading to Steve's computer and logging in. An email was waiting from his real boss, giving him further instructions, to which he quickly replied with the good news that Tony had bought his story about Steve not returning. "It's only a matter of time, Tony." Daniel sighed to himself.

"Knock knock." Tony called out as he opened the door to Pepper's office, smiling at her and waving a 'white flag' made from a piece of paper with a pencil punched through it. "I come in peace."

Pepper sighed but smiled back at him. "Well you'd better come in then." She said, laying down her pen. Tony did so, sauntering over to the chair in front of her desk and plonking himself into it.

"I was an ass yesterday." He said. "And yes, maybe a little jealous, but I realise now I shouldn't have thrown a tantrum, so…I'm sorry." He tilted his head. "Forgive me?"

Rolling her eyes, Pepper nodded and reached over to grab the peace flag he'd made. "Seeing as you went to so much effort, I guess I can forgive you."

Tony grinned widely. "Fantastic. And you can let me make it up to you, there's an event I need to go to next Thursday, and I haven't got a…companion." He'd nearly said the word 'date', which under the circumstances probably wasn't the best word to use. "And if I turn up stag, they'll think there's something wrong with me."

Pepper chuckled at this and bit her lip. "I'm sure I can managed to squeeze it in to my hectic schedule." She conceded. "Which reminds me!" she reached over to a stack of paperwork to her right and handed it to Tony. "These are the candidates for the internship that you're offering. I want you to look through them and pick ten."

Gawking at the stack of papers, Tony shook his head. "There's gotta be over a hundred candidates here." He said, flicking through. "Wait, I thought this was the kind of think assistants took care of?"

"Tony, nearly a thousand people applied for the position." Pepper chuckled. "Apparently you're a popular guy to want to work for. Alex and I spent the last two days trimming it down."

Tony grumbled a little and stood up, looking like a child who'd just been told to go to his room. "Now it feels like you should be making this up to me, not the other way around." He winked at her with a smile and then headed to the adjoining door to his office, leaving Pepper rolling her eyes at him.

The weeks passed quickly, and soon Pepper had reached her six month anniversary, both with Stark Enterprises and with Daniel, and to be frank she was only really happy about one of them. Daniel was lovely, but there were times when she wondered why she'd ever agreed to even date him. He was handsome and kind, sure, but also secretive. Many a time she'd catch him on a phone call, which he'd then proceed to hang up, claiming it was Steve and that he couldn't talk about it. She'd wondered briefly if he was cheating on her, but the sheer amount of time he spent with her disproved that. There was barely a moment where he wasn't with her, at work or at home, he'd practically moved into her apartment and was always visiting her office – surely with his new position he should have so much free time – to the point where she felt smothered.

"This isn't working." She said to him one day after he'd popped by her office for the fourth time, this time with a basket of muffins for her.

"What?" he asked, halfway through unwrapping a muffin.

"Us." She clarified, wincing a little when he looked up at her with a wounded expression. "Look, Daniel, the last six months have been great, but…I need a little space. You're a very loving person, and maybe if my life wasn't so hectic this would have been what I needed, but…I'm sorry."

Daniel's mind was whirring. They were so close to finishing the plan, and she was wrecking it. "But…we were going to go away. Paris, remember? I booked the tickets."

Pepper smiled sadly. "I'll pay you back, I'm really sorry Daniel." She reached out for his hand.

"No, no don't do that." He mumbled, pulling his hand away. "Um…it's fine. Honestly. I get it." He stood up and dropped his half eaten muffin back into the basket. "I guess I'll see you around then." And with that he walked out of her office, heading straight for his own and pulling out his phone.

"You better have some good news for me." The voice on the other end of the phone spat. "This is taking way too long."

Daniel winced and locked his office door. "Not really. I kinda fucked it up."

The voice was silent for a moment but when it did speak, the restraint was evident. "What exactly does that mean?"

"Well, she kind of dumped me. Dumped Daniel I mean." He replied, chewing his lip. "But I can fix it boss, you just need to give me a few more days, and I need to get out of this office."

He could hear the other man breathing deeply down the phone. "Okay, fine. Put phase two in motion, and my God, Shaun, if you fuck this up, you'll wish you hadn't." and with a loud click, the line went dead.

Shaun stowed his phone away and sighed heavily. "Phase two it is."