Glass Heart

Despite Pepper’s disgust, Tony didn’t turn away from the feed on his phone. What was Scarlett’s story? Why had she told Pepper her name but not him? She’d made it very clear that she was nowhere near his biggest fan but why? Was it all an act? Maybe she was suffering from post traumatic stress after what happened to her in the MedCo building. Could her way of dealing with it be to take out her rage on Tony? If that were the case Tony was sure he could offer her some ideas for stress relief that didn’t involve bashing his ego so much. In fact, they would do quite the opposite.

Deciding he’d given her ample time to get changed and cleaned up, Tony put his phone away and started down the stairs to his lab. The door opened automatically for him, no identification required.

“You know Scarlett,” Tony began as he observed Scarlett in the slimming black dress that had been borrowed from Pepper. It was a drastic improvement from the tattered jeans and scalded tank top. “You really could be a model. If you’d like I could contact some people in the business. Help you break into the industry.” Scarlett turned and cocked an eyebrow in annoyance, resting her hand on her hip. Before she could object, Tony held up his hand to stop her. “Don’t thank me. That’s just the kind of guy I am.” Smirk on his face with his head held high he seemed to brag that he’d discovered her name.

“Oh get that smug look off your face, Stark.” Scarlett could feel the air of superiority hanging over him as he’d walked into the room. It was annoying. He was far more calculated than he alluded to. She was a little disappointed that he hadn’t discovered her ploy. “I introduced myself to Pepper knowing that she’d pass along the information. If I didn’t want you to know my name then you wouldn’t.”

“So you wanted me to know then, hmm? Scarlett’s a sexy name… like the color… you know, of lust, right? I’m pretty familiar with that.” Tony sauntered over slowly, giving her the once over for more reasons than just the obvious.

“I weighed my options and didn’t see the point of anonymity.”

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier then?”

“Honestly, you wanted it so badly I couldn’t help but resist.[a name="here"][/a]” Scarlett brushed his arrogance off. Tony decided he was done playing games with this woman, at least for the time being.

“What were you doing in Africa, Scarlett? Now, that’s something I know you don’t want to tell me. And don’t bother saying you’re holding out just to grind on my nerves. I’m sure it’s fun and all but you were up to something out there. Something you don’t want me to know. You may not know this about me but I’m not exactly the picture of patience.”

“No, really? Wow! You’re impatient? Come on, Stark. The whole world knows that.”

“You do know that my name is Tony, right?” Tony pursed his lips in thought. “I did tell you that, didn’t I? Oh that’s right. I did. Then you promptly shoved it in my face just how amazingly powerful and famous I am… Told me I didn’t need an introduction.”

“Is that really how you choose to spin this?”

“Are you going to call me Tony? They call me Stark at business meetings. Hell, even the paparazzi call me Tony. Stark seems so… cold.”

“Who cares what I call you? I thought you wanted to know what I was doing in Africa!” Scarlett had become weary when left alone. Whatever medicine she’d been given was upsetting her stomach. On top of that gravity didn’t agree with her wounds. All Scarlett really wanted was to take a nice hot shower and eat a big juicy steak… or some crackers. Instead she would have to ward off Tony Stark’s sass and his half-assed advances.

“That is what I want but you’ve made it pretty clear you’re too scared to talk about it.”

“I’m not afraid to talk about anything. It’s not your business, is all. Trust me. That little thing in the desert was far from the worst thing I’ve dealt with, Stark.”

“Tony.”

“I appreciate that you pulled me out of the sands of Africa and took care of my wounds.” Scarlett began on what promised to be a good speech but Tony interrupted. She wondered if he ever stopped talking. No one loved the sound of their own voice that much, right?

“Really? You appreciate it? Because you have been so unbelievably grateful so far.”

“Is this not pleasant enough for you, Stark? I could be far less pleasant.” Scarlett curled her lip in annoyance. Maybe she couldn’t keep up this façade after all. Revenge might not be worth pretending to like Tony Stark. Tony deserved punishment for his wrongdoings but why did she have to wait? She could break his pretty nose right now instead. It was incredibly tempting but Scarlett knew it wasn’t punishment enough.

“Oh, is that so? Now that I think about it, I bet you could be quite the naughty girl.”

“Touch me and I’ll be the first girl to break your arm.”

“You keep threatening me but not taking action. I’m thinking you’re all talk. You know, I think all this… this resentment you have built up toward me could be best put toward something more constructive.”

“You’re disgusting.”

“Actually… No, okay so that’s mostly true.” Tony didn’t smirk nor did he look amused. While they were bickering about stupid things he very much wanted to know what had happened in Africa. Tony very much didn’t like being completely serious about anything. It bored him.

“It’s killing you, isn’t it?”

“What’s killing me? You’re being really vague and my mind tends to wander…”

“You have no idea what happened in Africa and it’s driving you crazy.” Scarlett stepped toward him, chin held high. Tony was taller than her by a few inches but she somehow found a way to look down at him. “All this hitting on me and the bad jokes… that’s all just how you cope with what’s beyond your control.”

“It’s not killing me but I don’t like it very much.” Tony didn’t back down even if Scarlett seemed suddenly intimidating. “What happened down there that made you so ashamed you can’t talk about it?”

“Oh, ashamed? Really? Because I won’t spill my guts to you, Stark, I must be ashamed. I’m just some more helpless woman who can’t deal with the trauma!”

“Tony.” He would correct her until she got it right. Why would she keep doing it? Was she really that nervous to get to know him? He wasn’t such a bad guy, deep down. Though he was admittedly a little biased in his opinion of himself.

“You play dumb surprisingly well,” Scarlett began, challenging him with her eyes. She kept insulting him partially wondering how long it would take to break his calm exterior. What was his threshold for pain? “I wonder, is it all an act? Or are you really just that thick headed?”

“Oh, I’m thick alright.”

“You’re a pig.”

“Probably.”

“Look, if you’re that bothered that a complete stranger isn’t sharing private information that’s your problem. If I’m not worthy of any form of trust to even be in this grand mansion of yours then I am more than happy to leave.” Scarlett had grown weary of dancing with Tony. There had to be a better way than sleeping in the lion’s den. One that didn’t involve being nice to someone so reprehensible and disgusting. Then again, she hadn’t tried very hard to be that nice anyway. Why couldn’t she? Scarlett had always been an excellent actress. Was there any chance she enjoyed arguing with him? No. There was no chance that she was enjoying their little back and forth.

Or maybe she was. Just a little.

Tony stepped closer, considering her offer. Scarlett had been nothing but awful to him since she’d woken up. Realistically she had no reason to be nice to him either. He had taken her captive and his reputation, toward women in particular, was less than sparkling. Maybe with time he could get her to warm up to him. Or he’d push her too far and she really would hurt him. Tony hated that he had to argue with this woman he barely knew about every word out of his mouth. However, she wasn’t boring.

Scarlett was far from boring.

Most women, even the ones who didn’t like him, gave into his charm relatively quickly. It had taken him an hour to learn Scarlett’s name and only because she’d told Pepper. An hour was a long time for Tony to wait for anything. Yet he’d waited, not patiently, but instead he’d been champing at the bit. Did his fears of what she was capable outweigh his interest in her? That was the big question. How long would it take Tony to get bored?

“No,” Finally Tony exhaled. “That won’t be necessary. I will warn you though. I’m going to find out what you were doing when I found you with or without your help. Unless you want to make this easy on me and just tell me.”

“Good luck with that.” Scarlett hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath while waiting for his response until she spoke and finally. Why did he keep asking her what she was doing in Africa anyway? Shouldn’t he know? At least to some extent? Was he testing her to see how much she knew about his involvement? Had MedCo hired her without letting him know? If the company had been funded by Stark Industries then it was possible that he didn’t want to know much about what was happening. The less there was to tie Tony to MedCo the better, legally speaking. It was a smart move, Scarlett would admit. If he knew about MedCo why wouldn’t he just say it? There were no secrets on that front. Or were there?

Scarlett guessed it was part of his charm.

He wanted to know what she’d been working on and how important her contract was. If she told him the truth, what she’d been working on one of two things would happen. Either he’d hold her to MedCo’s contract or he’d decide she wasn’t important enough to worry about. It could be easy to tell him she’d been held as leverage for someone else’s contract. She could play to her good looks and Tony’s libido and sneak under the radar. Hell, he’d probably even pay her off if she played her cards right. There wouldn’t be any satisfaction in lying though. No, it would be too easy to disappear.

Instead, Scarlett decided she would continue with her initial plan. If Tony was willing to put up with her attitude then she was willing to put up with his. Besides, something nagged at her in the back of her mind about Tony. The whole situation felt off.

“I’m not much of a guy for luck but I’ll take it from you.” Tony smirked, shoving his hands in his pockets only for a second before wiping them on his pants. It was then that Scarlett realized how close he’d come to her. Only a foot or two remained between them. Scarlett intrigued him. He could see the gears turning behind her mischievous blue eyes. Every word, every move was calculated and he wanted to know why.

“Answer me one thing, Stark.”

“Just hold on.” Tony held his hands up to silence her then grabbed her shoulders and looked seriously into her eyes. He stared for a long moment. “I think your concussion is much worse than I anticipated. It seems you’re suffering some kind of memory loss. My name is Tony. Stark was my father.”

“No, that was Howard.” Scarlett spoke slowly, as if to a small child.

“Wait, so you’d call him by his first name but not me? What gives?” Tony looked absolutely devastated.

“Are you finished?” Scarlett sighed and Tony nodded. “Just tell me one thing. Why are you letting me stay here when I have been less than cooperative? I’ve been trying to get a rise out of you since you walked in. It’s working but you’re still not kicking me out.” Scarlett chose to ignore his objections. There was no real reason why she shouldn’t call him by his first name. Well, there was, but Scarlett wasn’t dwelling on it too hard. Tony was momentarily lost in thought. Maybe if he was a bit more honest with Scarlett she’d be more honest with him. It couldn’t hurt to show a few of his cards.

“That facility I saved you from? It was run by this group. I like to call them terrorists but apparently I’m not allowed to make that call. MedCo, that’s their name. Corny, right? I don’t know what they were up to down there but I know it was nothing good. I’ve been tracking them down for months, trying to stomp them out. Each time I get close? They disappear. I thought they were some half-assed eco-terrorists at first but I’m beginning to think they’re much more than that. I received a tip about that facility and headed out immediately. You know what happened when I got there.” Tony knew he’d had to make a choice. It was either get Scarlett to safety or scour the area for any other signs of MedCo. There was no real choice. He wouldn’t let her die and she would have. For some reason, Tony resisted telling her that. “After I got you back here they’d disappeared. There’s no record a building even existed out there. The newspaper blamed all the destruction nearby to a bad storm.”

Scarlett was struck still. There had been a pause in his story. Maybe he’d taken the time to come up with a clever tale to tug on her heartstrings. That had been a very clever story in that case. It fight right into the new persona he’d been playing in the press after he’d become Iron Man. But Scarlett couldn’t fall for stories. Nothing short of concrete proof would convince Scarlett that Tony Stark had become a humanitarian.

“I think you knew who they were. I think you know how dangerous they were,” Tony spoke again when Scarlett stayed silent. “You’re the only proof I have left of their existence. You are the only lead.”

“What if I don’t know anything? What if you’re wasting your time?” Scarlett spoke carefully. Tony smiled simply. He’d never regret saving someone’s life.

“Well, then I’m wrong. But right now you’re here because I think you know a lot more than you’re letting on. And I’m rarely ever wrong.”

“That’s shocking. I thought for sure I was only still here because you wanted to bed me.” Scarlett turned her back to him considering his story. She hadn’t expected Tony Stark to be such a convincing liar. The fact that he hadn’t been able to keep his Iron Man persona under wraps for more than a week had led her to believe that he had no idea how to keep a secret. What was real and what was not? Unfortunately, Scarlett had no way to tell other than to find evidence. There was no way she was going to take his word face value on anything.

“I’m not that man anymore. I don’t run around at parties picking up women to have a good time with… Well okay, I do. But I rarely bring them home anymore! And I most definitely do not let them sleep in my office.” Tony decided that the air had become too serious for his tastes and grinned. He’d been relieved when Scarlett had taken another dig at him. Perhaps that was just her sense of humor. It was a bit harsh but Tony found it amusing. He had always made a habit of never taking things too seriously, especially himself. “But if that was an offer I’m all over it. I’m only human and you… well you are breath taking, even when you’re all disheveled…” Tony waited for a response, unsure if he’d crossed a line or not. He partially expected to be smacked.

In a weird way it seemed flattering to be complimented so much but Scarlett thought Tony wasn’t so picky when it came to women. He’d always had the most beautiful women on his arm at public events which led her to believe otherwise. While she didn’t doubt that he’d be willing to jump anything with a pulse, she still decided it had been a flattering comment. It was really a shame that he’d had such a terrible reputation and had done such awful things, otherwise Scarlett would’ve been really enjoying the challenge he posed. Tony was insulting. He was an arrogant pig.

“You couldn’t handle me, Stark.” Scarlett turned to face Tony who hadn’t moved and was now tugging at the burned and ruined jeans she’d left folded up on top of the table. Apparently he wasn’t very good at keeping his hands still. Tony smirked and narrowed his eyes.

“Is that a challenge? And it’s Tony.”

“I’m not going to tell you about Africa. My business is my own. As far as I’m concerned you don’t need to know. You shouldn’t be sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. If this MedCo was up to no good then you have no right to stop them, do you? You’re not the UN and you’re not a member of any national organization. You’re nothing more than a vigilante.”

“That’s your opinion.”

“No, that’s the definition of vigilante actually. And it’s the law.” Scarlett sneered.

“If you’re not going to tell me then I’ll have to either convince you. Or I’ll keep digging.” Tony knew that this was his business even if she didn’t agree with him. He could’ve told her why he was so dead set on finding out what MedCo was up to but that would be showing his entire hand and it was always best to play his cards close to his chest.

“Well, you really are going to need that luck Stark. I’m pretty confident that whole with thing isn’t going to pan out. Mostly because, you know, in order to woo someone with wit you must first possess it.”

“Ouch.” Tony placed a hand to his chest and dramatically pretended he’d been stabbed. “Harsh, aren’t you? Well, think of it as a challenge. And it’s Tony.”

“Haven’t you realized I don’t care about your name?”

“Yes, but I do so…” Tony drifted off, waving his hand in a circular motion. “So since you’re not going to help me figure out what’s going on with MedCo how would you feel about working for me?”

“What?” Scarlett’s mouth hung open. While Tony hadn’t initially planned on offering her a job he was nervous she was searching for an exit strategy. Perhaps that’s why she’d been so confrontational. She wanted him to kick her out. Maybe if he made it worth to stick around she wouldn’t be trying so hard.

“You’re obviously good at what you do, Scarlett. And I could use your insight on the Arc Reactor project.”

“You realize that I’m giving you the cold shoulder, right? I told you exactly what I think about you and your stupid company. I even told you where to shove your ego and yet you’re offering me a job?” Scarlett was in awe that he could be so arrogant! Why should she accept a job with the company she was so morally against? Did he expect her to do all the work on his energy project just so Tony stark could be hailed as a savior in the newspapers? Not a chance in hell.

“Come on, you were practically working for me when you picked up my amplifier anyway! I’d hire you as a private contractor so it’s not even a permanent obligation. You won’t be tied down! Well, unless you like to be tied down and in that case I would be all over that.” Tony spoke between amused chuckles.

“Oh no, no way… First of all I was not working for you in any capacity. I was telling you what an idiot you were for thinking you should amplify such massive power. I was correcting your mistakes, Stark! And if you think that I’m going to work for the company responsible for more bloodshed in other countries than the atomic bomb then you are out of your mind. While you may have fooled most of the world with your talk of peace and change some of us see what Stark Industries really is. Do you have any idea the damage that you’ve done? You are single handedly responsible for multiple genocides, Stark! I swore long ago I’d never work for your company. And I most certainly am not going to work for someone I’m just as smart as and definitely not someone who is a bigger asshole than I am. Trust me, that’s a hard title to get!”

“Whoa! Hey… hey that’s crossing a few lines. I know what this company was. I know that there was a lot going on that people didn’t know, that I didn’t know! I didn’t know where half of my weapons were…”

“Oh, don’t feign innocence! You knew exactly what was going on and you chose to ignore it because you didn’t think it was your responsibility until you almost died in the process. Ignoring it is just as bad as doing it.”

“First of all, my name is Tony and I am not my father and I never will be. He was cold and calculating and while he had good intentions he didn’t make an effort to put a stop to the wicked things that became of his work in the end. He and his partner were pulling the strings in Stark Industries before I had anything to do with it.”

“And when it continued you turned a blind eye!”

“Yes, I was an asshole but that was before…”

“Before you got a taste of what your weapons can do first hand!” Scarlett tapped the reactor on his chest and he immediately batted her hand away in frustration. She was admittedly still curious to why that thing sat in his chest. What damage had been done that he needed something so drastic to keep him alive? If it wasn’t a necessity, Scarlett was sure it wouldn’t be there.

“Yes and no but if you’d stop interrupting me…”

“Why? You have interrupted me at every opportunity!”

“That’s because…”

“I’m sure there’s a good reason or you wouldn’t be doing it, huh? Surely what Tony Stark has to say is more important than anything!”

“I didn’t say that but you’re not…”

“Oh, come off it.”

“Excuse me.” Scarlett and Tony turned toward the door to see that Pepper Potts had, once again, managed to sneak into the lab while they were arguing.

“What Pepper?” Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. Scarlett was relieved that she had a chance to calm down. At the same moment she had enjoyed every second of frustrating Tony Stark. Where did he get the nerve to offer her a job? She’d made it perfectly clear what she thought of him and his work! Did he have no idea the impact of what his legacy was? She’d seen the damage Stark technology had done over the years. Nothing could erase those dark images from her mind. There was no way she could work for him. It was insulting that he’d thought she’d been working for him when she’d offered an alternative solution to his reactor project! Tony may have been the wonder boy of his generation but he was most definitely not the most brilliant man Scarlett had ever met. His superiority complex, inability to cooperate, and addictive behaviors made him fall short in comparison even to her intellect.

“The guest room is finished. I changed the sheets and made sure everything was clean.” Pepper wasn’t sure if she should’ve interrupted but had grown considerably nervous when she’d seen how aggressive they’d become. As much as she enjoyed watching someone challenge Tony, Scarlett had given her a bad feeling. There was something far more intricate going on than Tony was letting her in on.

Tony and Scarlett exchanged glances and wondered why this was important enough to stop their argument.

“The shower is clean and I left some catalogues on the dresser so that you could choose some clothing that can be delivered as quickly as possible,” Pepper clarified when it seemed that neither genius in the room had made the simple connection.

“Oh, thank you,” Scarlett sighed. Tony looked truly disappointed that they had finished fighting for the moment which confused the hell out of Scarlett. How the hell could he be enjoying this? She’d insulted him more in the last ten minutes than she had since she’d woken up and he was finding pleasure in it. At the same time, he was visibly irritated and his temper had finally shortened. It was nice to know Tony could lose his cool. “Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to go upstairs and get cleaned up.”

“Actually I do mind,” Tony objected as Scarlett walked past him but made no effort to stop her either.

“I’m going anyway.”

“You’re going to have to wrap your leg again and reapply the topical medicine you know!” Tony said shortly, tilting his head up so he could get a better view of her walking away.

“Fine, I’ll do it myself.”

“Like hell you will. Consider the offer I made! It is a good job! Once in a lifetime opportunity that you’re…” Before he could continue objecting, Scarlett had walked out of the room. Pepper stared at Tony in awe, waiting for an explanation. “Aren’t you going to go with her? She could go anywhere.”

“Jarvis offered to show her the way.”

“I’ll be damned if he has a crush on her. Jarvis, do you have a crush on her?”

“I am not programmed to feel such things, sir.”

“He has a crush on her.” Tony clarified for Pepper.

“What was that, Tony?” Pepper furrowed her brow and stepped cautiously closer.

“What was what?” Tony walked back to his desk and flipped his computer screens back to life. He snapped his fingers and various databases jumped to life. The last time he’d been down there he’d been trying to track down the source of the tip he’d received.

“What was what? Tony, what was all that yelling about? Those horrible things she said…”

“She wasn’t wrong about a lot of it, Pepper.” Tony shrugged his shoulders, typing away on his keyboard before he’d even sat down.

“You’re not the awful man…”

“Oh, don’t defend me. I know what I was,” Tony shook his head. Silence followed until Pepper realized Tony had nothing to follow up with.

“You’re in over your head. She’s trouble.”

“I thought you liked her.”

“I think it’s great that she’s putting you in your place about all the… man whore stuff but, Tony she’s dangerous. I have a bad feeling.”

“Oh come on, a bad feeling? And man whore? Really?” Tony scoffed, spinning in his chair and contemplating what to do with the precarious situation he’d gotten himself into. He was having more fun than he’d had in years.

“She was so angry with you, Tony. There’s some deeper wound there. No one gets that upset over someone’s reputation alone.”

“Yeah, but she won’t tell me that yet,” Tony muttered. “There’s something wrong with this whole thing. I’m going to get to the bottom of it before she runs out of here.”

“I think you’d be better off if she left.”

“I need her to stay. She’s the only link I have to MedCo. I couldn’t let her leave if I wanted to, but you’re right.” Tony held up his hand to stifle Pepper’s immediate objections. “I can’t keep her hostage either. I know kidnapping is a crime you don’t have to keep reminding me. I have to make her thing she’s free to go. I need to make staying more tempting than leaving.”

“From the sound of it, I don’t think that’s going very well, Tony.” Pepper smiled a bit, relieved that Tony was thinking past his libido. At least he saw that there was much more mystery within Scarlett than she’d anticipated.

“I offered her a job.”

“You know that actually explains almost the whole argument.” Pepper laughed, feeling relief flood through her. “I must have walked in after you offered it. All I heard was her yelling about what a terrible company you have.”

“She wasn’t exactly yelling…”

“She was definitely yelling.”

“No, she was just passionate. Which is way sexier.”

“Do you ever stop?”

“When I do I hope you’ll ask what’s wrong with me.” Tony smirked and turned his attention away from the computer and instead cracked his knuckles then tapped his fingers against his jeans.

“I suppose you’re right about that. So, how do you plan on getting her to work for you if she can’t stand you or your company? Obviously you rubbed her the wrong way even suggesting it.”

“I would love to rub her the wrong way, Pepper.”

“Tony.” Pepper threatened, trying to keep him on point.

“You left that one wide open, Pepper! What was I supposed to do? Just leave it alone? You should stop giving me these opportunities if it bothers you so much! Sometimes I think that you set it up for me.”

“Tony, please! We can barely carry a conversation since she got here.” Pepper laughed. It was true. Ever since he’d brought the mysterious woman home he’d been cracking jokes every chance he’d gotten.

“Fine, fine… I don’t know what I’m going to do yet. She’s got me at a loss. I thought offering her a job would be the way to go but now she’s all offended. Something about working for the devil or something like that…” Tony summarized.

“So you offered her a job here at Stark Industries? Well… maybe she doesn’t want to work for you.”

“That’s not really helping me, Pepper. It’s the only card I have to play.”

“You’re missing my point, Tony.” Pepper smiled softly. “Sometimes you get so caught up in the little details that you miss the obvious ones.”

“Am I? Enlighten me.”

“What if you offered that she work with you instead of for you?”

“What like a partnership? No way.” Tony cringed at the notion and continued typing on his holographic keyboard. With a snap of his fingers holographic set of files appearing, replacing the earlier data.

“You offended her, Tony! Obviously she’s an asset to whatever it is you’re doing down here.” Pepper gestured toward the table that had the scorched scrap metal lying on top of it. “Instead you’re treating her like she’s some intern scraping for an opportunity.”

“She did have some really good ideas. Honestly, I haven’t had anyone school me like that in… well, not since school.”

“Well, then it sounds like you need to make her an offer she can’t refuse. Working for you when she’s got skills like that probably seemed insulting. If she worked with you though… as an equal…”

“But she’s not an equal.”

“Now you’re just being a jerk.” Pepper crossed her arms in annoyance. “She’s obviously talented and you are threatened.”

“Not threatened.” Tony stopped typing and pointed an accusing finger at his assistant. “I’m not threatened,” he repeated then thought about it. “Okay, a little threatened, but mostly just intrigued… and excited.”

“Sometimes you’re just gross, Tony.”

“That was all you this time, Potts!” Tony laughed, widening his eyes. “I definitely didn’t mean it like that.” Pepper’s cheeks turned pink and she shrugged.

“Call it spending too much time with you.”

“I will gladly take credit for that. That… That was good.” Tony laughed and relaxed momentarily in his chair before lazily scrolling through the files on his right.

“You need to give her something that’s going to feel like an opportunity Tony, not something that’s going to feel demeaning.”

“Working for me is an opportunity.”

“Not when she feels the way she does about your company. But if she worked with you, and not for you, then she might find it all very interesting.”

“I guess you could be right, Pepper. I might be able to sweeten the deal a bit.”

“That’s a good boy.” Pepper smiled triumphantly then groaned as Tony continued talking. He clearly wasn’t getting her point.

“Maybe if I offer to let her help me recreate the element for this new converter… that’s a pretty good opportunity.”

“I don’t think it’s going to matter as long as she’ll have you lording over her like you’re her boss.”

“But Pepper, I’m not good at sharing,” Tony whined dramatically. “Not to mention I’m not good at being second chair.”

“Well, I know that.”

“Besides, it’d mean handing over control to some… some woman.”

“Why is that such a big deal?” Pepper glared in offense. Tony stared, contemplating his answer carefully once he realized that he’d dug himself into a hole.

“Because… she’s too distracting to take orders from,” Tony pouted.

“Why is that?”

“Well…” Tony stuttered in frustration.

“You take orders from me every day.”

“…touché.” Tony laughed nervously. “I’ll consider it, okay? I can’t make any promises!”

“I think you don’t have much of a choice. After what I witnessed earlier she has one foot out the door already. If you want to get anything out of her, you’re going to have to become more appealing to her.”

“I know that, but she’s not as easy as all the other women I’ve dealt with.”

“Well, then maybe it’s time to try something a little different, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, maybe. Pepper, I need some time to think.” Tony grumbled. It wasn’t that women had never defied him. Of course they had. There was no one set type of woman and Tony knew that. It was partially what made him so good at tangling them in his web. Maybe he was the problem with this woman, not the other way around.

“Of course.” Pepper nodded. “I have a thousand and one things to do anyway. I’ll check in on you later.” She walked toward the door and left. Watching her go, Tony shook his head.

“Jeez, she makes me sound like I’m wasting her time.” Tony sighed and turned back to his computer. “Jarvis, search for information on Scarlett Damien, Let me know what you come up with. I’ve got to find some leverage.”

“Mrs. Potts had some valid points, sir. I think blackmail is probably not the best approach.”

“Yeah, but that’s my last resort for now, Jarvis.” Tony kicked his feet on top of the desk and grabbed his water bottle, watching as the computer scanned through various databases for information that may pertain to the woman that he’d found out in the desert. With any luck, Jarvis would find something.