There Goes My Life

Chapter 11

Tony was overjoyed that it was Thursday and he'd be able to see his sweet Pepper again. He was literally standing in the doorway waiting for her to walk through the door with balloons and flowers and a giant "Welcome Back" banner. He heard the door click open and Pepper walked in. She was surprised. He snapped a quick pic so to capture the moment.

"Tony this is too much" Pepper said as she took the flowers and balloons from him.

He got down in his knees and literally was kissing the ground.

"Has it really been that bad without me?"she asked as she went into the kitchen to put the flowers in water.

"She's out of control. She cut school and stole my car. She drove all the way to the mall in Beverly Hills and got her nipples pierced. She's on lockdown. She can't access anything without my override codes" Tony seemed to say all in one breath.

"Oh my God Tony" she said.

"So that's what I want to talk to you about" Tony said.

"What?"she asked.

"I need you here" he said.

"I am here. I'm back from vacation" she said.

"No I mean everyday. I need you Pep. I want you to move in. I've already called a contractor to give you your own wing" Tony said.

Pepper was taken aback by his words. She felt a wave of emotions hit her. This would be a serious move and she just wasn't sure.

"Tony I don't think that's a good idea. I can't be around you that much. We work together and now seeing each other round the clock is just too much. I can't" she said.

"Pep I'll triple your salary" he said with the eyes of a desperate man.

"Tony I can't" she said.

"I can't get through to her. I can't do this by myself and I don't have anyone but you" he said.

"I can help you out for awhile but this has to be temporary. Once she settles in and you guys get into a groove I'm going home. This is not healthy. I need my own life" she said.

"You don't know how much that means to me" he said pulling her in and hugging her tighter than usual.

They never really hugged before the MIT reunion and now it's becoming a thing.

Pepper couldn't believe what she had just agreed to. She was so shocked that she hardly noticed the mess in the kitchen. She sat there for a moment and flipped through the stack of papers waiting for her while her laptop was firing up.

"If I didn't tell you before Pep you look gorgeous.Vacation suits you" he said.

Pepper felt herself blush like she always did when Tony complimented her.

"Thank you" she said quietly.

Tony was downstairs scanning the picture Pepper sent him of her in a bikini onto his private server when he heard her typing in his code. He quickly swiped the computer away and turned to face her.

"I need your initials on these" she said holding a form and a pen. Much to her surprise he was already dressed for his meeting.

"You're dressed already. You're not going to get ready five minutes before the meeting starts and stress me out.? And you tied your own tie. I'm very impressed Mr. Stark" she said.

"Can you just go upstairs and get my cufflinks and then we can head out? They are on the nightstand. I forgot to grab them" he asked.

"I'll meet you by the front door" she said.

She went up to Tony's room and it smelled just like his cologne. He often liked to bathe in it before meetings and she realized how much she missed that smell. She went over to the nightstand and the cuff links were right where he said they'd be and then she noticed a picture on his nightstand. She picked it up and it was a photo of the two of them from the MIT reunion. She felt a flutter in her stomach and put the frame back where it was. She had so many things going through her brain. Tony gave her butterflies and it was starting to get out of hand.

"You ready?" he asked from the bottom of the stairs.

"Yeah come on" she said as she hurried to catch up with him.

Pepper was leaning back in her chair trying to stay awake through this meeting since she knew Tony wasn't paying attention. And then he surprised her. He stood up to speak. He actually knew what the meeting was about. She leaned back to relax again when Tony turned his wrist up and something on his phone caught her eye. It was Tony's phone screen. He put the picture she sent him of her in a bikini as the lock screen background. If she could see it so clearly then she knew everyone else could see it. Some of them looked at the screen and looked at her. She felt her eyes on her and refused to look up. She felt her face getting redder and redder.

"Excuse me" she said as she grabbed her bag and hurried out of the office.