Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
( APOGEE AWARDS AND LOUBOUTINS )
JIM HAD INVITED HER TO THE APOGEE AWARDS AS INCENTIVE TO GET TONY TO ACTUALLY SHOW UP. It was Obadiah that showed up at her door when it was time to go. She was in the dress Pepper had sent over, some beautiful creation with a plunging neckline, spaghetti straps, a small flare to the skirt at the bottom, and a gorgeous design of a rose stitched to the black and white polka dotted fabric. The heels she was wearing, the pair of Follies Strass that had a sticky note saying "love, tony" in engineer handwriting, were gorgeous. Cherry had been scared to look at the price on the website, which made Cherry almost gag when she saw the whopping $1445 dollar price tag.
Tony had been taught to buy people expensive things to make them love him from an early age. Cherry still felt terrible about the fight they had had, had tried to call Tony on multiple occasions to only talk to Pepper, telling Cherry that Tony was busy with a sympathetic voice. On a night where they had grabbed take out and went to Pepper's apartment, Pepper had told her that Tony was scared he was gonna do something wrong again, say the wrong thing, and start another fight with Cherry. Which, that could happen, but Cherry was gonna stiffen her upper lip no matter what he said to her this time. She had to show him she cared about him, no matter what nasty thing he tried to use to push her away. And if she had to accept the 1500 dollar shoes, even though she didn't want to, this could be the first step in proving it.
But seeing Obadiah's looming for in the doorway of her hotel room sent her stomach to her feet. She had hoped that it would be Tony, or even Jim, but to see the older men made her wish she had declined Jim's invitation. Of course, Obadiah was going to be there. Of course.
"Mr. Stane," Cherry put on a fake smile, making sure to check in her clutch for her hotel room key and everything she would need so that she didn't have to see the shark-like smile on the man's face, "I wasn't expecting you."
"Rhodes had to run ahead and sort some things out with the Awards ceremony, so he asked if I could swing by and grab you," was the reply Obadiah said, which made Cherry's smile seem to tighten on her face. It was a lie. Jim knew how uncomfortable Obadiah made her feel, had seen it in the way she stood and acted around him. He would have called or texted, asked if there was somewhere Obadiah could have met her to pick her up.
"Well," she said, trying to hide behind the mask of professionalism she put on whenever Obadiah asked her something a little too personal. "That's really nice of you, Mr. Stane."
"Please, call me Obadiah," Obadiah said as Cherry took a step out of her door and made sure to lock it. She took the time facing her door to compose herself, before she was turning around and getting led by Obadiah with a hand on the small of her back. It was nothing like when Tony did it. The warmth of Tony's hand always felt reassuring, an anchor in the crazy world of celebrity was, grounding her from the camera flashes and shouted questions. Obadiah's hand made it feel like bugs were creeping all over her skin and she wanted to swat him away from her.
