The Devil With The Face of an Angel | Irondad, pepperony

Chapter 5

"Great job, guys. Keep it up," Tony praised the team and left the room. He had to go to work unexpectedly in the morning. It was necessary to check the production department and that had always been his job. The management of the company was nothing for him, he had Obie for that, but as soon as it was a technical matter, he always tried to be on all groundbreaking inventions.

Today, however, he was not very excited about visiting the company. It had been a week since the argument with Mary and he somehow couldn't let her words out of his head. Did he give her any reason to think that? He thought that the best thing now was to avoid Pepper. He didn't want Mary to be worried (though she had no reason to do so), and he didn't want their disagreement to touch Pepper in any way. She was always nice to him and Peter, and he didn't want her to suffer from any rumors.

"I told you. I will not buy any photos from you, and if they appear in public, count on another court. If you have forgotten this, you are prohibited from approaching our company or Mr. Stark's family," came a woman's voice, which Tony recognized immediately. Though he was surprised, he was frightened just by the tone of her voice. It didn't sound like Miss Potts he knew.

However, he had nowhere to escape, so as soon as she appeared from around the corner, their encounter was inevitable. Tony was trying to get rid of his nervousness, which he failed a little. An uncomfortable feeling settled over his body. As if someone was watching him.

"Tony! Without your mini copy this time?" Pepper asked as she spotted him. Tony was surprised at how quickly she changed her attitude. But he was really glad he was dealing with the nice Miss Potts.

"Yes, I needed to check a few products and you understand that labs are not a great place for toddlers," he replied, giving her a nervous smile. "You sounded angry on the phone..."

"It was just one idiot who didn't know when to stop," she said, and Tony realized what she was saying on the phone.

"And this guy... what was offering you exactly?"

"Photos as always. I don't understand that he's even trying with all the bans on his neck."

"Photos of whom?"

"Mostly you, Peter or your girlfriend," she replied hesitantly, examining him. Something about him seemed strange to her.

"But almost no photos appear in public. That's thanks to you?" he asked in surprise. He always thought he was very lucky. Instead, he had a guardian angel all the time.

"I'm just doing my job, Tony."

"Your work? You should leave this to the PR team, Pepper."

"I'm the PR team," she said misunderstood. Tony was probably really off today.

"What do you mean? I thought you were Stane's assistant."

"Only occasionally. Tony, are you all right? Forgive me, but you seem a little weird today," she said cautiously. Tony glanced around nervously, and when he found them alone in the hallway, he lowered his eyes to the ground with a sigh. He shouldn't tell her, but if she noticed?

"Do you remember how we met here last week?" he asked, still looking down.

You can't forget that, Pepper thought.

"Sure," she said simply. It wasn't a topic she wanted to talk about.

"Mary and I had a little fight at dinner. Apparently, she has some doubts about you and me," Tony eventually said, giving her a look to follow her reaction.

"Wait, she thinks there's something between us?" Pepper asked with a laugh, which surprised Tony. There was nothing funny about this situation!

"Why are you laughing?"

"I'm sorry, but it's ridiculous! Don't say it won't make you laugh," she said between laughing, but when she saw Tony's expression, the laughter quickly disappeared. "You know, maybe you could do something nice for her to forget these unnecessary fears," she suggested.

"You mean I'm not doing anything nice for her?" he asked, frowning, and Pepper groaned. She didn't mean it that way!

"You know it wasn't what I meant. I mean, you should do something just two of you. When was the last time you went out since you had Peter?"

"To tell the truth, not once. Mary and I don't have parents anymore, and Rhodey isn't so often in New York, so we don't have people to watch Peter. And we do not want to leave him with a stranger," Tony replied and Pepper sighed. She couldn't believe what she had just thought.

"My earlier offer pays. If you ever need to look after Peter, I'm available," she said with a small smile. She didn't like Mary at all, but Peter was a sweetheart.

"I can't ask for that!"

"If I offer, you can. I think dinner without the kid would benefit you. Both of you. I have to go back to work now, but if you change your mind, you know where to find me," she said, leaving him in the hallway alone.