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

Chapter 33

"Where are the others?" asked a brown-haired man with the beard when he came to work in the morning and found only one of his colleagues in the laboratory.

"They are taking advantage of the free time they had when the research was postponed," replied the other, also a brown-haired man whose eyes adorned glasses.

"And what are you doing?" he asked, leaning over his shoulder to see what he was working on.

"I'm going through our previous calculations and trying to find a mistake."

"And are you doing it purely for science or our leader?" he teased and sprawled on the chair beside him.

"Of course for science," he muttered, shifting nervously. He moved his glasses closer to the root of his nose and kept his eyes on the screen.

"Come on, we all know you like her. There's no reason to deny it, Richard."

"You are one to talk!"

"She's pretty, I'm not saying that not, but I'm not interested in her in that way. She's all yours," he said with a smirk. He liked to tease his colleague so much.

"Remind me, why are you here? If I remember your specialization, it is nowhere near to biochemistry," Richard snapped, giving him a contemptuous look.

"No, but there's definitely something for me to do, don't worry about it," he said calmly. He really wasn't a biochemist, but knowledge of technology is good always and everywhere. And he felt that his role in this whole research was fast approaching. And he believed that in the end, he would be the one to take the big step towards their success. He and not those lab rats.

"It's nice to see that some are working hard even during the suspension," the incoming woman said. She approached them from her office, which was adjacent to the lab. Richard was drenched in a cold sweat when he realized that there was a high probability that she had heard their conversation.

"Where are you going?" the bearded man asked as Richard stuck his eyes back on the screen, hoping his face hadn't turned into a tomato.

"I have some errands, but I'll be back before lunch. Do me a favor and don't demolish it here," she replied, leaving the laboratory without another word.

•••

Pepper tried to concentrate on her work, but her mind wouldn't let her. Her thoughts were full of Tony. When he left with the door slam, she was a little surprised. But what bothered her was when he returned home just before midnight and was completely drunk. Since Peter's third birthday, he had avoided alcohol. When he had something, he never overdid it. Not until yesterday. And Pepper didn't know what to make of it. She was ruined that she was the one who had made him to do it.

"Miss Potts, you have a visitor," her assistant told her as she peered into her office at her request.

"I didn't have anything planned today," Pepper said with a frown and immediately reached for the computer to make sure her words were true. It was possible that the meeting had fallen out of her mind with everything that was happening now.

"She's not announced, but she says you know each other," her assistant confirmed.

"Then tell her she can come in," Pepper agreed, unable to recall anyone who it could be. She hoped a little that it would be Natasha who disappeared to an unknown destination. Pepper sincerely wished the redhead wouldn't just disappear for good. She would like to talk to her about it all.

"The famous Pepper Potts, the last time we saw each other, you were an ordinary assistant, and let's look at you now," a woman's voice echoed through the room, and Pepper swore that at that moment her blood froze in her veins.

"Mary," she breathed in surprise. That was also the only thing she could do.

"Surprised to see me?" she asked with a smile on her face and sat down in a chair.

"To be honest, yes," she replied simply, keeping her eyes on her. She didn't trust her then, and she certainly doesn't trust her now. The timing of her appearance was just perfect, as her relationship with Tony faltered slightly and Pepper wasn't naive enough to believe it was just a coincidence.

"I'll get straight to the point... I'd like to thank you for taking care of my boys during my absence. But I'm sure you understand that now that I have returned to their lives, there is no place for you anymore," she told her with exaggeration. Pepper would have almost laughed if her stomach hadn't turned upside down at her words and she didn't feel like throwing up.

"I'm not entirely sure it's like that," she said finally. What was she supposed to say about this? That she was welcome, and the role she was taking so far was hers again? She couldn't really think that...

"Oh, Pepper, I'd almost feel sorry for you, but I don't like you, so I don't care. Do you even know why Tony and I broke up back then? I was young and I was stupid. I admit that I hurt him, but in the final, we didn't break up because we would stop loving each other. I was his first love and that's something you can't forget. Also, I am the mother of his only son. Do you think you have a chance against me?"

"You said it yourself. You left and hurt him, and I never did that," she replied in a firm voice. Of course, her words shook her, but logically she knew she wasn't right. Tony would never take her back.

"Pepper, how long have you been together? I've seen newspaper articles for about seven years, I think? Seven years and you're still just his girlfriend. Did you even talk about marriage? We talked about it before Peter was born, but then we decided to wait until Peter was bigger. You've wasted so many years of your life with him. Don't waste the others too," she said in a still sweet tone, and Pepper was getting angry.

"Who do you think you are? You come here after so many years and you pretend to be my friend who wants the best for me, but in fact, you are just trying to break my family!" she snapped.

"And that's it... their family is me. I'm trying to save you from suffering because in the end there will be no place for you in their lives anyway, whether you like it or not. But I admire you for one thing. As soon as I left, you intruded on their lives and wrapped Tony about your finger. And today you are sitting here in front of me as the CEO of the whole company. It deserves admiration, just someone can't do it," she told Peppe her last words, then got up and left her alone.

Pepper didn't get her work done that day. She didn't believe her words, of course not! But what if she was right? A small voice inside her head whispered to her that she should obey her and save herself from more pain than she had just felt. She knew Mary was the only woman Tony loved before her. And that bothered her. After all, she had known him since the brunette owned his heart, and Pepper remembered too well how much he loved her.

But what she was sure of was that she certainly hadn't intruded their lives. She just offered Tony a helping hand. They were friends, and that's what friends do for themselves. On the other hand, it was she who took Peter away from him at a time when he could not even take care of himself. But she didn't want his company! After all, she even resigned and that Tony didn't accept it was not her fault. She didn't intrude into their lives! But then there was the thing with the secret suit for Peter. That was the thing that finally brought her to her knees. They hid it from her. Maybe they just thought that was none of her business...

On the same day, she signed papers in which she temporarily resigned from her position, which in her absence falls into the hands of the company's board. She didn't return home that day. Instead, she went to her apartment, which fortunately she never sold. She needed a few days to sort out her thoughts.

And if Tony returns to Mary in the meantime, at least she'll keep her dignity.