Too Little Too Late

Pepper Potts

Rhodey wasn't answering. Tony either, though she doubted that the billionaire ever would pick her call up. She wasn't the CEO anymore but still she was concerned about Stark Industries. That past year had been anything but what she had planned. Pepper thought she knew him so well. Apparently not. It should have taken a month top for him to realise that he needed her in every way. In his private life and in his business. It was such a simple plan really. But he never called. The company sent her severance package quite quickly. To be fair, Tony had been very generous with her. The thing was that it wasn't what she wanted. Everybody had been manipulating Tony for a while then. She had thought she could managed to get her share.

Now Stark Industries was being sold. Actually, Tony had divided his business in many other little ones. Those had been sold one after the other and today, the last bit was officially gone. The world was Stark free and was not prepared for it. She was not ready for it. Never in her wildest dreams would she had imagined something like that. S.I. had been on top of everything for so long. Even when Tony decided to stop making weapons, the company survived. The stocks went down for a while. Tony bought all the shares he could with his own money. When the investors came back, not only did he make a lot of money but he was the sole owner of his company. Tony had a lot of responsibilities and many people working for him. But then, the billionaire had disappeared for a year and now that! Pepper was angry. How far would he take a break-up really. He was such a child, sulking like that.

She had always felt like she was his mother and not his girlfriend. As her personal assistant, it was in her job description. She had to deal with his daily activities. Pepper never got past that basically. They all tended to forget that Tony was doing more than good before her. Sure, he had the playboy partying way of life, but he was still inventing and was in charge of SI, making it a multibillion company. Stane would have kept the company like it was when Howard was leading the business. Tony made it what it was. Tony was good no doubt. But no one knew this job better than her. Stark Industries had never been better than under her administration. It was not always an easy task when Tony's death was on the front pages of the newspaper every other two months. She managed. As a good CEO, she would keep Tony on track, reminding him his position as the director of R&D. And if sometimes she would buy herself some nice Jimmy shoes on Tony's dime or give herself a pay rise, it was only a just reward for a job well done. After all, the guy couldn't even remember her birthday or his social security number. He didn't seem to complain when she bought that dress for her birthday from him.

At first, she thought that well if he didn't want her anymore it was his loss. Pepper had been a bit bitter but the world was a big place and so many people had wanted her to work for them during her time in S.I.. Of course, she had refused back then. Her job was one if not the best one in the market. Now she was free to move on and to do her best to make another company the number one. She had proven times and times again what she was capable of. A month vacation was well deserved and would do her good. Then, the world would be hers to take. Tony would then feel her loss when she would be working against him. It didn't happen that way. Nobody wanted her anymore. A lot of HR directors told her that her history with Stark Industries wasn't doing her any favour. The rest were looking at her with disdain quoting "the rats always leave a sinking ship" phrase. They didn't seem to understand that he had to leave because the relationship between her and tony went south.

"That's why you don't mix business and pleasure." One dared to tell her.

A year after, Pepper was still unemployed. Good thing she had money on the side. That wouldn't last forever. She was moving out again. Of course, after her resignation, the ex-CEO had to leave the comfort of the tower. She had found then a wonderful spacious apartment near Central Park. Staying close by seemed like a good idea. Tony would call her back quickly, apologising. Keeping the flat at first would make things clear. Tony would have to comply or well... she had her flat. The job first. She would make him work for anything else. Friendship or more. Maybe then he would stop with building armours and playing superhero. The plan had failed big time and now that kind of flat would be too expensive in the long run. New York would be too much for her for that matter. Cleveland would be her new home. A little company had just hired her as an accountant. That was a huge step back, really hard to swallow. So much so that she had tried to call Tony to square things out. Maybe a conversation would put things back on track. Obviously, he didn't answer. Nobody had seen him since what the press had called the civil war.