Since Obadiah stepped down and Pepper Potts took over as CEO of Stark Industries, she's been working to turn things around, stabilize the stock price, and get the company back on track.
To achieve this goal, she racked her brain for ideas and implemented numerous measures.
Some were effective, others not so much.
After a short period of trial and error, Pepper Potts reached a conclusion: to truly revitalize Stark Industries, adjustments in other areas weren't as important.
Whether Stark himself cared enough to produce new inventions with commercial potential was the true deciding factor.
The key still lay with Stark.
And so, Pepper Potts transformed into a "persistent pursuer" calling Stark daily regardless of whether they had a chance to meet, urging him to focus on research and develop new products quickly, much like a bank demanding loan repayments.
If it were anyone else, given Stark temperament, he would have dismissed them without a second thought.
But with Pepper, things were different...
Although he hadn't yet recognized his own feelings or identified Pepper as his one and only, truthfully, Stark patience with Pepper far exceeded what he showed others.
Plus, after that time he obtained the white potion from Shi Xiaolei and spent an entire night with Pepper, experiencing a sense of conquest and accomplishment he'd never felt despite all his previous romantic conquests.
Unconsciously, Stark had elevated Pepper position in his heart yet another level.
If previously Pepper had been his "most trustworthy assistant" after that night, her status finally rose to the level of "family" truly replacing Obadiah former position.
In business matters, their cooperation was also similar to the previous Stark-Obadiah partnership—Stark invented various weapons while Obadiah handled promotion and sales.
Because subconsciously Pepper had replaced Obadiah position, Stark first developed the view that "the more frequently she urges, the more it proves her dedication to her job" which is why he remained so patient and didn't mind her nagging at all.
Additionally, since Stark himself shared similar thoughts, he came up with the idea of cooperating with Shi Xiaolei to develop and sell new potions.
Speaking of which, because the newly established company immediately received orders from the military, Stark Industries stock price did rebound to some extent.
However...
With potions as the main product, the new company business scope was quite far from Stark Industries original focus.
Unable to get strong support from the parent company, and facing competition from an established giant like Osborn Corporation in this field, the competition was too fierce for profits to improve quickly.
Truthfully, relying on this new company to drive the stock price and completely pull Stark Industries out of its slump was somewhat unrealistic.
What else could be done? Stark had no choice but to shift his focus to the field of physics where he excelled.
When he received Kanna call, Stark was in his lab working on research and development.
Like the famous line "Looking back suddenly, that person was there, among the dim lights" after considering various factors and coming full circle.
Well, mainly because the void left by closing the weapons division was too large, and the revenue from smaller projects simply couldn't fill the gap.
With almost no other choice, Stark finally turned his attention to new energy based on the miniature arc reactor.
"JARVIS, what time is it now?"
After ending his call with Kanna, Stark twisted his neck to relieve the fatigue accumulated from bending over to weld for a long time.
"Sir, it's now 4.08 PM."
"Set an alarm, umm, for 5.30."
Looking at the pile of devices on his workbench and estimating the time needed to finish, Stark continued giving instructions while flexing his fingers.
"Let Happy know to visit that dessert shop on 42nd Street. Remember that chocolate brand from last time? Have him buy two boxes for me to bring to Kanna. Oh, and also call Pepper, tell her to change into something more casual and prepare a bit."
"Sir, Miss Potts is on her way here now, expected to arrive in three minutes."
"Alright then, I'll tell her myself. You notify Happy for me."
"Yes, Sir."
Three minutes passed in the blink of an eye. Stark hadn't even come out of the bathroom yet when Pepper arrived at the lab.
"Tony? Tony? Are you here?"
"Over here~"
Shaking his hands dry, Stark walked out of the bathroom.
"Perfect timing. I was just about to call you. Um, is something up?"
"There are some documents that need your signature."
Walking forward in her high heels with a rhythmic tap-tap-tap, Pepper opened the folder in her hand and presented it to Stark.
"Here, here, and here."
With genuine trust, Stark unhesitatingly took the pen and signed his name on the documents.
"Is that all?"
"Yes, just these for now."
Pepper collected the documents and closed the folder.
"The other three business items are still under negotiation. If all goes well, negotiations should be completed before eight o'clock tonight."
"Eight o'clock tonight?"
Stark shook his head.
"Do you need to attend as well? If so, let's push it back and continue tomorrow."
"Hmm?"
"Haven't you always wanted to meet Kanna?"
Stark smiled, his right hand naturally resting on Pepper waist.
"She just called and invited me over. Let's put the negotiations off until tomorrow. Come with me tonight, will you?"
As Stark assistant, she had acted as his female companion more than once, attending numerous formal and informal dinners.
Hearing Stark words now, Pepper naturally recalled those past experiences.
For a moment, she forgot the call was from Kanna and thought this was another formal dinner requiring a female companion.
"Alright, I'll go change. Tony, should we bring a gift? I'll prepare something."
"No need to be so formal."
Noticing the misunderstanding, Stark quickly explained.
"It's just a small gathering among friends. I've already asked Happy to buy chocolates to give to the young lady. As for you... that suit isn't quite appropriate. Change into something more casual."
"OK, I understand."
Imagining the atmosphere of the upcoming gathering, Pepper unconsciously adopted a more casual tone.
"What time are we going?"
"5.30 pm."
Pointing to the workbench not far away, Stark smiled and said.
"I'm almost done here, should be finished in about an hour. How about you? Is 5.30 okay?"
"No problem. I'll go make arrangements."
Pepper nodded.
"Good."
Stark naturally planted a light kiss on Pepper lips and patted her lower back.
"Go ahead, and come back when you're ready. I'll wait for you here."
The unexpected kiss caught Pepper slightly off guard.
Leaving behind a flirtatious eye roll, Pepper turned, her footsteps light and quick with a string of tap-tap-taps as she disappeared from Stark sight.
(T/N: Like the story fellow daoist?you can read 20 chapters ahead on my P@treon [p@treon.com/DaoistRongyi] Thanks for your support! 😊)