Okay, this is the last chapter - WHAT ALREADY ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Yes, I know, I know. Originally I planned this as a one-shot, and I already extended it more than I had planned so STOP HASSLING ME AND READ THIS THANG!

One lesson about Sam Duncan that I have been quick to learn these past few weeks: she kisses butts for a living. She strokes and pets Tony's ego shamelessly, and of course he relishes every second of her coddling. She obsequiously submits to his every whim and bathes him with compliments about his looks, brains, and Iron Man suits; it's going to take me years to deflate him after all her spoiling. To say I am threatened by Sam's overt flirting is a gross understatement. The only joy I have found at the end of every workday is the warmth of Tony's arm wrapped securely around my waist instead of hers as we walk out of the building. I would tell Tony about all this, except I don't want him to know how jealous Sam is making me feel. Is he even aware that she is bodily throwing herself at him?

Today I'm at the office sorting through files, while Tony is out doing… whatever he's in the mood to be doing. Honestly I'm too frazzled with work to keep tabs on him, despite the maddening threat that Sam is currently posing against me. With a stack of papers in hand, I go upstairs to where his private office is; as I approach the half-opened door I hear voices, voices that belong to Tony… and Sam. I inch bit by bit toward the door as I shakily breathe in and attune my ears to the possibly heartbreaking conversation that is transpiring.

"Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" drawls Sam slowly, as if she's dying to stay in the same room just so that she can breathe the same air as him.

"No, actually," responds Tony, much to my dismay. "I have a few more things for your to-do list. First, I want an espresso from Starbucks, stat. And remember not to try to hand it to me, because you know I hate being handed things. Second, I need you to set up lunch with Mr. Steel and Mr. Hall tomorrow to discuss the expansion of Stark Industry. Third, reserve a table at that five-star French restaurant downtown for dinner, tomorrow at seven."

"Sir, it's impossible to get a table there," protests Sam.

Tony sniffs. "I'm sorry, did you forget who I am for a moment? Pep's been dying to try out this place, so the reservation has to be made."

I can see Tony's lone figure leaning over the side of his desk as he pours over the plethora of crumpled papers, which are nearly pure black with ink. A hand shoots forward and urges him to turn around by tugging on his shoulder; slender arms suddenly slither around Tony's neck as Sam presses her body against his. My hands must be bleeding, because my clenched fists are stabbing bitingly into the skin of my palms.

Tony clears his throat and asks quietly, "What are you doing?"

"Reminding you of your glory days, Mr. Stark," coos Sam. "The days where you went after any woman you wanted, without being tied down. Don't you think of the ladies you're missing out on every minute you spend with that Potty girl?"

"It's Potts, and no I don't," Tony responds shortly.

"C'mon, we both know that you've had your eyes on me since we met," affirms Sam teasingly.

Sam tips her toes even higher than her heels, tightens her gripping vise around Tony's neck, and tilts her mouth up to taunt his with a glossy smile. I want so desperately to run in there and rip that phony girl's arms away from Tony, but I have to know… I have to know if he loves me as much as I hope he does. If I don't let this happen, my questions will be itching in the back of my head for the rest of my life, and no balm will be able to treat me. Tony's eyes - the brown eyes that I fell in love with - travel down to her beckoning lips, and he makes no movement to back away or move forward. Just when I lose my last ounce of hope, and just when the flesh of her full lips is a millimeter away from his, Tony does the most glorious thing he can and will ever do. He reaches behind his neck, wrenches her clasped hands apart, and shoves her a foot away from his body.

"You're fired!" declares Tony with loudness and with forcefulness.

"What?" asks a stunned and thwarted Sam.

"You get outta here right now!" Tony commands angrily. "Pepper Potts is the greatest thing that ever happened to me. I wouldn't trade one second with her to be with you. She is the perfect woman, while you are the dirty gum off the street that I have to scrape off of my shoe."

Sam flinches, and her eyes darken with a fury that she can barely restrain within the limits of her tiny frame.

"You'll live to regret this, Stark," she growls wrathfully as she stomps away from Tony, directly toward me!

I hastily flatten against the wall like a pancake on the pan to avoid the steaming young woman's rampage. I'm hyperventilating when Tony emerges from his office soon after, crosses his arms, and smiles at me in puzzlement.

"Pepper Potts eavesdropping?" gasps Tony in mock astonishment. "I never thought I'd see the day."

Sam huffs as she sharply turns at the end of the corridor, and I sigh in relief when I realize she isn't ever coming back. Now all I have to deal with is the smirking Tony Stark, who hasn't taken his eyes off of me this whole time. His amused smile falls off when my lower lip quivers and my eyes moisten with tears, tears that are a mixture of relief and sincere love for the most ostentatious man in the universe.

"Oh, Pepper," says Tony softly as he swiftly sweeps me up in his embrace and gently rubs my back.

"I-I was here the whole time," I confess as I clutch onto his shirt, which is becoming soaked with my tears. "I thought my greatest fear was going to happen in front of my very eyes."

"What fear, hon?" asks Tony wonderingly.

"Fear that you'd break my heart," I whimper.

Tony sighs. "I love you, Pepper, and nobody else compares to you. You're the reason I'm not a totally terrible person - just about ninety-eight percent."

I choke out a sob and a laugh at the same time. "So you're saying I'm the remaining two percent?"

"Yeah," murmurs Tony.

"Hm," I mumble blissfully as I let my face sink into his chest.

"Ehem, sir?" says a voice, abruptly ruining the wonderful silence.

Tony squeezes me tighter and responds shortly, "Can my fiancée and I get a little privacy?"

The employee stutters something indiscernible, and meekly shuffles down the hall in shame. My body is frozen and my heart has stopped beating; did he really just say what I think he just said?

"What did you say, Tony?" I question curiously.

Tony withdraws from me, scowls, and looks down at his suddenly very interesting shoes. "I was planning a more astounding surprise than this - it involved Cancún and a lot of fireworks - but I guessed it slipped out a little early."

"What do you mean?" I gasp as I press my hand to my heart.

Tony drops down to one knee - I've never dreamed of him kneeling before someone, especially not me - fishes for something in his pocket, and presents a small, red velvet box.

"Pepper, you're the only one for me," declares Tony, "and I could never last a lifetime without you."

Tony opens the box and reveals a diamond ring, with the glittering diamond surrounded by a ring of sapphires that wink at me pleasantly.

"Marry me," bade Tony definitively. "I know you can't last without me either."

I snort and swat his head unmercifully. "You're such a jerk!"

"We've already covered that," replies Tony, whose smiling eyes slowly ebb into seriousness again. "But am I a jerk that you want to spend the rest of your life with?"

I get down on my knees so that I can face Tony directly, interlock my fingers behind his neck, and kiss him like there's no tomorrow. He winds his arms around my waist, deepening the kiss and - as usual - making me forget where we are and how embarrassing it would be if someone walked in on us. We finally break apart long enough for him to slip the ring onto my finger, which is trembling with excitement and happiness.

"I'll take that as a yes," sighs Tony with a touch of relief.

With my auburn bangs mingling with his wavy brown hair, I press my forehead against his and mutter, "Yes, Tony. Every day of my life, I say yes."

So I suppose this initially horrible day has turned out in my favor… Sam who?

So... whaddya think?