Watched Avengers and had a dislike of Tony's relationship with Pepper, so... tada! This will start in Iron Man 1 and go through all three movies as well as the Avengers movies. Basically, anything Tony's in, my OC will be in. Only warnings are slight mentions of child abuse and language and insinuations of sex later on.

"Hold on. You want me to what?"

My boss, Jacob McLennan, sighed heavily. "It's a business proposition, Jess. Nothing more."

"Uh, no. It's obviously a bit more than that. Are we talking about the same person?" I questioned, running my hand through my short, messy, auburn curls.

I had just finished up my last case when one of the interns informed me that he wanted to see me, but I had no idea it'd be something like this.

"Mr. Stark."

"As in the narcissistic, rich billionaire with a flare for the dramatic? That Stark? The very same one who just announced that his weapon's factory is no longer going to make weapons?"

"The very same."

"You're joking. You're pulling my leg, right?" I questioned in disbelief, but his expression didn't change. "He wants the best lawyer in the country and you're sending me? Why not send Michael or, or Kristina?"

"Kristina has refused due to multiple instances of his more… flirtatious personality when dealing with women."

"Oh, thanks," I muttered, only a little self-conscious of my more masculine appearance.

"And I did send Michael, but after what's just happened, he's demanding a reassignment. As it was, he was having trouble dealing with Mr. Stark, who went out of his way to bother him."

"So, I'm being sent in to do what? Pick up the mess we left behind?"

He sighed heavily. "Look, Jess. Nobody wants to deal with him at the moment, but he pays well. We already had our foot in the door with Michael, but if we lose that, then it could cause a black mark on our business."

"Why me? I'm hardly the best in the business."

"Despite your… limitations, you are one of the best."

I scoffed, reaching up and tapping my left eye. "Limitations my ass. Nobody wants a partially blind lawyer." I paused then, frowning. "Hold on. He doesn't care about that?"

Jacob shrugged. "He doesn't care about much. He asked for the best I had to offer, so I'm giving it to him. So long as you do your job right, there shouldn't be any issues."

"Except the amount of work I'm going to have to do," I grumbled, earning a raised brow from him.

"Is that a yes?"

"It's not like I'm going to get anything better," I huffed, folding my arms over my chest. "And this will get me out there a bit more, plus the pay will obviously be well. Maybe I can finally get a dog."

Jacob smiled. "Perfect. I'll call to inform him you're taking over for Michael. He'll want to meet you within the next few days. You'll be doing work from his work office, so I will make sure your desk and things get properly dealt with. Although, you'll probably be working with his secretary more than him."

"Joy," I muttered.

The transition was relatively easy. I'd met with Pepper Potts, Stark's personal secretary and we got on well enough. Okay, that was a lie. She's an absolute gem. Brought me coffee while dealing with one of Stark's many lawsuits working well into the night in order to get it and his business functional again, with or without his main resource of weapons. As for the man himself, well, I hadn't seen him. I was hired by him—my checks were still going through, signed by him—but the man himself had apparently locked himself down in his lab, according to Pepper.

I didn't mind, really. It meant he wasn't getting in anyone's face and therefore causing more possible lawsuits. I wasn't even allowed anywhere near his home. Papers were handed off to Pepper, who then delivered them to him, got his signature where it was needed and returned. It was only a tad annoying. I tended to like having one-on-one time with the client I was working for if only to understand them better and get a better feeling on what sort of trouble should be expected. So far, it was common stuff. Sexual harassment, property damage, noise complaints, and the occasional disturbance. His home was situated far enough away from others that I didn't have many problems there, but with what he'd just pulled with his business, I had a full workload almost every day. Needless to say, I was beginning to get worn down and my patience for the man thinning with every new thing he added to my desk. Finally, I'd had enough.

"I want a meeting with him," I demanded from Pepper, who blinked in surprise as I dropped a heavy file on her desk.

"Um, about?" She questioned, picking it up and beginning to skim through it, wincing when she saw what it was.

"His business," I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest and drumming my fingers on my arm. "I get he doesn't want to make weapons anymore. He had a big change of heart while in Afghanistan, so it's expected, but his board is getting antsy. They're trying to find loopholes in his contracts to get him thrown out as CEO. I'm fighting them off as best I can, but my leash is getting tighter with every complaint. I need to throw them a bone, but I can't do that without speaking with him to get any sort of idea as to where he wants to go with this."

"I can ask—"

"No, Pepper. I need to speak with him. Personally. As much as I enjoy not dealing with him and his cocky attitude, there comes a point when I have to deal with it. I can't do my job anymore without something to go with, and what I can get from him is that something." I relaxed my posture slightly, shoulder sagging tiredly as I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Please. I'm running on my last legs here. I only started working a month ago and I haven't slept much since because I've been trying to get in his head and figure this crap out. I can only do so much on my own and I need his input."

She sighed heavily, handing me back the file. "I'll see what I can do."

"I really am sorry about this," I apologized, knowing that I'd been a bit harsh with her. "I know how difficult he's making things for you. For the both of us. If I could step down into that lab of his and beat him upside the head to get my way, I would. Instead, I'm stuck going through you to get signatures and business propositions that are obviously yours."

"What?"

I shot her a look. "I'm a lawyer. You'll find that with enough attention to paperwork, you can tell who's writing it and tidbits of their personality. You're good, I'll give you that," I smirked, leaning against her desk as she managed a small smile. "Got some fire in you, but not enough of that cocky narcissism that Stark has."

She rolled her eyes, but the smile remained. "Yes, well, I try. He's not exactly running the company at the moment."

"Yeah, you and that Obadiah guy are." I frowned though, glancing at the clear glass surrounding her office and gave her a look. "I'm worried about him."

She blinked. "Obadiah?"

I nodded. "Get me into Stark's place, even if I just shout at him for five minutes and I'll let you know. He should know too if he cares at all about this company."

"What do you mean? What's Obadiah doing?"

I shook my head. "Can't talk here. Like I said, get me in his home. We need to have a talk."

"You know, I knew it was big from the outside, but this is a bit over the top for one guy," I hummed, eyeing the main living room curiously. "Piano's a nice touch. Does he play?"

Pepper shrugged. "I've never seen him."

"You got any drinks?" I questioned, shooting her a glance. "Something strong. Just enough to get me to tolerate whatever I might walk into with him."

Her lip twitched up in a small smile. "I'll grab you a glass."

"Thanks," I hummed with a small smile myself.

We'd gotten a bit closer, despite our obvious differences. She was a pretty, red head with a quiet fire in her that she kept tucked away except for when dealing with business, remaining mousy until it was needed. Whereas I was stiff, professional, less pretty and more… different. I didn't go out of my way to get dolled up and wore a suit to events where formality was required. My hair was often tousled from running my hand through it during stressful times, and a pair of glasses hung off my dress shirt pocket for reading fine print. I wasn't dainty like Pepper though. I had a mean tongue that could be sickly sweet when dealing with business but could curse like a sailor when it was personal.

Today though was business. Not formal enough for a suit, but enough for an untucked pale blue dress shirt and decent, dark jeans. I doubted Tony would care much about my appearance, from what I did know of him. Tends to brush off most men and only ogles at women, thus leaving them never able to get things across to him. I'm a mix. A woman, but not pretty enough to distract him and not masculine enough to be completely ignored. I'm something different. Should catch his attention for a bit. I looked over a desk nearby, eyeing the plain art above the wall and the obvious lack of personal touch. Very little personal touch of anything in here, actually. Everything's very artificial, on display. Like a house viewing. I brushed a hand over the desk, checking my fingers and finding no dust. Decent cleaning though, probably poor Pepper. She really should stand up for herself more.

Footsteps approached behind me and I turned, half expecting Pepper with my drink only to find Tony Stark climbing up a set of stairs. We both paused, staring at one another and while his eyes caught on the two scars running over my left brow, my eyes caught on the glowing blue metal centerpiece in his chest.

"Excuse me, who are you? How did you get in here?" He suddenly demanded, drawing my gaze to his until he frowned. "Jarvis? Why is there a stranger in my home?"

I sighed. "I'm not—"

Before I could reassure him and remind him that he'd accepted this meeting, a voice echoed through the home.

"Apologies, sir. However, you did have a meeting today with your lawyer. Miss Potts informed you about this a few days ago."

"Did she?" He questioned, brows furrowed before looking over me again. "You don't look like a lawyer."

"And you don't look like the CEO of a major industrial company," I shot back as Pepper returned.

"A-Ah, Tony."

He waved her off, stepping past me and taking the scotch from her that had been meant for me. "It's fine. Jarvis mentioned a meeting. Who is she?"

Pepper looked at me nervously, probably expecting some kind of anger or retort or something for him taking my drink and blowing me off when I was right there, but I'd dealt with pompous dicks before. I could keep my temper to get the end goal. It was my job.

"S-She's, um, your lawyer. She replaced Michael Scott a little over a month ago. She wished to have a meeting to discuss some business pro—"

"Don't care," he hummed, drinking the scotch and looking to me with a wave of his hand. "You can go now."

I blinked slowly, not moving. "Nope."

He stopped, lowering his glass. "Excuse me?"

"Not leaving," I hummed, reaching down and scooping up the file I'd set on the desk, holding it out. "You'll want to see this."

He didn't take it, just watching me with a frown. "Don't think I will. If you need anything signed, just send them through Miss Potts like you have been."

"Hm," I cracked a small smirk. "Nothing needs signing. Wouldn't be here if that was it. I came to discuss a way to keep your board of directors from bumping you as chair. Although," I lowered the file, tossing it haphazardly onto the desk and shrugging. "Business is business. It's my job to fight them and your job to just sit back and hope I'm doing it right."

He frowned, glancing at Pepper before setting his glass down. "Why are you here then?"

I ignored his question, eyeing the ceiling. "Is it an artificial intelligence system or a preprogramed user interface of some kind with access to whatever information is given to it in order to come up with an intelligent response?"

His mouth dropped open for a moment before he managed to compose himself. "Artificial intelligence, but what—"

"Intelligent enough to make its own decisions, learn and have its own personality?" I questioned again, having caught his attention.

"Well, yeah, but what do you know about—"

"Enough," I cut him off, sliding by him and scooping up the glass he'd abandoned, finishing it off. "Ready to talk now?"

He smirked. "Depends. We talking business?"

"Unfortunately, yes," I rolled my eyes at his flirting. "Despite what you might think, it does require a CEO at some point."

"Boring," he grumbled, but he sat down on one of the couches, meaning he wasn't leaving just yet.

Gotcha. I sat down across from him and slipped on my glasses as Pepper brought back over the file I'd tossed.

"Thanks," I smiled at her and she nodded back with a smile, making Tony raise a brow.

"You two seem to get along."

"That's what happens when you practically have your secretary running your business. It leaves your lawyer dealing more with her than with you, seeing as you're too busy working on whatever down in your basement."

"It's a lab, not a basement."

"It's below ground," I countered, lifting my gaze to his. "Basement. And you should know that arguing with a lawyer is an endless venture. I could argue with you that two plus two equals forty-seven and win."

"Well, technically, math is a social construct used for measurement, so arguing the answer to an equation is easy. And I would definitely win."

He's definitely flirty. God, someone throw the man a bone, I thought, merely glancing at him over the rim of my glasses before looking over the file I had. "Anyway, your board of directors is doing everything they can to push you out of your company. I've managed to dissuade them thus far, but they're pushing back harder than usual the longer you stay hidden away in your… lab."

He shrugged. "I'll get around to dealing with them eventually."

"I can't wait for eventually," I countered, sliding a few pages over to him across the coffee table. "These are current business propositions Pepper has come up with while you've been busy, and they're shooting every single one down in defiance. And this," I passed over a pack of staples papers. "This is a list of contracts that I've been negotiating with in order to try and keep them involved with your company despite your latest venture out of the weapons industry. Thing is, they're asking why they should stay. No one has had any information as to what Stark Industries will be doing now that you've taken them out of the arms race. I can't get people to stay or find new companies to support the business if I don't have some direction to go in."

Tony looked over the files, flipping through the packet with a small frown before glancing at Pepper as I drank some more scotch. "Weren't you supposed to be in charge of this?"

"Miss Norris handles all of your lawsuits and legal ventures, including issues that arise within the company," Pepper explained. "The number of these has gone down while you've been away, but with your announcement, more and more people are demanding answers and fighting against contracts to back out."

"In other words," I cut in. "People are finding loopholes in your contracts, any little thing, in order to back out. The ones that find them I can't hold onto, but there are some that are willing to stay for the right reason. I've been working with Pepper to try and keep your company afloat. Give them a reason to stay, and you'll have people sticking around for when you finally figure out what it is you want your company doing. Until then, you have to give them something, or you're going to have your business ripped out from under you by the board. Thus, ruining whatever you planned on doing now that you've pulled Stark Industries out of weapons manufacturing."

I leaned back against the sofa and eyed him, waiting for some sort of response, though not entirely expecting the tired gaze and slightly sagging shoulders. Where's all that bravado? That confidence? He obviously cares about the company, or he would just hand it over to the board, but this… Does he… I sat back up, brows furrowed slightly.

"You… You don't know what to do, do you?"

His eyes snapped to me, a spark of anger flashing in them. "Excuse me?"

I waved off his anger. "Not to offend, it was just an observation."

"Jess," Pepper muttered, warning me, but I wasn't about to let up.

Not when I was finally getting somewhere.

"Let me guess. You had a change of heart while captured, rushed back desperate to make amends and do something about it, which is why you stopped your company making weapons," I concluded, trying to push past the anger that was building up in him. "That was the immediate solution, but you've been too distracted to come up with something more. You don't know what direction you want to go in next."

He stood up then, setting his glass down on the table harder than he probably meant to. "You need to go. Now."

Not yet. I need to get something for this. Need to warn him about Obadiah. Just one more push. I stood as well, remaining eye level with him. "You need to give me something. Give them something! I get you're upset and still hurting from what happened but wallowing in your basement is only going to end up ruining what you're trying to do by pulling your company out! You don't have to get over everything right away, just stop and think for a moment and—"

My glasses slid across the floor as Pepper brought her hands to her mouth in shock. I sucked in a slow breath through my nose, closing my eyes and doing my best to hold my temper at the flare in my cheek.

"You don't know anything that happened to me," Tony snapped, voice cold. "Now, get out. You're fired."

He stormed off back downstairs as I went over and picked up my glasses from the ground, frowning at the cracked left lens. Pepper hurried over as well, looking between my red cheek from where he'd slapped me and the stairs he'd disappeared down.

"I… I am so sorry. I've never seen him like that before. I'll make sure he buys you knew glasses," she apologized, but I waved her off.

"It's fine. It was my fault. I pushed too many sore spots too soon." I sighed heavily, putting my glasses back in my pocket. "I'll apologize to him as soon as I can. I just… it was something he needed to hear. I won't have him throwing away the hard work he's attempting to do. He stopped his company from making weapons for a reason. If he loses the company before he's able to figure it out, then it will be for nothing. Just had to give him a nudge."

Pepper blinked in surprise. "You… You really care about this, don't you?"

I snorted. "I care about my work, yeah. Shocking for a lawyer, right?"

"But the way you were talking…"

"I've been there," I muttered, giving her a soft, sad smile. "Isolating yourself after a trauma never helps. Throwing yourself into work, pushing everyone away. Those sorts of things never get you anywhere. Even the smart ones can fail. Just takes someone pissing you off sometimes to get you out of it. Figured I'd be that for him. He's only just met me, after all. It's best he loses someone he never knew that someone close." I pat her on the shoulder, picking up my files off the table and nodding towards the door. "I'll see myself out."

"I'll… I'll talk to him," Pepper said definitively, lifting her chin as confidently as she could. "About your job. You're only trying to help."

I cracked a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, Pepper."

She nodded in return, not realizing what I'd meant and neither of us realizing that Jarvis had been listening in.

Tony had calmed down after the events that had occurred a few days ago rather quickly. He'd thrown himself into his work more passionately than before, only to get thrown across the room by the thrusters he was working on. With a headache now ignited, he'd taken a moment to sit down and relax. He'd been planning on rethinking the mechanics involved in the thrusters, but instead, his mind drifted back to that woman.

"You don't know what to do, do you?"

He grimaced, remembering the flood of anger that had caused his hand to snap out, looking down at the appendage in guilt. He'd never assaulted someone like that before and he felt terrible about it, but he knew she'd overstepped her boundaries. She was his lawyer, not a psychiatrist or anyone close to him. She had no right to act like she knew what he was dealing with, so he'd been right to fire her. He wasn't planning on taking her back on either, even if she begged. No, but he did need to apologize for hitting her. He sighed heavily, rubbing at the angry knot at the back of his head from where he'd hit the wall.

"I… I am so sorry. I've never seen him like that before," a recording played out, making him frown at the hologram playing over his desk. "I'll make sure he buys you knew glasses."

"Jarvis, turn that off."

Jarvis ignored him, making him bristle when he saw who the recording was of. His lawyer, Jess, and Pepper right after he'd stormed out.

"Jarvis, I mean it. Turn it off."

"Apologies, sir, but I do believe you might wish to listen."

"Jar—" Tony was cut off by Jess speaking.

"It was my fault. I pushed too many sore spots too soon," the woman said, heaving out a sigh. "I'll apologize to him as soon as I can. I just… it was something he needed to hear. I won't have him throwing away the hard work he's attempting to do. He stopped his company from making weapons for a reason. If he loses the company before he's able to figure it out, then it will be for nothing. Just had to give him a nudge."

Tony sat a little straighter, eyeing the woman with a hint of confusion. What is she talking about? Why would she even care?

"You… You really care about this, don't you?" Pepper asked as if reading his mind.

"I care about my work, yeah. Shocking for a lawyer, right?" Jess had answered, cracking a small smile that surprised him.

While not exactly his type of woman with her blunt masculinity, the small smile had softened her features in a way he hadn't expected. Then, what she said next really got to him.

"I've been there. Isolating yourself after a trauma never helps. Throwing yourself into work, pushing everyone away. Those sorts of things never get you anywhere. Even the smart ones can fail. Just takes someone pissing you off sometimes to get you out of it. Figured I'd be that for him. He's only just met me, after all. It's best he loses someone he never knew that someone close."

The recording ended, and he sank back into his seat, mind reeling. She was right. He knew that, especially now that he'd calmed down enough to realize it. Perhaps that was why he'd been so upset earlier. Because she was right about him. He had no idea what he was doing right now other than making his suit. He hadn't wanted to deal with the politics of his actions and left it to Obadiah and Pepper to deal with it, and now Jess as well. And now to find out she was only trying to help? Trying to help by burning her potential bridge with him in order to keep him from shutting out someone else? What if it had been Pepper? Tony wondered, thinking back to how he'd acted and wincing when he'd remembered the slap again.

"Jarvis?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Show me the information from Stark Industries. All the companies trying to leave and any information you have on the board of directors and what they've been up to."

"Sir?"

"Just curious," he responded to the AI's hesitation and soon files were showing up on the hologram instead.

He flipped through sheet after sheet, seeing just how poorly his announcement had gone and everything that was happening while he was tucked away. He paused at a few though, moving them to the side and waving away the rest to get a closer look.

"Jarvis, what are these?"

"The information you requested, taken from the computer database under Miss Norris' jurisdiction."

"More specifically?"

"The emails she's been sending out to the companies attempting to leave, as well as to the board of directors."

He skimmed through them, seeing the professionalism in her wording, how careful it was to not sound anything like begging the companies to stay or argue with the board of directors over their demands. The guilt swimming in him only grew the more he read, flipping through email after email. The apologies, the suggestions, the perfectly worded debates that were working. He had seen at least forty different companies attempting to back out of deals with Stark Industries and only seven had successfully done so. The rest were hanging in limbo, hanging on her word to see what would happen next. And she'd come directly to him to find out.

He hadn't personally met with his outside help for years. Pepper took care of most of that, and if not her, then the board of directors or Obadiah. Not one of them had ever sought him out either. At least, not until her.

"Jarvis, what information do you have about Jess Norris?"

The previous information disappeared, and a driver's license flickered into view along with files of information on his new—ex—lawyer.

"She is a graduate of high caliber at one of the nation's top legal universities. Nearly top of her class at Harvard," Jarvis summarized, knowing he wasn't going to read the fine print himself. "Records indicate that she was initially attempting to be a physicist until she switched majors after some sort of accident."

He frowned, thinking back to the small pale scars running through her left eyebrow. "What kind of accident?"

"A car accident, according to the police reports."

"Hm."

"Shall I go on?"

He waved him off, spinning idly in his chair. "Sure."

"She's been working cases for twelve years, losing only one case early on. It appears she did criminal cases before moving into business dealings. Other than that, she lives in a decent apartment complex not far from her work, pays her bills on time, no criminal record, and is an only child of deceased parents."

"She mentioned a trauma in that recording. Any record of that?"

"No, sir. Only that her father died in the car accident that she escaped from."

Tony waved the information off the hologram, getting up and making for the stairs. "I'm going to get a drink. Tell Pepper Chinese sounds good for dinner."

"Of course, sir."

He stepped upstairs and headed for the kitchen, grabbing some water and planning on lounging around just as Pepper walked in, getting ready to leave to get his food.

"Tony, perfect. Look, I wanted to talk to you about—"

"Who's by the door?" He asked then, cutting her off at the sight of the shadow reflecting on the window.

"Right, about that. I wanted to ask you if you could—"

"No, seriously. Who is it?" He demanded, heading for it as Pepper scrambled to speak.

"Tony, about Jess—"

He pulled the door opened, startling the person who was sitting on his porch with a pink tinted nose and a blanket over her shoulders—one of his blankets. Jess rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment as he stared in blatant shock—Pepper trying to explain.

"About her job…"

"No," he stated definitively, closing the door and walking away as if he hadn't seen her. "Are you getting the food or are we delivering?"

Pepper chased after him, grip tightening on her purse as she tried to get him to listen. "Tony, she's been showing up every day since you fired her."

"Sounds like that's her problem," he mused, searching the kitchen and grabbing an Oreo from a packet in the cupboard.

Pepper took the packet from him, preventing him from eating more. "Just give her a chance," she pressed. "I know she went too far before, but she wants to apologize. If you'd just let her—"

"What for?" He countered, eyeing her and her desperation. "And why are you so gung-ho over her all of a sudden?"

Pepper sighed. "Tony, please. She's only doing everything she can to try and help you with the company. I swear, she's a good person."

"Well, I don't know that."

"Because you won't give her a chance."

Tony eyed her for a moment, before looking away. "Are you getting the Chinese or not?"

"Tony—"

"Figure out what she wants too," he stopped her, pointing a finger at Pepper. "No business."

Pepper nodded, grinning and hurrying out with him following. Once she left to get the food, he looked down to Jess on his porch, who hadn't moved to even look at him.

"Sorry," she muttered, glancing back to catch his gaze. "About what I said before."

He watched her for a second before nodding inside, stepping away and letting her trail after him. He went into the kitchen again and speaking over his shoulder.

"Tea, coffee?"

"Coffee," she grumbled, standing awkwardly in his home and eyeing his back.

"Bit late for coffee, don't you think?"

"I don't sleep well anyway."

He made a mental note of that, but got her a cup, passing it to her as he got one for himself, leaning against the island to eye her. "Sorry. About your glasses and…" He gestured to his cheek.

She shook her head, lip twitching up slightly. "It's fine. I overstepped my boundaries. I saw you getting upset and didn't back off."

"Doesn't make it right," he countered, surprising her when he reached out and brushed his fingers over her cheek. "Still hurt?"

She took a step back away from him, not comfortable with the move. "No."

He didn't mind, thinking back to what Jarvis had told him. "Almost top of your class, huh?"

She stiffened for a second but was quick to relax. "Yeah. Read up on me then?"

"Have to." He shrugged, moving for the couches as she did the same, still holding the blanket over her shoulders. "I need to know who I'm hiring, after all."

Jess let out a soft snort. "You mean who Pepper's hired. You could have just asked her, you know. She wouldn't hire me if she didn't think I knew what I was doing."

"You have a good record, sure, but you were right about me. I don't know what I'm doing."

She didn't respond, waiting to see where he was going with things, which he silently applauded her for. She wasn't overbearing like some women. She was smart, obviously, but knew when to listen and when to press forward, even if it meant pushing a little too far to get the right result. Possibly self-destructive, he noted, sipping his drink and waving at her with his other hand.

"So? What do you suggest?"

She blinked. "Me? You fired me."

"And yet, you've apparently been haunting my porch ever since. You wanted to catch my attention and now you've done it. So, convince me that you're worth it."

She seemed to sit a little straighter at that and he could see the cogs spinning in her head. "Well, if you're not doing weapons anymore, find something else using the same sort of materials. Something less destructive is what I believe you're going for. Something that can help, right?"

He didn't answer, letting her think everything through based on what she assumed of him. They didn't know each other well after all. They only knew what they did based on what they've read up on and their last experience. He was curious to see what she thought, curious about her thought process.

"Renewable energy perhaps? A battery with the strength to power whole nations." She frowned then, immediately disliking it. "No. That in the wrong hands could cause a problem. Perhaps something that disables weapons then? But then if the enemy gets a hold of it…"

"Not so easy, is it?" He commented, unable to help himself.

She grunted in agreement. "Never said it would be. Just said we need something to shut everyone up."

"Good luck. I've been trying for ages and they still pound on my door."

"Well, you've obviously got a better idea than I do, hiding away working in that basement of yours."

"It's a lab, and I don't know how it will turn out. I probably don't want my company even knowing about it." He shot her a look, wondering if she'd get nosey about it, but she just hummed, sipping her coffee and cradling it close to her face, soaking in the heat.

"Personal project, then. Fun. I haven't been in a lab in eons."

"Why did you change your major?" He asked, catching the slight tightening of her hands around her mug.

"Things changed," she muttered, trying to brush the topic off. "Just couldn't do it anymore."

He tipped his head curiously and reaching across the table towards her left eyebrow. "What caused this? Your eye looks a little—"

Her eyes went wide, and she jerked back just as the door opened and Pepper returned with the food.

"So?" She enquired, heading over. "Everything work out? Or…" She trailed off as she caught Tony leaning back into his seat and Jess suddenly looking uneasy. "Right! So, who got the chow mein?"

I had gone home at some point during the night and ended up staying up to try and come up with a proposal that would satisfy the board of directors. Though at this point, I'm just trying to satisfy Stark. I sneezed loudly, rolling over in my bed with a groan as my alarm went off. I've got work. Got to get up. I slowly crawled out from under the blankets, unable to tell whether I wanted to stay under them permanently or throw them off and never touch them again. I was feverish, skin clammy and head pounding. Staying outside Tony's porch for the last few days had done nothing for my already exhausted body, adding a cold on top of it. I pushed through it though, knowing that I was supposed to meet with Obadiah and him later this evening as well as getting some work done.

I slipped on my dress shirt and jeans after a shower, begrudgingly bypassing the sweats and hoodie I wanted to lounge in until my cold would go away and headed out. The trip there felt far too long in my dazed state and once I pulled into the drive with two large cups of coffee beside me, I didn't feel much better. I sank into my desk chair with a heavy sigh, pulling out the files I needed and grimacing as I slid the one about Obadiah into a locked drawer. I still haven't been able to tell him about that yet. I really need to. I rubbed at my temples, downing some medication with my next gulp of the black coffee, and letting out a long breath. I cracked my neck and stretched out my fingers, before sinking into the pile of papers on my desk.

I don't know when Pepper finally knocked on the door, a bit dazed from fever and pushing through it as best I could to finish up some more emails to an awaiting company that was threatening to back out of a four-year contract with Stark Industries. God, you'd think they'd realize that picking at the fine print won't get them anywhere. He's still working for the best interests of the company. Just because it doesn't suit their interests doesn't mean—A hand touched my shoulder and I jolted violently, knocking a mostly empty cup of coffee onto a file and cursing as I scrambled to dab at it with some napkins.

"Oh, God. I'm so sorry. I thought you heard me come in," Pepper apologized, scooping up the file and dabbing at it as well.

"No, sorry. I wasn't paying attention and I can't see on that side," I answered idly, my mental filter down and out of the count at the moment apparently.

"What?"

I realized what I'd said then and grimaced. "I… I thought you knew," I muttered, pointing out the two pale scars intersecting my left eyebrow as I waved vaguely at my eye before turning my eyes back to the file, making sure it wasn't ruined. Though I have copies I can reprint.

"Oh… No, I'm sorry. I didn't…." Pepper apologized, eyeing me for a second.

"It's not in my file?" I questioned, putting away the rest of my paperwork and tossing the empty cup.

She shook her head. "We only look at past business ventures, not medical history."

"Lucky me." I glanced at her. "Don't tell Stark?"

She cracked a slight smile. "I won't. He'll either figure it out or he won't. He's not the most observant person when it comes to things like that."

I felt my shoulders relax slightly, before feeling a sneeze coming on. It happened a moment later, followed by two more before I groaned.

"Are you all right?" Pepper asked in concern. "I can ask them to reschedule if you're not well."

I waved her off. "No, no. He's finally agreed to meet again. Can't waste that chance, especially if Obadiah is supposed to join us. He'll have more info as to what the board is up to."

"Are you sure?"

"It's just a cold. I'll be fine," I waved her off. "I'll even take a sick day tomorrow if that'll make you feel better."

"You sound like him," she muttered, making me raise a brow as we headed out.

"Who?"

"Tony. Always thinking about work, even before himself."

I shrugged. "It's just how I've handled things. Like I said before, I've been where he's at. I still haven't quite gotten over the whole 'burying myself in work' thing, and… he's given me more work than ever."

"Just let me know if there's anything I can do," she pressed, eyeing me in concern.

I smiled a little. "You do enough already, Potts."

She gave me a ride to Tony's home, telling me something surprising. "He's secretly glad, you know."

"Hm?"

"Tony. He seems confused, but he asked the other day. About why you don't question him about anything. Nothing personal, I mean. Like his…" She tapped her chest and I remembered the glowing blue bits of metal and wire he had there.

"Oh, well… I don't like people prying into my business. Figured I'd offer him the same curtesy."

"That's what I told him, but he's suspicious."

I snorted. "When is he not? I'm serious though. I don't like prying, lawyer or otherwise. I only did it a bit the first time we met because he was being rather stubborn about things. Besides, you guys have my file. A good part of me is already out in the open and it's not my job to dig into yours unless it pertains to my business."

"But we don't know everything. He doesn't know about…" She glanced over at my left eye again. "Can I… What happened?"

"Car accident," I told her, though I knew that wasn't more than a small fragment of the truth of what happened. "Some shrapnel managed to nick my eye in just the right place. My vision on that side is just dark shapes. I was going to be a physicist before, maybe do computer coding, but hard to do that when my depth perception and vision is off, so I switched tracks. Had no choice."

"Sorry."

I shrugged. "Nothing I can do about it. Doctors fixed me up as best they could on my budget, and I owe them just for getting some vision, among other things. I just try not to let it get to me. I'm better off than most people after something like that. I can't be the top lawyer in the country, but I can get close, and that's good enough."

The look she sent me told me that she didn't believe that statement, but she was right. I hated not being able to be the best just because I was physically handicapped. Knowing that nothing could change that didn't make it hurt any less. I did what I could to keep up in my previous studies with computers and physics, but even I could tell that I was falling behind other students in that area after the incident. There was no point in struggling for something impossible, so I'd changed over to something that was. I wasn't as happy as I could be working in an office instead of in a lab, but it would do.

"Thank you," she said then as we pulled up into the drive.

"Hm? For what?"

"Helping him," she smiled, though I caught the hint of something bitter tucked away behind her eyes. "I've been trying for ages, but you were able to drag him out of the lab and get him talking again. I'm glad."

She climbed out and I took a second to let her words register in my mind before shaking my head and heading out after her. Obadiah showed up not much later, stepping in with a pizza box as Pepper smiled politely at him and went to try and get Tony's attention. Obadiah headed over to the coffee table where I was seated looking over some files, and I politely lifted my eyes to greet him.

"Hello, Mr. Stane. How did your meeting with the board go?"

He raised a brow and gestured to the pizza box. "How do you think?"

"Ah, not well then," I concluded easily, removing my glasses and packing the paperwork away so he had room to put the box down.

"No, not really. How has work been here?" He asked, settling in beside me as I moved the papers out of sight. "You're looking a bit pale."

Damn, it's getting noticeable. "Well, you know how he is. Every move he makes is five new files on my desk. I'm just trying to get through them all."

"Don't push yourself too hard," he chuckled lightly. "You might end up like Michael did."

That… sounded vaguely threatening. Note to self, find out from Scott if anything happened between him and Obadiah. Pepper sighed then, drawing my attention to her.

"I'm going to go downstairs and get him. It's either too loud for him to hear the intercom or he's absorbed in his work."

I cracked a small smile. "Okay. Remind me to bug him about getting a peek down there one day. I'm curious just how mad-scientist he is."

She smiled a little back and went down with a box and cup of tea, while Obadiah got up and moved to the piano after grabbing a drink.

"You play?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation light for now and as far away from business as I could get.

"I do. Not as much as I used to, but just enough to get by on a stressful day," Obadiah hummed, starting to lightly press the keys. "Do you do anything similar? Maybe a sport to destress?"

"I probably should," I remarked, closing my eyes and tipping my head back against the couch tiredly. "Haven't in a long while. I did kung fu in college and archery for a bit after I got hired before I stopped having the time and energy to go."

"You should find something. Keeping it all in is never good for anyone."

I hummed, tipping my head back up quickly and nearly giving myself whiplash when I heard a noise downstairs. I exchanged a look with Obadiah, before getting up and moving to the top of the steps.

"You two okay down there?" I called out, waiting a moment before Pepper called back up.

"Yes, we're fine!" She said, appearing on the stairs a second later. "He said he'll be right up."

"That's a change from the last time I was here," Obadiah chuckled. "Glad to see he's becoming less reclusive already."

She and I returned to the couch.

"Only because of Jess," she commented, making me roll my eyes.

"I only pissed him off and nearly lost my job because of it."

"Oh, that's rare," Obadiah replied, shooting me a look. "I don't think he's ever lost his temper enough to fire someone. What did you do?"

"Like I said, I upset him. Sometimes it works, other times, I'm out of a job."

He laughed. "Oh, I like you then. You've got some spunk in you, Jess!"

I lifted my own glass in acknowledgment as he played on and Tony soon made his way up the stairs.

"How'd it go?" He asked, earning a look from Obadiah before Tony spotted the pizza box. "Oh. Went that bad, huh?"

"Just because I brought pizza back from New York doesn't mean it went bad," Obadiah claimed, though we all knew better.

"Uh-huh. Sure doesn't. Oh, boy. You want some of this, Jess?"

I blinked, but accepted a slice, giving Pepper a nudge to see if she wanted one, but she shook her head no.

"Would have gone better if you were there," Obadiah retorted, stopping his playing and grabbing his drink as he headed over.

"Uh-uh," Tony argued. "You told me to lay low. That's what I've been doing. I lay low and you and Jess take care of all the—" He wiped at his mouth as Obadiah held out his arms.

"Hey, come on. In public. The press," Obadiah specified. "This was a board of director's meeting."

"This was a board of director's meeting?" Tony questioned, and I grunted around a mouthful of pizza.

"I told you they were getting antsy."

"The board is claiming you have posttraumatic stress," Obadiah informed. "They're filing an injunction."

"A what?"

"They want to lock you out."

"Why? 'Cause the stocks dipped forty points? We knew that was gonna happen."

"Fifty-six and a half," Pepper corrected, making him whip to her.

"It doesn't matter. We own the controlling interest in the company."

"But the board is the one who has to get the shareholder's agreement on those changes," I explained to him. "So, yes. You can tell the company to stop making weapons, but if the shareholders are fighting against it, then they have the right to speak with the board of directors to try and change that. I told you, Mr. Stark, you've upset a lot of people."

"They're making the case that you and your new direction isn't in the company's best interest," Obadiah added, angering him further.

"I'm being responsible. That's a new direction for me—for the company. I mean me, on the company's behalf. Being responsible for the way that…" Tony said, earning a look from Obadiah and a sigh from Pepper. He shot me a look then. "And don't call me Mr. Stark. Weren't you supposed to be fixing this?"

"She's doing everything she can," Obadiah defended me.

"Oh, this is great," Tony complained, undoubtedly feeling some sort of frustration at the disbelieving looks he was receiving and getting up.

"Oh, come on. Hey. Tony," Obadiah tried to stop him as he took the pizza box with him. "Tony."

"I'll be in the shop."

Obadiah shot me a look, as though silently asking me to stop him, but this was on him. I've been working with him as best I can. You lot are trying to change him to work with you. I'm not helping in that. Sighing, Obadiah got up and hurried after him, catching him by the shoulder.

"Hey, hey, hey. Tony, listen. I'm trying to turn this thing around, but you've got to give me something. Something to pitch them."

I went to say we'd been trying that, but he didn't give me the chance as he pointed at Tony's chest piece.

"Let me have the engineers analyze that. You know, draw up some specs—"

"No."

"It'll give me a bone to throw the boys in New York!"

"No! Absolutely not! This stays with me. That's it, Obi. Forget it."

"All right. Well, this stays with me then." Obadiah took the pizza box back. "Go on. Here. You can have a piece. Take two."

"Thank you." Tony snatched another slice of pizza, making for the stairs.

"You mind if I come down there and see what you're doing?" Obadiah called after him.

"Goodnight, Obi."

Obadiah sighed as I huffed.

"Now, you've gone and done it," I complained, shooting him a look over the couch. "I thought we were going to try and get somewhere today."

"I did try, Jess. He's just not going to work with us."

"That's not the way I see it," I argued, getting up as well once I finished my drink—ignoring the dizziness that overcame me for a brief second.

"Oh, what would you know? You only met him a few days ago."

"And in those few days, I've managed to get him to meet with us, discuss business propositions to give to the board, and get him semi-functioning again," I countered, shooting him a small glare of annoyance. "I'm trying, as you said. What you're doing? You're trying to get him to change to work with you and the board. Give him a chance to call the shots. Let him come up with something by giving him ideas to work with like I am. Maybe then, you'll get somewhere. Poking at his sore spots—that device, how responsible he is or isn't—that's just going to get him to shut down again!"

Obadiah glared, shoving the pizza back at me. "Then, you deal with him. And if I don't hear something back in the next few days, just remember that you're hired by the company too. He's not the only one who can fire you."

He stormed out and I rubbed at my aching head, setting the box aside as I leaned heavily on the back of the couch.

"Like I don't have enough on my plate?" I complained under my breath. "I'm trying, dammit."

Pepper got up in concern when my legs suddenly wobbled and gave out from under me. "Oh, God. Jess? Jess, are you okay?"

"Sorry. Sorry," I apologized as she grabbed my elbow and helped me up and around the couch. "I just… I need to sit down for a minute."

Her hand brushed over my forehead as she lightly pushed me down onto the couch. "You're burning up. I can call a car to take you home. Is there someone I can call?"

"No, no. It's fine. Call the car."

"Absolutely not," she argued. "You shouldn't be alone like this!" She took a step away. "I'll go get Tony. We'll call a doctor and set you up in a guest bedroom."

"Pepper. Pepper! Don't—" I cut myself off and let out a sigh.

She'd already disappeared downstairs and as I sank into the pillows and drew my arm over my eyes, I resisted the urge to scream, clenching my teeth.

"Dammit," I spat, chin wobbling slightly as my eyes burned. "…dammit."