Ch43. Please, no more scandals!

Pepper did not care she was interrupting them. She mostly felt disappointment in Tony and Miss Romanoff. Tony, she could understand. He was always a playboy but she thought Miss Romanoff would be able to resist his advances and Tony would eventually get bored of it.

The redhead looked like the exact stern no-nonsense type Tony needed to steer him in the right direction! But Pepper was apparently wrong with her impression of the woman since... here they were.

Worse yet, Pepper had no idea if the redhead was really seduced by Tony or if she tried to accomplish some kind of goal by doing this.

Pepper did not know which of the two options would make her more disappointed with the woman but she would not be the first and probably won't be the last trying to get pregnant with Tony's child if it is the second option.

Pepper was supremely glad that Tony never managed to knock up any of his numerous one-night stands. That was basically a miracle in itself!

It was still annoying to deal with all the women calling because they thought they had Tony's child only for a paternity test to be demanded.

It was always hilarious to see the faces of these women when the test was mentioned. It was as if they thought they would just take their word for it.

That was a standard procedure in dealing with these kinds of situations and Pepper loved seeing the stunned looks of all these bitches when the paternity test came negative.

It was always a hugely nerve-wracking experience because there was always the possibility of it coming positive which would mean another level of a clusterfuck but fortunately, despite having to deal with at least five of those situations each year, it never had while Pepper worked as Tony's assistant.

Tony and Natasha finally stopped kissing and Natasha went to get her shirt with clear dissatisfaction on her face while Tony decided to lean back into his seat, not bothering to clothe his uncovered upper part.a

"Hi, Peps. What are you doing here?" Tony casually asked, which for some reason did not seem to calm her down one bit.

"Stark Industries does not need another scandal!" Pepper exclaimed glaring at Tony.

After Afghanistan, he seemed to become a better person. He was more responsible and surprisingly reasonable! That's why she accepted the job as the Stark Industries CEO without worrying about him. Seeing him falling back into his old habits felt like a personal failure for Pepper.

Tony rolled his eyes at her, "No, we are not sleeping together, mom." He mockingly said before shrugging and jovially adding, "Not yet anyway."

Pepper's gaze suddenly found its way to Natasha who gave a placating smile to her, causing Pepper to huff in response.

Only then did Pepper's mind register what Tony said and her head snapped back towards him.

"Wait! Not yet? You plan to!?" She exclaimed in outrage.

"Sure." Tony gave a simple admittance.

Pepper tried to find at least a hint of shame in his expression but it seemed he was actually proud of it too!

She couldn't believe her eyes. It was obvious there was no repentance to be given by Tony. He thought this was totally fine! He planned to screw his personal assistant and...

Pepper's eyes returned to Natasha as she remembered the woman had a fault in this situation too. "Miss Romanoff! Could you explain yourself?" Pepper crossly asked, crossing her hands on her chest.

"Mrs. Hogan, I think there is nothing I need to explain. I also fail to understand why you care so much about Mr. Stark's love life." Natasha tried to be as diplomatic as possible but she didn't like Pepper sticking her nose into their business.

Natasha had no idea if this new feeling was possessiveness but she was ready to verbally tear Pepper down if necessary.

She wasn't one to react impulsively but when she remembered the relationship Tony shared with Pepper from their past, Natasha was glad this Pepper was already married. And as a good married woman, she should not stick her nose to the intimate business of others, no?

Hearing Natasha's reply, Pepper became speechless.

"I... I am his friend and the CEO of his company! Of course, I care what kind of harlot Tony took to his bed this time! I am also the woman who had to deal with exactly five hundred sixty-two women over the years, giving them my condolences as I send them home after they had a one-night stand with Tony!" Pepper heatedly ranted before giving Natasha a disappointed look, "I expected better from you."

Normally, this would have been Tony's time to shine and enter himself into the dialogue with some kind of extremely witty remark but this time, he decided to stay benched. This was a 'discussion' between two redheads! He would not ruin such rare entertainment just to feel included!

He decided to observe and enjoy.

"No. You expected me to act like you, Mrs. Hogan." Natasha casually rebuked as she fastened the last button on her shirt. "But I am not you. Tony and I got close during our time living together and found an understanding. I am not going to deny my feelings and act as if nothing was going on between us."

"An understanding you say?" Pepper snorted, "Is he paying you for..." She derisively trailed off.

Now, this was something Tony couldn't just let slide. He never ever, not even once, paid for sex. This was a low blow from Pepper.

But before he could show his outrage, Natasha spoke first, lifting her eyebrow at Pepper with amusement visible in her expression, "Do you really think Tony would pay a woman for that?" She asked in a bemused tone.

"Probably not." Pepper quickly relented, understanding that it was a weak accusation. This also seemed to stop her and make her calm down her temper a bit which unfortunately for Tony meant, there would be no catfight between two redheads.

Granted, Natasha would definitely win but still... Tony wanted to see that!

"Look, Miss Romanoff," Pepper started, much more calmly than before, "I need you to understand if your relationship with Tony falls through, there will be no compensation, no suing for sexual harassment, no blackmailing. Nothing. You will get nothing from it but a very embarrassing moment and the possibility of being fired with the worst job references you could get."

"You think I am trying to take an advantage of Tony." Natasha summed up what Pepper was getting at and blinked in surprise. In hindsight, she should have seen that Pepper was worried about this rather than speaking out of jealousy.

"I don't know you." Pepper deadpanned, "I only see a new personal assistant of a known playboy billionaire trying to get into his bed. You tell me."

Natasha looked at Tony, knowing that nothing she could say in this situation would be capable of changing Pepper's opinion, causing him to sigh in resignation.

"Pepper," He started in exasperation, "We really started to feel something for each other during these past few months of living together and just recently decided to try exploring it. You don't have to worry. I don't intend to end our relationship after sleeping with her and she is not trying to get pregnant so she could blackmail me." He bluntly said.

Tony only realized that might not have been the best approach when Pepper's lips tightly pursed and her expression darkened.

Pepper looked mutinous, ready to argue her point across the stubborn man but for some reason, she suddenly bit down on her lower lip in frustration.

"Fine," She eventually ground out. "I am no longer your assistant and it is not my business anyway. Just... make sure to not cause another scandal, please. Can you promise me that?"

"I will do my best." Tony smiled and Pepper returned his smile, albeit a lot more weakly.

It was obvious the woman was not convinced but she was willing to take a step back. That was enough for Natasha. Pepper was Tony's friend, one he cherished, so creating a dispute between them was out of the question.

Natasha did not want to make problems for Tony. Not for something petty like that.

Pepper looked at Tony's face for a while longer as if looking for signs of falsehood before she sighed. "Good. I am sorry Tony but I suddenly feel a bit too tired. I will come for a visit some other time." She wryly spoke and when Tony nodded in understanding, she turned around and walked away.

Tony and Natasha looked at each other... before deciding not to continue with their previous activity. The mood was ruined.

"J, why did you not inform me about Pepper?" Tony suddenly asked when he was sure Pepper left.

"I thought it would be funny, Sir. I am sorry for this miscalculation." JARVIS sheepishly answered.

Tony almost groaned while Natasha chuckled. Apparently, having a self-evolving A.I. came with some problems like this. Too much free will and mistakes are bound to happen.

"Moving on..." JARVIS nonchalantly continued as if it wasn't obvious he was trying to change the topic, "Sir, we have located Aldrich Killian's base of operations."

That stopped both Natasha and Tony in their tracks.