Before Pepper could process this shocking revelation, Linus reached out with his large hand and naturally wrapped his arm around her waist.
Linus’s voice was low, laced with the calm confidence of a man in control.
“Come with me.
Ignore this trash.”
Pepper instinctively tried to break free.
“Mr.
Vance, please let go.
I can walk on my own.”
Linus ignored her protest entirely.
The black-clad bodyguards roughly pushed aside the rabid reporters, forcefully clearing a path through the crowd.
The two stepped into the private elevator of Stark Tower.
As the doors closed, the clamor of the outside world was cut off.
Linus leaned one hand against the wall right beside Pepper’s ear, completely trapping her within his space.
“What?
Still haven’t snapped out of it?”
Pepper bit her lower lip, forcing herself to stay calm.
“Mr.
Vance, thank you for helping me out just now.
But you maliciously shorted Stark Industries and are now loudly announcing your acquisition of shares.
What is your goal?”
Linus chuckled, his chest vibrating right in front of Pepper’s eyes.
“Does making money require a goal?”
“Your brother Tony left behind such a massive mess just to go missing in Afghanistan.
I have to look after his house for him.”
His gaze traveled from Pepper’s eyes down her straight nose, finally landing on her tightly pressed red lips.
“Besides, Stark Industries is a very sweet pie—whether we’re talking about the company, or…
the people.”
Pepper tilted her head, trying to evade his aggressive gaze.
“Mr.
Vance, please mind your words.
I have an emergency board meeting to attend.
I don’t have time for jokes.”
Linus withdrew his hand and adjusted his cufflinks.
“What a coincidence.”
“As a newly minted major shareholder, I happen to be on the guest list for that meeting.
Let’s go, Ms.
Potts.
I’ll take you to tear that pathetic board of directors to shreds.”
***
The doors to the penthouse conference room were wide open.
A massive circular conference table was surrounded by shareholders dressed in business suits.
Sitting to the right of the main seat was Obadiah Stane, a founding member of Stark Industries and a father figure to Tony.
Obadiah sat with his hands clasped on the table, his tone exceptionally severe.
“Pepper, the military’s search and rescue has been going on for over two weeks.
We must face reality.
The company’s market value is evaporating daily.
The media and the public need answers!”
Pepper stood at the end of the table, her hands pressing down so hard her knuckles turned white.
“Tony is alive!
The search and rescue funding cannot be cut!
Are you going to snuff out the very last shred of hope?”
A portly shareholder slammed his hand on the table and stood up.
“Enough!”
“We’ve poured fifty million dollars into the desert looking for a dead man!
Who is going to manage the company’s mess now?”
“You’re just a personal assistant.
You have no right to make decisions here.”
“I propose we immediately freeze the search funding and have Mr.
Obadiah Stane fully take over as Chief Executive Officer!”
Murmurs of agreement rippled through the room.
Pepper stood isolated and helpless.
The fatigue, grievances, and despair she had pent up over the past weeks flared up completely in this enclosed room.
She bit her lip, her eyes rimmed with red, yet she could find no leverage to push back.
Without Tony protecting her, she was nothing but an insect to these corporate wolves.
“Who says she doesn’t have the right?”
Linus strode into the conference room, his hand casually tucked into his trousers pocket.
He walked over to Pepper, pressing his large hand onto her shoulder to firmly guide her down into her chair.
“Leave the rest to me.”
“Just sit back and watch the show.”
Obadiah narrowed his eyes, glaring at the intruder.
“Who are you?
How did security let you in!”
Linus pulled out the chair next to Pepper and sat down with a commanding posture.
He casually tossed a document onto the center of the table.
Folding his hands, he swept his eyes across the room.
“Linus Vance, Star Umbrella Corporation.”
“I happen to hold fifteen percent of your company’s shares.”
“So, I believe I have the right to sit at this table.”
The room erupted.
Obadiah’s face turned ash-gray.
It was this very Star Umbrella Corporation that had aggressively shorted the stock after Tony’s disappearance, making a fortune, only to turn around and become a major shareholder.
Obadiah gritted his teeth.
“Mr.
Vance, you are merely a shareholder.
You have no authority to interfere in corporate management.”
Linus leaned back, casually crossing one leg over the other, exuding absolute authority.
“Corporate management?
You call this management?”
“Tony Stark might be a playboy who only knows how to build weapons and pick up women, but if he finds out that the moment he stepped out, a bunch of old geezers with one foot in the grave ganged up to bully his woman…”
Linus paused, his gaze sweeping over the portly shareholder who had slammed the table.
“How do you think he’ll react with his temper?
When he gets back, will he shove a missile right down your throats?”
The portly shareholder shuddered under Linus’s lethal gaze, desperately trying to save face.
“Tony is dead!
We are saving the company!”
Linus uttered a single sentence indifferently:
“Whoever cuts the search and rescue funds, I will dump my shares.”
The conference room fell into dead silence.
Everyone knew how terrifying Linus’s cash flow was.
If he maliciously dumped his fifteen percent stake right now, Stark Industries would go straight into bankruptcy liquidation.
Obadiah clenched his fists, veins bulging on his forehead, but he couldn’t squeeze out a single word.
Linus turned his head to look at Pepper, who was sitting beside him with a face full of disbelief.
He reached out naturally, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
Looking around the room, his voice turned icy.
“Ms.
Potts is under my protection now.”
“Every word she speaks represents the will of Star Umbrella Corporation.”
“If anyone has an objection, you may leave right now.
I will buy up your shares at market price.”
No one dared to move.
A tense, impending coup was forcefully crushed by Linus in the most tyrannical manner.
***
Half an hour later.
Inside the private lounge on the top floor of Stark Industries.
This was originally Tony’s exclusive space.
Pepper took off her high heels and curled up barefoot on the wide leather sofa.
Once her tensed nerves relaxed, a tidal wave of exhaustion completely overwhelmed her.
Covering her face, the tears she had held back for half a month finally fell silently.
The door opened.
Linus walked in carrying a steaming cup of freshly brewed coffee.
He placed the cup on the coffee table and sat down right next to Pepper.
The sofa sank deeply under his weight, leaving very little distance between them.
Pepper quickly wiped her tears away, trying to sit up straight.
“My apologies, Mr.
Vance.
I made a fool of myself.
Thank you so much for today…”
Linus placed a long index finger gently against Pepper’s soft lips.
“Shh.”
He withdrew his finger and softly wiped away the tear tracks from the corners of her eyes.
“In front of me, there’s no need to pretend to be strong.”
“Is it worth getting yourself into such a state for a man who isn’t coming back?”
Pepper’s voice trembled, less answering him and more trying to convince herself:
“Tony…
he will come back.
I have to protect this place for him.”
Linus chuckled.
“You can’t protect it.”
“Even if Obadiah didn’t make his move today, the Wall Street wolves would have picked this place clean.”
He locked eyes with her.
“Crying over such a small scene?
Ms.
Potts, with this level of mental resilience, how are you going to work by my side in the future?”
Pepper froze.
“Work by your side?”
Linus let go of her chin, picked up the cup, and held it to her lips.
“Take the coffee and drink it.”
Pepper took a small sip.
The warm liquid slid down her throat, dispelling the chill in her stomach.
Linus watched her swallow with satisfaction, his thumb lightly brushing the corner of her lips.
“Since I’m a major shareholder now, I won’t just sit by and watch this ship sink.
If Stark Industries wants to stabilize its stock price, it must roll out a new technological breakthrough to shut the investors’ mouths.”
Pepper set down her cup anxiously.
“All of the company’s current weapons development projects have stalled.
The military has a tight grip on things.”
“Who said we’re building weapons?”
Linus leaned back, stretching his long arm to rest naturally on the sofa back behind Pepper.
“Star Umbrella Corporation holds an absolute, era-defining technology.”
“Once we release it, not just Stark Industries, but all of Wall Street will fall to their knees before us.”
Linus stood up.
“Go home and get some sleep.”
“Tomorrow afternoon, I’ll have the lead researcher of this project bring the documents to you.”
“I believe you two powerful women will have a lot in common.”
Linus adjusted his suit lapel, leaving Pepper with an imposing silhouette.
“Prepare your bargaining chips, Ms.
Potts.”
“Tomorrow, you’ll be signing your life away.”