“Shocking!
The mastermind behind the plot to murder the Stark brothers turns out to be their uncle, one of the founding fathers of Stark Industries, Obadiah Stane.
Is this a distortion of human nature or a degradation of morality?”
“Yesterday, Obadiah Stane jumped to his death from the penthouse of a five-star hotel out of fear of punishment.
His various crimes were exposed immediately by public-spirited citizens, including but not limited to—”
“Harboring assassins, premeditated murder, racial discrimination, interfering in the internal affairs of foreign nations, harassing underage girls, providing weapon support to multiple overseas terrorist organizations…”
“…That is all for this report.”
“We will continue to closely follow further developments in this matter.”
Stark Tower.
Obadiah’s office.
It had now become Leon’s office.
Sitting in the executive chair with his legs crossed, Leon closed the news interface on his computer and shook his head with a sigh.
“If you knew this day would come, why do it in the first place?”
“If you had just stayed in your place and stopped causing trouble, how would I have ended up in this seat?”
Indeed.
Because of the void left by Obadiah, a core pillar of the company, Leon was conscripted by Pepper once again.
Pepper had forcibly thrust the position of Executive Director onto Leon’s head, even though this was a role Pepper herself was supposed to hold in the original timeline.
Gazing at the steep plunge of Stark Industries’ stock on his computer screen, Leon curled his lip.
“Just wait.
Sooner or later, you’ll regret this.”
Following the scandal involving Obadiah, the already shaky stock of Stark Industries had taken another deep dive.
Right now, countless retail investors were dumping their scrap shares like hot potatoes, trying to cut their losses in time.
How could they possibly know that this was merely growing pains before Stark Industries reached new heights?
In a few days, when Tony publicly announces his identity as Iron Man, Stark Industries will rise from the ashes and achieve even greater glory.
Everything will return to normal.
Leon was already buying up shares en masse from those investors who had lost faith in Stark Industries, taking as many as he could get.
Originally, he had wanted to kindly remind those investors not to give up their shares so easily, to believe in Stark Industries, to believe in Tony.
But their insults were far too foul.
Saying Tony had weak kidneys was one thing—after all, that was a fact.
But they had actually slandered Leon, claiming he couldn’t get it up anymore!
Could Leon tolerate that?
So he decided to go full villain.
He would just wait for the stock to surge, then harvest them like a crop to make those big-mouthed idiots starve.
The hell with them!
Just then, a knock sounded outside Leon’s office door.
“Come in.”
However, when he saw that the visitor was Pepper, he instantly reverted to his true colors, slumping into his chair like a lazy fish without a dream.
Pepper, dressed in a sleek secretary outfit complete with black stockings, walked up to Leon’s desk holding a stack of documents with a smile.
“Leon, is the Executive Director’s seat comfortable?”
“Don’t even start, Pepper,” Leon said with a bitter smile.
“If there were a major in picking up girls, I’d definitely get top marks.
But managing a company is really beyond me.
Aren’t you afraid I’ll run our family business straight into the ground?”
“Leon, given the current state of the company, we might go bankrupt before you even get the chance.”
“So as the second young master of Stark Industries, it’s time for you to set an example.”
Knowing Leon’s nature inside and out, Pepper placed a stack of profile files featuring attractive women—ranging from young girls to mature ladies—in front of him, continuing, “Even if you do nothing at all except sit in this office and make others believe that Leon Stark, who used to do nothing but play around, is now working hard for the survival of the company…
that will be enough.”
“Even if, in reality, you’ve simply changed the location where you pick up girls.”
“You really know me best, Pepper.
Long live understanding!”
Deeply moved, Leon reached out to take the documents to inspect their merits, but Pepper pressed her hand down over them.
“Leon, having said that, don’t misunderstand,” Pepper warned, her eyes narrowing slightly.
“They are all good girls here to apply for the position of secretary to the Executive Director, not concubines chosen for your harem.”
“I know, I know.”
Leon waved his hand, pulled the stack of files out from under Pepper’s hand, and began examining them seriously.
Meanwhile, Pepper introduced them from the side, emphasizing key points.
“Leon, these girls are all economics and management PhDs from prestigious universities.
In terms of capability, assisting you in managing the company will certainly be no problem.”
Hearing this, Leon raised an eyebrow, sensing the underlying meaning in Pepper’s words.
He proactively asked, “Then Pepper, who do you think I should pick?”
“They’re all pretty big…
I mean, they’re all pretty excellent.
I’m getting a bit dizzy looking through them.”
Giving Leon a playful glare, Pepper purposefully drew out the very bottom resume from the stack in Leon’s hands.
Since Leon hadn’t finished going through all the files yet, he didn’t know what the woman looked like, so his curious gaze followed the paper in Pepper’s hand.
“Sharon Carter—”
“Graduated from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, fluent in Russian, French, Chinese, and Italian, holding dual doctorates in Finance and Management as well as Marketing and Real Estate.”
“And…”
“And she counts as my junior alumnus?
Is there a bit of a senior taking care of a junior angle here?” Leon teased, knowing that Pepper had also graduated from the University of Pennsylvania.
“That’s right.”
Pepper nodded, admitting it frankly.
“Precisely the area you lack the most.”
“That’s certainly true.”
Leon took the profile from Pepper and examined it carefully.
“Oh?
She also spent some time as an exchange student at Qingbei University in China?”
“Yes, so I thought the two of you would have a lot to talk about.”
“She’s the one,” Leon finalized.
“Pepper, you should have just brought her straight to me.
Why go through all these extra steps?”
“It’s a secretary for you, not for me,” Pepper said, rolling her eyes at Leon.
“So your opinion is what matters most.”
“Besides, we should give every talented applicant an equal opportunity.”
“Pepper, just like what we did just now, as long as people are involved, there will be personal bias.
There’s never been true equality in this world.”
“Fine.”
“Our young master can occasionally utter philosophical aphorisms like that now.
That’s good progress.”
Pepper chuckled with her hand over her mouth, speaking in a tone meant for coaxing a child.
“Oh, please, Pepper,” Leon said, speechless.
“Don’t talk to me in that tone.
You’re giving me goosebumps.”
“Okay.”
“I’ve already notified her.
She should be here shortly.”
Pepper sent a message on her phone, then repeatedly warned Leon with concern, “Carter is a good girl.
Don’t go laying a hand on her.”
“Keep in mind she’s also passed the bar exam.
She could easily get you slapped with a sexual harassment lawsuit.”
“Got it, Pepper.
I promise not to lay a hand on her.” Leon said it out loud, but inside he was thinking: *I’ll only lay a hand on her lower half.*
Passing up a little lamb delivered right to his doorstep was simply not Leon’s style.
Besides, she was hardly a “good girl.” As a female agent of SHIELD, none of them had simple intentions, so Leon could mess with her without any moral burden whatsoever.
Instead of letting her get involved with Captain America later, only to be abandoned and end up turning into a villain, it was better to let Leon take advantage of her right now.
Leon just happened to be in desperate need of such a “capable” and high-quality female secretary.