( TIRAMISU )
SHE WAS PLAYING SOLITAIRE ON THE COMPUTER. As much as Stark Industries could be the bustling epicenter of science and creativity and people would be milling around the lobby, waiting for their turn to come and talk to her, today it was dead. Obadiah was in his office, working on paperwork, and Tony was not in yet. And, to be completely honest, if Tony was going to show, it was going to be after lunch, more around mid-afternoon.
Thanks to all the tabloids, Cherry knew exactly what the man had done last night. The red head on his arm was probably one happy woman, even if she was hungover as hell and maybe a little broke. Tony hadn't been seen doing anything too adventurous as of late until last night, where he had drowned himself in alcohol, stumbled to the nearest casino, and gambled away all his money. Well, that's what the tabloid had said, anyway.
Cherry was sure that he was sleeping at the current time - ten in the morning. Or he was at his mansion, down in the lab that Cherry had ever only heard about from Pepper as she complained about Tony's choices over coffee. However, she doubted that he had gambled away his money. And whether that red head had left broken-hearted or filled with hope in the morning was something Cherry really didn't want to know.
She wasn't the only employee to have a crush on Tony. She also wasn't the only one who didn't want to know or really care about his exploits. Sure, some of the woman talked about him in the break room and gossiped about his latest model-like girl. Cherry didn't really want to hear about it as she poured her mug full of the coffee in the break room that the girls really didn't know how to brew. It always turned out like sludge, but dammit, it was strong and fueled the caffeine addiction Cherry knew she had but wasn't going to do anything about. Though, most mornings, she stopped at the Starbucks on her way to work and got a taste of actual good coffee before she had to endure the torture that was the break room coffee.
Cherry almost let out a cheer when she was finally able to finish a game, not fucking up the placement of cards or getting one of those shuffles that didn't let you win. She was able to hold it back, however, and blinked at her computer as embarrassment flood her system. Thank God nobody was around to see that. She grabbed her mug of gross coffee, taking a sip before clearing her throat and checking if there was anything that actually needed to be done. Scrolling through some of the appointments that Pepper had to cancel for Tony to see what they were. She scoffed at the sight of Justin Hammer's name, knowing that he was trying to get into Tony's good side to steal secrets.
"Cheryl!" Cherry turned to the older man making his way out of the elevator, her back straightening when she noticed Obadiah Stane. He was looking a little disheveled, his tie a little loose. Obadiah stopped at her desk, hit his fist against the wood lightly in a fidget, and gave her a tight smile, "Can you cancel my appointments today? Something personal has come up and I have to go deal with it."
Cherry nodded as she switched to Obadiah's schedule, looking at the first number, before smiling back at the man, "Of course, Mr. Stane. Would you like me to reschedule them for another time or leave them for you to?"
Obadiah thought for a second, before he was taking a deep breath and saying, "Schedule half of them for the day after tomorrow and the other half the one after that." Cherry nodded, picking up the phone that was on her desk and starting to dial. Obadiah had took two steps away from her desk before he was turning around. She moved the speaker away from her mouth with her eyebrow raised at him. "If Tony comes in, could you give me a call on my cell?"
"Of course, Mr. Stane," Cherry said, smiling, before she was going back to the task she was given. She watched him as he left, running a hand over his bald head and then into his beard, wondering what was so urgent that he had to reschedule the appointments for another day. As far as Cherry knew, he didn't have any kids and he spent most of his time worrying about Stark Industries anyway. The person on the other line picked up right as Obadiah walked out the door, "Hello, this is Cheryl Armstrong from Stark Industries, I'm looking for a Mr. Jackson Ryder. This is him? Unfortunately, Mr. Stane had something urgent come up and he isn't able to make your meeting today..."
It took her thirty minutes to reschedule, mostly because there was one caller that was adamant on seeing Obadiah even though he wasn't here to see anymore and she had to explain that to him five times before he got super angry and hung up on her. She simply ran a hand over her face, knowing that he'd be calling back in about twenty minutes to schedule the new meeting anyway.
Once that was dealt with, Cherry slouched in her seat, looking around the empty lobby and wondering what she had done in a past life to make that guy such an asshole. She sighed, before looking back on her computer and moving back to play solitaire. She had another hour before her lunch break, so she doubted anyone would mind if she filled the time by playing the game since nobody was there.
In that time, only one person cycled through the lobby and it was a lost scientist intern that Cherry had pointed in the right direction with an amused smile. When it was five minutes to her break, the phone rang, Cherry picking it up with the regular greeting that she told everyone. Stark Industries, this is Cheryl Armstrong, how may I help you today?
"Cherry!" Pepper's voice came through the speaker, Cherry jumping slightly at the nickname. She had been answering to Cheryl or Ms. Armstrong all day, so while the name was nice to hear, it was somehow a little strange. "What are you doing for lunch?"
"Uh-" Cherry thought for a second, before she was pursing her lips as she looked at the schedule to make sure she wasn't going to be missing anything important. On that day, there was seemingly nothing, so she smiled to herself and answered her friend, "I was probably just going to eat my lunch at my desk. I have a chicken Caesar today." She was excited to dig into it too.
"I'm coming to pick you up, lunch is on Tony," Pepper said, then hung up the phone. Cherry stared at the phone once she took it away from her ear, blinking down at in. The abruptness made her think that something had happened with Tony and as much as that worried her, Cherry really hoped that she was going to see the billionaire. Even if he was hungover and wore sunglasses inside whatever restaurant they were in.
But, knowing Pepper, she wouldn't have the pleasure of seeing Tony in such a disheveled state. Even in his drunken tabloid pictures, Tony always looked picture perfect. The only people that got to see him looking like he was having a bad day were Happy, Pepper, and James Rhodes. Cherry has never met the military man more than just a quick hello when he was rushing through the lobby to go see Tony. Happy and her were actually quite close, like her and Pepper, because he always kept her company when he was there waiting for Tony. He was quite the enjoyable man, with his lame jokes and his happy-go-lucky attitude.
A few minutes later, Pepper was walking into the lobby looking as professional as she always did, her orange hair pulled back into a stylish ponytail and her heels high as hell but Cherry knew she could wear them all day. Unlike her, who had already kicked her shoes off under her desk. Not like anyone was going to see that. Plus, days she knew she was going to be showing people to particular places, she remembered to keep them on.
Quickly slipping said heels on, Cherry grabbed her purse, shared a warm smile with Pepper before making her way out of the lobby after telling Renee that she was out to lunch. Renee, who Cherry sometimes forgot existed because she also sat at the desk and did her job quietly and only snorted when she spotted Cherry doing something like playing solitaire. (Sometimes she helped though, so she wasn't completely forgotten.)
Pepper lead her to her car, climbing into the driver's seat and starting it up as Cherry climbed into the passenger. She pulled away from the curb, the two of them chatting as Pepper drove them to wherever she wanted to take Cherry to eat. Cherry wondered if Tony just tossed Pepper his credit card with a here, treat yourself and wouldn't put it past him. That was the type of relationship him and Pepper seemed to have. It made Cherry wonder if it was more than just the regular Personal Assistant/Boss relationship.
Cherry was honestly not going to ask though, because she was afraid to be miss judging it for romantic feelings. Maybe all the weird shit Tony had put Pepper through, like showing out his one night stands or holding something dangerous in his lab had just strengthened the bond of friendship between the two. Then Cherry thought about how she wished she had a relationship like that; where her friend could ask her to do something crazy and she would have nothing but complete and utter trust in them.
She didn't want to think about any of that though, so she made a joke and sent Pepper a smile because the red head was lucky and she shouldn't be angry about the fact that someone else was happy. That would make her some sort of asshole, which she was happy about their friendship.
They arrived at some super fancy cafe place that had Cherry shifting her weight from foot-to-foot as they waited for the hostess to find them a table. Cherry was pretty sure she could see several parties of housewives having a late brunch, sipping on what she can only guess is mimosa and gossiping, no doubt. Though, she had never been privy to it, Cherry wondered what it was like to be rich enough to do such a thing every couple of days with your friends. She has had her share of brunches, but they are usually with Pepper and at a classy yet cheap, hole in the wall place. She's pretty sure this is one of the places Tony would occasionally bring Pepper, when he isn't busy or hungover around lunch time.
Soon enough, the hostess leads them to a slightly secluded area away from the tipsy wives. Cherry had watched one almost tip out of her chair she was laughing to hard and had to swerve to avoid her. She hadn't crash landed, thank God, but she had been very close. None of her friends had seemed to notice she had almost taken a tumble, however.
When they sat down and Cherry had gotten a water (even if Tony was paying, she still felt bad at spending an outrageous amount), Pepper had scanned the menu quickly before setting it on the table, making a face. Cherry found herself sighing as she glanced at the menu, before she was saying, "What did he do now?"
This sent Pepper into a rant that lasted until the time they got their food, each woman ordering something along the lines of healthy. Pepper told Cherry about Tony's couple of days bender, which she had been doing such a good job making it seem like he was just taking a short vacation until the previous night had ruined it. The red head that had been on his arm was threatening to release some dirty pictures unless compensated accordingly. To add to the stab wounds, Pepper had to deal with Tony throwing up something that looked like a mix of blue-purple into his toilet. Whatever he had been drinking must have been sugary and not his usual scotch.
Cherry had found herself nodding at the right times, leaning slightly back in her chair as she listened to everything that Pepper had to say. When the woman was all finished, she looked a lot less tense from when they first sat down, and she actually hummed in appreciation to what she was eating.
When they had both finished eating and order some outrageous desserts, Pepper seemed to have a second thought. "He also expects me to find him a date to the Charity Gala the Maria Stark Foundation is hosting! Like I'm the one that can find him a suitable date in the two days he gave me!"
Cherry blinked as she rested her fork beside her tiramisu. "He gave you two days to find an acceptable date?"
"'One that Obi would be happy for me to be seen with'" Pepper quoted Tony, even tried to imitate his voice by making her's deeper. Cherry felt her eyebrows raise, shifting in her seat a little. She knew from some magazine she had picked up that Obadiah was like a substitute father after Tony's own parents died, teaching him the way of the business world and also making sure he was alright. Sure, he didn't much care if Tony seemed to binge drink his scotch as long as Stark Industries didn't pay for it with drops in stocks, but she thought that he had cared.
She opened her mouth to try and soothe Pepper and get her less stressed, but instead, "I could go as his date," popped out. Pepper looked away from her own dessert, looking at her shocked before a smile made her features brightened and she suddenly looked a lot less stressed.
"You would do that?" Pepper looked hopeful. Cherry needed to look away for a minute, focusing on scooping up another piece of her tiramisu as she shrugged. Once she had made sure she swallowed the delicious dessert, she looked Pepper in her gleaming, blue eyes.
"Sure," Cherry answered, before gulping a little nervously. "I probably don't have anything to wear, though."
Pepper waved her off, giving her a bright smile, "If there is one thing I am sure of it's that Tony Stark won't let his date look terrible."
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wow, a whole lot of nothing came of this chapter!!! (except pepper and cherry being pepper and cherry!!) i hope i made obadiah creepy enough, because he's technically not the villain yet, but he will be, ya know. this is building up to iron man, which i think i'll have a couple chapters to develop cherry and tony's relationship before moving into the whole getting kidnapped by the ten rings thing lmao
hope you enjoyed this chapter!