It was almost 1 PM when Ron arrived at Osborn Industries.
Ron's phone had several messages, all from his assistant at Osborn Industries, and the content was similar: information about people who wanted to visit Ron.
Ever since Ron acquired nearly half of Osborn Industries' shares, countless people had tried every possible way to meet him, hoping to get some, or even all, of Osborn Industries' shares from him.
Therefore, Ron asked Norman Osborn to arrange an assistant for him, so that anyone who wanted to reach him would first have to go through the assistant.
Among the list of visitors sent by his assistant, Ron found the person he was about to meet—Pepper Potts.
"As expected, even with a big hole in his chest, Tony Stark still can't let go of his arrogance; he only sent Pepper to find me!"
Ron smiled, thought for a while about how to make Tony Stark uncomfortable, then found his assistant and went to the reception room at Osborn Industries...
Pepper arrived at Osborn Industries around 7 AM. Tony had given her an order the previous night: to visit Ron, the researcher of the regeneration serum, at Osborn Industries.
Pepper wasn't surprised by this. In fact, after she learned about Tony's chest condition and the release of the regeneration serum, she had also wanted to mention it to Tony, to see if the large hole in his chest could be healed by this regeneration serum.
However, before she could say anything, Obadiah had already brought it up.
Upon arriving at Osborn Industries, Pepper was intimidated by the long line of people waiting to visit Ron. She also heard that Ron wouldn't meet anyone, no matter how many people there were, which clearly indicated that meeting Ron wouldn't be easy.
But for Tony, Pepper didn't back down. She humbly got in line, registered her information and reason for visiting, and waited patiently.
During this time, many visitors left because Ron didn't appear, but Pepper didn't; she kept waiting.
Pepper believed that with the titles of "Stark Industries' CEO" and "super genius Tony Stark," Ron shouldn't refuse to meet her.
Indeed, Pepper waited quietly until noon and finally received a notification that Ron was coming to see her.
After waiting a bit longer, Pepper saw two figures, a man and a woman, appear at the reception room door. The woman was the assistant who had greeted her earlier, and the man was Ron, who had appeared in the news two days ago and was now the focus of global attention.
Pepper walked up to him, extended her hand, and said, "Hello, Mr. Ron, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Pepper Potts, Tony Stark's personal assistant."
"Hello, Ms. Potts, I've heard about you for a long time. You are the super genius Tony Stark's right-hand woman, the second-in-command at Stark Industries."
Ron and Pepper shook hands, then he motioned for Pepper to sit down and talk slowly.
"I'm not as impressive as Mr. Ron says," Pepper smiled, then immediately got to the point: "Mr. Ron, Miss Tina should have already told you the purpose of my visit. Would you agree to meet Tony Stark?"
"Yes," Ron answered immediately.
Pepper became excited. She had expected to have to use a lot of persuasion before Ron would agree, but she didn't expect him to agree so easily.
"Really? Mr. Ron, please wait a moment, I'll inform Tony now..."
However, just as Pepper was getting excited, Ron said, "But, I have one condition. If you agree to it, then I will meet Tony Stark."
"Uh..." Hearing Ron's words, Pepper slowly put her phone, which she had just taken out of her bag, back in, feeling a bit awkward.
But Pepper was indeed Tony Stark's assistant; she immediately composed herself and smiled, saying, "Mr. Ron, please tell us. As long as it's something we can agree to, we definitely won't refuse."
"Ms. Potts, you're very good, very much to my liking," Ron praised Pepper, then stated his condition.
"The condition is simple, Ms. Potts. For this trip, I need a small fee."
"A fee?" Pepper was stunned, her gaze at Ron becoming a little strange.
Although Norman Osborn hadn't announced the change in Osborn Industries' shareholding, how could such a thing be kept secret?
The news that Norman Osborn had given 49% of the shares to Ron, the regeneration serum researcher, had already spread throughout New York yesterday and had been reported several times by the news. As a member of Stark Industries, a large company in New York, it would be difficult for Pepper not to know.
Osborn Industries was currently booming, with its stock rising every moment. Ron, as someone who owned half of Osborn Industries' shares, actually asked for a fee just to meet someone... If such a thing got out, Ron's good image as a genius young scientist and a major shareholder of Osborn Industries would likely plummet.
Of course, Pepper wouldn't spread this matter. She said,
"Mr. Ron, we will pay you for this trip. How much do you need?"
Ron held up one finger, "One million dollars!"
"Cough, cough..." Pepper coughed, her expression becoming a bit grim, "For one million dollars, I need to discuss it with Tony before making a decision."
"Alright," Ron smiled, signaling Pepper to make the request.
With Ron's agreement, Pepper took out her phone, walked to a corner, called Tony, and told him about the situation.
"Tony, Ron has agreed to meet you, but he has a condition. Do you think you can agree to it?"
"What's his condition, Pepper? Tell me."
Tony Stark was still in the basement of his Liberty City villa, engrossed in researching his Mark II. Although the phone had been ringing, it took him a while to answer it.
"Well... that guy said he wants a million dollars as a fee."
"A million dollars as a fee?" Tony's face darkened when he heard this. "Tell that guy named Ron that it's impossible for me to pay him a fee!"
"Tony, listen to me. If Ron really has a way to heal that hole in your chest, then a million dollars is not too much at all. Tony, please agree."
Pepper was anxious. She had already seen the large hole in Tony's chest, and she couldn't forget that terrifying sight. If there was a chance, Pepper wouldn't give up any opportunity to heal Tony.
"Pepper, don't say another word. I just want to invite that guy; I haven't even said what I want to do, and he's already asking for a million dollars. Where does that leave my reputation?"
Tony was still resolute. As the head of Stark Industries, he wanted to invite Ron to meet, and he actually had to pay a fee? Did Ron have such a big reputation?
Besides, his situation was complicated. The large hole in his chest wasn't what truly worried Tony. The crucial part was the shrapnel inside his heart, which was what really gave Tony a headache.
Even the military's top surgeons had no solution for the shrapnel embedded in his heart, and the regeneration serum Ron created was just a medicine that allowed people to regrow organs; it had little to do with the problem that bothered him.
The reason Tony asked Pepper to invite Ron was simply to personally understand the specifics of the regeneration serum, so that he could figure out a way to remove the shrapnel from his heart and then allow his flesh to regrow.
And for that, Ron actually wanted a fee from him?
Tony knew it was absolutely impossible!
After giving his instructions, Tony quickly hung up the phone and returned to his Iron Man suit development plan, leaving Pepper, who was standing in the corner of the reception room with a complicated mood.
Pepper was actually very upset. The relationship between Tony and her was delicate. For so many years, Tony had told her everything. Although they hadn't clarified their relationship, Pepper had already considered Tony to be the one in her heart.
Thinking once again about the night before last, when she personally replaced the arc reactor in Tony's chest, Pepper's eyes became firm.
Then, Pepper showed the same smile as before and walked towards Ron.
"Mr. Ron, Tony has agreed to your condition. When are you free so I can arrange your meeting with Tony?"