Time goes by day by day.
Surprisingly, Tony Stark, once a daily fixture in the newspapers, has become unusually quiet since his return. He used to be a common sight at major social venues, but now he's nowhere to be found. Even though these places are still teeming with beautiful women and a prime hunting ground for playboys, Tony Stark seems to have lost interest.
This made many reporters who had previously relied on Tony Stark for their livelihood feel a little disappointed.
Unable to interview anyone, some tabloid reporters, under the strong pressure of their editors-in-chief who wanted news reports about Stark, simply started to show off their talents. Today, one of them interviewed a model who had a romantic affair with Tony and talked about how much she missed Stark, while another, who was more respectable, found a psychologist and made an in-depth analysis of the psychological trauma Stark might be experiencing.
So even though Tony Stark hadn't appeared for a long time, after the initial few days of silence, he appeared on the pages of many newspapers again.
There's no way around it; the public simply loves stories about the downfall of geniuses or the psychological problems of the wealthy. Tony Stark, like Stark Industries, has been at the center of controversy lately. In the words of the media, it's a hot topic, and anything written about it attracts attention.
Pepper Potts, Tony Stark's assistant, hid in a corner while attending a social cocktail party on his behalf.
Sitting at the balcony railing, her glass in hand, her gaze unconsciously fixed on the distance, Pepper Potts seemed troubled. As someone who knew Tony Stark best, having spent so much time with him, she felt he had become a stranger. When she routinely tried to arrange a cocktail party for him, even with a beautiful model who would suit Tony's tastes, he vetoed her.
God knows how surprised Pepper Potts was by Tony Stark's rejection! Just like how Tony had changed in recent days, she noticed that the man who used to act recklessly had become more concerned, more reserved, quiet, and even a little more composed. This change both comforted Pepper Potts and frightened her.
I'm glad that Tony has finally grown up.
The fear of this growth made her perception of Tony become unfamiliar.
Even more terrifying was the sight of the bullet marks on Tony Stark's iron armor! The moment she saw that image, the suppressed panic in her heart almost instantly overtook her entire body.
"Are you alone here?"
A strange yet familiar female voice interrupted Pepper Potts's wandering thoughts. Disturbed, she frowned and turned to look at the voice's owner. A flicker of surprise crossed her face when she saw who it was.
"Ms. Sandra?"
"I hope I didn't disturb you." Ina Sandra walked to Pepper Potts with a smile, stood with her at the balcony railing, and said with a smile.
"Of course not. There are probably countless people at this party who want to talk to you." Pepper Potts was a little confused about Ina Sandra's intentions, but that didn't stop her from showing a certain amount of goodwill towards her approach. After all, if we were to talk about the influential figures of recent years, besides her headstrong boss, this woman in front of her and Luke Field, who had co-founded Heberon Technologies with her, were also among them.
Compared to Justin Hammer, whom Tony always looked down upon, Tony had nothing negative to say about Luke Field, the soul of Heybolun Technologies. Knowing Tony well, Pepper Potts knew that being able to escape unscathed from his venomous tongue was a rare achievement. Perhaps this was a kind of technical recognition?
"You mean those people?" Ina Sandra chuckled sarcastically, gesturing towards the gathering below, where circles formed one after another. The outer circles sought to reach the inner circles, while the inner circles desperately sought to squeeze into the inner circle. And the one who could be called the core of this gathering was undoubtedly the man speaking so eloquently, the current head of Stark Industries—Obadiah Stane. Everyone surrounded him, and those without a certain status and position didn't even have a foothold outside the inner circle.
If Ina Sandra went down, she could certainly easily form her own inner circle, or even easily join Obadiah Stane's circle. In that circle, she would be as praised as Obadiah Stane. But why would she need that?
Just a man who is about to become obsolete.
"Is Tony Stark okay?" Ina Sandra didn't wait for Pepper's answer. She looked away and asked Pepper.
"Of course he's fine," Pepper instinctively put on a practiced smirk and answered with perfect familiarity. She'd heard this question countless times since Tony Stark's safe return. Reporters, unable to find Tony, would often stop her when she needed to be in public and ask her. She'd already developed a stress reaction to the question.
"It has nothing to do with me. I'm asking on behalf of Luke." Seeing the fake smile on Pepper's face, Ina keenly noticed her sudden alienation and vigilance, and added an explanation without caring.
"Luke? Luke Field?" Pepper realized that she was too cautious. She was also a little curious about the person who could get away with Tony's sharp tongue.
"That's him. He was very concerned about Tony Stark. He even investigated for a while when he disappeared, but unfortunately he couldn't help." Ina Sandra lied without blinking. During that time, Luke was fully immersed in his laboratory, digesting what he had gained after his retreat and contributing to the technological foundation of Haibolun Technology.
The missing Tony Stark?
I'm sorry, Ina said to herself, she had never heard Luke say anything about missing him or anything else.
"Thank you very much." Pepper thanked him aloud without understanding why.
"You're welcome. Although we didn't find out anything at the time, we still gained something. This is a document. You can take it back to show Tony Stark. Maybe he can find something from it. Remember, it can only be shown to Tony, and only you and him know it." Ina Sandra secretly stuffed a USB flash drive into Pepper's empty left hand, clinked her wine glass with the one in Pepper's right hand, and then turned and left.
The mission she came here for today has been completed.