High in the sky, Henry flew towards Stark Industries at an extremely fast speed.
A few minutes later, at the entrance of the Stark Industries building in Los Angeles.
Passersby on the street were talking about something when suddenly, a piercing sound sliced through the air from above!
Everyone subconsciously looked up and saw a black figure descending like a meteorite!
It was Henry.
He landed steadily on the plaza in front of the building. The bio-force field perfectly canceled out all impact force, not even leaving a trace on the ground.
The surrounding crowd instantly fell silent, then erupted in deafening cheers!
"It's Superman! It's Henry Stark!"
Henry smiled slightly at the crowd, then, amidst a chorus of screams of Superman, I love you, he walked casually into the main entrance of Stark Industries, greeting the surrounding people along the way.
As he passed the front desk, the blonde receptionist's eyes instantly turned into stars. She quickly stood up and shouted in a sickly sweet voice.
"Good day, Boss!"
All the employees along the way stopped their work and greeted him, their eyes filled with admiration and fanaticism.
Henry smiled in response, walking towards the elevator entrance.
The internal staff elevator was in use, so he pressed the button for the public elevator.
While he was waiting, footsteps approached from the main entrance.
Henry looked over and saw several researchers in white lab coats surrounding a tall Asian woman, walking toward him.
Henry recognized her.
Helen Cho.
The biology researcher. Pepper had mentioned she was hired.
The highly educated genius from Avengers: Age of Ultron; her Life Cradle technology became a crucial item for Ultron's creation.
He showed no change in expression, waiting quietly.
Soon, Helen Cho and her group arrived at the elevator.
Seeing Henry, they quickly greeted the boss respectfully.
Helen Cho also politely nodded.
Then, she began to curiously size up the man before her.
His tall and commanding physique, and the exaggerated muscular contours that a well-tailored suit could not hide.
Especially that outrageously handsome face, he looked like a superhero who had stepped out of a comic book.
She thought it no wonder the people outside called him Superman.
He truly lived up to the name!!
Her breathing became slightly quickened.
"Mr. Henry, thank you for your high regard," she composed herself and said with a smile.
"Ms. Potts mentioned that you strongly recommended me to work here."
Henry smiled faintly, his deep eyes looking at her, and said, "I'm very interested in your biological research. You know, my talent in biology is not bad."
"Of course, everyone knows about your degree," Helen Cho replied.
They chatted idly.
Soon, the elevator arrived.
A group of people started walking in, but because there were so many, the elevator became crowded.
Helen Cho had to stand sideways, right in front of Henry.
Due to the crowding, they were very close.
Helen Cho's height of 5'10" still seemed petite compared to Henry's.
The elevator began its slow ascent.
Because no one was talking, the atmosphere inside the elevator was quiet.
Helen Cho felt like she could hear Henry's breathing.
She felt her face getting hot, wondering if the weather was too warm—yes, it was really hot today.
Suddenly, the crowd jostled due to inertia.
Helen Cho lost her footing for a moment, let out a small gasp, and uncontrollably stumbled into Henry's arms!
Her hands instinctively pressed against his firm chest muscles!
She quickly righted herself, her face instantly flushed.
But no one spoke.
Henry looked down at her, smiled faintly, but said nothing either.
You touched me yourself; you can't blame me for that.
The elevator was silent, and the atmosphere became somewhat subtle.
Soon, the elevator door opened, and everyone walked out one after the other.
Helen Cho took a deep breath, greeted Henry, and hurried away.
Her retreating figure looked a little like she was fleeing in panic.
Henry watched her back, shook his head, and smiled. Then he walked out. The nearby private elevator was on the floor above, so he waited a bit. When the elevator arrived, he pressed the button for the top floor, the Chairman's office.
The elevator doors slowly closed and began to ascend smoothly.
On the mirror-smooth metal interior, Henry's playfully smiling face was clearly reflected.
"I have to say, the shock absorption system in this elevator is pretty good," he said to J.A.R.V.I.S.
"Even when fully loaded, it's as steady as sleeping on a five-star hotel bed. Of course, the main reason is that I'm standing here, stabilizing the energy fluctuations of the entire space with my force field."
He straightened his well-tailored suit, ensuring every wrinkle was impeccable.
"However, wasn't that scene just now a bit cliché? Elevator encounter, accidental closeness, and then the heroine shyly runs away? Tsk tsk, this is exactly the kind of plot twist you'd find in a romance novel. J.A.R.V.I.S., did you secretly modify our company's elevator program and install a 'Romantic Encounter Module'?"
"Sir, I did not make any modifications to the elevator program," J.A.R.V.I.S.'s gentle voice sounded through the micro-communicator in his ear.
"The recent event, according to my data analysis, was merely a physical accident with a probability of 37.8%."
"Oh? Is that so?" Henry raised an eyebrow.
"Well, it seems my charm is powerful enough to distort the laws of physics. Not bad, I like this setting very much."
With a soft ding, the elevator arrived at the top floor.
The door slowly slid open, revealing the massive and luxurious Chairman's office outside.
Pepper was standing in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, holding a cup of coffee and looking out at the New York cityscape, but her brows were etched with fatigue.
Hearing the elevator, she subconsciously turned around. Seeing Henry emerge, she was first surprised, then a look of helplessness crossed her face.
"Oh, look who decided to show up?" Her voice sounded calm.
"Did our great Superman finally remember he has a company to manage after saving the world? Or did you just happen to be passing by and decided to drop in for a free cup of coffee?"
"Hey, Pepper, relax," Henry walked in with leisurely steps, his hands in his pockets.
"I was just researching how to improve the lives of billionaires. And by the way, your coffee here still tastes terrible. It smells like a mix of expired coffee beans and foot-washing water."
"I apologize for that, Boss," Pepper rolled her eyes. She walked to the desk and placed a stack of documents thick enough to be used as a pillow heavily on the table.
"Perhaps if you could occasionally spare some time to come to the company to deal with these damned documents, instead of flying around in the sky all day like a senseless fly. If you did that, I might have time to select a top-tier coffee that suits your noble taste."
"Oh, come on," Henry walked up to her and took the coffee cup from her hand.
"Seriously, Pepper, you should consider hiring another assistant. Look at you now; your dark circles are so heavy it looks like you've been punched, and your complexion is as bad as a vampire who just crawled out of a grave. If you keep working like this, I seriously suspect that before that fool Tony is poisoned to death by the lightbulb in his chest, you'll die from overwork first."
Although they had only met a few hours ago, hearing these familiar words, the resentment Pepper had accumulated from days of hard work somehow dissipated significantly.
She sighed helplessly: "Speaking of which, I did hire an assistant. You came at the right time; it's her first day on the job."