Tony Stark; Iron Man (armoredavenger) wrote in marvel_united, @ 2011-05-18 01:51:00 |
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Entry tags: | iron man, pepper potts |
Who: Tony Stark and Open to Pepper Potts
NPCs: Leticia Dandridge, and Calvin Handler
When: May 18th, 2011
Where: Los Angeles Headquarters of Stark Industries.
What: Tony continues to defend his positions and decisions to his board, while meeting the usual opposition.
Rating: G
If there was one thing that Tony truly hated about his position of CEO, it was board meetings. At least as Iron Man, he could deal with his enemies head on, but here every step was taken as one on thin ice. Every action and word he spoke had to be carefully thought out and planned, so that he was not taken advantage of, or in anyway allowed to be perceived as inferior. Because he knew, through hard experience, that if he let his guard down for even a moment, that the vultures that were the other members of the board would swoop down upon him without hesitation, compassion, or mercy. There was little concept of 'team work here', and Tony more than realized that the only thing that had prevented a hostile take over of his company, especially given some of his recent decisions, was that he remained the majority shareholder.
It was his sole remaining shield against them.
His biggest opposition was, as always, Leticia Dandridge. She was a senior member of the board who had worked along side his father, and never given him the same respect. In fact, she almost seemed to delight at opposing him whenever she could, rabidly leading the pack of dissenters against him at each and every available opportunity. After his proclaiming that Stark Industries was closing its weapons manufacturing division, followed by the sudden 'plane crash' of Obadiah, and his 'I am Iron Man' announcement, he'd had a an argument in this very room with her that had more or less amounted to a four and a half hour shouting match. And that was just what everyone else knew of their rivalry. That Dandridge-who kept in trim shape despite being into her sixties now-made a pass at him once was something only the two of them knew.
Today continued his continued debate with her pertaining to whether or not he should reconsider opening up the weapons manufacturing division. He knew that, aside from her own interests in the lucrative contracts such a decision would entail, that top military officials in the Pentagon were also attempting to work through her, but he was not going to have any of it.
"Dandridge", Tony said, holding up a hand so as to silence her. "For the last time, if and when I make that decision, I will do so at my own discretion." Standing stoic and resolute, Tony looked the very picture of the model corporate CEO in his charcoal-grey Hugo Boss suit. The only thing that took away from his 'all business' look was the Captain America necktie he wore.
"We're also worried about you Stark", said Calvin Handler, a balding, rotund man who usually contented himself with sitting on the side lines. That he spoke up at all was noteworthy, and garnered Tony's full attention.
"In what respect?", Tony asked innocently, resisting the urge to glance at Pepper, who he always kept to his immediate right at the table.
"What he means", Dandridge chimed in, taking the lead once more, "Is that we have a CEO who spent last weekend battling Frost Giants in Norway. And before that, fish people out on the coast. It's too much for any one man to handle, and that's not even taking into consideration all of the research hours you put in, Stark. You're only human, and forgive my frankness in saying so, but you have not exactly looked well as of late. It has to all be taking a toll on you."
For the first time in the meeting, Tony simply stared across the brilliantly polished teak table at Dandridge, mostly because he knew that on this count, she was right. And that he had been thinking along similar lines himself for a while now.
But he was not about to give her the satisfaction of admitting any of those things.
"While I appreciate your concern for my well being, I assure you I have everything in hand", Tony said carefully. "And if I happen to be vaporized by the next lunatic who tries to take over the world, so much the better for your own stakes in the company", he added jokingly, despite the real possibility behind his words.
"But for now I want to shift focus to our upcoming charity event", he went on, settling down. But instead of going on to elaborate further, he turned in his deep leather swivel chair to look at Pepper, who up until this very moment had only ever been responsible for taking notes on his behalf.
"Miss Potts, who has been hard at work on this project, is going to bring everyone up to speed", he said, giving her a nod. "Whenever you're ready."