He supposed he should have expected such an initial response from her. After all, he could not honestly answer when he had last talked to Pepper face to face in private company, and considering how she had been almost glued to his hip at all times prior to his... 'issues', it marked a real watershed event in their relationship. Much more than his personal assistant, she was his friend and his closest confidant. It was only natural she'd be hurt by his avoiding her. If anything, he was left in the brief silence following her retort thinking he'd deserved much worse than that.
"It's ok", he said, letting it roll off his shoulders. "I just wanted to see how you would do under pressure and in unfamiliar territory. You handled yourself well, as always, and Dandridge now loathing you more than ever is always a plus. I'd give you a pat on the back if you weren't one of my employees."
If Happy had followed his instructions to the letter, which was a given, Tony's car would be ready and waiting for him. He had planned it as such before going into the meeting as a means through which to depart before getting too deeply involved in talking with Pepper, but now that he was actually in her presence, he found himself hesitating. Even as he stood and had nothing to gather or otherwise keep him in the conference room, he lingered, thinking of the project he was working on back in his garage that J.A.R.V.I.S. wanted him to scrap.
"So...", he said, turning so that he could lean back against the table. "You and Thor, huh?", he said, with a little smile, in clear reference to media attention she had been getting lately. "How's his thunder?"