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Sunday night and Pepper is actually working. Down in the office, her desk light the only one on. It's the top of the month, there were so many books to finish and make certain were even by the time the market opened tomorrow. Jack was out busy who knows where, so Pepper is working. She's got a pot of coffee going on the little back table and the scent of it is going through the entire executive floor. From the look of her desk, she probably hasn't eaten and has completely lost track of the time. At least she's wearing a comfortable sun dress — this one in a pale blush pink and lace — instead of her more stiff, business-like clothing. She's got her feet up on her desk too, the ledger open in her lap as she goes through the figures with tired eyes.
*
*BZZT* The intercom on Pepper's desk goes off. *BZZT* "Didn't I tell you not to come in on the weekends?" Tony's voice is heard through the intercom. How did he know she was there? Maybe he has the office bugged (again)? He doesn't seem to be in his office…rather, the lights are off but there is a bed there. Maybe he napped and just woke up?
*
The woman blinks, slightly jumping as the intercom buzzes and she's not certain exactly where the voice is coming from since she was pretty certain she was alone. Still working on numbers, she actually swings her body around just a bit so she can use the heel of her bared foot to press down on the intercom buzzer, allowing her to speak back and be heard without letting go of her ledger or sitting straight in her chair. "It's the beginning of the month. These books won't balance themselves. I need to be here. Where are you that you realized I was here?"
*
*BZZT* "Aren't you cold?" *BZZT* comes through the intercom. Maybe he can see her somehow? *BZZT* "Don't we have accountants for that sort of thing? Please don't tell me that they have you doing Payroll? Because seriously, I thought we had a whole department of Accountants? We're not exactly a Mom and Pop venture." *BZZT* In answer to her question, he offers, *BZZT* "I asked you first." *BZZT*.
*
"You asked me about if you told me not to come in on the weekends. No, you did not say it in so many words but, yes, you implied it. I still have work to do." Pepper insists, just keeping the heel of her foot against that intercom as she finishes adding up that page of the ledger. "It's not payroll, it's R&D inventory and books. And… I think someone's fixing the books, somehow. Just… caught some things off with some numbers, so yes, I'm doing it myself. I'll let you know if I find anything more." She turns to the next page in the ledger, starting to balance that one, tracing over every line carefully. "ANd now, I ask you, where are you?"
*
There's no answer…there's no more intercom. It's probably another five minutes or so before Tony appears in the office in his pajamas, robe, and slippers. He was obviously -not- in the office part of the building. "You think someone's cooking the books? Really? Gimme…" he gestures, his palms up and fingers wiggling for the papers.
*
A sigh escapes her lips as he doesn't respond to that and, after another minute or two, she pulls her foot off the intercom. Pepper just settles back into her work, getting through another ten pages. She's using pencil, of course, so any marks can be erased, but she does seem to have noted a pattern of about 20-50 dollar increments of miss-added funds, or mysterious orders that seem to have no exact number or reason attached, all in those small(ish) amounts of money. She blinks up to him as he comes into the room. "…You shouldn't be working either, you know? Just *where* were you that you knew I was working?" She asks again, with a smirk, as she turns the ledger around and hands it to him.
*
Tony doesn't answer where he was. Pepper just gets a smirk from him as he takes the ledger and pulls a chair up tp the other side of the desk. He flips through, noting where Pepper had found the discrepencies. He even grabs some paper and a pen from her desk, making notes. "Who usually does the reconciliation? I think we may need to question them. It's not much in the long run, but it's the principle."
*
"Kincaid in accounting, normally. And when they get typed, these all seem to disappear. That's why I'm in the hand written ledger. And no, it's not much but… it's systematic and worrisome, but not enough for me to worry you with yet. And you STILL haven't answered my question." She states flatly, Pepper's brows arching as she stares over at him, a slight smirk dancing across her full mouth, bared of lipstick tonight and simply, softly pink.
*
"I'm going to go through the ledger tonight," because Tony doesn't tend to sleep very often, "And we'll bring him into the office when he gets in tomorrow. You're also not supposed to work on the weekends, Pepper. We discussed this. Don't make me enforce it." How would he do that exactly? "How far back has this been going? If the guy needs more money to cover his bills…" he pauses and looks up from the book at Pepper. "Which one's Kincaid?"
*
A deeper sigh escapes her lips and Pepper pulls her feet down off her desk, sitting straigher now and levelling her pale gaze in his direction. "I'll talk to him. I can handle it, Tony. Seriously. That's why you hired me, you know? And… I want to keep things running smoothly here. So, that involves some weekends. It's alright. I don't mind. That's the other reason you hired me." Pepper states with a somewhat stubborn smirk, "And you *still* didn't answer my question."
*
"I forgot what you asked," Tony offers even as he continues to look through the ledger. "You were supposed to spend the weekend with your boyfriend. Well, maybe not like -that- because that's really none of my business. But you're supposed to be out cultivating some sort of outside office life." Unlike Tony…or like Tony. It's hard to say.
*
"My boyfriend is away. He… had to be out of town, he said." Which might actually be a bit weird, considering her very jacked boyfriend is, supposedly, just a janitor who was pretty much homeless before she met him. But it still doesn't seem to bother Pepper, "So, it gave me a chance to look into this which has been bothering me. I'm glad I did. I just want to finish going through everything before I bring it up, so I know I've got proper proof." Pepper states firmly. But now without the ledger in her lap, she reaches over to her coffee and takes a sip of the frogtten mug. "And I asked where you were that you knew I was working?"
*
"Away?" Tony does look back up then. "Out of town? Is he using vacation days?" Or will he be back tomorrow? "So…since your boyfriend is out of town, you were so bored out of your mind that you decided to come to work and balance a ledger? We really need to get you a hobby." He looks back down, "Is Kincaid the only one who does this? Because that seems like asking for trouble. We should probably have at least two others look over the books before numbers are finalized…even if Kincaid is making honest mistakes. But there's a pattern…"
*
Tony still doesn't seem to be answering her question.
*
"You are *still* avoiding my question, Tony. How did you know I was working? And he'll be back tomorrow. He's only part time anyway, that's the only opening you had." Pepper didn't force a job for the man, she filled an opening, still operating in the company's best interests, constantly. She's also smirking at him, not letting him escape her gaze or that constant question. "And there are other checks. People miss it. They are either sloppy or in on it. I need to research more with the department. But if you go in, they'll get all nervous. If I do, they won't care, so let me do it, Tony. I can handle this."
*
"I don't want this Kincaid or the goobers messing this up on accounts until we get this straight." The boss has spoken? There's another pause before he looks back to Pepper, "You really think they'd be all nervous?" There's actually a smug little smile at that, "But do you think they'll actually answer you honestly? If they're getting sloppy, stick them in the mail room for a little bit to regain their focus."
*
A sigh escapes her lips. "Yes, they will be nervous, and I'd rather try to figure out if they are just being sloppy or they are being deceptive. If the boss goes in there, they will stiffen up and it'll go away no matter what. They won't worry about the secretary being inside. So… let me handle this. I'll let you know what I find out, I promise." Pepper leans up, moving to take the ledger back and lean in her chair to reopen it. "And…if you tell me how you knew I was here, I promise to pack up and leave for the night. Otherwise, I'm staying until I'm done with this." So there! She can be a tough negotiator.
*
"And you think they'll say something to the secretary even though they know you'll come right to me?" Tony doesn't look too convinced, but she's asked so he'll assent. "All right. But let me know what happens. If he's screwing up on purpose, we need to know and get rid of him. If he's just being sloppy, we need to address that too." Every now and again, Tony -can- be a leader. He stands, reaching for the ledger to take with him…whether or not she stays, he's going to be taking the book. "Don't worry, it'll be on your desk in the morning."
To answer her though, he grins, "I smelled your perfume." He then starts to head back out. Maybe he knows she won't accept that answer so he adds, "Or maybe I noticed that you turned off the alarms."
*
A slight squawk escapes her lips as he actually just TAKES the ledger, not giving it back to her. Pepper's eyes go wide, "Tony, I was…using that still!" She huffs, standing up from her chair, still on bare feet, though her high heels are under her desk. "And I'm not going to ask them anything. I'm just going to watch and learn. They won't realize what's going on until it's too late, I promise." SHe sighs deeply as he gives that non-answer, shaking her head. "…not helping, Tony. But fine… fine… I'll be in at 7. It better still be here." SHe insists, as she steps into her high heels and then moves around her desk. She kills the power on the coffee maker behind her before moving with him towards the lift.
*