Leisurely Times
Afternoon tea at Catherine Hepburn Family was prepared by Maria Stark Tom and Virginia Potts. The latter was Pepper Potts, Tony Stark's personal assistant, a sharp-tongued redhead.
Fortunately, Pepper Potts's sharp tongue is only directed at her boss, unlike some annoying girls who seize on people's weaknesses to ridicule them recklessly, without considering the occasion or whether they have any relationship to the other party.
As long as she's not targeted at Pepper Potts first, she's quite polite. Her abilities are undeniable, otherwise she wouldn't have been taken in by the picky Tony Stark.
Happy Hogan was there too. This guy wasn't quite the same as he was a few years ago; he was sharp as a newly drawn knife, looking at everyone as if they were about to assassinate his boss.
Happy Hogan has gotten a bit bigger and started to have a slightly greasy attitude. But he's not annoying; his words and actions are always just right.
Rather than a royal bodyguard, he was more like a court jester to King Tony Stark. Only this jester was willing to take a knife or a bullet for the king when necessary.
Tony Stark brought only this one soldier and one advisor, a far cry from his previous entourage. It's unclear where the others were waiting, or if he genuinely felt he didn't need so many Bodyguards and secretaries anymore.
The cookies made by Catherine Hepburn herself were quite delicious. This elderly lady disliked dining out since she was young, mainly to protect her privacy and thus minimize her appearances in public.
Since she didn't like going to restaurants, and given the limited food delivery services of her time, her cooking skills were certainly not an issue. After all, no one would intentionally make terrible food and force themselves to eat it. Forcing someone else to eat it, though, is a possibility.
The feminists and strong women of that era didn't express their desire for equality with men by abandoning women's responsibilities. They simply dared to do the same work as men and demand the same treatment.
The afternoon tea conversation didn't involve Maria Stark and the other two sitting elsewhere, leaving only Catherine, Henry, and Tony in a way that categorizes people by class; instead, everyone sat together.
The six of them sat in the comfortable living room, enjoying cookies made by Catherine and sipping aromatic coffee, chatting about what had happened recently.
The main people talking were Catherine and Henry. The old lady could rattle off juicy gossip from the Golden Age. Most of the people involved had passed away, so no one would protest when she talked about these things now. Everyone listened with great interest.
Henry, of course, didn't mention his trip to Alaska for the funeral. There was an elderly lady present, and although it was unclear whether she was sensitive about such things, it was best to avoid the topic altogether.
He recounted his experiences during the Alaska winter. With Henry's vast literary knowledge, even if he didn't speak fluently like a poet, he could still captivate his listeners, making them feel as if the scenes were unfolding before their eyes.
Maria Stark, Pepper, and Happy became the best listeners, especially the latter two, who always managed to chime in at the right time, offering just the right amount of praise, making the speaker feel like they had met a kindred spirit.
On the contrary, Tony Stark is all about boasting. Perhaps calling him a boaster is a slight underestimation of him. But even if Tony could actually do what he brags about, it would only give the impression of a peacock showing off its tail feathers.
So whenever Tony brags, he gets the most boos. Nobody cares if he's the richest guy there, or if all the other guys combined don't have as much money as him.
Happy Hogan wanted to defend his boss, but with Catherine Hepburn on the outside and Pepper Potts adding insult to injury from within, plus Henry's constant sneak attacks, Tony Stark would be in serious trouble by now if words could be bullets.
However, this young master was no pushover who would never fight back or retaliate. Aside from Catherine Hepburn's attacks, which he could only take head-on, he could always retaliate against Pepper Potts' or Henry's sharp tongue.
Anyway, everyone's skin is thick enough that they won't be easily swayed by just a few words.
As they chatted, Catherine Hepburn suddenly turned to Henry and asked, "Son, aren't you still working? How come you've had so much time to play, going on vacation to Alaska?"
Tony Stark remarked sourly, "He takes such long vacations, he could take them forever."
Henry stated frankly, "I resigned, and I'm currently unemployed."
"Resign! Why did you resign? Tony, have you been messing around again?"
The old lady turned her attention to the young master, who was caught in the crossfire. Tony Stark said aggrievedly, "It wasn't me who forced him to resign; he just refused to do it himself."
"He's in trouble, but he doesn't ask for help; he messes things up all by himself and makes a huge mess of things. You can't say it's my fault. He's the one who should be taught a lesson."
Noticing the old lady's gaze shift, Henry raised his hands in a gesture of surrender and said, "It's nothing serious. It's just that some old grudges have inexplicably resurfaced."
"I heard that those people had an accident, and a bunch of guys who were practically police officers came to my door, trying to pin the blame on me. I insisted on my innocence, but nobody believed me."
"So I simply resigned and went on a long vacation to Alaska. If something happens in the United States again, they can't blame me again, right?"
I'm not here to take the blame.
Tony Stark remained silent, his eyes fixed on Henry Brown.
"So what are you going to do next?" Catherine Hepburn asked.
Henry said in a self-deprecating tone, "I have no education, so I can only live off my savings. Maybe I should start looking for a bridge archway to build a cardboard shack and become a homeless person, living a life of scavenging."
To someone who doesn't understand the situation, these words might evoke sympathy. But to Tony Stark, sympathy was a load of rubbish!
Was he the one who wanted to get rid of this bastard?
Many people have even given up acting altogether and gone straight to him to ask for his opinion, whether he's worth rehiring.
Justin Hammer of Hammer Industries, in particular, acted as if Henry Brown was already his for the taking, believing that this guy, as a senior researcher at Hammer Industries, could develop products that surpassed those of Stark Industries.
I never imagined that guy had been copying Stark Industries ' products all along. Even though he bypassed the patents for key technologies, if it weren't for the military bigwigs backing him, the commercial lawsuits between Stark Industries and him would have been going on non-stop for 365 days a year.
Now they're brazenly trying to kidnap someone! Who gave them the guts to do that?
Another person who knew a little about the situation was Pepper Potts. However, since the person in question wasn't her boss, she couldn't directly complain. To maintain her ladylike image, she had to hold back.