Looking at the three holographic projections floating in midair, Pepper knew Tony needed to get down to business. He did not need her by his side at a time like this; her staying would only distract him.
She walked over to Tony and set her champagne glass on the table. "I'm catching a flight to Washington tonight. You have a lot of homework to do—enough to keep you busy."
Tony's gaze shifted away from the holograms and landed on Pepper's face.
He opened his mouth. "Leave tomorrow," and "Do you really have to take a red-eye this late?" circled on his tongue, but when he caught sight of Lin Hai and the other three looking their way, he swallowed those words.
He cleared his throat and said in a businesslike tone, "Uh... all right. I really do have important work to do."
Seeing how his words contradicted his feelings, Pepper did not call him out on it. She merely leaned closer and whispered a few words into his ear.
Tony's eyes lit up, and he readily said, "Oh, see you then. Have a safe trip."
The two shared a light kiss, then Pepper headed toward the elevator. As she passed Lin Hai and the others, she waved to the four of them.
At the elevator, Coulson, whose task for this trip had already been completed, received Lin Hai's approving look and left with Pepper without concern.
In his view, since Lin Hai, a rather reliable consultant, had conveyed his approval with a look, he would stay here and keep an eye on the less reliable Tony.
He still had a mountain of messes to deal with. S.H.I.E.L.D., which Loki had thrown into chaos, had plenty of cleanup work waiting for him.
Lin Hai withdrew his gaze from the elevator and