The New President

Half a month later.

Monaco.

Sunday.

Race day for the F1 Monaco Grand Prix.

Tony and Pepper arrived at the entrance of the VIP hotel in a Rolls-Royce driven by Happy, escorted by two police motorcycles.

Tony, dressed in a gray suit and sunglasses, had barely stepped out of the car before a wave of cheers erupted. The surrounding spectators all waved at him.

Tony looked calmly at the excited crowd, raised his right hand in a gesture, and briefly acknowledged them.

He then led Pepper and Happy into the hotel.

"This is Europe. Whatever happens over the next twenty minutes, just go with the flow. Don't be too surprised."

Tony turned to Pepper and said tactfully, giving her a subtle warning.

"Go with the flow?"

Pepper looked at Tony in confusion.

Though she had no idea why Tony had suddenly said this to her, as Tony's former personal secretary, she knew he had to be plotting something again.

That was right!

She was no longer Tony's personal secretary. She was now the new president of Stark Industries.

Not long after the Senate hearing ended, Tony had done exactly what he did in the movie. Without any warning, he suddenly appointed Pepper as the president of Stark Industries, putting her in charge of the company's daily operations in his place.

His decision had not only caught the public off guard; even Pepper had not expected him to do this.

At first, Pepper thought Tony had gotten drunk again.

However, Tony said he had considered it for a long time, had even evaluated several candidates, and seriously thought about who would be the most suitable choice. In the end, he realized that only Pepper was the right person.

Without any suspense, Pepper was persuaded by Tony.

Although the leap from personal secretary to president was rather huge, Pepper could not think of any reason to refuse.

Or rather, no normal person would refuse.

So, she became the new president of Stark Industries, and the company's stock price fluctuated for several days as a result.

That was perfectly normal.

If a major personnel appointment could not cause Stark Industries' stock price to fluctuate, it would only mean the capital market did not care about Stark Industries at all.

Just as Pepper was about to ask what Tony was planning to do next, Tony looked in surprise at a young man seated beside the bar.

The young man who surprised him was none other than Roy, who was just as sharply dressed in a suit.

Without hesitation, Tony immediately walked up to the bar and asked, "Why are you here too?"

"Why can't I be here?" Roy asked Tony with a smile.

"No, I mean, when did you become interested in Formula One?" Tony continued.

"I've always been interested in Formula One. You just never asked me."

"Besides, the company team has been performing pretty well lately. It's perfectly normal for me to come and watch in person."

Roy picked up the champagne in front of him, took a sip, and smiled.

That was what he said, but he had not traveled all the way from New York to Monaco just to watch the race.

If nothing unexpected happened, Ivan Vanko, "Whiplash," would appear during the upcoming race in crude armor of his own making, before everyone's eyes, showing the world that the Miniature Arc Reactor was no longer Tony's exclusive product.

He was not particularly worried about Tony's safety.

But he did not want to miss the chance to witness that scene firsthand.

Upon hearing Roy's answer, an idea immediately flashed through Tony's mind. Smiling, he said, "You've probably never driven a Formula One car before, right?"

Roy saw through Tony's intentions at once and responded, "I haven't, but beating you won't be a problem."

Pepper did not know why Tony had suddenly told her to go with the flow and not be too surprised by what happened next, but Roy knew exactly why.

Tony was planning to race himself!

"You've never even driven Formula One. Where does your confidence in beating me come from?"

"Racing isn't fighting. In this area, I'm definitely better than you."

Tony looked at Roy with utter confidence, not believing for a second that he would lose to him.

"I don't deny that you're a genius when it comes to machinery, but I'm a genius too."

"Even if I've never driven before, with my talent, beating you is very easy."

Roy replied unhurriedly.

He was indeed not a professional racer, but neither was Tony.

Tony's only advantage was that he had driven Formula One cars before and had some experience with them.

Roy's advantages, meanwhile, were sharper dynamic vision, faster reflexes, more precise control, and Kekkei Genkai: Magnet Release.

Formula One was not a race decided in a single lap.

As long as he had a little time to get used to driving a Formula One car, beating Tony would be easy.

If he wanted, he could even make the Formula One car he drove achieve true ground-hugging flight.

For someone who had already mastered Magnet Release, that was not difficult at all.

Tony's competitive spirit was completely ignited, and he turned to look at Pepper.

After seeing that Pepper was exchanging pleasantries with others, he immediately said, "Anyone can talk big. The team happens to have two race cars. Want to have some fun?"

"Since you want to play, I'll play with you."

Roy did not refuse and agreed immediately.

Judging from the current situation, Whiplash would most likely make his appearance in front of a global live broadcast, just as in the movie, completely interrupting today's race.

But Roy still had no intention of refusing.

Things had reached this point. Refusing would only make Tony think he was scared.

"Good!"

Tony nodded in satisfaction.

Just as he finished speaking, he saw a blonde woman with wavy hair, a beautiful face, and a curvy figure walking toward him in a green dress.

Miss Brown!

The moment Tony saw her, he immediately recalled their first meeting.

Just when he thought Christine had come to interview him, Christine merely smiled at him and sat down beside Roy.

Uh...

After realizing he had been flattering himself, a trace of embarrassment flashed across Tony's face. He asked Roy, "You two know each other?"

"Yes."

Roy nodded.

Christine was still a female anchor for Fox News Channel.

However, she was no longer an anchor at the Los Angeles branch. She was now an anchor at the New York headquarters.

Normally, since she had only joined Fox News Channel not long ago, it would have been difficult for her to transfer from the local Los Angeles branch to the New York headquarters.

But Roy had given her a little help.

It had to be said that being a Stark Industries board member was sometimes genuinely useful. One phone call could settle many things.

After transferring from Los Angeles to the New York headquarters, Christine had not forgotten to repay Roy for his help, offering him passionate and fiery thanks through her actions.

After greeting the others, Pepper came over to Tony.

If Tony still remembered Christine, Pepper naturally would not have forgotten her either.

After all, Pepper had been the one to handle the aftermath for Tony back then, returning Christine's dry-cleaned clothes to her.

"If I don't interview the new president of Stark Industries, my editor will scold me to death. Could I do a brief interview with you?"

Christine said to Pepper.

"Of course."

Pepper did not refuse and replied at once.

Although their last meeting had not been particularly pleasant, Pepper was not petty enough to prevent Christine from interviewing her.

After all, her identity was different now. Every word and action she took represented Stark Industries.