You Have to Give Me an Explanation

"Mr. Stark, there's nothing else, so I'll be heading out."

Natasha felt a bit guilty under Tony's gaze and wanted to leave.

Seeing this, Tony said nothing. He simply reached out and pulled Natasha directly into his embrace.

"Ah!"

With a startled exclamation, Natasha was caught completely off guard.

"Don't be in such a hurry to leave. Since you're already here, why don't we play a little game together?"

Tony wore a trace of a smile at the corner of his mouth and spoke slowly.

He had been ignoring her before, but now that S.H.I.E.L.D. had made a move, he naturally had to collect some interest.

He was not the kind of person to suffer a loss and not fight back.

Therefore, as he spoke, his palm had already begun to wander.

Feeling the changes on her body, Natasha's expression shifted, and her face quickly flushed red.

"Mr. Stark, stop this."

Her tone sounded somewhat weak, and her expression carried a hint of entreaty.

As a top agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., she naturally would not be so fragile, so the posture she displayed right now was three parts true and seven parts false, perfectly fitting the role she was currently playing.

Watching Natasha still putting on an act with him, the expression on Tony's face gradually grew playful.

He had already prepared himself for Natasha to drop the act and turn hostile, but he hadn't expected that she still had no intention of exposing her identity.

Since that was the case, Tony was more than happy to take advantage of her.

"What do you mean, stop this? Am I not discussing work with you right now?"

"Have you ever heard the saying that as a boss's secretary, besides being pretty, one must also be very capable!"

On the last two words, Tony added a heavy emphasis, leaving much room for imagination.

Natasha, who had originally intended to keep up the act, felt a sudden shock in her heart upon hearing this. This guy isn't actually going to do that kind of thing right now, is he?

Thinking of this, she instinctively wanted to break free from Tony's embrace. But the moment she exerted force, an even greater strength came from Tony, firmly suppressing her form and making it impossible for her to resist at all.

"Mr. Stark!"

With a startled cry, Natasha felt Tony's palm slide into the jungle region, and she quickly covered her skirt hem with both hands.

"Don't be like this."

Natasha said with aashamed and indignant (ashamed and indignant) expression.

Hearing this, Tony suddenly stopped the movement of his hand, and his expression turned cold.

"In that case, you can go to the finance department to settle your accounts and leave."

At these words, Natasha froze, and the look she directed at Tony was filled with sheer disbelief.

Is this man possessed by a dog? He flips his face faster than he turns a page. For a moment, she actually didn't know how to respond.

However, there was one thing: she absolutely could not be fired. She was carrying a mission, and if she got fired before completing it, how could she expect a good outcome when she returned?

Thoughts spun rapidly through her mind, though in the outside world merely an instant had passed.

Seeing that Tony was about to pull his hand back, Natasha couldn't help but reach out and press down on Tony's palm.

"Mr. Stark, don't be like this."

It was still the exact same phrase, but this time the tone was completely different. Watching a submissive Natasha, the corners of Tony's mouth curled into a smile once again.

Twenty minutes later, Natasha walked out of Tony's office with her hand covering her mouth.

Not to mention, Natasha really was quite capable!

After Natasha left, a refreshed Tony had JARVIS place a call to Rhodey.

"Hey, Tony, what do you need?"

Rhodey's voice came through the phone, and Tony didn't beat around the bush, cutting straight to the point. "I was attacked, and the attackers belonged to the military. I think you guys owe me an explanation."

Hearing this, Rhodey on the other end of the line was instantly stunned.

"Who has the nerve!"

After recovering his senses, Rhodey's suppressed, angry voice rang out.

As for Tony, he remained as flat as ever. "You can investigate who it was yourselves. I've provided the military with so many cheap and sophisticated weapons, and this is how you treat a partner?"

"You must give me an explanation for this matter, or else I'll give you one."

Tony's words were filled with threat, causing Rhodey's heart to jolt.

Stark Industries supplied nearly a third of the weapons for the United States military. Once Stark halted supplies, a massive disaster would definitely strike the military.

Imagining that terrifying consequence, Rhodey quickly said, "Don't be rash, Tony. We will definitely give you an explanation for this."

"Let's hope so. Tell me when you have news."

With that, Tony hung up the phone. On the other end of the line, Colonel Thaddeus Ross hurried into his superior's office at the very first moment.

Just as Tony was making his call, Potts was not idle either, making phone calls one after another.

Soon, a piece of news swept through the upper echelons of the United States: the head of Stark Industries, Tony, had actually been subjected to an attack by the United States authorities!

The matter immediately blew up. The previously calm upper echelons of the United States instantly became a turbulent undercurrent, and call after call was jammed directly into the White House.

The power belonging to the conglomerates began to bare its ferocious fangs, and the United States government directly bore immense pressure.

Such pressure came not only from Stark Industries.

It also came from major corporations such as Pioneer Technology and Hammer Industries.

Under normal circumstances, major corporations could fight tooth and nail for profits, and Hammer Industries was even the absolute mortal enemy of Stark Industries, with conflicts between the two sides being practically irreconcilable.

However, right now, Hammer Industries stood firmly on Tony's side as well, jointly applying pressure to the United States government.

Because they had broken the rules.

These rules did not protect any single individual, but rather protected all conglomerates.

If they dared to attack Tony today, who could guarantee they wouldn't attack them tomorrow?

Therefore, this matter had nothing to do with right or wrong; anyone who broke the rules had to die!

In the military district, inside General Ross's office, looking at the investigator standing before him, General Ross's expression appeared extremely ugly.

He knew the terror of the conglomerates, which was why regarding the matter of targeting Tony, he had merely dispatched a small squad. He hadn't been involved in it at all, and he hadn't even signed the operation order. Yet he hadn't expected it to implicate him anyway.

"General Ross, please complete your handover as soon as possible."

After finishing his sentence, the investigator delivered a salute and turned to leave the office.

General Ross collapsed dejectedly into his office chair, looking somewhat hollow and desolate.

Following a high-level military meeting, he had been transferred to serve as the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

In terms of official rank, he had actually been promoted.

But in terms of actual power, he had lost almost all of it.

Between a Minister of Foreign Affairs and a substantive major general, any fool knew which one was better. If he could, he would rather take a demotion and stay in the military than go serve as some damn Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Yet this was entirely beyond his control.

Being able to transfer to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was already the result of the forces behind him trying their utmost to protect him.

Had he not been involved quite so deeply in this matter, I'm afraid even the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs would never have fallen to him.

Thinking of this, General Ross gave a self-deprecating smile. "Conglomerates, those damned conglomerates!"