Obadiah Stane held his wine glass, walking over to Tony. "But this time, it's the board of directors."
"This time?" Tony looked up, startled. "You're saying they're holding a board meeting?"
Obadiah sat down beside Tony, his expression grave and sincere. "The board is announcing that you are suffering from the lingering effects of a concussion. They are filing for an injunction."
"What kind of injunction?" Tony asked, his voice rising in disbelief.
"An injunction to stop you from working."
Tony's face clouded with frustration. "Why? Just because the stock dropped forty points? We expected that."
Pepper Potts, who had been sitting quietly to the side, looked at Tony.
"It dropped 56.50 per share."
Tony turned to her immediately, his tone defiant. "What does that matter? We hold the controlling interest in the company."
Pepper looked at him blankly, her silence speaking volumes. Obadiah shook his head.
"Tony, the board still has rights. They believe that you—and your 'new direction'—are no longer in the best interest of the company."
Tony wiped his mouth with a towel and raised his voice.
"Fine! If that's how it is, I'll take the responsibility. It's a new beginning for both me and the company."
A smile instantly flickered across Obadiah's face, while Pepper looked at Tony in shock.
"To be honest," Tony continued, "the company should be the one bearing the weight of this."
He didn't want to dwell on the subject any longer. He looked at Obadiah and added, "The pizza was great."
He picked up the pizza box and stood to leave. Obadiah immediately tried to stop him.
"Don't be like that. Hey, Tony! Tony!"
Tony stepped away from the sofa, looking back at them. "I'm going to the lab."
Paku, who had already finished his share of the pizza, stood up the moment Tony moved and followed him closely.
"Hey, listen to me, Tony!" Obadiah stood up, blocking his path. "I'll try to find a way to turn this around. But you need to give me something to work with so I can convince them."
Obadiah pointed toward the small Arc Reactor in Tony's chest.
"Let me take that and have the engineers analyze it. We can draw up some technical specifications."
"No. Absolutely not," Tony rejected him instantly.
"I could use it to bait the board's appetite," Obadiah pressured.
"I said no. This belongs only to me. It's not up for discussion, Obadiah. Forget it!"
Seeing Tony's firm refusal, Obadiah reached out and took the pizza box from Tony's hand.
"Fine. But this belongs to me."
Tony reached back for the pizza. Obadiah opened the lid and sighed. "Fine, you can have one slice."
Tony snatched two slices. "Two. Thanks!"
With that, he and Paku headed straight for the underground laboratory. Obadiah called out after him, "Can I come down and see what you're working on?"
Tony quickened his pace down the stairs.
"Goodnight, Obadiah!"
On the other side of the world, Ivan Vanko stepped out of the Continental Hotel New York. He took one last look at the building behind him before turning away. He wouldn't stay in this city; he had to return to care for his dying father.
He knew that since he hadn't been accepted by Shiranui Hayate, the medical care and support provided to them would likely be terminated soon.
A fire of resentment burned in Ivan's chest.
If you look down on me now, one day I will show you exactly what you have lost.
Time flowed quickly. Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.
During this time, Hotaru had followed Shiranui Hayate's orders to the letter. She had closed out all the short positions on Stark Industries. Using nearly $2 billion in capital without any leverage, she had secured a profit of $820 million.
Hayate's assets had ballooned to $3 billion in cash, $400 million in fixed assets, and $600 million in stocks.
His total net worth had officially hit the $4 billion mark.
After setting aside $500 million in cash for immediate use, Hotaru took the remaining $2.5 billion and began aggressively buying up shares through block trades and secondary markets.
Stark Industries was a public company, and in 2008, wealth wasn't as inflated as it would be in later years. At this time, Tony Stark's personal net worth was approximately $12.4 billion, while Stark Industries as a whole was valued at $25 billion.
Hotaru couldn't guarantee that $2.5 billion would secure a full ten percent stake. Even though the stock had plummeted forty points—from $142 to $84.75 per share—such a massive influx of buy orders would naturally drive the price back up. Furthermore, Hotaru sensed that she wasn't the only one; other institutions were quietly scooping up Stark shares in the shadows.
Aside from managing the stock portfolio, Hotaru had also overseen the reconstruction of the original Shiranui Hayate Agency.
She spent a significant sum to acquire several undamaged houses adjacent to the original site to serve as a temporary base of operations.
The actual construction of the main headquarters was handed over to Lendlease, a firm headquartered in New York. They were one of the top ten construction companies in the country and were renowned for having the fastest construction speed in the industry.
Currently, the original site was a hive of activity. Next door, at the temporary location, the sign for the Shiranui Hayate Agency had already been hung, and business had officially resumed.
Over these ten days, Hayate had continued his daily system sign-ins. He had accumulated 5 Ninjutsu Secret Scrolls, 200 Ninja Jades, 100 bowls of Delicious Ramen, 1,900 Reputation points, 200 Reincarnation Stones, and 80,000 Copper Coins.
Inside the temporary agency office, Hayate sat on the sofa in the lobby, skimming through a newspaper. The headlines were filled with speculation that Tony Stark was suffering from brain trauma and had been suspended from all duties.
Hotaru walked down from the second floor, carrying several folders.
"Boss, I've selected some personnel from the High Table. I'm planning to have them transferred here to start working tomorrow. This includes a concierge, security, front desk staff for mission intake, and even chefs and servers for the dining area. Would you like to review their files?"
Hayate looked at the folders and waved his hand dismissively.
"I trust your judgment, Hotaru. I don't need to see the files for the service staff."
He paused, then added, "We don't need too much security, though. Just assign one or two people to watch the gate."
"I only selected two," Hotaru replied with a nod.
Clearly, both Hayate and Hotaru understood that "security" at this location was merely for appearances. The people inside this building were certainly not the ones who needed protection.