Obadiah was an old-timer from Howard Stark's era and had made immense contributions to the company.
After Howard and his wife passed away in a car accident, he had temporarily managed Stark Industries until a 21-year-old Tony Stark, the prodigal son returned, took the company to new heights.
His relationship with Tony was complicated. He was an uncle, a friend, and a business partner.
Obadiah's visit to the seaside villa was undoubtedly to discuss company business with Tony.
Pepper, knowing it was somewhat inappropriate for her to be there, spoke up, "You two talk. I'll go upstairs to pack."
With that, Pepper quickly departed.
"Tony, are you okay?"
Obadiah walked over and handed him a paper bag.
Tony took the bag, pulled out a cheeseburger, and took a massive bite.
"I'm fine. I've weathered so many storms over the years; a small setback like this won't crush me."
Obadiah smiled but didn't reply.
Tony sensed something was off and quickly asked, "Is there a problem at the company?"
Obadiah nodded with a troubled look. "Because of what happened last night, Stark Industries has been thrown into the fire. The moment the market opened this morning, our stock plummeted 40 points, a drop of nearly 7%!"
Hearing this, Tony secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He thought it was something serious, but it was just a small dip in the stock price. For Stark, that was nothing.
He began to comfort Obadiah, "Don't worry, I've already compensated the families of all the victims in the name of Stark Industries. And I'll have the media help with some PR. The storm will blow over soon. I guarantee the stock will recover within a month."
Hearing Tony's reassurance, Obadiah's worried expression didn't fade. Instead, he sighed, "As the chairman, you spend all your days developing weapons, but you don't have a deep understanding of business operations or market economics. This crisis is different from the ones before. For Stark Industries, this is a major catastrophe."
As he said, Tony wasn't exactly an expert in these matters.
But at the very least, Tony knew that stock prices fluctuated with the market.
As soon as Stark Industries announced the development of a new weapon, the stock would shoot up. This phenomenon had worked without fail for many years.
After all, Stark Industries' weapons were recognized as the top dog in the industry, favored by the US military and allied nations. As long as a new weapon was successfully developed, nine times out of ten, they would receive a long-term order from the Department of Defense.
Tony put down the cheeseburger and had Jarvis pull up the design schematics for the Iron Armor from three years ago.
"Don't worry, I'll make the stock price rise again and reach a new high."
Full of confidence, Tony began to introduce his new Iron Armor plan to Obadiah.
His expression was ecstatic as he rambled on and on, but Obadiah didn't hear a single word. Instead, he said angrily.
"The Iron Armor! The Iron Armor! Fuck the Iron Armor! Do you know why the company's stock has crashed so damn hard? It's because your Iron Armor is a complete piece of shit!"
"The underground parking garage at the bank is littered with the corpses of Iron Soldiers. Even the two hundred Iron Soldiers taken by the military suffered heavy casualties."
"You boasted to the media about the advantages of the Iron Armor, calling it the pinnacle of Stark Industries' creations, and what was the result? Your 'pinnacle creation' was tossed around and beaten like a toy. How could the company's stock not plummet!"
Obadiah vented all his pent-up frustration, panting heavily.
Tony didn't get angry. Instead, he frowned and said self-reproachfully, "The Iron Armor was my mistake, I admit that. But I believe even more strongly that Iron Armor is Stark Industries' future."
Obadiah turned his head away, not wanting to hear his nonsense. All he cared about was money, money, and more fucking money.
Tony didn't mind his attitude and continued to present his grand vision.
Finally, Obadiah couldn't take it anymore and asked the core question: "Then how do you plan to solve the armor's energy problem?"
Tony said proudly, "The Arc Reactor!"
Obadiah sighed, saying helplessly, "Tony, you and I both know the Arc Reactor is a vanity project, something for outsiders to look at. The project has never turned a profit; at most, it has some theoretical value."
Tony said with full confidence, "The Arc Reactor is my father's legacy. I firmly believe it will be a success."
Seeing that Tony was completely intractable, Obadiah sighed heavily and didn't want to waste any more words.
He hesitated for a moment, then said, "Tony! You've become obsessed. You should take a good rest for a while."
Tony frowned. My Iron Armor project hasn't even started, why should I rest?
"Obie! Don't worry, I will take full responsibility. I will also convince the board to restart the Iron Armor project. The combination of the two will surely give birth to a great creation."
Obadiah: "I came here this time with an order from the board."
Tony's expression instantly froze. He asked, "Why wasn't I notified about a board meeting?"
Obadiah continued, "Because your mistake caused the company's stock to plummet, you must take responsibility for it."
"The board feels you are no longer fit to lead the company. They have passed a mandatory injunction to temporarily remove you from your position as chairman. The official story is that you've suffered psychological trauma from last night's events and need to rest at home for a while."
I've been fired from my own company!
Tony stood stunned for a long time before it sank in. He looked at him, "Well done! Let me guess, the person succeeding me as chairman is you... hmm... judging by your expression, I'm right."
Obadiah patted Tony's shoulder. "Don't worry! I'm just filling in temporarily. Once this blows over, Stark Industries will still be yours."
Tony gave a humorless smile. The spirit that had just been lifted was completely crushed.
All these years, how much money had he made for the company, for the shareholders, and the moment they hit a little trouble, those people wanted to abandon him.
What chilled him to the bone was that the uncle who had been with him since he was a child, Obadiah, had also betrayed him.
A wave of bitterness washed over Tony's heart, but on the surface, he feigned indifference. "Great! The company will do better with you in charge. I was just about to go on vacation abroad and enjoy life anyway."
Obadiah hugged him tightly and comforted him, "Don't overthink it. You're too tired. Get some good rest."
With that, he put the cigar back in his mouth, smiled, and left the lab.
Tony stood there in silence, but his chest was already filled with the flames of fury.
He is much more mature now. He chose to hide all his anger, instead channeling it into a continuous source of motivation.
"Jarvis!"
"I'm here, sir!"
"Create a new project index for me on the private server."
"Sir, what is the index name?"
"Mark I!"
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