The second the news dropped that Joey and Tom were starring in Iron Man, Marvel fans collectively lost their minds.
Not because Tom Cruise was playing Tony Stark—no, that part actually made total sense.
It was Joey playing Pepper Potts that had everybody freaking out.
Blonde, fair-skinned Pepper Potts… and Marvel went and cast an Asian woman?!
WTF?!
Then again, once people remembered how drop-dead gorgeous she looked in those H&M ads—and how charismatic she was on screen—they calmed down a little. Okay, fine, maybe she can pull off being eye candy. We'll see how it actually turns out.
Still, a chunk of the die-hard fans were big mad. They were convinced Marvel had officially sold its soul for clout and gone full clown mode.
Most regular folks, though? They were pumped. Joey's got insane likability in America right now. Everybody calls her the "Miracle Girl" with nothing but affection.
Plus, Hollywood's got a long tradition of big-name directors who also act. Clint Eastwood—legendary tough-guy director—starred in a ton of his own movies. At his peak he was a total heartthrob. (The Bridges of Madison County with Meryl Streep? Come on.)
Ben Stiller writes, directs, and stars in his own stuff all the time, and the dude's both funny and stupidly handsome. Tropic Thunder is still cracks people up.
So yeah, the idea of director Joey Grant acting opposite Tom Cruise? Comic-book fans and casual moviegoers alike were pretty stoked. And Tom? The guy could announce he's playing the Easter Bunny and half the planet would still show up on opening weekend.
To get ready for the role, Tom was grinding five days a week—strength training, martial arts, the whole deal—to stay ripped and quick on his feet. Two months before filming he basically moved next door to the production offices so he could pop in and hash out the script with director Jon Favreau whenever.
Favreau couldn't believe his luck that Joey Grant—his Hollywood idol—was actually his leading lady. He showed up at her door with a notebook and the humility of a film student, ready to soak up whatever wisdom she wanted to drop.
He listened to every word she said like it was gospel.
Joey wasn't trying to step on his toes—she's not the director this time—so she kept it high-level. "About locations… I really think we should stay away from the East Coast. Every superhero movie shoots in New York. We need a West Coast hero."
Favreau's eyes lit up. "So… California?"
"Exactly!" she said, getting excited. "I want different scenery. Instead of Tony flying between Manhattan skyscrapers, picture him zipping past oceans and mountains. Plus, shooting in L.A. screams Howard Hughes vibes, and that's basically Tony's spiritual ancestor."
Favreau grinned. "You're 100% right. We're doing it."
While Iron Man geared up, Joey was taking acting classes every single day. Sure, Marvel basically wanted her to stand there and look pretty, but a girl's got pride—she wasn't about to phone it in.
One afternoon after class, her phone buzzed. It was Tom.
"I'm outside," he said.
She jogged to the curb and found him parked at the sidewalk, windows down, radio on. She slid into the passenger seat and shot him a little smile. "What's up?"
"Just checking on my favorite assistant. How's acting school treating you?" He smirked—he was already teasing her about playing his secretary, Pepper.
She rolled her eyes with a grin as he pulled away from the curb. "Where we headed?"
"Your place."
"But I don't have dinner."
"You cook?" He glanced over, eyebrow raised.
"Uh… I mean, my cooking's pretty tragic, but it's edible. Pull over at that grocery store—I'll grab some frozen stuff."
He parked in front of the supermarket near her house. She ran in, came back with a couple bags of frozen spaghetti and meat sauce, and ten minutes later they were pulling up to her villa in the Santa Monica mountains.
As she fumbled for her keys she said, "Jon's been coming over a bunch lately, bouncing Iron Man ideas off me."
Tom tossed his keys in the air and caught them. "I've been at his office nonstop. Got any hot tips for him?"
"I told him to shoot on the West Coast—California."
He nodded as he stepped inside. "Smart."
She flipped on the TV and tossed him the remote. "So have you seen the suit yet? Ryan Meinerding finished the design."
Tom flopped onto the couch like he owned the place. "Love it. He made it look like Tony built the thing out of scrap in a cave—rough, patched together, but badass. Honestly my favorite costume in the whole movie. Most original too."
Joey smiled—she obviously already knew exactly what it looked like. "If you're happy, that's what matters. Ryan's one of the best concept artists in the business."
Tom kept describing it anyway, remote in hand. "Clean metal plates, military-tech vibes, random panels and gadgetry—it's gonna look like a walking weapons platform."
The TV flicked past a celebrity gossip segment. Joey yelled, "Stop! I know them!"
There, on screen, Emma Watson and Henry Cavill were grocery shopping, looking ridiculously in love—arms around each other, giggling, the whole nine yards—while paparazzi swarmed them.
Joey knew it was all for show. Their production company was gearing up for Twilight 2, so the contract couple had to keep the hype alive.
She'd already told Tom she was done directing the franchise after the first one; he was cool with it and already hunting for the next director.
Tom set the remote down and smirked at the lovey-dovey footage. "PR relationship, right?"
"Wow, sharp as ever."
He shrugged. "Real couples don't flaunt it like that. Hollywood's got more fake romances than I can count."
Joey tilted her head, teasing. "So how can you tell if it's just a contract?"
His eyes softened as he looked at her—really looked at her. "Whether they have kids together. Only real love makes people bring a whole new life into the world."
Something in his voice hit her right in the chest. "Yeah… a woman only has a man's baby if she truly loves him."
He didn't say anything else, just looked away.
She knew this topic was a sore spot for him. In this timeline—whatever butterfly effect she'd caused—he'd never met Katie Holmes, never had Suri had never been born. She'd always found it strange, but fate's a weird thing.
Trying to lighten the mood, she nudged him playfully. "Hey, you're supposed to be billionaire playboy Tony Stark right now—lose the sad puppy face."
He gave a half-smile. "You think I fit the playboy part?"
"Absolutely not. You're Hollywood's golden boy. Tony's the alcoholic womanizer—total opposite."
He just gave a quiet, slightly sad chuckle and let it drop.
Joey got up to "cook"—aka boil water and nuke the frozen spaghetti. When she set the plate in front of him, Tom stared at it, then at her, one eyebrow raised. "It looks… exactly as clumsy as you are."
"Excuse me? Clumsy? Ask any fan in America—they'll tell you I'm basically a genius Venus."
He twirled a noodle around his fork, studied it like it was evidence in a trial, then started laughing. "No, you really do come off kinda clumsy. But then you open your mouth and there's this crazy-smart spark that completely flips the script."
He ate it anyway, even though it was—let's be honest—pretty terrible.
Halfway through he shook his head. "I should loan you my chefs. Save you from your own cooking."
She rolled her eyes so hard they nearly got stuck. "Remind me again which one of us begged to come over for dinner and is now complaining?"
He finished the plate, set it down, then flashed the most heart-melting smile that's launched a billion magazine covers. "It's late. I'm beat. You got a guest room I can crash in?"
"Get out."
He just grinned wider.