poly_chromatic | » 6; audio

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bones - angela montenegro

» 6; audio

Just because the lights are on doesn't mean anybody's actually home, or in this case, the shop's actually open. Sorry to break your little precious hearts, but there'll be no Visitors' Day specials today at Passione. Yes, I understand other shops are doing it, but not this one, mainly because we're closed at this hour of the night.

[And currently there are a lack of employees and such other things a business requires.]

Feel free to stop by and tell this lone worker hello if you care to, maybe bring me a coffee and a donut, maybe a late night dinner too. Just saying. It'll be your good deed for the day.

[ooc: Action/Audio welcome since she's at the shop. Everything is fair game except anything past S4 of Bones. Anything else she can easily forgot by *~*magic*~*.]

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I'm taking it whether you let me or not. I really don't care either way.

[As for blows, it's an already healed wound. He can't yank it open no matter how hard he tries.]

Yes. And now the shop belongs to Ginny and me. [She actually does shake his hand, firmly and quickly.] You'll probably deal with me mostly if you deal with anybody at all. Ginny works part-time.

Marvellous. Ginny is easily swayed by daffodils; presumably, from a bargaining standpoint, you'll present more of a challenge.

[He gets himself a chair and pulls it up, motioning blandly to the bags and cups as he does so.]

Precisely how dire of financial straits are you in at the moment, anyway?

Not much as we are in an employee straits right now. The other investors and some new ones have come through, but any extra money will be welcome so don't look at that as me turning any potential offers down.

[She hands him over a sheet of paper showing the last six months of the store's financials to read for himself as she pokes through for that much dreamed about honey ham sandwich.]

We've been closed for business for since the first, but I'm hoping we can reopen within the next couple of week to with the salon and the cafe in full service and the boutique selling at least ready-to-wear items at that time.

[He takes it, breezing through it with the greatest of ease.]

Excellent. I see the arrangements I left prior to my departure have continued on as intended in my absence. Though it appears a few adjustments could be made to better maximize my capital.

Presumably, higher wages would solve your problem of lack of human capital. Raise the amount you're willing to pay your hirees and let the market solve your problem for you.

[Is he telling her how to run her business? It doesn't show on her face, the image of picture perfect neutrality as she chews her sandwich, but the amount that she's going to pay the people who will hopefully come and work in the shop isn't the issue Angela's been turning over in her head. She needs something else, something amazing, to make Passione stand back out among all the other boutiques in the City like it used to.]

That isn't the problem we're having here, Rudy.

[Of course he's telling her how to run her business. It's Rudy we're talking about; age hasn't changed anything about him except his level of finesse in dealing with the people he aims to manipulate.]

Then employee straits aren't actually your problem.

[Precision is key.]

I'm merely an investor. I don't do talent searches.

I wasn't asking you to. I was clarifying.

[Yep. He's still as headache inducing as ever. Never change, Rudy, never change.]

You'll find the potential employee pay rate is fair for the current market and raises will be talent and skill based as Ginny and I see fit. As I was saying, lacking a on-site designer of Cinna's caliber at the moment means we lose a large percentage of business that depended on Passione for that service until we can find another designer.

[They'll never find anybody closer or better.]

Understandable. Though I reiterate: that's hardly something I can be expected to help with.

[He calmly folds his hands in his lap.]

Ginny's financial arrangements will be accounted for once I have an opportunity to speak with her. As for the salon, rest assured that I have no intention of withdrawing my financial support. It is in my personal interest to see it continue to flourish.

Once again, clarifying. In the interest of being as clear as I can with how the business will be run in the future, this is how any possible changes will affect it.

[The pain, oh the pain of using just stilted conversation is killing Angela from the inside out. The poor crust of her sandwich is crushed between her fingertips. She never liked talking business even when she took commissions; just give her the money and she's happy.

But the shop needs money. This is a pain Angela will have to bear with a smile.]

She's probably at home or at her brother's shop, if anywhere. And thank you, that's really all I wanted to be assured of. [She would ask if he would like to change the terms of the agreement, but this is Rudy. Of course he would if it would benefit him. Let's not take the risk.]

[Of course he notices the little things; he's Rudy Miller, and being observant is as much a part of who he is as being an artist is part of who Angela is. The difference is, in the years he's grown since the last time he was in the City, he's learned how to navigate social interaction the way he's always known how to navigate a chessboard, and while he still may not see much point in it, that doesn't mean he doesn't have an understanding of it.]

Marvellous. Having concluded your assurances, let's talk about mine.

[He lets that linger in the air a moment before sitting back in his chair and continuing.]

You seem to be under the impression that I'm here to drive a hard bargain, negotiate you into the ground, and take you for every figurative cent I can get. That is, in fact, business, and you are entirely correct to suspect that. However, as my current financial abundance is of little worth to me anywhere but here, there is equally little point in hoarding wealth that can only benefit a resident of this City, a status which I sincerely hope never to attain again.

Hence, as I said, I have no intention of withdrawing my financial support. On the contrary, I intend to cut you a figurative check. Just as I intend to establish an account for Ginny's use such that she will never find herself lacking financial independence ever again.

Well, you've always been a pain in my ass, Rudy, even at twelve. A lovable one, but one nonetheless. It's just this time, this shop comes with a bit more than clothes with it.

[Like emotions tied up in every brick and tile of this place, but Rudy knows that much already if he knows anything at all.]

I always thought you were a person who was in it for himself. What are you getting out of this?

You know, Ginny once tried to throw a game of chess against me because she surmised that I was upset and assumed that winning it would make me feel better.

[And how wrong she was, really.]

Don't mistake this for altruism. I'm not a philanthropist bequeathing you a fantastic sum out of some misguided notion of charity. The money I have is the unfortunate byproduct of my personal financial achievements, just as a checkmate is the unfortunate byproduct of an excellent game. Practically speaking, either the money gets used, or it rots. It makes no difference to me which option is ultimately utilized.

It does, however, make a difference to you. Which is why this offer exists in the first place.

[There's a mild raise of her eyebrows at that altruism line. Angela's surprised Rudy even knows what that word means.]

I'm not, which is why I was asking how it benefited you. But I'm not turning down the offer at all, so get that out of your mind. I might have only taken a couple business classes in college, but I know money talks.

In that case, know that this gratuity comes with a condition attached. I have enough faith in your word to trust that whatever sum I leave you will go toward the honest and respectable running of the business. This is fortunate, because I intend for the sum that I do leave you to go to that ultimate end.

However, my sole condition is thus: that on your word of honour, you will do everything in your power to prevent Ginny from using any of the funds I am leaving to her personally as a means of supporting this business. That includes such loopholes as investing in shares of the business without a fair return on her investment, purchasing items of clothing and then refusing to take home the actual articles, and the like.

I understand this may pose a philosophical dilemma for you, wherein you ultimately ask yourself whether you have the right to tell Ginny what to do with her own money. Should such a quandary arise, kindly remember that it is not her money, it's mine, and I am telling you these stipulations with reliance on the notion that they will be followed.

[There's a snort of laughter.]

Are we talking about the same Ginny here? Redhead, freckles, can turn people in frogs? I don't like being a frog, by the way.

If this condition is a problem, I'm prepared to leave now.

I'm saying, I can try but short of holding the money myself, Ginny won't actually agree, you do know, that right? Ginny is as stubborn as I am. You're better off telling her this deal.

She will be apprised of all of the necessary information surrounding her particular financial arrangements. At present, I am merely seeking securities.

I said I'll try. It's up to her on her end to accept.

[That's it. Angela quits everything. She's going to go and sell art on a street corner. It has to be less stressful than this.]

I'll accept that as satisfactory.

I will leave the sum in the bank, accessible by whoever holds the position of the owner of the salon, thereby making it open to both you and Ginny, as well as any successors who may follow you should you experience an ill-timed egress before you can put your affairs in order. Use it shrewdly; there will be a lot of zeroes attached, but hasty spending is one of the primary ways a business fails, courtesy of a lack of good financial sense.

On the other hand, it'll pay your bills for awhile. I'd rather not see the place go down before you have a chance to make it flourish again.

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