3383/CEO Meeting

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CEO Meeting
Date of Scene: 14 December 2017
Location: Unknown
Synopsis: Natasha Cranston and Susan Storm-Richards negotiate a deal.
Cast of Characters: Shadow, Invisible Woman




Shadow has posed:
    Under the guidance of the Board of Trustees, representatives of Cranston Multinational approached the Four Freedoms Foundation several times in the hopes of purchasing a few of Reed Richards' inventions for internal profit and development. Unfortunately for them, they severely underestimated his wife's instincts and business savvy, and the last one was sent back with a written message telling them to not bother coming back unless they sent someone more competent.

    Well, thinks Natasha to herself as she watches the floor numbers on the elevator display race upward to 17, challenge accepted.

    She takes a breath as the doors open, centering herself, then opens her eyes and walks confidently toward the receptionist's desk. "Good afternoon, Roberta," she greets the woman that is not a woman, apparently not fazed in the slightest by the lack of a last name on the android's name tag. "If you would, please inform Dr. Storm-Richards that I would appreciate a half hour of her time whenever it's convenient." She deliberately omits her own name; if this receptionist is half as competent as she assumes, either she'll ask or she already knows...

Shadow has posed:
    Under the guidance of the Board of Trustees, representatives of Cranston Multinational approached the Four Freedoms Foundation several times in the hopes of purchasing a few of Reed Richards' inventions for internal profit and development. Unfortunately for them, they severely underestimated his wife's instincts and business savvy, and the last one was sent back with a written message telling them to not bother coming back unless they sent someone more competent.

    Well, thinks Natasha to herself as she watches the floor numbers on the elevator display race upward to 17, challenge accepted.

    She takes a breath as the doors open, centering herself, then opens her eyes and walks confidently toward the receptionist's desk. "Good afternoon, Roberta," she greets the woman that is not a woman, apparently not fazed in the slightest by the lack of a last name on the android's name tag. "If you would, please inform Dr. Storm-Richards that I would appreciate a half hour of her time whenever it's convenient." She deliberately omits her own name; if this receptionist is half as competent as she assumes, either she'll ask or she already knows...

Invisible Woman has posed:
Roberta's job, at the bottom of everything, is protection of people's time. So she's fully integrated into both the building's security as well as the facial recognition programs that might not even be considered by most people. When Ms. Cranston approaches her, the woman's face is cataloged, compared to the database of employees, and a database of people who've ever been into the building and previously identified. The calm voice of the receptionist (she never gets ruffled, after all) replies, "May I give your name to Dr. Storm-Richards, and the nature of your business, please?"

"Natasha, Natasha Cranston."

Roberta files the information along with the face and voiceprint, cross-references the name against her internal files, and smiles for Nat. "Thank you, Ms. Cranston. One moment please."

That moment is a very short one. "Dr. Storm-Richards will see you immediately. Please go through the gallery, turn left at the far end. Her assistant will escort you the rest of the way."

And indeed, a young woman who is probably either a business student or a research assistant meets Natasha at the end of the gallery and leads her directly to the large doors of Sue's office. She opens the door and admits Natasha and closes the door behind her.

"Well, well... it looks like Cranston Multinational middle management has finally gotten their heads out of their collective derrieres." The blonde moves to stand, coming around her desk to hold out her hand. "Ms. Cranston, it's very nice to meet you. Please, have a seat," Sue gestures to the somewhat casual seating area in her office. There is a coffee arrangement already set on a tray on a low coffee table.

Shadow has posed:
    Natasha's laugh at Susan's somewhat crass remark is rich and warm, as is her handshake when Sue holds out her hand. "I won't deny it took some effort and a crowbar or two. I feel I should apologize for the atrocious behaviour of the board. I'm certain they thought they were doing what was best for the company, but..." She trails off, shaking her head, then smiles again as she seats herself. "At any rate, I felt that the best way to make amends and convince you of Cranston Multinational's sincerity was to come personally."

Invisible Woman has posed:
"Well, when they're as firmly entrenched in the good ol' boys network as their representatives seemed to be, it's not shocking you'd need a crowbar. I don't know that I would have been surprised to hear you'd tac-nuked the boardroom," Sue admits with a genuine smile. "I cannot imagine what my own reaction would have been to walk into that -- you're a braver woman than I."

Joining Natasha in the seats, she pours coffee for both of them, as if she wasn't blindsided in the slightest at the unannounced arrival of the CEO of a multinational corporation. But perhaps she's actually just that unflappable. It's always so hard to tell.

"So tell me, Ms. Cranston... what exactly is CMS interested in that we could supply?" The sharp blue eyes study Nat from behind her silver-rimmed glasses, assessing perhaps not only the other woman's demeanor but also what's being said and what's might be being left out.

Shadow has posed:
    "I admit, I was tempted," Natasha says dryly, the faintest hint of something darker flickering across her expression, there and gone again within the blink of an eye as she sips her coffee. "I was going through journals a while ago and I remembered reading about a recent invention of your husband's -- a theory he described as 'resonant vortex interaction'; I'm afraid the higher physics were well beyond me but he implied an entirely new concept of jet-like propulsion that's several orders of magnitude more efficient in thrust-to-weight and fuel-to-thrust. As you're undoubtedly aware, the big problem with commercial air freight has always been the fuel mileage compared to rail or sea transportation. Your husband's development might be the key to changing that."

    She sets the coffee cup down on the table and looks Sue in the eyes again. "I'm hoping we can come to a mutually beneficient agreement regarding the patents you filed..."

Invisible Woman has posed:
Sue nods slowly. "Reed's always coming up with something new," she agrees. And she has some memory of that particular concept -- because it enthralled her husband for over a week at the dinner table -- but she's not fully versed. Not her area of science. But the fact that Natasha has done this much homework on it tells her that it's important.

"I can see where that idea would be useful, what with acquiring the Blackhawk Freight company." Pursing her lips. "I'm not sure you're aware of the offers that your reps have brought to me before, but... I'm willing to talk, assuming you're not bringing those offers -- or those people -- to the table."

Shadow has posed:
    Natasha gives a slightly unladylike snort at that. "If you'll permit the bluntness, the first 'offer' was blatantly insulting and made by someone who had no idea what they were dealing with. I can only guess they assumed that your husband was an entirely stereotypical absent-minded scientist with no head for monetary matters, and you little more than a housewife that could be dazzled with an offer to take all that hard work of thinking about money off your hands..." Her lip curls briefly before she smooths her expression back down and smiles again. "I, on the other hand, feel reasonably confident in assuming that if money were your primary and only concern the Foundation would be giving Starktech and Wayne Enterprises both a run for their money. So I asked myself what I could offer beyond mere money..."

    She leans back in her chair, still studying Susan's face. "Your husband, by all appearances, as the ability to revolutionize nearly any field on his lunch break by writing down theoretical exercises on the back of a napkin. However, most of the fields in which he could easily make the world a better place have highly entrenched interests that like the playing field as it is. They accomplish this by capitalizing on your husband's stereotype of an absent professor who'll forget what he's doing in favour of the next experiment overnight, just when you need him to keep the reactor from exploding."

    She smiles. "Of course, if he really were even /remotely/ that absently negligent I'm fairly sure you'd have taken your children and left long ago, money be damned. But the reputation and media image do make it hard to get a foot in the door at the industry level, as opposed to academic where his credentials are beyond question..."

Invisible Woman has posed:
Sue has to cover her smile behind her coffee cup when Natasha states outright that they were morons. It's nice to have someone understand. But as the other woman continues to talk, those blue eyes remain steady on the speaker. The information about where Natasha's thought processes have lead her intrigues Sue, and it's clear that Natasha has her complete attention and interest.

Shadow has posed:
    Natasha pauses only briefly to make sure she still has Susan's attention, then continues. "Unfortunately, in today's world, for a technology to be more broadly accepted than for personal use, it has to undergo a lengthy track of development and inspections until it's deemed acceptable, conform with safety standards, emission rules, and so on... This becomes even /more/ involved when the development is novel enough that new rules may need to be made. And to navigate that particular labyrinth, mere academic credentials, no matter how lofty, are insufficient - instead, you need the proper connections and reputability to convince the bureaucracy to expedite. More than that, for serious adoption you also need a company already in the relevant business that is willing to take a high-risk, high-cost investment in untried, untested technology."

    "That is what I can offer," Natasha continues. "CMS acquired a research and development division during my absence; answers as to what exactly the board intended to do with it were unsatisfactory, but I didn't quite feel comfortable cutting it loose either. More than that, I own a majority share of the company; I'm not beholden to shareholders who can fire me if a financial quarter isn't up to their standards, so I can take whatever risks I decide are worth it, and 'because I want to' is all the justification I need."

    "Cranston Research can license the patents, and perhaps even consultation from your husband when necessary, to develop a prototype aircraft that can best take advantage of the RVI's capabilities. Cranston Multinational has the connections to ensure inspections and tests to acquire at least a provisional permit happen expeditiously; Blackhawk Freight has pilots and hauling contracts to make use of the result."

Shadow has posed:
    "... Then, if all goes as well as I'm confident it will, the technology will have proven itself and every other company with an interest in air transportation will be trampling one another to be the next to get a license on the patents involved," Natasha finishes, then smiles. "You may wind up needing to hire more receptionists."

Invisible Woman has posed:
She is quiet throughout the pitch, although Sue's blue eyes have a laser-bright focus on the presenter herself. When the pitch has been presented, there's a long moment of silence while Sue digests the situation, sipping her coffee. "So... let's be clear here. You don't want to acquire the patent itself, you merely want the licensing for it?" She is thoughtful about the proposal. Given the possibilities that open up with a fully functional model in place, it's actually a good deal. Pursing her lips, she parses through the lines of inquiry.

"All right.... First, I like your proposal so far -- obviously without numbers in play there's no real need to get into the nitty gritty just yet. Besides, that's we both have lawyers and accountants for." She smiles as she sets her coffee cup down. "I appreciate the fact that you brought the offer in person, after the last debacle. It tells me that you're serious about your business and while I expect that you're out to make your money, you're not out to screw the poor scientist nerd who has no concept what his ideas are worth. Which kind of makes me like you." It might not mean much -- maybe Sue just likes everyone. Her husband could tell you otherwise, but hey... he's busy.

"I would like to see your initial offer in writing. Reed and I will talk about the particular theory and its development, and assuming we can come to terms, I don't honestly see why we can't do business quite nicely, Ms. Cranston."

Shadow has posed:
    Natasha grins, one of her cheeks dimpling slightly. "As it happens, I did bring a preliminary proposal with me," she replies, reaching into her handbag to retrieve a folder. "Of course, there are still some blank areas that would need to be discussed, costs underwritings and the like, but I'm entirely content to leave the details to the attorneys..."

Invisible Woman has posed:
Somehow the blonde is not exactly surprised. She leans forward to take the folder. "You've been thinking about this for quite some time, clearly. The acquisition of Blackhawk must have taken some convincing. Zinda Blake keeps an extremely low profile these days." She tilts her head. "Do I need to be concerned that you're out to take over the world, Ms. Cranston?"

Shadow has posed:
    Natasha laughs again, a bright, rich, merry sound that briefly fills the room. "Heavens, no. Entirely too much paperwork." She smiles again, then sobers slightly. "More seriously, it's about my family's legacy. Ever since my great-grandfather founded the company, the Cranston name stood for reliability, responsibility and a firm commitment to ethical behaviour in business. After my father's untimely death and during my absence, the Board of Trustees' only commitment was to their own bottom line. A number of the subsidiaries I cut loose were guilty of a great deal of... ethically questionable, if mostly legal, behaviour. This hurt the company's reputation. It hurt my family's name," her voice wobbles a bit at the last word, as if she's controlling a great deal of anger with an even greater amount of effort. "I don't regret cutting them loose - a rotting branch is best pruned before it can infect the rest of the tree - but it will unavoidably wind up hurting the company this financial quarter. We'll be posting a loss, which is... Not an auspicious start, especially for a relatively young and untried heiress whose first act was to arbitrarily toss out a third of her business empire. So I needed to rebuild confidence, which meant I needed to act decisively and quickly." She spreads her hands. "So here we are, as the saying goes..."

Invisible Woman has posed:
Sue smiles a bit, understanding the explanation. A nod accompanies the explanation of cutting them loose, and Sue replies, "Sometimes you have to lose the battle to win the war, right? So posting a loss in a single quarter won't kill you. The rest of your financials seem in decent shape and diversified enough to absord the loss. To be frank, I would have done exactly the same thing."

Shadow has posed:
Natasha nods. "But to extend the metaphor, a seasoned general can lose a battle to win the war without losing the confidence of his men. A freshly minted lieutenant doing the same would be devastating to morale unless they prove themselves capable /very/ quickly."

Invisible Woman has posed:
"Well... I believe you're about to do that quite handily, Ms. Cranston," Sue grins. "I think you'll find that when my husband has an idea like that, it's usually quite workable when someone is willing to fund the development. And I think Cranston and Blackhawk have exactly the foundation required for that particular patent. When Reed looks it over, I'll let you know our thoughts and the lawyers can take it from there."

Shadow has posed:
    "Of that, I have no doubt," Natasha replies, smiling as she rises and holding out a hand. "I do believe I will enjoy this partnership. And I look forward to signing the final contract when it's done."

Invisible Woman has posed:
Moving to stand, Sue takes the proffered hand. "I am looking forward to doing business with you, Ms. Cranston, and to seeing what you do with your company."

Shadow has posed:
    "I'll do my very best not to disappoint. Good day to you."