84/Job Interview with Evil

Job Interview with Evil
Date of Scene:	20 April 2017
Location:	LexCorp Tower, Metropolis
Synopsis:	In which Dragonfly unwittingly seeks employment with evil bad guy Lex Luthor.
Cast of Characters:	Lex Luthor, Dragonfly (Arazello)

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Lex Luthor has posed:
LexCorp Tower is as bustling hub of hardworking people as per usual. Mona, the assistant that's actually breathing, wastes no time in showing the latest interviewee to the huge 'LL'-handled doors that lead into the office of the greatest man to ever grace the streets of Metropolis: Lex Luthor.

Lex Luthor is standing behind his mighty desk and looking out of the huge window that takes up the entire wall behind his desk. He's looking out over the city of Metropolis like a true savior would, looking out over his kingdom and surveying the land. He doesn't even acknowledge the doors opening as he's too busy being Lex Luthor.

The office itself is gigantic. There's the huge desk with a couple of very comfortable chairs in front of it. There's an entire section of the office dedicated to comfort and leisure, including a full bar. The office looks more like a penthouse suite or an apartment than just a simple business office.

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    Nancy takes a deep breath, expelling it noisily, before following Mona into the room. "OK, girl," she murmurs to herself, "you can get this." She strides with false confidence behind the the assistant, heels failing to clack on the thick carpeting.
    "Mr. Luthor," she says, voice clipped and professional, but exposing a little bit of nervousness with the quaver in the higher frequencies, "thank you very much for your time."
    She tries not to be overwhelmed by the surroundings. She fails.

Lex Luthor has posed:
"My time is valuable. But it would be much less so if I didn't use it to help those in need." Lex says this before he even turns around. It takes him a bit to actually turn around and when he does he looks directly at the Nancy that has entered his office. He keeps his hands behind his back, resting calmly. "What can I do for you, Ms. Arazello? What do you /need/?" This is going to be a very interesting interview.

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    Nancy is at first taken aback, visibly blinking, almost flinching, at the unusual nature of the question. She then rallies around, pasting a professional smile on her face and, approaching Luthor to avoid having to shout the answer, stands before him.
    "I suppose the conventional response you'd get is some variation, perhaps very flowery, if 'I need a job'," she begins. A short pause leaves the words hanging in the air, a subtle way to highlight those four words without making it obvious. "But the truth is, Mr. Luthor, that I don't need a job." She raises a hand to gesture vaguely behind her. "I have money enough to live for quite a while and a paid-off home. I still own my shares in Burton Engineering, so when probate clears up on that I'll be able to tap dividends for even longer."
    She shakes her head, one strand of perfectly-placed hair rebelling and falling down one cheek. She ignores it.
    "No, Mr. Luthor, I don't need a job. I seek employment."

Lex Luthor has posed:
    Lex Luthor is quiet for a long moment as he listens to the answer. He almost doesn't even blink when he looks at her. He watches her eyes, her lips and how she handles the stray hair that attempts to ruin her train of thought. He keeps a close eye on any and all cues that could possibly give him more insight into what she's standing in his office for... /really/. Burton Engineering is committed to memory and put on the 'Businesses To Acquire List' immediately.

    "Employment?" Lex begins this with a small smirk. "You could be 'employed' anywhere. In less than a day. I've seen your resume. I know what you're capable of." Leave it to Lex Luthor to have done his homework. "Here at LexCorp we don't just hire employees, we hire /people/." His small smirk fades back into seriousness. "So I ask you this: Who are you?"

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    "By 'employment'," Nancy says, expanding on her previous answer, "I mean in the sense of 'employ': to be of use. A job is just something you do to eat--to survive. I don't need one of those. Employment is something you do to be of use." A tight, slightly narrow-eyed smile. "And that is not something you can find anywhere."
    "As to who I am ... I'm not sure that I would trust anybody who had a glib answer to that question, with respect, Mr. Luthor." The smile relaxes a bit. "And I'm pretty sure you wouldn't trust anybody who had a prepared answer to it either," she adds. "I can only answer that I'm Nancy Arazello of Flatbush, Brooklyn. That I'm an aerospace engineer who's done enough office management to realize that she doesn't like it, necessary evil that it may be. And that as an engineer, a proper one, not merely one who uses the word, I feel that I should be involved in creating things that serve people well."
    She swallows.
    "And I understand that the answer is vague, but this is largely because, I suspect, anybody who tries to think of that question honestly will be vague by necessity."

Lex Luthor has posed:
    It takes Lex Luthor another long moment to realize that the question has been answered. Either that or he's just drawing out his silences to try and make things even more difficult for her to answer. It's a weird game he's playing and he's playing his side of it without worrying too much about what happens on her side. He could get an aerospace engineer out of nowhere in less time than this interview took. Instead, though, he's actually enjoying the answers that are coming from her in this manner. It's making his initial thoughts about her seem that much more concrete.

    Lex takes a seat in his chair behind his desk. He brings his elbows up and that causes his fingers to steeple in front of his face. He peers over them and looks at Nancy. He looks at her for a long moment as if evaluating she said and matching it up with her physical appearance. Or her soul, when he takes the time to linger on her eyes with his own. Finally, he lifts his head from behind his hands.

"Last question." Lex Luthor's serious expression is back in control of his face. "Explain to me how you're going to use your engineering experience to save the world."

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    Nancy's response to this is a full-throated chuckle. Not a nervous girlish giggle. An honest laugh, almost of relief.
    "I'm afraid, Mr. Luthor, that I learned long ago not to think in terms of saving the world. I think it's my training as an engineer that's to blame. We're all too aware of the limitations of the big picture; we have to focus on details that swamp the human mind if it tries to take them all in at once. This is why we subdivide problems into ever-smaller pieces; it allows us to keep the pieces in our brain. Bad engineers forget this and produce, well, aircraft that explode in midair like the early jet liners."
    She subconsciously takes a step forward to the desk, then almost paces in place. "No, the big picture thinking is best left to people with that vision. As an engineer I will do my best to effect the creation of the big picture put forth to me by those who have a vision I admire; to act, in brief, as the details manager that prevents the big picture from getting swamped."

Lex Luthor has posed:
    It could be the way that Lex's lips curl up into a smile during every next step in the evolution of this answer that hints at his happiness with the answer. Eventually, by the time Nancy has finished crafting her verbal answer, Lex is sitting back in his chair and looking all the more comfortable. "Excellent."

    Lex leans forward and reaches for the desk where a deep purple folder with the LexCorp logo emblazoned on the outside. "You start now." Lex doesn't make it seem like there's an option to that. "You'll find everything you need to get you started in that folder. Your ID Card. The location of your lab. And your first project." Lex begins to turn in his chair towards the window. "I expect results by the end of the week." Lex finally finishes his turn and sits there, looking out the window. "Now. Before you get to work. Any questions?"

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    "Just one, Mr. Luthor." Nancy leaves a short pregnant pause, as if ready to ask about salary.
    "How aware were you before this interview of what my answers would likely be? You seemed to have done a lot of homework for such a simple hire. I'm curious as to the extent of it."

Lex Luthor has posed:
    Lex Luthor grins even while he doesn't turn back to look at her. He doesn't have to. He's Lex Luthor. He knows that whatever he says she will believe. She has no other choice but to believe what he says. He's Lex Luthor. He brings his ifingers up to steeple in front of his face as he peers out of the window once again.

    "You were hired the moment your name came across my desk, Ms. Arazello." Lex looks up slightly towards a clock that's on an adjacent wall. "You might want to get going. You're already late." It even sounds, for a moment, like he's teasing. That's confirmed when he turns slightly to show a small grin. "And it's your first day."

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    Nancy purses her lips in an attempt to suppress a smile, largely successful.
    "I see, Mr. Luthor," she says. "I'll go looking for my lab and office right away then, sir," she adds. "I'm not really dressed for labwork today, but I presume there's administrative duties to take care of first." She inclines her head and starts the long journey to the door. You can almost hear the prayer repeating endlessly in her head: "Please don't stumble. Please don't stumble. Please don't stumble." A feat she accomplishes despite the suddenly weakened knees as both relief and anticipation flood through her.