Business with cuttingedge

[have_no_mercy]

'Monday morning' is such a subjective term. And Tess is going to take full advantage of that before she finally heads off to make good on her appointment with Ryan Edge. After all, she has three companies of her own to attend to, aside from all her extra-curricular activities

Comments

[cuttingedge]

Morning is only a subjective term for those who are not up somewhere around the crack of dawn, going through a daily exercise regimen and then having a healthy breakfast before attacking whatever business has been slotted for that particular day. Take Ryan, for instance. He's been up since 7 am, done his workout, had breakfast with his family, and arrived close to 8:30. It's given him at least two hours to get through other items on the to-do list, and halfway through a third when he's alerted to Tess' arrival.

"Let her in," he instructs one of the senior members of security, and resumes the long distance call. When she's shown into the office on the second floor, he's just finishing up that conversation and waves her quietly towards a comfortable chair settled in front of his desk, one that looks like it should be in a shrink's office. "Saturday morning as per our agreement, yes. No excuses, I want it through customs by end of week. Good. See you then."

Ryan hangs up and offers a quick smile. "A pleasure, Miss Mercer. How are you this morning?"

[have_no_mercy]

For her part, Tess has completed near a day's worth of work before her arrival. She's no stranger to the crack of dawn herself.

She settles into the chair without a word, well aware of what it's like to have another city on the line when something else requires your attention. Tess will amuse herself by scanning the 'office' carefully.

When she's addressed, however, Ryan gets her full attention. "As always, Mr. Edge. I'm doing quite well. And yourself?" Ah, social niceties.

[cuttingedge]

It's not a typical office, at least in the sense that Ryan's father would have used. Morgan preferred modern chic combined with an overtly masculine feel, so that you knew who was in charge the moment you walked into a room with him. Ryan, for his part, assumes that people will already know that. It's subdued more than anything else, warm without being blatant.

The desk is the largest thing in the room, in the shape of a curved 'L', and subjected to neat piles of folders and paperwork. A few pictures dominate the walls, mostly of world wonders; the Great Wall of China, Victoria Falls, that sort of thing. It speaks of a man comfortable in his own skin.

"Good, as always. Can I get you anything to drink before we start?"

[have_no_mercy]

It's tidy, neat and there's no clutter one might expect from someone in his line of work. Tess appreciates that. Although she's disappointed to see the Great Barrier Reef failed to make the cut for his wall decor.

Perhaps she'll rectify that one day.

"No, I'm fine, thank you." With that out of the way, she reaches into her briefcase and quickly pulls out several file folders, colour coordinated, of course. "This is what I was hoping you'd be able to help us out with," Tess says, right down to business, leaning forward to set the folders on his desk. It's all there, design plans, schematics, materials required, security concerns, financial proposal and a general information package about the tower itself. All indications are that it is what the public thinks it will be: a solar tower, capable of powering the city with clean energy.

[cuttingedge]

Impressive. That's what the project is. Ryan makes a low noise of agreement before settling back and going carefully through each file. It will be a lot of work, and some of the materials aren't exactly common, but that's not a problem. He has resources and contacts all over the world, and does his best to maintain friendly relations with officials in countries that don't have as stringent import-export laws as the US does.

Still... "It will take me a day or two to make estimates and I can't give you an answer until I know those. Here's my proposal. Give me until Thursday to feel around and see what all this will cost. Otherwise, as much as I can see this will be lucrative for both of us, I'm afraid I'll have to pass on it."

He's nothing if not an honest crook.

[have_no_mercy]

That... isn't the answer Tess wanted, or expected. Ryan can probably tell.

"I can assure you, whatever your costs might be, you will be reimbursed and then some. Don't let that be an obstacle."

[cuttingedge]

"It's not. To be honest, the time frame is. This is a small window for such a large project. It will take me a few days to make some discreet calls and see how quickly I can get some of the materials into the country. Although, thanksfully, most of them can already be found here."

He leans forward, propping an elbow on his desk. "Unlike many of my ... associates, I don't like to cut corners during construction." Which is probably why all of the Edge buildings are still standing after so long. His father was the same way.

[have_no_mercy]

Still not happy. But it's something she'll have to smooth over and she can do that. She hopes.

"You really wouldn't have liked the original time frame, then. My partner can be rather impatient, to put not too fine a point on it." Tess Mercer, Mistress of the Understatement. "Make your calls; see what you can find. I'll see what I can do about extending the deadline to some degree." This, at least, will give her some honest leverage.