So, all lawyers -are- from hell, then? [RP: Ezekiel Ellison]

[ifwebefriends]

Robin entered the office building of Falcone & Associates at precisely eleven o'clock, prepared, if necessary, to do one of the few things he was wretchedly ill-suited for: wait. Business meetings required a bit more posh than lunches with charmingly inquisitive reporters, so accordingly Robin had bothered with a suit, and looked in place even in

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[ifwebefriends]

"Yes, well, strong ties to one's native soil..." Robin demurred.

He laced his fingers together in his lap and smiled as Ezekiel turned back to him. "Splendid, at the moment. Healthy, wealthy, and wise. In charge of a thriving business concern. --which is of course why I'm here.

"Serptichore Records," he said crisply, "is nearing twenty years old, turns an estimated profit of £3 mil per year, and employs ninety-seven people counting myself. Thirteen of them are members of the upstanding legal profession. At over ten percent, this seems disproportionate. I wouldn't mind the disproportion if they would actually do their jobs on their own without bothering me about things day and night, but they do. I've myself to blame for that, really: the open-door policy was a lot more sensible back when my legal department consisted of my good mate Eddie, who also counted as half the accounting department, et cetera et cetera.

"So I'm considering two options, Mr. Ellison: outsourcing all the legal nonsense to someone else, or finding someone who can sit at the top of the solicitors and run interference between their questions and my personal inviolate self. Make sense?"

[its_ellison_now]

As Robin began explaining the nature of his legal issues, rather than take a seat behind his desk, Ezekiel moved around to stand in front of his desk, leaning back against it in a far more casual and companionable fashion as he listened attentively to the other man's brusque outline of his company and his problems with the incompetence of his current counsel.

When he was done, Ezekiel nodded, folding his arms as his head sank to his chest thoughtfully for a moment. After a pause to consider, he lifted his head to meet Robin's gaze head on.

"Well, I'll tell you this much: an open door policy is an excellent thing to have...provided those in your employ are competent enough not to use it to the point of annoyance or distraction." he observed with a small smile. "I'll be honest with you, Mr. Fellowes...my firm doesn't specialize in this branch of law. Being that we live in Los Angeles, however, we are equipped to handle it."

"Currently, Falcone & Associates handles accounts for two of the top five film studios in this city, three major recording labels, and a relatively prominent list of individual clients in both film and music. We're a full service firm, but we also believe in working with our clients. If you want us to take the ball and run with it? We can...but if you'd simply like us to manage your current staff, we can do that as well."

[ifwebefriends]

Robin raised his hand and tapped his chin with his fingers as Ellison spoke, nodding slightly at the other man's words.

"A firm that specialized in entertainment only might not meet my needs," he pointed out with a shrug. "Questions of copyright and contracts are the prevalent sort of issues we run into, of course, but that isn't to say we don't have the usual problems any corporation has: wrongful termination suits, liability for on-property incidents, et cetera ad nauseam."

There was a knock at the door and one of the employees brought in Ezekiel's coffee and Robin's tea. Robin smiled his thanks and waited for the door to close again before continuing.

"And then, of course, there's the less... prosaic complications that sometimes come up when one isn't entirely human. None of my current legal staff is aware of that wrinkle, and I see no reason to enlighten them. So the counsel I'm in search of must, mm, have some experience with the peculiar, shall we say? By which I mean, are you the, ah, exception in your firm, Mr. Ellison, or the norm?"

[its_ellison_now]

Ezekiel listened as Robin addressed his concerns, smiling when he asked about his staff...as well as his true nature.

"So I see that Natasha's mentioned my heritage to you." Ezekiel replied with a nod, shifting to cross one ankle over the other as he leaned against the edge of his desk. "Well, in accordance with Civil Rights Act and the Blood Bill of 1970, my hiring practices are strictly legitimate...I don't discriminate based on color, creed, or power. A good percentage of my personnel are Paranormals, but they are discreet."

He paused, a small smile touching his lips. "I am openly Paranormal myself, but I am discreet about my lineage. It's common knowledge that I'm a halfbreed demon, but the nature of my demonic blood is...well...not. My point is, you can rest assured that we are well equipped to attend the needs of our Paranormal clients, as well as preserve the privacy of those who are not openly gifted."

[ifwebefriends]

Robin nodded a bit, with perhaps a touch of impatience, at the usual disclaimers that of course someone hires fairly, without prejudice, et cetera, et cetera.

Not that he didn't regard the last thirty years worth of legalization as a good thing... more or less. But the Puck was an old creature, old enough by far to know that things came and went in cycles, that whatever touted social reform was in vogue today, in a hundred years anything other might be right back to the state of tied to a burning stake. He'd never seen the point himself in publicly revealing himself to be fey; there was power to be had in anonymity as well, if a subtler sort.

He nodded again at Ellison's last words. "Discretion, there's the key point in what you've said... well." Robin briefly tapped the arm of his chair with one hand, raising the other that held the tea and taking a thoughtful sip. Mmm; a very nice Pekoe. Delightful.

He set the teacup back down on the saucer. "Another question: this is the firm's Los Angeles office, I believe you said? Are there branches in...?" he trailed off with a gesture indicating any major world city. "Serptichore is London-based, and we have offices here too, as well as in New York. Ideally I'd be able to reach prospective counsel from any office, don't you think?"

[its_ellison_now]

As Robin spoke, Ezekiel regarded the other man thoughtfully...for a puck, he was very shrewd, not to mention personable. He'd recognized the man as fey without trouble...but it had taken him a moment to recognize the nature of what he was seeing. More likely than not due to the fact that Ezekiel had never had such an enriching encounter with one of his kind.

He didn't like tricksters, and he wasn't fond of pucks...but he respected men with good heads, and he liked the head he saw on Rob Fellowes.

"At present, we're still relatively small in operation, despite our heavy client list." Ezekiel admitted with a small shrug. "We tend to keep our business proceedings here relatively casual, and as open as we can...when people are one's business, people have to be considered. Currently, this is our home branch, but we have offices in Boston, Atlanta, New York, Toronto, Milan, and Cairo. However, you *can* reach prospective counsel at any given time, day or night. Not only does our staff operate on an 'as needed' basis, but we do utilize some interdimensional travel as needed. Our offices are, at present, still limited...but our access to any global location is not."

[ifwebefriends]

"Mmmmmm." It was a long drawn-out sound as Robin tapped the armrest again, considering. "Well, then-- since you do come so highly recommended, and since you've satisfied all my concerns, I believe we can do business.

"That is," he amended with a smile, "speaking for myself. I cannot judge what opinion you might have of me, now can I?

"Personally I'm leaning towards merely a more efficient management of my current staff, with perhaps a few to be let go in the interests of streamlining affairs; but overall they're an intelligent bunch and already familiar with the ins-and-outs of my business, so I'd just as soon not cut them all loose.

"One more question," Robin added with a slight smile. "Who's Falcone?"

[its_ellison_now]

Grinning at Robin's acceptance, Ezekiel turned and reached for his coffee cup, taking a healthy swallow. "Excellent! I'll have my staff draw up the necessary paperwork, and it'll be ready for your signature by the end of the day."

As Robin outlined his wishes, he nodded and sipped again at his coffee thoughtfully. It was miserable stuff...taken directly from the break room pot, but Ezekiel enjoyed the bite. The acrid, bitter taste...the heat, the earthy grit of it was a simple, comforting reminder of his human half. The blood he wished belonged to him completely...the world he would always ache to occupy completely.

"We'll start with an appraisal of your legal department...then submit a reccomendation." Ezekiel finally replied. "It's the first, most important business we have to attend to...and, you have my word, it will be totally painless. We'll only need to meet once the evaluation is complete...only to agree or disagree with our view of the situation. From there, we'll simply put together a management team who will report to the main office...business will continue as usual, and you'll only be bothered in the event I personally can't handle a situation. And I assure you...it won't get far enough to reach me before any problems are solved."

When Robin asked about the name of the firm, Ezekiel's smile turned nostalgic, and a little sad. "Ah...yes, well, Falcone is me. During the Sixteenth Century, I went by the name Horace Falcone...spent some time in Italy with members of my family. It was one of the simpler, happier times of my life...I liked the man I was under that name. So...I felt it was fitting."

[ifwebefriends]

Robin smiled at Ellison's assurance that the transition would be painless. He was favourably impressed with the air of professional competence the man give off, which was nice: have competent-enough people working for you, and you didn't have to bother being so yourself. This suited Robin just fine; playing businessman inevitably gave him a headache if he kept it up for too long.

His smile broadened at the revelation of 'Falcone'; though he'd hazarded a private guess it might be something along those lines. Robin chuckled. "Ah, those past lives of ours, such fun! I'm personally rather fond of who I was in the 1800s. Alas time and tide go on and wait for no man and there is no new thing under the sun and many other apt aphorisms I am sure."

He reached out to take Ellison's hand and shake it, sealing the deal; paperwork would follow later but sometimes the older, simpler ways of acknowledging a contract were pleasant too. Ha. Why, they could even seal it in blood... Robin refrained with effort from making any cracks about bargains with demons, or half-demons as the case might be.

"Well, I for one look forward to a productive business acquaintance. And lunch, for that matter."

[its_ellison_now]

With a smile, Ezekiel reached out and accepted Robin's handshake warmly...effectively sealing the gentleman's agreement for the time being. Too often, he did his business with young people...not that he held it against them, but simple things like this were so often lost to the younger generations. The handshake, the oath...the right way of doing business and building solid relationships.

"As do I, Rob...I'm really looking forward to working with you." Ezekiel replied with a grin as he withdrew his hand and straightened, moving around his desk to the coat tree that stood behind it. "And lunch isn't far at all...court always leaves me hungry enough to eat a horse. There's a couple of wonderful restaurants around here, I thought I'd treat you to one of them...there's a lovely Thai place about a block east of here, an Italian restaurant just down the street, and a delightful little gem that has the best Persian food I've seen in ages a couple blocks west. Got a preference, my friend?"