2539/Office studies

Office studies
Date of Scene:	20 July 2020
Location:	Stark Tower: Pepper's Office
Synopsis:	Pepper and Amanda share an office for a little while, comfortably.
Cast of Characters:	Pepper Potts, Amanda Sefton

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Pepper Potts has posed:
Once one gets used to it, it's a comfortable office that Pepper has in SI. While it doesn't have the view of the Empire State Building that is on the other side of the building, it is nice and opens it up with a great deal of ambient light.

Dressed in her pretty regular business suit, though Amanda is learning that she has a designer-label she does prefer (Janet Van Dyne!), Pepper's got her sensible pumps off under her desk, and is working on yet another business draft of.. something. That she can multi-task, that is, work on one project and talk about another is one of her hallmarks.

"Did Stefan ever call for that PR for you? If not, I'll find out why." Pepper smiles across to her friend, "Either way, from the sound of it from the news, it wasn't horrible." Meaning, no real negative press! "Even if it was over-run by.." She scrunches her nose as she tries to recall what those creatures were, and ends with, "...those things."

Amanda Sefton has posed:
Amanda nods in response to the question. "Yeah. I went down to meet him. We spoke while he was there. And Saturday and Sunday went well." She's still exhausted from it, really, and doing a post-mortem for the client, but content nonetheless. "We spun it as special effects from the band," Which was called Celtic Warband... so maybe weird little goblin things weren't entirely out of theme? "And I managed to get a little one-on-one with most of the people directly affected." In other words, the attacked and injured -- aside from the hero types. A judicious use of mind magic took care of bad memories... for both them and the odd nosey reporter.

Unethical?

Perhaps. But Amanda has learned that it's often better to smooth memories like that than let a (sometimes quite literal) witchhunt begin. Her brother is a devilish looking mutant, after all.

"It may not have been *quite* the inaugural event the festival board wanted, but it's better than it would have been if they hadn't fired their last event firm." Mainly because that firm would have been woefully unprepared for something like that. And Amanda wouldn't have been there to pick up the pieces.

Then again, there was a reason the board let the previous event planner go... and it had nothing to do with Amanda. Whatever it was, however, she never asked.

Maybe she should have.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper sits back in her seat, the chair leaning backwards with its springs as she attends her friend now. "At least now you are going to have a 'can do' reputation, which is good and bad. You may find that you'll be called more and more for those last minute jobs." It's pretty obvious, really. "But now? We need to find you an office space."

Pepper leans forward again and rolls the couple of inches towards her desk again. "Have you looked into any real estate? I do have a list of potential locations that we've passed up over the last couple of years." Which means they've looked at location, location, location.

Amanda Sefton has posed:
Amanda shakes her head at that. "No. I haven't found anything I can be sure I can afford on an ongoing basis. Not in Manhattan proper, at least." She doesn't have SI's real estate budget. She needs a couple of good retainer clients to make that a reality. "For the moment, I'm making do with Zoom and meeting clients at their office or a network sharing site." Those rent-by-the-hour spaces a lot of freelancers and entrepreneurs use as adhoc boardrooms and offices. It gives her a lot of flexibility, to be sure, but no place to really hang out a shingle.

"I just don't want to overextend myself." Risk taking is part of business, yes. But not stupid risks. Not when the lower cost option will do... for now.

Pepper Potts has posed:
It's a technological world out there, and Pepper can truly relate. It's not necessarily, well, necessary to have an office proper.

"What about .. if we clear out a space that is just for you at the apartment?" They'd already determined the Upper West Side's apartment fate, after all, after a fashion. "Other than, well, what you already have. I'm sure we can do it. I'll just check with the landlord."

There are times when Pep forgets how absolutely well she's got it in the Tower. Office. Personnel at her beck and call. Limos. Airplanes. Yacht... all attached, however.

There's a warm, genuine smile reserved for those closest to her, and that isn't many! "We'll find something suitable for you. And, in the meantime?" Pepper presses her lips together in a slightly amused expression, the humor reaching her eyes, "Tony has mentioned he wanted you on the payroll because he likes you." She shrugs and cants her head, "Contractor, as needed?" That way, her kindnesses can be paid as per his whim. "It's not a charity thing. It's an 'I want to keep her close' because he only wants people he can trust who are really good at what they do around him."

Amanda Sefton has posed:
Amanda nods again, as they consider the use of the apartment. "Working at home is fine for daily administrivia," she smiles. "But I'd rather not hold in-person business meetings there." Partly because it's full of her *magic*, as well. It's hard to keep those worlds separate when inviting people into a personal space.

Her brow rises at Tony's invitation. "A services contract? Sure," she says slowly, considering that possibility. "We could probably make that work." Fulltime employee with a supervisor to report to? Eeeeehhhh... not so much. There's a *reason* she chose to start her own business rather than hire on at a travel agency or stay with the airlines.

She does smile, though, at the idea Tony has decided to trust her... and considers her skills worth it. The only question is: Which skills? Healer, sorceress, or concierge.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"Understandable," Pepper nods. "Home is home, and meetings.." She considers before, "I've been reading about 'pop up' office spaces. Rent it for a day, for an hour. Office space for in-person meetings. No on-going rent." The PA knows most business trends going on in the city. If she doesn't, it's not happening! It's just a matter if she can use it to Stark Industries' benefit is all. If not, it gets filed. If so?

Pepper rises from her seat, still barefoot in her business suit, and pads towards her little coffee bar in the larger waiting area. "Water? Tea?" is called from the short distance.

"You don't want to work for him full time. Lots of NDAs, and lawyer fine print, which means it's harder for me to guide it. As a contractor, though?" The redhead picks up the water pitcher to pour a glass before anticipating her friend's possible need for tea. Granted, it's not the //best// here, but it's office! "It'd just be a phone call."

The ice *clinks* in the glass, and when she's done, she's working on that tea. "He can be a little impulsive but I didn't see any harm coming from it. If anything, it'd be good. You get it on your resume, and Tony has someone else he can trust around him." Which is good for her.

Amanda Sefton has posed:
Amanda smiles. "Yes," she agrees. "I've taken advantage of that a couple of times." As Pepper rises to pour a drink, she nods. "Water would be grand." She'll save the tea for later in the evening... when it's time to unwind.

She cants her head as Pepper outlines the business relationship she has in mind. Slowly, she nods her head again, inhaling a slow breath and letting it go as she smiles. "Yes," she agrees. "That would be the better arrangement. I like Tony, but I'm not you. I don't think it's a work environment I'd enjoy on a fulltime basis." But as a contractor? Sure. Pick up the phone.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"And, even better..."

Pepper foregoes the tea, then, in preference to the second glass of ice water, "Your chain of command is Tony." She grins after that, and once the second glass is poured, she pads back into the office to hand it to her friend. "Keeps us separated, so there's no work thing in the way. Puts you on the payroll, perfectly set up so you can refuse, which," Pepper takes a quick swallow of her water as she takes the extra couple of steps to lean on the corner of her desk, "may be more than once." There's that.. patient, fond smile again as she considers the long laundry list of what he may ask for. None of it untoward, of course. Just.. potentially strange.

Like.. contacts.

"Which means, too, we'll easily hand over the job of events to you. You'd have access to our other contractors, but it'd be you." And her. "Which brings us back to your CV.. and then your ability to actually rent an office space."

Amanda Sefton has posed:
Amanda laughs lightly, now. "Indeed," she agrees. "That would make a difference. I might even be able to make a nice looking sign and everything." Her eyes sparkle a little at that. It's almost a jest, though there's truth to it.

And, ye-ah... the contacts she gives out to Tony will very much depend on the purpose he needs them for. There are several folks she knows that don't need to be on an Avenger's radar. Or that certainly won't thank her for putting them there.

That said, there are almost always workarounds.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper laughs, the expression ending easily with a smile. "Signs are everything." Exactly how recognizable is the SI logo now?

World wide.

Pepper sets an arm to wrap around her as she leans on it to tilt the ice water for another sip. There's that moment before, "Mmmt.. almost forgot. Need to get an email out, call for the plane tomorrow." The pilot should be on stand-by anyway. Again? Good to have contractors! "I'm heading to DC, but I'll be back later." One of the joys of a private jet.

Pushing herself off the edge of the glass-paned desk, Pepper pads back around to sit in her chair before leaning forward to make the call. It's not long, and it sounds.. chatty. Familiar.. but all in a business cadence leaving no doubt 'who' is in charge of that little bit of conversation. Sitting back again, the chair shifts as her weight is redistributed, and she looks thoughtful. "We should start work on next year's Expo." Beat. "Later. I'll give you the files of the years past, and we can figure something out."

That'll take time...