| Owner | Pose |
|---|---|
| Warren Worthington | The view from the third floor balcony of the VIP suite Warren commandeered was prosaic. Just high enough to look down on passersby on the street, but not high enough out to have a commanding view of the city. Warren is out on the balcony anyway. He sips absent-mindedly from the wine glass in his hand. The wine is exquisite, of course, but the young man is less a connoisseur than just used to the very finest; its subtleties are lost on him. The warm summer evening breeze tugs at Warren's white collared shirt. The top three buttons are undone. His black suit jacket is tossed over a chair in the suite. A young woman in a neat uniform finishes laying out an array of appetizers and a few bottles of wine on the table nearest the sitting area by the balcony. The kind of hospitality arranged when the guest fails to give explicit instruction. Still, Warren is well enough known that the smorgasbord includes some of his favourites. The others are tastefully chosen to maximize the likelihood they would appeal to, as the hospitality staff would assume, probably a woman, probably in her 20's or 30's. Once everything is perfectly arranged, she shows herself out without disturbing the VIP. |
| Emma Frost | Emma Frost is currently entering over in to the club as she often does. It's no longer her primary place of residence after she and the Inner Circle parted ways.. But, she still does maintain a VIP membership to the club and so long as she doesn't annoy Sebastian too much she has access to most of what goes around. On this particular day she wouldd enter on in and then give a glance overa t Warren. "Why, Mister Worthington. You look like you're about to put on a cumberbund and go take some woman out to a high school prom. What has you putting so much effort over in to prettying yourself up?" |
| Warren Worthington | Warren turns when Emma enters the suite and laughs. "You, of course. I just hang out here hoping I'll trip across you know. It gets really boring." Warren saunters over, intrigued, attracted, wary, and a little uncertain as he always is when Emma is around. One does not need to be a psychic to read him, the man is an open book, but of course it helps. "It's not that dinner you owe me, but it looks good," he says and gestures to the food laid out. Warren pours Emma a glass of wine and offers it to her. "You look great, as always. How are you feeling after the thing with Professor X?" |
| Emma Frost | Emma Frost would smile, "Lovely, I do appreciate being acknowledged and properly appreciated. So what has you standing out here then so misty eyed, Warren? Are we getting somewhat wistful for simpler times?" SHe's not bothering to read his mind. She doesn't have any particular reason to. "One doesn't normally associate any particular sense of nostalgia over with this venue." |
| Warren Worthington | "No? Come on," Warren says with a joking smirk. He holds up his glass to cheers Emma after topping it up. "I've had a few good dates here, I bet you have, too. And the talent show was... Extra" Warren gestures to chairs and couches near the window. The artwork on the walls was changed when Warren scheduled the suite for himself. Some surrealist works had been replaced my impressionist pieces of skyscapes. Warren sits in one of the chairs and lounges back. "I'm /trying/ to be a responsible, effective, well-connected industrialist who maintains relationships my family built and keeps in touch with the pulse of business and society, if you must know," Warren says and rolls his eyes in exaggerated exasperation. "And it's so fucking boring. I don't know how you do it.. All the time." |
| Emma Frost | Emma Frost would go to glance over at the wall over and smirk, "Ah, lovely. I do think that my father had that painter do a piece for him once." With the fondness in her tone Emma mentions 'father' she'd be just as happy to throw the whole thing on a bonfire and light it with bleach. "Oh? Are we taking the time to pursue things over with your business then and take a turn running things? Or is that left over to the board?" Emma would qiup over at him. |
| Warren Worthington | "I was leaving it to the board and they were doing just fine," Warren said with a sigh. "You know, if you don't mind them thinking it was all theirs and not telling me anything and just making me richer. But I have to take over some time." Warren sounds more resigned than convinced. "I'm not used to this, not like you. It's an insane amount of work, and I had to ditch half the board at Worthington and then start auditing the boards at subsidiaries and... Did you know I owned a company that sells mines to Russia? I didn't. Don't own that anymore." The young man shifts and flexes his wings so they push over the edges of the chair and settle more comfortably. "This is probably a joke to you," he says with a grin. "You're /always/ switched on." |
| Emma Frost | Emma Frost would mm, "Oh yes, the tribulations of being on a trust fund. Show up to an event for the board every year or so, smile and sign something, get drunk or perhaps shoot cocaine or whatever is in vogue at this time." Emma conjuring up something out of a Wall Street movie. "Of course it is. And you're having to catchup a decade or so down hte line where you'd have been expected to have been putting in the groundwork to learn how to operate it. And do you wish for my honest response, Mister Worthington?" She would muse over while sipping at her drink. "And with the understanding that while we are peers in the field.." |
| Warren Worthington | Warren's face lights up, he looks amused and intrigued. "I would love to hear it," Warren replies with a playful grin. "And I'm not even drunk or high right now... I think. I swear you just called us peers. So I might actually be high." |
| Emma Frost | Emma Frost would smile, "Speaking as someone that built her own business from the ground up without even having daddy's reputation to build upon to make it, my heart -bleeds- for you, Warren." She would quip. A"nd if you want to feel better I can say that you're still doing better than the majority of trust fund children that don't know they run a business." |
| Warren Worthington | "I /knew/ you'd understand," Warren says dryly with his classic, big grin. "Come on, it's not like I don't know it's a joke, I read the papers. The piece about my changes to the board in The Economist made it sound like it was Lord of the Flies at Worthington." Warren shrugs and takes another sip of his wine. "The professor said something to me maybe a year ago? I haven't been able to get it out of my head. We were just talking in the gardens and he asked me what it means for someone to really live their ideals. Like in their whole life. I don't remember what I said, something stupid. I didn't think he was talking about me at first, I mean I've been in the X-Men half my life. But it kept eating at me." "I don't /actually/ expect anyone's sympathy," Warren says and winks at Emma. "I think I'm just getting that I have no idea what it means to struggle and sacrifice, or truly show up." |
| Emma Frost | Emma Frost would go to fold her hands over, "Well Warren, if I want to not be nice with you then all I have to do is note that all I should ask is how well your business is doing since you took over compared to previously, and how well learning on the job is going." She would quip. "It all gets very, very worse over." She would move to fold her hands together. "And you're right. You shouldn't expect anyone's sympathy." She would deadpan in an ever so droll voice. "An dif you're looking for understanding, might I suggest perhaps you invest money in a goo dtherapist." |
| Warren Worthington | "I was really just looking for bragging rights for spending part of an evening with you," Warren returns. Warren swirls his wine glass and the playful look returns. "Actually, there is something I want from you," Warren says. "I want you for the board at X-Corp. James brought me a proposal... It's basically the Gates Foundation for the professor's vision, I'm actually embarrassed I didn't think of it. And it's not like I embarrass easily." "I've endowed it with two billion to start. I'm chairing the board. I /don't/ want it to be a joke, because the people it will help aren't a joke. I want people who are real, the best, and don't give a shit what I think," Warren says and smirks a little. "But I'm not expecting a favour like that to come easy or free. What would it take?" |
| Emma Frost | Emma would go to take a moment to rub at her temples, "Warren, I -really- hope that you've also come with a portfolio to go along wtih it. Did you put that amount of money up for a reason? What are your strategies for investment? Who are you goign to have heading the board? What sort of targeted donations are you going? Will you be giving money to other institutions or will you be doing things over in your own network? If so, who are you going ot be having run it at an internal level and help process?" She would go to fold her hands together. "Warren, since you asked I'll consider it. but I want to have a full briefing and writeup. And by James do you mean MIster Proudstar?" She would sigh. "Or has there been more consideration of this beyond a quick guilt trip and whim?" She would qiup once more |
| Warren Worthington | Warren grins, with a slight tinge of victory. "James Proudstar, yep. A 600 page proposal he was working on for his degree. Very well researched. I've read it a few times and spent most of the last week meeting with the partners at Horsch & Horsch to go over legal. One of my up and comers in Unilever was in line for CFO somewhere down the chain. Moved her onto this project to build out that side, and I roped in a friend of mine at Boston Consulting Group to cut the line and get a team from them that focuses on advising new large scale philanthropic start ups. We're talking strategy and board recruitment tomorrow, you're welcome to join us." "James is on bringing together some key minds on the operational side so we build actual programs that do quantifiable work. And I'm supposed to see some proposals from Andre Feth, in a couple days... you know the firm that's been doing most of Disney's outsourced marketing work? Might just buy them, they're really good..." Warren's grin broadens. "Just cause I'm a pretty hedonist doesn't mean I'm dumb, Emma." |
| Emma Frost | Emma Frost would look over at Warren for a few moments, "Why Warren, what is that they say.. Icarus flew too close ot the sun and his wings, formed of wax fell off?" Emma does her best impression of hte 'pretty boy' voice that Warren was likely used to having associated over with himself. "Send me his proposals and what your legal team's analysis is. I'll have my own accountants and lawyers review it for input and have a couple of independent analysts look it over. Give me a few days and I'll get back to you with my input and what, if any terms I feel are apprporiate on my behalf if I feel like agreeing to such a position. Are tehre any restrictions on sharing I should be aware of?" |
| Warren Worthington | "Hmm, I wonder if I'm actually in danger of melting or freezing before I fall to my hopefully metaphorical death?" Warren retorts playfully. "The usual, treat it like a stealth mode startup for now. I'll have Aniyah send everything over to your lawyers with the usual NDA's," Warren says. He raises his glass to Emma. "Thank you for considering it. That alone is worth a little melting. Or frost bite." |
| Emma Frost | Emma Frost would just shake her head over, "Of course. I'll make sure that anyone on my end that reviews it does so discretely. I take it that you have at least enough staff on hand internally to do the procurement? I just do feel that it's probably best to not quite do this through the direct association with Xavier's or it's foundation." |
| Warren Worthington | "I do, because you're right, of course," Warren assures Emma. "And any expertise I don't have I can get." "It's just that famous B-tier public superhero winged mutant ultra-rich playboy joining a new foundation like rich people do when they want to look like they signed the Giving Pledge without signing it," Warren quips. "No ties." |
| Emma Frost | Emma Frost would go to shake her head, "I meant internally. There's only so much money that can go through the estate before no matter how well it's hidden a great deal of interest is taken. So let's make sure to not tread too many billions on top of all the other zeroes." |
| Warren Worthington | "Oh, I see what you mean," Warren says thoughtfully. "Well, I can pull people from just about anywhere in Worthington Industries and subsidiaries, I can spread it around so nobody notices people coming from one place. And my private office staff that manages my trust fund is top notch and huge. They're good, they even handle everything that gets funnelled to the school. I think you reviewed that was set up properly a while back, didn't you? Them and the lawyers should be able to structure the endowment properly." |
| Emma Frost | Emma Frost would nod, "Yes. Even if done discretely there are only so many people in the world that have the capability to use all these sorts of funds, and too many of them in one place will get attention in all the wrong ways. And keep up as many firewalls as you can internally." |
| Warren Worthington | Warren nods and smiles. "This comes naturally to you now, doesn't it?" Warren asks, with a hint of genuine respect for Emma's expertise. "Why do you do it? Keep... Pushing so hard?" he asks impulsively, without thinking. It was a question he had been dying to ask Emma for sometime, but even Warren seems surprised at himself actually asking. "You've got it all. The accomplishments, overcome every obstacle, have the empire, the skills, the powers. The looks," Warren adds with a grin. "You could just... Enjoy the rest of your life and nobody would think a thing about it." |