Corporate Synergy (Susan & Gionatan)

Bits and bytes of information swirled before Susan's eyes as she glided down the street, tablet in hand and eyes on the tablet as they always were. Luckily for her the walkway wasn't terribly busy, most adults were at work still and most children in school. The parking still sucked, though. The businesswoman only managed to find a single spot a few blocks away. As mild and calm as she was, if there was one thing she absolutely despised it was traffic and parking and driving in general. Everyone on the road was an idiot but her, forgetting to signal, waiting at green lights, cutting her off, it's as if they'd never learned. But Susan didn't care about that right now, there were several other things occupying her brain at the moment.

Firstly was the DOW. Stock had dropped a few points for one of their subsidiaries TerraCo and on of her side projects was attempting to span out and find new markets for their current equipment. Well, her real job was to find more business opportunities but construction was kind of dead as long as the city remained standing and it's not as if they would risk expanding into the farmland. Second was a PowerPoint she had to prepare before Wednesday pitching new equipment to a hospital... which wasn't really her job either but David had asked for help and she tried to say no and he guilt-tripped her into doing it. She didn't want him to fail because of something she did. And thus up on her tablet were stock reports, the news, pictures of kittens, and WayPoints, which brought her to her third and most important thing on her mind: the meeting with the legal representative for Sky Heights Fashion. Sky Heights felt that another startup company Lofty Heights was encroaching on their brand name and she was to speak to their lawyer about options.

Most fortunately Susan's tablet sounded out a chipper "You have arrived~!" or she would have walked straight by it. The Cipher Cafe, a nice forward-looking establishment with a technological hook. Guiltily this was Susan's secret fourth objective, it would be nice to know if this place was worth investing in. The interior was much like the sidewalk and not at all busy with only a few individuals here, no surprise to the businesswoman. It wasn't a good hour for having a cup of coffee yet a perfect one for the meeting. Susan quickly located her contact, Mr. Giovanni. She had seen him before in official meetings but had yet to introduce herself. Most likely a company decision, while Susan got results she had a certain reputation for being awkward and a little too wooden to actually begin accepting clients. Sitting with him was... someone else. A younger-looking man who looked as if he himself could model for Sky Heights. Was he a representative? This could be concerning. Susan was under the impression that her and Mr. Giovanni would be speaking alone, she wouldn't want any sort of cross-talk between Salem Ltd. and their subsidiary. While it would be wise of them to send someone along with this meeting corporate was looking out for corporate and if the best deal to take was in the detriment of Sky Heights then that would be that, she dreaded having to argue with someone from another company.

"Excuse me? You must be Mr. Giovanni, my name is Susan Groves. I will be your representative for Salem Ltd. in the legal dealings of the infringement case involving Sky Heights Fashion today. It's a pleasure to meet you." Susan greeted herself professionally and with perfect tact, announcing her presence far enough away to give the two gentlemen time enough to stand and extending her hand for a soft handshake in order for Mr. Giovanni to begin establishing a perception of a dominant position and thus more likely to cooperate in a beneficial manner to the company. She gave a small smile though not overly exuberant as her coworkers might have done, the slight vacancy in her eyes giving her away. Truth be told she was in the middle of rehearsing what she was going to say as she'd done on the entire drive to the Cipher Cafe, she was already off-script with this new face.
"I don't believe we have met either, you are... representing Sky Heights's interests, correct?" she asked of the younger blonde gentlemen. He did look far too young to be at this meeting, but times were changing she supposed.

Danilo found himself in a very awkward situation, he was supposed to have a meeting with a representative from Salem ltd now and once that was done he'd go out with his son. His secretary however made a huge mistake. Gionatan , his son, had showed up much earlier that he was supposed to and he couldn't just send the boy back home and wait until the meeting was over. Considering this was an "unofficial" meeting there would be no harm in having the young man around, he was just worried that GioGio might end up annoyed or bored... but no matter.

"Please, just call me Danilo. You must be Susan, yes?" Danilo was a tall man, standing at 195cm tall with medium flowing blonde hair, his presence was rather powerful, it was further reinforced by his fierce eyes. He eyed the woman for a moment before taking her handshake, the lawyer had the impression the woman was nervous, he just could tell but instead of raising an eyebrow or expressing doubt he met her with a light smile. "Actually he is my son, he was misinformed about the time we were going out... Don't mind him around, see it as a late 'bring your kid to work day'."

GioGio simply gave the woman a half smile as he waved at her. He didn't plan to say a word, it was none of his business and he was not even supposed to be around... such a bothersome situation.

"Very well, let's get--" The man was promptly interrupted by a loud ring, it was his phone. His eyes widened at the moment he saw who was calling... "C-can you give me a moment please? This is really important." It was almost comical to see a man as big and confident as him stuttering. Regardless, he brought his phone close to his ear as he rushed to a place away from both.

Meanwhile the young cadet watched his father rush away before turning his eyes back at the woman. "Hm... this may take a while, you should take a seat and wait. By the way i'm Gionatan."

The businesswoman merely blinked when Mr. Giovanni shook her hand. He was... intimidating to be certain. She hadn't remembered him being this tall in the few other meetings she had seen him in but he had always been sitting down. Of course she was nervous, this meeting happened to be a very important one. One misstep on her account and Salem Ltd. would spend a lot of time fighting a legal battle there was no point in waging, losing money all the while. It was at these times that Susan could find a little more courage by hiding behind her professional facade. Mentally resigning herself to act more business-like she might have seemed nervous as she normally did and yet she would not act on it, treating this exchange with the utmost care and her best courtesies. There would be no time for hemming and hawing nor would there be any for reservations, none of those were scheduled for this meeting.

Susan chuckled politely at Mr. Giov-... at Danilo's small joke as was customary. In part it was a laugh of relief, telling jokes was a sign of good rapport, and that she could relax slightly since he would more likely be willing to forgive tiny breaches in professionalism. Not that there would be any, mind you, but the safety net had given her peace of mind.
"Quite understandable Danilo. I only hope that I don't keep you and your son from your afternoon plans," she spoke in kind, returning the more statuesque gentleman's smile with on of her own. She would shoot the boy a smile and friendly nod as well so not to seem impolite. This was going better than expected, even off script! But before they could even broach the subject at hand Danilo's phone rang, cutting the man off. The businesswoman gave him a concerned look as his face fell upon answering.
"Um, yes I suppose that's fine," she muttered as he quickly left to take care of other matters. She could not help but worry about what was so important that it could interrupt their meeting. Could it involve the Sky Heights case? She certainly hoped it didn't, Susan wasn't very proficient at adapting to new things without taking a few moments to absorb the information and any new developments she didn't know of could change things drastically. She found herself staring after him, the possibilities running through her mind in practiced scenarios before being broken out of her trance by the man's son.

"Oh. Y-yes," she stammered, doing as what was suggested to her and pulling out a chair to sit, "It is nice to meet you, Gionatan. I am-" Susan paused before going further, nearly about to introduce herself again. "...I am very sorry that my meeting with your father is taking away from your quality time with him. I promise I will be as brief as I can manage once he returns." She would need to be more careful in the future, she needed to remember to speak to Gionatan as a person and leave business aside for the time being. If she could leave a good impression on him it might reflect with his father and he would potentially be more agreeable in their dealings. ...except now she had no idea what to talk about. With other adults she could bring up the more popular TV shows or work or family life but she hadn't been young in a while and wouldn't know where to begin.
"Your father seems to be a very busy man, from your reaction I can imagine that this happens quite often," she observed aloud, attempting to maintain some sort of topic, "From what I have heard of him he seems very prestigious in his field as well. How about yourself, Gionatan? What is it that you do?" Susan had almost run herself off course with her observations about the boy's father but managed to turn it around in the end. From his younger appearance she assumed he would be in school, highschool or college she was uncertain of, unless he had just begun working. Hopefully he would be receptive, on the friendlier aspects of networking Susan admittedly could use a little bit of work but when it came to business she could be incredibly personable.

The young cadet gave the woman a light chuckle and followed it with a serene and calming smile. In all honesty he didn't mind, it was nobody's fault this happened. Being extremely optimistic and maybe even a bit silly, he had the opportunity to meet someone new, she was older but the young man hardly saw that as a barrier.

"Don't sweat over it, Susan. It's cool. Our secretary got my father's agenda all wrong, poor woman is having a lot of issues at home and went to work stressed out... So if anything, i'm the who is getting in the way of your meeting." He spoke, calm and confident, almost joking at that last part. As for what she said next, GioGio had to take some time to ponder on how to reply, trying to reach back in his memory how many times his father or mother had to leave him and his brother for work... there were quite a few occasions indeed. But he hardly cared, when they were present they were very loving, maybe even a bit overbearing at times.
"I suppose that's just how it is when you are a lawyer, my mother is just as busy as him, being a model." The blond shrugged lightly, though sometimes he worried they overworked themselves.

"Hmm... Right now? Highschool student at Seven Stars Academy." He paused for a brief moment, tapping his chin in thought, he didn't like showing off his position as a cadet, so he had to think on something to keep this conversation going.
"I'm thinking about following my mom's career, i even had some offers to work as a model... or maybe fashion... Talking about fashion, that's a really nice suit you have there, Susan."

"Oh, y-you are not interfering with anything Gionatan. This was a simple coffee meeting to clear the air, nothing further." Susan would not want to offend the poor boy, it was quite alright that he was here. For one nothing they were talking about was overtly sensitive, merely a confirmation of things they already knew with some guided specifics. His presence was almost a blessing, truth be told, but Susan was thinking more professionally and less personally. She felt a favorable impression with his son would go over well with Danilo, it came to follow that a man who prioritized his family would come to trust their judgement. Not that she would be any sort of uncouth but her boss had had complaints that she was overly formal and this happened to intimidate or unsettle people. It would be good to prove that she could act like a normal, functional human being in a closed vacuum.

"That's very good Gionatan. I'm unsurprised that you have been able to acquire such work considering your parents, they sound like very prestigious people. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, so they say! Hmm hmm." The businesswoman offered a polite chuckle, buttering up the student. It was not shocking in the least that he had such powerful career prospects before him, it may have been a brown-nosing compliment but it was still an honest one. There was no doubt in her mind judging from his relations and attitude that he would end up like his father, a powerful and respected individual. Though past her buttering-up Gionatan gave a more unexpected yet welcome compliment.
"Oh thank you! It's Tahari, a very reliable brand. I hardly shop anything else, it's very much worth the price for the style and comfortable enough to wear all day. Lord knows I need it, ha. But I'm sure you have an eye for such things if you're going into the industry."

The businesswoman nearly gushed at Gionatan's observation, she rarely ever received such compliments although she tried to look her best every day. Most of the time she worried that she looked too plain, it wasn't as if she were one of those secretaries parading around in a knee-high skirt that seemed to get all the attention. Personally she didn't feel that she needed to cake herself in makeup to prove her worth in a professional setting and that looks were irrelevant to performance but it was still nice for people to notice that she made an effort. But Susan would bring the topic back around to the young man, she would hate to be rude and keep talking about herself when she wasn't here on pleasantries.
"So are you sponsored yet? Or do you do freelance? If you ever want to find yourself on a billboard the best way to do so is to pair yourself with a company on contract." Susan would maintain her honest, friendly smile with her inquiry. Should he desire to link himself up with some of the bigger names she was sure she could pull some strings...

"I don't want to gloat, but i did inherit their good looks." He played with his braid while letting out a light chuckle, maybe she was just complimenting him to get on the good side of his father... but he hardly cared, despite her initial nervousness she appeared pleasant to be around so far. "Madre was so proud when it happened... I also received less glamorous job offers, like working at a maid cafe as a maid." He found the idea amusing, he knew he was a pretty boy but he always thought he was more boy than pretty... i suppose it opens up more possibilities of looks he can pull.

"People like to shrug off appearance and say looks don't matter, but wearing something that makes you look and feel good is a huge confidence booster, it's so sad people don't realize that." He let out a frustrated sigh before he continued his train of thought. "Though i suppose anyone with sufficient confidence can pull most looks... Either it's glad to see someone has a good taste for clothes, especially a good looking woman." He added half joking, he went into a rant about fashion for a while which hopefully wouldn't turn Susan away from this conversation. He rarely ranted like this, but this time it was about something he really cared about.

"So far only freelancing, but you are right. My mom told me the same, in case i choose to follow a career as a model." The young cadet tapped lightly on the table as he pondered on the matter for a moment.

"Oh I'm not going to mind at all," the businesswoman waved away at Gionatan's refrain from bragging. It was better this way, the more he talked about himself the more favorable impression she would leave with him. Not only that but it would keep her own mouth shut and keep her from saying anything that would jeopardize this interaction. She happened to be pretty good at that. But she had to laugh when the young man brought up talk of working at a maid cafe.
"Ha ha, did you take it?" she inquired with a very amused expression. Not much could be said about Gionatan yet other than he was very skilled at getting her undivided attention. A Herculean feat, to be frank. Her chest would rise and fall silently as she chuckled to herself on how silly that would like. With that hair he would definitely make a very pretty girl, that much was certain!

...Susan had to clear her throat to quit her giggling when she realized how inappropriate it might be. Work was no laughing matter, it was something you got by on to make you successful and she could not fault him for taking the job or not. Speaking of inappropriate Susan would normally find his comment as such but not so, he was surprisingly easy to relax around.
"Aww, thank you!" she gushed, primping her hair just a little bit. "I do put the effort in but not a lot of people can see past the business side of things to notice. I can't really blame them, I'm not here to look pretty." It wasn't everyday that she was complimented on her appearance. It wasn't overbearing but she did her makeup just like any other woman in the office but her role didn't precisely necessitate that she turn into a supermodel. She didn't need to look that way anyway, every other day she wouldn't be bothered by anyone except by her boss.

She would nod in agreement.
"Your mother is a smart woman who knows the industry. If you're ever interested I know that Salem has some openings for hand models that might just expand into brand, though I can't guarantee anything. I can send you some offers if you're interested." Though she was bad with the people aspect Susan could be incredibly strong at networking, her offer was nothing less than serious. If Gionatan deigned to entertain her time he would certainly be rewarded for it. She gave him an interested smile, though it may be apt to say that her interested smile had not yet ceased.

"Did you take it?" She asked.

The Giovanni ran his fingers across his lower lip as a sly smile slowly formed on his face, his eyes narrowed giving shape to a somewhat naughty expression, hinting that the answer might be yes. It quickly changed back to his serene expression from before however, looking at Susan with his kind blue eyes.

"Of course not, Susan. I'm a classy man, i'd never do it, not even as a joke. Nope." Was he afraid to hint about this small devious side of his to Susan? Not at all, even she were to tell who would believe? He is just a good golden boy to most people. "I'm sure someone with your body type could garner a few admirers in such outfit." He waved his hand dismissively to indicate he was joking.

"Also, don't feel bad for laughing. My dad isn't near and most people would just shrug off as friends having a good time." He added, noticing that Susan was attempting to contain herself. "But back at our topic. Practical is not bad, i just can't stand pratica and ugly however, i'm a pretentious man who cares about aesthetics after all." A sigh escaped his lips.


"My mother isn't successful over nothing. I'll also keep your offer in mind Susan, it's just that right now i'm quite busy with school and other duties to worry about being a model."He rubbed his forehead with his left hand, his voice carried a mix of exhausting and sorrow.

Her expression would grow more amused with Giorno's teasing act. Had he really done so? Would he speak of it? Susan was eager to hear the story of his experience dressing as a maid, why the offer was there, what hilarity ensued from it. But she would find no such fortune. Not that he she believed he did not take the offer, oh no, she very much believed he either did or would have. Gentlemen can be humorous and horse around too, and from his coy dismissal she would find him suspect. But she would play along with his casual denial of wearing a lacy outfit. It gave her the giggles to even imagine.
"Oh, of course! I would never dream of accusing you of such bold fashion sense," she would jokingly agree with him. Though his next comment brought a mixture of emotions from her, both embarrassment and a sense of enjoyment.
"Gionatan!" the businesswoman gasped as her face reddened and a form of shock crossed her face, though whether her surprise was unwelcome or not was hard to discern. It did cause her chagrin to realize that she had nearly shouted this across the cafe, and she leaned in to deliver him a harsh whisper.
"Is your father aware of what a brash young playboy he is raising...?!"

There was a faint trace of a smile on her face and she was still playing along with him yet he was walking a very thin line. Were his flirtatious attitude not as infectious as it was she would find the comment uncomfortable and honestly speaking she would think less of him for it. Though as it stood he had put her in enough of a playful mood not to find it unwanted per se, but she was incredibly surprised that he would compliment her body as he did. It was very personal to bring up... well, ever and normally Susan would avoid such topics like disease. They flustered her or made her feel inadequate. It was quite a relief when Gionatan was the one to change the subject, while she could manage the odd segway into more openly coy conversations she would not want to dwell there. Susan shuffled in her seat as she attempted to center herself, still feeling the heat resonating from her face.

The businesswoman's expression turned to concern and sympathy as Gionatan continued to speak, matching his own weary tone. She could tell that something was wrong, a sensitive topic she shouldn't pry into. Susan chewed on the inside of her cheek as silence choked the air between them. She did not wish to delve into his personal dealings yet she did not want to appear cold and unfeeling, nor did she want to be rude and dismissive. Even if she would be a bit wooden Susan would give her response tactfully and respectfully as a businesswoman does, albeit slightly impersonal.
"I see..." she spoke softly, her tone filled with nonspecific sincerity toward his problem, "...do not feel obligated Gionatan, I am sure you will find other opportunities when you look for them." She found that response to be fitting, slightly personal yet noncommittal. The economist may have purposefully tried to inject distance in between them but it was not out of any sort of malice or from some hidden agenda. They had just met and she felt that she should not be involved in his personal life this deeply, it wasn't her place to hear him out or give her say. Things of that nature should be taken care of by family or close personal friends, not acquaintances, and she would not risk making light of his issues by being insincere. Though now she was at a loss, fidgeting uncomfortably in her seat as she remained silent in search of a natural way to change the topic to and what that topic may be.

"Oh... Forgive me, Susan." The young man lowered his head apologetically, maybe he was indeed having too much freedom with his compliments and flirty comments, in any case he'd refrain himself from saying such things even as a joke around her. "...Though i'm sure my father was a playboy at my age, if not a bigger one." He followed with a joke to see if it would lighten the mood a bit, last thing he wanted is to make her feel uncomfortable.

There was a moment of silence, the subject of his occupation had reached a dead end. GioGio could tell Susan was struggling to come with something in her seat, though he doubted she'd be able to go anywhere. If he didn't took action it would be a good few minutes of awkward silence until his father returned.

"So, do you enjoy coffee Susan?" He finally spoke, it was trivial but still changed the subject. "I'm sure it can be helpful when you need to pull an all nighter to get paperwork done. I prefer tea myself but a cup of coffee with one or two sugar cubes is quite good."

The businesswoman gave a polite if nervous laugh at Gionatan's quip. Although amusing to be sure it made her begin to wonder if his father was going to be as brazen. Casual flirting wasn't something she was accustomed to... or particularly enjoyed... and if the Giovanni family happened to be this relaxed in amorous banter then she could certainly expect it, even though Danilo happened to be married, which Susan couldn't forget and would make things more difficult for her than they already were. She no longer knew how professional she had to be, if she could maintain her stoic facade over her timid interior through the teasing and the sly remarks, would she be thought less of? Should she play along? Could she? It was an incoming disaster, Susan was no longer certain of herself in this transaction and now it was all a matter of time until she slipped up and became too relax or too frigid and she would never be referred to handle such a sensitive ma-

Oh, Gionatan was speaking.

"Hmm? Oh, m-my apologies. My mind was elsewhere." Quite frankly Susan was overjoyed to change the subject and quickly forget very... personal remarks about... her... appearance. His speaking gently guided her out of her miniature downward spiral and the meek woman was more than happy to speak about coffee. Surprisingly enough or perhaps unsurprisingly she had strong opinions on the subject.
"Why yes I do enjoy coffee, it's not a Stockholm Syndrome relationship as most would believe a woman of my occupation to have," she joked with a smile, "I personally prefer darker roasts, slow drip with half and half to bring out a velvet texture but enough body to retain the sharpness, even if dark roasts do not have the caffeine content that lighter roasts do. Tea is more of a relaxing beverage, unfortunately I find myself drinking coffee all day though when I do get to indulge I prefer black chai. Which tea is your favorite, Gionatan?" Susan was content that she had found herself back in pleasant conversation back on neutral ground, while it had been diverting to become more casual she was still here to work. It would not do to lose her head over friendly conversation.

Nice, he managed to save the situation from a potential awkward silence. That would have been terrible for himself and potentially his father, and that's the last thing he wanted. Perhaps this situation should serve as a lesson to wait until there's enough familiarity between both parties for these kind of comments.

"Sounds like you prefer stronger blends then, huh?" The young man leaned back on his chair while smiling. His graceful pouse had become more of a relaxed and open stance right now. "I suppose i prefer my tea smoother. White or Green tea is just fine for me. My brother jokes that i need to man up, Not that i'd listen to that even if he was serious... Say do you have any siblings, Susan?"

GioGio loved his brother despite him being kind of a shithead at times. He had pretty tight family ties overall, even with the elders who were a tad out of touch with modern times.