Negotiations and Sandwiches (Susan & Cecil)

There was simply no time to spare today, too much to be done. After the exhausting night before that distracted her from her work and the chewing out she received when she showed up the next morning after her training session she was now zipping off to make her lunch meeting with Cecil. Of course with all that was going on it would have been in her best interest to cancel said meeting, she merely didn't have the time and was well aware that she might receive a counseling for pursuing personal interests over the work that was currently due. With all due respect she couldn't have cared less. Susan worked her butt off day in and day out, just a few days of obligations to herself and the Cadets wasn't going to harm the company. They should have had the foresight not to dump all of their workload on one person's shoulders, should anything happen to her it would reverberate throughout the company. Although... that was probably the frustration talking. She didn't really feel that way, she was happy to be busy and succeed but with current events she could use some time away from the stress to work through a few things.

This was the second reason why she should have cancelled this meeting. The businesswoman was by no means in a good mood and she was concerned it would impact her interactions with the boy. Personal bias was already forming within her mind though she attempted to put that in the box it came from. She would be calm, professional and polite. Susan was not inclined to be giving, conscientious or lax during this interaction. Cecil would receive every bit of help he would deserve or earn through discourse, courtesy and a positive and willing attitude. If he did not want this position eagerly enough or if he was not a good personal fit she would prune him like a weed. She let out a sigh and rubbed her temple with her non-purse hand as she swiftly walked to their assigned destination: Deli del Bistro. It was a quaint mom-and-pop lunch restaurant, doing fairly well for itself with the Italian decor and homely atmosphere. Being just past noon it was also fairly busy, but not so that this would take past 12:45. It was already 12:10, five minutes before Susan said she would arrive. She wiped the scowl off her face for a more favorable neutral expression as she approached the front of the restaurant, looking around for Cecil to see if he had been early. If not they still had time, though she would not wait a moment past 12:20 for him to arrive. Susan popped a stick of gum in her mouth as she waited to calm her nerves and reset her frame of mind.

Just treat this as any other form of personal meeting, everything will be fine. Disregard past discrepancies, start with a fresh outlook. Consider the facts, not your personal feelings, prepare to make a checklist of favorable and unfavorable attributes. You are not Susan and he is not Cecil, you are a liaison and he is the representative. Do not bite his head off but don't give any ground, stay level-headed, mature and focused. This will be worth the effort and if not it is no large loss. No pressure.

The first signs of Cecil's presence would come at 12:14, when the blond-haired boy would come into view with a sickly pallor to his skin. He was pale and blatantly unwell, for all his attempt to act like it wasn't so.
Last night, it had been discovered the family's favoured chinese place had come under new management - first through the difference in the dishes being served, and subsequently from the fact that the satay left Cecil feeling like he was dying.
The amount of vomiting and general expulsion of bodily content involved in this day and the one prior was enough to say from there that he'd probably gotten food poisoning.

The smart thing to do in this situation would have been to call up, explain the scenario, and make his apologies as he tried to recover.
It was not to obsess over a comment about making sure to wear a collared shirt, let nerves worsen his illness, and then go out anyway in order to make the meeting because he felt after all that had led up to this that illness was not a valid excuse.
Didn't matter that he felt a void inside him after that bout after his trip on the metro, or that he probably hadn't drunk enough to replace the lost fluids - he owed it to Susan to at least show up after being a dick like that.

So he showed up, wearing an expression that would have suggested little more than nerves in an attempt to seem fine. He dressed smartly, and made sure to pack away his earphones as he spotted Susan and approached.
That didn't make him any less blatantly pale and haggard, nor did it hide the way he would occasionally swallow as if trying to keep something down.

Sure enough, he soon came to a rest a little ways from Susan - close enough to be able to talk properly, but not exactly too close either. "Sorry I, ah...took so long." His nerves were apparent as he smiled weakly and scratched the back of his head, as were other, more subtle signs of his current assortment of discomforts.

The businesswoman did not get to chew on her gum long, as soon as she had seen the boy in the distance she spat her gum into a napkin while making it appear she was wiping her mouth to keep proper manners. Gum wasn't very professional for this type of meeting. Yet he was right on time with a check of her watch and in proper attire as well. Not to undercut him but she had expected something closer to a simple polo shirt and pressed, dark jeans but that was more of a statement on his generation than her impression of him. Young people were more rebellious than she had been at their age, though perhaps the same in different ways. She remembered her college protests. Suffice to say she was impressed, however.
"You are right on time Cecil, it is good to see you," she spoke simply, "Please have a seat and get comfortable, I'm sure a server will be with us shortly. I will try to make the most of the small amount of time we have and if it's alright with you I would like to get straight to the topic at hand." Susan... did not immediately notice he was ill. If he was feeling under the weather he would have said something or brought up his concerns and she had other things to think about.

Susan pulled a manila folder from her oversized purse, a monstrosity large enough to hold her tablet and documents. She unfolded it to flip through the pages she had printed out, scanning them for relevance and lining out how she wanted to broach such a broad topic.
"I've brought with me a few printouts of job openings within Salem Limited and their subsidiaries and partners for you to consider, from a variety of different fields depending on your interests from the technical side to testing and marketing," she spoke, focusing her eyes on the pages in front of her as she sifted the important papers from the unimportant ones and laid them on the table.
"I have also brought a format for our standard resume that we commonly use although I have a digital copy I can send you via email. But I will begin with the obvious." Susan closed her folder so she could be professional and look at Cecil as she spoke with hands folded on the table before her, still unaware of the agony he was in.
"What would you like to be doing in this industry? I will assist in any way I can if applicable and I have a few things planned, but I would also like to align this with your interests and help you find a proper fit." The businesswoman would not consider the fact that Cecil was not interested in a position. If he were not he would not be here, so it was reasonable to assume that he was.

Cecil simply gave a small nod in reply, thankful that nothing seemed obvious to the businesswoman. "Right. Got it." Grabbing a chair, he takes a seat opposite Susan, the motion a little more careful and deliberate than might be warranted from just sitting down. It's tempting to slump forward in the hopes of settling his warring insides, even just a little, but he makes sure not to actually do so. "I'm listening."

The massive stack was intimidating right then, and as Susan flicked through it, he felt another surge of something wash against his throat as nerves agitated his already unbalanced stomach. A fist pressed to his mouth as he swallowed it down, trying carefully to conceal the laboured breaths brought on by the acid wash causing his throat to seize and contract. He nodded along with each part of what Susan said, looking over the papers in the hopes they weren't completely incomprehensible to him and not speaking up until the question that finished off the opening statements. After one final, more controlled breath to confirm he wasn't about to croak out anything he said, Cecil lays his hand back down at the edge of the table, thumb wrapping around to press into the underside. "I think...I'd prefer testing products or working on them to marketing them outright. Get that it's related, I'm just...not so sure about the, ah, people facing stuff." He delves into thought for a moment, glancing again at the paperwork and then back to Susan with a muted expression. "...a lot of stuff needs me to know certain things to do it well, doesn't it? Have certain knowledge, how to do certain things. How much would I, ah...need to know to start? What would I need to know before going in for some of this?"

If he was taking this seriously...then it'd be really, really stupid to try and apply for a job he just wouldn't be able to do. Learning to do it was another thing, but...
In any case, he'd expect certain more specialist knowledge to be required for some of the work that Susan was talking about. He wasn't expecting to know much, if any of it, and he'd be badly out of luck if he had to know immediately.

The businesswoman casually glanced over her own documentation and, as such, did not notice any odd behavior from Cecil. As expected he did not wish to work with people. Which was perfectly fine, neither did she. It was a necessary evil that she tolerated on most days. Not that she disliked people or found herself often nervous around them, she was just a bit antisocial and despised having her thoughts interrupted.
"That is perfectly acceptable, Cecil. Marketing and sales is not appropriate for everyone and you would want a career that would be right for you and focus on your strengths. I would say to choose what you most want to do but the career path is a winding one and the path you set may not be the one you end up following. Personally I did not go to college for business, I wanted to be a physicist and work for NASA but as you can see that did... not exactly pan out according to plan." That was a small regret that Susan had been left with, she had to change her educational track after the Eternal Divide hit. It was her dream to work with NASA since she had been young, but unfortunately reality happened and she realized that dreams were foolish little things that meant little to the world. It was better to find the best route than to chase a dream, because when everything fell through what you had left was concrete.
"...I will instead advocate the adage If you are good at something do not do it for free, and you show skill and knowledge in harmonics and technology so that may be a good path. But I am here to offer options, not make decisions. It is entirely up to you."

As Susan explained a server approached them and introduced herself, asking if the pair could be brought anything. Without looking up from her papers Susan spoke up with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, may we have some water please? We are still deciding." Her answer would come fairly quick and placate the young woman serving them, sending her on her way. Susan waited a fair bit before speaking up, momentarily forgetting that Cecil was with her and what they were doing.
"Yes, interview etiquette. When engaging in an interview where there is food it is customary to get something light or not at all. The focus is on the interview and not on the food, you see. But... this is more informal despite appearances and I will not think less of you if you are hungry, I would just like to take care of the topic at hand first or at least most of it."

The businesswoman cocked her head at her folder and drew threw smaller folders from it, placing them before Cecil as she flipped each open. They were all job positions with the expectations of such, duties, requirements and the like.
"Yes, to an extent. Though not always, not all positions require any experience in their respective fields although experience is certainly favorable. Again, you know me so you may have a little more weight if you apply." Susan took a sip of her water and began to point to the titles of each position.
"This one may be more up your alley. It is a position for testers and the pool is fairly large. It requires no experience but does require a hearing test to be performed for receptiveness to frequencies. No prior experience required. Though... it pays the least and has the least opportunity for growth unless you wished to break into marketing or as a test engineer, it can be a good starter job. ...and there's this one as a helpdesk technician. You may need to deal with people from time to time but it deals with software and the entry requirements are modest and can be waived if certain requirements are met such as certifications, some of which you can take for free. Salem Limited does deal in a program that exchanges a work contract for on-the-job training and IT is a booming industry with plenty of room for growth but bear in mind you would be required to work that position for X number of years before you would be allowed to leave otherwise you would pay all that training back out of pocket. It is something to think about. ...and this one as a hardware technician. It is... I will be honest with you, it is assembly line work although you won't be required to interact with many people. The job is simple and not mentally engaging though it does have surprising room for growth if you want to manage the line, become an asset to facilities, or even become a hardware designer or engineer in the future but you will need to work hard for that and show aptitude. Everything is based on merit and ability, you can succeed if you take it seriously."

Susan steepled her fingers to stare over, becoming a little more intimidating than she likely meant to be but she had her moments.
"Please tell me what you think. I am here to facilitate your ultimate decision."