Post by Christian Moynahan on Jul 28, 2015 19:12:16 GMT -5
(tied into this thread)
As the Reier Technologies USA IPO went on, Christian Moynahan stood before a wide screen in his office, watching it closely, his hands tucked into his pockets. His gaze was inexpressive. The ticker ran along the bottom of the screen, while a reporter went on about J. Ira Reier and his background and his company and his success.
As a team, the Kilvayne Corporation and Ark Industries, plus the privately owned Constant Design & Development, could take Reier on, Christian was sure. But… the media and public opinion played far too much into business matters. And, stupidly enough, much of that was Christian’s fault. The public did not often look to business personalities unless they were outspoken or prolific, and Christian had been the latter. And, even for the times he had saved the nation, he was not certain how much longer his popularity would last.
And Reier was a new face. The public would be fascinated by him, especially with that accent and easy speaking voice of his, as opposed to Christian’s smooth but non-accented baritone and eccentricities. That gave Christian two objectives: to ensure that Ark continued to deliver publicly-relevant and innovative technology such as Project Dreamscape; and to quietly manage Reier’s fifteen minutes of American fame.
And ensure that they were only fifteen minutes.
Christian shrugged on his jacket and moved to the conference room, where much of the Ark staff had gathered, from the VPs to the interns. Many of them were taking notes and writing out equations. Likewise. Christian was running equations in his head. Lunch had been provided on several trays of sub sandwiches of various kinds, more than enough to feed the room; and a myriad of non-alcoholic drinks. Laptops were littered about along the main table and the side ones, and four monitors had been daisy-chained to each other, from a small computer; on these were displayed four different news channels following the IPO.
By now the markets had closed and Reier was making his closing remarks. Oh, he was being pleasant and courteous enough, but they all knew there was a storm brewing overhead. With an almost dismissive wave of his hand, Christian sent a small wave of energy to stop the current running to the monitors, which went black. The paresthesia in his hand was minimal.
“Reier speaks well,” Christian began, standing before his team now. “He’ll bring a strong game. He’ll place himself opposite me and try to outdo everything I’ve built in this country. But I have something he doesn’t: you.”
It may have wounded like a cheesy comment, an unnecessary compliment, but neither happened to be characteristic of Christian. He went on to explain his reasons for speaking so. “Dr. Kilvayne, Mr. Constant, and I chose and kept only the most brilliant minds for Ark’s turnaround. And I, for one, refuse to let one overseas brand take our progress from us.”
He glanced toward the formerly-live monitors. “You may have noticed how well Reier was doing. You may also have noticed that the Kilvaynes were doing better. People are afraid to invest in Reier against us. That’s a good thing. We have to keep it that way. We have to keep working and turning out unique products and solutions, and beat Reier before he can even begin.”
He made a little nod toward the main table. “Yes, I know what this means. More hours. More effort. More thinking, more imagination. But this team, this family of ours? Look around you. Each of you have your own talents. Most of you have done incredible things on your own.”
He gave a small grin and chuckle. “Imagine what we will do all as one.”
At that he tilted his head. “So, who’s ready to show these Brits who’s running this country now?”
As a team, the Kilvayne Corporation and Ark Industries, plus the privately owned Constant Design & Development, could take Reier on, Christian was sure. But… the media and public opinion played far too much into business matters. And, stupidly enough, much of that was Christian’s fault. The public did not often look to business personalities unless they were outspoken or prolific, and Christian had been the latter. And, even for the times he had saved the nation, he was not certain how much longer his popularity would last.
And Reier was a new face. The public would be fascinated by him, especially with that accent and easy speaking voice of his, as opposed to Christian’s smooth but non-accented baritone and eccentricities. That gave Christian two objectives: to ensure that Ark continued to deliver publicly-relevant and innovative technology such as Project Dreamscape; and to quietly manage Reier’s fifteen minutes of American fame.
And ensure that they were only fifteen minutes.
Christian shrugged on his jacket and moved to the conference room, where much of the Ark staff had gathered, from the VPs to the interns. Many of them were taking notes and writing out equations. Likewise. Christian was running equations in his head. Lunch had been provided on several trays of sub sandwiches of various kinds, more than enough to feed the room; and a myriad of non-alcoholic drinks. Laptops were littered about along the main table and the side ones, and four monitors had been daisy-chained to each other, from a small computer; on these were displayed four different news channels following the IPO.
By now the markets had closed and Reier was making his closing remarks. Oh, he was being pleasant and courteous enough, but they all knew there was a storm brewing overhead. With an almost dismissive wave of his hand, Christian sent a small wave of energy to stop the current running to the monitors, which went black. The paresthesia in his hand was minimal.
“Reier speaks well,” Christian began, standing before his team now. “He’ll bring a strong game. He’ll place himself opposite me and try to outdo everything I’ve built in this country. But I have something he doesn’t: you.”
It may have wounded like a cheesy comment, an unnecessary compliment, but neither happened to be characteristic of Christian. He went on to explain his reasons for speaking so. “Dr. Kilvayne, Mr. Constant, and I chose and kept only the most brilliant minds for Ark’s turnaround. And I, for one, refuse to let one overseas brand take our progress from us.”
He glanced toward the formerly-live monitors. “You may have noticed how well Reier was doing. You may also have noticed that the Kilvaynes were doing better. People are afraid to invest in Reier against us. That’s a good thing. We have to keep it that way. We have to keep working and turning out unique products and solutions, and beat Reier before he can even begin.”
He made a little nod toward the main table. “Yes, I know what this means. More hours. More effort. More thinking, more imagination. But this team, this family of ours? Look around you. Each of you have your own talents. Most of you have done incredible things on your own.”
He gave a small grin and chuckle. “Imagine what we will do all as one.”
At that he tilted his head. “So, who’s ready to show these Brits who’s running this country now?”