ic Good Stock (IC)

[Gizmo]

Trevor Hunter stood outside the towering Parisian office building looking upward with a faint frown. The reserved young man's face was too schooled to give away whether it was apprehension, frustration or general glum despondency tugging at the corners of his mouth, but at least to the young woman accompanying him, it was clear that he was not looking forward to visitation to come.

Dressed immaculately in a deceptively simple but obviously well tailored suit, the dark haired engineer certainly blended in with the bustling stock brokers and deal makers hurrying in and out of the glass doors before them, chattering loudly away on cell phones in a dozen languages, primarily French, naturally. "So," he began, turning toward Erin with a fairly transparent stalling tactic.

[Electra]

Erin grimaced at him, tightening her arms around the manila folder Alex had given her as she took in the large building. She was wearing the suit she'd bought for job interviews, an off-the-rack but decently fit dark grey outfit with a notched collar and taper leg pants. Her favorite part of the whole ensemble, besides the fact she'd found it on sale, was that the inside jacket pocket could conceal her bat. She'd dressed it up a little with her grandmother's necklace and some costume jewelry earrings, making her look at least a few more than her eighteen years. She took a deep breath. "So, here we are," she echoed. "At least we're still running early."

[Gizmo]

Grunting faintly in agreement, Trevor rolled his shoulders slightly under his jacket before setting them squarely. "Right." As the stern young man stepped forward to the doors the crowd parted subtly to make way, even distracted as they were by their pressing business. They probably wouldn't have recalled doing so if asked later, but there was a presence about him that instinctively conveyed that he was not one to bump into. "Don't take him personally," he warned Erin as they approached the reception desk at the end of an impressively long lobby. "Not the... warmest. Even for a Hunter."

[Electra]

"It's okay," Erin assured him in a low voice as they walked. "I've sort of gotten an idea of what he's like, I won't let him bother me." The building itself was impressive, speaking of power and prestige for all she couldn't understand the actual language of its inhabitants. "He's good at making money work, so that'll be good enough."

Seeking to find something to lift his spirits, she cast around in her mind. "You've been to Paris before, right? Maybe after this meeting we can tour around a little before we head home. I'd kinda like to see the Eiffel Tower, the cafes and all that stuff. It's a nice day out."

[Gizmo]

"Hah, of course. Should have thought," Trevor nodded with a smile equally faint as his previous frown had been. The wealthy heir was reasonably well traveled for all he preferred to stay in Freedom City, but it truth it was his decidedly practical nature more than a lack of novelty that caused him to forget the stop and smell the proverbial roses. It was nice to have someone there to remind him. "Thanks," he said softly without further explanation as they reached the desk and he addressed the receptionist in the local tongue. ""

The brunette's cascading hair bounced across her high cheekbones as she turned to consult her computer. The sidelong glance she gave the young man before her clearly indicated her surprise as she surmised the relationship between the guest and the person receiving him, but she was polite enough not to say anything aloud as she indicated the elevator to their left.

[Electra]

Erin carefully relaxed her hold on the folder before she creased it with her fingers, then walked over in the direction the woman had indicated. The elevator was quiet and empty, with just a wisp of subdued music. "I hear they have really good pastries in Paris," she told Trevor, raising her voice to a normal volume. "And good coffee, too. That's kind of all you hear about Paris, really. Good food, good coffee, and the Eiffel Tower. And that big Archy-Triumph," she added, deliberately mangling the pronunciation a bit more than necessary in the hopes of eliciting another smile before they entered the lion's den. "Anyway, this probably won't even take that long."

[Gizmo]

Trevor let out a light breath, the faintest ghost of a laugh in his own restrained parlance. "Pastries and coffee, hmm? Could probably be persuaded," he agreed, deadpan as he gave Erin's hand a small squeeze. It was hard not to notice that he made sure to release his grip before the elevator doors opened again, however, as he stepped out into the hallway and quickly referred to a mounted placard indicating the occupants of each office. Finding the room number he was looking for, the young man led the way.

Moments later they came to an open door leading into a spacious corner office. There was certainly no mistaking that they had the right room: while the familial resemblance between Trevor and his grandfather was strong, Ted Hunter literally bridged the gap between them, a severe looking man with jet black hair and an immaculate suit. Whatever path he had chosen in life, Ted had retained the discipline taught by the eldest Hunter, both mental and physical. Powerfully built with lean muscle concealed by a tailored jacket fitted to his impressive height, it was easy to see the man Trevor might eventually fill out into. "Sell it all," he was saying into a smart phone as they approached the doorway. After a short pause he continued, apparently cutting off whoever was on the other end of the line, "Didn't ask for opinion. Do it." With that he hung up and purposefully moved a stack of papers from one pile on the massive mahogany desk to another. "On time," Ted remarked without looking up from his organization. "Surprising."

"Extrdimensional Nazi attacked the plane," Trevor explained, his voice a even more level and without inflection than normal. "Quickly resolved." Ted grunted indistinctly as though to suggest that that answered any questions he might have had.

[Electra]

Erin shifted uncomfortably for a moment, waiting for introductions that were obviously not going to be forthcoming. Trevor could usually turn the Midnight persona off for social encounters with civilians, but his dad seemed to bring it out in him. For that matter, she had to assume Ted was capable of stringing together sentences as well. What must it be like to be so stilted with your own family? Hell, she had a better relationship with her Prime family, and they were barely even related.

She shifted her grip on the folder, half extending it as she took a step forward. "Mr. Hunter, I'm Erin White. It's a pleasure to meet you," she ventured, using her getting-a-job etiquette. "I have the details of my portfolio here to look at..."

[Gizmo]

"You're not," Ted responded bluntly as he accepted the folder from Erin and began leafing through it, making nearly inaudible sounds of approval as he reviewed the contents. His dissenting statement didn't seem to be an accusation so much as a largely disinterested observation. "Assume passing resemblance to Seattle native isn't coincidental." If anything, the elder Hunter's tone suggested he was simply clarifying with regards to which name the stocks would be registered under.

Trevor's eyes narrowed very subtly, an easily missed expression of annoyance. "Did a background check." Like his father, the young man was not asking a question.

Looking up from the folder, Ted raised a single eyebrow. "Exposition?"

"Disapproval," Trevor corrected, folding his arms across his chest as his expression darkened another subtle shade.

[Electra]

Erin flushed, embarrassed with herself for not realizing she'd need to use her new first name for a business meeting. "Um, yeah, my first name is Keeley, but I don't use it very often," she confirmed, looking to Trevor to his father as she tried to regroup. "My, ah, distant family lives in Seattle." She clasped hand to wrist behind her back and bounced twice on the balls of her feet before forcing herself back to stillness. "If there's anything you need to know, I can tell you myself."

[Gizmo]

Ted's attention turned back to the folder in his hands, leaving Trevor to stew in annoyance until he forcibly calmed himself down with a long, quiet exhalation. He knew exactly why his father had gone out of his way to research Erin's history; even the admittedly thorough background checks the elder Hunter insisted upon for any potential clients wouldn't have turned up enough to notice the tangled mess of contradictory records. Clearly he had gone out of his way in this case because of their relationship, an act that underscored his complete lack of interest or involvement up to that point.

"Hnn. AEON. Considerable value," Ted observed, either oblivious to or not bothered by his son's train of thought. "Would want to diversify, obviously."

[Electra]

"That's what Alex suggested, yes," Erin agreed, holding herself still mainly by force of will while Trevor's dad looked over her paperwork. "It's all AEON because I got it from working for her while we were in school." She half-shrugged one shoulder. "I don't know much about stocks and portfolios and things," she admitted. "I don't really want to tap into this money, so I need to find somewhere to put it that makes sense and isn't too risky." She resisted the urge to reach out and touch Trevor's hand for a quick bit of reassurance, fairly sure that betraying weakness and showing affection were equally bad here.

[Gizmo]

"Important to recognize," Ted agreed curtly when Erin admitted a lack of knowledge in the area of high finance. For all the backhanded nature of the remark, the broker seemed to mean it in earnest; better that she defer to his expertise than pester him with ill-advised suggestions, after all. Closing the folder and placing in on his desk, he nodded. "All in order. Normally have a waiting list, but I'll slip this in. Waive consulting fees, naturally."

Trevor's expression turned from silent, restrained rebuke to muted surprise. "...thank you. Not to seem ungrateful..." he began with a lifted brow.

His father inclined his head slightly to acknowledge the sentiment. "Not a practice I typically encourage," he confirmed, crossing his arms over his broad, immacualtely dressed chest. "Consider it a graduation present."

The younger Hunter actually grunted softly in bemusement at that. "Didn't think you'd remembered."

"Can count," Ted replied in perfect deadpan.

[Electra]

Erin watched the byplay between Trevor and his father, and for a moment felt the near-overwhelming urge to just turn and yell at Ted. Would it really be so hard for him to spend a tiny percentage of his time being a parent to his own son, a living person with feelings who needed his attention and affection or maybe just the affirmation that the people who made him knew he existed? Surely there had to be a few spare moments between playing with imaginary money that would become totally worthless the second anything really bad happened in the world! Ted was lucky to even have a family, but he was just throwing it away, and it was so stupid...

She throttled back with a quiet sigh, knowing that causing a scene wouldn't make things better, and would probably just make Trevor even more uncomfortable. Getting yelled at by some teenager wasn't going to change Ted or make him a better father. Maybe the best thing to do was just to finish this up and get gone, leave the elder Hunter to rot in his big glass mausoleum. Schooling her face to as much neutrality as she could, (though if Ted were anything like his son, she probably wasn't fooling anyone), she said "I appreciate you taking the time. I'm sure I can leave it all in your hands."

[Gizmo]

If Ted picked up on Erin's barely contained ire, it didn't seem to ruffle his feathers. He gave the impression that an incendiary device going off in his hand wouldn't ruffle his feathers, granted. "You'll receive periodic updates, of course," he informed Erin before retaking his seat behind his desk and preparing to get back to work. "Mmn. New cafe block and a half southwest," he informed his son absently without looking back up. "In proximity to small metalwork art exhibit. Seemed to your tastes."

"Have to take a look," Trevor agreed with a curt nod before turning and leading the way back out into the hallway without further comment or farewells. Once he and Erin were out of earshot, he let out a quiet breath. "Well. Went much better than I was expecting," he told the auburn haired young woman. "Must have liked what he learned about you."

[Electra]

Erin turned to him as they stepped into the elevator, disbelief in her face and voice. "That was much better than you expected?" she asked. "He totally blew you off. He didn't even say he was sorry that he didn't make it out to see you graduate. He didn't even," she waved a hand in the air, "ask you to come over for dinner while you're in the country, or even to go out to lunch or something. We came halfway around the world to see him, he could at least have given you a cup of coffee."

She sighed and raked a hand through her hair, realizing that she probably wasn't helping anything. "Sorry. I know you expected him to be this way. At least it's done with, right? Now we can have fun."

[Gizmo]

"Really making an effort," Trevor assured Erin, still sounding a bit surprised himself. "Addressed you directly, made some small talk." If the young man was conscious of just how much of a strain it would be to classify what had just transpired as 'small talk' he certainly didn't show it. "Family doesn't really do dinner," he noted as the elevator opened on the ground floor. "Rarely sit down for meals, let alone share them." Glancing sidelong at his girlfriend, he allowed himself the faintest hint of a smile and offered her his arm as they exited the building. "Have been known to make exceptions."

[Electra]

Erin gave him a half smile at that. "I'd noticed that about your family." She slid her arm comfortably through his, relaxing perceptibly as they left the building behind. The streets were busy, but that didn't bother her the way it used to, and there was plenty to look at. Business was over, Trevor wasn't unhappy or unnerved about the way the meeting with his dad had gone, and now she could go back to pretending all that money didn't exist so she didn't have to feel strange about it. "I guess as meetings with a boyfriend's parents go, that wasn't so bad," she decided. "But I really need to start remembering what my first name is. You hungry?"