An Honest Living [Arlette, Bauher]

Huh, a message.
He really shouldn't have been surprised that some corporate official had sniffed out his presence in the City of Lights as of late. So when he got the invitation in his mailbox at the hotel, he couldn't help but scratch his head a little when he made note of who it was from. It wasn't a group he was too unfamiliar with, and there was no small amount of narrowing of his eye. A company that pretty much seemed to own most of everything, and seemed to be growing every day. It only made sense that such a large corporation would go sniffing in his direction.

It took him little to no time to FIND the damn place, the directions had been pretty clear at least. And from a distance, it wasn't too hard to stop her off in the distance. Arlette Ovide. Practically an extension of Claudia herself from what he'd read up on her. He hadn't really thought to look too much into it. He peeled his phone from his pocket, idly opening up the application he'd put to task in finding out just where this company had come from. A little thing he hadn't used since his daughter went missing and he threw the thing together with some help from his friend. May as well get to know who was calling him in right? HE turned the screen off and slipped his phone back into his pocket.

"Good afternoon. Miss Ovide, I believe? Mind if I have a seat?" He offered a lopsided smile as he approached the woman, asking permission to sit as if he HADN'T been specifically asked to show up. He didn't seem tense or alarmed as many she met with might seem. He was relaxed to say the least, but not in the sort of snide, knowing way that Administrators or Company officials might be. At just a glance, he just seemed like some guy come to have a pleasant conversation. Truly his Daughter's Father.

He smiled a bit and took the seat opposite of her, his head tilting a bit to the side as one of his brows raised. "I don't worry myself with time when I'm not on a clock, waste away." He noted with a light smile, pausing. That was dorky wasn't it? Maybe? Hmmmm. He had ordered some tea, giving a little bit of a sip and wrinkling his nose. It wasn't what he usually liked, but he was trying to kick Coffee. Work had gotten him addicted to the stuff. Briefly distracted in such a way that he almost looked surprised when she started talking again.

Ah, one of those. Hm, maybe his 'off the clock' comment hadn't quite been the play. Damn. He straightened up just a little and continued to watch her over the rim of his tea as he sipped it now and then, taking the opportunity to try and acclimate himself to the drink, pausing now and then to add more sugar here and there before sipping it again. Hm... He glanced at her own drink, vaguely wondering what she had. It smelled good. He continued to look at it even as he spoke, a bad habit of his as a result of often speaking to his wife without looking away from his own workscreen.

"I suppose that's certainly something to worry about. So you're here to convince me to join the Vandenreich then?" He ventured, glancing back up to her with a half-smile. Certainly it was intriguing that she was going for a 'for the cause' pitch. Especially one that seemed to make as though him being talked to by her was some boon to the Vandenreich rather than ....you know...HER company.

So that certainly begged the question. Was this because she knew his Daughter was employed at the Vandenreich? Was that an angle to make it seem as if working for her was indirectly a means of safety for his family? For a woman who claimed to be getting to the point, she seemed to be aiming for the bushes. "I'm joking, of course. You guys have your fingers in a lot of pies, I know." Weird Analogy Bauher. Dial it back. " But....security for a place like this is a bit of a surprise. There's a lot of different developing locations in America that could use the help of your company. Why focus on the Vandenreich?" She wanted to talk projects, so he planned on getting to the roots. Maybe she expected this. Maybe she didn't. Maybe he was just bored or paranoid after living the life he had.

All he knew was this tea needed more sugar. So he added a bit more.

How very frank. The transparency of the woman to want to spread into a place not yet footholded by the company. She seemed quite open and pragmatic about all of .....this. And there was a sort of purposefulness about her that certainly was something to inspire confidence. Not only that but .... hm. There was more than just a blankess about her eyes. It wasn't emotion on her face, but there was consideration, the gears turning in her head. This wasn't some recited pitch or mentally memorized script. She at the very least, seemed to be in the here and the now.

God he wished he had a cigarette. He decided to add another lump of sugar and then take a slow and steady sup of his drink as he let his eye drift to a close and consider the thing being put in front of him. Certainly she made a lot of......points. And he thought about his own situation. Out here....looking for work so that he didn't have to see his wife going in and out of the hospital all the time. But more importantly....because she was clearly pushing him away. SHE didn't want him seeing her like that. And he was letting her, what a despicable man he was. And now he was being offered something that, while pitched outside of philanthropy, certainly was one of those times when someone would say 'This is your chance to make a difference'. And for just a moment, he had a tired look on his face. Looking at the woman across from him.

Vaguely, he wondered what lie behind that stern face. Malice? Greed? Was there some trigger within her to reach across this table and snap his neck? Was she capable of that? These days it was not super likely, but that WAS there. He was just .... a guy. And an awful one at that.

He set his tea down. "So.... you want me to work on security for the City of Lights. You, knowing my background, are aware that this is a systems security, mostly programming and all that. Not the kind of brute reinforcement other places have. Not a Duvalia Group ezxisting headquarters, or a place where you are solidly in control. But the Vandenreich where your group is not really present all that firmly yet." There wasn't a question there, but there certainly were a lot of ....interesting implications. For one, his was the kind of security from PEOPLE, not monsters or even shinigami. He'd yet to run into a shinigami with any sort of hacking capabilities or even knowledge. Which made him wonder if she foresaw an attack from one such threat borne from the world of the living.

But he didn't outright ask any such question. That was above his paygrade.

"So, let's say that I agree to this. I'm pretty sure you would still need to pitch this to the Vandenreich. MY kind of help involves intimate interaction with the system in question. Your company must have a pretty tight relationship with the Vandenreich. " He murmured, making it a bit obscure whether he was talking to her or himself at this point. "Say I agree. What sort of timeline do you have in mind for the project? On one hand I can understand that deadlines exist, but I have Family in Karakura, and this isn't the kind of work that can, or should, be rushed. I also value ...freedom and flexibility over a strong paycheck. Not only that, but We'll also have to outline just what sort of rights you have over this system. You want it built for the Vandenreich, not your company. Which means that for security reasons, I don't imagine they will be all that keen on you having administrative access to it outside of maybe a small team that's working on the project itself. In fact, you may not have a ton of rights even for oversight in comparison to the Vandenreich itself for what I'm working on. Are you alright with that?" He ventured. Sure, she SEEMED pretty sure and focused on hiring him for this job. But he also wanted to make sure that she understood what this process would be like. The kinds of things tht frankly she would wind up being kept in the dark about, AND that he made it abundantly clear that he planned on following those protocols and the like.

Which was also why he was talking about freedom, flexibility, and lack of oversight. If she was truly in this for the safety of the vandenreich, then this would not be something she'd have a problem with. But, if she wasn't. He was making it abundantly clear that he wasn't in this for money. He would not be giving the Duvalia group any special access or administrative authorization in this hypothetical security system, and that she may very well not even see much of the thing she'd be paying him to produce. These were things that involved a very considerable trust. Bauher had been orphaned... and taken in by karakura. And frankly, they had trusted him because he owed them everything. He hardly wanted to get a job, and then be hissed at about how it had to be carried out.

He watched her carefully, despite that calm expression.

Hm, now THAT was certainly interesting. She took these things in stride but seemed...... VERY keen on them. Well, perhaps not keen , but comparatively speaking, there was no fuss. Even companies that had experience in this field, even if they didn't outright show disappointment, still implicitly put it on the table. 'Well thats something we can discuss in the future' or something to that effect. Even so a line so dismissive as 'We can work the details out as they come up'. But Arlette seemed .....interestingly capitulating to him. Reasonably. This wasn't even something so far as business formality, it was something... more than that. He wondered just how badly she wanted him involved with all of this, and he couldn't help but lightly drum his fingers. If it were someone else, he might have thought this a bit TOO easy. But .... hm. She was awfully earnest. He paused, making note of her own topping off her drink. He couldn't help but smile a bit in recognizing a fellow sweet tooth. He wondered if she was doing that intentionally after seeing him heap on sugars. Business was so fun like that.

"Well, I must say. You certainly at least seem to trust my expertise in this, rather refreshing. I never did like these sorts of conversations, you wouldn't believe the kind of crap corporations sometimes pull to try and sway things, thanks for making it so painless." He chuckled lightly, before he set his cup off to the side and a bit out of his casual reach. Hm. "Well, given all of this. I certainly have a lot to think about. At least that's what I would say." He murmured before reaching into his pocket and looking to his phone. He paused, allowing the app to pop up as he lightly scrolled for a moment.

Hm. The company seemed to be exactly as she said. His program did it's scrubbing, and going through what had been found on the public and archived web locations, it seemed as she said. This company of hers seemed...remarkably removed from her other corporate obligations. Which ...was interesting. " I usually let these things go for a bit. I'll say I have a few things to consider and do some research. To usually get a feel for the reasonings behind whatever ....quirks I see in these sorts of interviews. But you've not really given me much to work with. But as you've stated this seems pretty ....detached from the Duvalia. All I need to worry about is you, and you've given me very little to worry about." He murmured, itching the back of his head lightly before giving her a calm smile.

"If I were a more paranoid man, I'd almost call it suspicious. But, funnily enough. I think I actually trust what you've been telling me. So, rather than having you wait a couple days. I think I'm confident to say I'm on board. Though if you don't mind, I'd like to save the ....payment and wage, and benefit and ...all that other stuff for another time." He reached his off-hand up from it's place of rest at his side to swipe along his phone. And as if like magic, his business card seemed to slide out from under it. Sleight of hand. He held the card up and offered it to the woman, mildly pleased with himself that he hadn't dropped the card hidden beneath his fingers when he had reached for the phone.

"My contact information, I'm sure you got your hands on my business contact information, but I have a separate business number I keep unlisted for those I'm professionally engaged with. Same with the Email." He informed her. Naturally he did prefer to sidestep the other dozen messages and letters he got from people wanting to get his professional attention.