Business arrangements [Thoth]

During his time as CEO, it had seemed like the meetings never stopped. He supposed it came with the territory. You could hardly be a CEO without going to more meetings than anyone could possibly hope to endure.

Most of the time he had a fairly good grasp of what he was supposed to be doing at any given time. He kept a tight schedule, and always knew what he was getting into before he actually got into it. Today, unfortunately, was not one of those days.

He'd been rear ended on his way into work, leaving him with a stiff neck and a bone to pick. He'd been almost an hour late, his meetings had started to run into each other, and he was only just starting to get caught up later in the afternoon. But it meant no prep - and in some cases, with more minor meetings, it meant going in perpetually blind.

He was going blind into this one. He looked as professional as always, in his professionally tailored black suit, but it was taking a lot of effort to keep the stress from showing on his face when he finally stepped into the conference room, taking a seat at the head of the table. It was a lovely little room, intended for small meetings, and one wall was floor to ceiling glass, giving the room a slightly more open feeling.

It would not be long before the person he was meeting with would show up... and unfortunately, he was going in blind. Maybe it was a business pitch. Maybe it was a loan request. Maybe it was... god, it could be anything. At least he was good at rolling with the punches.

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Tag to @"Evelyn Pierce" ​

Ignatius was well aware that most people on the islands were not what most people on the outside would consider human. One way or another, most of the humans were anything but, and those that actually were human normally had something else going on. Truly powerless humans on the islands were as rare as unicorns were on the outside. He found it slightly easier to deal with things that at least human though, so he was happy to see something that was just that come in the door. It was always a struggle to figure out where exactly to look on non-humans - especially those that lacked obvious eyes.

"Good evening." He didn't stand, in part because he didn't know just how important the person he was speaking to was, and in part because his legs hurt after the events of earlier that day. No, sitting was just fine, and he gestured for the man to take a seat.

The man's voice came out in what Ignatius would have described as a purr, and while he found it a tad unprofessional, he tried not to judge. People were quite varied on the islands, and it was entirely possible that was the man's normal speaking voice. It was also possible he was literally some kind of cat spirit, which would certainly explain his tone of voice.

If so, he would not even be the first cat spirit Ignatius had done business with.

He leaned back in his chair as the man explained his business proposition, sadly wishing they'd done proper introductions, but alas - there was no way to bring it up without admitting he'd been forced to come into the whole meeting horribly unprepared. It was something he'd essentially never do, because doing so would mean admitting to weakness, and he hated that.

He understood, when the case was opened, why the man had not sat, and he steepled his fingers for a moment, eyeing the case. That kind of money could be many things, and the odd type... well, it was possible it was gathered from elsewhere in the world, or it was possible that it was in some way faked.

"Location scouting services is something we do, indeed offer. While money changing is not normally part of our repertoire, I could certainly see the use of it in this case. I do, however, need to know two things before we go any farther in discussion - the nature of the business, and the way you came to have a briefcase full of gold coins." If it was a trick, it would not be the first time someone had tried to trick him, but it was also just as possible that it was entirely legitimate. A great many of the older occupants of the islands still had currency lying around from centuries before.

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Tag to @"Evelyn Pierce" ​

If Ignatius had been a mind reader, he'd have been horrified. The idea of him draped in exotic silks? Absurd. The only silk he was ever going to be in was a silk suit (although, realistically, he was not much of a fan of silk suits at all).

It was clear enough that the man was immortal, or at least near enough to it. There were plenty on the island, although Ignatius was not one himself. They could be an excellent source of profit, because they often came with very large budgets and no more common sense than any other adult. Plenty of them were willing to dump tons of money into expensive pet projects as well, and as the man explained his intentions, Ignatius mentally slid the whole conversation over into the 'expensive pet project' selection. It wasn't that a hotspring couldn't be profitable - it was just that it was such a specific thing that it was likely important to them in some way.

He considered the case, staring with such intensity that you could almost hear the gears clicking away in his head. He was doing the math, working out just how much gold he'd just been presented with.

"My best estimate - which would obviously have to be checked - is that you've presented me with half a million dollars. I can do plenty with that as far as start up costs go, but there's at least one thing I have no ability to. To have a hot springs, you need a hot spring, and since this island is not volcanic..." Well, that would be the question, wouldn't it? Perhaps they were capable of making one, but Ignatius surely wasn't, and as far as he knew none of the people on his staff could create a hot spring either.

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Tag to @"Evelyn Pierce" ​

He dealt in real numbers, and he knew off the top of his head the value of gold. But he could only estimate the size of a normal briefcase, and endless holding enchantments could hardly be worked out by hand. He would need to know the capacity, or at least the amount of money, before they could get into it properly. But the man himself didn't seem very interested in the details. He wanted his hot spring, and he was willing to hand over whatever amount of money he needed to get it. Well, Ignatius could certainly handle that, couldn't he? If someone had a lot of money and didn't want to deal with anything else, then he'd happily take their money in exchange for having his company handle things.

He was not one to squirm, and similarly not one to point out that he could hardly be expected to guess every possible magic spell. Instead he simply carried on with the conversation as if he had not just been rudely corrected.

"If you are capable of providing the heating source, than my people are more than capable of producing a suitable hot springs for you. I'll have them collect blueprints of existing hot springs in order to make it as authentic as possible." If authenticity was what they wanted, authenticity was what they would get. "If location is not tied to the heating source, I can think of several locations where a hot springs would do well. Would you prefer a more business oriented location, or would you prefer a more rustic feel, out in the woods surrounded by nature?" Both types of hot springs existed, and they both drew different types of clientele.

Not that he was particularly concerned with the long term viability of it. It was not his business - he would be making sure it was up to par, and then it would be all up to this man if it succeeded or failed.

He remained firmly oblivious to Nixis's intentions. He was a professional man, who thought of things like flirting in only the rarest of situations. Only when business was done would he consider asking someone out, and even then, he would only ever ask women out. Women he'd decided were his type, even if his actual type was much different.

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Tag to @"Evelyn Pierce" ​

He could see it in his mind. A Japanese style bathhouse, complete with an inn. Something for people to get away at, located deep in the forest. He knew of at least one plot of land in the woods that would be plausible to use - a big piece of land that had been sitting unsold for a fair while, in large part because of how far it was from the town.

Of course, in the end it wouldn't really matter. The man twitched in front of him, looking like he'd just developed a massive headache, and then, as if by magic (and, truth be told, it probably was some kind of magic), the man in front of him began to melt. It was like a thin layer of wax had covered the person before him, and as it melted off, the core underneath was revealed.

A woman. A very busty woman. At a glance, he might have placed her as the previous man's family member - maybe not a sibling, but a cousin.

She looked confused, and Ignatius looked just as confused, although his confusion was less innocent and more grumpy looking, a scowl having etched itself on his face. This was clearly not what should be happening. His day had been a poor one from the start, and now one of his clients had just transformed midway through.

Thankfully, she mostly clarified the situation for him when she swore what sounded like a name and mentioned someone taking over her body. He let out a little 'hmmm', letting her take a moment to get adjusted to the room.

"Well, if I said this was the strangest interruption to a business meeting, I would be lying." Living on the Manta Carlos Islands meant that you saw some strange stuff, and while watching one of his clients turn into a busty woman was weird, it didn't rank in the top ten for him.

"I suppose I should re-introduce myself then. My name is Ignatius Paltiel. And you are?" Nixis was apparently who he'd been talking to, but if 'Nixis' had just been acting on the woman's desire, he'd probably be speaking to her more in the future. More than anything, he was surprised she actually knew what they were doing. Obviously she must have been thinking about coming to him directly. How long had she been sitting on the idea that her parasite had decided to take matters into his own hands?

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Tag to @"Evelyn" ​