Tale as Old As Time [Finished]

[accalia]

Julie stands up, and walks around the table to stand between Lance and Obsidian. She places her hands on her hips in a decent impression of a fierce old angry grandmother, an impression made all the stronger but the fact that she couldn't be any taller than four foot nine.

Julie: Stop that! both of you! One thing i have always required, nay demanded, of my clients is that they remain civil in my presence. If you have an issue with each other you will either deal with it civilly or wait until i have left to deal with it. I will not have any fighting in my presence.

She crosses her arms over her chest in a huff before continuing

Julie: furthermore Siegfried is correct. with the care your father chose his investments you are at least eight years overdue for a reinvestiture. I understand that there are memories attached to these properties and investments for you but you simply cannot afford to be sentimental about money. The only thing that leads to is financial ruin when your investments go sour, as they will do if not kept up to date with the economy.

[yamikuronue]

Lance balls his hands into fists, fighting against the anger inside him. He doesn't speak until he's able to do so with cold, quiet anger instead of shouting:

"You know what he is, what he represents. For Father's sake I've tolerated him, but I will not...."

He takes a deep breath, suppressing a shudder. "What would Father have done, really? You knew him as a man, not just as..." The question is to Obsidian, ignoring Siegfried, who doesn't lift his head.

[CalamityJade]

"First off, he wouldn't demean someone that's been trying to take care of him for ten years, so there's something to work on." Obsidian was obviously furious, but trying to not simply deck Lance in the face and head out...even IF it would probably serve him right.

"The rest of this? He'd probably trust the professionals he'd ask about it. Despite being a bit nieve, he was practical where it counted. Otherwise he wouldn't have had such a big fucking business go well."

[yamikuronue]

Lance snorts at the first comment, but mulls over the second. "Whatever I do, I'll have to break something he built."

[accalia]

julie: Yes you will, in order to protect what he built you will have to change it. you change it because nothing without care stands the test of time, it must be constantly readjusted to take account of the changes that time brings to everything. If you do nothing then in ten years time you will have nothing, but if you do the right thing in ten years time your father's legacy will be strong vibrant and growing.

[CalamityJade]

"Things can't grow and change nothing. I'm sure he'd realize that. For one, he was never so conceited to think he could plan a decade in advance for what people would do." He still had a hard edge to his voice. "So yes, you're going to have to 'break' something he made. Something that might not be working and will probably benefit from it."

He gave a sigh. "Plus, can you imagine how many times HE changed it? This probably isn't even the largest of them."

[yamikuronue]

Lance takes a deep breath,  closing his eyes briefly. When he opens them, his face is set in a new determination.

"We keep the properties, but let's re-balance the accounts across the board."

[accalia]

Julie: Ok, that will help, I'd still recommend selling a couple of these properties. the majority can be kept without affecting the bottom line but these ones in Greece are starting to slip and will drop into the red in, hmm, three or four years. If we sell them that will ease the burden on the other properties and give us a small infusion of cash.

Numbers dance across her pad as she does some calculations, walking back to her seat as she calculates.

Julie: As for the investments.... i'll need to talk to Ms. Schreien about how the market is behaving right now but.... i think we'll want to sell off most of the agriculture and non tech stocks and migrate them into tech stocks and service industry stocks. Those markets have been more dynamic lately and should give good growth.

[yamikuronue]

The next couple hours of discussion are significantly more productive; Siegfried sneaks off within ten minutes of Lance's discussion, and before long, the financial professionals are being invited to stay to dinner: roast chicken and baby potatoes.

While Rosanna comes out to join them, notably, after serving, Siegfried elects not to eat with the family and guests.

[accalia]

Echo is sitting at the small table in the kitchen with a untouched plate of food in front of him.

"good morrow Siegfried. This one trusts that Ms. Schallen held her own out there?"

Julie joins the rest of the family at the main table for dinner. A small hiss escapes her lips when she touches her silverware for the first time and she subsequently eats with a set of utensils drawn from inside her vest, leaving the provided utensils untouched on the table.

She engages in the usual small talk with vigor, displaying a sense of humor that had been absent or suppressed when talking business earlier.

[yamikuronue]

Siegfried's face slips from glum to neutral as he observes Echo. "Yes, well enough. I believe things will be looking up henceforth. Thank you for recommending her." His tone is polite, but distant-- he certainly doesn't seem happy about things looking up.

Lance's cutlery, Julie  might note, is made of stainless steel, not matching the good silver for the rest of them.

[accalia]

"Ms. Shallen will help in more ways than one. She will certainly get the Master's money into shape. long has she had a gift with that."

a pause and Echo nudges the other chair out from the table

"Sit with this one a moment, please. You look like you got hit in the back with a steam locomotive. Is everything alright?"

[yamikuronue]

Siegfried shakes his head, but then gives a rueful smile, remembering Echo's ability to sense the depths of his mood at the moment. He grabs a plate and moves to join Echo.

"I suspect my time here is nearing an end, unfortunately."

[CalamityJade]

Obsidian was eating in silence for the most part, though he did raise an eyebrow at the avoidance of the silverware. This had been...rather trying for him, but he was able to eat dinner without wanting to punch his nephew, he'll call it a success.

Morden, meanwhile, still looked like he was mulling things over in his head before turning to Julie. "You alright, by the way?"

[accalia]

Morden's words startle Julie slightly as she turns to face the question.

Julie: Yes I am feeling quite well, thank you. The food was masterfully prepared, my compliments to the chef. Was there anything in particular that sparked that question?

"You have served this house loyally for far too long to be displaced just because the Master is a little upset. He's fighting the darkness harder than usual and is starting to win there. but that does mean that he is much conflicted and somewhat irritable because of it. Your place is here, you've earned it and it would be a great injustice if this one allowed you to lose it over so small a thing as wishing better for the Master than he had before."