Hostile Takeover  (The Great Triangle and Gaelyn)
<h1 id="title">Elliquiy Role Playing Forums</h1>
		<h2 id="linktree">Play-By-Post: Bondage, D/s, S&amp;M =&gt; Bondage: Exotic Solos =&gt; Topic started by: The Great Triangle on 17-05-2010, 04:36:50</h2>
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				Title: <strong>Hostile Takeover  (The Great Triangle and Gaelyn)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>The Great Triangle</strong> on <strong>17-05-2010, 04:36:50</strong>
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				It had been a bad quarter for Cybertech Microsystems.&nbsp; A very bad quarter indeed.&nbsp; Their profits had been falling due to stiff competition in emerging markets, and R&amp;D somehow failed to make the innovations they kept on promising.&nbsp; As the company's stock price tumbled, whispers of outside influence became louder and louder.&nbsp; That outside influence came not from a company, but a man.&nbsp; Pharos Nashamalan; the richest man in India, founder of Bhavaratni Semiconductors, a manufacturing company built on advanced technologies somehow developed by Pharos Nashamalan in the slums of Mumbai.&nbsp; The boy genius had turned his company's resources to a stock buyout of Cybertech, and despite the objections of the CEO, the sale succeeded.&nbsp; Cybertech Microsystems was no more, only a wholly owned subsidiary of Bavaratni Semiconductors.<br><br>Pharos strode into the boardroom like a conquering army, wires trailing from his ears as he listened to loud music.&nbsp; It was the final day before the the sale cleared; the last day of independence Cybertech would have.&nbsp; Most of the board had already left for the day, searching for their next job, or occasionally making retirement plans.&nbsp; The architect of Cybertech's demise knew what he was looking for, when he made his way in clad head to toe in black silk.&nbsp; Like a shadow, Chairmain Nashnamalan drifted into the center of the company, and stared with his dark eyes at the CEO he had bested.&nbsp; <strong>"I have admired your company for a long time."</strong>&nbsp; Pharos said with a smile, joy in his voice.&nbsp; 
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				Title: <strong>Re: Hostile Takeover  (The Great Triangle and Gaelyn)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Gaelyn</strong> on <strong>17-05-2010, 19:39:00</strong>
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				&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kate sat, lips pursed as she studied the file in front of her; the pen in her hand tapping a soft and steady tattoo on the tabletop was the only sign of her agitation.&nbsp; The soft tone of the intercom sounded a split second before the door to the conference room swung open, and Kate bit down on a sharp oath as she shot to her feet, slapping the file closed with a decisive snap.&nbsp; <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Ms. Pierce, Chairman Nashnamalan is here."&nbsp; Her secretary's voice through the phone was polite, but Kate heard the edge behind the words.&nbsp; Maryanne was surely peeved that he'd circumvented the customary procedures and had made his own entrance.&nbsp; &nbsp;<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kate pasted on what she hoped passed for a welcoming smile and jabbed a finger against the intercom.&nbsp; "Yes, thank you."&nbsp; Her tone carried the warning clearly; she'd not tolerate the personal grievances in the business setting as long as she was there.&nbsp; <em>For however long that might be</em>, she thought grimly. "Maryanne.&nbsp; Please direct all my calls to the voicemail, and I've nothing else for you for the day.&nbsp; Have a good evening."&nbsp; <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kate depressed the button to shut off the intercom system,&nbsp; and turned her full attention to the new Chairman, smoothing a hand down her suit jacket unconsciously as she rounded the table.&nbsp; All the research she'd dug up on Pharos Nashamalan- and there'd been surprisingly little-&nbsp; had left her with the impression that he was intelligent, self-possessed,&nbsp; and driven.&nbsp; She'd known he was young- just a scant handful of years older than herself- and she respected his accomplishments, knowing just how much work and determination it took to achieve such.&nbsp; Whether it was good genes or cosmetic enhancement- smugly she imagined it was the latter- he looked markedly younger than his years.&nbsp; She decided she could hate him for that alone.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The pictures hadn't done him justice.&nbsp; He was a surprisingly&nbsp; handsome man; the&nbsp; thickly lashed dark eyes, the straight line of his nose, the firm slash of his mouth were all set against burnished skin and hair so black it held no hint of other color.&nbsp; He was whipcord lean, the silk of his clothing shifted and settled over a frame that hinted of a muscled strength.&nbsp; She got the impression that he could be, would be dangerous in a physical altercation.&nbsp; There was an unsettling, almost sinister grace about him, an ease of movement and a quiet fluidity that made him appear to almost float rather than walk.&nbsp; <em>Or slither</em>, she thought mutinously. <br>&nbsp;<br>&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kate pushed aside her foolish musings as she approached him, her hand extended.&nbsp; Business, after all, was business.&nbsp; "Mr. Nashamalan.&nbsp; Katherine Pierce."&nbsp; Her head tipped in greeting, her voice perfectly modulated despite being pitched to be overhead past the music that tinnily tripped from the ear buds, and only the barest flicker of her eyes betrayed the tiny little jolt of her hand crossing his in the firm handshake.&nbsp; <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She regretted the contact instantly; her stomach gave a hard little bump that disconcerted her.&nbsp; Her reaction infuriated her- this was the man who was taking over the company she'd worked her ass off for.&nbsp; Probably firing her as soon as the ink was dry on the sale, despite the years she'd sweated and slaved and proven herself, proven the value of her strategy and her vision for Cybertech.&nbsp; &nbsp;She imagined, churlishly, that the self-made boy wonder of the Eastern World was ready to toss her out on her ass and fiddlefuck the company she'd managed, pushed, driven into the top 5%&nbsp; of the market right down to nothing.&nbsp; &nbsp;Or worse, she inwardly grimaced, back up into the top 5% again. <br><br>&nbsp;<em>Not the time</em>, she ordered herself. <em> Focus</em>. Kate withdrew her hand, barely resisting wiping&nbsp; her palm off on the fabric of her skirt, and ignored the faint, greasy roil of nausea&nbsp; in her belly that she attributed to stress.&nbsp; Vaguely she wished the conference room hadn't emptied out&nbsp; a half hour ago.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She addressed his statement with a nod, forcing herself to hold his fathomless gaze steadily.&nbsp; "Thank you.&nbsp; I offer my congratulations on the acquisition," she said stiffly, and motioned to the conference table, the stack of binders and paperwork laid out.&nbsp; "I imagine you'll want to get started right away.&nbsp; I've pulled the files you've requested; the department heads of Operations, Marketing, Strategy, and Finance are available through the day tomorrow at your convenience, as is the Senior Management Team. " She took a moment to tamp down the surprise and the flash of anger when he claimed the chair at the head of the table- <em>her </em>chair, lowering himself into it, regal and preponderate.&nbsp; She set her jaw.&nbsp; "PR has drafted a statement, and I imagine you'll want to approve it now, make any changes before the press conference in the morning.&nbsp; &nbsp;You'll find it here," she indicated, tapping one neat, clear-polished nail against the file folder she'd closed upon his arrival.&nbsp; Hoping none of the awkwardness she felt showed in her movements, she moved around behind him , forced to lean well into his personal space to scoop up her Blackberry, her own paperwork and pen, shifting them along the table to the next seat.&nbsp; "Of course I'm here at your disposal as well,"&nbsp; she continued, fighting down the bitter taste in her mouth.&nbsp; She moved to the mini refrigerator, withdrawing two bottles of water, and missed the way his eyes sharpened.&nbsp; <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The thought crossed her mind, briefly, that she'd rather chuck the bottle of water- his preferred brand, recently stocked- at him than have to stand there and offer it to him so politely, this man who'd turned her world upside down, despite her vehement opposition, and now held the fate of her company and it's employees in his hand.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; He watched her placidly, a little shining light of ...amusement, she decided, in his eyes.&nbsp; Amusement with a hint of mocking and an air of what she imagined was superiority, and it set her teeth on edge.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<em>Take it</em>, she silently fumed.&nbsp; <em>Take the damn water and quit leaving me standing here like an idiot</em>. She nudged the bottle&nbsp; a half inch higher in the air.&nbsp; <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Another long heartbeat passed, and her eyes grey-blue eyes frosted over.&nbsp; Kate arched a slender brow at him, and when he countered with a sardonic brow&nbsp; lift of his own, she entertained the fantasy of exactly what the heavy bottle would sound like when it bounced off his skull&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Etiquette demanded she cave, but it chafed.&nbsp; &nbsp;Kate set the bottle down on the conference table, her movements careful and precise.&nbsp; &nbsp; It was childish, but she held her feet a few moments longer, just to keep the illusion of&nbsp; having the upper hand, and it earned her the discomfiture of feeling he saw through her actions all too clearly.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Her eyes narrowed a fraction and determination steeled her spine.&nbsp; Round one to Mr Nashamalan; she'd be damned if he would win another.&nbsp; Drawing every bit of presence and dignity she could muster, she settled into the soft leather of the chair, crossing one leg over the other with a studied, unhurried fluidity.&nbsp; The business world was a cutthroat one, and she hadn't gotten to the top by ignoring the weapons in her arsenal.&nbsp; <em>Use it if you got it</em>.&nbsp; <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Nudging her chair so that it angled his, she fiddled with the small, delicate gold hoop at her ear,&nbsp; then tucked a stray lock of her&nbsp; chestnut hair behind her ear, pleased when his gaze flicked away from her eyes for that brief second.&nbsp; &nbsp; Absently she touched her fingers to the neat tail at the nape of her neck, then brushed at an imaginary speck at the curve of her breast- and had to bite back her smile when his attention was redirected there.&nbsp; Timing&nbsp; her movements, she inhaled a deep breath, then addressed him. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Mr. Nashamalan."&nbsp; To her regret, he didn't have that little flicker of surprise and chagrin on his face, didn't whip his eyes to hers like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.&nbsp; Instead she found herself fighting the urge to squirm under the steady,&nbsp; unflappable look he gave her.&nbsp; <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;She took a moment to line her pen precisely alongside the stack of folders,&nbsp; squared her Blackberry&nbsp; on the table.&nbsp; Her eyes lifted to his disquieting dark ones again, she folded her hands into her lap with a calm she didn't feel.&nbsp; "You requested to meet with me this evening.&nbsp; Shall we get started?"<br>
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