#2 Cultivating multiple options

Posted on Sun Nov 7th, 2021 @ 10:02pm by Captain Taavis

Mission: Character Development
Location: SB Mercury
Timeline: current

ON:

Taavis had arranged her quarters to her liking, making sure to set the temperature to that of Vulcan, and adding the additional gravity for her homeworld. It would keep her body in proper shape and keep her strength up. Logical.

Now, though, she wandered the station, arriving on the Promenade. She was on the ground floor and began to look around at the spartan businesses present. Not many were willing to place a business this far out on the fringe, which was sad, really. Risk takers were the ones who made their mark, made a difference. So, with that in mind, she found just what she was looking for. A tri-level club, similar in almost every way to the basic floor plan for Quark's on DS9. Outstanding, she thought. Currently wearing her dark purple catsuit, no Starfleet regalia, Taavis walked inside the stablishment, her eyes glancing around casually as she took in the size of the place, and the number of patrons. Huge establishment, five patrons.

Stepping up to the bar and removing her palm PADD from her pocket she tapped for a few moments, finding what she wanted. "Is the owner available?" Taavis asked.

The well-kept, elderly Human stopped polishing glasses and looked at her since she was right across the bartop from him. "That would be me." He was healthy and muscular, obviously a man who took pride in his appearance. There was a vibe Taavis recognized from her merchant days; confidence. He had to easily be 220lbs., and looked like he knew how to handle himself. His black hair and goatee had a sprinkling of grey in them, but he was trimmed well and the hair was short. The eyes were blue and bright, and welcoming in a casual way. "Kurt Mannheim. Friends call me Manny. What can I do for you, darlin'?"

"Actually, Manny," Taavis responded with a grin. "It's what I can do for you." Turning her palm PADD around and placing it on the bar, she motioned at it by making the two finger sign for 'look' from her eyes.

Manny leaned over slightly to read it, his eyes bugging slightly before he recovered and stood up to look at her again. "That's a lot of capital. Is that being offered to me?"

Her eyebrows went up as Taavis tilted her head slightly in a sarcastic stance. "Do you really need to ask that? Logic suggests that if I didn't intend it for you I would never have shown it to you. But, yes, it is what you will receive if you sell this club to me. Right here, right now." Her expression got more serious, the head tilt gone. "I only offer it once."

Having seen what she was offering, enough capital to make him a happy man for many years to come, Manny had to weigh the pros and cons. The hard part was he liked being here, and it had taken quite a bit of sweat and hard work to get this far out. "Okay, if I say yes, you're missing something on that list of goodies."

This time one eyebrow arched and her head tilted slightly in confusion. "I am sure I was thorough, and generous, in my offerings."

"Oh, you were." Manny replied. "Very generous, but not as thorough as I would like. You add one other thing to your list, you have a deal."

If he asked for something outlandish, like an electron from the heart of a dying star, she would be hard pressed not to smash his nose into his face. But, being Taavis and getting herself under as much control as she could muster she simply remained calm as she commented. "Do tell."

"You forgot me, sweetheart." Manny grinned and set his cloth and glass aside, crossing his arms over his chest in a stand-tall stance. "This is my place. I know the layout and the quirks. Keep me on as manager, and even a partner for a cut of the profits, and you got a deal. This means you're the boss with controlling interest."

Taavis mulled that over in her mind for exactly two-point-three seconds. "Deal. You will have a 25% take on the business, as a partner. If the club does well, you do well. If it fails, you go broke. I am not a financial institution and will not bail you out of a bad situation of your own doing. If that is acceptable, let us begin signing things over."

Manny liked her. Atypical for a Vulcanoid, but that was not always a bad thing. So, she wanted him to pay his own wages based on his own management skills. He would accept that challenge readily. "Alright, let's do this." Manny led his new boss/partner into the back to see to the paperwork.

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