2013.07.16 - Workflow Interruptions

Fridays are typically the most hectic. People rushing about to get those last few projects wrapped up before the weekend, especially considering they're short-handed from others that chose to take the day off.
Pepper hangs up her desk phone, rapidly typing on the virtual keyboard set into her desk's glass surface. "JARVIS, please remind me to stop by Clint's tomorrow afternoon."
"Of course, Miss Potts."
Naturally, if Friday is the most hectic day at Start Industries, that's the day that one Justin Hammer is going to try and get an appointment. Of course, his last minute planning means that there isn't any available time for him to meet with anyone about the Stark Expo and getting exhibition space. So how does the the Hammer Industries CEO deal with that inconvenience? He simply shows up at the Stark Tower and muscles his way onto the schedule.
Having gotten past the lobby with a few acts of intimidation directed toward the lower employees, Hammer makes his way toward the office of Pepper Potts. It's a given that security and the AI that they have worked into the building would have plenty of advanced warning as to his approach, so there's little chance that his arrival will be a complete surprise. Unless he's stopped by a secretary or another employee, Justin will knock on the office door just before opening it and walking in. He's definitely fitting into his pompous reputation today.
Sure enough, JARVIS gave Pepper more than enough warning about Justin's impending arrival for her to lock down her computer and clear her desk of anything she would not want the other CEO to see, and even set water to boiling for tea. Because she already suspects that after talking to Hammer she's going to WANT a drink. 
When he knocks, she manages to say "Come in" as he's opening the door so it doesn't totally seem like he's just barging in. Dusting off her hands, she turns from her wet bar (that looks more like a tea bar) and smiles at Justin. "Good afternoon, Mr. Hammer. What a pleasant surprise." There's just the faintest hint of a hesitation in there.
"Miss Potts," Hammer returns with his usual sly grin and cocky tone. If he caught the hesitation, he doesn't show it. He steps fully into the office, pushing the door closed behind him. "I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to get in to see you today. Things are looking pretty busy around here." Making his way to the center of the open area of the office he slips his hands into his pants pockets and watches Pepper. "I take it that business is going well here at Stark?"
"Well enough." Pepper doesn't have to resort to putting her hands in her pockets. She's got eighteen other things to get done before five, and Justin is eating at that time. She'd almost be tempted to say something snarky about his sense of timing, but that'd likely end up playing into his hands. So she won't. Politeness. Always politeness. "And you know how Fridays can be, everyone wanting to finish their work so they can leave for the weekend. So. To what do I owe this visit?"
Hammer keeps the grin he has. He knows he's annoying the Stark employee at least slightly, and that by itself makes the trip worth it. With the success he had in Nevada this last week, he's feeling more than confident. "Absolutely, it's a mad house back on Staten Island as well. As to why I'm here today, I would like to talk to you about getting exhibition space at the upcoming Stark Expo. I have several new projects that I'd like to debut there." He rocks back on his heels while he talks, like it's hard for him to stand still for any length of time.
Pepper Potts arches an eyebrow at that. He couldn't just call or email or, maybe, contact the people in charge of organizing the exhibit spaces? He's proving himself to be an eccentric CEO, all right. And that one eyebrow is all the reaction he's getting out of her. "Well then." She gestures toward her desk. "Let's see what we can do, shall we?" Her tea kettle clicks off as she steps around to reclaim her seat at her desk.
Justin glances toward the bar area, then back toward the desk. Not gonna offer a drink? How very unprofessional. Not that he expected that level of hospitality. Still holding a look of good humor, or at least what passes for it with Hammer, he sits at one of the chairs opposite of Pepper. "Looking forward to the Expo. Should be a pretty good show. That's why I was hoping to get on board." He leans back in the chair and laces his fingers across his stomach in an attempt to look relaxed. In reality he still comes off more fidgety than anything.
Pepper is denying herself a drink to get the Expo stuff done for Justin, why should he be treated like royalty or something? Besides, as twitchy as the man is right now, the last thing she'd want to do is offer him something with CAFFEINE in it. Yeesh. "All right." She unlocks her computer and brings up a webpage for the Stark Expo with the ease of much practice. And no mouse. "If you'd be so kind as to start filling out the Exhibit Hall request form, I can fix us some tea." Decaf jasmine, because yeah.
Hammer looks toward the computer. "Ya know, I'm always impressed by the setups you guys have here at Stark. Must cost you a fortune, but the eye candy is worth it." Sure, the glass top virtual keyboards and semi-transparent monitors are neat, but are they really that much more functional than good old hard keyboards? Justin is smarter than he appears, at least, and figures out how to slide the virtual keyboard across to his side of the desk so he can start on the form. "Oh, and something to drink would be great. Coffee with cream and sugar if you've got it."
"Certainly." Pepper is doing an admirable job of staying calm and collected considering Justin chose a Friday afternoon to barge past security and up to Pepper's office without so much as calling ahead, and why? To put in a request for Stark Expo exhibit space. If she were the sort to show how hot-tempered she can be, the CEO might well have ended up with a black eye for his boorishness. But instead, she outwardly calmly steps over to the wet bar and starts fixing coffee and tea. "Well, Tony /is/ a technophile, and I think it would cause him physical pain if he saw me working on a computer that even hinted at being more than three years old." 
As she's waiting for the tea to steep and the coffee to brew, the computer -- likely with JARVIS's help -- creates a small, but to-scale holoimage of the expo's fairgrounds, the available exhibit spaces highlighted in green.
"That Anthony, he sure does love his shiny toys," Justin remarks with a light chuckle as he reviews the holographic representation of the fairgrounds. Of course his attention is immediately drawn to the largest space left available, and he takes careful stock of the layout. "So what are we talking about, price wise, for this? I'm hoping to get a pretty good sized plot. Got a lot of good stuff to show off. this year." He continues to fill out the parts of the form he can complete without making any final commitments as to the space.
Pepper Potts glances over as she finishes preparing the coffee and tea. "I think each highlighted area should give you a projected price range, including the different options available for things like electrical needs, internet access, other utilities..." She carries both cups back to her desk, setting the coffee down for Justin to take out of habit instead of handing it to him. Now that her hand is free, though, she reaches for the space the CEO is studying on the holoimage. A brief gesture of her hand and the image expands to show more detail as well as a chart of pricing information floating in midair next to it. "There you go."
JARVIS is on-top of things like who comes barging into Pepper's office, so there's no doubt a chime of warning before Howard enters. "I see you're busy, but this is important, so I'm going to be a total boor and stomp in anyway." He's looking down at a tablet and doesn't even look up until he's almost by Pepper. Then when he does, he cracks a small smile. "Hello Mister Hammer. Treading on enemy soil, are you?"
Hammer takes up the coffee cup, but hesitates in taking a drink as he watches the hologram. He doesn't thank Pepper for the coffee, just another charming trait of the Hammer Industries CEO. "Wow, proud of this little exhibition, aren't you?" he half mumbles as he reads over the pricing scheme. He's good with money, with numbers, and he knows that throwing down on the biggest space left is probably a poor decision, but his ego won't let him settle for anything less. Especially after the show he's made by simply being at the Stark Tower.
The entry of Howard makes Hammer pause in his examination of his options, and look toward the man. His expression faulters slightly, but he's quick to cover it with one of his car-salesman smiles. "Well, well, we meet again. Howard, wasn't it?" Not that he'd quickly forget the cocky Stark-cousin's name after their conversation at the art gallery opening some time back. Justin isn't likely to forget the names of those who bruise his fragile ego. "I suppose I am. Miss Potts here was just helping me secure exhibition space at the Expo."
Pepper Potts smiles up at Howard as he just wanders on in -- she's used to it by now -- then turns her attention back to Justin to respond to his comment about the pricing. "Those prices include insurance on any items placed there through the duration of the expo, access to contractors to assist with setting up and tearing down the exhibit, and an initial ten percent deposit to ensure that the space is not rented out from under you." 
With that said, she turns to Howard again with a glance at the tablet in his hands. "How can I help, Howard?"
"Working on the Expo, are you? So Tony couldn't be convinced to make the event less frequent? Ah, well. It's his choice, I suppose," murmurs Howard. He's half-distracted as he's engrossed with what's on the tablet screen. "I need access to the central processor for project 9X. Doctor Kingsley's research team says he has it booked, but their project is not time-sensitive. I want to get our product into the certification stage as quickly as possible." Normally he wouldn't speak in code, but there IS a rival CEO standing right there. "I would have thought you'd have people to book space for you. Mister Hammer. Or are you just the hands-on type?"
Hammer nods as Pepper explains the pricing. He understands it, and he doesn't in the slightest expect Stark to cut him a deal on it. "I'll take it, the D-7 pavilion. It should fit the requirements I have." Now that Pepper's attention has been divided, Justin gets a little shorter and more clipped with his answers. He glances to Howard as the man speaks about projects, making no effort to hide the fact he's listening for any sorts of useful tidbits. He won't get any, he knows it, but he can always hope. "Well, y'know, if you want it done right," he responds to Howard's question, the arrogance in his tone not having diminished.
Pepper Potts turns back to Justin and again reaching into the holoimage she shrinks it back down to the starting image, then 'pinches' the pavilion indicated and 'flicks' it at her monitor. All of the pricing data fills itself into the registration form, with optional ones not automatically selected and highlighted in red. "Make sure to review everything before you finalize it, Mr. Hammer. Once you agree to the registration, there are additional fees for modifying your choices." Then back to Howard, "Let me make a phone call. I can't promise you one hundred percent of the processor time, but I think you and Doctor Kingsley will both survive with splitting the processor fifty-fifty, hm? Besides, you know as well as I do that rushing to the certification stage won't get you those certifications any faster." She offers the younger-looking man a faintly teasing smile. "Would you care for some tea while you're here?"
"I'm not rushing. I've hit a bottleneck. Everything is finalized on my end and I just have to run a few hundred thousand simulations. It's a hurry up and wait. Nothing about the product itself has been rushed." Howard's tone is dry as a desert and he casts a slight glance Justin's way. "I don't do sloppy work. If I get it to be certified soon, then we'll hit our deadline for production and we won't have warehouses full of components waiting to be used. /That/ will cost us money." As for tea, "No, thank you. It's past four, yes? I stop drinking caffeine by four." And then it's on to the hard stuff, but he doesn't say that in mixed company.
Justin takes a drink from the mug of coffee that Pepper had fixed for him to cover up the look of obvious displeasure at the comment about rushing projects. It wasn't directed at him, and chances are it wasn't at all meant to involve him, but he still takes it as a jab at his company's reputation. When Howard chimes in, he can't hide his feelings on the comments, and the glance is caught. He turns his attention fully toward the monitor and continues filling in the form, double checking the data and running through a mental checklist. He stays quiet, which is never a good sign.
Nodding at Howard's explanation, she's still not going to let him bully her into getting his way. And really, the central processor should be able to handle both projects JUST fine. It IS a Stark computer system, after all. "It'll be certified well before deadline, Howard." Her eyes flick over toward Justin, finding it unusual that the man has gone quiet. She's not used to him NOT speaking up. She hides her misgivings behind a sip of her tea, though, and turns to reach for her desk phone. "Well, there's also juice and water there in the fridge, you're welcome to whatever you like."
But Howard is also exceedingly good at using every watt of processor power he can get his hands on, whether for primary projects or secondary ones. The reason the Stark mainframe was well ahead of its time in his day was that it needed to be to keep up with the demands he placed on it. "You have more faith in bureaucracy than I do, Pepper. Oh, but please, don't let me take away attention from your Very Important Room Booker." He's in a mood today, it seems.
Justin snorts lightly at Howard's comment. He had been in a pretty good mood, but the junior-Stark's arrival soured that pretty quick. "Weren't you the one lecturing me about something very similar to this a while back?" he offers while looking at Howard sidelong. /Practice what you preach, cocky kid,/ is thought, but not voiced out loud.
Pepper Potts simply looks sharply up at Howard as she dials an internal extension on her phone. The attitude is NOT appreciated. Then that same sharp look is levelled at Justin. Hush, and finish that registration her expression seems to say. Then, her attention turns to the phone. "Doctor Kingsley. Yes, hi." She glances up at Howard again as she listens to the phone. "No, I wouldn't do that. I would however ask that the processor be split fifty-fifty? ...yes, I am aware ...no, of course not ...that's it, just shared time on the processor. Yes. Thank you, Doctor Kingsley, I really appreciate this. Yes. Thank you, bye." She hangs the phone up again and turns toward Howard. "All right. You've got fifty percent of the processor as of right now. And next time, regardless of how important it is, I have to ask that you request processor time through the proper channels. Doctor Kingsley would have been perfectly within his rights to say no, count yourself lucky that his project isn't time sensitive." The proper response at this point, Howard, would be to say 'yes, Mother Superior. thank you, Mother Superior'.
In Howard's mind, it's only been a few months since he was calling all the shots for all of Stark. Not only that, he had /been/ the top dog for decades. He's not used to being told no, nor is he used to taking orders from anyone. "You're lecturing /me/, Miss Potts? About proper channels and policies and what the best way to allocate resources is?" His tone is incredulous, which likely comes off as insufferably arrogant to anyone who doesn't know who he really is. Rather than kick up a fuss or rant or rave or throw a fit like a three year old, he just slowly shakes is head. And then he turns to leave without another word.
/Did she just give me that look?/ Justin narrows his eyes at Pepper, then looks back at the computer monitor as he finishes out the last few fields that were highlighted. He double-checks everything again, and hits submit on the form. Howard's responses to Pepper and his general attitude give the CEO a pause for thought- that's now how a self-described lab rat, prodigy or no, treats the PA for the great and powerful Tony Stark. Either that or the cousin thinks he's incredibly entitled due to nepotism. Again Hammer falls dangerously quiet, simply smirking at the display of bravado.
Pepper Potts lets Howard leave, mentally resolving to talk to him again later, and turns back to Justin. "All done? I'll toss a quick message over to Marcie in Expo Planning and tell her to put your request at the top of the stack, but..." she glances at her wrist watch, "she's probably already gone for the day so she won't see the request or the note until Monday morning."
Hammer manages to pull his trademark grin back onto his face after Howard's exit. He nods to Pepper, taking a final drink from the coffee mug before standing up. "I understand, things are busy around here. I'll keep an eye out for a confirmation on the space." He straightens his suit jacket, glancing toward the office door then looking back to Potts. "Howard there has a bit of an attitude, doesn't he?" he comments, keeping his voice a bit lower than normal. "Guess he figures being Tony's cousin gets him special treatment?"
Pepper Potts stands also, only too ready to have her office and peace and quiet back. When he comments on Howard, she scoffs faintly. "Believe me, that is NOT the case." Because Howard actually ISN'T Tony's cousin, so that can't be it. Right? She takes a moment to lock her computer again and steps around her desk to show Justin out. "If you don't see some kind of reply about your registration by Monday afternoon, call and ask for either Marcie or me."
"If that isn't the case," Justin says, fishing for a bit more information, "then what's his problem? I know I wouldn't let him get away with that type of behavior, and I certainly didn't expect you to." Now that he's standing again he puts his hands back in his pockets. It's a terrible habit he probably won't break any time soon. "I'll give you a call if I don't hear anything by Monday afternoon. I'm sure that it won't be necessary, though. You guys here at Stark seem so on top of things." He gives another lopsided grin.
Pepper Potts doesn't reply to Justin's fishing about Howard, and instead just gestures toward the door. "Well, we do try to be, but no one is completely flawless. Thank you for stopping by, though I will have to ask for at least a phone call ahead next time?" She just knows it, she's going to be stuck here until after eight because of these interruptions. So much for movie night.
Hammer can't really ignore the not-so-subtle hint for him to leave. Not that he especially wants to hang around Stark Tower, but disrupting their work flow is entertaining. He walks toward the office door, taking his hands out of his pockets as he steps forward. When he reaches the door he turns to look back at Pepper. "I do apologize about that, I just happened to be in the neighborhood. Ya know how things are, got tied up with a couple big projects and didn't have a chance to schedule ahead. Next time, though, I'll try and give you some advanced warning." He actually has the gall to wink at her before he opens the door and steps out of the office.
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