2012-09-26 Electronics Summit

The Emporer Building in Metropolis is this year's site for the EIA (Electronics Industrialist of America) and the host has not spared any detail. The historic building has one of the big conference rooms decorated for the convention. Along the two side walls are various companies displays and exhibits to show off what they have been working on. On the far wall, the wet bar has been set up and on the opposite is the food. There is a massive assortment of cocktail appetizers as well as a chef carving station with freshly cooked prime rib. There are also servers moving among the crowd, dressed in black and white, carrying different appetizers still or some carrying glasses of white wine.

Oliver Queen is dressed in a well tailored suit of charcoal gray with a white shirt and a hunter green tie. He is constantly fiddling at his collar as if not completely comfortable in the shirt. He is standing next to the Queen Industries exhibit as the company has a big display about the new Saggitaron Guidence and Optics System.

Shaw Industries is technically more a heavy industry and energy company. But they have dealing in electronics as a matter of course, naturally, and more importantly, Sebastian would not let a high level meeting of the corporate sector go by without at least an appearance. Tonight he's dressed a bit more modern than normal, in a slick white Armani sport jacket and slacks with a deep burgundy cravat and a literal wealth of rings bedecking his large fingers. He is not alone in wandering the event, a younger man that resembles him just enough to suggest family at his side as he carries a wine glass that looks in danger of being snapped any second.

Shinobi is doing a very good job of defering any attention that comes his way to his father. Sure, he's been in the news more visibly in recent days, but that's not why he's here. He's here to help his father with work. That's how they tricked him into a well-fitting italian-cut suit and got him to comb his damned hair.

"Was there anyone in particular you wanted to see while we're here?" Shinobi quietly asks the much-taller Shaw, his own glass held loosely between his fingers.

Pepper Potts is minding the Stark exhibit as if it's entirely normal for her to do so in Tony's stead (which it very likely is), currently sharply dressed in a black pencil skirt and jacket suit. The exhibit, of course, is FLASHY compared to some of the others, displaying the S-phones and tablets, and several of the company's more industrial offerings also visible.

Shaking hands with various people as they pass through, she's in full public relations mode and seemingly completely in her element. During a lull in the passersby, though, she turns away briefly to rub at her forehead with one hand. Skipping lunch was a STUPID idea.

Starrware is not a Fortune 500 company. Heck, it's probably not a Fortune 1000 company. So it might have /some/ cash flow issues. But it is still an electronics company. Hence why they have a representative here. Who is that representative? Why it's none other than their CEO, Karen Starr herself.

All though, right now she's not at the 'booth'. Instead Karen, in her light blue pants suit, is taking a moment or two to see what the other companies have here as she wanders around a bit.

Oliver sees the Shaws walking along the exhibits and sees them near the Stark booth. He whispers slightly to an aid who looks mystified and shocked for a second just before Oliver heads towards the father and son. He grabs a glass of wine from a server as he heads towards them. "Shaw and Shaw. How are you two today?" He takes a sip from his wine before an impish smile appears on his face. "Am I the only one that thinks of the Muppets Christmas Carol and Marley and Marley when I see the two of you together?" He turns and gives a wink towards Pepper. "And how are you today, Miss Potts?"

Sebastian considers Shinobi's question for a moment. "Queen, Starr... Stark, of course," he decides as he nears the lattermost's booth. Of course, Shaw thinks in terms of people he's planning to see, not people. "Though perhaps," he amends as they come into Pepper's orbit, "I should say Potts, rather. It seems the most reliable of upper management has once more saved all graces," he notes lightly, inclining his head to Pepper before Ollie gets quipping. "Ms. Potts," he offers politely, followed by a smile that does not entirely reach his eyes, fixated on Queen. "Oliver. How droll. I'd daresay you are, given how infrequently the sight is seen of late. The college years, you know. Damnable on family outings." Pleasant enough. But one would not precisely count Ollie's sense of humor marking him among Sebastian's favorite conversation partners.

Shinobi offers Ollie a smile that /does/ meet his eyes, unlike his father's. "I think you must be. I haven't heard that one before," he muses, looking thoughtful a moment before he offers his glass forward for a clink in lieu of a handshake. "I'm well, thank you. Yourselves?" he asks lightly, and the reason he's asking in the plural becomes clearer as he smiles past Ollie and towards Karen. Line cast. Let's see what happens.

Pepper Potts looks up quickly and smiles at Oliver. "Doing quite well, Mr. Queen. And you?" She shakes her head no as a server offers her a glass of wine, because the last thing she needs is wine on an empty stomach. She then smiles and nods to Shaw the Elder politely enough, hopefully hiding that she does NOT take kindly to people saying less than polite things about Tony when he's not here to quip back in his own defense.

And as the CEO of Starrware ends up wandering over towards the Stark exhibit, she can't help but blink at the crowd that has already gathered there. After all, The Shaws, Ollie, and Pepper... Okay, so Pepper would be expected, but to have all the others there are the same time?

But then again, that's what a show like this is for after all, isn't it?

Oh well, Karen doesn't butt in. She does try to look at what she can, especially considering the S-Phone, but she plays it polite for now and doesn't butt in.

Ollie cannot help but smile at how the Shaws blow off his own brand of humor. He looks behind his shoulder as Shinobi speaks and sees Karen. "Hello, Miss Starr. Come on up and join in. We won't bite. Well, I won't. I can't promise anything about our friends here." He downs his own wine, and looks about for another server. He does look towards Shinobi. "I did want to commend you on that stance towards the Senator, Shinobi. Inspired me to have QI do the same."

Pepper Potts notices Karen enter the booth and with a nod to Oliver, Sebastian, and Shinobi, she takes a step back out of their little conversation and approaches the other lady. She doesn't speak up immediately, though, giving her the chance to peruse at her leisure. She can't help the momentary distraction as someone passes by with some of that prime rib on a plate.

Whether or not Pepper hides her thoughts well seems not to matter-- Sebastian doesn't seem inclined to take her up on the issue regardless. He gives the polite blonde a remarkably welcoming smile when Ollie draws attention to her, letting his son engage Oliver. "Ms. Starr. It is good to see you showing tonight." He even sounds sincere about it.

"I read about that," Shinobi tells Ollie with a smile, though it's one that has more trouble reaching his eyes. Clearly, the situation is still troubling him. "He's a good man, but... his grief is taking him down a path I hope he can be swayed from. Perhaps losing a few donors like you and I will help clear his head."

There's a smile and a nod at Pepper, before there's actually a chuckle from Karen towards Ollie, "Thank you. But I didn't want to be rude."

Then though she lets her gaze drift from one Shaw to the other.

"It's good to be here Sebastian." is said before there's a nod at Shinobi. "And it looks that way. But loosing donors might not hurt him as much as you might hope right now. After all, he will get a bit of the sympathy vote so to speak."

"The lady does have a point," Ollie says gesturing his wine glass towards Karen. "He may lose some of our support, but he is going to get the sympathy vote. Plus, there are folks with money who will only be too happy to give him money to replace ours in his new crusade. There is never a shortage of folks trying to keep others down. There is some rich old fart, no offense to anyone here of course, that is scared out of his mind that the status quo might be threatened."

Sebastian does not disagree. However, there's something about his smile that suggests he's already thought of this and has some other thoughts besides. It's a small, wolfish smile, lopsided. Not very nice and frequently unsettling to see. "Too true, too true," he allows. "Of course... there are other senators. And his position may not be as well-supported as one would think, once taken to a logical conclusion. He may well find his position... tenuous," he muses, gaze sweeping across Shinobi beside him as if to ask if the younger Shaw would agree.

"Sympathy can only carry you so far. As long as people can articulate why they're withdrawing their support --" Shinobi gestures between himself and Ollie. "-- then there's no reason not to at least try. I sleep better, if nothing else."

Shinobi sips his wine as he turns his attention to his father, and there's a very brief, almost unnoticable pause before he lowers his glass and nods. Nothing voiced. Just a simple, mute nod of agreement.

Pepper Potts looks from Karen to Oliver and back, being almost conspicuously careful to NOT speak her opinion about current political matters. She glances down at her wristwatch and toward the doors, wondering at this point if Tony's going to show at all. Not that she'd be even remotely surprised if he doesn't.

"Perhaps." is said towards the Shaws as Karen concedes that point. And yet, she can't help but smile slightly and shake her head at Ollie. "Exactly. And as much as I hate saying this, it is fairly easy to find someone like that. Possibly even easier to find someone like you or Shinobi who was willing to donate to him before."

Then though, she actually glances at Pepper, as if she's curious as to what the other woman thinks.

"Well, I still like to believe that Congress is full of Jimmy Stewarts who will do the right thing no matter who is funding the campaigns." Ollie grins as he leans slightly against the Stark table as he finishes the wine and grabs a crustini with a bit of tomato brushetta on it.

Sebastian frowns a bit, then smiles, a bit more genuinely than he has before. "Come, enough politics. Hardly the topic of the night! Oliver, you rogue, how's business? What new piece of wonder do your R&D wizards have for us to propel into the future? It has to be more practical than this legislation nonsense." Shaw is quite good at Bored Rich Man Looking For Diversion. Not as good as Tony, but we can't all have that level of mastery.

Shinobi manages not to laugh into his wine at the mental image Ollie's comment conjures up. It's a close call, but he manages the save. Ahem! Dignified. He seems quiet happy to let Sebastian steer the conversation wherever he likes -- he and Ollie can always chat later, after all -- and works on finishing his drink. He does, however, give Pepper a vaguely curious look, and leans back to follow her gaze towards the door.

And at the suggestion of a change of topics Karen actually smiles slightly, before quirking an eyebrow in Ollies direction. To be honest, she's curious as well in regards to what Queen has here, and more importantly, at what he might hint at coming down the pipe.

"Oh yes, right. What is new at QI." Ollie sets his the empty glass down and begins to pat down his jacket pockets. "Ummm, I actually had a little speil all written down. Can't really expect me to memorize it all can you?" he says with a laugh as he glances at Sebastian. "Oh, here it is," he says as he pulls an index card from his jacket pocket. "Ummmm, oh wait, that was the phone number of the blonde at the front desk of the building." He winks at Shinobi. "We are meeting for drinks later." He reaces into his back pocket, "I know I have that list here somewhere."

Pepper Potts notices Shinobi's glance and offers a smile and a small shrug. She can't exactly ask JARVIS to locate Tony for her, the devices on display here have been locked out of wireless access quite intentionally for this exhibit. Considering Sebastian's question about new tech and Oliver's stalling with searching for a spiel, she steps over to one of the display stands in the Stark exhibit and with a slight throwing motion of both hands sends the icons from one of the tablets into a mid-air holographic display. It's something Tony's had for a couple of years already, but is finally starting to be offered for commercial use.

Never let it be said Sebastian Shaw can't be a gentleman. He studiously does not wait with exaggerated patience while Ollie fumbles and Pepper COMPLTELY shows him up without a word. It's delicious, he'd admit. Just not out loud.

What he does say out loud is a jovial, gently teasing quip. "Careful Oliver. If you dont' pay more attention, someone'll come along and swipe the building out from under you. Ms. Potts is clearly not to be trifled with." The smile is artful, just the right amount of gentleness to take the sting out of the comment.

"Do you write them yourself?" Shinobi asks Ollie, and it's a genuine question. "If not, you should start. It's good practice for when you need to make things up as you go," he says with a wink, watching Pepper use the display out of the corner of his eye. It /is/ cool tech. Stark is very good at shiny.

And while Pepper totally shows Ollie up, and then on top of that, Shinobi starts to give Ollie pointers on the finer points of speeches (Gee, thus must be a beat on Ollie convention), Karen slips away.

Why? Who knows. But given how good her hearing is, she may very well realizes that her alter-ego is needed elsewhere...

"Yeah, well," Ollie mutters slightly as he looks at the holographic display of Pepper's use of the Stark tech. "I'm sure we have something very nice. I've never really been the tech head side of it all, but rather more of a boardroom kind of CEO. So no, I don't write the notes myself. Half the time," he says as his voice drops down to a conspirator's whisper, "I don't understand what the tech guys are telling me to say anyway." He smiles as he straightens back up and fixes his tie.

Something very subtle happens, as Ollie straightens back up. Sebastian goes from an understanding and commiserating nod in Ollie's direction to a significant glance at Shinobi, eyebrow quirked, while Queen and Potts are distracted. Not a word, until he turns back to the Stark display. "Impressive. I should arrange a meeting, clearly. Something like this might be very useful for streamlining some of our production pipeline if Anthony is interested in selling installations." Karen? Just totally AWESOME at a quiet exit. Must get tons of practice at it. Full points.

Shinobi doesn't miss the look, but it doesn't make his smile faulter at all. He actually leans over to offer a quiet commiseration to Ollie. "I know the feeling. Some of the engineers my father employs occasionally need to be reminded to speak English, not Tech Expert. Most of that..." He wooshes a hand up and over the top of his head. He's a business guy, not an engineer. Not like his old man.

Pepper Potts smiles apologetically to Oliver, having been trying to give him a chance to find his notes, not show him up. Again, blame it on low blood sugar. "I'll admit honestly that I haven't a clue HOW these displays work, simply that they do." She reaches to one of the icons and starts what looks like a holographic 3D version of those computer games where you align sections of piping to keep a water supply from spilling. "However, I am getting better at this game. What's that old saying about practice?" She reaches to start turning the sections of pipe, doing so quickly to try and hide the slight tremor in her hands. She is SO getting a hoagie from the deli on 51st on her way home from this.

Ollie nods to acknowledge Pepper and Shinobi. "Practice and perfection. Yes, I do know that well enough, but you also have to have desire; passion. My desire and passion are just not in scematics. Sometimes I wish they were. I know I have to come to these things, but the best part is always the food and drink. Don't you folks agree?"

Wouldn't kill you to learn to talk to them, Sebastian notes in what sounds to be a slightly grumpy tone in Shinobi's direction. Perhaps it's a long-standing family dispute. "I suppose you have a point, Oliver. I saw a buffet table on the way over here, I'm quite sure." Grouchy daddy diffused, apparently. Well done, Ollie!

Shinobi gives his father a contrite look. "They can at least meet me halfway once in a while," he notes with a wry smile. Without prompting, he reaches over to pluck the glass from Sebastian's hand, seeing it's gotten low, and offers Pepper and Ollie a warm smile. "Refill time. We should definitely do this again," he notes, before he turns to hunt down that buffet table Sebastian mentioned. Surely they've set up drinks nearby.

"Well, I better get back to the QI display. Probably left my notes over there. Pleasure to see everyone as always." Ollie nods and gives a slight bow towards Pepper. "Regards to Tony of course." He heads on back towards his table to answer questions he really doesn't know the answer to.

Pepper Potts smiles at Oliver. "Well, this /is/ only a game." She shuts it down again quickly enough, sending the holographic icons back to their tablet. She nods to both of the Shaws as they take their leave, then looks at Oliver again. "I'll let him know, Mr. Queen." Of course, since she ended up minding the exhibit alone she's not going to even try to sneak over for some of the buffet offerings. It's just not ... professional.