2013.10.23 - In Light of Layoffs

It's early on a Wednesday morning, and Fern is in at work before most of the rest of the staff at Hammer Industries. She wanted to come in early after two days off, and make sure everything is in order for the rest of the week ahead. The coffee maker in Justin's office is all set to make a cup with just the push of a button, and there's a plate of cannoli artistically arranged waiting nearby. What better way to start the day? Fern herself is well rested, bright eyed and bushy tailed, wearing one of her new work dresses. It's a simple cut in navy blue, with short sleeves and a scooped neck. A new pendant rests against her skin, a small, thin bottle with a tiny nugget of gold inside. Seated at Justin's desk, not noticing what time it's gotten to be, she's tapping away at her tablet, checking if there are any meetings today. In the middle of her boss' desk sits a box, about four inches square, wrapped in silver with a sparkly bow topping it.

The Hammer Industries CEO has gotten more than a little used to having a functional PA around, so when she took two days off at the beginning of this week, he more than noticed her absence. Sure, things still got done, but things didn't seem to go nearly as smoothly. And there was a distinct lack of sweets in the meetings, which just made things worse.

Hammer elected to drive himself in Wednesday morning, taking the huge, gas-guzzling Hummer H1 across town and onto Staten Island. The drive was partially an excuse to take his time- last night proved to be a late one as he worked well past when he should have gone to bed. Even though the government shutdown had ended, the entire mess had caused a lot of waves across the company, and the CEO had spent half the night running over figures in his home office. Despite that, he still manages to make it to work at a reasonable hour and look only slightly more run down than usual.

Stepping off the elevator at the 20th floor Justin gives a quick nod to Liz, who has also just arrived and hasn't yet gone through the mess of new emails (or started up her solitaire game). Without a word he steps through the open door of his office, stopping and blinking at the redhead seated behind his desk. "So, does this make /you/ the CEO now?" he asks, voice tired but not upset. "Because if so, I'm just gonna go back home, take a nap, then maybe have lunch, a glass of wine or three, then take another nap." He points back over his shoulder with his left hand as he talks, his right holding a hard-sided briefcase.

Fern looks up as her boss enters, grinning ear to ear. "I think if that's the option open for me taking over, then yes, I'm taking over today." They've spent so much time together since she began working for him, that Fern has grown even more familiar with the nuances of Justin's moods. She can see at once that he's tired, correctly assumes he was up late, and she rises, putting the tablet down on his desk. Where she might have rushed for a hug before, she at least remembers their working relationship enough to approach him in a dignified manner, but she still goes right for the hug. "I missed you," she says, giving a squeeze before stepping back, head tilting as she looks up at the taller man. "When did you get to bed last night?" Nope, no beating around the bush. But she does step away, immediately pushing the button to start the single-cup brewer.

Because they're at work, Justin goes back to his more polite, somewhat distant return of the hug. After stepping back from Fern he glances out the door to find Liz peering in. She quickly snaps her gaze back to her computer screen, pretending to have been working the whole time. She's a poor actress. "Good, company's all yours, I'm going back home," he returns, "And trust me, I missed you too. And the way you set up meetings. Ya know, I don't think we have had a single cookie or anything at any of the meetings this week so far. It's been downright depressing..." He glances to the coffee pot which Fern already had set up, and grins. She's got this game down to a fine art. After a bit of a stall, he sighs and answers the question he was posed with a question of his own. "When did I get to bed or when did I fall asleep the first time?" Approaching his desk, Justin sets down the briefcase and spies the box that's sitting there next to the tablet. "And what's this?"

"You don't have any meetings this afternoon, but I have a feeling that if you went home you still wouldn't take a nap," Fern tosses back. Fixing his coffee the way he likes it, her words drift back over her shoulder to Justin. "You're getting spoiled." There's a light tease to the words, but she sounds pleased. She turns and follows him to his desk, bringing along the plate of cannoli as she looks down at the box on his desk. "It looks like a present. Hm... how about we start with when did you fall asleep the first time." The cup and plate are both set down on the desk in front of Justin's chair.

"What makes you say that?" Justin retorts to the accusation that he wouldn't, in fact, go take a nap. No, he likely wouldn't, but that's not the point. "And why shouldn't I be spoiled? I'm the CEO of this company, I think I earned it." He sits down in his desk chair and logs into his computer before turning his attention back to Fern, the plate, the mysterious box and his coffee. The coffee gets the majority of the attention. After taking a careful first sip of the hot beverage, he picks up the box and answers the question. "Somewhere around midnight. I think. I don't really remember." He shakes the box very carefully. "So, how was the left coast? How did the screen test go?"

Fern takes up her tablet, cradling it in her arm as she smiles at Justin. "You do have a point there. You deserve a little spoiling." She waits patiently through his morning routine of logging in and taking the first sip of coffee "At least midnight isn't as bad as I imagined. But you don't look like you slept well at all." The box is fairly heavy and something inside shifts, but it doesn't make any particular noise. "California was... interesting." The same answer she gave Warren. "I think the screen test went great. I just... it's so different." Her shoulders shrug. "I suppose you get used to acting in little pieces and out of order, but I can't help but wonder how people keep their characters with all the futzing around that goes on. Makeup, setting up shots, checking the lighting... jeez." She doesn't sound particularly impressed by Hollywood. Inside the box, when Justin gets around to opening it, is a glass paperweight, a miniature version of the famous Hollywood sign trapped forever in all it's glory. It's a typical tourist souvineer, which might have been expected from Fern. But it is pretty.

Curiosity is killing him, so Justin does open the box. He grins as he lifts the paperweight from it, looking it over. Yep, it's very Fern. "Thanks, Fern, you didn't have to bring anything back for me." He sets it down on the desk, lining it up with the pen set that sits near the computer. The action is more than a little OCD. While he may not be the best at showing it, Justin is actually pretty touched by the gesture. "Making movies is pretty complicated business," he replies to her comments about Hollywood. "Guess that's why the big names make so much. Glad to hear it went well, though you don't sound all that enthusiastic."

Fern watches eagerly as Justin opens the box, hoping that he'll like what she picked out. That it gets a noticeable place on his desk makes her positively beam. "How could I go away and not bring something back for my best..." She pauses, her eyes shifting to the open door, and she would bet money that Liz is holding her breath out in the lobby to hear what comes next. "... boss." Fern sighs, shrugging again, "I guess. I dunno, I just can't see why they get so much money to spend most of their time standing around waiting to say three lines before there's another angle change." While that's simplifying it dramatically, it's how she's seeing it after being there. "Like I said to Warren, acting is the audience, putting yourself in the character for a whole play, one that goes from beginning to end and doesn't jump around so you're doing the middle first and the beginning last."

Now that the coffee and the present have both gotten their fair bit of attention, Justin turns to the cannoli. Breakfast of champions. "Sounds to me like you're more interested in Broadway than Hollywood," the CEO says before taking a bite of the Italian dessert. "You still gonna take the part, if they offer it to you?" He couldn't imagine that she wouldn't, if for no other reason than the experience of it. At least he would, if in her position. The fact that the redhead seems less than thrilled with the movie industry does give him some relief, though. Not only did he not want to lose his PA, but the fact that Lex Luthor was the one to pull the strings still weighs heavy on him.

There's a soft laugh, and Fern says, "Well, I'm not stupid. I wouldn't turn down a part that was offered to me. Word gets around about things like that." And even if she never works in Hollywood again, she doesn't want that to trickle into her opportunities here in New York. She finally sits in one of the chairs facing his desk, scooting it close before laying aside the tablet again, elbows coming to rest on the desktop. "Mister Spielberg was very nice," she offers. "He wasn't there for long, but came in to meet me and we talked for a little bit. He stayed for one take, but had meetings to go to. Dinosaur business."

That gets a raised brow. "You got to meet Spielberg himself, huh? You're moving up in the world, Fern. Next thing I know, I'll be too low class for you to be seen with." Justin gives a grin and pulls up his email client. He sighs at the number of messages he sees, and takes another bite of breakfast. "Any idea when you'll know if you've got the part? And what did you try for?" Seems like she had mentioned it being a small part, like an extra, but he couldn't recall. And Spielberg certainly wouldn't have been around if she was just auditioning as an extra, would he?

"Yeah, cuz yer so low rent," Fern teases, putting on a light Brooklyn accent. She reaches over, snagging one of the cannoli which she got fresh yesterday on her way to Warren's from the airport. "It might be a couple weeks before they call, but they said they'd call either way. They actually had me read for a bigger part than I expected on the second day, so I could be in the movie for two seconds, or almost an hour. The two seconds part gets eaten, which would be a lot of fun. But it wouldn't suck to have more to do than scream and flail," she giggles.

"Lemme know as soon as you hear from them. I'll be pulling for you." Justin offers his PA a grin. "What if you're in the movie almost an hour /and/ you get eaten? Could happen. Don't horror movies have some sort of rule about who dies?" Not that this is really a horror movie, but eh, close enough. The CEO keeps clicking through his email, frowning lightly as he reads one of them from the financial department.

"I promise, you'll be one of the first to know," Fern assures him. It'll be him or Warren, whoever she gets hold of first. "Being in the movie an hour and getting eaten is almost too much to hope for, don't tease me." She grins at their conversation, but it fades as Justin frowns, and concern is on her face at once. "Is everything alright?" She knows that the government mess had played havoc with some of the contracts, but that's over now, right? Everything is back to normal. At least she thinks it ought to be.

Justin looks away from the computer and to his PA. "Not particularly," he says with a light frown. "The government shutdown has really screwed up our budgeting. Even though Washington went back to work, we may still end up with layoffs. Not something I really want to do." Morale is low enough in the company by default, layoffs would just make it worse. A thousand times worse. "We may have to do a meeting this afternoon to talk about this. Not what I had hoped for, but..."

This news deepens Fern's frown and she sits up. Layoffs usually mean 'last in, first out' and as far as she knows, Fern is the most recent hire at Hammer Industries. But she's still more concerned about others. One of the security guards just became a father, others have kids. "That would be awful. There's got to be some sort of alternative?" It's asked hopefully and yet without much hope.

Hammer leans back in his chair, pushing back from the computer. "I'm hoping there is," he says glancing toward the young woman. "I can't run a business without workers, so I'm going to do everything I can to keep that from happening." That is, of course, until if effects his own bottom line. That would change things drastically. "But there's the board, stock holders and government types that have to be catered to. Sad as it is."

The reassuring words bring Fern's smile back, however faintly. "I know it'll be a last resort." She pauses, then says sincerely, "If you have to lay me off, it's ok. You know I can fall back on Anita's." And she's saved a good portion of her paychecks so far, so she's even got some cushion. "Then when things are good again, you can hire me back," she finishes, putting some brightness into the words.

Justin shakes his head. "Oh, no, no, you don't have to worry. You'll be alright. If anything, the cuts would be made from lower-end positions in manufacturing, security, and some of the office staff. Engineers, scientists, and skilled personnel will be the last effected, since they're the hardest to replace." It's a cold reality of the business world- the people who probably need the jobs will be the first ones on the chopping block should it come to that.

Fern is gently insistent when she corrects Justin, "I'm not an engineer, a scientist, or particularly skilled. I have no one depending on me but me. And I'm probably the newest hire in the whole company. It's only right." She doesn't sound exactly bothered by the possibility, because she's right, she can always go back to Anita's for a while. She waves one hand lightly, "Let's just not worry about it until it's time to worry about it. Have another cannoli." She did pick up some of the Italian mother tendencies from her last boss.

The selfless nature of the redhead isn't lost on the sometimes heartless CEO. He regards her for a moment, then takes another one of the pastries. "Agreed, lets not worry about it right now," Justin says, shifting to look at the computer monitor again. "Hopefully it won't come to that. But Lockheed Martin has already let go some 600 workers, so it's not boding well. Granted, I've got a lot more tied up in SHIELD work, which I don't think they can afford to cut. Guess I owe all the super villains out there a thank you."

"Well, you're one of the good guys," Fern says of his work for SHIELD, "They need you to keep doing what you're doing." There's that unwavering faith in Justin. Even after his meltdown a couple weeks ago, which they haven't really spoken of since, that's not changed. "I guess even the bad guys play a part in the way the world goes around." These words come with a resignation, because that is the way things are and as long as they're going to exist, they might as well do some good along the chain. "Do you want me to get that set up for about 1:30?" She's pulling up her tablet even as she asks, tapping the screen to get to the afternoon calendar.

Once again Justin looks toward Fern. If it weren't for her, he may have gone mad and driven the company into the ground by now. Things weren't going all that spectacularly when he first met her, and in the time they have known each other everything seems to have leveled out some. "Yeah, sounds good. Get it taken care of A-S-A-P. Better sooner than later." He scrolls through a couple more messages, but nothing is pressing or overly important. Chances are he'll forward half of them to Fern to take care of anyway. "So what sort of fires need to be put out this morning?" The week, so far, has been pretty rough, and he's not expecting it to be any better now.