Yes. His instinct was, indeed, to ignore this message, but...ten thousand is a lot to just brush off, even at his level of wealth. So he hesitates a moment, then decides to text her back. Texting is, after all, a bit more neutral and safe. ]
( not believing in fucking about, gwen is strongly in favour of having this particular ball rolling sooner than later. she's promptly on time to see him, tying her (big) dog's leash up outside the office and habitually, briefly checking her own reflection in the nearest window before she goes inside. the clothes she arrived in are the nicest she has, for now, so it's all sleek white and high, bouncy curled ponytail and she does make a decent first impression when she's, you know, not talking.
this is familiar ground, unlike more or less everything else about being here. of the many things gwen's never done for herself, dealing with the investment manager isn't one of them; her father's never actually mismanaged their money, but a lack of stability in life will tend to send a person looking for things they can control to protect themselves.
it just makes her feel better to know she wouldn't need to rely entirely on someone else. )
[ Mark has many weaknesses. One of them is beautiful women. His only salvation is that Gwen isn't really his type - his type tends to be smiling and bright-eyed and feminine and frilly and cute and big-breasted - but even so, as she walks into his office, elegant and gorgeous, he can't help but feel like he's already at a disadvantage. He should have had someone else negotiate this, he thinks. It's not fair.
Mark's taste generally runs to a modern nouveau-riche sort of tackiness: everything in his office is expensive chrome and mahogany and brushed steel, like James Bond made into a room. Mark himself is likewise: he's a tiny man, well below five feet, grossly obese, and yet the suit that his bulk is tucked into sort of works for him. If you pour enough money into something, it'll be decent, even if you don't really have taste yourself, and so his surroundings are decent, and he's decent. In spite of everything.
He reaches out to take her hand. His palm is soft. ]
( her assessing gaze - frank and unfiltered, not bothering to try and bat her lashes over what she's obviously doing - takes in everything from room to man and doesn't so much make new judgments as confirm for herself what she'd already concluded. her hand when she gives him hers - unsure if it's a handshake or something else and prepared to roll with whichever - is ... also soft, but differently, oddly smooth and noticeably cooler than his. or most people's.
the tight smile suggests her face is better suited to smiling; full mouth not ideal for the thin line she so often presses it into. it's brief, but she's not unfriendly.
unnecessarily forthright, but not unfriendly. )
Gwenaëlle. Thank you for meeting me.
( see, mark. manners. )
I have a loose plan, but I'd like a second opinion. And a couple of recommendations, if possible.
[ He exchanges only a handshake with her. No matter his claim to the title of lord, he's not particularly lordly; his brother Miles would perhaps bow over it, kiss the back, having been raised in courtly environments, but those flourishes are unnatural to Mark. So it's simply a firm businessman's handshake, the grip soft with fat but almost ungodly strong.
He returns to his seat after that handshake. It's a specially engineered chair, one that's positioned so that he doesn't have to hop up into it. Someone as small and as flabby as he is usually has to hop. He settles in, gestures to her chair. ]
Should I have my receptionist get you something to drink?
( gwen, for her part, can be ladylike when she exerts herself; sinks into her chair without fussing, crosses her ankles and sets her purse down. other than the curious texture of her skin, nothing about her handshake is especially remarkable - musician's hands, unsurprisingly unfamiliar with most forms of practical work. )
Still ice water, please.
What I'm interested in is putting the money that I have to work and then considering what are realistic financial goals to set. I also need a financial advisor who can walk through what expenses I'll need to account for and what's the smartest budget for me.
( a brief pause. )
I'm fairly far out of my comfort zone, ( dryly, owning it before it can be mocked. girl knows what she is. ) I don't want to do anything stupid.
Comfortably and independently. I don't go in for the kindness of strangers, ( drolly, ) I want my bills and expenses to be paid, my taxes to be up to date and there to be money that I can put towards saving and spending. I'd like to move out of the government housing as soon as I can realistically do so, but I'm not married to, like - I don't need to own my own place.
( she rents in london (well, daddy's paying that bill); renting is fine. being somewhere that feels less immediately under government thumb is more important than her first major housing purchase. )
I'm sticking out the job they gave me until I can feasibly make my own thing work. Freelance consultancy - I do charity events and projects at home. I mean, not for money, but I can do it for money here.
( despite being played by someone does not readily have a number at hand, gwen herself came rather more prepared - from her purse she produces, neatly and very legibly hand-written by someone who was taught calligraphy as a matter of course, both her projected income including a margin of error for the inevitable variables and the likely initial costs she'll need to balance.
there is a great deal to be said for being able to save money on start up advertisement by networking like a motherfucker. in any case: she's on the realistic side of ambitious. it'll be a good stepping stone, if that's what it ends up being; if it doesn't, it's a perfectly serviceable income for someone who wants to live comfortably within their means. smaller means than she's used to, but it'd be "look at the price tag" money, not "laugh incredulously and don't buy it once you've looked" money. )
I could charge more, but not before I have local references.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
jacksonian) wrote2016-03-05 11:05 am
voicemail.
Hm.
Yes. His instinct was, indeed, to ignore this message, but...ten thousand is a lot to just brush off, even at his level of wealth. So he hesitates a moment, then decides to text her back. Texting is, after all, a bit more neutral and safe. ]
We can meet to discuss options.
no subject
Your office in MF? When can you fit me in?
no subject
no subject
( not believing in fucking about, gwen is strongly in favour of having this particular ball rolling sooner than later. she's promptly on time to see him, tying her (big) dog's leash up outside the office and habitually, briefly checking her own reflection in the nearest window before she goes inside. the clothes she arrived in are the nicest she has, for now, so it's all sleek white and high, bouncy curled ponytail and she does make a decent first impression when she's, you know, not talking.
this is familiar ground, unlike more or less everything else about being here. of the many things gwen's never done for herself, dealing with the investment manager isn't one of them; her father's never actually mismanaged their money, but a lack of stability in life will tend to send a person looking for things they can control to protect themselves.
it just makes her feel better to know she wouldn't need to rely entirely on someone else. )
no subject
Mark's taste generally runs to a modern nouveau-riche sort of tackiness: everything in his office is expensive chrome and mahogany and brushed steel, like James Bond made into a room. Mark himself is likewise: he's a tiny man, well below five feet, grossly obese, and yet the suit that his bulk is tucked into sort of works for him. If you pour enough money into something, it'll be decent, even if you don't really have taste yourself, and so his surroundings are decent, and he's decent. In spite of everything.
He reaches out to take her hand. His palm is soft. ]
Lord Mark Vorkosigan.
no subject
the tight smile suggests her face is better suited to smiling; full mouth not ideal for the thin line she so often presses it into. it's brief, but she's not unfriendly.
unnecessarily forthright, but not unfriendly. )
Gwenaëlle. Thank you for meeting me.
( see, mark. manners. )
I have a loose plan, but I'd like a second opinion. And a couple of recommendations, if possible.
no subject
[ He exchanges only a handshake with her. No matter his claim to the title of lord, he's not particularly lordly; his brother Miles would perhaps bow over it, kiss the back, having been raised in courtly environments, but those flourishes are unnatural to Mark. So it's simply a firm businessman's handshake, the grip soft with fat but almost ungodly strong.
He returns to his seat after that handshake. It's a specially engineered chair, one that's positioned so that he doesn't have to hop up into it. Someone as small and as flabby as he is usually has to hop. He settles in, gestures to her chair. ]
Should I have my receptionist get you something to drink?
no subject
Still ice water, please.
What I'm interested in is putting the money that I have to work and then considering what are realistic financial goals to set. I also need a financial advisor who can walk through what expenses I'll need to account for and what's the smartest budget for me.
( a brief pause. )
I'm fairly far out of my comfort zone, ( dryly, owning it before it can be mocked. girl knows what she is. ) I don't want to do anything stupid.
no subject
You're accustomed to a more...opulent lifestyle, I'm assuming?
no subject
( ...accurately. she grew up in a castle. )
I can manage my money, but I'm used to that looking. Differently.
no subject
no subject
( she rents in london (well, daddy's paying that bill); renting is fine. being somewhere that feels less immediately under government thumb is more important than her first major housing purchase. )
I'm sticking out the job they gave me until I can feasibly make my own thing work. Freelance consultancy - I do charity events and projects at home. I mean, not for money, but I can do it for money here.
no subject
What's your anticipated income from that?
no subject
there is a great deal to be said for being able to save money on start up advertisement by networking like a motherfucker. in any case: she's on the realistic side of ambitious. it'll be a good stepping stone, if that's what it ends up being; if it doesn't, it's a perfectly serviceable income for someone who wants to live comfortably within their means. smaller means than she's used to, but it'd be "look at the price tag" money, not "laugh incredulously and don't buy it once you've looked" money. )
I could charge more, but not before I have local references.