xp_logs | Manuel & Julian: Protege

Julian goes to see Manuel about a job, negotiations ensue.

Armed with his polished resume, Julian Keller knocked on the solid door to Manuel De La Rocha's office. He'd made up his mind after only a few days of thought and was ready to enter the workforce as Manny's assistant.

As Manuel was just by the door, he opened it with a cellphone tucked under his ear. A confused look crossed his face and he nodded, opening the door wider and gesturing for Julian to come in.

Julian entered quietly, shutting the door behind himself and taking a seat in one of the comfortable chairs on the subordinate side of the great oak desk. Quiet as the dead, he waited for Manuel to finish his telephone conversation.

Flipping to Spanish, Manuel spoke quickly but patiently, fluent in that tone and effectively expression his agitation and abruptly snapped his phone shut. "I am glad that you are here Julian. Before you make your decision, we need to discuss this further. I realized I may have not fully enlightened you to the situation you are stepping into."

"That I'll also be life guarding perhaps? I think you said something about drowning in there," he played dumb, "but you were talking so fast."

"Endearing," Manuel said dryly. "Except I do believe you have more impressive attributes that feinting ignorance. Try not to act stupid, it insults future employment."

"Yes, Manuel, sorry," he said, giving him an apologetic smile. "What was it you meant by further enlightening me then?"

"We should have talked about this earlier, however, it slipped my mind," he sat down, leaning his cane on the edge of the desk before casting a meaningful stare at Julian. "The things I talk about with clients, I expect you to bring to your death bed unless I say otherwise."

Without a moment of hesitation, the teen replied, "I understand."

"There are some that may try to weasel information out of you without you realizing," he continued on. "You need to always be aware of this as well and you should know that I do not care for lying and keeping things from an empath is not wise. Do you understand that?" he asked evenly as he leaned back in his chair, lacing his fingers infront of him.

"Why would I need to lie, um, sir?" he asked, a momentary ripple of uncertainty rolling across the room.

"You may feel the need to at some point," he replied simply. "All employees do to their employer at some point, I am sure. Do you not agree?"

"I...I guess so," Julian replied. He shifted slightly in his seat, finding a more comfortable position. "Don't go against the family, I think I can handle that."

Manuel held out his hand to take the resume. "Now let us see what you have complied and if it is up to standard. You are selling yourself here Mr Keller."

Julian handed over the two page document, "I made the corrections you'd suggested and did some research online to see what others had to say for formatting. Actually passed myself off as a student at the university to get someone there to take a look at it." He wondered if he should have shared that last part.

Nothing was said about the last part as Manuel looked over the resume although it wason his mind, knowing that was a quality he could cultivate but tread carefully so Julian did not become another brainless backstabber. The resume was set down and he slid a piece of paper across the table, pen on top. "You'll need to write down your hours of availability. There may be some weekends where I will need your full attention and it will bring you out of the mansion, sleeping in hotels."

Grinning like an idiot the teen replied, "Of course. That won't be a problem."

The fruit was sweet until he would take a bite of it. Naturally, Julian only saw the luxuries in this, the class and opportunity, although Manuel was sure he'd had a similar face on at some point. "I see no point in not hiring you, a trial of the sorts, to see if you're fit to handle daily activities and we can apply it into your fencing lessons."

"I won't let you down Manuel," he said with a smile. That same smile faltered for a moment before turning sly, "So, not to sound mercenary, but can we talk about pay?"

"I am listening."

"Obviously I'm not expecting this to pay a large sum, I realize there's a lot of good experience to be gained here. That being said, I'd like to make a little something to spend on...Christmas presents and what-not."

"And what-not," he echoed, drumming his fingers once and tapping his middle finger twice on the table before he sat up. Pulling out a drawer, he retrieved a check book,writing out a check and set it down on the table. "I will give you an advance for December, however, I expect no less than a hundred and ten percent effort put forth, in your work and your school."

Looking at the check, Julian's eyes widened. It had been more than anticipated, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, "Yes, sir."

A binder was pulled out and set down before Julian. "These are contacts that I have not had time to address and I would like you to confirm all the information in there," he stood up suddenly, taking his cane in hand. "And you wil have to speak with security before you go. A pass will be made for you to come in on your own instead of being escorted like you were today." Especially to certain areas although Manuel would see his restriction made into some. Rounding the desk, he paused and offered his hand.

Julian stood and took the hand, giving it a firm handshake, eager to get started.