Proving Grounds ((Luke))

Jaxon blinked in surprise, pausing after she stepped into the office, simply staring at him for a moment before she snapped back to reality. Though she had done enough research to be confident in her proposal, she obviously needed to do more research on who she was meeting with. Luke Jacobs was, apparently, blind… and she was not prepared for that.

Almost immediately her confidence dropped a few notches, reminding her that she still had a lot to learn. If this was a joke though, some prank for the ‘little girl,’ she was going to make sure whoever was responsible would regret it for the rest of their life. The very thought made her square her shoulders, and narrow her eyes as her chin tipped up with pride. If she’d had cat ears they would have been flattened against her head in irritation.

Thrown by this development, her response was less than articulate. “Thank you.” Taking the few steps to follow him, she stopped on the opposite side of the desk, bringing the briefcase up to rest on the chair. If he really was Luke Jacobs, then she reasoned that he wouldn’t expect any mercy or softness because of his blindness. And if he expected her to be weak because of her gender and age, well then, he was in for a surprise himself. So, Jaxon decided to act the same as she would have with any other businessman.

Flipping the latches, she reached into the case and pulled out the proposal, keeping it in her left hand. “A pleasure to meet you as well Mr. Jacobs.” She boldly reached across the desk to shake his hand; putting her own in a place that he would find it if he made any attempt.

Without waiting for him to respond, she charged ahead. “I apologize for any confusion, but at this point we can’t share such sensitive information over the phone without it risking several months work and several large headaches.” Kane Corp. was in the process of replacing old and outdated contracts with companies that clearly expected to be handed a new contract based on their connections to the family, despite the steadily decreasing work and quality of service they were providing.

When she spoke next, her voice hinted that she knew of the silent takeover he was making within his own company, also doing it under the radar in similar ways to her father’s company. “I’m sure you can understand that, Mr. Jacobs... Your company is well known for it's standards and capabilities, so of course, it was the first one we thought of.”

“And, in light of the changes being made here at Jacobs and Jacobs, we are willing to offer you a lucrative, but conditional, contract for the security of all the Kane buildings.” She left unsaid the amount of money that could be made on this deal, though it was well into the millions for both companies. Kane Corporation owned a substantial amount of the buildings used by both government and private ventures in New York, including the buildings that serviced the Stock Exchange.

With a smirk, Jaxon laughed lightly, responding with his light banter easily. “I assure you Mr. Jacobs, if I were flattering you, I would use different material.” Luke Jacobs could be considered quite the catch, despite his blindness. He wasn’t as old as she had expected, only ten years or so older than herself, built quite athletically from what she could tell, intelligent, and preparing to takeover one of the largest security firms in NY. Plenty of flattery material, but Jaxon could stand on her work, not her relations with others. “And we have been watching your company long enough to know that you are who we want to do business with.”

Though they had done some preliminary research on the next best company, though not nearly so much as she had done on his firm. Kane wanted in on the ground floor of the business as it was turning over to the younger Jacobs. “My father has long disagreed with the current policy, more specifically, Oliver Jacobs. He would very much like to support you in your ventures here.”

Nodding, Jaxon pulled out a copy of the proposal, flipping to the appropriate page, along with a notepad and pen, and began writing as she spoke. “It is all outlined in detail on page thirteen, though I do apologize for not bringing it in Braille. I can give you a brief run down though.”

“In addition to regular styles of security, four buildings require security for medical and chemical procedures, seven need to meet government standards for top secret levels, twelve will need security as detailed for museums and art vaults, and eighteen require the computer security for banks and financial institutions. The other twenty-two need only basic security in varying levels.”

“On page seventeen, all the building managers names and numbers, and they have been instructed to make themselves as available as possible to your consultants. They will go over floor plans as well as the individual security needs of each building.”

With a smile when he slid the price sheet towards her, she placed her hand on it and slid it back towards him, though not rudely. “We are aware of your prices Mr.. Jacobs.” Her tone had a hook to it, as if her smile was coming through her voice and she mentally winced, the pleasure of her success in this meeting was not what she needed right now. Her confidence had returned and she felt good though, and it was hard to hide. “And we are willing to offer you two percent higher profit, with a few conditions, on most if not all of our buildings.”

Jaxon smiled wider, almost grateful that he was blind, because she didn’t need to control her expression in his presence. She kept feeling a strange tingle at the back of her neck, though she was ignoring it. It had started when she first came in, and intensified as the meeting wore on, making Jax attribute it to her excitement and nerves. Almost as if something invisible was dancing on her skin. Similar to when the electricity was trying to come on after a blackout.

Nodding, Jaxon grinned at his response. She had no problem admitting that she didn’t understand her father’s dislike of Oliver Jacobs, there was no logical reason, and her tone was as if they conspirators and joking. “Yes, but older business men do love to hold their grudges…”

She had expected nothing less than a legal review of the papers, and she knew the conditions would have been under question. “Of course. I am sure you are aware of the large mutant population in New York. Kane corp. has always strived to be unbiased and tolerant of all groups and we encourage diversity in our ranks, with several registered mutants already on staff.” The tingle on her skin seemed to intensify while she was speaking, becoming almost uncomfortable though not painful, making Jax shake her head as if she could twitch the feeling away.

She continued, with just a hint of confusion in her voice. “However, we do need to be reasonably confident that the security will be useful against mutants trying to gain access. I understand that you cannot account for all possible mutant powers, but Kane will be accepting of any mutant personal you deem qualified for this rather complex task.”

Looking up, Jaxon couldn’t help but notice that he had stopped using the fumbling movement that he had demonstrated when she first arrived. In fact, he seemed to be looking at her, even from behind the glasses shading his eyes, and his body language was much more confident. Another wave of the strange tingle of power made her ask a bit suddenly. “I’m sorry Mr. Jacobs, but… Is there something going on in this room? A power problem of some kind? Perhaps some kind of electronic device that discourages pests?”

Those caused this feeling too. The ultrasonic rodent repellents tended to affect Jaxon for some reason, making her skin feel similar to now. She wasn’t sure why, but it had started happening when her own mutant powers had shown up. Almost as if her demons responded to the repellents similar to rodents did.

Jaxon was following along until he responded to her last query, then her face opened in shock. The feeling receded until it was only just lapping like waves at the edge of her awareness, barely noticeable and no longer causing her skin to react. She could almost feel the jumbled mess of power relax at the back of her mind, like a tangled string-knot that was no longer being pulled tight.

But she was still staring at him. “uh… Wow. And thank you, I mean, telling me and turning it down or… whatever you did. It made me feel weird.” Jax shrugged with a little motion at her head, before continuing in a rush of speech that wasn’t very thought out and still typified her as a teenager. “I am sorry to hear about the registration act. My parents took me out of the state while that was happening, it was such a dangerous time, and that was before I became a…”

The moment she inhaled for breath was also the moment she realized she had possibly revealed too much. She hadn't told many people, especially not people who ran in the same social circles that she did... People that could potentially tell her parents or the press. She hesitated, unsure of how to save herself at this point.

Jax gave a short puff of a laugh, “I didn’t agree at the time, as you can imagine, but looking back… They were right, despite my protests to the contrary.” She had been a independent teen, one who thought she could make her own choices… She still was in fact. But Jaxon had thought about it, quite a lot. Her x-gene must have been active since at least puberty, like most mutants, but dormant without a traumatic trigger. She very well could have been sent to the mutant camps without having any previous knowledge of her powers. Her parents had protected her without even knowing from what.

Jaxon could tell by his reaction that he had an idea but couldn’t be sure. So, she entertained the idea of not telling him, for a brief moment. But in the end, she took the cowards route and told him without really telling him. “That’s brave… I’m scared to come-out to my parents, let alone all of New York. But with any luck we will find out that lots of influential people have powers, right?” She laughed, imagining a whole group of business men, admitting that they were mutants in stereotypical AA style. ‘Hi, my name is Stanly, and I’m a mutant.’

But the idea was unlikely. So she re-focused with a soft sigh. “Maybe it’s easier once you tell. Don’t have to hide everything. Maybe telling everyone at once would be easier than telling individuals.” As she thought about it, it was true. Telling Venus had seemed to cut the pressure down, and telling David had done the same. And now, the man in front of her. He was from a similar background, older but not too much so… almost like a brother.

On a brighter note, she added, “All the more reason to use your firm for our security needs… a good team.”

Jaxon was finding that she genuinely liked this man, she rarely liked business men, but Luke Jacobs was proving to be an interesting person. One that she might actually be able to talk to, and have him understand that there was more going on than just being a mutant. Though Jaxon wasn’t quite ready to tell the world, she could see how he was. “I can understand that. It’s still too new for me though.” She had just started adjusting to being who she was, only to have the little nugget of an x-gene throw a wrench in things.

Placing her belongings back in the briefcase, Jax stood with a smile. “I hope to see you again Mr. Jacobs, perhaps in a less formal setting next time; I feel as if we could be friends. After all, our companies seem to have a bright future together.” Side stepping her chair, she picked up her case while pausing for him to walk to the door with her.