ArchivedLogs:New Projects

New Projects
Dramatis Personae Hive, Selene
In Absentia	2014-01-08 '
Location <NYC> Rang Phueng Design - SoHo
Located on the third floor of a narrow brick-faced office building in SoHo, the lobby of Rang Phueng Design/J.M. Investigations is a comfortable place to wait. There are a number of paintings hung on the walls, brightly colored though somewhat fantastical cityscapes. A large aquarium on one wall, clean and carefully tended, hosts brightly colored marine life swimming through a number of plants and coral. The table amid all the couches has a sampling of architectural magazines as well as popular ones, magazines and newspapers generally actually up to date. The receptionist desk is a large black wood one, though it is unmanned. Through the door in back of the lobby is a large workshop space, spacious drafting tables, a number of glass-topped desks though only one of them boasts a computer. Walls painted white and paneled in glass turn most of the wallspace into whiteboard, generally covered with notes and measurements. The back wall's large windows look out onto the streets. Two side doors lead to smaller offices; one stands open and unfurnished, the other, closed, has been given -- no name plaque, yet. Just a tacked-up piece of paper reading "J.M. Investigations". It's just past lunchtime and this office is quiet -- as offices tend to be when they have only two people working in them and even those on no sort of regular /schedule/. Today Hive has the place to himself; at the moment the door to the back workspace and offices is shut. He's here in the comfortable lobby, dressed neat but casual in khakis and a grey-and-black plaid button down with sturdy heavy workboots. His hair, grown out past shoulder length now, is pulled back into a low ponytail, and at the moment his eyes are fixed on the large aquarium. He's holding a canister of fish food in his hands, though he seems to have gotten distracted before actually feeding them; his mind is -- somewhere farther. There's an argument going on in a neighboring office, the mental sounds hammering in at his awareness. Hive would soon be receiving a psychic /knock/ of sorts, small and polite, alerting him to Selene's arrival. Selene is almost precisely on-time, as if she's been waiting before entering. Dressed in a black fine jacket, a pair of matching slacks, and designer shoes. Selene's not the only mental voice arriving at the area, as her bodyguard/driver has accompanied her inside. He's grabbing the door for her, but remaining outside himself, dressed in a jacket, a pair of jeans, and military-style boots. Casper's thoughts are mainly on whether or not they can /trust/ a random telepath architect Selene met on the street, and he's not doing anything particular to hide this thought, like he wants it to be heard. As Selene enters, she smiles, tipping her head in a bow. "Mr. Hive. I'm on time, correct? It is nice to see you again.". Selene's glancing around the lobby, before pinpointing on the same mental conversation Hive is focusing on, reading it. "Don't mind my guard. He's..suspicious about many people." It takes a second for Hive to reorient himself at the new arrival, and he straightens to glance over at Selene with a small smile flitting quick across his face. His /thoughts/ reorient, too, pulling away from the adjacent business dispute to turn back to work. "Exactly on time. Hi." He shakes his head at the explanation about the guard. "These days? Probably stupider /not/ to be suspicious. Uh -- sit, please." He's gesturing to one of the comfortable armchairs. "Can I get you something? Water, coffee?" At Hive's gesture, Selene's taking a seat, her smile fading into a more professional facial expression as she shakes her head. "No, I'm fine, thank you. Do you have any designs of your work for show?". Selene's straight onto business, her mind (atleast what she'll show of it) flittering around architecture of his she has seen, mainly the Mendel Clinic, before turning back into a mainly blank slate. "I can't put money into work if I don't know the full extents of your talents, after all." Hive's brows lift, briefly, but the small smile that tugs at his lips has a hint of pride to it, evident more in his thoughts than his expressions. "With all due respect, you've seen the Mendel Clinic." His mind strays towards some of the architectural magazines on the table; most of them up to date, but a few back issues kept around because they report on the clinic -- all with very high praise. "That clinic? Should have been the work of an entire architectural firm, with an entire team of very experienced people to work on it." He settles into a seat across from Selene, elbows propping on the armrests and his fingertips pressing together. "I did it singlehandedly. At the age of 24." "I personally don't see age as a factor in skill, at all.". Selene says this, bluntly. Her mind focuses back onto the Mendel Clinic, but also to the fact that it /is/ the Mendel Clinic. "Whilst it is one of the finest pieces of work I've seen, using that clinic as your only piece to show could thrust people away, due to it's nature. I am not of that sort, but prospective business partners may be. Just risk management, I hope you understand.". Selene's mind is flickering to the Hellfire Club, her main place of 'business', to show what type of people she would potentially bring into a business prospective. "Though, I am very keen on trying to work something out." "Age, no. Experience, yes. And I managed that with less experience than most in my field." Hive's brows raise at the thought of the Hellfire Club. "You a member there? I redesigned and rebuilt their ballroom as well, after the -- disaster that was Osborn's gala last year." Nodding at his question, Selene's lips curl. "And of course, I doubt everyone is happy with the connection. But they'd know the connection either way, so, I guess it's a moot point. What are your rates?". Selene's mind flashes back to the fact she's an heiress to point out she's not exactly poor. "The building in question would be an office building, like this one.". "In Manhattan, or somewhere else?" Hive's hands open in front of him, palms turning upward at the question of rates. "That is a question that changes with every project. Through the first stages of design development, I have an hourly rate of 175, but once the design is finalized and you sign off on it, we move into construction documents and there there's a fee of twelve percent of construction costs. So -- the rate is really going to depend largely on your project. Clients generally give me a budget they're working with, and I tailor my designs to make sure that all the construction is going to fit within that budget." "Most likely Manhattan, but if another borough works easier, that is possible, since I presume permits matter in things like this. I'm not from the country, so I do not know much about architectural laws here, only what I've read. And I haven't read much.". Selene flitters a psychic message to Hive, showing her maximum budget for such a project. "You could work with this, yes?" Hive's eyes close briefly, at that psychic message. There's a faint trace of relief that blossoms in his mind, a small smile that flits across his face. He reaches to pick up a tablet computer, flicking it on so that he can start taking notes. "Yeah," he agrees. "Yeah, I can work with that."