"AAAAAAH!"
"I warned you."
Asami Sato's eyes appeared red and bloodshot after reading the report. The news was to be frank, horrifying. As she looked across the large conference table, the other six board members all wore solemn expressions, which indicated that they were not joking.
"How deep in debt are we?!"
"Our creditors call us in in approximately ninety days," began the first man, a middle aged Earth State man in a suit with a bowtie. "If we don't show a profit by then, this company will be carved up like a sky fowl at dinnertime."
"What happened?"
"What happened?" asked a Fire Nation woman, her expression as grim as her tone. "Let's see, there was the factory that got destroyed when Kuvira attacked Republic City…"
"Right."
"The fact that the name 'Future Industries' is still considered to be poison after the Equalist uprising."
"I thought we were past that."
"And the fact that the planned co-op ventures with Varrick Industries never were signed off on, meaning that Varrick was actually able to bring some of those plane designs to market before we did."
"Why did I trust him?"
"And the continued public backlash against our company meant that we got none of the very lucrative rebuilding contracts for Republic City to clean up Kuvira's mess. A mess, which as noted, includes our own factories."
Putting down the paperwork that indicated their financial peril, Asami's hands began to shake. She had hoped for a calm return to work after her two-week vacation, but all of these debts and the imminent threat of foreclosure seemed to indicate otherwise. With these thoughts in mind, Asami came to a conclusion.
"What we need is to actually put our name out, and get people to trust us again."
"You mean like this?" a man with a white beard asked, before holding up no less than five tabloids showing Asami and Avatar Korra holding hands in poison. The Future Industries CEO appeared livid.
"What's wrong with Korra?"
"EVERYTHING! You look irresponsible and immoral, we look unreliable, and our name continues to be poison!"
"Because of bigots?!" Asami shouted. "Look, we have products people want, and we need to get past this nonsense to show people that they want them!"
Standing up from her chair, Asami went over to a dry-erase board and began scribbling with marker.
"What we need is a plan. Over the next ninety days, we need to get our name out, promote some new products, and get a long-term contract to get a line of credit going. We are NOT going to foreclose. We are NOT going to sell the company. And I am NOT going to apologize for having a relationship with Korra! If you can't agree to those terms, then get out. We're done working together."
None of the other board members stood up, merely nodding in agreement. For the first time since she walked in, Asami offered a smile.
"Good. Then I guess the first thing I need to do is clear the air. First things first, I'm going to go on the radio."
"The radio?"
"I think this will let people see the real me," Asami reasoned. "Not the Equalist lesbian terrorist. When they happens, the people will trust me, and the company by proxy again."
Asami sat down, preparing her speech, unaware of the obvious tension radiated by the board members.