Chapter 3

Valerie seats herself across from VP Menken. The seats are a black leather, with the chairs organized in sets of four. The female with the clipboard sits next to VP Menken, while Hayden sits next to Valerie. The SapphireTech team and the Oscorps suits all sit around the four, pretending not to listen in on their conversation.

"So, Dr. Polina, once we land in New York City, you'll meet Oscorp's CEO, Norman Osborn, but for now, I've been told to give you a brief summary of you and your team's duties in Oscorp." VP Menken begins. "You'll still have control over your team, in fact, we won't be adding any new members to your team."

Mentally, Valerie breathes a sigh of relief, so she still has a job.

"However, we ask that your team divert all of their attention and resources to one specific project, and that project Mr. Osborn will discuss with you later." he continues.

"Hang on, will I be attending this meeting with Mr. Osborn?" Hayden asks.

VP Menken turns to the woman with the clipboard, "That will be up to Mr. Osborn's assistant, Ms. Felicia Hardy."

Felicia politely shakes his head, "I'm sorry, but Mr. Osborn would like to speak with Dr. Polina alone."

"Oh…" he mumbles, shrinking in his seat.

"While Dr. Polina has her meeting with Mr. Osborn, I'd love to give you and your team the grand Oscorp tour." she offers, leaning in slightly towards him.

Hayden smiles at her, "That would be great."

VP Menken clears his throat, something he clearly does often, "Now, along with signing onto the Oscorp family, there's bond to be press who will pick up the story, especially with such an, unusual team. However, you are not to speak with any of them unless we give you permission. That will be clarified once you sign your contracts."

"As for consensual media appearances, we've signed for both you to appear on The Daily Bugle with Isabel Bunsen, as well as a separate interview for the newspapers." Felicia informs them, reading off her clipboard.

"B...both of us?" Hayden blurts, looking over at Valerie.

Felicia smiles, "Yes. While you handled your company's PR very well on your own Mr. Gull, Oscorp feels that the introduction of Valerie into the public eye will spark increased interest in your company's products."

Hayden glances over at Valerie again, who's worried expression tips him off, "Its just...I don't think she's comfortable with that sort of thing. And, and you know how the media can be, they'll turn her into a tabloid star, and she's only seventee-"

"Mr. Gull, I can speak for myself thank you very much." Valerie barks. She takes a deep breath, her hands clasped together, "I would be honored to make these appearances. And as a public figure, I will be a model citizen as to be a good representative of Oscorp."

Felicia smiles and nods, "Alright then."

The the other nine members of SapphireTech begin applauding, with Mr. Torger clapping the fastest and the loudest, so much so that his Google Glass glasses fall off, and he clumsily picks them back up.

The rest of the plane ride mainly consists of small talk, and halfway through the trip, a flight attendant walks out and begins offering drinks. Valerie didn't expect that a business plane flight could be so casual.

"So, how did you and Mr. Gull meet?" VP Menken asks.

"Mr. Gull and I met while we were still in university." Valerie explains.

He nods, "Yes, I've always insisted she call me Hayden, but she feels that's too unprofessional." he gives her a knowing smile.

VP Menken peers over at Felicia's clipboard before continuing, "Ah...yes, and you two both graduated from Stanford University. How impressive! Could you tell us a little more?"

Hayden chuckles, "Well, originally I was just studying at my local city college to be a lawyer, however, I found it, unsatisfying, so out of curiosity, I took a class in engineering, and I've been in love ever since." His lines feel very, rehearsed. He knows exactly where to add emphasis, and how to present his general body language, "Eventually I was accepted to Stanford which is where I met Valerie. We started SapphireTech while at Stanford, and by the time I'd completed a bachelor's degree in engineering and she'd gotten her PhD in medicine, SapphireTech had already sold its millionth unit."

VP Menken smiles, "Well Mr. Gull, you clearly have your story straight, Valerie, what about you? You'll need to be able to respond to these kinds of questions when you're in front of the media."
"Oh, of course." she stutters, "Well, like Hayden said, we met at university. Being a lot younger than most of the other students, I didn't have many friends, but Hayden kindly reached out to me. He would tell me about all the ideas he had for inventions, and I'd tell him about how I would build simple things out of household objects as a child."

Hayden smiles, "But you know, at the time, all of my ideas were just that, ideas. It was Valerie who pushed me to actually make these things a reality. At first it was just Valerie and I goofing around, but once these things actually started selling, I hired a couple more of my friends, all of whom are in this plane with us, and we founded SapphireTech."

She looks at him jokingly, "I would hardly call it, 'goofing around'."

The plane lands, and everyone files from the airport to the New York streets. There, two limousines were waiting for them. They truly spared no expense.

"From here, we'll separate. Felicia will take Dr. Polina to Mr. Osborn's office at Oscorp Tower, while my coworkers and I will take the rest of your team to their new laboratory, also at Oscorp Tower." VP Menken explains.

"Why do we need two limousines if we're going to the same place?" Mr. Torger asks.

"Mr. Oscorp's office is strictly off limits. The entrance is only accessible through an alternative entrance." Felicia replies coldly.

Mr. Torger shies back, rather embarrassed, "Oh…"

Valerie and Felicia enter their limo while the others lead into the other one. Hayden hesitates at the door, looking over at Valerie just as she's about to step in. She looks over at Hayden, and waves to him, before disappearing from view.

"Is she gonna be okay?" he asks himself aloud.

One of the other scientists rolls his eyes, "C'mon dude, you're not her father."

Valerie instinctively looks around for a seat belt once they enter the limo, but can't find one in the folds of the cloth seats.

"Have you ever ridden in a limo before?" Felicia asks.

She shakes her head, not making eye contact with the woman.

"Its cool, that was my reaction my first time too. Uhm...may I ask, how old are you?"

"Seventeen." she replies, "And you?"

She gasps, "Oh my gosh, we're the same age! That's so cool."

"Oh...really, I'm surprised that Mr. Osborn's assistant is so, young. If you're the same age as me, shouldn't you still be in high school?" Valerie reasons.

"Uhm...I could be asking you the same question, Miss CEO of SapphireTech." Felicia counters, "But really, I'm taking senior year online. I got the job last year, and found that assisting and school at the same time was too hard together."

"Ah, online school, that's sounds really convenient. I wish I could've done that." she comments.

"What was it like? You must have been really young compared to everyone else."

Valerie bites her lip, before responding, "Well, at first it was okay, I was just a little shorter than everyone else. But the further the age gap became, the more obvious the differences became, both biologically and socially."

"Were you ever picked on?" she asks.

Valerie raises an eyebrow, "Wasn't everyone?"