Chapter 13 - Management talk
After she had managed to collect herself in Bondrewd´s warm embrace she thought about what to do next. She had just killed a man, but it had been absolutely in self-defence and she was a minor which meant that she would probably not be sent to prison. Worrying about the possible legal ramifications could wait for later though.
Speaking into the crook of his neck while he soothingly stroked her back she voiced her thoughts:
"Bondrewd... we should check if he came alone. There could be more of his ilk out there."
She hadn't meant for it to come out so hateful, but she could not suppress her anger at that waste of a man. First he threatened her father caretaker and then he had threatened her! And worst of all he had forced her to use Being X´s cursed gift.
"No need to fret my darling. I already sent every available Umbra Hand to check the perimeter."
How did he do that? She hadn´t heard him speaking to anyone. He truly was amazing.
"Did you know him?"
"No. I did not."
Tanya knew that it was improper to pester her superior so much, but his arms were too comfortable to let go at the moment.
"It was very reckless what you did. When we are in a similar situation again I want you to think about your safety first. You are far more important to me than this body."
That was good, because she definitely did not want to do this again.
"I understand. But I could not just stand by and watch you get hurt. What would I do without you?"
"This man had not the capacity to kill me. Please believe me."
Now she felt stupid. She had underestimated her employer! How embarrassing! He would think that she believed him to be weak, even though she had never wanted to insult him. She had to boost his ego quick!
"I know that you are amazing and strong! Accidents can always happen and I just tried to minimize the risks. You would of course have defeated him easily father, but I wanted to make sure."
No! She had made it worse. The stupid word had accidentally slipped from her tongue again. Oh, the shame...
To her surprise he hummed softly in delight and petted her head which felt disturbingly good.
"I am honoured that you care so much about me Tanya."
She thought about what the crazy murderer had said earlier. What had he meant?
"Why did he think you killed his daughter?"
If Bondrewd was taken aback by the question then he didn't show it.
"People often spread bad rumours about things they don't understand. Why would I need to kill her? Unreasonable murder is the work of simplistic or twisted minds. Not mine."
Very understandable. Bondrewd was not a man that would waste valuable company assets like that. Not to speak of the nasty reputation that act would cause.
"Then you need better PR to show the world that you are not that as what some people make you out to be."
"Tanya dearest, what is ´PR´?"
Of course he would not know that! This world was not advanced enough to normalize such terminology yet.
"Public relations. It means that you should improve your reputation so that nobody could possibly compare you to a murderer. Ideally everybody will think of a hard working, honest, brilliant and trustworthy man when they say your name."
"Interesting... And how do you think I should do that?"
"Well, you should develop a stronger presence at the surface. There you will attract the most customers... so maybe a small bureau? Some sort of place where people can go to when they want to talk to you or a representative. I would suggest hiring someone from Orth for the job, because they know each other well and will easier trust one of them. Also if more crazy people come after you then they will only harm a disposable worker and not your highly trained Umbra Hands."
"That sounds like a wonderful idea. But I am curious... What would this representative of mine be paid to do exactly?"
"For one, he would give information about why you need all the kids and what you are training them to do down here. If people knew that you did not harm some orphans for fun or whatever, then they would not try to murder you! Furthermore they could tell everybody about your incredible research and how important it is. No valuable details of course, but just the general idea of what you do. The representative could also handle the correspondence you get and help in selling the artefacts. I am sorry that all of this sounds kind of vague, but I can write a proposal about it in more detail until tomorrow if you want."
For a moment he was just staring at her and it was making her kind of nervous.
Suddenly he exploded in laughter. Tanya had heard him chuckle before, but a full blown laugh was something new. Had her idea really been so ridiculous?
"I am sorry if my suggestion sounded dumb. I will think better about what I say next time."
"No, no, no my child. You are brilliant. I could not hope for a more thoughtful and farsighted daughter. You did well my dear."
Had she been a lesser woman she would have squealed for joy from how her superior, no, her father had praised her! If she could keep this positive impression up a promotion would hopefully soon be in order.
The whole scene would have looked much cuter if she hadn't been still covered in blood and gore.
