Acting Like a Father
Jade Inc. was a media distribution company of sorts. The corporation did its best to support good shows, news broadcasts, and movies, including the merchandise and studios. Tigress never had to deal with that side of the industry partly because Mr. Shifu was the head of the administrative branch.
Of course that changed when Tigress got invited to where the magic happened. "Why am I here again?" the tiger asked the red panda in his car. "I'm not sure this is in the job description."
A little confused, Shifu glanced at Tigress as he drove. "Tigress, this is the first time you've ever cared about job descriptions."
"I'm just... curious."
"You're never curious." Tigress quickly rolled her eyes so Mr. Shifu wouldn't see. "The company just joined a new studio."
"We bought them?"
"Working with them," Shifu clarified. "They specifically wanted their independence."
Tigress nodded. "So why am I going with you?"
"You're still my assistant, and I need to make sure that I have someone to remind me of my itinerary for today. So, I'll need your help to keep me on track," Shifu replied.
Tigress raised an eyebrow with a doubtful gaze. "And the reason you can't program this into your phone is because..." Shifu grumbled under his breath. "I see," Tigress did her best to hide her smirk. Shifu wasn't the best at technology.
They made it to the studio, parking near the entrance. It was small, only two stories. A big large sign with a splatter of different paint colors across the pale tan building said "Chaotic Studios".
Tigress stepped out of the car and glanced at the red panda. Shifu sighed. "Let's just hope that inside isn't a reflection of the name."
The two walked into the building and were greeted by the receptionist. "Ah, Mr. Shifu. Mr. Prime will be here shortly."
The two didn't have to wait for long. A simian in a company casual suit was ready to meet them, just coming out of the elevator. "Ah! Mr. Shifu. A pleasure to finally meet you," Smiled the simian.
"Mr. Prime. It's good to meet you. This is my assistant, Tigress Claw."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Prime," Tigress shook the primate's hand.
"Please, please. You can call me Monkey. Both of you," The simian smiled. "Now, onto the rest of the studio."
The studio was normal, in terms of an animation studio. Brightly colored walls, sectioned-off computer labs, and 2D/3D design halls for their operations. Tigress was surprised at how orderly things were. They even had layout maps decorating the walls. "The company's name is a bit of an oxymoron. The studio is well organized and designed to make sure that most of the animations and other products are shipped out and ready for production," Monkey said as they passed yet another computer lab.
"How do you get it so organized?" Tigress asked.
"Here at Chaotic Studios, we believe in surprising people. And structure is important," Monkey said.
"Why?" Shifu asked.
"Honestly, people are more attracted to order than to chaos in the creative field. Creativity is basically bringing order to chaos."
"Hence the name?" Tigress guessed. Monkey nodded.
"And our animators tend to work better when the order is laid out ahead of time and not randomly in the production, so there's not a lot of overreach," Monkey replied. "Anyway, let's continue down the road."
They went through another computer room where a bunch of people were centered around their table, discussing something. "This is actually one of our developer meetings. Writers, animators, and executives all come together to brainstorm."
"Why all of them?" Tigress asked.
"If the executive is with the writers and creators from the beginning instead of the end, then they can get invested into the story much easier and make better suggestions than after the end of production. It eliminates wasted time. Better to have a longer writing phase than a delayed production phase." Just then, the room all nodded and looked to the end where most of the animators were. They looked to a person who looked at the ceiling for a moment and said,
"Yeah, I think that's good. Gonna be a little hard for the fight scene, but I think we can make it happen."
Tigress widened her eyes. She heard that voice before. As the team broke and the meeting ended, a large panda walked out with a large bulky black jacket; it almost looked like a windbreaker. "Po, great to see you," Monkey smiled grandly.
"Hey, Monkey." He spotted Tigress. "Uhh! He-he-hello!"
"Po, this is our partner from Jade Inc. Mr. Shifu and his assistant Tigress Claw are taking a tour of the place. Shifu, Tigress, this is Po Ping, our head of animations."
"Head of animations," Tigress echoed with a small smile. "Definitely a nice surprise."
"What do you mean?" Monkey asked, missing the panda's nervous head scratch.
"Never mind," Tigress replied.
"I hope you're liking the tour," Po said with a bit of professionalism in his lungs, "Mr. Prime is very good at showing people around... a little too obsessed with deadlines, but-"
"Po," Monkey chuckled, "That was only one project and you know it."
"Hmm," Po smirked.
Shifu gave a small nod. "I look forward to working with you and your company a lot in the future, Mr. Ping."
"Mr. Prime," Tigress spoke up, "Could you show me the ladies' room?"
"Hm?" Monkey looked at one of the maps on the walls. "Huh, you know, I just realized that these things don't have the bathroom on them." Monkey pulled out a small notebook. "Got to remember that."
"I'll show you the bathroom, Ms. Claw."
"Please, just Tigress," Tigress grinned knowingly.
"Right," Po smiled awkwardly. The two went down one of the halls. "So...assistant to the executive of Jade Inc.? You didn't tell me that."
"You didn't tell me that you worked as the head of the animation team," Tigress smirked. "Though being an animator is something that makes sense for you."
Po narrowed his eyes. "Why's that?"
"You strike me as the creative type."
Po crossed his arms. "How so?"
"Most animators wear hoodies because the computer labs are freezing," Tigress joked.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Po wiped his eye. "Oh, that's so true. It's freezing in there. But... yeah that's one of the reasons why I wear hoodies." They finally made it to the bathroom. "Huh, ironic."
"Hm?"
"You and I met at the bathroom. Now I'm taking you to the bathroom."
Tigress made a doubtful kind of look. "Those are two different situations, Po. Besides, I just wanted to talk to you a little more without the bosses hearing."
"I know, I know. Just saying," Po smiled. "So... are we still up for our sparring... thing on Sunday."
"Of course, why?"
"Well, I just don't have your phone number and-" He stopped when he saw Tigress's smile grow into a smirk. "I mean, I don't want to invade your privacy or anything I just- why are you smiling at me like that?"
"Because this is a funny way of asking for my phone number."
"Hehe, I'm not the best with social interactions," Po chuckled, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. The tiger pulled out her phone and they exchanged numbers. "Great! I'll see you... after you get out of the bathroom. You know what? I'm just gonna go back to work. Heh, see you around." The panda quickly went back to work while Tigress smiled and shook her head.
She came back from the bathroom and finished the tour with Monkey. The red panda and tiger left, but not before Tigress peeked at Po working in one of the computer labs. The panda gave a quick look and made an awkward cough.
Tigress quickened her pace and got to Shifu's car. As they drove down the road, Tigress kept looking at her phone. "Are you okay?"
"Hm?"
"You've been looking at your phone for a while with that smile," Shifu pointed out.
"Oh! Nothing, it's nothing."
"Hm," Shifu hummed. Tigress darted her eyes away from him. "How do you like the studio?"
"I like it."
"Good, I was hoping that you could be my... liaison for that studio."
"Why that studio specifically?" Tigress asked.
"Our usual liaison has their hands full with reorganizing some of the companies and this particular company is going to be a great asset to our business," Shifu said. Tigress stared as they made it back to Jade Inc. She kept her stare on Shifu until the red panda finally turned up his head and saw her watchful glare in the elevator. "What's the matter?"
"Why do you really want me to do this?" Tigress asked.
The red panda shrugged as the elevator came to their floor. "You need to get outside more. Besides," Shifu smirked over his shoulder, "You seem to like the panda there."
Tigress's eyes ripped open as Shifu walked to his office. The tiger groaned and rubbed the stress lines in her muzzle.
Sometimes, she really didn't like Shifu.
He acted too much like her father.
Continued...