Jasmine looked out of her office's window and sighed.
Another slow day.
She turned away from the window and walked back towards her desk. She sat down and glanced at the Holoscreen that was projecting their sales since last year. It wasn't pretty.
Damn Dust shortages.
Jasmine shut down the screen with a sigh and looked towards the clock slowly ticking away on her plain wall.
Well, its almost closing time. Better make sure everything's going smoothly.
As she moved towards the door, the intercom on her desk buzzed to life.
"Miss Dande? A customer wishes to speak to you about...some sort of business deal. He refuses to give the specifics unless it's you. My apologies Ma'am."
Jasmine felt her eye twitch in exasperation.
Great. Another one of those people.
She had seen their type all too many times in her day. People would weave fantasy tales of suddenly finding a massive amount of Dust and wished to mine it- yet, they don't have the resources to do so. So, they would seek out "investors" to help them get started. In exchange, the "investors" were promised a ludicrous amount back- that is, if the mine ever took off.
Most of the time, they didn't.
"Give me a minute, Ras. I'll be there shortly."
"Yes, Ma'am."
It took a few minutes of briskly walking down random corridors before Jasmine ended up in the lobby. She knew it was petty revenge to make the "customer" wait, but she felt like being petty. It hadn't been a good week.
She found Ras, one of her best Sales Associates, talking to him. Jasmine took one look at the man and wasn't impressed.
Dressed in a long blue coat that covered a white undershirt and accentuated by a brown strap that crossed his chest diagonally- all in all, he looked like a Hunter, not a businessman. Jasmine took in the rest of his features and drew the same conclusion.
Scraggily blond hair, shaggy brown pants, and a pitch black cane. The cane was the most important detail there. With his outfit screaming 'Hunter!' and the cane highlighting the slight limp with his right leg, she came to this conclusion; the man was a retired Hunter down on his luck due to his leg injury and wished to make a quick buck through her.
Jasmine narrowed her eyes.
Not if I have anything to say about that.
She approached the man with a professional smile on her face and stuck out her hand to greet him.
"Hello, my name is Jasmine Dande, the Regional Director to the Vale branch of Sanus Dust Exchange. How may I assist you, today?"
The man looked over from Ras and smiled brightly at her. The smiled dimmed slightly when he saw her hand extended. Jasmine feigned ignorance of the issue.
How flustered will he be I wonder?
The man merely tossed the cane he was holding in his right hand to his left and moved forward to accept the greeting.
"Hello Miss Dande, my name is Jaune Arc. I trust Miss Ras here has informed you I wish to strike a deal with your company?"
Interesting. Ignoring my little stunt to project strength during "negotiations." Not bad for a conman.
"Yes, I'm aware. Would you mind giving me a summary of the deal before we go further?"
The man, or "Jaune" as he called himself, pulled his hand back and moved the cane back to his right.
Hmm, well it seems that his injury is real and not just something to gain sympathy points.
"As you wish. I have recently discovered a large number of unrefined Dust crystals and wish to use your company as my primary seller. Would you be willing?"
And there it is. It still amazes me people fall for this crap. This will be just the tip of the iceberg. When we start the negotiations, he'll reveal he hasn't begun mining due to the expensive equipment and will need a "downpayment" to start.
Jasmine forced her smile to go wider.
"Of course, sir. Please, follow me to my office, and we'll hash out the details there. Oh, and Ras, please help Lily with closing up. I'll be down shortly to finish things up."
Ras bowed her head slightly.
"Of course, Ma'am. How long until I should expect you?"
Jasmine's grin turned genuine, if malicious.
"Oh, a deal like this won't take longer than ten minutes."
Jasmine looked over at the man seated in front of her and was puzzled by what she saw.
The man claiming himself to be "Jaune" aired unmistakable confidence in everything he did. From small-talk to describing his story, the man seemed utterly confident in what he was saying was the truth.
If it weren't for the absolutely ridiculous story he had woven, she might have believed it.
I mean, seriously? He just 'happened' to stumble into what might be the largest deposit of Dust the kingdom of Vale had ever seen- without either those council dogs or Schnee knowing about it? Ridiculous.
"That's...quite a tale Mr. Arc. If I may be so bold, how exactly do you plan to extract the Dust from the mine given your current resources? I hardly believe you'd do it all yourself."
This is it. He can't keep up this charade any longer. Everyone knows that without the right equipment and planning, mining Dust would be tantamount to suicide. Even the scam artists know this.
"Actually, that's exactly what I plan on doing."
Wait. What?
"I...see. Mr. Arc, do you understand how dangerous it is to mine Dust without the proper equipment? Even the great Nicholas Schnee suffered due to the lack of equipment. Even if it was mostly ignorance that led to it."
"Oh, I am quite aware of the dangers of Dust, Miss Dande."
The man moved his leg ever so slightly she wouldn't have noticed if she wasn't paying close attention to everything he did.
His injured leg.
Oh…
"My apologies Mr. Arc, I had no idea-"
He put his hand up to interrupt the lengthy apology she had planned.
"It's quite alright, Miss Dande. You had no way of knowing and you were just looking out for my safety. I appreciate the gesture."
Wow, he's good. It's been a long time since someone of this level tried to scam me. Is he ex-mafia? He's too good to be a street conman.
"Even so, it must be a sensitive topic. For that, I apologize."
"Please, don't mention it. Why don't we return to the topic at hand?"
Please. We've got five minutes, and I doubt you'll be able to hold off your true intentions until the end.
"Alright. So, you plan on mining the dust by yourself, at least for the foreseeable future. Given how expensive the equipment can be for individuals, do you have a plan to acquire the equipment?"
Here it comes- the pitch. I'm betting he'll focus on potential profits since I've been acting 'The Profesional' this whole time, though he may sprinkle in some sympathy with his injury. Either way, there's nothing he can say to make me agree-
"Actually, I already have all the equipment I'll need for the moment. I wanted to discuss how much Dust you were willing to buy and at what price. I appreciate your concerns, however."
Jasmine's mind screeched to a halt as his words registered in her head. Her usually articulate and scheming thoughts fell apart, and as she realized the gravity of the situation, she could say only one thing-
"Huh?"
Jaune looked towards Jasmine with amusement. The poor girl thought he was trying to scam her with some ridiculous scheme.
However, now that I think about it, my story does seem far-fetched.
Oh well.
She sat behind her desk, looking somewhat shocked and distressed.
Better fix that.
"Miss Dande, I'm sure you understand what I'm asking, correct?"
The question seemed to snap her back to reality as she took a deep breath before responding.
"O-Of course, Mr. Arc. You wish to use our company as a buyer for your raw Dust extracted from your mine. If I may ask, how much Dust do you have within the mine?"
Hmm, not bad. Even when she realizes she screwed up, she's still trying to fish for information to make the best deal.
Jaune smiled.
I want her.
"Now, now, Miss Dande. I'm afraid I can't reveal the exact amount-"
Because I haven't had to the time to catalog everything.
"-but, it's safe to say that it is more than you have the authorization to buy."
Jasmine visibly gulped at that.
Jaune fiddled with his cane for a moment before she responded.
"Mr. Arc, I don't understand something. A mine with that much Dust is worth a fortune through just the property rights. Why don't you just contact either the Council or the SDC? I'm sure either will give you a fair price and save you the hassle they will most certainly throw your way."
Ah, why thank you, Jasmine. Just the question I was looking for.
"Before I answer that, may I call you Jasmine? Last names are too formal for when we will most likely be working together soon."
She nodded her head and leaned back in her chair.
"Good, now Jasmine, let me ask you a question. What are the first words that come to mind when you think of the SDC?"
Jasmine looked at him strangely before responding.
"Quality, Affordability, Trust."
Jaune nodded his head.
"Yes, Yes, those are all true. For how long, however?"
"What?"
Jaune sat up from his chair and moved towards the window near Jasmine.
"Times are changing, Jasmine. The Faunus won their rights, Dust prices are sky-high, and the SDC is about to receive a new CEO."
He paused for a second to glance at his pocket watch.
"That last one is the issue."
He turned to face Jasmine and looked straight into her eyes.
"Jacques Gelé will destroy the Schnee name to make himself as rich as possible."
Jasmine looked at him, disbelief coloring her features.
"Don't look at me like that. I have information from a close friend that says he's not who he tells the world. That he is actually a cold, manipulative, abusive bastard who just wants power- it's just a coincidence that the Schnee name symbolizes what he needs."
Weiss...
"I don't want to leave the world in his hands- that's why I refuse to sell. I will build my own company to rival his; something he will never see coming nor have any way to counter. I will make sure he doesn't get his way, no matter what."
Jaune turned to face the window that showed the skyline of Beacon Academy.
"I won't let any of them get their way. Not this time."
Jacques Gelé looked over his empire with disgust. Well, soon to be empire, anyway.
Not too long, now. I have to wait for the old fool to cave in and sign the stupid papers. Why does he insist on waiting until after the wedding?
A beeping noise sounded from the dresser behind him. He moved across the guest room and picked up his scroll. He nearly blanched at the message his fiance had left for him.
Does she not understand what this marriage is?
He responded with as much tact as he could be bothered to give and then silenced his scroll.
Jacques moved back towards the window overlooking the city of Atlas. It was rather beautiful to look at -in an abstract way of course- as well as a technological marvel. Multiple massive Dust crystals powered the city's Anti-Gravity engines that held the town afloat, while all of the electricity, heating, and plumbing were powered by Dust as well — all Schnee Dust Company products of course.
Something that would soon be his.
He had plans for this world, and no one was going to stop him- not when he held all the pieces. Not when he had sacrificed so much to get there. Especially now that he had the whole Schnee family in his grasp, the world was his oyster, and everyone else was trying to spoil it for him.
Not on my watch. First, I'll deal with the internal threats- rival executives, hostile board members, Nicholas himself. It will take a while, but soon no one will complain as long as I keep the lien coming. Next, I'll stamp out those start-ups that took advantage of the vacuum my rise will certainly leave and then, start to rebuild this company to its former glory.
Jacques smiled as he gripped the photo within his suit jacket.
"I won't let anyone stop me. Not this time."
Hello everyone, welcome to Ch.2 for Arc Dust!
Sorry, this chapter is rather short, I think I hurt my back the other day at work and it's kind of stunted my concentration. Regardless, I promise that future chapters will be longer than this. I try to reach 3k words on most of my chapters (or somewhere close to that anyway).
Anyway, hope everyone likes how I set up this chapter. It's my first time trying a perspective from someone not related to the main cast in any way and hopefully, it's not too bad. (She is an O.C. just FYI)
Now, Jacques. I have very big plans for his character and the inevitable conflict he and Jaune will be in. Not very many fics focus on his perspective or backstory so I plan on having some fun with that.
Anyways, that's enough from me.
Review, Favorite and Follow if you enjoyed!
See ya next time!