The Emperor's Dragon II

Both Sides of the Line

Izuku looked over at the woman on the other side of the table. She was formidable yet seemed warm. After he'd spoken to the Doctor, Kurogiri had told him he needed to speak to her, but Izuku still wasn't quite sure why and he'd been more concerned with the Doctor... Garaki seemed to be confident that while the Heroes would know his identity from the raid, he would be able to explain his presence at the warehouse. To the Doctor, this sort of thing was just an operational hazard and unless the Heroes had proof, which they didn't, then there was nothing they could do. They could hold him for a while, but not indefinitely.

He wasn't so certain, but Kurogiri had accepted the Doctor's reassurances and so Izuku had let the matter go, turning his attention towards this meeting. He'd had Unten drive him here, because he wanted Kurogiri free to assist Kyudai if anything further went wrong, even if the Doctor said that he had everything in hand.

The woman had greeted him in the underground carpark of JBQC and had immediately taken him upstairs to an office that was near the top of the building. It looked vaguely familiar; in that it looked like his dad's office that he'd visited many years ago, but it couldn't be the same one.

They took a seat at the couch setting and Izuku looked over at the lady. She was dressed sharply in what was obviously a tailored suit, but she had chosen her accessories to match it perfectly. It gave the impression of professionalism, yet you knew she wasn't going to be a push over. She gave him a smile.

"It is nice to finally meet you," she said.

Izuku remained silent. Kurogiri had told him the woman's name was Janee Pieruce but that meant nothing to him.

"I worked for your father, when he was the head of JBQC, and since the sale, have been working to keep the company running smoothly," she didn't sound offended that he hadn't replied to anything she'd said yet.

"Do you know what an Executive Officer is?" Janee asked him.

"You helped keep dad's appointments?" Izuku hazarded.

"No," Janee gave him a smile that told him she'd heard that response before. "That was his Executive Assistant. The Officer reads much of the paperwork before he did and ensures that the important points were highlighted. I ensured that he saw the correct paperwork, in the correct order, often prioritising work to ensure it was done in the smoothest manner. In addition to that, I provided strategic advice on decisions for the company. Not from a legal standpoint, but from an internal worker view as well as an 'everyday' check," she explained.

Izuku nodded at that. It made sense. "Did you know about-" he paused, not sure how to phrase the question but Janee seemed to understand what he was asking, when she held up one perfectly manicured hand.

"I did not, and do not know anything about that," she said solemnly. "I am employed to see to the running of JBQC," Janee added.

There was no judgement in her tone at the reply and from that, Izuku got the impression that while Janee might prefer her boss was simply a powerful businessman, she wasn't going to question and did not question his out of office activities.

If that was really the case, then she was a good employee.

"So why did you ask to talk to me?" Izuku asked.

Janee gave him a bit of a look, as if to say he should know some of the answers to his own question. "JBQC has been without executive guidance for quite some time," she told him. "We've been running quite smoothly but executive input is required for a company to grow and develop." She gave him an ironic smile.

Izuku could see the joke but nodded. "So, what decisions do you need?" He was nervous about this, but also calm. He had been discussing business with his father for as long as he could remember and while the decisions, he made would have consequences, so long as they were for the greater good of the company, they should be able to ride out those consequences to achieve the gains he envisaged.