It’s just Good Business (Strange)

[tigrawill]

Emma was waiting anxiously on her rather elaborate office. Everything in here was far grander than it need be, but that was Emma’s style. Everything in the room was either a brilliant white or pale blue, not a speck of dirt littered the place. She hadn’t been in the office for a long time, not since she had fallen from her position in the hellfire club but this was important. Frost International was not in the business of mystical artefacts, or anything historical for that matter. The company had always been on the forefront of technology, they rarely looked to the past but this was different. This particular little talisman had come to Emma’s attention a while ago, she wasn’t sure what it was, it had been churned up when she inherited the family estate. It probably wasn’t anything important, she wouldn’t even have known it was magical if Wanda hadn’t spotted it for her. Emma rarely admitted it but she was out of her depth with the trinket, and so she had called in an expert. All her sources pointed to a single name, Stephen Strange, apparently he was one of, if not the most, talented sorcerers around.

Emma frequently entertained company of high esteem however rarely was it on such terms. Typically for such an encounter she would have been dressed in very little however this was business. She still wore comparatively less than the average business woman, a backless white blouse and skin tight white trousers, her jacket hung delicately over her chair as she paced the room. She seemed to blend in perfectly with the rooms pale interior. She wasn’t entirely certain how to greet the man; all she really knew about him was his name and reputation. She had prepared for all eventualities, her office typically had a bottle or two of red wine standing in it however today it was accompanied by freshly brewed coffee and tea, just in case. Of course her PA was on standby too, just in case Strange preferred something more exotic, she genuinely believed she had covered all bases.

Leaning against her desk she sensed his arrival from her secretary’s thoughts long before the buzz came and the slightly mechanised voice sounded, “Mr Strange here to see you Miss.” Emma tapped her finger on the button as she replied, “Thank you Georgia send him in, and remember this is an important meeting, I do not wish to be disturbed.” The last meeting Emma had held here had been interrupted by an urgent phone call concerning double glazing sales, Emma really didn’t know why Georgia was still working here, she should have sacked the girl ages ago. Finally the large double doors at the end of the room opened and Emma flicked her hair back as she walked towards the man, hand outstretched in greeting. “Ah, Dr. Strange, Miss Frost, I’m so glad you could get here at such short notice. I trust you had a pleasant journey?”

[strange]

Ten years ago, Stephen would have relished the opportunity to meet with such a high-profile individual. As an arrogant surgeon, he was always looking to expand his clientele, and somebody with a net worth like Emma Frost would have been more than worthy of a hike in his price. Well, there was that, and based on the pictures he had found of her, she would also have been worthy of a night on Stephen Strange's rotating list of lovers.

In the present, though, he had no desire to meet with society's elite. He had overcome material possessions as part of his journey to becoming the Sorcerer Supreme. When Wong was telling him about the CEO that wanted to meet with him, Stephen had initially told his assistant to decline. But when Wong insisted that he should meet with her, and explained the details, the sorcerer begrudgingly agreed that he should go and meet with the businesswoman.

Just because he was going to meet with a top class executive didn't mean that he was going to get out his suit and tie, though. Instead, the wizard chose to wore his usual attire. It fit in with humanity's current state of dress, albeit with an eccentric flair: a button-up white shirt, a pair of black slacks, equally black combat boots, and finally, a flowing red overcoat, complete with golden lining, along with the golden talisman that hung from an equally golden necklace. Combined with his flowing locks and goatee, it gave him a bohemian vibe that was both out of place and yet oddly fitting for New York.

Upon arriving at Frost Enterprises, the doctor breezed right past Emma's assistant, barely giving the secretary enough time to forewarn her boss. He opened the doors himself, exposing him to the sight of...well, of an incredibly gorgeous woman, dressed completely in white. For a moment, Stephen's charge was halted while his gray hues took in the woman.

"Ms. Frost, a pleasure." He accepted her hand with his own, only to bring it to his lips so he could gently kiss its back. "I want you to know that this is a bit unusual. Most persons of your caliber only call me when they think I'll give them a psychic reading or some magical cure for cancer. Otherwise I'm written off as a charlatan." Which he preferred, actually. When people believed that he was a fraud, it kept them from actually believing that the forces of evil that the Sorcerer Supreme fought were real, and spared them a lot of frightening possibilities. The only thing that kept them going about their lives was that they didn't realize that other dimensions wanted to invade on a daily basis.

"This talisman your company acquired. Where is it? How did you find it? Where, when?"

[tigrawill]

Emma was a bit taken aback by the man’s appearance. She wasn’t sure what she had been expecting, perhaps some mystic drenched in lucky rabbits feet. Perhaps some old balding man that had spent more time in the library than in the shower and the smell to prove it. Emma was however pleasantly surprised, the man had a strange rugged appearance to him, strangely he appeared smart yet casual at the same time, his magical attire somewhat limited to his goat and amulets. ”Please call me Emma.” She commented as he so politely kissed the back of her hand. Emma couldn’t help but great his next comment about fraud with a slight laugh, ”Believe it or not Mr. Strange I have a few other contacts in your field, I imagine they would want my throat if I suggested such things. When they discovered the amulet they recommended that I contact you, I’m sure they could have helped but they held you in such regard I thought you the man for the job.”

” Straight to business, I admire that.”Emma walked briskly around her desk and pulled out a bundle of white cloth from the bottom drawer. ”I don’t imagine it’s anything of great significance. It was found whilst going through my family’s estate. I’ve had it for a years now, I would never have known of its origins if a friend of mine hadn’t stumbled across it by accident. ” Emma unfolded the cloth on the table to reveal a rather tattered looking silver amulet. It looked out of place in the otherwise pristine office which was why Emma had subconsciously wrapped it in the cloth, it wasn’t sort of thing Emma usually had associated with herself. ”I believe it used to belong to my mother. I’m afraid I can’t trace it beyond that however my family had a habit of acquiring all sorts of oddities from all corners of the globe.” Emma wasn’t intending to brag, in fact in her mind she was being derogatory to them, making an insult at her parent’s lack of taste.

Emma, who had been leaning over the artefact took a moment to look up into Strage’s eyes. She couldn’t help but feel lost for a moment, this was unlike Emma she usually kept herself far more distant from things in regards of business, but then was this really business?Stop it Emma she told herself when she realised she was staring into his eyes and she straightened up. That isn’t why he’s here, whether or not there’s money to be made this is still business Emma knew that telling herself this was useless, just like possessions once Emma set her mind on something she had to have it. ”I am sorry I completely forgot, I don’t suppose you’d like a cup of coffee, I have wine and tea as well if you’d prefer. Of course Georgia can get anything you might like, she’s a useless secretary but a fantastic shopper.” She mused as she gestured the prepared refreshments.

[strange]

"Doctor." The sorcerer immediately cut off Emma when she referred to him as 'Mr.' Strange, though he offered a small smile to placate her. "It's Dr. Strange. I may not practice anymore, but I'm still rather proud of it." It may have been a reminder of a life long left behind, but he felt that the title distinguished him - and it did.

When the amulet was revealed, Stephen immediately made his way over to her desk, the tails of his coat following in his wake. Before he'd touch it, he made sure to get a solid look at it, in case anything went wrong. "Sumerian. Markings here make reference to Shulgi." Careful not to touch it, he instead waved his index finger back and forth just above the location of the marks. "He was the second king of the Sumerian Renaissance. This puts our amulet sometime after 2029 BCE. The significance of the period was marked by the Sumerians' emphasis on culture: writing, art, religion."

Stephen finally stood up from his bent position. "It's a remarkable historical piece, Ms. Frost, but what you need is an archaeologist, not a magician. I'm sure they could properly appraise it for you. Lord knows there'd be hundreds of museums that would want it." The sorcerer ignored the offer of a drink, choosing instead to examine the rest of the office a bit more carefully.

"To be honest, I'm a bit upset that my time has been wasted. Who told you to come to me?"

[tigrawill]

Emma couldn’t help but suppress a mild laugh when Strange corrected her address; she had long born a grudge against medical doctors. Talented they may be, intelligent, sophisticated and well educated but doctorates they were not. The title belonged to those most advanced in the academic fields, not to the hundreds of men and women training to merely know the human body. Naturally she would have let this go however being corrected was something Emma hated more than anything else in the world. ”My apologies I didn’t realise you had a doctorate; I thought you were just a qualified surgeon.” She used the word 'just' with reverence, it was designed as a camouflaged insult and nothing else.

She listened quite carefully to his deductions as she poured herself a glass of wine and was a little surprised at the result. With a slight laugh she addressed the conclusions ”I can assure you I have little interest in selling the piece,” If it was truly that old then it was valuable and just like everything in the world if it was valuable then Emma wanted to own it, ”I was far more interested in the properties it may contain. It was a close friend of mine Wanda Maximoff who first suspected the amulet may be magical in nature. From there I took it to a number of minor magic wielders many of whom I suspect were nothing but con artists until eventually your name came up. I must say your name is held in high regard amongst your peers.” Emma was no stranger to respect herself however it was of a different kind. Stephen’s seemed to have formed an admiration whereas Emma’s existed entirely out of fear that she would take down any company she took a dislike to.

”Well I suppose if it really is just a necklace then I have little use for it, I mean it’s not exactly a glamorous piece is it?” This was quite cold of Emma, she seemed to disregard the fact that it had been handed down through her family and one of the few surviving objects testament to her parent’s life, but then if Strange had her parents even he would probably agree. ”I would be lying if I said I was disappointed, however I’m hardly surprised” Emma moved about her office with ease, she had spent many hours in the room and knew it as well she did her own body. Placing the wine glass down on small but effective table it was there for effect rather than a drink, the deep red shone like a lighthouse in the white office, ”Well I am sorry to have wasted your time Doctor,” she had relented and decided it best to simply call him what he desired, after all he had put in the effort to come to her not the other way around, ”I don’t suppose I could compensate you in some way?”