Work Text:
Elend liked his office a little too much. After being forced to attend fundraising galas and events, it was his solitary oasis. He could spend all his time in there without his father bothering him or questioning him about what he was doing.
Being the son the CEO had its perks, sure, but its downsides weighed on Elend much heavier.
His peace was shattered by the door being flung open.
“Thought I’d find you here,” Jastes said entering Elend’s hiding spot.
It wasn’t unsual for him to bypass the poor secretary that was supposed to guard Elend’s door. All their years of friendship had earned him some privileges.
“I’m always here,” Elend closed the solitaire tab on his computer.
Jastes looked around, then zeroed on Elend’s suit, “Did you sleep here, too?”
“Maybe,” he answered not meeting his judgmental gaze. He hadn’t planned on it, but the reports from their previous meeting had been harder to complete than he’d expected.
Jastes threw him a pitying look, but they both knew this was one of the things that came with the job.
“Your dad is proper mad,” he said. “He brought up his reports from that spot he wanted to buy. Apparently the owner refuses to sell and the workers already know not to talk to us.”
Elend frowned. “Ok? So we leave them alone and find somewhere else. I don’t even know why he wants to expand. It’s not like we don’t have enough branches already.”
At that, Jastes sat on the chair at Elend’s desk and for the first time that day he allowed himself to slouch on it.
“Well, Elend” He said with a sigh. “Your father likes money more than anything so you put two and two together.”
“Right,” Elend pressed his lips together. “Why are you telling me, though? He doesn’t trust me to do any negotiating right, much less any acquisition.”
He wanted to believe that his father hadn’t always been that money hungry, that deep down there was a noble man who cared beyond the material things. But in truth, Elend had always known him to be calculating and cold, with no time for anything other than himself.
In all fairness, he had talked some potential sellers from working for his father. Elend wanted to do things right, but at Venture and Sons, the top priority was his father’s wishes. Elend often wondered if he’d ever even made the list of things Straff Venture cared about when it came to his business.
Jastes threw a couple of blue folders on Elend’s desk. They were both full of papers written by his father and everyone else that had come close to that place at one of Luthadel’s coveted streets.
“I spoke with Telden. You know he’s good at making things look better than they are, so your father agreed to my new strategy to get this place back.”
Elend raised an eyebrow, something good always came together when the three friends came together to try and fix something. “Fill me in”
“You go undercover and talk them into selling,” Jastes said confidently with a grin.
Elend was taken aback. “Excuse me?” that was ridiculous. “Didn’t you say they knew us?”
“They know us. They’ve never seen you.” Jastes said pointing at him. “You’re all theory, no practice. Time to change that.”
Elend leaned back into his chair, trying to throw Jastes a look to earn his pity back. He wasn’t all that sure about being able to convince those people of anything. How would he even go about that conversation? He was great at giving speeches, giving presentations, and even arguing in meetings. But casual chit chat seemed to be one step too far.
“Sorry, man, but you’re all I’ve got right now.”
With a sigh, Elend looked at the folders Jastes had brought with him. They felt thicker than usual.
Underdevelopped city space, potential business growth, although competition near
The reports were quite clear.
Acquisition delayed by Venture Industries CEO Straff Venture. Owners of land uncooperative. Functioning bussiness on land failed to be traspassed. Land continuously appreciating in value.
This didn’t look at all promising but growth at the company had become stagnant and investors were starting to get relentless. Elend had been presented with the perfect opportunity to get back to his father’s graces with little consequence to the local economy. As much as Elend went against some of his father’s principles, he had to stay in his good graces some way or another.
Elend stood up with a groan. Jastes was looking at him expectantly.
“Ok. I accept this ridiculous plan of yours, but you’re paying for our lunch today.”
Jastes’ mouth spread with a wide mischievous smile and walked up to the other side of the desk to give him a brotherly tap of encouragement.
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“I can't believe you got him to agree to this,” Telden said taking a sip of his drink. He didn't even have the decency to hide his playful smile.
“I'm a charmer when I need to be,” Jastes adjusted in his chair to appear taller.
The thing Elend loved most about his friends was how easily they’d fit together. It had been years and they still found the time to meet each other for lunch or drinks. It was a comfort Elend was very fond of and knew to cherish it, even if sometimes he had to take on the responsibility of branch expansions.
“He basically made it sound like we'd all be jobless unless I accepted,” Elend said.
“Same thing,” Jastes shrugged.
Telden looked at him with a soft smile. He understood how little Elend was looking forward to the task. “Hey it's not that bad, you get to hang out somewhere else while being paid.”
“I guess,” Elend shrugged. He couldn’t be too mad, it would work out positively for him any way he looked at it, but what was he even supposed to say to those people that hadn’t been said before? How would he not make himself obvious from the get-go?
“I think our mistake was to be upfront with it,” Jastes started. “Our usual ambush didn't move them one bit. Telden wasn't able to budge anything either. They don't want to sell and that's that for them.”
Elend frowned and studied his glass. “So why bother? If they feel established enough just move on with it, there's a million other bars that are actually failing.”
There had to be something Elend was missing about that place.
Telden broke the silence, “Well, you see, what Venture wants is not the bar itself, it's the location. Prime spot for both tourists and locals so a little renovation to the neighborhood would do some good.”
“So we gentrify them,” Elend concluded.
“In other words.”
Many of their after work drinks together came with the same topics of conversation over and over again. They usually started with insignificant problems that had surfaced at work, followed by the messy company politics and ended by how bad the political environment of the country was. Fortunately, they usually agreed on most things, otherwise Elend would try to convert them to his opinions.
“Do I look like a gentrifier?” Elend asked suddenly.
Telden gave him a look and after a second he made a face, “maybe lose the tie.”
He bit his sandwich without taking his eyes off him. “The suit too, they didn't even serve Jastes when he went there the first time”
Elend threw his friend a look. “The charm didn't work? I'm shocked” he said with fake surprise.
“Shut your mouth you're the one visiting them next,” Jastes protested throwing him a dirty napkin.
“Gross. And don't remind me.” He sighed and bit his nail. “So… How do I even start a conversation?”
There was a long pause between the friends.
“Oh my God,” Jastes said, and Elend saw how his comment had not landed as a joke at all.
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Elend’s first thought when he stood in front of the pub was the potential. The reports had been accurate: central location, established spot, … remnants of how his father had wanted him to think still lingered and sometimes still overrode any habit he’d tried to erase.
The wooden door opened with a sound. The inside was cozy, more than Elend had expected, with wooden walls and wooden tables that almost gave the feeling of traveling somewhere else.
He’d specifically come at peak hour with hopes of disappearing between the rest of costumers. Elend wanted to get a feel of the place unnoticed before approaching anyone, which was more his style than ambushing as he had been instructed.
The place was practically filled with groups of people sitting around every table in the place. There wasn’t much to choose from so he walked to the bar and sat at one of the ends not wanting to seem too eager.
“What can I get ya?” a slim man quickly asked him.
Elend hesitated, “Uh, I’ll take a Budweiser, please.”
The man nodded and turned to serve him. He was wearing a pair of dark sunglasses which, judging by the lighting in the place, should make him practically blind. Elend tried not to question that too much.
He was back just as quickly as he had left him, placed the pint glass in front of Elend and smiled. Elend muttered a thanks and tried to count this first interaction as a win.
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Elend’s second visit was very different from the first. He let a few days go by, not wanting to seem too eager. He’d expected to see the same guy again, but instead, a girl around his age was standing behind the bar arranging some freshly cleaned glasses.
He decided to sit there today.
“Welcome, what can I get you?” the girl asked with a practiced smile.
“Uhm, a beer please, Budweiser is good.”
Without exchanging another word, the girl started pouring his drink. He was supposed to do the same as the day before: sit, look around, take the place in, and make himself a trusted costumer that could have a conversation with the staff.
“So, are you visiting?” The girl suddenly asked.
“No,” Elend said quickly, “I live around here.”
He hoped his smile didn’t show how unprepared for small talk he was.
“Oh! I wouldn't have guessed, you've got a bit of an accent.”
She leaned on the bar right in front of him.
Elend had chosen to go in the morning this time, to get a different feel. Or so he’d told himself. What he hadn’t been prepared for was to get all the attention to himself.
He could feel the blood reaching his cheeks, “yeah, um, my parents moved here when I was born, guess their accent stuck” he tried to save.
“Cute,” the girl said with a wink.
Elend knew she was probably the same with every costumer, to keep them coming back, lured by the minute chance this girl would give them the time of day. He tried looking anywhere else.
Right at the far corner of the bar, there was a thick course book surrounded by a pile of papers and notes. Elend couldn’t help but ask. “What were you studying? Sorry if I interrupted.”
Now it was her turn to be a little embarrassed. “Oh, no, it’s just… chemistry.”
“Oh so you’re smart smart.” Elend wasn’t sure why her answer had surprised him; she was probably more capable than him.
“I wouldn’t say that,” she said with a shy smile.
“Do you work here to pay for uni then?” he took a drink of his beer.
“Sure I mean, I’ll probably work here forever. My family owns the place; this is our second home basically.”
“You don’t plan on using your degree?” he frowned slightly.
“Maybe at some point, but you couldn’t pry this pub from us it seems”, she said with small grin.
Elend knew he’d regret not prying. It sounded like that could’ve told him something about the situation that maybe his friends hadn’t even come close to. But elend also realized that Vin’s trust felt more important for now, that he’d rather have to spend an entire extra month on this case than getting the job done quickly.
“I’m Vin, by the way.” She extended her hand out. “The girl who keeps answering all your questions.”
Elend let a wide smile spread across his face and shook her hand just like he’d do with any business deal. “Elend.”
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Straff Venture had called his son five times in the last twenty four hours asking for any optimistic updates on his case. His trust was never blindly placed and he worried his own son wouldn’t be up to the task.
He asked for every detail of his visits. Was flirting with the bartender report appropriate? Elend preferred to skip that bit.
On his next visit, he kept the same routine he’d been practicing. Sit at the bar, ask for the same drink, and make small talk with whoever was behind it. This time, it was the young man with the sunglasses again.
“Just me,” he said with a smirk, “my sister will be around later.”
Elend frowned but understood the implication. He hadn’t expected to be remembered so quickly. He was glad there were only a few other people in place and they all seemed to be minding their own business.
“So… What do you do?”
Elend knew it was just small talk to fill the space while the guy poured his drink, but the question made him tense a little. He couldn’t be entirely truthful about it, but he could get close to the truth.
“For work?” Elend asked in a weak attempt to buy himself some time to think.
The man made a positive sound.
“I’m a lawyer,” he said confidently. “I work in the legal department of my father’s company.”
That was all true. He hadn’t said what kind of lawyer or what he usually spent his time doing, he left all of that to the other man’s imagination.
“Oh, that’s cool that you can help people,” he said falling for Elend’s omitions. “I’ve always wanted to do something bigger than myself you know, something that means something.”
“That’s noble of you.” Elend said earnestly. “It’s never late to start anything, you know. Sometimes life deals you a hand that you’re forced to play but at some point you get to make a choice too.”
There was a brief silence between them. Elend worried he’d spoken too much.
“Dude, you get it,” he finally said. “Did you go through something like that too?”
Elend cleared his throat. “More or less, I guess my father expected some things from me and I just followed his lead.”
“So being a lawyer wasn’t plan A.”
“No, it was,” Elend nodded even if his expression was turning slightly into a frown. It had always been his goal to become a lawyer. To defend, help people get the justice they deserved. He’d just had to change the outcome slightly. “Just maybe not the way I
went about it. I am usually on the side I don’t really agree with.”
“Damn, that’s rough.”
“It is what it is”
“Doesn’t have to be,” he turned around then placed two shot glasses in front of Elend. The liquid he poured seemed clear and innocent. “So one day you can be on the good side”
They chuckled and drank the shot at the same time.
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When he sat at the same spot a few days later, Vin barely even looked at him. She served him his usual and moved on cleaning glasses that already look clean to Elend.
Spook, with whom Elend had bonded over their hope to do good the last time he’d been there, was serving the tables with an air of sadness unusual to him.
Elend cleaned his throat to build up the courage to speak.
“You look stressed.”
“Yeah, no shit” Vin answered with a glare.
An awkward pause fell between them. “Anything i can help you with?”
He’d meant it genuinely. If Vin had asked him to help her clean the tables he was probably going to accept without a fuss.
Unexpectedly, she offered him a soft smile, “Not really,” she said. “It’s just, money stuff, you know how it is.”
Elend frowned. He knew the bar was struggling but he’d thought that their continued aversion to sell meant they weren’t doing that badly.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, money is tight,” she sighed, clearly tense. “It always is, really, but not that long ago there was this big company who offered to buy this place for a ridiculous amount and well, I guess it’s more tempting now than it was then.”
She looked at Elend with a sad smile on her lips, which he mirrored in sympathy.
“Why didn’t you sell it then? Not that you should just give this up to anyone, you know what I mean.”
She let out a sad chuckle. “Yeah, no, I think we’re so attached to this place we can’t get rid of it. Plus, a change like that is too dangerous especially with a big company like that.”
She left the rag she was holding somewhere behind her and went to stand in front of him, leaning onto the bar with her arms stretched to hold her up. The situation was making her unable to focus on anything else. “Nothing assures us we’ll have a job when
they take over, they might hide clauses from us, lower pay,... it just felt like too much you know.”
Elend breathed in, giving himself a moment to think. She was right in all her fears, he could see his father doing all of that if he thought it convenient. It was exactly the reason Elend had tried to stay away from the reality of his job. Sure, the company was thriving but it was at the cost of underpaying people and abusing legal loopholes.
“You think they would fire you?” Elend finally said.
“Well their track record isn’t the best to be honest.” She sighed again, looking even more defeated than before. “I thought maybe if we unionized we’d have some more power against them, even if we have to end up selling to them. Like I said, money is tight but it always is and their offer is too risky as is.”
There was a long pause between them.
“You’d need some sort of legal counsel.” He said still deep in thought.
Vin’s eyes snapped him back, realizing what he’d said. She looked at him quizzically.
Elend smiled.
“You better mean that.”
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It wasn’t in Elend’s nature to act irrationally and without a plan, but this time he felt like there was no time to obsess over the details.
He’d already decided. If he’d paused and looked at himself then, he’d realized Elend had already made that decision long ago, he’d just had to accept it.
Barging into Jastes’ office was the easy part. Catching his breath after running up the stairs proved more difficult.
“What the fuck,” Jastes said stunned in place.
Elend straigtened up, “I quit.”
“Come again?”
Elend cleared his throat, no longer gasping for air. “I said I quit. We both know I hate this place and how fucked up it can be.”
“Yeah, like all of us. We’re here for the money. Did they find out who you are or what?” Jastes said indifferent.
Elend looked at his friend with a frown, hadn’t they talked about how unfair some of the company’s actions had been? Hadn’t they agreed on how much they wanted to change the course of things? Why had he expected him to follow his ideals?
“I’m going to tell my father,” Elend said in almost a whisper, defeated. “See you… See you on the other side, I guess.”
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To Elend’s surprise, his father had looked almost happy to hear about his resignation, but he wasn’t going to let that bring his spirits down. It was his time to do something meaningful that he cared about, not some soulless business transaction.
Elend opened the creaky door to Vin’s bar, though it was fuller than he’d expected at this time of day.
He wasn’t there to attract too much attention to himself so he waited at the side closer to the entrance.
“Hi,” Elend said with a smile when he saw Vin approaching.
“Hey,” she said simply, waiting for him to continue.
“So,” Elend started, giving his words some momentum. “I’m here to make you a proposition.”
Vin raised an eyebrow. “Go on.”
“Would you want to organize a protest?” Elend couldn’t help the wide smile on his face.
He placed his elbow on the bar, hand raised waiting for Vin’s to clasp it.
She smiled widely looking right into his eyes and did just that. “Absolutely.”