Derina Torres accepted the position, though she took it under false
pretenses. She believes that she will be working for Angela, and has no idea
that Angela has plans to leave. It’s not going to be an immediate
transition. Their best estimate for being able to escape this reality is
still months away. That gives them plenty of time to make sure that Derina
knows what she’s doing, and feels comfortable taking on more responsibility.
She won’t be alone, which is what they’re working on today.
It was very important to Angela that the half of her replacement who will be
in charge of the business side of things would be a woman. This was a
woman-led company from the beginning, and she doesn’t really want to change
that, especially not after all the misogynistic bullshit that she and Marie
had to go through at their last company. Leona convinced Winona to convince
whoever needed convincing to grant her temporary access to the United States
Database of Working Individuals, or USDOWI, for short. No matter which
world, in which reality, in which universe you go to, the government loves
acronyms. Sorting the table of employed people was more complicated than it
sounded when Leona first brought it up, but it still only took a day to
create her top ten most wanted, and then pare it down to the best candidate.
On paper, the best candidate is a man, but Angela is willing to sacrifice
perfection for best fit.
Syntyche Söderberg, Soldier of Sustainability is not named for the reason
you may think. Sustainability, in this case, does not refer to her feelings
on environmental, or even social, responsibility. What she’s known for is
dropping into startups and struggling businesses, and fixing whatever is
wrong or lacking in them so well that their success lasts indefinitely
beyond her departure. Her main competitors boast the same accomplishments,
but the persistence of that success is dubious for most, and non-existence
for a few. She knows what a company needs to thrive in the marketplace now,
and in the future, and she does not accept the job if she thinks that it
can’t be done. She stays on an assignment for as long as it takes, which may
mean a week of observation and consultation, or a year of running the
organization from the top down. If she can’t teach Derina to lead
independently, she’ll find her own permanent successor.
Syntyche isn’t famous for her high ethics, but she’s not evil, and she does
not allow the abuse of power, or the mistreatment of employees or consumers.
Her focus is on profit and growth, which often leads to utilizing cheap
materials, and overcharging for finished products, but according to
anecdotal reports, she will forgo these objectives in order to conform to
the principles of her clients. Well, at least she’ll meet them halfway.
Let’s not go crazy here, she has a 92% success rate that she has to
maintain.
They’re lucky to have caught her near the end of her current project. If she
agrees to the contract, she will be able to begin in two weeks. She had her
lawyer look over the paperwork yesterday, and is now sitting across from
Angela, Alyssa, and Derina, silently crossing eyes and dotting teas. She
takes off her reading glasses. “Where are you going?”
“I’m not going anywhere. I’m just contracting you to help us grow.”
Syntyche chuckles, and looks back at the contract. “This binds me to seven
months, with an extension to a full year, if necessary.”
“Right,” Angela confirms.
“Extend the extension to two years, and you have a deal.” She holds out her
hand.
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