The Fall of Janus Cosmetics...[Ivy]

[Pamela Isley]

When Mr. Pearson sighed, Pamela was not surprised. Though everything had moved quickly when she'd put out an offer to bail out Janus, she was not so socially ignorant to have signed the paperwork expecting that it would go well if she barged in and enforced her way on everyone with no regard to the thoughts and feelings of the people whose livelihoods were now in her hands. In a strict, legal sense she could take a proverbial wrecking ball to the entire establishment but that was messy and unelegant - something that Roman would do. She's better than that, working her way around people with surgical precision.

She gave Mr. Pearson an attentive look as he spoke, an empathetic expression on her face. She was about to reply, but the annoyed Roman's words came faster. She hardly seemed to pay any attention to him, however, the only indication that she was aware of him speaking being that she did not attempt to talk over him. Instead of replying to him, she instead spoke to Mr. Pearson as if Roman's words hadn't interjected into their exchange. "Wayne Enterprises is a fine idea! By all means, open up a conversation with them - I can also put in a good word with Bruce, which should help. But if they don't bite, I'm fully confident that someone else will - like I said, it's not a bad team at all, simply not something Janus needs right now," she said with a smile and a nod.

As she continued, her attention shifted so that she wasn't talking so directly to him and was instead addressing everyone more generally, "And while I know that moving to a new company is unsettling, it's better for everyone involved. It means that you no longer have to worry that you'll be dragged down with a sinking ship and can instead work for someone who is not only not failing but also gives you the respect that you deserve." Only then did her eyes flicker over to Roman, hinting rather clearly that she was talking specifically about him even if she didn't say so.

Now that she was deigning to notice his presence again, she added, "For identical reasons, I intend to do the same with the sales team. Which is also not a bad team - in fact, they're doing quite well with what little they have to work with. I'd imagine that if they were attempting to sell something that people actually wanted to buy they would be very successful. But they're not strictly necessary to Janus at the moment so it's better for everyone if they were also sold to a company who needs them more."

[Roman Sionis]

The Sales team at Janus Cosmetics had been living in a nightmare since Roman Sionis had taken over. The board member in charge of sales at the former Cosmetic giant was a young woman by the name of Hayley Wilson. Her sales team had been laughed out of advertisement offices or politely asked to leave distribution retailers when they attempted to sell them EXTREME. As the head of that department, she had been front and center of each of those interactions.

Hayley had been in the same Gotham University graduating class as Cayla Lyons. Hayley had been much less predatorial then her cohort counterpart, but just as good in the realm of business. Hayley had short dirty blonde hair and a figure that was in shape from her consistent regime at the gym.  She was tall for a female.  5'10.  About the same height as Roman Sionis.  Shorter than Brompton Wong.  A little taller than Pamela Isley.  

Inside she was ecstatic when Pamela mentioned that the entire sales team was being moved onto another company. It was a new chance. A second life. No one was going to straight out hire her after seeing Janus Cosmetics on her CV, but a company that was asked to absorb her department be able to help substitute that brand name on her resume over Janus.

"Ms. Isley, on behalf of the sales department we welcome and appreciate any direction you can provide to us."

Roman frowned, "Hawt stuff," he started referring to Isley.  "This is a decision I certainly disapprove of.  The sales team needs re-education on the vision that Janus Cosmetics has been presenting.  What the sales team needs is a corporate retreat that I can lead.  Products like EXTREME and WATERPROOF are a way of life.  They are a new religion.  What they are NOT are your run of the mill cosmetic product. Heeee.  Maybe YOU can join us?  Huh Huh?  Heeeee."  

Roman propped himself hire in his executive seat.  The creature was trying to get a hire vantage point to see if there was any cleavage in view.  He examined Cayla, Hayley, and then Isley.  This caused Cayla and Hayley to cover up immediately, and look down shamefully.  Roman was still an intimidating figure within the offices and prone to violent outbursts.     Roman's carnal habits had been denied by Circe for some reason.   Maybe she should get a beating soon.

[Pamela Isley]

Unwilling to answer to the name 'hawt stuff', Pamela seemed to ignore his words until he was done with his rant. In truth, she was only half paying attention as it was because she knew that everything he was saying was irrelevant and pointless because, "It would be pointless to 're-educate' the sales team." She actually lifted her fingers to do the air quotes instead of merely implying them. "Like I said, we're not selling off the sales team because they're bad at their job, but because we don't need them. Or are you suggesting that provide free training to employees we're about to let go? I thought you were a businessman, Roman," she chided arrogantly.

All while confidently ignoring his attempt to look down her shirt. She didn't even need to consider whether or not he'd see anything because she was at the opposite end of the long table so simply propping himself up wouldn't really help him much at getting a better angle. And besides that, her businesswear was appropriately conservative enough that, though the cut of her blazer very much indicated that the figure it was covering was everything a man could dream of, it did indeed keep it covered. But even beyond that, this was a woman who was normally prone to displaying a lot of cleavage on purpose - if a man was leering at her that simply meant that she had power over him. So even if he had any hope of seeing anything she'd not have minded one bit.

In any event, because she was not taking anything he was saying or doing at the moment very seriously at all she simply moved onto the next subject. "Though the next team that needs to be addressed is research and development..." she said, he smile growing slightly bigger. Unlike the previous two teams that she'd mentioned, the research and development team had been the one that she'd been in herself during her brief time working for the company. She didn't really know the people on any of the other teams except the board members that she'd met just recently, but she knew everyone on the research and development team and had very strong opinions about them.

Opinions that she'd kept to herself, because that was the diplomatic thing to do at the time, but she'd always been a collector of rumors and so of course she knew exactly what all of her coworkers on that team had thought of her. And though she now had the great joy of being able to boss around Roman himself, that didn't mean that she also didn't have the somewhat lesser but still satisfying joy of now also being well over the head of everyone else in her former department. All of these people whose livelihoods were now completely within her control - it was delicious. And the irony that Roman had once dangled the job of being the director of that department over her head and she was now well above that position was not lost on her at all.

[Roman Sionis]

Roman's failed attempt to see Isley's cleavage had frustrated It more than anything else in the meeting thus far. Roman curled It's fingers into a claw like motion and scratched It's face with both hands in annoyance. When It did so dry and dead skin flakes littered the shoulders of It's business suit and desecrated the pristine nature of the board room table.

The emotions caused the creature to shift It's mood and snap at Isley, "What do you mean pointless to re-educate the sales team? They need to UNDERSTAND that here at Janus Cosmetics, we are attempting to change society. It is about the mask. The mask that everyone wears. If they are able to shed those false demeanors and embrace their true sinful natures then real transformation can begin. Janus," Roman stated referring to Itself, "Is indeed an excellent business executive. However, It desires to transcend the world of business. It is about a new religion. It is about a new philosophy. It is about a new way of thinking! Heeeeee!"

Isley's dismissal of It's words and not taking the creature's visions seriously caused even more irritation inside of Roman Sionis. Roman was beginning to believe that Pamela would drive Janus Cosmetics into the ground. In It's mind, Isley would have been a great Development and Research Director, however It not understood that she would be a terrible president and CEO.

The only way It would allow her to keep reigns over the company is if she slept with It.

When she stated that the research and development team needed to be addressed next, It rudely interrupted with a snarl, "YES. The Research and Development team DOES need to be addressed. They are the main reason Janus Cosmetics is in our current dilemma. Yes. Their failure to product test WATERPROOF and to come out with a quality cosmetic has led to distrust in our loyal customer base. The negative press we have been receiving is because people have been clamoring for WATERPOOF for weeks only to be left still waiting for the products release date! Research and Development and Sales are obviously our week points. That is why Janus, that's me Heee! Suggests a corporate retreat in a remote location. The sales team can be indoctrinated in the WATERPOOF AND EXTREME ideologies and the R&D team can be re-motivated!"

Roman smiled and puckered It's lip at Isley, "Pamela, Hawt Stuff, since you are the key member of the R&D team and a new leader to our company ONLY you, yes ONLY you need to attend the retreat on behalf of R&D. You and Janus can have private sessions in my father's old log cabin. Whaduysay? Whaduysay? Heeee!"

[Pamela Isley]

"What part of 'the sales team is being sold' do you not understand, Roman? This isn't rocket science," Pamela said back, her voice mild the same way a mother might gently correct a child. That was how he was behaving himself, saying the same thing over and over again as if he would somehow get his way eventually, so why not treat him that way?

When he, once again, barged in with his opinion, she gave him a look of deep long-suffering as she listened. Waiting until he finished, she blinked once and said, "I'm not on the Research and Development team." With that one sentence dismissal of everything he'd said, she instead addressed the board as a whole as she said, "Having been on that team myself, I'm personally familiar with it. And believe me when I say that the whole team is an absolute wash - we can easily fire all of them and, while they could certainly try to file a wrongful termination claim, it wouldn't be difficult at all to prove both their group and individual incompetence. So we can be rid of them without worrying about severance." And good riddance to all of them, she thought with a smirk.

"As for their equipment, I will buy that privately. It is, after all, my own field and it would not be difficult for me to resell it to my colleagues so that's no burden," she commented lightly. Well, all of the equipment she didn't want to quietly keep for herself, anyway. Including everything she'd 'forgotten' to return when she'd been fired - but now she wouldn't need to worry about it being remembered the next time the company tried to take inventory. There wouldn't be anyone left to take inventory when she was through.

But even as she explained her plans for Research and Development, though her words were as relaxed and confident as before she kept a subtle eye on the rest of the room. While the customer service team was hardly necessary and there were alternatives to having a sales team, the research and development team was closer to the core of the company. They invented new products, after all, and while the company could certainly continue to produce older products without them, she knew that it would bring questions about exactly what her intentions were for the future of the company. Some might even begin to guess at what she was really up to.

Not that she expected many of the board to be especially upset - having already demonstrated with both the customer service team and the sales team that leaving Janus Cosmetics could easily be considered a positive thing to happen, she suspected that those who were attached to the teams not yet mentioned would at least be willing to hear out the rest of her proposals. As long as she didn't treat their team the same as she'd treated the team she used to belong to, the future looked bright to both them and those who worked under them.

That is, of course, for everyone except for Roman. While some of the others may still have feelings about Janus Cosmetics as a company, she assumed that they all knew that it wasn't the same company as it had been under the leadership of Roman's father. If they'd been attached to the company before, their bond was severely weakened if not already gone. But for Roman, he would be the only one who still had a strong personal attachment to the company itself - his family's business. He'd be the only one really hurt here.

[Roman Sionis]

"Wait a minute? What do you mean fire the research and development team?" Roman snapped Itself out of the state of infatuation It had with Isley to address her bold business proposition. "Without a research and development team there is no WATERPROOF. Without the research and development unit there is no MORTICIANS's COSMETICS. Did you even attend any type of business class you red-headed bimbo? There might be a level of incompetence on the current R&D team, but we can re-educate them as well and add them to the corporate retreat that Janus pitched. But to fire them? To get rid of the team? Nononononono."

Sionis shook It's hands and shook It's head in unison.

In truth, it would be difficult to pinpoint exactly what went wrong and where it did. Was it at birth for Roman? Was it during childhood? Was it during his early teenage years? The blame had fallen on the creature known as Roman Sionis for the faults and failures of Janus Cosmetics, and even though IT hated It's father and mother with a passion, Roman did care about the company. It cared about the success, past, present, and future of Janus Cosmetics. The company was It's inheritance. Janus Cosmetics was Roman Sionis's birthright. Janus Cosmetics was Roman's kingdom to reign over. Just like Pamela cared for plants, Roman cared about Janus Cosmetics.

Isley once again ignored It's words, and continued on with her plans for the R&D team. Then she mentioned desiring to purchase the research and development equipment and sell it off to her colleagues.

"Why would you sell the equipment? We need the equipment! The botanists or whatever their titles are can be replaced. BUT the equipment, why sell it?! The doo-hookies, the purple liquids, the green thick stuff, and the whatchamacallits? We need those things to produce the cosmetics we need to bring forth the cultural revolution! Heeeeeee."

Roman drooled onto the table. Then wiped the droll off with It's suit sleeve. There was a moment of silence and a headache manifesting inside of Roman's head as It was getting fatigued. "Janus is starting to believe that you have no intention to save Janus Cosmetics. Janus is starting to believe you have no intention to bail out Janus Cosmetics. Janus is starting to believe you have no intention of continuing operations of Janus Cosmetics. Selling the sales team. Pawning off the customer relations department, and now FIRING the research and development team! Janus wants to know.......Janus really wants to know....Janus must know....WHAT EXACTLY ARE YOU TRYING TO DO PAMELA? WHAT IS YOUR GAME?"

[Pamela Isley]

Ignoring Roman's initial outburst, Pamela knew that patience was key with this singularly obnoxious man. And especially because she knew exactly where she was going with all this, ruining her good mood was a rather difficult thing to do. Serving someone their just desserts was a happy occasion, after all, and if he wanted to throw a fit about it like a toddler that was his choice.

But it seemed that when she mentioned disposing of the equipment for research and development that he finally began to catch on. It was about time, really - if he wasn't so obsessed with his own ego then he'd have probably figured it out sooner. He'd treated her so very poorly and, though she'd been passive-aggressive in her response, if he'd cared to pay attention then he would know just how much she would love to see him ruined. And it was his own fault, really - upsetting people who are richer than you was a terrible idea.

They might do something like using their money to ruin something you love. "It's not necessary for Janus Cosmetics to have research equipment right now," she replied as he wiped his own drool off the table - disgusting man! Which didn't by itself mean that she intended for the company to not continue because the company would still be able to continue to produce their older product lines, but perhaps because it meant that the company would obviously no longer be able to pursue his 'vision' that allowed him to see the bigger picture of what she was doing.

And when he confirmed it verbally, the omnipresent smile on her face grew a little. The man really did have a lot to learn, didn't he? Well, she wasn't about to bother teaching him anything - no, she very simply just wanted to pay him back for all of the 'kindness' he'd managed to give her during their brief time of working together. He really had managed to inject a lot of trouble and bother in only a matter of months - she was surprised that at the very least that nobody had taught him humility yet if he was going to run around acting as he did.

Well, that was no problem - she was certainly happy to teach him a lesson in humility. "I'm doing exactly what I said that I would do from the outset. I'm saving..." she paused to switch from looking at only Roman to acknowledge the board members in the room, "...most of you..." she shifted back to look at Roman "...from financial ruin." Yes, most of them, but certainly not Roman. He and a few others that she disliked during her brief time of working for the company would not be saved. Everyone else would leave with their job intact, or at the very least get their investment returned, completely at the expense of those few.

[Roman Sionis]

For about thirty seconds of It's life, Roman Sionis had a chance of a 'normal life,' free of a mental illness or any psychiatric disability.  That all changed when It was dropped on It's head moments into It's existence.  With a damaged prefrontal cortex and with a bruised parietal lobe of the brain, Roman never stood a chance.  Then came the beatings.  The physical abuse suffered at the hands of It's father, a man by the name of Charles Sionis.  Followed by emotional neglect caused by It's mother.  Lastly, there was the incident with the raccoon and rabies that shaped It's fascination with masks...

Roman suffered from a broken ID, EGO, and Superego.  Due to the TBI at birth and the rabies from the racoon, Roman's Id was completely broken.  The ego was destroyed at the hands of It's parents.  The parents It still loved, cherished, and worshipped.  The damage had been caused when It was a toddler, perhaps that was why Roman responded like a toddler to Isley's motherly tone and demeanor.

However it was not because of a damaged ego that took Roman Sionis so long to catch onto Pamela Isley's plan, rather it was because Roman had become obsessed with her.  What type of obsession was still hard to say.  Was it attraction?  Was it venom?  Was it a strange combination of both?

Her indirect response was like a kick to the testicles.  She had intended to financially ruin him.  She had intended to teach him humility.  She had intended to pay him back for harsh treatment of her as an employee. 

"Oh.  Heeeee."  Roman lowered It's head in realization.  She obviously was not planning to save him from poverty. 

Roman picked It's nose.  It was a nervous response.  A nervous tick It always did when feeling ashamed.  As a youth, Roman often picked It's nose when being lectured by It's father.  The move nervous, the deeper the pick.  And this pick was a full one.  All the way up to the nasal bridge to remove a nice and slime filled booger. 

Roman considered eating the booger.  What the heck It did.  The creature known as Roman Sionis had been reduced to eating a large booger in front of a corporate board. 

"Heeee.  Listen Pamela.  Let's let bygones be bygones heee?  You know, Roman Sionis IS Janus Cosmetics.  You need him to be a member of this company, after all Roman is legally planning to change his name to Janus."

Roman leaned forward in It's chair and folded It's hands together, pleading with Pamela Isley, "Pl--pl---please let Janus keep his job!  P--pl--please.  He is willing to start at the bottom!  He is willing to do whatever it takes to be apart of this company.  This is his life.  This is his inheritance.  This is his families legacy! Heeee."  


 

[Pamela Isley]

Pamela didn't care why Roman was the way that he was. If she'd known the whole story that wouldn't gain one iota of her empathy. That was partly because she had her own unfortunate past that left her unable to empathize or even sympathize with most other people at all. It was plants that she felt connected and bonded to, not people.

But in Roman's case, she was bothered enough that she wouldn't even deign to pretend to have sympathy for him, now that she was in a position where it wouldn't hurt her socially to be uncaring toward him. If only he had friends in powerful places who would look upon her unfavorably for slighting him, but he did not, so she could do as she pleased.

When his finger went into his nose, she did the only thing a woman of such polite society as her could: she averted her eyes and pretended that he didn't exist for as long as that was an issue. If he was going to act like filth that she wouldn't even step on, he would be treated as such. It wasn't even worth it to her to make an appalled sound of disgust about his actions like several of the board members - that was for lesser people to do. Normally it was for lesser people to get something so hideous out of her sight before she was forced to pretend to notice it, though unfortunately, Roman was still a valid attendee of the board meeting.

Still, if she had to continue to associate with him after that display, at least she'd gotten him to beg. She liked it. "I have no intention of firing you," she stated lightly, her voice almost soothing in spite of her cruel intention. It was the truth, actually. She had every intention of carefully dismantling the company until there was nothing left of it besides the name, a few worthless patents, and enough debt to force him into poverty and bankruptcy, but she rather liked the idea of leaving him as President and CEO of nothing - no employees, no capital, no assets. It did seem to fit in nicely with exactly what she felt that he deserved.

Turning her attention back to the full board, she added, "If I may, as they say, cut to the chase: I intend to deal similarly with the other branches of the company as the three already mentioned. I've already found several strong leads on companies who may be interested in acquiring Janus's employees, as well as the current inventory and real estate assets. Not much is set in stone yet - I've only gotten started - but based on my calculations the revenue should balance out with the expenses rather nicely. Dissolving Janus should proceed smoothly and painlessly." At least if you don't care about the company effectively ceasing to exist, anyways.

[Roman Sionis]

Roman breathed a deep sigh of relief when Ivy mentioned she had 'no intention' of firing It. Roman used It's right sleeve jacket to wipe the remnants of saliva that was left at the corner of It's mouth and then blew It's nose with the left sleeve jacket, splattering snot all over the table. 

"Th--thank you Pamela! You're the greatest. We can discuss Janus's new salary--post meeting. A slight raise can be expected. Heee."

Pamela's response to the 'nose pick' was class. She played the game well. Some where along the line she had received training in high society etiquette. A skill most did not have, and only a few had an opportunity to learn. Whatever experience she lacked in proper business acumen she made up with natural talent.

Roman fixed It's current disheveled appearance as if a haste spell was cast on It. Quickly combing It's floppy brown hair, adjusting the crooked tie, flattening out the jacket collar, and adjusting It's position in the corporate seat - all within rapid succession. Finishing just in time for Isley to address the board about her plans for the other Janus Cosmetic departments.

Roman furrowed It's brow in confusion. It seemed like from the get go, Roman was trying to play catch up during this entire meeting. With the infatuation blinders taken off for the first time, and it took nearly an hour to do so, Roman was beginning to see more and more of Isley's true intention.

Allowing her to finish for the first time during the entire meeting, Roman immediately asked with naivety. "Cut to the chase? Deal with the other branches? What properties, assets, employees, inventory, real estate, and divisions are you leaving for Janus to run?"

Then everything suddenly hit Roman at the same time. She was leaving It with NOTHING. Absolutely nothing.

Roman swallowed deeply.  Switching to full and utter desperation mode, Roman got up from It's chair and rushed around the table in a non threatening manner -- arms at sides and with head down until It was standing right next to Isley's large corporate throne. The speed at which Roman was moving, resembled a servant being beckoned by It's master with a treat in hand.

Roman dropped down to both knees looked up at Pamela beseeched.  Roman rested both hands and It's chin on her arm raist, looking up at her with those dull brown eyes that It had the moment Roman was dropped on It's head at birth, "Miss Isley, please! You cannot sell off all departments! You can't sell off all of the employees! What about information technology!? What about administration!? What about marketing!? What about manufacturing?! Please! Leave Janus with something to run! Anything to manage! If he must, Janus will work for minimum wage at 80 hours a week! This company must survive!"

[Pamela Isley]

Fortunately for Pamela, her position on the opposite end of the table meant that she was as far away as possible from Roman and his inability to keep his body fluids to himself. That also meant that he was easier to ignore as well. Several board members weren't so lucky and made quiet exclamations of disgust, but those were easy for her to ignore as well. She knew exactly how long all of them needed to put up with him, after all, and it's much easier to endure something unpleasant if you know that it won't be for very long.

And besides that, behaving with class was literally in her blood. The heiress of a considerable fortune, she was taught how to behave from the moment she was born - she was the capitalist equivalent of a princess, after all. Her parents may have paid as little attention to her as possible, but when they did they expected her to keep up appearances. Lessons that she did not fully exploit until after their untimely demise, but unlike Roman who expected his birthright to matter regardless of what he did, she knew how to use her own.

Unlike the aristocracies of old in which one's bloodline mattered above all else, the elite of the modern era was a position that needed to be maintained, whether or not one's rise to that tier of society was earned or born into. What mattered instead was money and, perhaps even more importantly, one's reputation. Fail to maintain your money and your reputation, and suddenly who your parents were didn't matter very much at all. Roman had already ruined his reputation all on his own - Pamela was now simply stripping him of the money that any true member of high society would feel that he no longer deserved. Though there was a certain tolerance for poor behavior among the ranks of the rich and famous, there was a limit and Roman had passed it.

And also Pamela simply loathed him.

When he moved to literally grovel at her side, she didn't move but gave a subtle nod to one of the board members. After seeing what he did to that precious ficus, she regarded him as an unstable, violent man even though she hadn't seen him take out his anger physically on a person. If he could be that cruel to an innocent plant, then she wouldn't put anything past him. With him now beginning to realize exactly what she was up to, she'd thought that it was a good idea to see to her security for this meeting so she made sure that the company's security guards were immediately on hand, just in case. Also, she suspected that many of the board members - the younger gentlemen especially - would not sit back if anything were to happen faster than security could arrive. Or Roman may simply make so much of a nuisance of himself that he would need to be escorted out even if he wasn't violent - either way, if that moment happened it would likely be now.

"I have no reason not to, darling," was her simple reply, having not moved in her seat even to look at him.

[Roman Sionis]

It is no secret Roman Sionis harbored a bitter hatred for his parents. That is why he murdered them in a raging inferno a few months ago. Roman Sionis had thoughts of killing his parents at an early age, what set him off was their disapproval for Circe, a women from a lower birth rank.

If Charles Sionis and Mrs. Sionis had to decide on a suitable wife for Roman, Pamela Isley would have fit the criteria to a tee. She woud have been perfect. She was born into an influential family, upper class as one would say. Roman Sionis knew this the moment he viewed Isley's CV and researched her on the internet. That is why he employed her as a member of the R&D team at Janus Cosmetics. He wanted to hire Isley, break Isley, humiliate Isley, and maybe even torture Isley as rebellion against his dead parents. To overcome another psychological hurdle they had placed in him, so he could move onto to be more successful and popular then Bruce Wayne.

At the same time, Roman worshipped his parents. Hen wanted their attention. He wanted them to focus less on their status in society and more on their only child. Deep down inside the head trauma suffered as an infant, the raccoon bite, and his parents emotional neglect of their son created the creature known as Roman Sionis.

"Pamela. Ms. Isley. Please. Janus Cosmetics was built by Roman's father from the ground up. Charles Sionis put his blood, sweat, and tears into making this company. Roman's father put in long hours, and sacrificed a lot of time to make connections with the elite of Gotham City. Roman's father overcame sleepless nights, phone calls at 12AM, holidays away from the family to place Janus Cosmetics on the path to success. If you sell off Janus Cosmetics piece by piece so that it may never rise again, you will be shattering MY family legacy! You will be putting an end to MY existence as a high society player in Gotham! You will be destroying MY life!" Roman implored in a raised voice, no longer having the social ability to speak meekly.

Roman was still on It's knees hanging off Isley's chair like a mongrel. "Roman will do anything for you. What do you want? What do you need? Roman can make it happen for you! There is nothing Roman won't do! Roman can bark like a dog. Roman can water all of plants. Roman can trim hedges or mow your lawn! Roman can clean toliets! Just keep one piece left of Janus Cosmetics for me to control. Keep one piece of the company for me to manage. Let me keep one small department that Roman or Janus can use to rebuild this company! A small retail store in the mall! A small stand near a vape shop! Roman can make EXTREME work! Roman can make WATERPROOF profitable! Roman can make MORTICIAN's COSMETICS a big seller! 90% of the profits can go to you! Show Roman some compassion. Show Roman mercy! Pl---ee--aa---seee!"

[Pamela Isley]

Pamela never felt anything for her parents. Or at least not that she remembers, and they certainly felt nothing for her. If she'd cared about what they felt at all she would have preferred that they were disappointed by her instead of feeling nothing whatsoever, but either way it no longer matter because, unknown to anyone besides herself, she too was the cause of her parents' death. Not because she was angry at them or anything like that, but because she didn't care and they were in her way.

For this reason she never looked back. She felt no reason to either please or rebel from them while they were alive, so she certainly didn't feel it now that they were dead. In fact, the only reason why she would ever pause to think about them at all is if someone mentioned them to her. This was because, unremembered by her, from birth her parents were even more emotionally neglectful of her than Roman's were of him. At least his parents had things that they wanted and expected of him - opinions about what sort of a person he ought to be, which would translate into at least some form of guidance.

Pamela's parents cared not at all about her, not even bothering to hire someone to care about her in their place. Instead she was only cared for - given food, shelter, and the other necessessities of life with the same care and concern that one might water a plant. This was why she simply didn't bond with people - at least not usually. She spent the majority of her waking hours pretending to feel things that she did not, at least if she wasn't alone.

This was why, from the moment he first contacted her, she never cared about Roman's opinion of her. Writing him off as an being unworthy of even having an opinion happened even before she met the man. And she would have been content to simply enter and exit his acquaintance without so much of a ripple of emotion if it weren't for the ficus he nearly destroyed. No, it wasn't that he'd treated her poorly - that would have merely caused her to distance herself from him socially. It was the unnecessary and cruel harm he had done to the form of life she did have a bond with.

People are horrible and cruel, even the little children - in fact many of the little children were worse than the adults. Only plants were truly innocent. Roman had purposely and senslessly harmed the only pure thing in this cruel world, marking him as the blackest sort of filth that the world could possibly have. And as he raised his voice, she nodded again - indicating that she felt that now was the time to summon security. After all, she and especially the board had been extremely patient and now he'd been reduced to a wallowing mass on the floor. There was no point in allowing him to continue to do so, and she'd already told him everything he needed to know.

It did take some seconds for the security team to arrive, and during that time she still didn't deign to look at him, but she did offer some small comments. "Clearly you do not deserve that legacy," she replied, "And I want nothing from you." While she didn't care much about individual people, she had a certain disgust for that category of rich person who was only rich by birth and had no idea how to stay rich. Those that squandered their inheritance and ended up penniless ought to do so as quickly as possible, in her opinion, so that they may kick themselves out of the upper class and leave it to those who actually deserve it.

And at this point even if Roman could do something for her she wouldn't want it coming from him, so as amusing as it was to think about giving him some menial job it wasn't even a temptation. No, she simply wanted to be done with the man. Fortunately, the security team arrived to haul him away just as she finished those two short sentences.

[Roman Sionis]

Thirteen words. Those thirteen words put an end to Roman Sionis's employment at Janus Cosmetics, and in turn put an end to his role as a socialite in Gotham. The former heir of Janus Cosmetics could not help but lower his head in defeat. When the security for the company entered into the board room at the beckon and call from Pamela, Roman lowered his head, slowly stood up, and slumped his shoulders.

He was done fighting. He was done battling. He was done playing this game of chess with Pamela. How could he lose? He had the upper edge in the beginning, for goodness sakes, Roman was her employer. But then the wheels quickly came off from the train, and soon then the train came crashing off the tracks.

Everyone in the board room went silent. Brompton, Cayla, and the others who were now being moved onto different companies. Janus Cosmetics would cease to exist, dissolved like the salt of the Earth never to be formed again. They simply did now know how to respond, other than turn to Pamela Isley for their next social cues or leadership.

"My father's company....all of my fathers hard work....gone.." Roman sadly stated to himself, along with the other board members. He let out a deep sigh, and with his head still down, led himself towards the board room doors. "I'm no longer the king of the company. It will not be ruled or destroyed by a new queen, Pamela Isley."

At this moment if it were still possible, Roman Sionis probably would have teared up at the humiliation and subjugation of having to beg for a janitorial job, but Roman's humanity had been shredding ever since he had killed his parents in the terrible inferno at the Sionis family mansion.

The next 72 hours will be crucial. What will happen to Roman Sionis? Will he choose a path of destruction? Will he choose a path of redemption? Will he chose the path of transformation? Roman will have to go back to square one. Either way, the path of transformation and the path of destruction would led to an enmity towards Pamela Isley. Whatever Roman Sionis will become, he will or It will dedicate all of It's energy, resources, time, thought, and emotion to make sure Pamela suffers.

He turned around at that thought. To Pamela Isley being burned at a stake. To Pamela Isley being subject to humiliation and begging. A sadistic smile came across Roman's face. He turned towards the red-headed bombshell and asked with a devious thought in mind, "Pamela, will you at least allow me to gather my belongings before I depart?"

[Pamela Isley]

Though she didn't show it on the surface, there was a small sense of relief in Pamela when the security team arrived and defeat showed on Roman's features. Ever since the incident with the ficus, she saw the man as erratic and cruel and quite capable of doing anything to anyone. And just because she saw someone as less than the dirt beneath her feet didn't mean that they couldn't harm her. Not that she thought that he'd get very far if he tried here and now, but she was quite capable of feeling pain and preferred not to.

With that possibility now eliminated, she calmly sat and waited for him to be taken away. There was more for the board to discuss, as she had far more details to share about her plans for the dismantling of the company, but it wouldn't be appropriate to do so until he was at least out of earshot because he really didn't need to know. If anything, it would give him the opportunity to try to sabotage her plans. What she'd already shared was already pretty solid, but much of the rest was still being negotiated and she didn't want him to ruin anything. Not that he would be able to stop her, but it was possible that he could scare away a good deal or two and make her lose money - and she wouldn't put it past him.

Though it wasn't true that Janus Cosmetics would cease to exist when she was finished, as she thought that it would be crueler to keep it alive. Let it exist but be a company with no money, no assets, and no employees except Roman himself - a company on paper but nowhere else. Well, it would exist according to certain debtors, who would end up forcing Roman to declare bankruptcy and leave him penniless, with even his personal wealth taken from him. But then, after that, the company would only exist as an official record somewhere saying that it exists. That actually meant that if Roman had the skill he could start again completely from scratch and rebuild the company, but she doubted that he did.

In any event, she'd been prepared to have already said her final words to him, but then he turned and asked what she supposed was a reasonable question. However, she was not blind or incapable of seeing the expression on his face, and unlike her, it seemed that he'd never acquired the vital skill of keeping his emotions to himself. To truly thrive among the upper-class one needed to either be pure as the driven snow or have a very good poker face and, obviously, neither applied to him. "Your personal belongings will be sent to you," she stated, as she couldn't legally keep those from him. But that was all she said before her eyes shifted to the security guards and she clearly stated, "Remove him from my property and keep him out."

Exactly what counted as 'personal belongings' could be quite hazy in this circumstance, and Pamela fully intended to keep as much as possible from him - just for spite. Anything that obviously belonged to him alone like pictures were clear enough, but anything that could be called 'office furnishings' or 'office supplies' belonged to the company unless he could prove that he'd bought them with his own, personal money. If she let him go back to his office he could easily start deciding that absolutely everything in it was rightfully his. Or, for that matter, decide to wreck the place just for his own sense of spite. So she wouldn't be letting him do that.