RING RING

"Answer it." said Ciri, in a sleepy voice while using her hand to push me awake.

"I'll be right back." I said as I picked up the phone and left the bedroom so as not to disturb Ciri.

"Hello." I said while rubbing my eyes.

"Matt. It's me, Harvey."

"Hey, Harvey. What's up?" I said, the sleepiness completely gone now.

"You just waking up?"

"Long night."

"Oh, I see, good for you." he said in a teasing tone.

"Thanks."

"Right. Anyway, you remember that last thing you asked me to do for you?"

"Contact Hana Kirisaki." I said while pouring myself a glass of water.

"That's the one. It's done. You have a meeting with her at 12 at the same restaurant we had ours. There is a caveat though."

"Which is?"

"You only have 5 minutes. If you don't say anything worth her time in those 5 minutes, she's gone."

"The best closer could only get me 5 minutes?"

"The best closer could only get you 3. The other two are because she knows you're a genius doctor and wants to show you some respect."

"Awfully nice of her."

"Agreed. So skip the flowery language and get straight to the point. Having her on board as a financial manager is crucial to your success."

"That's the plan. Thanks, Harvey."

"Don't mention it. Good luck." he said before hanging up.

'5 minutes. I can do that.' I thought before being snapped out of my thoughts by Ciri hugging me from behind.

"Everything all right?" she asked.

"Fine. Just a call to set up a meeting with someone important to my future business." I said, turning around to hug her.

"I thought we were going to look at apartments?"

"The meeting shouldn't take long."

"Okay. Guess I'll go back to sleep then." she said tippytoeing to kiss me before going back to bed.

~

Having showered and gotten ready, I wore one of the suits that I had bought when Ciri and I went shopping a while back, before arriving at the restaurant a few minutes early. Thankfully, Harvey had reserved the private room for the meeting.

Right as the clock struck 12, the door opened to reveal Hana Kirisaki in the flesh. She looked me up and down for a few moments before sitting down.

"Matt Garetty, genius doctor. You have 5 minutes before I walk so let's get right to business, what did you want this meeting for?"

"I asked Harvey to set up this meeting because I have plans to start a business and I know you're the best at what you do, so I want you to work for me." I said, not wasting any time.

"Work for you? Don't you mean hire me?" she asked, expression unchanged.

"No, I mean work for me. I want you to be my CFO."

"Hahaha! Don't waste my time, doctor. I gave you 5 minutes because I have some respect for your genius. But, I'm not an idiot."

"Nor do I believe you to be one. I am curious though, why do you think I'm playing you for a fool?"

"Because you're still a kid."

"That may be true in some respect, but I do not lie. Let me ask you something when you see me what do you see? Besides a kid."

"A spoiled kid that's been told he's a genius all his life and now thinks he can do anything he sets his mind to." she said, not holding back her words.

"Haha, good one. Do you know what I see when I look in the mirror? I see my reflection." I joked, not getting any response from her.

"Well I tried to lighten the mood there, but it seems I was unsuccessful. But in all seriousness, when I look in the mirror, I don't see a genius doctor. I see the future that I can help create. And to do so I want to hire you as my CFO. I may be a genius, but I have no time nor desire to worry about financial matters. I want to focus on the big picture, and you being on my team will allow me to do that."

"Do you know what I really saw when I walked into the room? A man confident he would leave with what he wanted. Why is that?"

"Because I know for a fact I'll leave with you saying yes to my offer today. Although I wanted to do this with just words, it seems you're a tougher nut to crack than Harvey was." I said reaching under the table and taking out a briefcase from my inventory before placing it on the table.

"In this briefcase is my reason for being so confident. The amount of time I have put into creating this would blow your mind." I said while unlatching the case.

"Years?"

"Days." I said with a smile, causing her to roll her eyes.

"Most of the women in my life roll their eyes, why is that?"

"Must be something about you."

"Must be. Anyway, this is why I'm so confident." I said opening the case and turning it around to show her a cybernetic arm.

"A prosthetic?" she asked, figuring out the purpose of the arm.

"Good eye. Yes, this is a prosthetic arm, but more accurately a cybernetic arm."

"Cybernetic arm? Like in those shitty sci-fi stories?"

"Exactly. This arm is the first step in creating a business empire that will leave my name in the annals of history, as the father of the future and one of the greatest minds to have ever lived." I said staring right into her eyes.

"Quite the ego."

"To be a person worthy of being written down in the annals of history, you have to have some ego. Or you get crushed by the tides of time."

"And what does that arm do exactly?"

"What's the biggest problem with prosthetics today?"

"They're various materials that are made to look like arms and legs that don't do much."

"Exactly, they're essentially peg legs in functionality. This arm is a replacement, in the truest sense. An entirely new arm that is connected to your nerves and you can control it as if it was your arm from birth. Not a prosthetic, a cyberlimb. A breakthrough in so many fields, just this alone would net me a Nobel Prize." I said.

"How do I know you're not lying?"

"Well it's hard to prove without someone to test it on, but look at this." I said as I took out my phone and pretended to click some things before I picked up the arm out of the case and held it.

"Watch." I said before using my technomancy to make the arm move around and make mechanical noises. Then I got the glass cup and I broke it with the arm.

"Holy shit." she said, jaw wide open.

KNOCK KNOCK

"Is everything all right in there?" said the waiter.

"Yes, just dropped a glass on accident sorry about that." I replied while putting the arm away before they came in and cleaned up.

"So?" I asked.

"The arm is much too advanced to start off with as the first product we sell. Not to mention the approval and tests that would have to be done before we even get it on the market would push it back years. We'll have to start small. Take a small, but important piece of the arm and somehow make that a product. We'll also have to patent everything before any of this leaks out."

"We?" I said, with a smile.

"Looks like you were right. I'm in." she said with a smile before we shook hands.

"Good. I have other things to do so this is where we adjourn the meeting for now. But I'll contact you later today to follow up. I'm glad you made the right choice. We are now at the forefront of history." I said before getting up.

"Here is my card." she said while I handed her mine before leaving.

"You're sticking me with the bill?!" she shouted as I left with a smile.