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[devilsadvocate]

Actually, he wasn't a terrible boss. He dressed like a Miami coke dealer pretending to be Tony Montana, he shouted, he was violent, he was impulsive — but he got things done. He rarely required my advice. It was clear he only retained my services so I could handle the details and day-to-day work. He never hit or hit on me. And we agreed never to speak of the mannequin incident.

That said, I'm happy to find other employment. Perhaps something with a lower likelihood of being tied up and set on fire.

Comments

[ex_torturous609]

[very unsure and staring at her like he thinks he might know her!!]

[devilsadvocate]

[she recoils slightly in turn. he looks far more gruesome than she remembers.]

Is — is that a new mask?

[NOT SURE IF WANT ANSWER.]

[ex_torturous609]

Not since...what? Is that you, Li? When did you get a sex change?

[and when the hell did he ever discuss the mannequin with li oh god how embarrassing]

[devilsadvocate]

What?

[she sounds more bewildered than insulted. WAS IT PRISON, ROMAN? DID IT CHANGE YOU? ............. no that's stupid, IT'S A MASK.]

I have a taser.

[ex_torturous609]

David Li. Personal assistant. Used to be a man. None of that ring a bell?

[beat.]

Tase me and I'll break every bone in your hands. I know how much you love that iPad.

[devilsadvocate]

[SHE CLUTCHES THAT IPAD TO HER CHEST AND LOOKS PISSY.]

No. Look, your info is bad. Your tailor is too good, the mask is — too much. And I've always been a woman.

[The "goddamnit" is implied but not actually said, as ever.]

[ex_torturous609]

[a pause.]

Do you take spinning classes?

[devilsadvocate]

[there's an annoyed pause as she struggles to accept that this might actually be him. a different him, but him.]

Not anymore.

[grudgingly—]

It's Devin. Not David.

[ex_torturous609]

Spooky.

[he rubs his chin.]

I never tied up David and set him on fire, by the way.

[devilsadvocate]

That was the Joker. Which was also your fault.

[but she relaxes her death clutch on the iPad.]

[ex_torturous609]

[offended!]

No, it wasn't.

[devilsadvocate]

It was other-you's fault.

To be fair, no one caught on fire because Batman saved us.

[CLEARLY she still blames him, though. also for getting arrested but her personal pride does not allow her to admit to such a thing.]

[ex_torturous609]

How is it his fault?

[devilsadvocate]

He decided to ally with the Joker against the Red Hood.

[ex_torturous609]

[silence.]

That's moronic.

My doppleganger is a fucking moron.

[devilsadvocate]

Things were desperate.

[oh NOW she's defending him.]

[ex_torturous609]

No. No, no, no.

Desperate is hiring Mr. Freeze and wasting resources to update his tech so he can walk off without doing a damn thing. Desperate is using a blind Nazi and a buncha sideshow freaks to do your work for you.

Hiring the Joker is simply insane.

[devilsadvocate]

[her face is like :I NAZIS?]

I suppose that explains his suits. He had to conserve his taste for business decisions.

[ex_torturous609]

[scoffing.]

He sounds like an idiot.

[then, with much scrutiny:]

How come you didn't advise him against this?

[devilsadvocate]

Of course I did. Do you listen to David?

[Actually she probably didn't, but she spends a lot of time going THIS IS A TERRIBLE IDEA in her head, so she feels like she did.]

[ex_torturous609]

[lineface. and with just the slightest hesitation. and also not with the past tense because some things are better left a mystery.]

When he's not acting like my mother.

[devilsadvocate]

So, about 1 in 10 times, and never when stressed, which is almost always.

[ex_torturous609]

[damn, she's good. time to be stubborn.]

I didn't hire him to be my adviser.

[devilsadvocate]

And there's never been a time when hindsight proves his foresight 20/20?

[ex_torturous609]

[WAY TO HIT A SENSITIVE SPOT.

just giving her a dead eye glare now and kind of changing the topic.]

Would you negotiate with a terrorist?

[devilsadvocate]

If the other choice is a Nazi, maybe.

[ex_torturous609]

The Nazi was gratis, Ms. Li.

[devilsadvocate]

A complimentary blind Nazi. That's quite a cereal box prize. Who handed that out?

[ex_torturous609]

The Society.

Between the Joker and a Nazi? Pretty sure the choice is obvious.

[devilsadvocate]

Let's say we had both succeeded in our choice of allies.

[because she can just TELL, Roman.]

Which one of us would have been in better standing? The Black Mask who allied with the Joker and won, or the Black Mask who allied with the Nazi and the sideshow freaks and won?

[ex_torturous609]

It's not about social standing, Devin. It's about making business choices that are pragmatic and not gambling on psychos.

[sob]

[devilsadvocate]

Your social standing would have determined in part your future business choices. What's practical for now isn't necessarily practical in the long run. But you don't care about what it takes to achieve the long run — that's why you hired me. ... Him.

[she writes down "the society" on her iPad even though she won't remember anything from here. WHATEVER IT'S HABIT.]

[ex_torturous609]

[aw lookit how cute scribbling things down just like david would--]

Do you have your resume on you, Ms. Li?