Malcor gives a tiny nod then walks away to go confront Vox leaving Velvette alone with work load and headphones.
The code in them is perfect, completely open-source and beautifully clean. Malcor even pre-loaded Velvette’s own fashion company's branding logos and UI into the firmware. It looks like a high-end, respectful collaboration, not a takeover. There's nothing malicious or suspicious they're just a pair of headphones, there's nothing wrong,
-Malcor finds Vox in his office doing paperwork. She sits down across from him and folds her hands in her lap." You don't have to hide anything Vox. She doesn't see it. It's not what you wanted her to say."
Vox stops what he's doing and looks up and blinks slowly, completely disarmed at the fact Malcor can see that.
" You know Vox. I've observed something during my time as your company's benefactor. Sorry to be invasive, but i can't help but notice this. Nobody seems to appreciate you for all you do, all the heavy lifting as the CEO, what you truly do for your colleagues. Do they understand you?, the way i do."
Vox thinks hard about that. There's an undeniable truth about that. While him and Velvette both do media at the end of the day it doesn't matter because her understanding only goes so far, because they're on two different levels.
She's human, he's a digital entity, their minds are very different his is highly logical and all analytical. Their personalities clash there's so much he can't tell her because he could try but she'd never understand.
Malcor on the other hand. Her mind is all analytical and logic, she views the world through the lens of engineering and survival and logic just as he does. She speaks engineering. In her time which she's been benefactor he's actually told her several things which he wishes he could tell Velvette.
He lets out a long, modulated breath—the sound of an engine finally turning off its defensive cooling systems.
"You're right," Vox says, his voice flat, steady, and dropping into a low-frequency hum that vibrates the copper wires around them. He shakes his head slowly, setting down his digital pen with a soft, final click against the console. "At the end of the day... I know Velvette would choose Valentino. It's not jealousy, Malcor. It's that I know exactly where her loyalty lies. She won't admit it... but her loyalty truly lies with Val."
" I wouldn't leave you Vox. Those two? They only see you as a convenient source to get to the top. Velvette told me she wants to the top fashion designer and influencer and how convenient that you happen to hold the key to doing exactly that. Your ability to grant reach. What that must do for both of their empires"
" You say that like I'm not aware." Vox says flatly. " I suppose. Sometimes i wish i could go back to the days before i met them when it was just me. Those days which Voxtek was the undisputed, monolithic tech powerhouse of the Pride Ring—before he had to split his margins with them. I misses that raw, unadulterated power of being a solo titan, I don't hate them though. They're messy and chaotic and can be a headache to me, we're dysfunctional but somehow we remarkably make it work. But still, i miss the simplicity of being a lone titan, answerable only to my own code.
"Oh, but Vox... dysfunctionality is not efficient. That is not even business. It is just a chaotic mess. You make it work. You do all the heavy lifting. They just ride on your back and expect you to keep doing that continuously will they do nothing true conglomerate operates on predictable metrics, not emotional damage control.
You have built a multi-media monopoly, yet you manage it like a local street gang, constantly diverting your supreme processing power to absorb their structural failures. Valentino’s tantrums are an operational bottleneck. Velvette’s lifestyle demands are an unnecessary overhead line."
You are running a powerhouse at thirty-percent capacity because you are terrified that if you step into your true, unadulterated power, the people using you as a battery will fall behind. Let them fall, Vox. Sign the centralized integration. Let Veyne industries help you. In fact, let me prove myself worthy of being your Co CEO , orchief executive if that's what your prefer to call it."
Vox stares at the contract. Veyne industries is an even bigger power house then his, more dominant for many reasons. Technology and industrialism.
" enticing isn't it Vox? Think about it. " Malcor says lowly a whisper. " And all you have to do is. Chose me. Let Veyne industries enable and let lift you up. "
" What will happen to them if i sign this?"
" You tell me Vox and consider it done. In exchange sign it. "
Vox gives a polite nod and signs it.