Save the world? Fuck that, I want to make money! (RWBY SI) ch 23 (Patreon)

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Willow Schnee glanced at herself in the mirror, her legs crossed as numerous hands went ahead brushing her hair, adjusting her clothes, and preparing her for her first public debut as temporary CEO of the Schnee Dust Company. The make-up artists had done their best to return her to life and vibrancy; their mastery of their arts evident with how life-like her face was now. Gone was the shadow under her eyes, the listlessness of a woman that had given up on life. 

"And you are perfect, Madam Schnee!" declared the make-up artist as he pulled back, grinning at her. 

Willow glanced up, a hesitant hand reaching up to her face as she examined herself. Just as he said, she was now perfect. Around her, the servants clapped politely as she stood up to her full height, bright and ready to return the SDC to what it was once. But just because she looked the part, it did not mean she could play it well.

She could count with years since her darling husband took everything from her, dropping that admission that he only ever married her to take control of the SDC. She was not blind to how he did it; the slow removal of her grandfather's allies in the company with his yes-men and isolating her father until he was the one whispering to him. At that time, she was groomed to inherit a company that was admittedly big. She could still remember her lessons, some that Jacques himself had taught her. But that was a different beast. The board was filled with friends and those that shared her grandfather's vision, a private business. But now, the SDC was gargantuan with its stocks being held by those that she was quite sure would let Jacques do whatever unless it made them money. Furthermore, the Schnee's no longer owned most of it as Jacques had long since opened it up to the public which contributed to its growth. 

"Prepare my car," Willow sighed and at once, the room vacated.

 Klein stood forward, bowing. "With me, Madam." 

Willow followed him, a long line of servants waiting outside her private room. As they walked, Klein began to talk. 

"Today, you are to give a speech before the board. They wish to know how the SDC will respond to the Council's motion to split the company, as well what the agenda of the company is going to be."

Willow nodded absentmindedly. "I...I must confess that I am intimidated to return to the SDC. It's simply so large." Willow was speaking honestly. Could she really have what it took to steer the SDC through its biggest crisis yet. And as for an agenda, Willow had no idea what to steer it to as well. Where were they going to go? The SDC had become the biggest beast in the forest with no more room left to grow. What else was there to do than to sit and maintain its current form? But to do that, Willow knew that would mean continuing policies that Jacques had left in place, unacceptable now that most of it was publicly available. 

They stopped before the car. Klein walked forward and opened the seat, gesturing for Willow to sit inside. She did so, her ice-blue eyes filled with doubt. Before Klein closed the door however, he imparted with her some choice words. 

"You are the daughter of Nicholas Schnee, Madam. If there was anyone better suited to steer the SDC, it is you," he advised her, a gentle smile on his lips. "I wouldn't worry about going anywhere. I suggest maintaining the company until such time young Weiss is ready." 

Willow afforded him a sad smile. "I'll do my best, Klein. Thank you." 

And with that, the Schnee butler closed the door and the car roared to life, its destination the SDC Headquarters in downtown Atlas. 

Willow leant back against her seat, glancing at the streets outside. Atlas had calmed down since the drama from the 33. Most of its citizens had returned to their normal lives, going about their day as usual. Willow had to admit some measure of envy at their lives, free from responsibility and leadership. Winter should have stepped up and taken up her role as Heiress but she did not, stepping down and heading straight for the military. It should have been her but...her choice was clear. 

​After much travel, the car neared the headquarters, a fine building of glass and steel. The car turned and went in, stopping before the entrance. Willow glanced outside as a man in a suit went forward to open the door. She stepped out and was immediately greeted by flashes from cameras. The paparazzi and the media had come out in full force, their lenses all focused on her. Men and women from pundits big and small rushed with their microphones, each one clamouring for her to talk. 

"Madam Schnee! What is the SDC's response to the ongoing Council motion to break up the company?"

"Madam Schnee! Madam Schnee! I am with Business Atlas! What can you say to the nervous investors?"

"Madam Schnee! Madam Schnee!" 

She refused to give them her answer and thankfully, her security team formed a protective ring around her to defend herself from the nosy media. But it wasn't just them too. 

"Justice for the 33! Break up the SDC!"

"Hang Jacques Schnee! Hang Jacques Schnee!"

"Where's my restitution, Schnee! My father died in that mine!"

Protestors where there as well, White Fang and others sympathetic to their cause. It was fully understandable for their anger, considering the state of the 33 rescue miners, many of whom were suffering respiratory and mental issues after undergoing days in darkness. While the SDC had stepped forward to pay for their hospitalization and restitution, it still wasn't enough to wash away the other sins the company had committed. The Courrières Papers, a systematic and methodical leak of every dirty laundry that the SDC had kept hidden. Everything from its ghost employees, the deliberate orders to keep costs low for faunus employees, even the orders of Jacques to strangle Atlas with a artificial rail disaster that had given the Kingdom a scare in prices. It was that last sin which had netted Jacques's arrest on charges of treason to commit harm against Atlas.

She sighed.

This was going to be a long day.

She entered the building, her path leading her to the boardroom. Each man and women in there all glanced at her critically, like sharks eyeing prey. She strode forward to take her seat at the very head of the table, unwilling to let herself look weak. Yes, she was intimidated at the position. Yes, she might be going through strange paths but she wasn't going to look like a lost fish. She still had her damn pride and dignity, what scraps remained after Jacques diminished and bullied it to near nothing.

As she sat, her posture was straight, her hands clasping together. "Let us begin," she announced. 

Immediately, the dam burst forth as each man and woman there spoke at once. Her mouth threatened to hang agape trying to decipher each person speaking. She quickly held up a hand, "One at a time, please," she said firmly, politely. "Chairman of the Board, can you summarize the Boards issues?" 

He nodded, pleased at his voice getting the attention it deserved. Eyes turned to him and his bushy moustache. "Thank you, Madam Schnee. I shall now summarize our current position," he said. He cleared his throat before continuing.

"To start with, the stock of the Schnee Dust Company has suffered in the Stock Market, the scandal of the 33, the Courrières leak, and investigations...it's shaken investor confidence into the company," he reported. He clicked on the holo-table and a chart appeared before them all. Murmurs were shared as comparison was shown before and after the mine blast. 

"As you can see, our stock was highest before the mine blast. After it, there is a 30 percent decline," he reported, turning to Willow.

"I see..." Willow said, digesting the information. Thirty percent...it depended on which perspective Willow wanted to put. At the moment, she was only concerned with the survival of the company, not trying to get investors in. 

"The only reason why it hasn't gone down further is that even with the disasters, the SDC still remains a very, very profitable company. The year's about to end and we've managed to net 4 billion lien, with many more by the end," his glinted with barely contained greed. 

"A profit margin earned by my husbands policies, I imagine," Willow could not help but comment. At that, awkward coughs left the mouths of the board members. 

"I-indeed," The Chairman stammered before shaking his head. "The board would like to impart that we condemn the horrible practices that your husband had championed. We had no idea!"

"Dreadful," the Secretary of the Board muttered. "Tragic."

"If only we we knew!" dramatically wept the Vice-Chairman. 

Willow could only look at them as one glanced upon the lowest and basest creature on the planet. They were disgusting, so low and flat that even the foot of man could just crush them underneath his boot. They were the very proof that not all men were created equal, some were endowed with an emptiness of the soul that made them more reptile than man. But as much as Willow wanted to tell them that, she couldn't less she make this already hectic affair even worse. 

"Continuing on!" The Chairman muttered, fully aware of what Willow was thinking but he did not care, not when the bottom line was at risk. "While detestable, it was true that our profit did come from neglecting certain issues which I have no doubt will be rectified, it still cannot be understated that the SDC earned most of its profits from the honest sale of Dust. We are Atlas's Dust and Energy heart, lighting up the tallest spire in Atlas to the lowest streetlight in Mantle. Our logistics arm is so extensive, so organized that even the Navy relies on us. We even supply the rest of Remnant, our dust bought cheaply to light their homes, to heat their food, to provide for their every need." 

​And that fact couldn't be challenged. The SDC had grown so large that as she had described it before, it was a veritable beast guarding a hoard. 

"And now...we are under threat, Madam," the Board Director stressed. "Firstly, the Council is deliberating a motion to break up the SDC. While I understand from where Councillor Geyer is championing the motion, it would be a vast and gross mistake to bust the SDC. We simply are too large, too embedded, that if Atlas truly were to break the company apart, the economic ramifications of such a thing will send shockwaves throughout Remnant." 

Willow may not be a business genius unlike Jacques but even she was not blind to the ramifications of the SDC breaking up. The chaos that would happen from the break-up would shake up the economy that Atlas would be paralyzed trying to see it through the end. Shaking slightly, Willow leant forwards. "Do we have any idea how Councillor Geyer intends to break us? Who else is supporting it? Against it?" 

​The Board Chairman smiled. "She intends to champion cutting us into different corporations, to be headed by Council approved boards. As for her supporters, there is General Ironwood and...Yeaman," he said the last word as if it were a curse. 

"She means well," the Vice-Chairman spoke up, commenting. "But she clearly does not understand business. Businesses have two stages, growth then peak. The SDC has peaked throughout the years, earned capital for Atlas, and has come to the top. If she pushes through with her motion and breaks up the company, it would establish a terrible, terrible precedent. She does not mean to suggest that Atlas will be breaking up the other companies too when they reach a certain height? This would make the other businesses afraid to grow, discouraging growth and letting the economy stagnant." 

Willow's brain began to hurt. Gods, she was just here to make sure that the company would still be alive until Weiss could take her place, not decide the fate of Atlas. 

"Well...does the board have suggestions to stay the motion?" Willow asked. 

The board chairman's smile turned wider. "We do," he declared with confidence. "The SDC has itself the finest collection of lawyers in its arsenal. We deploy them to delay the motion in the Council Chamber. While they do that, we also send our legal team to convince the different sectors of our society to convince their representatives in the Council to vote against it or abstain."

"Our supporters in the Council?" Willow asked.

:Councillor Ferdinand has vowed to support us, citing business concerns for the economy. General Conrad would be on our side too but he has been retired. The seat is de-facto empty but there are rumors that General Ironwood will take his seat. Then there is Councillor Geyer who is against us and...Councillor Yeaman who voted to have your husband imprisoned, so against us."

​Willow thought about the Council. They only had 1 vote against 2. That only meant General Ironwood was the wild-card. "That only leaves General Ironwood."

The Chairman nodded, rubbing his moustache. "He has been sighted to be an ally of Councillor Geyer but with the expansion undergoing by the Atlesian military, we can convince him that the SDC is best left as is to support the growing military. A supply chain interrupted and a economy in chaos will not facilitate that." 

That...could work, in a terrible sense. As far as Willow new, General Ironwood was a patriot through and through, his decisions was that to benefit Atlas, everything else was secondary. "But assuming he votes against or abstains, that still leaves two votes against one." 

​"Indeed, Madam, but if we delay and filibuster enough, eventually the motion will be postponed. Enough time for the public to lose interest and forget. Eventually, the Council would have to cease voting and the company would be saved," The Chairman ended his explanation with determination. "The SDC remains large, continues to serve Atlas, and Miss Weiss will inherit a strong company. Is this not what you wish to do, to make sure the next Heiress has a functioning company?" 

​Willow's lips went thin, her body feeling suddenly light as each eye in the room glanced at her. At this moment...she did not know what to do.

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Jacques Schnee sat with his leg crossed, a finger idly lifting a page to get to the next one. His cell had become much more decorated and finer now and with creature comforts that would satisfy anyone. He did not care to count for the days since his imprisonment. Normally, being imprisoned would have warranted outrage from anyone. However, he was not just anyone. He was Jacques Schnee, the man that brought the Schnee Dust Company to heights previously unimagined. And he was far too important. 

He glanced at his watch. The board would no doubt be undergoing its meeting and ended it by now. And as if on cue, the door to his cell opened as a Atlesian officer stepped in. 

"A scroll call for you, Mister Schnee," the officer said. 

Jacques nodded, setting the book aside as the officer offered him the scroll. He brought it to his ears. "It is me," he introduced curtly. 

"We went forward with your recommendation, sir," the Chairman's voice filtered in. "As you said, Madam Schnee is indecisive. She's had a recess called. I think she's taking the time to think." 

Jacques snorted. "As I said, there was a reason Nicholas let me take the company, not her. If she is so angry at me for stealing her company, I must have to remind my dear wife that her father gave the go ahead." 

He shrugged. "Regardless, continue as planned. The faunus will cry as usual but no one will listen to them. Their precious kin have been rescue, they have been given treatment and restitution. For the average Atlesian, this problem is over." 

He turned, glancing outside where a single window lay. It was heavy glass and couldn't be opened, not unless it was blown up. But Jacques had no reason to do that. His position was secure. 

"Of course sir. We look forward until you return," the Chairman said, his voice praising. Jacques resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the fool. By now, his name would be tainted and returning so soon would generate outrage. It was better for him to retire, let Weiss run the company while he controlled it from retirement. 

"Do your job. Soon, we will be out of this," Jacques said, closing the call. He then held the scroll out for the officer to take. The man nodded, leaving Jacques alone to look outside of his window. 

Ah, Atlas. He could remember the early days of struggle where he starved as the nobles feasted, such was life in the old days. He had joined the Color Revolution, fully aware that it would allow for the rise of something new and he smelled opportunity. The SDC was that opportunity where the old order was overthrown and men of talent could rise. Men such as Nicholas Schnee, his old father in law, and him. Jacques could respect Nicholas for the virtues he showed, such things were useful to cultivate a cult of personality. But admittedly, the old man had the business sense of a rock. 

And now here he was, in a cell. But still much more wealthier and powerful than any man in history and the old guard, dying as they were, fed from his palms. 

This was what was going to get him out. Atlas needed him. Atlas needed the SDC he had built for without it, back again to times of troubles. 

But as he finished his musings, he raised an eyebrow as an alarm was raised. Outside, troops began to rush out, carrying weapons. Bullheads were prepped, their lights flashing as they tore through the sky to somewhere. 

What on Remnant was going on?

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A/N: Ayo?