THE MOMENT
"Congratulations and welcome to Sharp Development," Estelle smiled as she slid the final sheet across the desk to Grady. "Just need this last signature and we can set up your orientation schedule; when can you start?" she asked.
"As soon as tomorrow," Grady replied. "Oh, also, I'm going to need Paid Death Leave," he added as he leaned forward to sign his name.
"...I'm sorry, what?" Estelle moved quickly and pulled the sheet away before he touched pen to paper.
"PDL," Grady nodded. He was mildly surprised by her reaction; but, they were a new company and he realized maybe they weren't familiar with the concept yet. "I'm close friends with Mighty Man, so y'know, constant target of supervillain plots and dangerous situations. I'll be back within a year, usually. Sometimes under mysterious circumstances."
"...oh, is that all? Sure," Estelle nodded with a different sort of smile than she had throughout the rest of his paperwork. "We'll just pay you for not working at all. That sounds completely normal and I'm sure it'll only help our company grow," she giggled as she shook her head. "I don't think you'll be a fit for Sharp Development after all, if that's an expected outcome," she added with a sterner tone.
"I hadn't heard of Sharp Development before, so I'll assume you're a new company, or maybe new to this city. You might not be aware of how things work here. Supers exist. We have famous heroes, and infamous villains. And, the most powerful hero, Mighty Man, just happens to be one of my best friends. So, I'm an easy target. PDL is a standardized practice among corporations here," he smiled. He was sure the job was lost already, and it felt good to get in a nice little dig at the end. "Perhaps Sharp Development didn't do enough research before opening for business."
"Even if you won't be part of the company, I'm sure you'll very quickly learn how non-standard Sharp Development is," Estelle replied. "But, we are always willing to learn. I take it this is something that has happened before?" she asked. Maybe it wasn't a lost cause as much as he thought.
"Oh, sure, at least half a dozen times," Grady nodded. "Last year, I spent almost nine months chained up in a dungeon somewhere.. it was pretty miserable. Wanna see my torture scars?" He felt obligated to offer some sort of proof; but, Estelle shook her head.
"No," she replied. "But, just so I understand, you were captured and tortured over nine months?"
"Well, to be honest, the PDL is intended to cover the medical expenses from torture.. that happens... more than I'd like...," he nodded with a sigh. The year before that was only five months. I didn't get a lot of scars.. but plenty of broken bones. It took me some time just to be able to walk again," he smiled, despite the subject, and raised his cane as a reminder that he more or less hobbled into their meeting."
"And... you're saying this is normal?" she asked.
"Well, you know how it is when you're buddies with a Super," he shrugged.
"Here," Estelle slid the paper forward again. Then, she opened a drawer at her desk and added a transparent glass card. "We won't be granting you an PDL," she shook her head. "So, only sign it if you're okay with that. What I can offer you is this node. Should you happen to...," she paused and shook her head. " The next time you get kidnapped, use it to call us, and we'll send someone to rescue you."
"Rescue me? Who are you going to send, the legal department?" he chuckled.
"You may not be familiar with Sharp Development; but, this is only the first phase of your onboarding. As you move on through the rest of your orientation, you'll learn we're a multiversal corporation with plenty of 'Supers' on our payroll, not to mention excellent healthcare from the most advanced hospitals in any reality. I can't exactly guarantee any last-minute heroics, but I can promise it won't take months to rescue you."
"You can't promise that..," Grady chuckled and shook his head. "Even Mighty Man takes months...," he said. He'd been on the fence about taking the job without PDL. He was glad she changed her mind, even if he didn't know what brought it on. But, her next statement convinced him to at least sign and see where things went. She put words to a minor thought that had drifted in and out of his mind over the years, and he knew he needed to do more thinking on the matter.
"Supers exist...," Estelle nodded. Her voice and smile had changed again. She wasn't quite as welcoming as before; but, she did seem warm again. Except, he couldn't help but notice a faint timbre of pity in her voice. "... Super-powered people, and advanced technology are all realities in your world. And, you yourself get routinely abducted and tortured... likely by the same people, the supervillains targeting Mighty Man?" she asked, but continued without giving him a chance to answer.
"And, you still need MONTHS to get rescued? How many Nemeses does Mighty Man have to work through? Why has NO ONE put a tracker on you? Are you really sure you're as good friends with Mighty Man as you think?"
"Here you go..," Grady had nothing else to say and simply slid the signed form over to her.
"You should learn how to use that node, and be here early tomorrow to start the next phase of your training," she nodded with a smile.