Chapter 468: Lucas’ Hiring Policy
As Lucas was making his way over to the bathhouse after another long day of work at The Lab, a young man and young woman came charging over and grabbed him, shouting joyfully, "Boss! We did it! We really did it! It’s... it’s... it’s perfect!"
Lucas didn’t ask what these two frantic, out-of-breath individuals were talking about, as there was only one task he had given them since hiring them a little less than a month ago.
Isaac, 25 years old, was tall, skinny, and annoyingly handsome in a strange, almost effeminate way. Simply put, he was a pretty-boy.
He also had an extremely flamboyant personality to boot.
The worst part? Isaac knew exactly how charming his face was, so he always made sure to dress up in a way that seemed to flaunt his good looks, as if he was a bird in mating season looking to attract a partner, or two, or three...
Isaac was also incredibly outspoken, completely irreverent to any kind of authority or tradition, and an eccentric of the highest order whose passion for his work bordered on obsessive.
Felicity, 27 years old, was the polar opposite in almost every way.
She was a bit short but also quite ’stacked’ where it counted, so if she cared at all about her appearance, most people would probably think of her as incredibly attractive as well; unfortunately, very much unlike Isaac, she couldn’t possibly have cared less about her looks.
Baggy, oversized clothes that didn’t coordinate at all, had numerous extra pockets sewn on to hold all kinds of random tools, and were often stained with various inks and dyes from her work was her default outfit.
Coupled with a constant head of messy hair that looked like she just rolled out of bed, Felicity always looked like a wreck.
Personality wise, she was also incredibly shy, often finding it difficult to even express her opinion to others, especially in public settings.
In almost every way, she was completely different from Isaac, but while Felicity didn’t share the young man’s penchant for showing off or speaking out, her passion for her work was no less intense than his. It was the one thing the pair seemed to share in common
Put simply, these two aspiring young tailors were a perfect match for Lucas’ preferences.
After Great Elder Pauline Balfour took a tour of the young boy’s projects, and was able to see up close just who he had working for him, she formed a fairly good idea about what his preference for employees was.
Other than a high demand for competency, which was almost always the most important trait one wanted in their subordinates, Lucas valued creativity and open-mindedness above all else.
Lucas didn’t care if his employees were unruly, rude, or downright crazy, as long as they had no malicious intentions, were willing to follow his rules, and could deliver the results he demanded, everything else could be overlooked.
If anything, the wilder and more outrageous they were, the more Lucas wanted them working for him, possibly because there was no one with wilder and more outrageous ideas than him.
In line with that thinking, aside from requesting more funding for his various projects, Lucas had also asked Pauline find him a down-on-their-luck tailor he could hire full-time, one who was willing to experiment and try news things.
It took a little while, but about a month ago, just a couple days after his Lucas’ 11th birthday, Pauline managed to fulfil that request.
Isaac and Felicity had both been working in a large tailor shop in Martin, but had recently been fired for being too extreme in the designs and not properly following directions from their clients.
Even if Pauline hadn’t been on the lookout for tailors who fit Lucas’ requirements, she probably would have heard about this pair because they had made such a huge fuss when their former employer kicked them out that the City Guard actually got involved.
When the Great Elder approached these two about working for an associate of hers, one who was looking for tailors just like them, both Felicity and Isaac quickly agreed.
The speed and ease with which the odd pair had accepted Pauline’s offer might have had something to do with the fact that they were in jail at the time and the Great Elder had promised to get the charges against them dropped if they agreed... but who can say?
In any case, the pair was soon packaged up and shipped off to Misty City, where they were quickly met their new boss and promptly proceeded to insult him.
Pauline might have forgotten to inform them that their new employer was actually a 10, or rather 11-year-old boy, so when Lucas enthusiastically introduced himself to them, Isaac had immediately blurted out, "Is this some kind bad joke? A snot-nosed noble brat thinks he has what it takes to design new clothes and wants us to make them for him? Why should we subject ourselves to such humiliation?!"
Felicity, who was usually incredibly shy in public spaces, also wore a deep frown on her face, feeling like her talents and her sense of professionalism were being insulted.
As far as she could tell, the Balfour Family’s Great Elder had tricked them, carting them off to serve the whims of some spoiled child until he got bored and tossed them away.
Lucas was naturally not alone when he met these two, there were plenty of others around, including Marco, and as soon as these words came out, almost everyone immediately blew up at the arrogant pair of newcomers, demanding they apologize for insulting their respected boss, colleague, friend, and mentor.
Before things could devolve into a full-blown fist-fight, however, Lucas actually let out a burst of laughter, throwing his head back and everything.
The reaction was so unexpected that everyone froze, wondering what was wrong with the boy.
It was only after a minute or so that Lucas composed himself, walked up to a very confused Isaac and Felicity, and tried to pat them on their shoulders, only to find he was a bit too short to do that, and declared, "Good! I like you two! Work for me and I promise you’ll never lack for funds, and that your names will echo across the world as the most revolutionary designers of all time!"