Tony nodded, lips tightening for a brief moment. Partly because he was struck dumb by the girl's sheer gall in utter contrast to Peter and Liz's self-effacingly polite openers, partly because he wanted to laugh and it would be SUCH a bad time to. 'Lean into it. This is for the children. Think of the children.'
"Alright." He made a point of giving a moment of silence to acknowledge each participants statement. All were equal. "I think it bears mentioning that being honest will get us a lot further than telling each other what we think we want each other to hear. We're here because we want a breakthrough, right?" He let that hang, meeting all their eyes through his clear glasses. "Anything that comes out was already there. We just weren't saying it. Better on the dinner table than to simmer over on the pot."
That last part, he could say with authority, even if it was far more delicate than his usual phrasing. "That being said, we're gonna agree to be honest and respectful." He cast a sympathetic look to Liz, as if reminding her not to take it too personally. She didn't ask for this--no one did. "So. Let's keep setting the stage. What are our main concerns?"
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2018-11-22 04:00 am (UTC)"Alright." He made a point of giving a moment of silence to acknowledge each participants statement. All were equal. "I think it bears mentioning that being honest will get us a lot further than telling each other what we think we want each other to hear. We're here because we want a breakthrough, right?" He let that hang, meeting all their eyes through his clear glasses. "Anything that comes out was already there. We just weren't saying it. Better on the dinner table than to simmer over on the pot."
That last part, he could say with authority, even if it was far more delicate than his usual phrasing. "That being said, we're gonna agree to be honest and respectful." He cast a sympathetic look to Liz, as if reminding her not to take it too personally. She didn't ask for this--no one did. "So. Let's keep setting the stage. What are our main concerns?"