"Maillol thinks he can swing it in terms of Project budget, but that's just Cheliax paying you instead of Cheliax paying the Project and getting convertible loan-shares and the Project then paying you. I'm not going to make you wait on your salaries while I sort out that part."
"Next step according to Civilization best practices, is that I walk out of the room and let you discuss this among yourselves for a while. I'd say however long is needed but in dath ilan it'd be obvious that the time for this step is more like thirty minutes than half a day. You can have somebody call me back in if there's additional questions. When and if everyone thinks they're okay, if there aren't new terms requiring amendment, you tell me that and then I go talk to Maillol about initializing the salary part of this."
"Roughly the idea is that, before you form a more load-bearing verbal assent to this plan, which I then go write up as a contract, you're supposed to talk about it among yourselves without me there in the room, in case there's some part of your brain that can't fully correct for the effect of my being there on your willingness to accept a deal I proposed. Any of you individually can and should go off and consider it quietly on your own for a few minutes, if you notice your brain being at all influenced by the others present. Carissa, you also need to leave at some point for at least five minutes of them talking without you, because you're above them in the organizational structure."
"You clear for me to head out now?"