Gavin noted the fall in her mood after that last memo just now. She knew it was coming. No use lying to themselves about it. He hadn't gotten to take much of a look at any on the other levels directly but he'd be willing to bet they were falling out of sorts as well.

And look at her being extra helpful there. An easy smile settled on his face. "You can, but I'm still heading this search on Levels 1 and 2." Meaning they'd take orders from him? He liked the sound of that. Partial delegation really. "I was going to have my people get on the search too but now I'm thinking yours are more qualified." A secretary hunting around with a cage for an acidic mutant as opposed to someone who practically lived in the field...uh...."A mixture should be fine. Collectively we'll cover the two levels unless Harmony has something else in mind. Aron told her we'd be going off her cues." Didn't seem like a very smart thing to say to someone who spoke of 'pulsating auras' but....eh.

Gavin glanced down at his watch then sighed. His lunch hour had been up for over an hour now and in all the mutant madness he hadn't managed to grab anything to eat. The day was becoming unproductive and sitting here was making it increasingly so.

He rose from his seat a tad bit reluctantly, afterall he'd only just gotten here and was enjoying himself. "Have them know they should be on the look out for any damaged or missing items within the Department, outside of that, I'll let you know when that Ministry Sweep will happen." Harmony did say they didn't have much time to waste, shouldn't be long. "And if that's clear I think I'll be leaving now. Still need to inform Level 1 on the matter."

Busy, today was busy.

And wasn't that just the cutest thing, he was heading the search. Yeah, she'd pay it... let him have it, the man needed to see a little action from time to time. It was quite possibly the most exciting thing he'd have done in a long time - minus spending his time with her, of course. Exciting stuff that.

"Of course," she'd replied, a palm up to show she understood and the reign was his. Heh. He was right in thinking her mob were more qualified for this sort of thing, it was more or less a part of their character. "That's not a problem, and a mixture it is," she agreed, making mental note. She didn't think much of Harmony, didn't know the woman from a bar of soap to be perfectly honest... but she had heard rumours of her... er... odd behaviours, and distinctly remembered her saying something about auras at the orientation ball. Auras of all things. Oddly enough, a small part of her wanted to know how the woman would describe her aura... but some things were best left unknown. Ignorance was bliss.

Seeing Gavin glance at his watch led her to check the time on her wall clock behind him. It could be worse for her, that being said she had an appointment to get to in an hour, so she needed to be fairly quick with her Aurors.

Emily rose from her seat after Gavin, the impromptu meeting over quicker than she had expected when she first sighted him. Shame. "Of course, I'll post a notice shortly, and thanks for filing me in," she acknowledged with some more nodding. "If I don't run into you again today then I'll see you in the morning." And hopefully they'd have more of a plan to work with by then. Despite the quick pace in which the day was progressing, the next day still seemed so far away, there was still so much to be done before she could call it a day - or night for that matter. "Of course, thank's for stopping by.." Generally speaking, she would have offered him a handshake or similar, but they were too familiar for that, it wasn't necessary. Emily walked him to her door seeing as they were both heading out, holding it open for him to exit.

A big smile on her face and a box of homemade cauldron cakes in her hand, Ainsley was ready to take on the world... well at least the ministry. She was going to get things done today, and she wasn't waiting any longer for the stories to come to her.

She made her way up to level two and found the office of the department head. Technically she was stopping by unannounced and Ainsley didn't usually operate like that, but with the failing memos she didn't have much choice. She knocked and waited to be invited inside.

Waiting at the reception area was not how Ellis Recard rolled. He had been to MLE a few times to visit Emily before but he hadn't been to her new, big office and head honcho, or was it honcha since she was a woman? He didn't know.

He nodded to a passing witch or wizard as he made his way through the department and then stood outside the door with the plaque reading, 'Emily Browne, Department Head'. Ellis grinned as he pulled out his wand and a piece of parchment folded into a paper airplane. After tapping it with his wand he watched it zoom around and then make its way into the office while he stood outside and waited.

SPOILER!!: The memo

Dearest Emily,

Would you be able to take a few minutes out of your very busy day running the policing force of Great Britain to have lunch with a silly ole Magical Games and Sports goof?

-Ellis

Was it just her? Or was this day particularly busy? Emily had long lost count of the people trampling in and out of her office, never mind the memos and the meetings and every other bloody thing that came up.

She was in dire need of a coffee.

As it so happened, there was a knock at her door just as she had risen from her seat. She was never one to believe in bad luck or omens, but this, couldn't be a god thing. For the quickest of moments she'd contemplated sitting quietly in her office, as if she weren't even there - hoping whoever it was would return when she was in a better mood. The other thought that crossed her mind, was the floo it out of her office. Easy means of escape.

In the end, her conscience won out, that, and her curiosity.

Opening her own door, because she was good like that, Emily took in the sight of the woman waiting at her door. Interesting. "Yes? How might I help you?" she asked directly but with a light tone. She was a busy person with things to do and coffee to drink. Could this not wait?



Emily watched keenly as yet another memo dipped and glided onto her desk. They were in no ways as graceful as they ought to be, but at least they were still working. She could live with it.

The paper plane sat idly on her desk a moment while she finished signing and filing some paperwork. As soon as she was done, she unfolded the parchment and read.

..

..

A smirk quickly tugged at her lips as she reached for her quill to sign on the back of it. A quick glance at the wall clock told her all she needed to know - food was definitely on her agenda. Oddly enough, for an ole goof, he could be quite charming, and definitely charming enough on an empty stomach. Furthermore it'd been a while since she'd seen him, the orientation was the last time that came to mind even though she probably past him in the Ministry at some stage since. Folding the memo, Emily sent it on its way, watching it leave her office as the door opened and closed for it.

"Hello, my name is Ainsley Scarsdale and I just wanted to introduce myself." She held out her hand while smiling. She didn't want to blabber on forever and run the risk of annoying the department head. "I know you are an extremely important and busy person, but I am the new media liaison and with the memos failing I couldn't set up a time that I'm sure would have worked better for you." Get on with it Ainsley, she scolded herself.

Still beaming she continued. "I just wanted to meet you and put a face to a name." Really she needed stories. "I'd love to hear about the great things that you and your department do when you have the chance." People liked to be talked to sweetly so maybe she would get somewhere if she acted charming. The blonde knew that she would normally have to set up a meeting.

Ainsley bit her bottom lip and her eyes glanced towards the box that she was carrying. "These are for you. I hope you like sweets." Just a small thing to hopefully make good with the people in the ministry that she knew would be important to be on good terms with.

Emily observed the woman all the while suspended between her office and the corridor. It was becoming clearer to her that coffee might not be happening any time soon, she'd likely have to send a runner for that later. Shame, she could have done with the journey. Emily accepted the woman's hand and shook with her usual firm grip. "It's a pleasure.." she said for the sake of being polite. Whether or not it was a pleasure, was yet to be seen, but the woman was at least.... spirited. She nodded as the woman explained. Merlin. Media liaison - one of Gavin's - she didn't like the sound of that one bit. "You know, our secretary - Muriel, is fairly good with booking my appointments," she mused, because that was an option, book before turning up and all that jazz. Though she did wonder why the woman had let this one through. It was very clearly her break time and she had a busy afternoon of meetings to get to.

She couldn't help but smirk a little, her right brow lifting slightly out of amusement. "Well here I am, in the flesh," she announced, so the woman ought to have her face to her name now. And... wasn't that what the orientation was for? Faces, names, greetings and welcomes? Ehh. "We do many great things," she started, "unfortunately they're usually overshadowed by pitfalls, set backs and factors out of our control." Honestly, if the woman was the media liaison, surely she knew how the industry worked. "Fluff stories don't sell, drama and controversy does." This was yet another reason why people were so disappointing. So really, was there anything worth talking about? Was there nobody else for this woman to question about their work?

Th box she was holding, hadn't gone unnoticed, but to be polite she hadn't asked or paid it attention. She wasn't the warmest person, but she was polite and professional. "Sweets, I do indeed." This was perhaps the woman's saving grace. It wasn't coffee and a cinnamon scroll... but whatever it was, it would do. "Thank you," she offered, a faint smile on her lips.

...

...

Merlin. She had a duty to this woman now. Food in exchange for...
"Would you like to step into my office? Or are you expected elsewhere?" she asked, hoping it was the latter - though she was happy to indulge in the first, so long as she could eat.

Just keep smiling. What was the worse that could happen? Surely the lady didn't bite. Maybe she should have tried another department head first... somebody that wasn't the head of law enforcement. Ainsley must not get discouraged now. After all, she was just trying to do her job and she was sure that Emily could appreciate that. This one was hard to read. She seemed nice enough, but there was something about her that said you did not want to get on her bad side.

She sighed with relief when Emily took her hand. This wasn't so bad. Her pulse even felt like it was starting to slow down a bit. Then the obvious was stated and she couldn't believe that she completely skipped over the secretary. There was no telling what the woman standing before her was thinking of Ainsley. "Of course. I sincerely apologize." Ainsley hoped that she hadn't already gotten herself on Emily's bad side. "I will make sure to set up an appointment next time." Or perhaps, she could speak with somebody else. That was always an option. Maybe it wasn't smart to go straight to the head of a department? This was a learning experience for her. Before getting this job at the ministry she had only worked for her family's business so this was different for her.

There she was indeed. She felt her face flush a bit by the look of amusement on the woman's face. Ainsley was not going to falter. Instead of commenting she simply smiled instead. "Of course, of course." She knew that she was going to have her work cut out for her with this department. The daily prophet always wanted to write about what they did wrong, and who could blame them? "Missus...Mrs..." cough. "It's all about how you spin a story." That she could do. She only hoped that she would manage to get something to work with.

Thank goodness she liked sweets. Once she handed over the box it was as if the atmosphere changed. "I'm glad. They are homemade cauldron cakes." Ainsley loved to bake. She was sure that Emily didn't want to hear about her kitchen gadgets so she moved on. She was being invited into the office... it was the treats, she just knew it. Should she accept and come in? Her mind went back to what Gavin told her. Gavin directly informed her to keep it brief and to not annoy the other department heads... charming that one was. Maybe she would talk though, should she risk it? "I would love to, but I don't want to take up any more of your time." Especially because she did come over unannounced. "If it is okay with you I would like to set up a meeting during a time that is most convenient for you." Pause. "With your secretary that is." she quickly added. She hoped that her effort would be appreciated. Plus, she didn't want to annoy the lady further and push herself on her. She was pretty sure that she was trying to leave as Ainsley was stopping by.

Emily couldn't be a hundred percent sure, but she was fairly certain the woman was nervous and perhaps a little intimidated... how very interesting. She liked this, it spoke volumes about the woman's perception of her. MLE Dragon Boss Lady wasn't a bad title, it was, severe and so very catching. Retracting her hand, Emily nodded. "It's fine," she mused, waving off the apology. It was done, no taking it back, just moving forward, at least Ms Scarsdale had learnt a valuable lesson today.

Leaning against her door frame, Emily observed the woman stumble through her words. "Ms," she corrected, she wasn't a little girl, nor was she married.. and she'd accepted that people were not going to catch on and call her Sir no matter how many times she suggested it. Such a shame, she'd had hoped for that, it had a nice ring to it. Pffttt, spinning stories, "And how do you suppose you could have spun the story about de Talone?" she asked, after all, it was Ainsley who had brought up the topic of spinning, as opposed to selling. Besides, if she were capable of spinning stories, then what was her business here?

Lifting the box lid, Emily gave the cakes a sniff.. yeah, they'd do the trick. "Well thank you for the personal touch," she said, noting that the woman said home made. She only hoped the quality was that of a proficient home cook, and not one of those it's rustic cooks.

Emily had turned into her office, waving two of her fingers for the woman to follow. "Nonsense, you're here now, the least I can do it book you in personally." And with that she ran her wand over her desk, revealing her calendar and appointments. "How soon did you want it?" she asked, eyes still scanning her appointments. "I have a half an hour slot tomorrow afternoon.... alternatively I could accommodate you for a morning next week?" Whatever worked best for her. So long as this happened in currently unscheduled time, it didn't matter how soon or late it was.

Why, oh why was she allowing this woman to intimidate her? She was a an educated professional and she wasn't going to give anybody the power to make her feel as if she were out of place. She took a deep breath in and stood a little taller... she hoped anyways. Whew, she said it was fine. Hopefully all could be forgotten and they could go on as if this had never happened. Note to self though, she would never start with the law department first again.

Ms. Okay, so she wasn't married and that was really all that she was getting at. It was good manners to properly address people, and Ainsley was big on manners. "Ms. it is." Oh no, she was the one who had brought up spinning stories so she could only be mad at herself. Why did she have to bring up de Talone? That was the major thing on her job task. She was supposed to do everything in her power about keeping the daily prophet from writing about that, but she wasn't getting any stories from the people who were supposed to be out talking to the ministry heads. Yeah, here she was practically sweating, and this wasn't even her job. Another deep breath. "Maybe spinning wasn't the right word to use." Why was she even bothering to explain this to her? "That particular case is difficult." Very, very difficult. She wanted to know how somebody was able to have a port key on them. "I'm working diligently on that one." Could we drop it now please?

"You're very welcome." She sincerely hoped that Ms. Browne liked them. Ainsley loved to bake, and she put her heart and soul into it. Maybe the woman wasn't so bad after all. She managed a thank you and she was personally going to make an appointment for her so that was something. "I'll take the morning slot. Any day works for me." She could move her appointments around. This was important, plus she hoped that early in the morning she would not have had a chance to be irritated yet.

The woman was learning, falling into line, this would be a positive experience for her, she was sure. Emily continued to fiddle with her calendar, checking her weekly overview and glimpsing her hourly plans. She smiled to herself as Ms Scarsdale acknowledged that spinning wasn't the most appropriate term. "I didn't think so," she had responded without looking up. One thing that did pique her curiosity, was the fact that she was working on it? Hadn't that ship sailed? They'd failed to keep the report out of the Prophet, so as far as damage control went, they were more or less screwed.
"I'll make sure my staff let you know should there be any insights or revelations appropriate for disclosure." Depending on its sensitivity, she may or may not be willing to share, full stop.

Back to the matter at hand, "Alright then, shall we say nine thirty on Thursday? or would you prefer ten on Friday?" Her choice. Those were the options.

Ainsley was feeling like she could finally start to breathe a bit. Kindness went a long way. That was what she was trying to preach to everybody, but she would just show them that things got done better this way. Just the thought of de Talone made her stomach hurt. That story should have never been printed, but she was not here long enough to stop that. She could only hope that she could get enough stories that would be useful to her that she could feed to the prophet. It wouldn't be the same as stopping the story, but maybe she could draw the attention back on the positive things the ministry was doing... just like you would cover a couch with a pretty blanket to cover a hole. People would forget soon enough yes?

"Thank you. I really appreciate that." Surely they had something good to report. She had experience in her field, but there was only so much that she could do when people completely failed at their jobs. Ainsley would be able to accomplish so much more if people would do the leg work for her like they were supposed to. She had so much to catch up on it was unreal. It looked as if she was going to have to get everything done herself. "Thursday will be delightful." That would give her enough time to do some more research and hopefully meet with some more people. Oh dear, she needed to bake some more snacks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hera

Emily watched keenly as yet another memo dipped and glided onto her desk. They were in no ways as graceful as they ought to be, but at least they were still working. She could live with it.

The paper plane sat idly on her desk a moment while she finished signing and filing some paperwork. As soon as she was done, she unfolded the parchment and read.

..

..

A smirk quickly tugged at her lips as she reached for her quill to sign on the back of it. A quick glance at the wall clock told her all she needed to know - food was definitely on her agenda. Oddly enough, for an ole goof, he could be quite charming, and definitely charming enough on an empty stomach. Furthermore it'd been a while since she'd seen him, the orientation was the last time that came to mind even though she probably past him in the Ministry at some stage since. Folding the memo, Emily sent it on its way, watching it leave her office as the door opened and closed for it.

SPOILER!!: Memo

Dearest Ellis,

You're in luck. Did you have somewhere in mind?

--Emily

As he waited Ellis leaned against the bare wall beside the door and crossed his ankles.

And waiting....what was she doing? She was a Department Head now, he told himself but still. What if the memo had been life threatening? HE WANTED TO SEE HER.

Finally, alright he was exaggerating, the memo zoomed out the door and he quickly caught it mid-flight--those former keeper skills came in handy. He read it quickly and then scrolled one word below her last message. Recard then walked into the office and swaggered over to her desk.

She looked really cute bent over at her desk reading something probably really official. "Message for you ma'am!" he said in his best 1940s mailboy accent. He held up the paper with the word, "Here" written on it.

"I have sandwiches!" he said with a big grin.

And on that note, so that the woman wouldn't insist on wastingoccupying only her time, Emily looked up from her desk, "Are you familiar with our liaisons?" she asked. Because if so, then there were her go-to people, and if not, well.. then they really ought to meet. "Ms Hampson and Mr Beckett?" she added for clarification. They were good peeps, she approved of them.

Waving her wand over the calendar engraved in her desk, she entered the appointment for the Thursday. This would perhaps suit a bit better, she wouldn't be in a hurry to end her breakfast date with Gavin that way. Friday's were good like that. Good company, limited scheduled time and more freedom to interrogatecheck in with her staff. "Thursday it is," she confirmed with a nod and a small smile. "Is there anything in particular I should plan for, for that morning?" Anything she needed to bring... to speed up the process of their meeting, perhaps?



She'd barely had enough time to finish sorting through her in-tray when her door opened and in walked Ellis. The confident little weasel that he was. Emily raised her brows, mild surprise mingled with amusement etched on her face.
"Call me ma'am again, and you won't get another chance," she mused, not at all impressed with the title, even if it was in jest. Of course, her threat wasn't to be taken seriously. As much as she would love to silence him and teach him a lesson, there were limits with what she could do in the workplace before it was considered assault.

Smiling, Emily took the memo he held out to her and read the word scrawled beneath her writing. Here. Well that was convenient. What was most convenient about the arrangement was that he was bringing her food, so she didn't need to leave her office after all. This was both a good thing and a bad thing. On the one hand she didn't have to deal with time wasters on the way, on the other hand, she was stuck in this room. Again, there were pros and cons. With Ellis present it was mostly pros, he made for a nice distraction. "You're spoiling me," she let out about the sandwiches, returning his grin with one of her own.
"And to what do I owe this pleasure?" she asked, pushing her files to the side and indicating for him to pull a chair in closer. She was officially off-duty and on lunch.

This meet and greet was almost over. Ainsley would be better prepared the next time she came in contact with the head of law enforcement. "We actually aren't acquainted." She was in the process of meeting everybody now. She knew everybody in her department, but unfortunately she could not same the same for the other departments. That was something that she was working on.

A smile, there was a smile! It was the cauldron cakes, she just knew it. Hmm... what could she bring? Anything that she could work with really. Surely she had some good stories about her department. It couldn't be all bad right? "Well, as you know I could always use a good story to sell." She didn't want to make the head go through any extensive research or anything. Being the head of a department, you should know plenty of things off the top of your head, so she really didn't think that she was asking too much. "Any information you have of the great work that goes on here day in and day out would be greatly appreciated." She didn't ask for much. Ainsley would need something to back up the fluff that she planned on feeding to the ministry and this department needed all of the help it could get with that task.

Ohhh... well that explained a lot. "I'd get onto that if I were you," she mused, disillusioning her calendar and stepping away from her desk, her eyes on the woman. "I would introduce you, but I have other business to attend to..." and that was about as close to an apology Ainsley would get for that. The woman would be fine though, Hampson and Beckett were far friendlier and approachable, hence thier liaising roles.

Stories. Something she wouldn't bother dwelling on. She'd give the woman what she needed at the time and be done with it. Emily nodded her understanding. "That'll be fine then," she mused, directing to woman back out of her office, practically ushering her. "Thank you for stopping by Ms Scarsdale, but if you'll excuse me there's a coffee cup with my name on it and some people I need to see.." ergo, this meeting was over - unless she dared bother her with something else?

"I fully intend on it." So many people, so little time. Normally, she would have liked to be introduced, but all things considered surely she would fare better by herself. Besides, she needed to pick up some more treats. Ainsley would win everybody over with homemade goodies. Not everybody would be this unapproachable. "Not to worry. You will have helped me enough." She hoped she would be singing the same tune when she sat down with her for their little meeting.

Okay, so this meeting was over, and she was just fine with that. She expected at any moment for Emily to grab by her arm and force her through the door. Ainsley could take a hint. "It's been a pleasure meeting you. I look forward to Thursday." Looking forward to the meeting was a major stretch, but she was not a discourteous person, and would never divulge her her true feeling about the upcoming meeting. The blonde turned on her heel and click clacked down the hallway.

Good, and of course she had helped her enough already, she had been quite accommodating considering the circumstances. Mmhhmm. But coffee called, it was beckoning her. "A pleasure indeed Ms Scarsadale," she mused closing and arming her door behind them, ",have a good day." And she too left, in the opposite direction, away from the noise of the clicking and the clacking. Merlin.

...

...

...

Some time later, after her caffeine hit, and after checking in with her staff and some other departments, Emily returned to her office, conscious of the fact she had a pending meeting.

Once in her office, she plopped herself in her seat, door open, and waited for Saul to show up. She remembered him, she did.

He had been gone only a year, and already Ferguson was out, and Browne took over. He was wondering just how different she ran ship around here. Life itself was already taking a good turn for him, He and Charlotte got engaged. which was the whole reason why he came back, so he was hoping that the atmosphere around work had not drastically changed since he was gone. Too much difference would REALLY freak him out, and he couldn't afford to be Quiet Reserved Saul X anymore.

He just needed to make sure his old job was still in place. He left Wes on a better job offer by his Brother at the Andorran MLE, but now he's back.

He pushed his glasses up his face and and loosened one button that felt like it was choking him around his neck. He remembered Emily so things maybe won't be too weird when he goes in. His glasses fell back down to the brim of his nose and he gave the door a knocking.

Waiting was something Emily had little patience for, so for Saul's sake, she hoped he would be on time. Withdrawing a folder from her desk, his employee folder, Emily flipped through it, swinging in her chair with a finger pressed against her lips in thought. That is... until movement at her door caught her attention. The knocking, was polite, but not entirely necessary, still she appreciated the gesture.

"Saul, come on in," she greeted with a small smile. He was smart enough to close the door behind himself, so she didn't specify. "How has life been treating you?" she asked - an attempt at making light chitchat before getting down to business.

They weren't going to get right down to business it seemed. "Lifes been fine. A lot of traveling back and forth." He's staying put now, that's for sure. He had a basic idea of how this was all going to go down. So how much talking about his life does he need to do? Can't she? Does Emily even need to know he'd going to be married? Bet she doesn't even know Charlie...unless she has gotten a tatoo? Would she get tatoos, she looks like the type. Maybe she does know Charlie. His glasses we're slowly falling down from his face while he was in deep thought. So he pushed them back up. He'll have to Ask Charlie later if she's ever worked on his new boss. "I just recently got engaged, nothing bigger than that I'm afraid."

SAUL WHAT!? You just said no to small talk! So Stupid!

Fine. Traveling back and forth. Well that sounded positively delightful... to an extent. Emily nodded, watching, observing him as he made himself comfortable in her space. She ran her finger down one of the pages before catching on the corner and turning it - only half turning it. This would be an easy in and out.

Emily closed the file, all the while Saul sat quietly... or not. Engaged? Well now that was a pretty big thing. "Congratulations," she offered, small smile in place. Though what she had really wanted to say was good luck, it was a big thing. Big big big thing. BIG thing.

Pushing the file to the side, she figured it was time to get on with it, she had other more important things to get to, even if this was of some significance.
"As you can see, there have been a number of changes here since your departure..." her promotion being only one of them, "but I trust you'll find your transition back into our team a smooth one, and of course you're welcome back to your old position."

Was there much more that needed to be said? Saul was competent, knew what he was doing, so could just... get on with it. Unless.. "Did you have any questions? Concerns?" Anything?

It was good to know he was welcomed back with open arms. "I'm sure I'll adjust quickly."

Yeah...his engagement came with lots and lots of luggage. Literally. Charlie has so much clothes. He had to turn his small closet into a walk-in for her sake.
"Oh and Congrats to you too." He didn't say what of, but the look he gave around the room should hopefully have given away he meant her promotion.

"Just one. Before I left Wes had Promoted me to my Old Division's Chief Inspector position. This is the same position I'm coming into, yes?" He didn't mind his previous job working as an Animagus Investigator. The oppurtunity he left behind was just better pay and more work. Just the way he liked it.

She had no doubts about Saul's competency, he was highly recommended and had Wes' seal of approval, but there was something about the man that seemed, unbalanced. He was odd, definitely odd. "I'm sure you will," she acknowledged, convinced of this fact.

His congratulations elicited an eyebrow raise from her. Of course, Emily knew what he meant, his gazing around the room told her as much, even if it was old news now. "Thank you," she replied with a sharp nod, wondering if he was perhaps unsettled by the change. She would have asked, but it seemed he did have a question of his own. A valid one, though unnecessary. "Yes, of course," she said with a wave of her hand, it was after all his old position regardless of how new it had been when he left it, "were you wanting a demotion?" to which she would say no - purely because she needed him in the Chief Inspector role. "Your division should be able to catch you up on all that you've missed... and believe me, there's been a fair bit, so if you're at all lost and the noticeboard doesn't shed any light on the matter you're always welcome to bother me." Or someone else. Preferably someone else, but she was doing the whole approachable department head thing, see, she could be a people person. Friendly, approachable, helpful - that was her.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hera

She'd barely had enough time to finish sorting through her in-tray when her door opened and in walked Ellis. The confident little weasel that he was. Emily raised her brows, mild surprise mingled with amusement etched on her face.
"Call me ma'am again, and you won't get another chance," she mused, not at all impressed with the title, even if it was in jest. Of course, her threat wasn't to be taken seriously. As much as she would love to silence him and teach him a lesson, there were limits with what she could do in the workplace before it was considered assault.

Smiling, Emily took the memo he held out to her and read the word scrawled beneath her writing. Here. Well that was convenient. What was most convenient about the arrangement was that he was bringing her food, so she didn't need to leave her office after all. This was both a good thing and a bad thing. On the one hand she didn't have to deal with time wasters on the way, on the other hand, she was stuck in this room. Again, there were pros and cons. With Ellis present it was mostly pros, he made for a nice distraction. "You're spoiling me," she let out about the sandwiches, returning his grin with one of her own.
"And to what do I owe this pleasure?" she asked, pushing her files to the side and indicating for him to pull a chair in closer. She was officially off-duty and on lunch.

A small burst of laughter came from the man as he was settling into his chair from her response to being called ma'am. "Alright, alright. It won't happen again." he said as he made a cross over his heart in promise. She was so cute when she got all semi-annoyed and bothered.

He began to lay out the sandwiches, crisps, and bottles of water and lemonade as she moved her chair closer to his. "Well I like spoiling you. And I need to get out of the office down there. I haven't been out in the field meeting players in a while and paper work is dreadfully dull." Not to mention there was a pretty lady here on level two he could eat with instead of his friends on seven. They'd been to dinner and gotten drinks as well as hung out around the Ministry but Ellis still wasn't sure exactly how things were going for the two of them. He'd have to still try and figure that out soon.

"So," he said as he pushed the food and drinks closer to her so she could have first choice, "Have you been busy today?" By the looks of the papers stacked on her desk it would seem so.