More people started entering the meeting. It was sure a little unrespectful that something really important as the French blocking the British magical ways and that had been called days ago became so informal.

Yet, news from Mr. Pointdexter that he could not even travel through the floo network nor apparition made Diana's attention turn when he had mentioned it. Alicia was trying to make the situation for the confused man a little less complicated and the others seemed to really be thinking what could be done about the situation.

She wanted to speak. Yet, had no words to do it. "The French Ministry of Magic has blocked our transportation, shipping goods...If there will be a meeting to resolve the situation, we must have that proyect or reasons in hand to communicate them that all this blocking makes the interdepence we have with them is fading away and the partnership makes both lose" It was a slight chance, yes. But what other things can they try.

Diana hoped not to be wrong. It was her first work meeting and she was trembling while she spoke, yet never lost composture.

"I am s-supposed to be attending an i-i-imPortant business c-conference!" he squeaked in consternation. "S-sales for m-mu-my c-c-c-c-c-c-cuh- b-b-b-bu-... job... are depending on m-my attendance!"

Poindexter glared his best Harry Potter Auror glare of Doom at her for even suggesting such a thing. He rather looked like a pug dog with round glasses on.

"B-bb-buh-buh-blocking t-travel to P-P-P-P-Puh-Paris?!" he exclaimed, spraying Rico with spittle in his agitation."But I've g-got to get there!"

"You've g-got to f-f-fuh-f- resolve this!" Poindexter said, furious. "I M-MU-MUST be in P-p-Paris by tomorrow!"

Evaline could tell the man was starting over react again. I'm sure who ever he was meeting in Paris would kindly wait and understand when they knew the circumstances. She decided she needed to make sure he calmed down first. "Mr. Poindexter, please calm yourself. No body got anywhere acting chaotic." she replied and then added. "I have a feeling you are not the only one having trouble getting in. You just have been the only person to come up here personally."

She turned to the girl saying they should call. "Yes that would be the most sensible thing to do, but it may not do much as Rico has said. We may have to go there ourselves when we figure out a way."

She then turned back to Mr. Poindextor, "With that I am afraid to say you may not get to Paris for a couple of days or more. I will try and contact your associates, or get them so you can talk to them and explain the situation. That is all we can do for now. I am sure they will understand." she said politely but hopfully he would get the message they were trying there best.

"A c-couple of d-duh-days? Oh, my stars... my stars... This will n-nuh-n-n-n-n-never do!" he paced, worrying. "C-can't you DO something?"

Evaline could tell this man did not want to be reasoned with. "I can't do anything right now. If I coulf I most certainly would." she told him not liking his attitude. "We most likely won't be able to get you into the country until we sort out the matter with the French I don't even know the full details and if their Ministry has made a law, or what. Just bare with us and we will get into France as quick as possible." she replied for the last time to him hoping he would get the message.

She then turned to her whole department. "Alright guys, as you have seen things have escalated and we need to get a plan of action." she announced and wrote on her board the three divisions. "Magical law Division, I need you to go and find out exactly what has been implaced in France on Ministry. I don't know if they made a Law or they are just using force to push the British out. Could possibly even be both. Trading Bodies, I want you to work on the trading into and out of France. Start with the snails and work to see if its everything going in and out of France or if they are rejecting just British goods into the country." Taking a breath she wrote down the last thing while saying it. "And International Division, start devising a plan to show that our country is a good country. I have a feeling we are going to have to go to France and promote this to change the people's minds."

Rico nodded at Evaline's assessment of the situation and jotted down one last note. Then he shuffled his papers into a neat little pile and stood up - clearly the meeting was adjourned, now that they all had work to do. He glanced down at his papers and noticed that letter he had received the other day...and his reply owl was right on top.

Ahhh right. Great. He was going to get it for this one - but no time like the present.

"Ms Ba---er, Evaline, can I have a word with you?" Rico said as quietly as possible, standing up from his chair. It was just a little matter, really, nothing that would cause a scene. Hopefully.

Oh, how he wanted to raise a fuss. To holler and sit down in protest and refuse to leave. However, Harry Poindexter was by nature a nervous and timid man, and he couldn't afford to have a Ministry record... how would that look to his employers? His clients? What would his sweet MOTHER say?

No, better to not rock the boat. He sighed and looked bck at the woman who appeared in charge. "W-W-Where should I w-wwait, then? While you s-s-s-s-sssort it?"

Evaline heard Rico say he needed a word but then Mr. Poindexter still had another question. She turned to the man and answered his question. "You can wait in our lounge on our level, or have a bite at the Cafe on the eighth level, but I think your home may be more comfortable since it may be a few days." she replied.

She then turned back to Rico. "Sure. What do you need?" she asked him. He seemed a bit off his normal personaility but she didn't think anything of it, since he may have been just having a bad day.

Nodding respectfully for Mr. Poindexter, and sort of warning him away from the boss, Rico approached Evaline. He was clutching his papers in his right hand so tightly that his knuckles were now white - but there was really nothing he could do about that.

"Evaline," he started quietly, making eye contact briefly before glancing down at his shoes, "This is going to come at a bad time, with the whole France situation, and I know Katie just quit, and we've had some trouble with employee retention and all, and I know your job is really stressful, and I'm sorry in advance but...

"I've accepted a job at the Daily Prophet....which means this is my resignation." He finished his little speech by looking back up at Big Boss Bass and swallowing the lump in his throat. Well, there it was. He couldn't take it back now even if he'd wanted to.

Evaline was listening to Rico and saw he was sort of nervous with what he had to say. He should know by now, anything he had to say was cool with her. They had been working together for almost three years.

She smiled at him encouragingly so he could spit out what he wanted to say, but as he started to speak her smile slowly disappeared when he started going on with the bad things, and then when he told her his news, she couldn't believe her ears. Her best division head was resigning? Now?

Not even realizing what she was doing her arms had snuck up and put them on his shoudlers. And with a quick motion she was shaking him. "Why nowwww??" she dragged out. She did not want him to go. This week was not a very good one for her.

Oh boy, Rico felt real bad now. There she was, smiling at him - and this was a rarity, for the boss didn't have much to smile about these days - and all he had was bad news.

"I--I---SORRY!" Rico blurted, dropping all his papers in one giant swoosh when she started shaking him uncontrollably. He wasn't hurt or effected by it, really, since he was larger than her. But it was the shock of her reaction that was most unsettling.

"Evaline, really," he said in a calm tone, gently removing her hands from his shoulders very, very carefully. You never knew what people could do in a time like this. "It's just time for a change. Change is good." Well that was a lame explanation but it was the truth...and the Prophet did offer him a handsome sum of galleons that would come in use for a nice vacation to Italy....how could he refuse?

Jacob controlled the urge to roll his eyes as the impatient and stuttering man refused to accept the department's limitations. Even the most thick of wizards had to realize that solving the overall problem was more important than one man's entrance to a conference. Finding a way to just get him into Paris would do nothing for everyone else.

Jacob gathered his notes as Ms. Bass concluded the meeting. He nodded to her and Rico as he passed them. Rico seemed worried, and had Ms. Bass's full attention. Hoping whatever the stressful topic was could be more easily solved than the France fiasco, Jacob continued on his way out the door. Maybe he'd go for a walk with his notebook to mull things over, with a quite stop at the Leaky Cauldron for a mug of Earl Grey. After that, his mind would be completely and totally focused on France.

Well, everyone was leaving now and Rico figured it was time for him to go too.

"Um, well, I need to clean out my desk," he muttered quietly, slipping away from his old boss. "Evaline, it was a true pleasure working with you - and all of you." He smiled around the room and then shook Boss Bass' hand.

"Come visit me at the Prophet!" Rico called over his shoulder, grinning in spite of himself as he walked out of that conference room. He was on to a new job and a new adventure.

Diana just looked at her notes and nodded towards the directions Ms. Bass gave them. Right...get with a solution to let France see we are a great country. She wrote that last thing and placed everything inside her work bag, ready to leave.
Ms. Bass, her boss seemed like the most patient woman ever, with Mr. Pointdexter there, Diana thought she would sure scream at the poor man.
Then, a guy just mentioned the Daily Prophet and...inviting Ms. Bass to visit hiim soon? Was he resigning? At that moment of great tension? How shocking it must have been to her boss.

All she could do was take deep breaths. She walked towards her boss and showed that great smile. "Good day...Ms. Bass..." She said, obvioulsy trembling. She was nervous, first day.

Jenkins strolled into the conference room. Aparrently there was to be a luau... whatever kind of party that was. He checked out the decorations then got a butterbeer and slumped into a chair, putting his feet on the large table. He waited for the other workers to arrive.

Welcome to our Department Luau! When you walk in you first notice the decorations:

SPOILER!!: Decorations

~*On the Walls*~


~*Centerpieces on different round tables*~


~*Lining the walls*~

In three of the corners are three games set up to make the Luau more fun; Hula Hooping, Lifesaver Pass, and Limbo. Each corner also has instructions posted:

SPOILER!!: Games and Instructions

~*Hula Hooping*~


~*Limbo*~


~*Life Saver Pass*~

So grab a lei...

and a hamburger...
And start having some fun!

Welcome Welcome Welcome!

Jenkins grinned as he saw the games. This could be fun...if people showed up.

Liliana hadn't meant to get here this late, but she had been looking after things, and hadn't been able to get here. As she made her way into the conference room she noticed the decorations, and that Jenkins was sitting on at the table in one of the large chairs. With his feet ON the TABLE! That was not going to happen. Sure it was a party, but it was still the conference room. "Jenkins," she called over to him with a slightly raised voice so she was sure he'd here her, "feet OFF the table please."

Making her way over, she grabbed something to drink of the table and went and sat down at the table on the opposite side of the conference table. Opening up her butterbeer she took a long sip and then set it down on the table. "So did Iain make it to the office?" she asked. She might as well make this a work thing while she waited for people to arrive, it would give her a chance to get to know her employees better, and also let them know about what was going on.

Brock just got into his divison when Lili walked in and told them they had to go to the confercence room. He left his divison and walked to the conference room.

While walking there he say many portraits of the Department Heads. They all seemed like they were really good at there job but he was happy that he had Lili as the department head.

When he got there, the only person he saw was Lili. "Hi Lili. How are you?"

Abilee walked in and saw all the pretty decorations. Now this is her kind of party. It looked bright and girly. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, she smiled and took a seat.

Iridesca was so ready to get things started. She stuck her head out from behind a blown up palm tree and said, "Welcome or Aloha" to everyone that walked in the door. She was quickly walking around and handing out nametages and leis to everyone. "Make sure you write your name on your nametag so we can get to know everyone!" she told each attendee with a smile on.

Finally, she introduced the Department Head and herself. "Thank you everyone for coming and I'm sure others will be coming in shortly. While we're getting settled I just wanted to do a couple of formal introductions..." Looking towards Lili, she smiled and continued..."Your Department Head is Ms. Lili Hayman." she said motioning towards Lili and starting the applause.

"And I'm Iridesca McMillan the new Division Head for the Magical Office of Law. Feel free to eat and drink as much as you like and please take part in any of the games set up around the room." she said motioning to the different corners. "I've made sure to put instructions for the games since they are Muggle related activities. But I would also like you to grab a piece of paper and write down any ideas you have for get togethers like this and put them in the box (PM them to me.). Once again, Thanks for coming!" She said and headed back to the cooler with ice in it to put together some more drinks for the attendees.

"Yes ma'am," Jenkins put an emphisis on the ma'm to make it sarcastic. It was a party after all. She seemed to be work-a-holic. "Feet OFF the table."

He slid his feet off the table, "Mr. Hunter? Yeah he dropped by earlier...me Abilee and..."the new guys name slipped his mind. "That guy," he said pointing him out, "He was talking to all of us." Man, was she all about work or what?

He grimanced as he put on a nametag...nametags were so...first year.

"Would you like to play some games, my dear Ms. Hayman?" he asked Liliana in mock formality. He was a little..not himself from the last hour he'd spent drinking Butterbeers and Firewhiskey.He had shown up a little early and had nothing better to do."Ormaybegivemethepleasureofjoiningmeinadance?"

His words were a little slurred. He shook his head to clear it.

"Or do you have a boyfriend?"said Jenkins. She probably did, she was stunningly beautiful. Not that he wanted to be her boyfriend...nope. Just friends. She obviously didn't really like him...or she did...she was sitting here talking to him, even if she showed a dislike for his casual manner. No she was way to uptight for him. He couldn't fall for a girl like her. Besides he was a Vaughn. Vaughns did not fall for women. They married for power, money, society, not for love. Not that he loved her. He was never going to get drunk again,he decided, it jumbled his brain to much.

Lili's head turned as she heard someone saying her name. As she spotted who it was, she smiled and said, "Hi Brock, I'm pretty good, how is it going?" Brock had been the first employee that she had met. Not overall just as being a department head.

Lili noticed another girl come in, she didn't recall the girls name, but she knew that she had been in TSB when she'd stuck her head in the office. She waved hi in greeting and then turned her attention back to those sitting around her.

Lili smilled as Iridesca spoke, luckily she had no problem at all speaking in front of others. She clapped when she was done, and then took another sip of her butterbeer.

"Brock?" she said when he seemed to be forgetting a name. She was really quite enjoying herself around him. She knew she was coming off as someone who was obbsessive about work, but it was fun pretending to be someone that she really wasn't. "Sorry bout the table comment," she said apologetically, "it's just that it's new."

Dancing. He was asking her if she wanted to dance. She'd rather dance with Iain, but because she really didn't know what was happening with them she figured hey, why not. After all, it could be fun, as long as Jenkins managed to talk straight. She smiled to herself, before she accepted.

When they got up to dance, she answered his next question. "Not offically, " she told him, "but yes." She grinned, thinking about her date the other night with Iain, she hoped he showed up, dancing with everyone else would be good to. Pulling her mind away from her thoughts she said at large to the entire room, "Why don't you all come dance too?"

ooc. but you're post made me laugh

Jacob slipped into the Conference Room and was assailed by festive decorations, delicious smells wafting through the air, and the Muggle-ish games. He saw the leis up for grabs and twisted the one he was already wearing around his finger. Oops. Well, there would certainly be some extras.

Jacob moved farther into the room. His lei was a bright blue, and somehow worked with his hair and dark outfit. He found a nametag and wrote "Jacob Webster" on it with his wand, the letters a matching electric blue.

Grabbing a burger from the food line, Jacob made his way over to where the new Division head was. He set his food and tea on a nearby table before holding out his hand for her to shake. "I'm Jacob Webster...although you can already see that," he trailed off, glancing down at the name tag. "I'm looking forward to working with you."

Abigail had almost forgotten about the name tag. She grabbed one near bby and scribbled her name on it.
Abigail
There, maybe that would be better and people would stop mentioning her as "her" or "the girl" She then heard Jenkins ask if Lili had a boyfriend. PRICELESS. Abilee couldn't help but look down, laugh and shake her head. He was apparently falling for every girl here, except her which made it funnier, in Abilee's opinion. But she wasn't really for someone at the moment. She would settle in work first then look.
Dance? Abigail coulsn't dance if her life depended on it. It was like she had two left feet.
"Umm...I'll pass on that one...or at least for now." she said and stood in her chair.