Er, maybe there were no cubicles after all. Rico stopped in the middle of the room and stared around at the desks oddly shoved into some sort of arrangement. He was pleased to note the numerous coffee mugs around - good, cos he really didn't like 'tea people.' No, the blacker and more bitter the coffee, the better.

Still, where was his desk? Rico started roaming through the aisles, snooping just a bit at each grouping of messy desks...one seemed to be for hard news...hmm, there was one with a girly-looking scarf on it, that had to be lifestyle...then there were a few desks near some Quidditch posters, that would be sports...

Aha! Layout - the last little group! Rico grinned to himself, proud to have found his way without any help. Normally, he was a lost cause when it came to asking for directions so he was pleased he did it all by himself. Heh.

Rico picked out the desk on the end, closest to someone's office. He slipped into the swirly chair there, frowning as it squeaked in protest and a few tufts of stuffing poofed out a seam in the back. Now he was starting to regret quitting his nice, cushy position back at the Ministry...at least there he had his own cubicle and awesome executive chair....sigh. This would be an adventure though, that was certain.

Speaking of adventure, Rico squinted at the office door closest to his desk. Mona Quigley, it read. What an interesting name - Mona. He liked it. He also really liked the fact that the layout desks were near the sports desks. Maybe he could pick up on some insider news regarding Quidditch...the best sport yet invented. He might've been American but hey, the sport was one reason he'd moved here.

And now Rico just had to settle in to this new job. He spun around in his chair a little, ignoring its squeaks as he wondered when the quiet office was going to pick up a little. Sure, he might've been a little early but that was just because he was used to Evaline's insistence on timeliness.

Since he had a little time on his hands, Rico leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head...no one was around to notice if he closed his eyes for a little bit...

Addie stepped into the office, inhaling the strong scent of coffee and ink. She looked at the messy room and smiled. This was going to be fun. She turned around a few times, absorbing the layout of the room.
She walked to the desks for the News Editors and saw a desk with a shiny brass plate on it.
She paused, annoyed. Pulling out her wand, she muttered instructions. The sign now read:
She smiled absentmindedly. She surveyed her empty work area. She took off her canvas bag and placed it by her chair. She pulled out quills, paper, and seven pictures. One of each of her adopted children. She glanced around again then sat down, starting to organize her desk.

"Mona?" Getti called again, in her soft voice which unwittingly hid the steel behind it, "How many times do I have to shout to get some help around here? Honestly..."

Her light grey eyes took in the office out of habit, and she almost looked over the sleeping journalist in her haste to get Mona to handle Mr. Nathan Greenwood. Unfortunately for the journalist though, Getti rarely missed anything, "You, person!" Her soft voice quickly took on a rather harsh edge as she took the five steps to stand over the napping man, "Get up, does this look like a nursery to you?"

Jordan walked into where the journalists desks where. So this was where she would be working from here on out. She saw a few people already in there, one that was sleeping and Getti was getting onto. She could already tell that she probably wouldn't be liking her boss very much, but then again she had only met one of them.

She walked over to the section of desks that was for the sports journalists. This was her work station. This is where she would practically live from here on out. She found the desk with her name plate on it. She loved looking at it and seeing "Jordan Paige, Sports Journalist" So it was for real. She was writing for the prophet. She took a seat in her chair. It wasn't the most cozy thing in the world but it was hers.

Aaah but the dark and foreboding atmosphere around these desks was perfect for dozing off. Rico could already foresee sneaking many a light nap right here at work. And maybe he wouldn't even get fire--

Speak of the devil! Rico sat up with a jolt when some woman's voice alerted him to the fact that his dozing hadn't gone unnoticed. He sat up with a snap and then actually bounced right out of his chair, thanks to the decaying springiness of his chair.

And the bounciness caused him to bump right into the boss, actually, until they were uncomfortably face-to-face. Ooops, not the best start.

"Begging your pardon, madame, I wasn't sure where the break room was. I'll just take my naps in there from now on," he jokingly apologized, resisting the urge to salute at this woman. A slight smile tugged at the corner of his mouth - he just couldn't help it. She looked frazzled since she couldn't find her Mona. And Mona still sounds like a girly, swirly, creamy coffee to me...

Getti took a step back when Enrico (yes, she wasn't an idiot. She ran thorough background checks on all potential employees) entered her personal space. She raised a hand to her necklace, stroking it gently as her eyes contrasted the softness of the action with the cold, hard gaze they fixed on the bumbling idiot.

"Unemployment is a better venue for napping," her cold gaze took in his entire appearance in the manner she was so used to doing, the icy disapproval making itself very clear in her very countenance, "And if you wish, I would happily indulge your sleeping habits."

Happy and Getti were two beings that should never be thrown into the same space.

Mona smelled blood.

Getti's voice was calling her name (which was usually a bad sign in the first place) but now it had the soft girlish quality that it always took on before she swept in for a kill. Her boots click clacked into the journalist's area, where the air was thick with foolishness. People...napping? And continuing to address Getti??

"Wellll, buttercups," she trilled gaily, hands on her hips. "Just what is going on in heeere? Not disturbing Getti, I trust. And wide awake, I hope." Her steely blue eyes swept the room in search of the culprit.

Rico should have just stuck his hands in his pockets and struck up a merry tune, whistling as if he were truly innocent of the napping crime. He should have slowly backed away from the woman who used big, threatening words like unemployment. He should have maybe just groveled at her feet or bowed or a combination of the two.

But he didn't. He was Rico Suave for a reason, after all.

"That won't be necessary, but thanks for the offer," he answered the Boss Lady cheerfully, sticking his hands in his pockets. Best to keep the atmosphere light, eh? Maybe...maybe change the topic? Yes? Women could be easily distracted, after all. Usually, his good looks and charm were enough to get away with about anything. Usually being the key word here.

"Heyyy look at that!" Enrico trilled, taking a step back from Getti as he nodded toward the Mona woman. "Lady of the hour. We were just all getting to know each other, right?" He bounced on his toes a little and took another step away from the Boss Lady, planning to make a dash for that break room as soon as possible. Er, perhaps he hadn't had enough coffee this morning after all.

Lady of the hour. Pshhh.

"Getting to know each other?" she echoed. "How wonderfully fantastic, I really can't tell you how pleased I am that you've taken the initiative to get to know your coworkers AND your superiors. Speaking of, I don't believe you've had the pleasure of meeting me properly." She smiled blandly. There isn't any sort of bruise on your person, so you haven't been in my office.

Tristan followed Mona like a puppy and was soon at the many desks where there seemed to be some sort of discussion going on.
Slowing down, he put his hands in his pockets as he stood some feet behind the group listening.

Uh oh.
Having already met the evil boss lady, Tristan knew that man who had suddenly jumped to his feet had rubbed Getti the wrong way. Well atleast he wasn't the only one.

Bored and more than a little disgusted by the behaviour of the man, Getti turned her back on him while he was still rambling on as men of his size and stature were wont to do. Waving her hand in a clear gesture of dismissal, she said breezily, "That's all."

"And Mona," she said to her Managing Editor in a chastising voice, "Is there any reason why these people are talking at me?" she waved a hand at Nathan Greenwood, who was still standing in her doorway, "I thought there are people hired to take care of these things."

He only took two steps away from the door to look for the source of the deadly energy waves. To his right was Mona, That Woman and some newbie. Keeping his distance, Ian observed the scene from his spot, having absolutely no intentions of becoming Forde's or Mona's targets.

Eyes downcast on his arm as he poked the red bite marks with his fingers, Ian hummed. "Don't you just love the smell of fresh meat in the mornings?" It could only be beaten by that Colombian blend he desperately needed to sneak into the break room.

Just thinking about the break room made him shudder. Brushing off the sudden sensation of disgust, Ian shook his shoulders briefly. Leaning against the door frame of the work area, Ian raised his hand pretending deep interest as he meticulously observed his nails.

A manicure was in order. He'd have to call Sammy to write him in.

"First rule of the Headquarters, newbies," called out Ian in a near bored tone. "You don't go to The Boss. The Boss comes to you."

Snap, it worked! The Mean Boss Lady's method of dealing with her insubordinates was clearly to ignore them and/or threaten bodily harm upon them. Since he had escaped without a scratch thus far, Rico thought it might be more prudent to get on the good side of MonaMcCoffee.

"Enrico Serio, at your service," he said eagerly, stepping forward to offer her a handshake. "And sorry about my lackadaisical behavior earlier - I wasn't sure where to go or what to do first so I just...settled in, albeit too comfortably." He shuffled his feet a little. "This is such a lovely office, you know."

Not. But he had been in diplomacy for years and years, surely a little fib wouldn't hurt.

Rico slowwwly turned his head to glance at the source of the smooth, snobbish voice behind him - some man was standing there with quite possibly the smuggest stance Rico had seen in days. He raised a dark eyebrow at the guy's advice, which obviously didn't apply to him. After all, the bosses had come to him today...just not under the best circumstances.

Looking down at his shoes was something he prefered doing than looking up and almost seeing the tension in the air.
Tristan was getting doubts about this workplace, but his passion for the arts wouldn't let him pass this great opportunity.

His head jerked up as suddenly another male voice was heard. Where did he come from?
Now there was someone, looking rather bored, by a doorway instructing the newbies on how to conduct themselves. Tristan could only snort quietly at this. There just had to be someone who thought he was better than the rest...
This will be interesting...

Leaning back on another desk, Tristan just stood there, arms crossed, and listened at this whole 'dramatic' scene.

Mona gestured toward the other wayward newbie (the cute one. What's-his-face. Christian? TRISTAN, that's it.). "They're coming out of the bloody woodwork. All at once like-" Flies. Or gnats.

She shook her head, letting the sentence hang. "Ian is quite right," she said, throwing a halfway-grateful glance in his direction. "It behooves you to wait for Getti to address you before you address her. She's a very busy woman and after all, that's what I'm here for." She put her hands on her chest in a gesture of welcoming and openness. "Come talk to meeee. I've got sweets and OODLES more patience." She beamed, and dropped her voice an octave. "Nothing would amuse me more to place an Imperturbable Charm on Getti's door and watch you bounce off." She patted her pocket lovingly. "Do not try me. NO bothering Getti, NO napping," she began, venom creeping into her voice and her eyes grazed over The Napper, "NO cheek. Bouncing off doors is the very least that could happen to you if you put a toe out of line."

She turned back to Tristan. "This is the journalist's area! Cozy, innit?"

Sometimes Ian wished he could wrap himself in an Imperturbable bubble and keep everyone out. Alas, making his co-workers bounce every time he'd "accidentally" bump into him wasn't something he thought his superiors would approve of.

Mona for it being inhuman and Getti because it would prove troublesome to clean up after them and affect the work area.

He was tempted to mention the second rule of the Headquarters but his interest was soon drifting back to his injured hand and he simply stood there, leaning against the wall, glaring down upon the bite marks on his palm.

He'd get that bloody gulf bag if it was the last thing he did.


After coffee that is.

"Why are people talking," Getti looked over her shoulder directly at Ian Hoshino, the loudmouth who was only still on staff because of his forefathers. Before her eyes could leave his incredibly self-possessed stance, her voice took on that soft quality again, "Mona?"

Returning her gaze to the second in command, Getti made for her office again, "We have a staff meeting at eleven, make sure everyone is ready and also don't forget to inform the journalists of their deadlines, standing around listening to their own voices is fine for some, but the rest of us have deadlines to meet and profit margins to fill."

She crossed her threshold, making sure that Nathan Greenwood was definitely outside the perimetres of her office before she waved her dismissal to the entire staff, "That's all."

So Getti was not someone you went to ask for help then... Tristan was going to make sure he did not cross paths with her more than was necessary. He was glad he had to report to Mona. Although, she too could have her moments.

And it was Mona who interrupted Tristan's train of thought. He only caught her last words in her somewhat incomplete sentence. Standing straight again, he was about to ask what Mona had said, opening his mouth. But it was no use, she had turned to the others again.

Wonder where my desk is... Scratching his chin, Tristan looked around the barely visible desktops, some were so full you couldn't tell if there were any desks under all those papers.
Again, Mona spoke...
"Uh yeah," are you serious? "Cozy...right." he nodded, lips forming a straight line.

Finally, the editor in chief seemed to have enough and went to her office.
Wow... Tristan mouthed. Raising his eyebrows, he turned to look at everyone in the room. A staff meeting, that would indeed be interesting if it would be anything like this 'meeting'.

Ian was currently busy grinning maliciously at everyone's turned back when he saw Getti's head turn. Upon the slightest movement, he stopped his slouching, stiffening his shoulders for a better stance. A stance that suited his tall form better. Scowling back at her, Hoshino allowed her to talk pretending he didn't catch her dig towards him.

It was the way That Woman worked. She could acknowledge your presence without really doing it, and stomp on you without physically doing so. Sadist.

As she turned around, waving one hand in the air and chirping her favorite phrase, Ian Hoshino mimicked her words from the safety of his door frame.

At least Mona was considerably pleasant, and rosy and cheery. Slipping his hands into his trouser pockets, he sighed heavily, as if having spoken had been such a tedious task; which it kind of was. "My services aren't needed, are they?"

I need coffee, his longing look towards the break room revealed. Not that anyone could read thoughts.

Ana looked around the room, seeing she was not the only one there. Smiling at her new co-workers, she walked around before locating the desk with her name on it, and sitting down behind it.

"There we go," she said, smiling, as she put her bag on the desk and looked around once more.

Never mind.

This was so not going according to plan, or how it should have gone, or how it could have possibly gone. Could it get any worse? Yes, actually, the day could; after all, they had a staff meeting coming up at 11am.

Delightful.

Blah blah blah, no cheek, no napping, no breathing, no speaking, no living. Just working. Rico sighed to himself and ran a hand through his dark hair. Yeah, he was going to be spending a lot of time at the Leaky because of these people. He could only hope that he might catch a certain someone there too...

Rico really wanted to mock Boss Lady and her 'that's all' phrase, but decided instead to just keep it to himself. Assuming that the meeting was finished, Rico started to edge away to check out the break room and get some coffee. He didn't really need it - he needed a pinch to make sure this nightmare was real, actually - but coffee was a fantastic distraction.

Staff meeting. How jolly. Nothing could be more thrilling.

"You heard her, dearies," she trilled. "Chop chop. I'll see you all in the conference room in a moment. Feel free to stop in the breakroom for a coffee if you'd like." She kept her tone light and cheery when she said "breakroom". It's all about tone and perception. "You-" She stopped herself. "Enrico, is it? Take care to stay alert now, you'll need to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed."

Her eyes zeroed in on the newcomer. "Hullo," she said, giving her a tight-lipped smile. "I'm Moohhhna, Managing Editor. And you arreee?"

ooc: We'll be starting the staff meeting soon. KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED.

Like hell she was showing up while Getti was that close. Nope. However, if that one ever gets to find out that she was fashionably late today, well, she might as well be out all week with her quill and camera to get the ultimate news.

Otherwise...well...those who know Getti know what's best for them. *smirk*

And yet, this was oh-so-crowded. And there seemed to be new people in this more-than-small place. Sienna eyed the offices of the Editors. Pfft. Silly offices. But she secretly wanted one of those.

Not that she didn't like her...table...desk...or whatever this piece of wood/paper/pictures/amongst-other-things was. But those offices, well, they were somewhat better.

So, she finally decided to take a seat. Her sunglasses on the little empty spot that was in the desk. Ugh. She wanted this organized, she could have a breakdown just from all this paper around. Which is why she lifted everything from the table with her wand, except her expensive glasses, and piled it up next to the desk.

She smiled when she noticed the empty space, which wasn't going to be empty for too long.

But...oooooh...Staff meeting? Looks like she arrived right on time, after all.

Appalled briefly at his pitiful situation, Ian stared aghast at Mona Quigley before slouching back to his previous posture. Pathetic, he was, that even the newbies garnered more attention than he did. Brewing over this thoughts, he mumbled incoherently to himself as he slipped his hands into his gray trousers, striding with long steps across the journalist desk area towards the break room.

Secretly, he glanced reproachfully at his superior. Of course, it was always like this when they hired new babies. However, once the deadline started approaching who did they holler for? Besides, Mona that is...

Pushing the door of the break room open, he cleared his throat obnoxiously. "I'm taking my break now!" Not...that anyone cared.

It was so difficult being him.