Work Text:
Viago de Riva loved his job. Senior Vice President of Corporate Resource Optimization & Workforce Strategy. It was a mouthful - he allowed employees of his department to lovingly call themselves CROWS, but only internally. Viago had worked for Advanced Negotiation & Tactical International Vacancy Alignment (A.N.T.I.V.A.) for twenty-five glorious years, and every department he’d ever worked in was the better for it. Viago’s organizational skills were legendary, and though many of his coworkers flinched when they saw him coming, Viago recognized grudging respect when he saw it.
This particular Monday marked the kickoff of internal compliance season; Viago’s favorite time of year. He had circled in on the desk blotter calendar, with the letters ICU written in precise block script, diagonally centered. Viago sat at his desk in his top-floor corner office of ANTIVA HQ (the furthest corner from the front door, but a corner office nonetheless), tapping his long fingers impatiently on his mousepad. The time was 7:04 in the morning.
“Arthik,” Viago called softly, knowing his assistant would hear him regardless.
“Boss?” Arthik leaned back in his chair, cracking the door to Viago’s office open a little wider. He pulled the vertical blinds to a more open position, offering Viago a view of Arthik’s desk space and the open office beyond. “What’s up?”
Viago steepled his fingers, elbows placed on the corners of his calendar. “Do you know what today is?”
“ICU,” Arthik replied without missing a beat. “We’re deploying the email campaign at 8:30 this morning, just as planned.”
Viago’s satisfied smile was all the confirmation Arthik would get. He’d lasted eight months as Viago’s assistant and was familiar with recognition for a job well done by now.
“Coffee?” Viago inquired, but Arthik had turned away to look at a new face, mostly hidden behind a double-stacked tier of Karasu Kafe carryout cups from the cafe downstairs.
Viago knew it was a new face because:
- He didn’t recognize the hair that went with it
- Coffee was due at 7, and 7:05 was unacceptable
- HR had informed him there was a new hire starting this week, and the hiring of said person was not negotiable, nor did he have insight into the hiring process.
“De Riva?” a melodious voice asked. “This is the 5th floor, exec suite T, correct?”
“You’ve got the right place,” Arthik said kindly. “Are you the new guy?”
Before the hair could respond, Viago intoned, “Send them in, please.” He needed to see the miscreant himself.
The coffee cups made their way into Viago’s office, followed by the shiny white hair of their bearer. Viago watched with (internal) mild amusement and (mostly) withheld judgment as the person shifted their stack of cups and placed them on the chair just inside the door.
“Good morning, Mr. Viago de Riva!” the person chirped.
They wore a velvet suit jacket, shiny satin slacks that didn’t reach their ankles, and colorful socks with sneakers. A clear violation of the ANTIVAn dress code, if Viago had ever seen one.
“It is morning,” Viago said dryly, trying not to make eye contact.
“I’m Aydenne de Riva, no relation, but isn’t that weird?” Viago didn’t have a chance to process this odd coincidence, because the Aydenne kept speaking. “I’m your new seasonal intern temp-to-hire shadow, and today’s my first day!”
Viago’s jaw dropped. This...Aydenne...with that suit...in his department? Shadowing him? He’d thought the hiring was for a replacement for Arthik, who seemed to show more frequent signs of interest in other roles.
“Leave the coffee. Arthik will show you where to go.” Viago turned his chair to face the wall, as clear a dismissal as he could give, with so little time to prepare himself for this news.
There was no sound of a subordinate exiting in an orderly fashion with their eight additional coffees, which clashed unpleasantly with Viago’s aroma diffuser in the corner. Viago waited five more seconds in case the newcomer was unclear as to their directive.
“Mr. Viago?” the beautiful voice asked, sounding unsure.
Just great. Viago now faced the predicament of turning to address this person once more, or waiting to see if they would finally understand what was being asked of them.
Power plays on a new hire’s first morning, before 8 AM?
Viago allowed a hint of his annoyance to creep into his tone. “I trust you know which one of us is Arthik?”
“I...yes?” the newbie said uncertainly.
“C’mere, Rookie, I’ll take you around the office and show you to a desk you can use,” Arthik said helpfully, if belatedly.
“Arthik. Please ensure the...Rookie reviews the employee handbook and signs off on their compliance training before you start with the tour.” Viago needed this eyesore to understand what the rules were before they knew which cubicle the headhunters kept their peanut butter and cracker stash in.
“My name is Aydenne,” the Rookie said. “I use he/him pronouns, if that helps.”
“I use Excel whenever possible, but it’s nice to meet you,” Viago responded crisply. “Hand me my coffee, if you please, and close the door behind you. It’s an important morning, and I have much to do.”
