Work Text:
The ICU season was critical to ANTIVA’s success. Fostering a safe and ethical workplace while minimizing legal risks was paramount to the smooth function of any business. Naturally, Viago wanted to ensure operations ran flawlessly - he had requested daily updates on completions.
Once he received the raw data, he would merge it with HR reports, categorizing them by manager, department, and job family. Visualizations and charts would be generated and emailed to the XCOM team by lunchtime daily, starting Tuesday. Caterina Dellamorte and the C-Suite would not be disappointed in either the completion rate or the presentation of Viago’s pet project.
Speaking of lunchtime...
It was 11:36 AM, and Viago was not happy. The Rookie and Arthik had taken so long finding him a desk that he’d sent a strongly worded email to the entire team about productivity—an email Arthik had seen, responded to, and then dutifully returned to his desk, as was expected.
Now, Viago sat logged into the ANTIVA learning management system, glaring at a page displaying the names of the ten diligent employees who had already begun their training.
Among them were Caterina and her son, Lucanis Dellamorte—as was only right. L. Dellamorte was the best corporate negotiator ANTIVA employed, executing every task to perfection. Viago would have looked up to him, but the man was too short for that. A pity. In another life, they might have been friends.
He shook off the thought and focused on mission-critical items. 147 names throbbed at him from the “Not Started” section.
“It’s been three hours. What is taking them so long? The deadline is next Friday,” Viago muttered into his mustache. “More people should have started. At this rate, we won’t achieve 80% by Wednesday.”
Arthik knocked on the door. “Hey, boss, I’m sending the Rookie for lunch. He did all right with the coffee, eh?”
“Hmph,” Viago replied, leaning an elbow on his mouse pad. “This Aydenne doesn’t look like he can afford lunch for nine people. Give him my corporate card. I’ll allow you both an extra thirty minutes after lunch to show him how to submit an expense report. And Arthik?”
“Yup?” Arthik’s voice was muffled; he was already digging through his locked desk drawer for Viago’s gold card.
“If he submits the expense report incorrectly, I’ll be deducting the amount from your next check.”
Arthik straightened up and gave a salute. “You got it, boss.”
Was that sarcasm in his voice? No. Arthik was too loyal for that. He knew better than to risk getting busted back to answering phones at the front desk over something like this.
Viago hit refresh on his browser and was gratified to see another name move from “Not Started” to “In Progress.”
“Are you busy?”
The sound of that voice made him sit ramrod straight in his chair, both feet firmly on the floor. He’d already been sitting that way, but now there was intention behind it.
Andarateia Cantori—or Teia to her friends (of whom Viago sometimes counted)—Human Optimization & Talent, Director, leaned against his doorframe. She wore an impeccably tailored white pantsuit that set off her rich ochre skin, and the curls that rioted down her slender shoulders were the perfect balance of chaos and professionalism. Her lipstick was bright red, a shade that wasn’t easy for just anyone to wear, but Teia’s lips looked—
Viago swallowed hard and thought about advanced IF(OR) use cases.
Teia smiled, seeming to know exactly what Viago was (not) thinking about. “How is your new hire settling in?” she asked.
Viago made a noise somewhere between buh and chhhaa and leaned back in his chair, looking at the ceiling. He knew exactly who had hired Aydenne de Riva, and he and Teia played a dangerous game.
He couldn’t get enough of it.
“Is it possible for me to see the interview notes?” he asked noncommittally.
“Hmm. I brought them with me, but I need to take them - and myself - back to my desk soon,” Teia warned, producing a manila folder from behind her back.
Viago held out an imperious hand. Teia smiled slyly and placed the folder on the desk beneath his monitor, then took a seat in the chair by the door.
“Tch,” Viago said, reaching across his keyboard and nudging the pencil cup out of the way to avoid knocking everything over.
Ignoring the brilliance of Teia’s smirk, he flipped open the folder.
Aydenne de Riva 952 Dock Town Rd…
“Unfortunate,” Viago commented.
“Where someone lives is legally not allowed to affect the hiring process,” Teia reminded him in a heavy tone.
Teia could practically read his mind, and if he thought about that for too long, he’d need to take an extra bathroom break.
He didn’t have time for that today.
“BATNA skills, MESO simulations, complex implementation and project management… I suppose the Rookie’s - ahem - Aydenne’s base skillset meets the requirements,” Viago said grudgingly.
“Naturally. And my notes?” Teia prompted.
Across the top of the second page in Teia’s flowery, precise writing were two questions:
COMPARABLE SKILLS? WILLING TO SIGN NDA?
Stars were written next to each.
“This isn’t—”
“—Flip to the last page,” Teia said, a little impatiently.
Viago flipped.
Specializing in proprietary workforce optimization protocols and Risk Mitigation Analysis!!
No further reading was required.
When he glanced up, one of Teia’s perfect eyebrows was quirked triumphantly.
“Fine,” Viago huffed. “Aydenne de Riva’s CROW contract is accepted.”
“Good,” Teia said. “I knew you would. I have to go, but I’ll ping you later to see how things are going.”
Viago was so satisfied he forgot to ask Teia when he should expect her message.