Catherine Wheeler surveyed her new office. The workmen had only just finished with it the evening before; every surface of the 1600 square foot room was bare blaster or MDF.
The only item of furniture was a simple office desk and chair set, positioned near the full-height windows. Outside, a view of the other office blocks in the Cymbeline Janek corporate zone, the early-morning sun shining off the mirrored windows of the Marike building opposite.
Catherine looked forward to eventually working from a penthouse office in a taller building in a classier neighbourhood.

As Catherine approached the window, the computer on the desk hummed and a gender-ambiguous voice said:
"Good morning, Miss Wheeler. I am Basant, your virtual assistant. You have three new messages, would you like to hear them?"
"Yes, and please close the blinds" said Catherine.
"President Wheeler welcomes you to the company on behalf of Wheeler Corporation and the board of directors." said the computer. There was no activity at the window; nothing had been installed yet. "We apologies for the fresh state of the building, but as you know things are moving fast. You have been given an initial budget of 10,000 E to outfit your office space. You may also wish to contact Human Resources to select your staff.
"If you have any queries, please contact Mr. Fiachra's assistant."

Mr. Fiachra was the exec in charge of European operations. He was Catherine's superior, a relationship she intended to change.

The next message was from Catherine's father.
"Good morning Catherine. I know you wanted to head this operation, but I won't be accused of nepotism. However, I'll make sure you get first choice on some of our upcoming projects. Get your office and team together today, get in touch with me when you are ready. Don't let me down."

The third message was from Philip Ferapont, one of the other junior execs on this floor.
"Greetings, Miss Wheeler, and welcome to the club. Look under your desk; there are some presents for you. Catch you later on down the trail."

Catherine peered under the desk. There were two square boxes in gold wrapping paper, with red ribbons and message tags.

Derek; wikilink anything or anyone that you want more information on and I'll write up what Catherine knows about, what Basant can tell her about and possibly what she can find out from a Library Search skill check.

>>Inspect the boxes, find out who they are from (check the tags presumably). Look up what staff are available. Also want to know about Marike and the Marike Building itself.

Each box was about 1 square foot. On one, the tag read: "Gave you choice of two. One's a desktoy, the other's a bomb. Only joking! -Philip." The other reads: "Don't think that daddy's little girl will get it easy here. -Philip"

"Basant, suggested staff positions, please," Catherine requested whilst studying the boxes.
"Yes Miss Wheeler. Your current budget allows for four personal staff. Suggested positions include one or more Personal Assistants, an Executive Assistant, Office Secretary, Technical Assistant and Security Officer. Please specify the type and quantity of staff required and I will prepare a list of candidates."

>>"Show suggestions for Personal Assistant, Security officer, Secretary and Technical Assistant."

"Yes Miss Wheeler.
"Your Personal Assistant is someone who will help you with all your daily personal tasks, ranging from menial tasks to attending contract negotiations.
"Current available staff are:
"Hyacintha Nataliya: 19 years old. New to the company, this would be her first position, but in her interview she displayed excellent enthusiasm and would make a good "gofer" girl.
"Sterling Florence: 21 years old: Post-graduate from University of Burgundy studying social sciences. Has had some public relations experience in one of our subsidiary offices and performed well.
"Munir Jerrold: 28 years old: Plenty of PA experience, has been gunning for a junior executive position but the board feel he's not ready yet. Can be relied on for both scutwork and high-end tasks.

"Your Office Secretary is responsible for the smooth running of your office. Although such a position is largely computerized, your OS adds a human touch to reception and administrative duties.
"Current available staff are:
"Cornel Kian: 54 years old: Kain has been with the company since it started, and has worked in our New York and Los Angeles offices. He has experience with handling unwanted visitors. He has expressed an interested with working on your staff.
"Luísa Fionnghuala: 18 years old: Excellent typist and IT skills, this would be her first step on the corporate ladder.

"Security Officers are often an unfortunate necessity in today's corporate climate. Your SO is responsible for the health and safety of you and your staff.
"Current available staff are:
"Rudolf Avidan: 38 years old: Ex-Preventive Security Service (the Palestinian police force), Avidan is now looking for a corporate career.
"Carolina Zoja: 32 years old: Zoja has a good track record of private work in eastern Europe, including bodyguard roles.

"Your Technical Assistant covers a wide variety of roles, from IT and research to electrical and mechanical maintainance. Although Wheeler Corp. employs general building technical staff, many executives prefer to have a personal assistant.
"Current available staff are:
"Bronislovas Edison: 40 years old: Edison has been recruited for the building general technical staff, but has shown particular promise for handling repair tasks under pressure.
"Gerry Majid: 25 years old: Majid has many software and hardware qualifications but little field experience. Consider him for your general computing needs.
"Raniya Hedda: 29 years old: Hedda is from our Arizona IT department; she has demonstrated good networking and security skills.
"Hilde Jones: 34 years old: Jones is returning to us after a career break undertaking volunteer work in South America. She has well-rounded mechanical and electrical skills.

"You may ask to interview any prospective staff member. When you have made your desicion, the they will be asked to sign a standard 1-month contract, which will be followed by a contracted length open to negotiation."

>>I'd like to interview Cornel Kian and I also want to know everything about him.
>>For the PA I can't do with anyone with great ambition other than to do the job so I think I can rule out Munir.
>>I'll interview Hyacinth and Sterling for the PA position.
>>Also check with Human Resources who has Philip been possibly looking to hire lately.
>>Once I know that I'll consider the other positions, though I will interview Rudolph.

Catherine sent out contact requests for Cornel Kian, Hyacintha Nataliya, Sterling Florence and Rudolf Avidan. She then set about finding out as much as she could about Kian and Ferapont.

Check result for background check on Cornel Kian = 8 (Int) + 3 (Library Search) + 10 (d10)= 21. A good result.
Check result for HR check on Philip Ferapont = 9 (Emp) + 4 (Persuasion) + 4 (d10) = 17. Average result.

The HR department reports that Ferapont already has two personal assistants working for him, but has been interviewing staff from the technical pool, including Raniya Hedda and Hilde Jones. He may also be looking at hiring from outside the company, but the HR department would have no record of such interviews.

>>Are there any photos of Raniya and Hilde? I'm curious to see if he has a weakness for pretty girls.

Catherine pulls up the HR files on the computer. Raniya's mugshot shows a rather plain-looking girl, but has an aloof expression and a sharp suit that makes her seem more attractive. Hilde makes Catherine's eyes sore; overweight with pop-eyes and a dour expression. Still, maybe she's just not photogenic?

At about this point, two workmen wandered into the office.

"Oh, sorry love." says one, pushing a flatbed trolly loaded with boxes. "We didn't know anyone had moved in yet. We've come to fit some furniture and cabling. Is now a bad time?"

>>(Switches off anything slightly sensitive.) "You know, I'm going to get my own team in to finish off the office. I feel in need of some more personal design touches. So I won't be needing you. Thanks."
>>(After they've gone get computer to select an appropriate firm to kit out the office. Complete with destruction mechanisms in case of compromise of sensitive information. Check a little more about who the selected applicants have previously worked for and who they might have been involved with. Then retire to the apartment.

The workmen left, and Catherine tries to get Basant to select a private outfitters. Basant refused to help find a firm that would fit devices that would cause damage to company property, instead suggesting Chubb Security for physical security and the Paris-based Maison Jansen for interior design. Basant was also quick to point out that any security devices installed must also be logged with Wheeler's building and group security departments.
Catherine considered checking privately for a firm that could install something with a bit more oomph, but isn't sure about doing so from this computer.

She looked at the personell files again for Cornel Kian, Hyacintha Nataliya, Sterling Florence and Rudolf Avidan, looking to see who they say they have worked for on their CVs.
Thinking that there's not much left to do here, at this unfinished office, she sets off for home early.
Outside the elevator on this floor she encounters who she believes is Philip Ferapont chatting to <sorry, will have to wait, I suddenly have a baby in my arms>