Jo's Restaurant - Noon - Sunny
Aidan Klein
It was, at this point, something of a common practice. Roughly two or three times a week, Aidan would drag Doc away from her research at lunchtime to have a meal with the three beasts. Sometimes this was in the cafeteria setup, but most of the time they went out. He surmised that they took care of themselves some other way on the alternate days; he typically brought stuff from home and kept it in the small fridge in his office for the days when the research was too delicate or someone else had too much to do to leave.
In any case, he'd made a point of getting them all out today. There was a problem of sorts brewing, and he wanted to keep everyone apprised of it, just in case.
Probably the thing Aidan liked least about NTR's office culture was how cutthroat and competitive it was, to the point of, frankly, stupidity sometimes. So far this field office hadn't been too bad about it, probably because the hierarchy was pretty obvious and the executives weren't actually trying to undermine each other, which was refreshing to see. He'd been sort of worried he'd be staring down new versions of Katia and fuckin' Dodds here, but it had turned out to be nearly the opposite.
Still, things had a way of seeping up from the ground sometimes.
Once everyone was settled and had ordered their food, Aidan took a long draw from his soda and expelled a heavy breath. "Someone slashed Hayley's tires this morning," he said bluntly. "Or last night, possibly. Either way I'm pretty sure it was one of ours."
“I know, she told me about it earlier," Niav muttered as she furrowed her brows. Nero looked as displeased as Niav did, though Doc's eyes widened slightly.
“Oh, that's so horrible! Is she okay?" Doc stated, glancing between the others. Nero sighed heavily, but nodded his head. “Why would someone do that to Hayley, though? She's so nice and sweet," Doc asked, furrowing her brows.
“You haven't really experienced the work force here, have you?" Niav asked, taking a drink of the soda in front of her. “Sweet or not, some of the grunts don't always get along, and others will hate on each other for no apparent reason."
“I offered to have her tires replaced, though, since it was done on company property," Nero stated, though from the furrow of his brows, it seemed that Hayley had refused.
“They won't replace her tires for her? Since it was done on company property?" Doc asked.
“No, because they can't really prove someone from the company did it. Even if they could, it's not like the company has insurance policies for things like that."
"Oh I know who did it," Aidan replied simply. It hadn't taken long at all to figure out the who, and even less time after that to deduce the why. "I'm garnishing his wages to pay for replacements, so don't worry about that." He shook his head. He might not have the kind of 'proof' that would be recognized in a court of law, but this was a private matter, and Gregorovich had long given him dispensation to deal with such things however he saw fit.
"The problem is, the root cause of the incident was envy. She's perceived as getting in too close with the higher-ups, and using that as leverage for better opportunities, including the raise she just got after the annual review."
"How'd that get out?" Rheinallt said, brows furrowing. "Payroll data is behind several layers of security and she's not the type to brag about that shit."
"Guy who did it's from the finance department," Aidan replied. They could probably figure out who it was if they really wanted to, but all of them knew by now that retaliating, directly or otherwise, would only 'prove' the point and fuel the persecution complex of the group who felt like they were on the outs. "Some of the employees are apparently pretty sure she got that raise because she's sleeping with you, Niav." He raised an eyebrow in her direction.
The statement caused Niav to sputter into her drink, and she reached for a napkin to clean the small mess. “Oh my Arceus, are you kidding me? Hayley's an attractive woman, but she's not my type at all. She's really sweet, though, as a friend," Niav stated, furrowing her brows slightly. “And that's besides the point that she has the biggest crush on Luke. I'd never do that to someone," she added. Nero narrowed his eyes slightly in Niav's direction, though. It looked like he wanted to say something, but refrained.
“If he has a problem with me, he could have just came to me directly and said it to my face. And besides, the only person I've slept with was Lorraine. Why didn't they target her?" Niav seemed to admit, causing Doc to mimic Niav's earlier actions, and seemed to choke on her drink.
“Really, Cy? Lorraine? I thought she disliked you?" Nero stated as Niav shrugged her shoulders.
“One thing led to another and shit happened, Ryk."
Despite the gravity of the situation, Rheinallt laughed softly, more at the byplay than the predicament. "C'mon, Cy," he said, rolling his eyes, "you know bullshit like this isn't about the truth. It's about perception, and you do flirt with Hayley sometimes. Some people are stupid and can't tell the difference."
“Well, you're right on that point, Kas."
Aidan sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "You know we have rules against fraternization for a reason, right?" He regarded them all with a flat stare. "Now I have to ask you all if there's been anyone else, because there's paperwork I have to file for this shit." HR technically should do it, but no way he was allowing Tanya access to that kind of information—the entire office would know within the day.
"Uh... all of us?" Rheinallt asked.
Aidan narrowed his eyes at him.
He sighed. "Okay fine. Niko, but only once, and only because we ran into each other elsewhere. I usually make sure to keep business and pleasure separate."
“Same, Lorraine's the only one and usually business and pleasure are kept separate. I mean, I think I've done a pretty good job; I haven't slept with Kas, at least," Niav stated, snorting softly as Nero rolled his eyes.
"What, is that challenging or something?" Rheinallt sounded all too pleased with himself, but his tone was jocular rather than serious.
“No one," Nero answered, casually drinking his lemonade. Doc looked rather uncomfortable by the conversation, and her face was almost completely red.
“I mean... you would know, because you're my supervisor and all," she muttered quickly, and softly before turning her attention elsewhere. She'd, somehow, thought the question had included her. He did say all of them.
"Yeah, Doc, I know." Theoretically she could be meeting someone from the office outside of work, but he knew she wasn't. Most of her nights were spent at his place, and involved nothing more scandalous than her sheer ineptitude at complex RPGs.
Still, at least he knew what paperwork he had to file. "I guess you've really stirred some imaginations, though," he noted, glancing back and forth between Rheinallt and Niav, "because the rumor mill is pretty ridiculous. Honestly I wanted to have this conversation here because I think it benefits us all to know what's being said so we can work on dispelling it. So if you've heard anything, add it to the pile."
Niav snorted softly and shook her head. Doc looked to be keeping her focus on her glass, not bothering to glance up at the others at the table. “The most recent one I've heard about myself is that I like being in large groups with a preference towards the women," Niav answered in a nonchalant fashion, not at all concerned, it seemed, about the rumor.
“Oh, and then there's supposedly the one where I use my own office as an orgy club..." Doc snorted almost incredulously as her eyes widened a bit.
“Not that it's true. Trust me, if I used my office for that, Ryk would have jumped off the building a long time ago."
“I would have."
"Also, I would have been so offended that you didn't invite me."
Aidan rolled his eyes.
"Oh, I heard a funny one last week. Apparently Ryk has a thing for knives and likes threatening people with them. It supposedly happened to a secretary who wasn't fast enough getting him some paperwork. Mostly it's dumb stuff, you know—so-and-so's really scary, what's-his-face is a tremendous slut, and so on. People making things up to be heard."
“I heard an interesting one about Solomon," Nero stated, turning his attention towards Doc. “Supposedly she's sleeping with you," he began, turning his gaze towards Aidan, “and you." He glanced at Kas, next. Doc made a strange noise that sounded like a strangled squeak as she slumped into her chair. Niav barked a short laugh as she shook her head.
“You're forgetting the one where she's also a part-time stripper because apparently someone thought they saw her at that strip club. What was it called, Audino?" Niav added, glancing in Rheinallt's direction.
“I've never even been there!" Doc stated suddenly, almost dropping her cup. Niav snickered, though.
“That's why they're called rumors. They're not always true, Nev."
"Mostly bullshit, actually," Aidan grumbled, dragging a hand down his face. He had a feeling he might know where a few of the ones about doc had come from—he'd have to see what he could do about that at least.
"Apart from the one, the mill apparently just thinks we're really thirsty all the time," Rheinallt said, rolling his eyes. "I mean, arceus, two of us have a healthy libido and suddenly we're all sleeping with everyone in the office at the same time or something. Bullshit hardly begins to cover it."
Aidan shrugged. "If that's all it is, we're not doing too badly. You two pump the brakes on flirting with people at the office please. Everything else'll either go away on its own or get boring enough that they only use it when there's nothing else to talk about."
“Guess that means we'll have to save all the flirting for when we're at home, Kas," Niav stated, snickering softly and rolling her eyes. “But sure thing, boss-man. No more flirting at the office," she continued, grinning lightly as she pat Doc's back. Doc seemed to still be choking on her drink before she furrowed her brows and shook her head.
“It'd be preferable if you'd just stop flirting with people and sleeping with them, but I'm not going to stop you. Just don't do it at the office, like Aidan says," Nero stated in a nonchalant fashion and shrugged his shoulders.
“Yeah, yeah, I heard Aidan the first time, Ryk."
In any case, he'd made a point of getting them all out today. There was a problem of sorts brewing, and he wanted to keep everyone apprised of it, just in case.
Probably the thing Aidan liked least about NTR's office culture was how cutthroat and competitive it was, to the point of, frankly, stupidity sometimes. So far this field office hadn't been too bad about it, probably because the hierarchy was pretty obvious and the executives weren't actually trying to undermine each other, which was refreshing to see. He'd been sort of worried he'd be staring down new versions of Katia and fuckin' Dodds here, but it had turned out to be nearly the opposite.
Still, things had a way of seeping up from the ground sometimes.
Once everyone was settled and had ordered their food, Aidan took a long draw from his soda and expelled a heavy breath. "Someone slashed Hayley's tires this morning," he said bluntly. "Or last night, possibly. Either way I'm pretty sure it was one of ours."
“I know, she told me about it earlier," Niav muttered as she furrowed her brows. Nero looked as displeased as Niav did, though Doc's eyes widened slightly.
“Oh, that's so horrible! Is she okay?" Doc stated, glancing between the others. Nero sighed heavily, but nodded his head. “Why would someone do that to Hayley, though? She's so nice and sweet," Doc asked, furrowing her brows.
“You haven't really experienced the work force here, have you?" Niav asked, taking a drink of the soda in front of her. “Sweet or not, some of the grunts don't always get along, and others will hate on each other for no apparent reason."
“I offered to have her tires replaced, though, since it was done on company property," Nero stated, though from the furrow of his brows, it seemed that Hayley had refused.
“They won't replace her tires for her? Since it was done on company property?" Doc asked.
“No, because they can't really prove someone from the company did it. Even if they could, it's not like the company has insurance policies for things like that."
"Oh I know who did it," Aidan replied simply. It hadn't taken long at all to figure out the who, and even less time after that to deduce the why. "I'm garnishing his wages to pay for replacements, so don't worry about that." He shook his head. He might not have the kind of 'proof' that would be recognized in a court of law, but this was a private matter, and Gregorovich had long given him dispensation to deal with such things however he saw fit.
"The problem is, the root cause of the incident was envy. She's perceived as getting in too close with the higher-ups, and using that as leverage for better opportunities, including the raise she just got after the annual review."
"How'd that get out?" Rheinallt said, brows furrowing. "Payroll data is behind several layers of security and she's not the type to brag about that shit."
"Guy who did it's from the finance department," Aidan replied. They could probably figure out who it was if they really wanted to, but all of them knew by now that retaliating, directly or otherwise, would only 'prove' the point and fuel the persecution complex of the group who felt like they were on the outs. "Some of the employees are apparently pretty sure she got that raise because she's sleeping with you, Niav." He raised an eyebrow in her direction.
The statement caused Niav to sputter into her drink, and she reached for a napkin to clean the small mess. “Oh my Arceus, are you kidding me? Hayley's an attractive woman, but she's not my type at all. She's really sweet, though, as a friend," Niav stated, furrowing her brows slightly. “And that's besides the point that she has the biggest crush on Luke. I'd never do that to someone," she added. Nero narrowed his eyes slightly in Niav's direction, though. It looked like he wanted to say something, but refrained.
“If he has a problem with me, he could have just came to me directly and said it to my face. And besides, the only person I've slept with was Lorraine. Why didn't they target her?" Niav seemed to admit, causing Doc to mimic Niav's earlier actions, and seemed to choke on her drink.
“Really, Cy? Lorraine? I thought she disliked you?" Nero stated as Niav shrugged her shoulders.
“One thing led to another and shit happened, Ryk."
Despite the gravity of the situation, Rheinallt laughed softly, more at the byplay than the predicament. "C'mon, Cy," he said, rolling his eyes, "you know bullshit like this isn't about the truth. It's about perception, and you do flirt with Hayley sometimes. Some people are stupid and can't tell the difference."
“Well, you're right on that point, Kas."
Aidan sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "You know we have rules against fraternization for a reason, right?" He regarded them all with a flat stare. "Now I have to ask you all if there's been anyone else, because there's paperwork I have to file for this shit." HR technically should do it, but no way he was allowing Tanya access to that kind of information—the entire office would know within the day.
"Uh... all of us?" Rheinallt asked.
Aidan narrowed his eyes at him.
He sighed. "Okay fine. Niko, but only once, and only because we ran into each other elsewhere. I usually make sure to keep business and pleasure separate."
“Same, Lorraine's the only one and usually business and pleasure are kept separate. I mean, I think I've done a pretty good job; I haven't slept with Kas, at least," Niav stated, snorting softly as Nero rolled his eyes.
"What, is that challenging or something?" Rheinallt sounded all too pleased with himself, but his tone was jocular rather than serious.
“No one," Nero answered, casually drinking his lemonade. Doc looked rather uncomfortable by the conversation, and her face was almost completely red.
“I mean... you would know, because you're my supervisor and all," she muttered quickly, and softly before turning her attention elsewhere. She'd, somehow, thought the question had included her. He did say all of them.
"Yeah, Doc, I know." Theoretically she could be meeting someone from the office outside of work, but he knew she wasn't. Most of her nights were spent at his place, and involved nothing more scandalous than her sheer ineptitude at complex RPGs.
Still, at least he knew what paperwork he had to file. "I guess you've really stirred some imaginations, though," he noted, glancing back and forth between Rheinallt and Niav, "because the rumor mill is pretty ridiculous. Honestly I wanted to have this conversation here because I think it benefits us all to know what's being said so we can work on dispelling it. So if you've heard anything, add it to the pile."
Niav snorted softly and shook her head. Doc looked to be keeping her focus on her glass, not bothering to glance up at the others at the table. “The most recent one I've heard about myself is that I like being in large groups with a preference towards the women," Niav answered in a nonchalant fashion, not at all concerned, it seemed, about the rumor.
“Oh, and then there's supposedly the one where I use my own office as an orgy club..." Doc snorted almost incredulously as her eyes widened a bit.
“Not that it's true. Trust me, if I used my office for that, Ryk would have jumped off the building a long time ago."
“I would have."
"Also, I would have been so offended that you didn't invite me."
Aidan rolled his eyes.
"Oh, I heard a funny one last week. Apparently Ryk has a thing for knives and likes threatening people with them. It supposedly happened to a secretary who wasn't fast enough getting him some paperwork. Mostly it's dumb stuff, you know—so-and-so's really scary, what's-his-face is a tremendous slut, and so on. People making things up to be heard."
“I heard an interesting one about Solomon," Nero stated, turning his attention towards Doc. “Supposedly she's sleeping with you," he began, turning his gaze towards Aidan, “and you." He glanced at Kas, next. Doc made a strange noise that sounded like a strangled squeak as she slumped into her chair. Niav barked a short laugh as she shook her head.
“You're forgetting the one where she's also a part-time stripper because apparently someone thought they saw her at that strip club. What was it called, Audino?" Niav added, glancing in Rheinallt's direction.
“I've never even been there!" Doc stated suddenly, almost dropping her cup. Niav snickered, though.
“That's why they're called rumors. They're not always true, Nev."
"Mostly bullshit, actually," Aidan grumbled, dragging a hand down his face. He had a feeling he might know where a few of the ones about doc had come from—he'd have to see what he could do about that at least.
"Apart from the one, the mill apparently just thinks we're really thirsty all the time," Rheinallt said, rolling his eyes. "I mean, arceus, two of us have a healthy libido and suddenly we're all sleeping with everyone in the office at the same time or something. Bullshit hardly begins to cover it."
Aidan shrugged. "If that's all it is, we're not doing too badly. You two pump the brakes on flirting with people at the office please. Everything else'll either go away on its own or get boring enough that they only use it when there's nothing else to talk about."
“Guess that means we'll have to save all the flirting for when we're at home, Kas," Niav stated, snickering softly and rolling her eyes. “But sure thing, boss-man. No more flirting at the office," she continued, grinning lightly as she pat Doc's back. Doc seemed to still be choking on her drink before she furrowed her brows and shook her head.
“It'd be preferable if you'd just stop flirting with people and sleeping with them, but I'm not going to stop you. Just don't do it at the office, like Aidan says," Nero stated in a nonchalant fashion and shrugged his shoulders.
“Yeah, yeah, I heard Aidan the first time, Ryk."