2013.09.16 - First Day of Work

After months of trying to convince her to work for him, Justin Hammer finally won and got Fern Fiddlehead to agree to become his new personal assistant. After discussing some of it on Sunday, it was set up that Fern would arrive at Hammer Industries bright and early Monday morning. The first half of the day has been rather tedious- filled with paperwork, HR red tape and the general nonsense that goes with being a new hire. Security clearances, background checks, benefits signups, non-disclosure agreements and of course an ID badge. Naturally one of the most important aspects that was handled was the salary- for training it was presented that Fern would be receiving somewhere in the upper 5-figures per year to start. Jack has been present for some of it, but mostly the poor redhead has been in the hands of the human resources department. Finally, shortly after lunch, some of the actual on the job training is to begin.

Jack checks his watch as they head up the elevator to the 20th floor. "Looks like the afternoon isn't going to be too busy," he says, looking toward the redhead. "So it's a good day to start getting used to how things work here. Just a couple of meetings, it looks like." He takes the tablet he had in his hands, and offers it to Fern. There's a calendar app pulled up, with the afternoon's activities outlined.

Fern's work experience has been fairly limited, and never before has she worked for such a large and prosperous company, so the whole process is new to her. It's a far cry from starting out at Anita Bella or at the ice cream shop back home. At least with the technology of Hammer Industries, it was an easy process, especially the fingerprinting part. No ink to stain her fingers for days! She's still a little stunned by the generous salary, back home she could buy a house and live on her own for what she'll be making. Here in the city it'll at least buy her way into a better neighborhood eventually, and a television set when she gets there. There was no time (or money) for her to shop for some new clothes, so she's gone the route of accessorizing to make her existing outfit more businesslike. Since it's a fairly cool day, she's worn one of her short sleeve dresses, typically colorful but not garish, adding a scarf to cover a somewhat revealing neckline. Her selection of shoes is limited, but at least she didn't go with her black boots, instead choosing a pair of purple flats. She's going to have to pay some serious visits to some of the thrift stores this week to supplement her meager wardrobe. She wants Justin to be proud of his new assistant. Fern flashes Jack a smile, grateful to have a familiar face to help her out, and her attention settles on the tablet as she accepts it from him. "I'm glad I'm going to get a little time to find my footing," she admits. "I've never really had a job like this before. I hope I don't disappoint Justin. Um, Mister Hammer," she corrects herself. That's gonna be hard to get used to.

Jack chuckles lightly. "I won't lie and say it's an easy job," he says with an easy tone, "But it isn't difficult either. If you've got good organizational skills and a decent memory, you'll do fine." And a serious load of patience, but that goes unsaid. After all, Justin seems to act like a completely different person when Fern is around. She really could be just what the company needs, or she could end up broken and disappointed in a few weeks. It's a coin toss at this point. The elevator slows and the chime dings, the doors opening on the 20th floor. It looks just the same as it did when Fern visited the last time, hardwood, dark wine colored carpet, and Liz's desk sprawled out just in front of the elevators. The door to Justin's office is open, and the CEO is at his desk. Jack steps from the elevator and heads toward the open office.

Justin looks up from his computer when he sees movement. He offers a grin to the pair, but mostly focuses on Fern. "Hey, hey, look who it is. How's your first day so far?" he asks as he locks his computer out of habit.

"I just want to live up to his faith in me," Fern says, looking pensive for a moment. But she shrugs that off, and gets in character. If she can't get on a stage with footlights, at least she can hone her skills on the stage of life, by acting the part of the best PA Justin will ever know. She straightens her shoulders as the elevator doors part, following Jack out with crisp steps. Still, she can't stop the smile when she sees Justin, the familiar greeting welcome in this very unfamiliar situation. "Well, if I didn't know my name before I've had to sign it so many times that I will never again forget it," she says lightly in response. "Jack's been a big help getting me through it all."

Justin nods lightly. "Yeah, yeah, there's a lot of paperwork involved. Comes with being a government contractor and all," he says as he turns his chair and stands up. He straightens his suit coat and steps around the desk. "So, what's on the docket this afternoon, Miss Fiddlehead? I have a two o'clock don't I?" he asks. Before she's even given a chance to respond, he goes on. "Oh, and before I forget, I need to get in touch with Schnieder and put them on-call for picking up our shipping contracts again. Walters Transportation apparently went out of business after I had just given him half our logistics. Can't believe that, move transport companies and the owner of the new company ends up dead just after the switch over. Terrible luck."

Fern looks down at the table that rests lightly on her arm, nodding, "Yes, Mister Hammer, you have an appointment at two and then the last one of the day is at four." She flips back to the icons of the tablet, opening the notepad, typing quickly with one finger. "Schnieder?" she questions absently, before what Justin said registers on her and her head comes up. "Walters? As in Mister Walters that you had dinner with at Anita's?" She might have to keep up with the news a bit better in this job.

Hammer nods. "Yeah, one in the same. Read in the business section that Tousaint Walters was killed in an explosion and that they're dividing and selling off the company. Naturally, I learned about it in the paper, then got the notice through official channels." He sighs lightly. "So I'll need to set up a meeting with Schnieder to discuss that. Who's my two o'clock with?" While he's normally pretty ADD, part of this is a test to see how well Fern handles it. Jack is still there, having gone quiet as he watches. Naturally, he'll show Fern where all the contact information is at and how to find exactly who to contact at the trucking company to go over the contracts.

The news brings a frown to Fern's face, and a mental note to look that up later and get whatever details she can find. "I'll find out if there will be a memorial service or anything, we can send flowers." While it's just something she would personally do, it would also look good for the company to be sympathetic at a time like that. There's a flick of her finger, then another tap as she pulls the calendar back up. "Two is with Andrew Goldman from the attorney's office, and your four is with Elizabeth Tracker, no company noted." She flips a page just to make sure she didn't miss anything on that, but no, there's no further information for Ms. Tracker.

So far Fern is passing the test with flying colors. "That's a great idea, make it happen," Justin says to the flowers to the memorial service. "Great, talking with lawyers is my least favorite thing. Tracker is... Government stuff. You'll learn more about that as soon as your security clearances come through. Where are we having the 2-o'clock at? Main conference room? If so make sure we have water set out and the coffee bar is stocked. I'm going to need caffeine if I'm translating legalese."

There's another tap and Fern confirms, "Yep, main conference room. Would you like any bakery with either meeting?" She's not very well versed in business meetings, obviously, and might lean more toward making them social and pleasant. Business goes down better with coffee and cookies, doesn't it? She looks to Jack, joking softly, "Maybe we should put colored tape on the floor for my first couple weeks, so I'll be able to find everywhere."

"Yes, make that happen. If I have to deal with a lawyer and the government, there should at least be snacks." Preferably of the sugary kind, but that goes without saying. Justin flicks his wrist to uncover his watch and checks the time. He's got about half an hour before the next meeting. "Now that we have that squared away, you have any questions for me? How this is gonna work or anything? I know, first day's gonna be overwhelming, but anything specific?" While Justin may have glanced over the humor, Jack offers Fern a grin. It's a big building, so he can completely understand the confusion.

Fern tried a little family bakery just a couple blocks away last time she was in the neighborhood, and is a big advocate of supporting local business after seeing how hard things are through Anita Bella. She pauses a moment at the line of inquiry, finally asking what's been most pressing on her mind. "When there's no one around, am I still allowed to call you Justin?" Yes, she's a little concerned how this will affect their friendship, although she hasn't shown that outwardly.

Jack shakes his head lightly, but Justin just laughs. "Yes, that's perfectly fine," he says, catching the slight look of surprise on Jacks's face. The young woman is certainly capable of getting away with a lot more than anyone else in the company. "But only if I get to call you Fern. So, anything else?" He leans back against his desk, crossing his arms over his chest. There's really little to do between now and the meeting, save for Fern getting the conference room ready.

"You're the boss," Fern says, her smile back and perhaps a touch relieved, "You can call me Fern all the time." She doesn't want to just be another employee, she wants to be Justin's friend that came to help him out. And get paid for it, sure. "No, nothing else right now, but I'll let you know when there is." Justin may think there's plenty of time, but Fern isn't here to dawdle, and she turns to Jack. "Will you show me the conference room and where things are? Then I can run out for the bakery and have plenty of time."

Justin nods lightly and Jack turns to lead Fern out. Once they're out of the office, Jack leads Fern to the conference room (which is just the next door down from Justin's office). Once there, he makes a motion to take the tablet back. "I'll show you how to get into the contact databases. It's pretty well organized- the software should show you who to contact for what you need." A few swipes and a login (one of many that Fern will have to learn) and there's a searchable list of contacts both inside and external from the company. "Everyone you should ever need to contact is in here. You can search by name, company or title, and sort them in several ways. It's a fairly straightforward system. If you ever have questions, don't hesitate to call me. Let me know when you're ready to head out, I'll drive you down to the bakery."

Fern leans toward Jack, watching intently as he goes through the system and into the contacts. While she doesn't own much in the way of technology, she's pretty good with it, picking up things quickly and even finding news ways that fit better with the way she works. Looking up, she smiles, nodding, "It looks pretty straight forward, so I don't think I'll have too much trouble." She pauses and looks around, then waves a hand lightly at Jack. Fern gestures almost as much as Justin does, but she's much more delicate about it. "It'll take longer to drive a couple blocks in the traffic out there than it'll take me to walk," she smiles. "I don't mind, I have comfortable shoes on. And where are all the coffee supplies?"

Jack gives a nod. "Fair enough," he says. He hadn't known where the bakery was, so it was safer to offer a ride than not. "Coffee supplies are in the bar, over there." He motions toward the right site of the conference room. "Also, you should meet with the parties and walk them up to the conference room, if you can. Sometimes you're too busy to do so, so it's not completely necessary, but a formality to follow if you can spare the time." The driver takes a step back. "Need anything else before I head out?"

Fern doesn't even hesitate as she says, "Yes... for you not to leave?" She grins and flaps her hand again, "I think I can handle this. Thanks for all your help today, Jack. I don't know what I'd have done without you." The words are sincere and warm, she was already fond of the older man, and now she is even moreso. She turns away and moves to check the coffee supplies, getting a pot going before she heads out to get the bakery. As she suspected, it's a far faster walk than it would have been to drive, and she's there and back in no time. She arranges the bakery on the conference table, makes sure everything is ready for coffee, and then heads to the lobby to be there to greet Justin's appointment.

Just a few minutes before 2PM, Andrew Goldman arrives. He checks in with the receptionist and goes through the standard security procedure. Once that's done, the clean shaven, dark haired man in a dark suit and thin-rimmed glasses heads toward Fern, who the receptionist had directed him toward. "Miss Fiddlehead? Andrew Goldman, of Anderson, Goldman and Stiles. I'm here for a two-PM meeting with Mister Hammer." His voice is sort of nasal, and he just seems to fit the classic 'lawyer' profile.

Fern has a smile for the lawyer, offering her hand to shake as she steps to meet him. "Mister Goldman, it's a pleasure to meet you. Mister Hammer is expecting you, if you'll come with me." She turns, leading the way to the elevator, making small-talk as they head up. By the time the elevator doors open, she's actually made the lawyer laugh, and she leads him to the conference room. "Please make yourself comfortable, I'll let Mister Hammer know that you're here." She hurries back to Justin's office, giving the door a quick knock before peeking her head in.

And it finally happens. Fern catches Justin standing in his office, back to the door, looking out the huge windows that line the back wall. He turns quickly at the knock. "My two-o'clock here?" he asks as soon as he sees the woman's face. He starts toward the door, already knowing the answer to the question. As an afterthought, forgetting how new Fern is to this, he adds as he walks across the office, "You'll sit in on the meeting, take notes and fix coffee, that sort of stuff. Pretty straight forward."

There's a grin as Fern catches Justin looking out the windows at his view, but she doesn't rub it in. Instead she nods, "Yes sir, I've shown him to the conference room to wait for you." She steps aside, holding the door open for him, then trailing in his wake. It sounds sort of like waitressing with notes. She can so do that. As they near the conference room door she steps up the pace, beating Justin to the door and opening it for him. "Mister Hammer." It's not exactly announcing him, and yet it kinda is.