2008-01-15: Sexual Harassment Videos Are Awkward

Starring:

DaphneM_icon.gif Gene_icon.gif

Summary: Gene wants to be a good new employee (at least for show), and Daphne wants to show up the new employees (that's not good).

Date It Happened: January 15th, 2008

Sexual Harassment Videos Are Awkward


Pinehearst Research, NJ

The New Employee Handbook rests on the table. "This is what I signed up for." The stare on the book continues. Sighing, Gene opens it up, dressed in not his usual t-shirt and jeans, but a powder blue business dress shirt. Unable to fully get into the proper business model, the shirt has a couple of buttons left open at the top, Gene thinking it the only way to avoid a tie. He has on a nice pair of black slacks and black dress shoes, but they are mostly hidden by the desk he current sits at.

While the young genius is used to working on his own time and in private, he's forced to deal with unexpected variables with his new (and hopefully temporary) job. Calls can be heard, meaningless chatter at the water cooler can be heard. There is mention of a few of the more attractive ladies in the business, but Gene doesn't really pay it much mind, just trying to will himself into reading the thick dry book on how much trouble he'll get if he talks about what goes on at Pinehearst.

And what /does/ go on at this place? Seems like everyone's got a different opinion—though currently Daphne's is that the place is pretty boring. With nothing better to do with her ample time, the speedster had arrived at Pinehearst hoping for an odd job here or there. But the big guy wasn't in so her wallet remained empty. That usually signifies 'check out the newbies' time.

Whizzing by anyone who ever gave her a dirty look so that all their papers scatter messily, Daphne parks herself at a new line of desks and peeks at the back of someone who /must/ be new. Why /else/ would they be handling a handbook like that? Scoffing inside her head, the speedster dips forward and makes to relieve the guy of his reading material. "What've you got there?" she pipes up accordingly.

There is a woman. With his book. Looking up, Gene blinks a couple of times. The older Gene would have been blushing and goofy as all get out. The new Gene… Well, he blushes still, but at least he speaks somewhat clearly. "That's the big book of procedure I'm supposed to read in the next couple of weeks," Gene answers, his tone having a tired frustration coating. After all, even to a genius like Gene, that stuff is almost impossible to go through. "I take it you didn't have to read one of those?"

"Yeah, I sort of skipped the whole 'initation' period," Daphne chirps, turning so that she can lean up against his desk and flip through the handbook. And it's one big thing to try and flip casually. "What can this possibly all say?" With a little 'tch', she chucks it away to her right. The handbook slamdunks into the conveniently placed trashcan there. "Say," she continues, her whole body between the guy and should be try and retrieve the guide, "How about you tell me what you were hired to do around here, instead?"

The handbook is important! They said they might give him a written test on this thing. Gene tries to move to the left, then the right to get past the woman. Sighing as she seems to have gotten her way, Gene looks down as he explains himself, rubbing his head from time to time with a free hand. "Well, um, I help design and make the equipment that's used for the research being done here. A lot of the research involves high tech equipment. Some of the rest could be compromised if people knew what they were making. So if it's made by someone experienced with mechanical engineering rather than outsourcing it…"

Gene stops himself as he looks up from the ground to look at the woman in the eye, the geek giving a weak smile. "You sure you want to know what I do? I'm really not that interesting a guy."

"So. You're a geek." She summarizes neatly, and uncontested, "You could've just said that." Geez, duh. Sometimes the supposed geniuses can forget the easiest things. "And you're right. That's not interesting." Daphne shifts in place and then tilts her head back down towards him, "Okay, Geek, how's about it? Could you design anything in the world that you wanted? If you could, then what are you doing here?"

"Well, I couldn't design ANYTHING in the world I wanted. To do something like that you'd have to be some sort of inhuman supergenius like Forge or something." Gene begins to awkwardly laugh at that for awhile until he looks back at Daphne, who is likely not laughing. Regardless of her reaction, Gene coughs into his fist after cutting himself off. "But I'm not. Either way, I'm here because I was asked." Looking to a window, Gene frowns as he tries to figure out what to say. After all, Evie is likely not someone he should talk about, even if there is a chance she's manipulating him. "It's kinda complicated." There is a short half-second pause before Gene decides to get around the topic through cunning.

TOPIC CHANGE!

"So, now that I've told you what /I/ do, mind if I ask what you do?"

The reaction, by the way, is just a raised eyebrow and skeptical expression to match. When he coughs, Daphne folds her arms under her chest to see what else he can come up with. It seems pretty ordinary, all in all. And since he's up here at a desk and not out there doing the asking, she makes a couple of other assumptions, too. When she gets a question in return, Daphne shrugs, "I do, kinda," Mind, that is, "But I guess fair's fair for now. Mostly, I run errands and keeps geeks in line. We really don't need to go into it, I think you'll catch the drift if you're so intelligent."

Although she seems to have finished everything she was going to say, Daphne does not leave. She only hefts herself lazily onto the edge of Gene's desk and watches him to see if he'll do anything interesting. Kind of like a pet monkey. Only, this monkey is a desk-laborer.

As soon as Daphne moves out of the way, Gene gets the book. He turns around expecting the woman to already be gone… But she's still here. Why is that? Gene shakes his head, merely moving back toward his desk to take a seat. She'll go soon enough. After all, he's convinced he's boring and he needs to be. He can't investigate or try and plant bugs with a girl like Daphne around.

Once he's seated, the geek tries to make some basic conversation. "So, um, you're supposed to be an enforcer? I thought those people were supposed to be burly and butch… Not um…" Gene merely reddens in the cheeks again, just trying to open his book and get back to reading about how to handle one's self in case of a bioterrorism attack and/or fire at the Company.

"Not um?" She echoes, then, "As flattering as that is…" But a glance over at the guy shows that he's stuffed his nose back into his precious handbook. Fire emergencies, huh. Some of that stuff seems pretty self-expanatory. Trouble? You get your ass out of it. But Daphne /is/ naturally better at getting away from situations; too bad, she isn't letting this one go so easily. No, she remains perched on his desk, her legs swinging once or twice, and then she proceeds to go through his stuff—whatever small or large amount there might be. May only be company-issue pens around, but she's going to inspect them all. And maybe pocket one. Not that she needs pens, but once in a while you just have to steal something when you're a thief.

"Well, did you want me to compliment you on how nice you looked? I'm not used to working in an office like this and they made us look at a video about sexual harassment." There is a brief pause. "It was awkward to watch." While it seemed like Daphne got the special invite in, Gene's method into Pinehearst is seemingly rather bland.

As for the guide on fire and bioterrorism, there is much more than just escape. Talk of securing various things, contact certain people. Escape is actually waaaay down on the list. It almost like they expect people to protect the work here or die trying. But that's just silly; it's likely just improper wording or something. Gene's desk doesn't have much in it, save his own pens and pencils. Some of them are Star Wars related, a few are Star Trek, but most of them have a Lego theme to them. The only real picture that gives any clues to Gene's personal life is that of a 12-year old boy with black hair and blue eyes standing next to an older man. Both are dressed in red t-shirts with the words 'Team Killbot'. Both are looking rather happy as they stand behind a twelve foot machine that appears to be one of those creations that are on the show Battlebots.

Flattery? Daphne looks iffy on that, too, despite her previous words. "Just putting that out there," she responds to dismiss the idea entirely, "And, just so you know, you're a little awkward, too." The last is said as an absent aside as she rifles through the last of the pens. A Lego-themed one is claimed between two fingers as she picks up the picture with the other hand. "Hey, who's this? And what exactly is that bot supposed to kill? Because it looks like it could be a real nasty lawnmower." It looks like a lot more, but Daphne can only give credit a little at a time.

As she sits there, quizzing the geek, Daphne looks like she's really seriously studying the picture. A softer--but not happier--expression happens onto her face. Right before her eyebrows narrow sulkily.

There is a long pause as Gene watches and waits as Daphne studies the picture. He is held hostage as he wonders what she'll do exactly. He doesn't say anything to her at first, though once he is sure there aren't any more questions on the side, he finally has his thoughts on the matter. "That's my grandfather And it was for a show. You made remote control robots that fought others. It used to be big in the 90's." Provided she doesn't fight to keep it, Gene will merely try and pluck the picture from Daphne's grasp to put it away. He is willing to let her keep the pen, but the picture seems to hold special importance to him, surprise surprise.

That's his grandfather. The picture is slipped easily from out of Daphne's fingers as she lets it go, chewing on her lip. She lingers a little bit longer and then suddenly pushes off her spot. She just… she doesn't want to be here anymore. She needs to be moving. That always seems to help when the thoughts start to settle. "Right, whatever," she snaps half-heartedly off to Gene, "Have fun with your handbook, I'm outta here." And she is, indeed, out of there, with no regard for who does or doesn't notice her speedy disappearing act.

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