allamericanboy (allamericanboy) wrote in forgotten_gods, @ 2009-06-19 01:10:00 |
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Entry tags: | democratic party, mia jacobs |
Who: Mark and Mia
What: Office interludes!
When: Friday afternoon
Where: Time Warner Building, AC:360 Studios
Warnings: None
"Mark, did you email HR about the New Hire process?"
"Huh?"
"I'll take that as a no."
Mark looked up from his computer screen where he'd been going over the transcripts of the shows from the week, specifically going over the series they'd done on 'America's High'. Sometimes he swore that Anderson was just in his brain. The show focus story topics were becoming strangely in synch with Mark's train of thought and he knew he wasn't actually doing anything to the mortals around him to influence them—not on purpose at least. Even if he was inadvertently doing something, he couldn't feel too guilty. The topics were on point with current domestic issues. Marijuana was becoming a bigger political issue whether he liked it or not, and while rereading the transcripts of Anderson touring a pot pharmacy was rather amusing, thinking about the issue itself still gave him a headache.
For a brief moment Mark looked over at Mia, aware that she'd said something, but when she didn't speak up again quickly enough he looked back down at the screen. Medical information scrolled past his eyes. "We really need some more conclusive studies."
"Huh?" It was Mia's turn to look confused.
"Long term effects of weed. We need more. Gupta was on last night pretty much without anything conclusive to say. Too many 'coulds' and 'maybes'."
"Oh." Her disinterest in the transcripts was obvious when she approached his desk and waved two forms in front of his computer. She reached out with her other hand to close the laptop. "You need to fill these out, give them back to me, and then email HR about this girl your brother's sending over. You can read about pot later, okay?"
Mark took the papers from her. "Why am I doing all this?"
"Hiring freeze, remember?" Mia answered, sighing the sigh of anyone who reported to someone who seemed perpetually absentminded. "Technically we're not supposed to be hiring paid assistants and interns, but I talked to Tess upstairs and explained what was going on and she said it would be fine. So fill those out and email her." And as soon as she'd finished speaking, she produced a pen out of thin air and handed that to him as well.
Obediently, he started scanning what he'd been handed. It was simple enough and soon he was scribbling in his new assistant's name in all the right places. For a moment, the thought of voluntarily taking on one of his brother's robotic young Republican types completely distracted him from the topic of marijuana. Unfortunately, it didn't take his mind to an anymore pleasant space. "I'm going to have Sarah Palin wannabe working for me," he said as the last signature was completed.
"Only for two days a week and my classes don't start until that week before Labor Day. And it might be nice if you gave her a chance first," Mia said, collecting the papers back from him. "It's nice of your brother to help out, actually. It saves me having to find people and interview them."
"But you're good at that."
"I'm sure she'll be fine, and if she's not I have the whole summer to find someone else. Worst comes to worst, you live without an assistant on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If you behave and don't pull stunts on the show last night, then you'd survive two days without an assistant." She finished, raising a disapproving eyebrow.
Mark grinned slightly. "It was a joke."
"It was disgusting," she shuffled the documents in her hands. "The baconaise bit, not the fire extinguisher. The fire extinguisher was just stupidity."
"Uh huh. Speaking of, when is that suit coming back from the cleaners?"
"Probably the fifth of never. I couldn't find a cleaners that specialized in baconaise stains. You also had some glitter under the collar… no idea how that got there, but glitter's impossible to get out of things. We'll see what Ms. Ng can do about it. She said it'd be touch and go, and advised that, in the future, the Tide Stain Pen is more meant for… smaller spills. Not vomit." She smiled at him, managing to keep the sarcasm he could hear in her voice out of it. A moment later, she held out her hand. "Also, if she does manage to get it clean, I don't think there's enough money in the petty cash drawer to even begin to cover what this is going to cost."
He had to admit that she had a point. Out came the American Express, which Mark placed into her palm and she quickly slipped into her skirt pocket. "You going over there now?"
"I'm going to grab lunch and then go over to see if she's worked miracles, yep," Mia nodded. "Should I bring you back anything to eat?"
"I'm good for now, thanks. Before you go though," he was already reaching to flip open his Mac again. "Can you round up all the research that went into that marijuana segment this week? Interviews, footage, medical reports, primary sources, even if they didn't make it on the show. You should be able to check with Andy's assistant and the guys down in copy. Just leave everything you manage to get on my desk. I want to do some reading."
She nodded again, already starting her retreat from his office to go do what he'd asked. "Sure, no problem. Give me… fifteen minutes."
"I'm going to miss hearing that," Mark called after her.
"Stay off the baconaise and you'll be fine!" Mia chirped, and the door closed behind her.