Ianto never knew how many prospective employees of Torchwood he had been introduced to. It had seemed an almost constant stream since arriving in Cardiff just over a year ago. It didn't help that Jack used him as a barometer of whether each person would be suited to the job.
He remembered the first person who walked in the doors after him. He had been young, probably only a couple of years older than Ianto himself, and his name was James Parker. Jack had swept along in that long coat of his towards the confused man, while Ianto tried his best to smile and look inviting. He had only been there himself a couple of weeks, and didn't feel like he had really settled in yet. A new member to the team meant he wouldn't be the tea boy anymore; he could get on with his real job. He could even have a proper friend in the workplace, though even as he thought this, the need to keep people away, keep Lisa hidden, surfaced once more.
"James Parker, I'd like you to meet the team," began Jack. "This is Toshiko Sato; computer extraordinaire, Owen Harper; resident doctor," after each name the team member nodded and smiled, before returning to work, "Susie Costello; our mechanical mind," he paused, "and Ianto Jones. Ianto keeps everything running smoothly." Ianto smiled again at James, trying not to look too nervous as he shuffled the papers in his hands. "And he looks great in a suit."
Ianto didn't acknowledge this last comment; even after only two weeks working here he knew what Jack was like. The new arrival, however, wasn't the same.
"What did you say?" asked James, incredulously.
Jack squared up a bit to his new employee. He had a hard glint in his eyes. "I said he looks great in a suit," the mischievous twinkle came back, "don't you agree?" The rest of the team were finally paying attention to the situation. Ianto was looking anywhere but at the two men on the platform below him.
"Is that what it's like here, then?" replied James, with a touch of sneer. Jack looked disappointed, before the hard glint once more overshadowed his face.
"Fine," he said, in a business-like tone. "Tosh? Could you see James out, please." With that he twirled around, his coat swirling in an absurd parody of a magician's robe, and marched out of sight into his office. The team returned to work. Ianto just stood, confused, before returning to the Tourist Office to think.
James Parker was not the last.
Next was Liam Niles.
Then Joanne Matthews.
Elliot Johnson.
A woman with a rather large nose.
A ginger bloke.
Then another woman.
Some guy.
Then Gwen Cooper. By now Ianto was used to the rigmarole of Jack's unorthodox 'interviews'. He no longer bothered to remember the names of each person who walked through the doors. He hardly bothered to even look at them, instead rolled out the usual 'Hello!' with a half wave that had become his standard greeting. But then Gwen Cooper arrived. The one who remembered. The one who was nearly shot by Susie, and also the only one not to react to Jack's comments. Incidentally, the only one to stay.