Irys and Bae tagged along with Sana who tugged them along through the office space of Bread Dog Insurance Limited. The bright and cheerful amazonian CEO briskly showed them the workspace and the various facilities of the office.
The two new-hires took in the sights of their new workplace - from the brand new, open-concept furniture and computers to the practically 360-degree view they had through the windows: Citadel Hill and the City of Halifax on one side and the waters of the harbor and Dartmouth on the other. Apparently, their office took up the entire eleventh floor of Purdy's Wharf Tower One.
There even was a picture of Sana posing on board the Theodore Too - a popular Nova Scotian tugboat with a face that wouldn't be out of place in Thomas The Tank Engine's universe and a bright orange baseball cap on top of its bridge. Sana regarded that photo and shook her head.
"A shame that good ole' boatface got sold to Ontario." Sana remarked with a deep, sour frown, "A real travesty!"
One thing that the two noted, however, was that the office seemed suspiciously empty. Not a mouse, or a rat, stirred in Bread Dog's vast office. There wasn't even a receptionist at the front desk!
Before Irys or Bae could ask anything, Sana marched them into the Conference Room at the corner of Bread Dog's suite. They barged through the door and Sana dragged the new-hires inside.
"We've got new-hires, Bread Dog!" Sana cheered, "Let's give em' a nice and toasty welcome, yea?"
The large room erupted with cheer. Then two ladies came up to Irys and Bae with party poppers and set them off - showering the new-hires with confetti.
This was where the staff of Bread Dog had been hiding - all two dozen of them.
And so began Irys and Bae's whirlwind introduction to the staff of their new employer. Sana brought the two new-hires to each employee and broke the ice for them. The amazonian CEO knew every single one of them by name and had a bit of trivia about each one. Just watching Sana in action told Bae that her new boss had charisma by the boatload.
It made her wonder how many deals were made because of Sana Tsukumo's unfailing smile.
Probably more than I can count.
Towards the end of the introduction marathon, delivery trays of food started to arrive in the conference hall. Sana urged her rank and file employees to go ahead and start their luncheon, but she brought aside five ladies for Bae and Irys to meet.
The first staffer was a tall blond lady with bright red eyes, an incredible figure and the aura of a reliable older sister emanating from her very being. She approached the new-hires first, and spoke with a distinct Indonesian accent.
"Hello. Nice to meet you!" Greeted the tall blonde, "I'm Kaela Kovalskia - a temporary worker from Bread Dog Indonesia." She smiled warmly at them, "I'm not new to the company, but I'm new to the Halifax office. I hope we can get along!"
Irys and Bae nodded and shook hands with Kaela.
"Kaela here is going to be our all-rounder office manager." Sana added happily, "She'll take care of keeping our office orderly, greet guests and close up shop in the evenings. If you need help with anything, Kaela will be there to lend you a hand!"
Kaela nodded gladly and Sana called up her next staffer.
This time, a shorter brunette with honey-brown eyes and a pair of owl feathers in her hair stepped up to the plate.
"Salutations." The brunette greeted them sweetly, albeit unusually and shook their hands. "I'm Mumei Nanashi, human resources. I'll be processing your employee contracts, keeping employee records and settling disputes." She eyed the new-hires and warned with her still sweet voice, "Sana told me about your case, so I hope I don't have to deal with a lot of disputes."
Even though Mumei's voice seemed warm, the venomous threat beneath it wasn't lost on Irys or Bae.
"She's cute isn't she?" Sana swooned over the owl-girl.
I wouldn't know about that.
When Mumei stepped back, the third staffer took her place. This one had long locks of green hair with white flowers sprouting in them and wood-like kirin horns sprouting from the top of her head.
"Konfauna~!" The kirin-girl cheered happily, "I'm Fauna Ceres, the health and wellness officer." She laid her hands over her heart and spoke with motherly warmth, "If ever you feel burned out or need someone to talk with, my doors are always open for you."
Listening to Fauna's voice made Bae's legs a little bit weak, but she felt Irys' two-colored eyes boring holes into her soul.
Wait a second. Why are youacting up, you dumdum?
Bae snorted and reined in the effects of Fauna's ASMR-quality speech.
"FauFau here's also in charge of community outreach." Sana added with a grin, "If ever you're up for a bit of volunteering or exploring Nova Scotia, FauFau's your gal!"
Fauna nodded and bowed out, leaving room for the next staffer - a petite shark-girl with short, white hair and blue highlights, a friendly, albeit toothy smile on her lips and an egg-salad sandwich from the delivery trays already in her hand. She wolfed down that sandwich in record time and chuckled slyly at the new-hires.
"Hiya, fellas!" The shark-girl greeted Irys and Bae, "The name's Gawr Gura. I'm Sana's senior sales executive for the Atlantic Canada area." She put her hands on her hips and declared proudly, "I'm gonna be your direct manager, so I'll show you girls the ropes and make saleswomen out of you yet!"
Irys and Bae considered shaking the shark-girl's hands, but the residue of mayonnaise on her fingertips made them hesitate. Gura realized this too and laughed uncomfortably.
Suddenly, the fifth lady that Sana brought aside handed Gura some table napkins.
The fifth lady had long, purple hair with two squishy foremost bangs and a cute but prominent little fang. Unlike the other ladies in Sana's lineup, she wasn't wearing business casual. Instead, she wore a cute purple bandana over her head, a white double-breasted coat and an apron that read 'Tako Eats'.
"Wah~! Gura…" The lady chided.
"Sorry about that, Ina." Gura promptly apologized.
The fifth lady, Ina, noticed Irys' and Bae's eyes on her. So, she turned to them and gave them a deep, polite bow.
"I'm Ina'nis Ninomae. I don't actually work here at Bread Dog, but I do own the cafeteria downstairs. That makes us neighbors, I guess!" Ina said outright, "I also cater for Bread Dog's events and serve most of the staff for breakfast, lunch and dinner, so you'll be seeing a lot of me." She patted her apron and smiled warmly, "That said, if ever you're feeling hungry, come drop by Tako Eats!"
"And that about covers it!" Sana cheered. She glanced up at the clock hanging on the wall and smiled wryly, "Now tell me, ladies. This is your first time in Halifax, right?"
Irys and Bae glanced at each other and nodded cautiously.
"Well then." Sana's expression became mischievous. She pointed to the conference room windows facing the city and Citadel Hill, "You're about to experience a Halifax city tradition first-hand!"
Ina, Gura, Fauna, Mumei, Kaela and all the employees of Bread Dog paused what they were doing and braced themselves for something. Irys and Bae looked around, wondering what was going on.
Then, when the clock struck twelve, a cannon from Citadel Hill fired a blank shot. The sound reverberated throughout the waterfront and through the entire office building. Irys and Bae nearly hopped out of fright.
"It's the noontime cannon shot." Sana reassured happily, "You'll get used to it before long - just like you'll get used to working here with all these wonderful people, I'm sure!" She laid her hands on Irys' and Bae's shoulders and smiled, "Welcome to Nova Scotia, and welcome to Bread Dog Insurance Limited. We're glad to have you!"
And so, with the crack of the cannon from Citadel Hill, Irys and Bae became part of the Bread Dog family.
Their colorful lives as colleagues in Nova Scotia had just begun.
…
Nowhere With You
Grapeshot
…
To Be Continued