(d)OOM: In the Network's administration building, some time during mid-late January.
"Sir, you're expected in the boardroom in twenty minutes," Christof's assistant, Chloe, reminded him as she set down his morning's third cup of coffee.
"Hm?" Christof looked up from the calender he had been perusing, a faint line visible between his drawn-down eyebrows. "Oh, yes. The interviews are today." Gingerly taking a sip of the scalding black coffee, he looks down at the calender on his desk again, specifically at the day in March that is circled in red, labeled clearly as "Due Day". "About time, too. We're cutting it close as it is."
Such a nasty business, this horrid winter. Construction work and costume production had miraculously been ahead of schedule, but then that freak blizzard had descended upon them and everything ground suddenly to a halt. It had been like the whole city was dead, the only noise being that of the wind and the ice. It had been January before things began to thaw a bit, as the disaster relief people had come in to help restore power to the city. Snowploughs had been brought in. It was a terrible time, Christof knew, as many homeless people had died and there had been fires in the poorer sections, where people had left their stoves on overnight in an effort to stay warm, but most important was that the lives of two of his key staff had also been claimed in one of the many car accidents caused by the sudden blizzard.
Christof didn't have the time to spare to go over the qualifications of the many underwriters and minor advertising managers to see who might take on the roles that had been left empty; their chosen star, an unborn girl from an unwanted pregnancy, was due in March (Christof had decided long before they found a suitable star that her name would be Evie), and time was short. He felt that some new blood was needed in the crew: fresh talent, who might make the network's rebound from Truman's disappearance that much greater.
Today, he had the task of finding those who would have the talent and ability to fill such demanding roles.
Christof closed the tome-like calender of deadlines and appointments and put it away, taking his coffee with him. Time to get things done.
* * *
"Good morning, everyone," Christof said as he walked into the board room, still trailed by Chloe. After everyone had replied their greetings, he continued, taking his seat at the head of the table. "We have some work ahead of us, today. We need a new head of the Scenario and Script Departments, and a new head of Advertisement. The loss of Bill and Mary hit us all hard, I know," he lowers his head for a moment, more in regret for the delay in preparation the deaths caused than actual grief, "but we must press on. I understand that this is a somewhat unorthodox method, not promoting from within our own ranks, but I feel that fresh talent is needed in our new start. That way," he smiles, the corners of his eyes crinkling a bit, "we can make this even better than what we have done before. Our creation," my creation, he thinks, "will continue to grow."
The interviewers, all higher-ups in the various parts of the network administration, nodded agreement.
Christof sipped his coffee again before putting the mug down and taking his Mont Blanc from his pocket, looking up at Chloe. "Go tell those waiting outside that we'll be interviewing for the Scenario and Script-writer position first, and send the first one in, will you?"
"Hm?" Christof looked up from the calender he had been perusing, a faint line visible between his drawn-down eyebrows. "Oh, yes. The interviews are today." Gingerly taking a sip of the scalding black coffee, he looks down at the calender on his desk again, specifically at the day in March that is circled in red, labeled clearly as "Due Day". "About time, too. We're cutting it close as it is."
Such a nasty business, this horrid winter. Construction work and costume production had miraculously been ahead of schedule, but then that freak blizzard had descended upon them and everything ground suddenly to a halt. It had been like the whole city was dead, the only noise being that of the wind and the ice. It had been January before things began to thaw a bit, as the disaster relief people had come in to help restore power to the city. Snowploughs had been brought in. It was a terrible time, Christof knew, as many homeless people had died and there had been fires in the poorer sections, where people had left their stoves on overnight in an effort to stay warm, but most important was that the lives of two of his key staff had also been claimed in one of the many car accidents caused by the sudden blizzard.
Christof didn't have the time to spare to go over the qualifications of the many underwriters and minor advertising managers to see who might take on the roles that had been left empty; their chosen star, an unborn girl from an unwanted pregnancy, was due in March (Christof had decided long before they found a suitable star that her name would be Evie), and time was short. He felt that some new blood was needed in the crew: fresh talent, who might make the network's rebound from Truman's disappearance that much greater.
Today, he had the task of finding those who would have the talent and ability to fill such demanding roles.
Christof closed the tome-like calender of deadlines and appointments and put it away, taking his coffee with him. Time to get things done.
* * *
"Good morning, everyone," Christof said as he walked into the board room, still trailed by Chloe. After everyone had replied their greetings, he continued, taking his seat at the head of the table. "We have some work ahead of us, today. We need a new head of the Scenario and Script Departments, and a new head of Advertisement. The loss of Bill and Mary hit us all hard, I know," he lowers his head for a moment, more in regret for the delay in preparation the deaths caused than actual grief, "but we must press on. I understand that this is a somewhat unorthodox method, not promoting from within our own ranks, but I feel that fresh talent is needed in our new start. That way," he smiles, the corners of his eyes crinkling a bit, "we can make this even better than what we have done before. Our creation," my creation, he thinks, "will continue to grow."
The interviewers, all higher-ups in the various parts of the network administration, nodded agreement.
Christof sipped his coffee again before putting the mug down and taking his Mont Blanc from his pocket, looking up at Chloe. "Go tell those waiting outside that we'll be interviewing for the Scenario and Script-writer position first, and send the first one in, will you?"