First day on the job

It was Veronica’s first day of work at the Ministry and though she had no clue where she was going though she was determined not to ask for help and sure that every person in the place she looked around and tried to remember what floor she was told to be on when she arrived. She walked up to the elevator stepping on and straightened her blouse hoping she would remember which floor it was once they got there.
Ronica had thought that her robes would be too much to be working with animals so she had decided on dark washed jeans and a simple but nice blouse in a dark teal color. She had already shed her coat after entering the Ministry from the cold outside. Unusually she wore low heels compared to the six and seven inch ones she was used to. And as an accessory that she never left the house with out she had pack man jewelry and a bag.

Jude, as a rule, never started work until he made a formidable impression on all of those who caught sight of him in the Atrium. Every day, he stood around for the first five minutes or so, drinking coffee and having a chat with someone important looking. The closest at hand were either Robert Lupin or Elijah Krum, the only two men with more power than him, though the department heads ranked just near him too. If not them, though, Jude always managed to find someone impressive or famous to share his morning coffee with - Jude could always be a charming conversation partner if he chose too.

Today, he had found himself approaching Colin Cornell, a famous wizard known for his good looks and his multiple records. Colin was currently the ladies' favorite singer out there, and Jude could see people turning their heads and craning their necks to catch a glimpse of the singer. And here he was, chatting with Colin like they were old friends.

In reality, they were fairly close. Colin's dad had been a Ministry man, one of the first men Jude had worked as a personal assistant too. Colin, significantly younger than Jude, had been trailing his father to work back in that time, so Jude had known the boy before he had exploded into stardom. So now, they spoke casually, comfortably, laughing easily.

Suddenly, Colin caught Jude's arm and jerked his chin towards someone. "Who's that?" he asked. Jude turned, seeing a woman pass by. He shrugged, "I don't know. Must be lower level."

"Could you call her over here?"

"I'm telling you, Colin, she's a nobody."

"I know, I just want to look at her some."

"For an international star, you sure are desperate," Jude said, smirking. Colin rolled his eyes, and Jude caught an intern walking past, quickly giving her the information. She dutifully scampered off.

When she caught up to the blonde woman, someone she was sure was new, she caught her arm and said, "Miss! Your presence is requested!"

"Dammit," Veronica muttered under her breath at the woman's comment about how her presence had been requested. "May I ask who has requested it?" Her gaze was not on the girl at the moment she spoke but on two men who stood not to far away and seemed to be talking. These two are the ones the woman motioned at.

With a sigh Ronny closed her eyes and directed her path at the two men. She walked confidently over to them her head held high and her back perfectly aligned and her head slightly tilted back so her nose was in the air. This since of arrogance and self-pride was how she had grown up, she had always thought of herself as better than everyone else and was not afraid to show it.

"You had requested to see me?" Ronica asked once she stood before the two men. She seemed to know the one who appeared to be younger from somewhere though she could not clearly place him. As she looked from one to the other her face seemed emotionless and remained that way.

She held herself well, Jude could give her that. She was young, but not too fresh out of Hogwarts either. There was an uncertainty in her that revealed to Jude that she was incredibly new to the Ministry, but that could be easily forgiven. Everyone had to start off somewhere after all. Colin did not seem to notice anything but the swing of the woman's hips, the curves she seemed so confident in.

They approached and spoke plainly, seeming to be ignorant to who they were. That rubbed Jude wrong. "You don't know why?" he said. "Huh..." He gave her a look of disapproval, clearly telling her that she had already done something wrong. He looked at the intern who was hovering anxiously. Irritability briefly flickered onto his face and he said, "That's all, Alice." She scampered off.

He looked at the woman. "I'm Jude Barnabus Rafferty Shaw, you're Undersecretary to the Minister. And this is Colin Cornell. You may know him from his recent hit 'On My Broomstick.'" He stopped, allowing this to sink in.

"Oh, Yes I have heard the song once or twice coming from my sisters rooms," Veronica noted quietly with a nod to Colin. "And you, I guess I had heard of your name escape from my siblings mouths once or twice. Never expected you though, Rather an older gentleman in his fifty's or sixty's. So you wished to see me?" Her words were clearly pronounced and rather blunt as she spoke and she still looked at him as if she had no emotions in side of her let alone a soul. "If you have nothing further for me I must be finding the Department of Control of Magical Creatures."

"Once or twice!" Colin bristled, looking completely surprised that the woman seemed so casual about this international star. Jude smiled, squeezing Colin's shoulder sympathetically. If Jude had to venture a guess, he supposed that the woman was afraid of looking common for recognizing a popular singer. Still, Jude could see Colin's ego was minorly bruised.

Jude's eyebrow quirked. "I suppose you would have endeavored to know my name, as I am your boss, and would endeavor to do whatever it took not to insult said boss with presumptions on his age."

She then posed a question and, before answering, tried to excuse herself. With authority, Jude said, "You may find it in your best interest to see what we have to say before you abandon our conversation completely. What is your name and what is your place in your department?"

"I was to busy taking care of things around the house to be involved in their childish endeavors," Veronica blinked at Colin's reaction of her acknowledgement of him. "I'm not going to apologize for it though." A motion and Jude's face drew Ronica's attention to his face. "Truly I have not thought that much into it yet. I was making sure everyone was set for my departure from home. I even failed to think about figuring out where i was headed once i got here." she spoke plainly and blinked her eyes her face set firm. The older man inquired about her name and department and she had no reason not to answer. "Veronica Marybel, Beast Specialist." she replied simply.

Colin looked at Jude, stonily. Though he was more down-to-earth than the politicians around him, Colin did have an ego and he did know his place was well above the heads of such women as the one he had attempted to give a chance. Jude responded to his look with a small, reassuring smile, promising Colin that justice would be dealt to the embarrassment he had been delivered. Colin waited for the woman's name and department before leaving without a word or glance in her direction.

Jude turned back to her. "You may consider apologizing. That man has made millions of galleons in his career, and he really has just begun. He provides a substantial amount to the department you have just claimed to have joined. I do not think it will seem a very good impression to your Head of Department. First day on the job, and you've lost the department an earning of 40,000 galleons. If I may suggest, as your boss' boss, an apology does not seem too far beneath you, now does it?"

"Apologize for suffering the life I had to live taking my mothers place after watching her be murdered in front of me? Apologize for not not having time for music and foolish teenage crushes? And as for you i was just surprised at who you are, and your age, in fact i kind of saw it as a complement towards you much better than i thought you would look." Veronica didn't have much to hide and she didn't really care if this man knew of her past what he did with that information anyone would be able to find out by researching her last name. though she doubted they would want to that. "I'm just here to focus on my work, and I'm not sure why you called me over here."

Jude laughed heartily. "You know what's funny? That I honestly don't care that anyone you know is dead. You know what is also funny- how unprofessional it is to make excuses for your low job performance on account of a childhood tragedy completely unrelated to your work, and on your very first day. We called you over, honestly, because you're a new face, and not one that is bad to look at. I was hoping you might be someone worth watching because, in case you didn't know, having an enormous fortune and almost full influence over every person in this building gives me the advantage of helping those I'd like to help, and shutting out those who are idiotic enough to commit insubordination by speaking familiarly with a superior. So, let me ask you one question, and if you say anything but an answer to my questions, be sure that I will have you demoted to a personal assistant. Who do you think you are, the one I should help rise in the ranks because you know how to put your past behind you and treat your superiors with the respect they have earned? Or are you one of those imbeciles who think, because you had a tough childhood, you're better than those who sign your paycheck? Which are you?"