New faces and new friends.

Early into the office, Jan is the first person you run into. The menacing red 31 hovers above her head. She's at the receptionist desk talking to what looks like a new employee. Your company seemed to have a relatively high turnover rate for the position. In your two years, there must have been at least five come and go.

You grin wickedly to yourself when you notice the new girl is young, blonde, and very attractive. Jan quickly glances over towards you for a moment, acknowledging your presence for the first time. Taking this as your cue, you walk forward and place the iced coffee on the desk next to your boss.

Gesturing to it, you say, "As promised."

Jan seems confused for a moment before suddenly remembering, "Erm... thanks, Frank."

Her score changes to a red 29. Easy two points.

"No problem at all."

You turn your attention to the new receptionist and extend your hand.

"Frank Thompson."

She jumps slightly, giggles, and shakes your hand.

"Oh! I wasn't expecting you to talk to me! My name is Faith."

You notice an accent. The grey zero above her head changes to a green 3.

"Faith? That's a beautiful name! Can't say I've ever met a Faith before."

She giggles, which seems to be a common reaction from her, and says, "Well now you have!"

Her affection score ticks up to a 5. How is anyone this cheery so early in the morning?

"I love your accent. I take it you're not from San Diego originally?"

"No sir. Originally from Dallas."

Green 7.

Jan clears her throat next to you, "Faith is a recent college graduate. We're lucky to have her. Now, Frank, if you don't mind, we..."

You turn your attention back to your new favorite receptionist and continue, "Well, Faith, I can't tell you how excited I am that your smile will be one of the first things I see every morning!"

Smiling ear to ear and visibly blushing, Faith reaches out and playfully taps your hand. God, you're laying it on thick. The green 10 now hovering above her head just encourages you to press on. Jan must be going crazy. Time to do some damage control.

"Frank, I hope everyone here is as nice as you are!"

Clicking your tongue, you respond, "It's a mixed bag, honestly."

In your peripheral vision, you notice Jan stiffen.

Faith frowns slightly so you continue, "A lot of people just keep to themselves but I can't imagine that anyone could not like you. Jan's a pretty great boss. I know she might seem a bit strict but she's fair and honest. Maybe the best boss I've ever had, to be honest."

You glance over at Jan and smile. Her score ticks up a point to red 28. You can tell how annoyed she is with you. When you turn back to Faith, you see that she's already up to green 13. Complements seem to work really well with Faith. Noted.

You shield your hand over your mouth, blocking Jan's view, and fake whisper, "Although, she does seem to get annoyed with me quite often."

You laugh and Faith can't seem to help joining along. Her score improves to green 14.

Jan, trying to keep cool in front of the new employee, grumbles, "You sure are talkative this morning, Frank."

You straighten up and smile, "Oh, just trying to make friends."

An idea pops into your head.

"Say, Faith, would you be interested in joining an exercise group? My deskmate Hana and I use the gym downstairs after work every day. Jan usually stops by as well."

Increasingly unable to hide how annoyed she is, Jan says, "Oh, is it a group now?"

Seeming excited and not catching on to Jan's change in demeanor, Faith replies, "Oh I'd love to! I was just thinking about finding a gym to join yesterday. I could definitely use some friends as well!"

Green 18. Jesus, if only every relationship was this easy. She seems to feed off of positive energy.

You beam at her, "Awesome! Do you want to stop by after work today or...?"

She frowns, "I don't think I'll be able to today or tomorrow. I still have a bunch of things to sort out with my move. Monday would be great though."

"Monday it is!"

Faith squeals and claps her hands a couple of times. Her score changes to green 20. An hour with this girl and you might be able to max her score.

Next to you, Jan tugs on your arm. You turn to face her and she gives you a look that says it's time for you to make your exit.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Faith. I can't wait to get to know you better. Feel free to stop by my desk whenever you want."

"Will do, Frank! It was a pleasure to meet you as well!"

Jan scowls at you, still with a red 28 above her head, as you turn to leave. You notice that a lot of people have made their way into the office while you were busy making a new friend. Many of them seem to have been watching the interaction. Ah, what the hell, let's make some more friends.

You walk up to the nearest two people, a man and a woman, both of them watching with amused smiles on their faces. You've interacted with both of them a few times but not enough to really know them. They're desk mates like you and Hana.

"Hey guys. Enjoy the show?"

The guy, probably in his late 20s and a bit on the pudgy side, laughs and says, "I think Jan's head might explode."

He has a green 8 above his head.

You cross your arms and turn to look back at Jan and Faith. They appear to have resumed whatever conversation you interrupted.

"Eh, I doubt it. Jan's starting to like me."

He laughs, "No, dude, she definitely hates you."

"For now. Jeremy, is it?"

You reach out your hand and he shakes it.

"The one and only."

His deskmate, a woman with jet black hair and more tattoos and piercings than you can count, scoffs loudly. You look above her head and see a green 2.

She sneers at Jeremey, "A guy as unremarkable as you should probably avoid using that phrase."

He shrugs off the insult and you can only conclude that banter is common between the two of them.

"We can't all be as unique and special as you are, Bellatrix."

While Bellatrix and Jeremey go at it, you can't help but take a better look at the tattooed beauty. You've seen her around the office before and talked maybe once or twice. She tends to stand out wherever she goes. Her shoulder length jet black hair might be the only somewhat standard part of her appearance. She seems to have more tattoos than pale skin. By the looks of it, she's got two sleeve tattoos. The side of her skinny yet elegant neck has what appears to be some assortment of flowers and vines. You'd bet she has plenty more hidden away underneath her clothes. You'll just have to use your new powers to find out.

Her piercings honestly look like a hassle. No less than a dozen in each ear. One in her nose. One in an eyebrow. Another, visible when she talks, in her tongue. Well, that could be fun.

"Why are you staring at me?"

Bellatrix seems to have noticed your studying of her body.

You laugh nervously, "Well, I haven't seen you up close like this before. You're a lot to take in."

Jeremy bursts out in laughter. Luckily, she cracks a smile.

"Points for being honest, Frank."

Hey, she knows your name. Coincidentally, the affection score above her head changes to a green 4.

"Bellatrix... isn't that name from..."

Jeremy finishes your sentence for you, "Harry Potter? Sure is."

Visibly annoyed, Bellatrix growls, "Stop telling people that! It's not from fucking Harry Potter!"

Cracking up, Jeremy turns to you and says, "Frank, you better watch yourself around her. She's just as mean as her namesake."

"Jeremy, I'm almost 30. I wasn't named after a Harry Potter character. The name existed before those horrendous books."

Winking at you, he says, "Whatever you say, Trixie."

"I'm going to actually kill you one day. You know that, right?"

Jeremy groans, "Please put me out of my misery."

The two of them crack up. What a strange couple. Well, you guess they probably aren't together. But there's definitely some sexual tension between them. Maybe you're just imagining it. You'd love to hang around these two some more but you should probably get to your desk. Jan might notice you slacking off.

You put your hands on your hips and say, "Well, it was good catching up with you two. I'll try to stop by more often."

Jeremy, with a green 10 now above his head, smiles at you and says, "Any time, Frank."

With a straight face and a green 6 above her head, Bellatrix says nonchalantly, "Yeah, feel free to creepily stare at me whenever you want."

You nod, "Thanks for permission. I'll definitely take you up on that."

The two of them laugh again and turn back to their computers. Heading to your desk, you try to reorient yourself a bit. That was definitely a weird interaction. It's not even 9 yet and you've already got two new women that you want to add to your favorites list. The two of them are basically polar opposites but incredibly appealing.

Arriving at your desk, you see that Hana isn't here yet. You turn on your computer, eager to manage your favorites on the AMA. There's movement behind you and you turn your chair, expecting to see Hana. Instead, Jan scowls back at you. She sits in Hana's chair and scoots closer. Her stocking covered knees bump into yours and she leans forward, examining you closely. You look back, trying to appear innocent.

Eyes narrowed, she says, "I know you're up to something, Frank. Care to tell me what it is?"