Miss Planner left the interviewees in her office while she took Erica into the back for a brief chat. She didn't like the look on Erica’s face at all. The poor girl seemed anxious and depressed at the same time, and she was visibly stiff and sweaty. The two sat in uncomfortable chairs across a wooden table from each other, both staring into their notes.

"What do you think, Erica? Can we make this work?"
"No. They're horrible, Miss Planner. I don't want to m-manage those kinds of boys. Please don't make me do it."

It was exceedingly rare for Erica to be so direct, but Miss Planner told her she could veto the four boys if she didn't like them, and she definitely did not like them.

"You don't like them? What don't you like about them?"

"They're... they're not nice people. They're mean. They're disrespectful. They're... they're... they're... I don't even know how to describe them. Let's face it, Miss Planner, they're just... no good. And please don't take this personally. I'm being completely honest with you because I care about your future and this job very much. Please do not hire them."

"I think you're overreacting. Just because their humor is somewhat inappropriate for a workplace setting, that doesn't mean they're not good kids. They're smart, they're motivated, and most importantly, they have tons of fighting power right out of the box! If we don't hire them, security's going to snatch them up in the blink of an eye. They'll probably make them officers, too."

"Security can have them! They're little sociopaths. I don't think we can trust them with the Soul Shell, Miss Planner. They'll probably run off with it and sell it for petty cash!"

"Oh, come on! Do you seriously believe that? Why would they steal from us?"
"I know you like them, but... they are not s-suitable for the job. If you... insist on hiring them anyway, then you should be aware that I won't be able to work with them."

There was a lot of tension on Erica's face. She didn't think she'd ever been this angry in her entire life. Her hands were shaking and her voice was trembling with rage. She was trying to maintain a professional demeanor, but she really wanted nothing more than to let loose and scream in frustration. She had no idea why Miss Planner liked these creeps so much when they were clearly such terrible candidates.

"What type of position do you think we're hiring for? We're not looking for secretaries or shoe shine boys, here. We need soldiers. Hard-edged, tough, and eager to prove themselves! The only thing that matters in the end is results. Forget their-"

"I understand that, Miss Planner. But I'm not comfortable with them. I'm just not. I don't think.... I don't think they're dependable. I don't believe they'll follow orders. I'm sorry, but I have to stand by my assessment."

Miss Planner was disappointed, but she understood how Erica felt, and she knew it wasn't fair to keep pushing the issue. Maybe she'd let herself get a little too attached to the four boys. It didn't help that she was so desperate for experimental data right now that she'd strongly considered suiting up and going out to attack the Controllers all by herself. That's the type of person she was becoming lately, which made her feel a little sad.

"Okay, okay, I hear you. You're making me nervous. Let's calm down.  Take a deep breath. Hooo-ohhh."
"Ooo-ahhh."

"Alright, there we go. Relax. It's a shame they didn't make the best impression on you today. But maybe we can still come to a compromise here. What did you think about Garth specifically? I feel like he was by far the strongest candidate."
"I don't want him working with us. I just have a bad feeling about it. It feels like he m-manipulated the other three into coming here, maybe even doing the experiments in the first place... like they're his pawns or something..."

Erica was practically holding back tears. Her mind was conjuring up all kinds of awful scenarios involving Garth and his buddies. Even though the rational part of her brain was telling her that what she was imagining couldn't possibly be true, the fear and anxiety she felt was real, and that was enough to throw her off balance.

He was a Controller, right? Maybe he had the other three under his control already. And then... if they got hired, it would essentially mean that she'd become his slave, too. He'd enslave her, Miss Planner, and all the other Chosen Ones they worked with and cared about. His network of brainwashed followers would spread like a cancer throughout the Tower until everyone either joined his harem of mistreated office women or died. Then he'd start kidnapping people off the street like a crazy cult leader and transform the entire city into one big Controller supercolony...

"You know, Erica, you're really stressing me out. Look at me! Look into my eyes. You need to settle down."
"Oooohh."

"Drink some water. Breathe. I'm going to go back in there and tell them they can go home. We're going to talk about this later, okay? Maybe you'll see things differently once you've calmed down a bit. Maybe you won't. Either way, it's fine. I'm sorry if I upset you. We don't have to hire them if you don't like them. Let's just try and keep our heads in the game here."
"I... yes, thank you..."

Miss Planner left the room for a few minutes and returned to find Erica sitting with her head hung low, not saying a word. She was crying, she realized. It had been a while since she'd seen her cry.

"Erica, come here."
"Y-yes."

Erica was ashamed, but she obeyed anyway, standing to her feet and shuffling over to meet Miss Planner in the doorway. The tiny blonde general manager wrapped her arms around her shoulders and rubbed her back gently, reassuringly. She was so warm. So soft. Erica felt like a little baby being cuddled by her loving mommy.

"You did great today, Erica. You kept your cool, you stayed professional throughout the whole thing... you did a good job with the questions."
"Thanks..."

"Yeah. This was hard for you. Don't worry about it, alright?"
"Okay."

"We didn't really get a weekend, did we? Do you want to go home early today?"
"Mmm..."

"Hey, how about this? I know this awesome restaurant nearby where we can grab lunch. How's that sound?"
"I'd love to... that sounds... amazing... snnnnfffff..."