As Peter’s first week at Winchester Bank was drawing to a close, he began to feel more accustomed to his surroundings. Peter, despite all his confidence, had always wondered how he would cope with the daily rigours of an investment bank. Though he was far from reaching the mountain top, he felt good knowing the theoretical knowledge of his side of the business was now firmly planted within his cranium.
He had also broken the ice with his other team mates, including the Chinese girl, Sally, after an introduction at an informal team meeting. She seemed friendly enough, but his initial estimations of her limited vocabulary proved to be correct. He learned that she was a child prodigy back in her homeland and had completed her first degree in astrophysics at the age of 17. He also discovered the Chinese government had used her algorithms as the basis for their online security, based on programming she did at the tender age of 11. It has since been impregnable by online hackers.
The Indian fellow, Rahel, was a 35 year old from Bangalore that originally worked on the team’s IT support back in his home country. He was offered the role after standing out as a leading member of that team and successfully navigating a rigorous 7 stage assessment process that ultimately deemed him appropriate. Peter spoke to him briefly but struggled with the accent barrier and thus placed him in the ‘nod and greet’ section of his work social circle.
Peter knew most of his verbal communication would be with Hanna, Mary and John, as far his team was concerned.
“Peter, there are some leaving drinks tonight to commemorate a fellow who was a popular chap around here. He was well known by many people in the firm, so would be a good opportunity for you to get your name out there” John advised.
Peter agreed, not because he necessarily was in the socialising mood, but because he wanted to throw back a few pints after a long, hard week of work.
