?Hey. This is Chase. You?ve reached my cell. Leave a message.?

?It?s Kat, Chase. You?re being a real punk about this, you know. Look. I?m sorry about the whole Zoe thing. I shouldn?t have said anything to her. I was just venting about how worried I was about the whole Sutton Province thing. I never thought that she?d show up at your place. I?m going to e-mail Cait tonight to apologize. I know you?re pissed at me but please make sure she knows I didn?t do it to try to get you and Zoe back together again or anything. Please call me back. Love you."

?Hey, this is Chase. You?ve reached my cell. Leave a message.?

?Hey, man. It?s Stefan. (Hey, sweetheart. Back off a second, I gotta leave a message for my cousin. Oh, yeah. Take it off nice and slow.) So, anyway, Chase, I just got back from the middle of damn humanitarian mission to this piece of shit little hole in the wall and I?ve got your fucking sister leaving me twelve million messages an hour asking if I?ve heard from you and if you?re pissed at her or not. For Christ?s sake! Can I not just have forty-eight hours of greasy food, cheap booze, and easy women without it being ruined by this family?s bull shit? Call your stupid ass sister!?

?Hey, this is Chase. You?ve reached my cell. Leave a message.?

?Chase, it?s Soph. Get off your ass and get back to work. Pronto.?

Text Message Log - 3/31/11

Eric (9:07 AM): Where're you at?
Chase (9:08 AM): Out.
Eric (9:10 AM): That bad?
Chase (9:12 AM): Worse. I think I bruised her arm.
Eric (9:12 AM): You didn?t hit her, right?
Chase (9:13 AM): Nah. Just grabbed her and shook her. Told her how Yaya died. Graphically.
Eric (9:15 AM): I know that fake tattoo was a stupid idea. The girls weren?t thinking. Let it go.
Chase (9:17 AM): It was an exact replica of my family crest! On the small of her back.
Chase (9:19 AM): Not thrilled with the thought that some guy?s hands were on my gf?s butt, btw.
Eric (9:20 AM): Had the same conv w/ Julia about her?s. It was a woman who painted them on.
Chase (9:22 AM): I left before dawn. Can you send Julia to track her down? Make sure she?s ok.
Eric (9:23 AM): She?s already on her way.
Chase (9:24 AM): I have to break up w/ her.
Eric (9:25 AM): Cait understands the risks of being with you.
Chase (9:30 AM): The fake tattoo was the final straw. She doesn?t get it. She?s not keeping an open mind. She?s ready to marry me now.
Chase (9:31 AM): Marry me. After like four months. There's a reason they give us kids 16 years to make the decision if we're gonna live this life.
Eric (9:33 AM): Your decision, man. But that girl ain?t going down w/o a fight. Be prepared.
Eric (10:41 AM): Seriously. Where are you?
Eric (11:57 AM): Checked the office, gym, your place, the Inn, with Seamus. This isn?t cool.
Eric (12:22 PM): Don?t make me call Kat.
Eric (1:55 PM): ...or tell Soph I can?t find you.
Eric (3:04 PM): Still worried here, man.
Chase (4:19 PM): Hey, E. It?s Zoe. Saw ur texts. He?s with me. Everything?s good.

To: Glenda Smith <g.smith@rhovnik.com>
From: Matilda Morgan <m.morgan@rhovnik.com>
Subject: You?re a lifesaver!

Hey, Glenda!

Thanks so much for helping me get this job. You?re such a life saver! Jim and I want to have you and Susie over for dinner this weekend to celebrate. Let us know what night works for the two of you.

By the way, I was working on the tutorial for the payroll program and I keep running across initials -- JR, SR, LR, CR -- rather than the numbered divisions that are listed in the employees? files. What?s up with that?

Matilda K. Morgan
Human Resource Representative
Rhovnik Enterprises




To: Matilda Morgan <m.morgan@rhovnik.com>
From: Glenda Smith <g.smith@rhovnik.com>
Subject: Re: You?re a lifesaver!

Don?t worry about it! What are friends for, after all? We?d love to come over for dinner. Let me talk to Susie and I?ll get back to you on what night works for us.

The initials stands for the head of the division. Each Rhovnik kid makes a decision when they turn 16 if they want to be a part of the family business. Once they decide that they?re in, they begin building their division with the help of their older relatives to reflect their individual talents. There are currently 10 divisions (9 active) and I?ve lost count at this point of how many cousins there are under the age of 16 so there is always the possibility for more. Here are the current ones:

First Division (SR)
SR stands for Sofia ?Sophie? Rhovnik -- the daughter of Andrew Rhovnik (retired) and Martha Polk Rhovnik. Sophie is the heir presumptive to the Rhovniks and, as Elsie Rhovnik (the grandmother/matriarch of the clain) has been scaling back her duties in recent months, SR has almost complete control of field operations. Yet, she still retains her title as director over the First Division of Field Operations. Her specialties rest in arts and antiquities so most of her employees have something to do with that field. Sometimes her methods stray towards the gray area of law and morality. Therefore, there are often some unsavory types under her direction in this division. If you?re going to bring one of them in for a sit down, it would be best to run it by me first.

Second Division (YR)
YR stands for Sonja ?Yaya? Rhovnik -- the daughter of Andrew Rhovnik (retired) and Martha Polk. Sister of SR. This division has been defunct since YR?s entry into Ad Lucem and subsequent death. Her division focused mainly in medical research and humanitarian missions and many of her employees went to the medical department so you may still see these initials in some employees? work histories.

Third Division (CR)
CR stands for Chase Stannard Rhovnik -- the son of Milena Rhovnik (who no longer works for the family but as an international guest lecturer) and the late Joseph Stannard. This division is what is typically referred to as the Rhovnik ?muscle?. Most of these employees are former military, paramilitary, guerrilla/freedom fighters, mercenaries, etc. Despite the fact that it?s one of the busier divisions, their paperwork tends to be in order and up-to-date due to the regimental manner in which it is run. The employees all look and dress like a bunch of students on their way to class but they?re tough as nails and, thankfully, they follow the HR procedures and make our jobs pretty easy.

Fourth Division (JR - Jakob Rhovnik)
JR stands for Jakob Rhovnik -- the son of Peter Rhovnik (VP of Research and Development) and Sharon Medwin. This is who the IT department calls for IT support. While JR?s division tends to include a lot of techies, don?t be surprised if you meet up with some pretty tough characters too. JR?s work doesn?t tend to be in posh corner offices... if you know what I?m saying. No matter what the division?s speciality, their work tends to be done in pretty dangerous areas so don?t expect a bunch of flabby geeks.

Fifth Division (StR)
StR is Stefan Rhovnik -- the son of the late David Rhovnik and Nina Cruz Zapatero. Brother of Iva Rhovnik. StR?s division handles a lot of the humanitarian work. It shocks most people because he?s not what most people would think of as ?charitable?. He?s got a mouth like a sailor and probably as many STDs as one. He and his division tend to be sent in after disasters -- both human-made such as wars and nuclear accidents and natural such as earthquakes, mudslides, hurricanes. They are a rough group and don?t tend to follow rules very well but they?re good kids.

Sixth Division (FR - Ferdinand ?Nando? Rhovnik)
FR is headed by Ferdinand Rhovnik. Everybody calls him Nando. He?s the son of the late Simon Rhovnik and Irena Titov (who heads up the family?s charity wing which works closely with the field operation teams). He?s got another year and a half to finish up a degree in biochemistry at UCLA so his division is being kept small until his graduation. They?re mostly operational during his breaks from school. While all the divisions work on training different nation?s armies as well as private forces based on the contracts negotiated by the company, Nando is definitely one of the best at this. He seems to have a natural inclination towards teaching.

Seventh Division (KR)
KR stands for Katharine ?Kat? Stannard Rhovnik. She is the daughter of Milena Rhovnik (who no longer works for the family but as an international guest lecturer) and the late Joseph Stannard. She is CR?s little sister. The two of them are very close. Kat is finishing up her sophomore year at Princeton. She?s almost surpassed Sophie?s language ability, knowing more languages than I can probably even name, and her diplomatic skills are far superior. If a fragile treaty needs to be hammered out, Kat?s the girl to get the job done. Her crew tends to be full of former ambassadors and political specialists.

Eighth Division (AR)
AR is headed by Andrea ?Andy? Rhovnik. She is the daughter of Edvard Rhovnik (CFO) and his wife, the late Karol Rochester. She followed KR to Princeton and is currently a freshman. Her division is quickly shaping up to be a hub of intelligence gathering. I have no doubt that this will become the heart of the Rhovnik?s spy network as soon as she graduates and is able to focus fully on the company. I?m sure it?s not at all surprising then to hear that there are a lot of former CIA, Interpol, and MI6 agents in this mix. Also, there?s a growing number of former Mossad agents. Scary folks, those are.

Ninth Division (IR)
IR stands for Iva Rhovnik. She?s the daughter of the late David Rhovnik and Nina Cruz Zapatero and the sister of Stefan. She has another year after this one left of schooling before college. I believe she?s currently in boarding school in France. Her division is just beginning to take shape but it?s starting to turn into something very similar to Chase?s. It?s very strike oriented. She doesn?t seem afraid of the ?dirty? jobs.

Tenth Division (LR)
This division is headed up by Laura Rhovnik. She is the daughter of of Peter Rhovnik (VP of Research and Development) and Sharon Medwin and is the younger sister of StR and JR. She just turned sixteen this past winter and has just started working with her grandmother and Sophie to form a team. There?s no rumors yet on what it?s specialty will be.

Hope this all helps!

Glenda Smith
Human Resource Representative
Rhovnik Enterprises