The Circle

where
     he wanted to be. He pulled up a chair.
    “So good to see you here,” he said. “I’m very glad you accepted our offer.”
    Mae looked into his eyes for signs of disingenuousness, given there was no rational
     person who would have declined an invitation to work here. But there was nothing like
     that. Dan had interviewed her three times for the job, and had seemed unshakably sincere
     each time.
    “So I assume all the paperwork and fingerprints are done?”
    “I think so.”
    “Like to take a walk?”
    They left her desk and, after a hundred yards of glass hallway, walked through high
     double doors and into the open air. They climbed a wide stairway.
    “We just finished the roofdeck,” he said. “I think you’ll like it.”
    When they reached the top of the stairs, the view was spectacular. The roof overlooked
     most of the campus, the surrounding city of San Vincenzo and the bay beyond. Mae and
     Dan took it all in, and then he turned to her.
    “Mae, now that you’re aboard, I wanted to get across some of the core beliefs here
     at the company. And chief among them is that just as important as the work we do here—and
     that work is very important—we want to make sure that you can be a human beinghere, too. We want this to be a workplace, sure, but it should also be a
human
place. And that means the fostering of community. In fact, it
must
be a community. That’s one of our slogans, as you probably know:
Community First
. And you’ve seen the signs that say
Humans Work Here
—I insist on those. That’s my pet issue. We’re not automatons. This isn’t a sweatshop.
     We’re a group of the best minds of our generation. Genera
tions
. And making sure this is a place where our humanity is respected, where our opinions
     are dignified, where our voices are heard—this is as important as any revenue, any
     stock price, any endeavor undertaken here. Does that sound corny?”
    “No, no,” Mae rushed to say. “Definitely not. That’s why I’m here. I love the ‘community
     first’ idea. Annie’s been telling me about it since she started. At my last job, no
     one really communicated very well. It was basically the opposite of here in every
     way.”
    Dan turned to look into the hills to the east, covered in mohair and patches of green.
     “I hate hearing that kind of thing. With the technology available, communication should
     never be in doubt. Understanding should never be out of reach or anything but clear.
     It’s what we do here. You might say it’s the mission of the company—it’s an obsession
     of mine, anyway. Communication. Understanding. Clarity.”
    Dan nodded emphatically, as if his mouth had just uttered, independently, something
     that his ears found quite profound.
    “In the Renaissance, as you know, we’re in charge of the customer experience, CE,
     and some people might think that’s the least sexy part of this whole enterprise. But
     as I see it, and the Wise Men see it, it’s the foundation of everything that happens
     here. If we don’t give the customers a satisfying, human and
humane
experience, then we haveno customers. It’s pretty elemental. We’re the proof that this company is human.”
    Mae didn’t know what to say. She agreed completely. Her last boss, Kevin, couldn’t
     talk like this. Kevin had no philosophy. Kevin had no ideas. Kevin had only his odors
     and his mustache. Mae was grinning like an idiot.
    “I know you’ll be great here,” he said, and his arm extended toward her, as if he
     wanted to put his palm on her shoulder but thought against it. His hand fell to his
     side. “Let’s go downstairs and you can get started.”
    They left the roofdeck and descended the wide stairs. They returned to her desk, where
     they saw a fuzzy-haired man.
    “There he is,” Dan said. “Early as always. Hi Jared.”
    Jared’s face was serene, unlined, his hands resting patiently and unmoving in his
     ample lap. He was wearing khaki pants and a button-down shirt a size too small.
    “Jared will be doing your training, and he’ll be your main contact here at CE. I oversee
     the team, and Jared oversees the unit. So we’re the two main names you’ll need to
     know. Jared, you ready to get Mae started?”
    “I am,” he said. “Hi Mae.” He stood, extended his hand, and Mae shook it. It was rounded
     and soft, like a cherub’s.
    Dan said goodbye to both of them and left.
    Jared grinned and ran a hand through his fuzzy hair. “So,