I wave away his thanks, looking sheepish at the gesture. "Honestly you're the first engineer I've spoken to since I came back here that seems at all competent."

More than competent, but I'm not going to gush all over the kid right now. My gift should speak for itself, and maybe he'll start to feel a little more confident as he works with Ene-tan, start to understand his own skills in relation to the work we do here at EMC.

"I look forward to working with you more." I smile, genuine and gentle this time. "How have you been settling in so far?"