Jen Barber

Grew up… without using anything resembling a computer. Jen can hardly handle her cell phone, never mind her PC. She once claimed, “If you type ‘Google’ into Google, you can break the internet, so please no one try it!”

Living… a lie. Jen had to fake her way to her job as head of the IT department. She doesn’t know the first thing about technology, and falls for her colleagues’ silly jokes. “The ‘Elders of the Internet’?” she asked in alarm. “The Elders of the Internet know who I am?”

Profession… Head of IT at London’s Reynholm Industries, an “institutionally sexist organization.” Jen has to worry about unwanted advances from her nerdy co-workers Roy and Maurice as well as her boss, Douglas Reynholm.

Interests… shopping, shoes, and fine restaurants. 

Relationship Status… looking for love in all the wrong places. Jen is constantly dealing with her flirty boss, Douglas: “Well, to be honest, he’s been making advances. He keeps asking me if I want to go for a ride in his helicopter.” Douglas will go to obscene ends to try and seduce Jen.

Challenge… putting up with her annoying co-workers and doing her best to fake her way through the IT department. Without any knowledge of computer technology, Jen has to rely on her underlings, Maurice and Roy, to help her through her job. It’s a delicate balancing act.

Personality… determined and personable. Jen is dedicated to her job, and she often finds herself using her social skills to make up for Roy and Maurice’s awkwardness. Jen is somewhere between a mother and a stand-in girlfriend for her two co-workers. They probably don’t deserve her.