A few quick comments:
The game basically tries to avoid you hiring either Kari or Mallory for the reception roles. I considered allowing them early on and decided it was too much.
So then idea was that Lois would do her level best to discourage you from hiring either of those.
If you did end up hiring one or the other, there'd be some last minute issue and Lois would pull in another candidate of her own volition.
What I didn't anticipate was people being so hell bent on ignoring that they'd attempt to hire BOTH of them, and the countermeasures break.
I considered going back and reworking it and then decided I really couldn't be bothered.
The phone is not fully developed, but I always thought it was reasonably obvious when it was appropriate.
My personal view is that you don't buy a phone and then immediately call every single person you know, but I guess in a game environment people are going to experiment. Looking at how to streamline it and make its use more clear, or may just remove it. It's not my highest priority right now.
Circling back to the receptionists. As I said, each has a story of her own. Cassie's has gone a long way, and Jennie's is significantly advanced in the next release, as is Aria's. Bree will be expanded on next and a couple of new ones are brought in.
As to girls you haven't hired being at the karaoke night and/or fourth of July party - it's a small circle of people with existing relationships. The two possible interns (Kayla and Rei) know each other (and Pete) from The Foundation obviously.
Some of the other potential reception staff already worked in other parts of the company, although I avoided specifying who to cover this eventuality.
Including/excluding people from some of the events outside the workplace would simply have entailed too much work.
It's a fudge, but (I hate to tell you this) none of this is real...