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“Of course, that’s why we’re hiring the head of the department first. We want to ensure they have a voice and opinion on hiring other employees.”
“And if I have employees I wish to bring with me?”
“We can...discuss them. We might already have them scheduled for an interview if they applied for a job. If they didn’t, I’m not opposed to considering the new application with your recommendation.”
“And if I make my employment conditional upon theirs?” That answer made me frown. It sounded like a threat.
“I only hope it isn’t the case. As much as we value any one employee, we don’t deal well with ultimatums,” I answered more seriously.
“Last question, if I may, Alpha Cory.”
“Of course.”
“Mr. Roswell, what could I expect from you as my direct superior?”
“I’m hands-off, for the most part. I will check in once or twice a week to make sure deliverables are met and to check if you need support. I want to know the major projects being worked on, and if I feel there’s something important that needs to be prioritized, I expect to be able to discuss your resource allocation. I have no need for your day-to-day. As long as we’re seeing results, we don’t need to meet more than that. I’m here to support you more than supervise you. You wouldn’t be in this interview if I thought your application showed a need to be babysat.”
“What kind of technology are you wishing this department to focus on?”
“Can you clarify the question?” Jo asked.
“Are you wanting to develop security safeguards, defensive technology, or offensive weapons and software?”
“Defensive and security software is our main objective. There’s enough violence in the world without adding more ways to make it easy to achieve,” I answered. There was a strange hum coming from them at my answer, and I didn’t know if they agreed or not.
“What happens to any technology I create?”
“Anything created with Salonen Industries resources becomes exclusive technology for Salonen Industries for the first five years. Its patent, however, will remain yours. If after five years, you wish to make the patent public domain or license it to other companies, you should give us the first rights of purchase. Anything made on your off time with personal resources, we request first rights of licensing or purchase, but merely as a courtesy,” I answered.
“NDAs in place?”
“Of course.”
“Very well. Do you have any other questions for me, sirs?” they asked and I almost wanted to snort. We’d barely asked any. They had led the interview and I found it refreshing.
“Were we to choose you, what’s your availability to come on board?” Jo asked.
“I would imagine hiring the rest of the employees will take time. I need at least two weeks to finish my current engagements. However, it doesn’t take my entire day. I’m happy to clear my schedule for interviews and meetings.”
“Could you not just finish it early, then?” James asked. Evergreen and the mysterious caller both snorted.
“You can’t rush testing, Gamma James. Not if you want to do it safely and thoroughly,” Evergreen answered instead.
“Thank you, Mr. Roswell. Gamma James, if I rushed the finishing of a project, I doubt I’d be able to have as many claims of professional achievements as I do now. While I can try to rush ideas and speed up my work, I cannot rush testing, and as I mentioned before, whether the project is paying me fifty dollars or five thousand, I do not rush quality. Some of the testing is done by me, and some of it is done by a colleague for a portion of the fee. I won’t be rushing them as it’s both of our names on the line if the software is not working properly.” James looked sheepish at the answer, but I think it revealed much about the person on the other side of the phone call.
“Thank you. If you make it to the next round, I’ll set up a meeting in person for the final interview.”
“Very well. Thank you for your time. Please call after ten in the morning, as I often work well into the night.”
“I will keep that in mind. Thank you.” After the phone disconnected, there was silence in the room.
“Well...how long do we have to wait so we don’t appear too needy?” James asked, making the rest of us laugh.
“It does seem like the superior choice.” Evergreen frowned.
“You sound like you don’t like it,” I mentioned.
“I don’t think that’s my choice at all. Actually, I can’t tell if any of them were, but that last one definitely doesn’t sound like the person I was interested in. I have to say, though, this one definitely sounds like the right person for the job.”
