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“Hello,” a middle-aged man said and stood to shake my hand. “I’m Brian, head of HR.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said, smiling.
“So, you impressed the panel last week,” he said and gestured for me to take a seat.
“That sounds like a good thing,” I joked.
“Oh, it is,” he said. “This is a bit of an informal interview. I’ve got all their notes and I trust my team’s opinions. I just wanted to meet you and get to know you a little better before we send you for a final interview with the CEO.”
“Is the CEO making the final hiring decision?” I asked.
“Yes, because you’ll be working for him,” he explained. “He has a say in everyone that gets a job here. I think it’s why we all work so well together. Our turnover is very low. The only reason this job is opening is because his current assistant is retiring after nearly forty years of employment.”
I nodded and did some math. I was guessing my potential new employer was likely in his sixties or seventies if his assistant had been with him for forty years. “That’s impressive.”
“It is,” he said. “We know good employees are hard to find. That’s why we jump on the good ones and do all we can to keep them. I understand you’re the type of person that likes to stick with a job, is that correct?”
“Yes, sir,” I said. “I’ve been at my current job for over five years.”
“Can I ask why you’re leaving?”
I scrunched my nose. I’d anticipated this question, but it was still tricky. “I currently work for a group of older professors. Lately, I’ve just felt a little stagnant. There’s not exactly a lot of change. It’s usually the same thing day in and day out. I work alone. I think I’m just looking for something a little more challenging. Something with a little more action.”
He smiled and nodded. “You’ll definitely find that here. The current assistant will tell you the boss is a challenge for her. A challenge she has certainly risen to but after a lot of years.”
“I don’t mind a challenge,” I assured him.
“Great, then I’m going to have you meet with Jonathan now,” he said. “I assume you have the time?”
“I do,” I said. “Absolutely.”
“Great. Follow me please.”
I was led down another hallway to yet another reception area. Maroon chairs lined the wall with a table covered with current magazines. Another coffee bar was in the corner. Large cherrywood doors with big gold handles were directly across from me. That was the inner sanctum. There was a currently unoccupied desk adjacent to the doors. That was the gatekeeper’s desk. If I got the job, that was where I would be sitting. I could totally dig it.
I sat down in one of the chairs and kind of sank into the vibe. I could hear the typical office noise in the distance. The CEO’s office was around a corner and tucked away from the rest of the noise. It was truly like going to the heart of the place.
I wanted the job. I was going to charm the socks off the old fart. I knew a little something about senior citizens and what they liked and didn’t like. I was about to meet my destiny. This CEO could change my life. Even if he retired in a few years, I was in. I had a foot in the door, and I could move to another company to work as an executive assistant.
10
JON
Iwalked slowly toward my office with my coffee in hand. I wanted to get as much of the gourmet coffee in my system as possible before my bossy assistant pulled it away. It seemed like the closer her retirement got, the bossier she got. A man needed coffee in the morning.
“Jon,” Brian called.
I welcomed the halt. It gave me longer to down the coffee. “Yes?”
“I just had an interview with the woman the team was impressed with,” he said.
I shook my head. “What woman?”
“The young lady applying to be your assistant,” he said. “I was told that despite her lack of qualifications, you wanted to push her through.”
“I don’t remember it quite like that, but I didn’t want it to be the sole reason we disqualified someone.”
“I met with her this morning and I can see why they were impressed,” he said. “I’ve got her in the reception area. Mabel told me you had some free time this morning.”
