let’s just say that he’s a person of interest in a complicated situation. He seems to have disappeared. Along with his family. We’d like to find him and his wife, ask them a few questions, that’s all.”
The self-assured expression on Frazer’s face told Andre that he wasn’t going to get more than that. “I’ll let you know if I hear from him,” Andre promised.
“Thanks,” Frazer replied before adding, “Looks like the rain has slacked off. I’d better make a run for it.” He slid his sunglasses back over his eyes and pushed up from the table, preparing to leave.
Andre didn’t move.
Frazer stepped out from beneath the shelter and looked up at the clearing sky, one hand in his pants pocket, his back still to Andre, and then he twisted his upper torso and turned around. “Don’t leave town without letting me know,” he called out over his shoulder, before hurrying across the wet grass to the parking lot where he got into a black compact car.
“I’m sure I won’t,” Andre said to himself, feeling as if he’d been kicked in the stomach. I should have known this day was coming, he thought, gripped with the same awful sense of dread that he’d felt the last time he saw Jamal.
Chapter 3
After holding for a full five minutes, Riana finally got George Allen on the line, and it was hard for her to contain her excitement when he finally told her what he wanted.
Swiveling around in her chair, she positioned her back to her office door and faced the sun-splashed windows that overlooked downtown San Antonio. A ripple of anticipation came over her as she took in the details of the most important assignment she had ever been offered. Adding George Allen’s company, the Allen Group, to her client list would be a major coup, and she didn’t care if he asked her to locate a multilingual nuclear scientist who could also sing the blues and write country songs, she was going to accept this assignment. No way could she underestimate the importance of snagging this account.
“So,” she finally said when Allen finished, “you’re constructing a minimum-security prison outside of San Antonio to be named Tierra Trace—specifically for adult women and female juveniles, right? Is this a federal project?”
“Exactly, my company was awarded the contract to design and build Tierra Trace, which will be closely monitored and controlled by government regulations. It’s an unusual approach, in that the complex will house inmates who have been selected to enter advanced professional training and college-level classes in order to reenter society and be productive. Minimum security, white-collar crime. It’s not going to be a place for people to simply sleep, eat and watch TV to pass the time.”
“Interesting,” Riana commented.
“The location and design of the various units within the complex will be crucial to the success of this project.”
“What’s the size of the complex?” Riana asked.
“It’ll be modest in size, divided into three distinct areas with separate buildings for adult women and juvenile girls. It will also have a small unit for pregnant women or those with newborns who need to keep their babies with them for a while. Lots of green space and utility areas all around. Each of these distinct groups has vastly different requirements and I am convinced that housing inmates with similar personal situations and similar needs will impact the success of this plan. This is the first of its kind in the country, and if it’s successful, others will follow.”
“It’s a most unique approach,” Riana said.
“Yes, it is,” Allen stated with pride. “It must be functional, have clean lines and incorporate all the high-tech security equipment and state-of-the-art sanitation requirements available, along with instructional and recreational areas.”
“How can Executive Suites help?”
“I want you to recruit a leader for my design team. I need a space-planning architect to help pull my vision together,” Allen said, and then added, “I’ve been thinking about using someone new to the industry, an unknown who can bring a fresh perspective.”
“You want me to recruit a novice architect who’s just launching a career? Why not go after the best, most experienced person for the job?” Riana wanted to know.
“When I saw you on Community Business Focus this morning, I was very impressed with your story. I thought, ‘Why not hire an up-and-coming search firm to use on this project? And while I’m at it, why not go after a hungry architect who really needs the work?’ This is not one of my bigger projects by any means, but it’s a very important one, and whoever comes on board will get a heck of a lot of exposure. I want you to find me an unknown with talent. I’m sure you can locate a professional who understands what I need and who can deliver.”
“Thanks for that vote of confidence. What’s your time frame?” Riana asked, swiveling back around to grab her pen and take notes.
“I’ll be out of the office next week, but when I return, I’d like to meet with you and go over a short list of candidates. Think you can get some names together by then?”
“No problem,” Riana replied, her mind already whizzing ahead to the recruitment resources she planned to use.
“The design team won’t actually meet for at least ninety days at the outside, but I want to get the candidate—man or woman—on board right away. Sound like an assignment your firm can handle?”
Riana took a deep breath, crossed her fingers and told George Allen, “Yes. Executive Suites will find the perfect match between your company and your project. You will not be disappointed.”
“Good. Now, I’m going to have Pat, my human resources manager, call you with the job description. She’ll give you all the details and work with you to finalize the contract, now that you’ve accepted the job. She’ll draft your contract, go over it with you, and when it’s all set, I’ll talk with you again.”
Immediately after hanging up, Riana turned to her computer and got to work. With the next day being the Fourth of July, the office would be closed, so she wanted to get a head start on this assignment. She pulled up the database of clients currently enrolled with Executive Suites and quickly highlighted the names of three architects whose credentials were impressive. However, she knew she could not stop there. On a task like this one, she would have to utilize all of her recruitment sources and screen a wide range of potentials. She could tell that Allen was a demanding man who expected the best from people he worked with, and she was going to deliver exactly what he wanted.
After creating a folder to hold the information she found on the first three candidates, she turned to her database that contained the names of the presidents of professional agencies and organizations within the building and architecture industries who had helped her with her recruitment needs in the past. After carefully preparing an e-mail blast that detailed her requirements, Riana sent the announcement to everyone on the contact list, hoping that someone would give her a lead.
So far, she had never failed a client, and it was this sense of confidence—her assurance that the ideal candidate was out there somewhere—that drove her to push so hard and to set her personal needs aside in order to make her company grow.
So what if her sister, Britt, referred to Riana as a workaholic clotheshorse who would probably wind up a lonely spinster? Riana
