I sigh. “I don’t know, but—”
“Lauren, be smart. You just got a HUGE promotion.”
I pull the phone away from my ear. “I know, which is why I have to go. I have work to do.”
“Hmph, somebody gets a promotion and suddenly they have no time for fun phone calls anymore. Lamesville.”
I laugh. “I am in Lamesville, right—great word choice by the way. Maybe you can use it for one of your next house selling slogans.” I laugh; the idea of Brianna writing something like that for a sales campaign would be hilarious.
“Fine, cocktails at six. Ravens, be there or be square and next time I call, I’m going to block my number so you have to play along!” The dial tone sounds in my ear.
I roll my eyes and sigh. Time to get to work. I glance at the time on my laptop. I have less than ninety minutes to find the best candidates out of this pile. My phone begins moving across my desk. Is Brianna seriously calling me again? I snatch my phone off the desk. The caller ID alerts me of the contact. It’s a number already logged in my phone that reads “Jack-my-fiancé”. My heart drops into my lower stomach. I pucker my lips together and shake my head. I hover my finger over the rectangle. One slide and I can hear his warm voice. I imagine whatever he will say to me will send my body into further withdrawal. I’m like a junkie…out of rehab on the first day. But I have to be strong. I need to focus. I can’t talk to him right now.
I press the thin button on the top of my phone to silence the vibrations and toss it into my purse. I roll the drawer shut and focus on the task at hand. Even if I were to move back to Texas, I would still treat each moment here as if I’m not going anywhere.
The first paper is for a “Trent Riznor”. I laugh, wondering if his parents chose this name on purpose. I mean, I know or I would assume every parent names their child for a specific reason, but this name is so close… I smile. Ha! Closer, yes. I can imagine this song playing in my head and being underneath Jack in his room. Mmm…I shake my head. Focus, Lauren, focus.
Hmm, let’s see—what qualifications does Trent have, other than perhaps very cool parents? I read over his résumé. It’s fairly impressive. The space of employment in between his last two jobs is concerning, but I put his résumé into my maybe pile. I definitely want to chat with him. I pick up the next candidate, Courtney Gable. Nope, I wouldn’t want Courtney on my team. She is historically known for long bouts of crying at her desk. I do not need a drama queen. I don’t know why she cries, but we are here to work.
I rummage through all thirty résumés in under forty minutes. I give myself a Tina Fey high five for timing and then send out instant messages to the few on my list, giving each of them a five-minute slot to meet with me before my meeting with Javier. I’m interrupted by a knock on my door.
Could Trent already be standing on the other side? Only a couple of minutes have passed since I sent the IM. Very prompt, a good sign.
I pull the door open and am greeted by a tall, dark, slick-back-haired guy with Superman specs. Er…I mean Clark Kent.
I cock my head to the right. “Trent?” I raise an eyebrow in question.
“Yes, ma—” Trent offers his hand.
I hold my hand up to stop him. “Please call me Lauren…always.” I shake his hand. It’s rough and firm. I’m glad he doesn’t do the “squeeze your hand until it hurts grip”. I seriously do not understand the point of that type of handshake!
“Yes…I’m sorry…nice to meet you, Lauren.” Trent nods. I open the door wider and motion with my hand for him to come in. I shut the door and sashay to my desk. My navy pinstriped pencil skirt with my crisp white blouse screams I’m professional. Or at least it did to me this morning when I put it on.
“So, Trent, I’ve got to make a quick decision as I stated in my IM. Tell me why you should be on my team.” I nod to give him a cue to speak.
“Right, well as you can see from my résumé I have several years of work experience with top consulting firms and I have been ranking right underneath you in sales, though I’ve only been here for a couple of months.” He grins with a bit of arrogance. I do appreciate his sales numbers, but I am concerned with his resolution tactics. Does he display this type of arrogance to our clients? Some might appreciate it, but others would surely be turned off. I tap on my keyboard to pull up his resolution percentage. Sixty-five percent.
“Hmm…” I shake my head. “Trent, you do have great sales numbers; this is one of the main reasons you are sitting at my desk, but your resolution percentage is not so hot.” I pause.
“Yes, I’m at sixty-five percent, but I’m making strides upward. When I began I was at thirty-three percent.”
I hold up my hand. “Thirty-three percent is horrible.” I pull back my head. I can’t believe this guy is still employed by Calstone Corp. I shake my head and bite my lip.
Trent nods and links his fingers together. “Correction, it was horrible. I have doubled my resolution percentage in the brief time I’ve been here. I’ve made adjustments and gotten better at reading customers to get them what they want while still achieving my high sales numbers.” Trent lifts one eyebrow up.
“Trent, that’s great, but I can’t hide my surprise that you’re still employed with those numbers. However, let’s move on.” I glance down at his résumé. “Can you explain the time gap between Zurwaski and Shullman, until now?” I press my lips into two lines.
“Yes, my mother passed away and I had to take some time off to deal with her estate.” Trent casts his eyes to the floor.
“I’m sorry to hear that—my deepest condolences.” I readjust his résumé on my desk.
“Thank you.” Trent stares at me with his dark brown eyes. They are tugging on my heartstrings, but I am a professional.
“I’ll be in contact. Thanks for coming by so promptly.” I roll my chair back and stand up. Trent towers over me even with the large desk in between us. I offer my hand.
“Thank you, Lauren.” Trent shakes my hand and leaves my office.
As I’m closing the door there is a “knock, knock, hello” on the other side. I swing it back open to greet…Hallie Brooks.
I jerk my head back for a second. “Hello, Hallie.” I wait for her to respond. Next up on my list was Ann Figueroa.
“Hi Lauren, I hope you don’t mind but I switched times with Ann, because I have a doctor’s appointment during the spot you scheduled me for.”
“Oh, okay, have a seat.” I motion for her to take a seat and close the door. A doctor’s appointment? I hope she’s alright. I glance down at her résumé. I delete any reservations and take in Hallie’s accomplishments.
“Wow, you graduated Magna Cum Laude from Georgetown—very impressive. Tell me about one of your most difficult moments during college.” I lace my hands together and tap my lips with my forefingers.
“A difficult time in college? Each day was a struggle. I came from a small town. A family with no money. Georgetown and the area around it was a culture shock. But I didn’t let it filter
