The interview
My interview happened at 10:00 AM with the HR department of Barnett Realty, Dave's company. The building was indeed right across the street and I walked over about nine to see the layout. I talked to the receptionist for a bit and she showed me where I could get a cup of company coffee and where the agents and brokers that worked there came to eat and drink during meals and breaks. She begged off to answer the phones and greet visitors. I met a couple of agents that were moving thru and wondered exactly what Dave wanted me to do. I really didn't want to be a real estate agent and that's all I saw.
The hour arrived, and I went to the HR office and told the secretary who I was and why I was there. A nice-looking gentleman in a beautiful soft gray suit with white pin stripes came out to greet me.
"Miss Rachael?" he said.
"Yes sir," I replied.
"My name is Walter Payne, I am the director of Human Resources. Come in my office please"
I did, and he produced a copy of my application and after we sat down he said, "We should have asked for picture too. You are very pretty."
"Thank you," I replied.
He questioned me on any number of things on the application and then started in on his own list, looking for flaws that would disqualify me. His sharp, unfriendly tone unnerved me. It felt strange coming after the comment about being pretty. I answered his questions and remained polite. I didn't want to screw this up; I needed to get a job.
"Do you want to have sex with me?" he asked.
"Not today," I replied as nice as I could, adding, "I don't think that is an appropriate question for a job interview." Instantly cursing my smart mouth.
"It was only to see your reaction Miss Rachael. Believe it or not I get a lot of positive responses from that question and those people never seem to get hired."
"Well, that is a different approach," I stumbled out.
"Please be at ease, you are doing fine, and I think we can move on to the kind of work you will be asked to do here. You are trained in keeping books, accounting, forensic accounting, bookkeeping, economics and business. What is the MS in Biology all about?
"There were some medical issues that I wanted to learn about and it became a passion with me."
"Your resume is quite impressive considering you don't have any work experience. We would want to start you out in the accounting department and evaluate your skills. Is that what you expected?"
"Yes, sir, pretty much"
"Okay, Mr. Barnett told me that part of your employment package contains a living residence from our inventory of rental apartments and homes. Do you have any preference?"
"Only that I would prefer to be close to work so I don't have to drive. I also have no furniture if you have something furnished to offer."
"We have several of them in this very block and yes they are furnished as well. Would you like to go see them?"
"I would love to, but I would imagine work should come first."
"No, that's fine, let's go find you a place to live and then I will take you to the accounting office and introduce you to Clara. She will be your supervisor."
"This is a done deal then?" I asked.
"Absolutely, Mr. Barnett said to take care of you personally as long as you passed the interview."
"Thank you," I said and we both rose to leave the office.
He told his secretary we would be gone thru lunch and he led the way to the elevator and we rode down to the lobby. They owned the building but only occupied one floor for the corporate office. The rest of the building contained offices rented to various businesses. Mostly lawyers from what I read on the large sign in the lobby.
Walter led me to the street where we turned right and headed for the corner. The streets were crowded but the sun shined brightly, and the walk was pleasant. We turned the corner and walked down to the next block where we saw a building with a doorman standing out front hailing cabs for people. We walked up to him and he spoke.
"Good morning Mr. Payne."
"Good morning Oscar," Mr. Payne said.
He held the door for us and we walked into the foyer and then to the elevator bank.
"The doorman is on duty 24 hours a day," He said as we got on the elevator and he used a keycard to activate the door and selected the second floor. He continued while we rode up. "We own three apartments in this building. It is by far the nicest of our buildings close to the office and the only one with twenty-four-seven security."
"Very impressive," I offered.
We went into the hallway and down to 206 where he used the same key card to open the door.
Once inside I looked around and couldn't believe what I saw. The place was beautifully furnished, not only with furniture, but decorations too, wall hangings, paintings, lamps, and a view of the avenue down below.
I stammered, "This is way too much for me."
"Trust me, if you like it, it's yours and I am sure we will get return value from you and your work."
"We don't have to look any further if I can have this. What are the limitations on use and what can't I do here?" I asked.
"The apartment is available for you. It is rent free to you. The utilities will be put in your name and you will be responsible for paying them yourself. It will be just as if you signed a lease and were making rent payments. There will in fact be a lease that guarantees you the place for a year. That's legal protection for the company and of course we must report the value of it to the IRS. It will be taxed as part of your compensation package just like any other perc."
I wandered thru the place and saw the two bedrooms complete with beds and dressers. It was generic but very tasteful and since I possessed no belongings to speak of, perfect.
"Okay, what do we do now?" I said.
"It's almost lunch time, let's go have lunch and then go back to the office where you can get you settled into a work space and do some paperwork."
"Great."
