Another potential contract meant another dreaded interview. I hate interviews, but they are a necessary evil of working under the many short-term contracts I have to take on in my business as a hacker-for-hire. Yeah, I'm one of the lucky guys that actually get paid to see if I can break into a company's computer database and thwart their security systems. But, to run my business as a business means I have to actually deal face to face with my potential employers instead of relaxing behind the comfort of my computer keyboard.
The first meeting with Mr. Decker was bad enough. I got through that okay, but then there were two more longer interviews, both of them videotaped, and now the old guy wanted to meet me over a late dinner to finalize our agreement. Oh, well... I guess I could put up with some more scrutinizing for a free meal in a nice restaurant. Dinner and a job offer; I could do worse.
Standing nearly in the center of the hotel lobby, I looked around and saw no sign of the 50-something businessman I sort of knew as Edward Decker. I then took a look at my cell phone to check for possible missed calls and for the time. 9:37. I was told to meet the guy here at 9:30. Maybe this was a part of the interview - I couldn't help but feel I was being watched – and that my hiring was contingent on how I handled the wait.
Or maybe Decker wasn't planning on hiring me and I was being stood up and not sized up.
I removed my lucky Red Sox cap and wiped a bit of nervous sweat from my brow, then replaced the cap. Wearing this old ball cap in this 4-star hotel was supposed to be my identifier should my face not immediately provide recognition in this follow-up interview... again, provided the guy actually showed up.
"Excuse me?" asked a female voice from behind me.
I turned around to look for the source of the voice. The only person who seemed to be approaching me was an attractive, sharply dressed woman in her 40s, probably near my mom's age, I guessed. Her hair was a very pale blonde, almost white actually, that hung just below her shoulders. She was shapely and buxom, with dancing eyes and a sure smile. She looked about 5'5", her frame was wrapped in a soft blue dress, attractively cut to show off her cleavage, clinging to soft curves on her body and swaying just slightly as she walked.
"Yes?" I replied, removing my hat and instinctively smoothing my hair.
"You're here to see Edward Decker?" she asked.
"Hoping to."
"Sorry to keep you waiting. I'm Charlene Decker," she said as she extended her hand graciously. "I'm Edward's wife and, well, hiring director," she said with a hint of laughter.
"Hiring director?" I asked, taken slightly aback.
"Hiring Director, Headhunter... the titles are many, but no one hires on here without my approval," she said, flatly. She gave me a looking over from head to toe, and back again. When her eyes met mine once more, she smiled slyly. "You're too attractive to be a computer geek."
"I'm flattered," I responded as best I could, feeling more than a little stunned by her assessment. "You were expecting maybe a guy with taped-up horn-rimmed glasses, pocket protector, and a case of acne that looked like a relief map of the moon?"
She let out with a genuine laugh, one that seemed to light up the room. In that moment Mrs. Decker went from attractive to stunning in my eyes as I watched her body move under that blue dress from her laughter. When her laughter subsided, her eyes fixed on mine again.
"Okay, let's strike that stereotype from my mind," she said with one last giggle.
"I'm a nerd by trade," I said, "not by design."
"Edward said you were different, that I would really like you," she nodded, punctuated with another sweep of her eyes over me. "The video from your interviews reinforced that opinion."
"Yeah, but the video added 10 pounds to my physique, right?" I asked with a roll of my eyes.