Dawn Again

Six

Richard was all set by 8:30. He had gone through the three resumes that he had shortlisted. All were women and all looked like they fit the bill on paper.

The first one up was Rebecca. 20 years old, good knowledge of computers and a similar experience of 2 years. She was scheduled at 8:45 and by 8:50 Richard was ready to call her and tell her to f**k off! Just as he picked up the phone, the door opened so he decided to cut her some slack and talk to her. However, all his desire to give her a fair go disappeared as the girl materialised into his office. No knock...just rocked right in! Looking at what she was wearing Richard was sure she had misread the position description and thought she was interviewing for stripper's position. The expected behaviour that was drilled into them all was near impossible to ignore so he got up from his chair as the girl walked in. He could not bring himself to sugar coat what he was going to say though. So, without any preamble, he snapped, " Ms Sutton. Let us not waste your time or mine and end this right here. You will not be offered this position." With that, he dismissed her and sat back down.

"What the f**k do you mean. You can't do this!" The girl sputtered, outraged. Richard looked up and stated calmly, "You were late without informing, you did not knock when you came into my office, you are dressed incorrectly for this job, and finally you curse at the workplace. Do you need any more reasons why I am not offering you this job?"

Fortunately for him, the girl glared at him for a bit but then spun around and left. He truly had no idea how he would have handled the girl if she had decided to kick up a fuss!

On to the next one - Ms Clare McGregor, scheduled in at 9:30. Richard wondered what she will be like. He was not disappointed. Clare's knock sounded on his office door exactly at 9:30, although Richard had heard her come in a few minutes ago. As she stepped into his office, he saw that she was about 40, very well dressed and very beautiful. Richard walked around his desk to shake her hand and motioned for her to take a seat. she gave him a brilliant smile and sat down, waiting for him to take his seat. Clare had a soft, calm manner, but looked like she could take charge if required. She obviously had all the relevant qualifications and experience. Richard was sure she would be good for their office after 30 minutes of talking to her. He saw her to the door to his office and was settling down for the final interview of the day when he heard a wolf whistle followed by, "Wouldn't mind that view on a regular basis. Z, you'd better have offered her the job!" Jason called out. Richard was glad Clare was out of earshot, but not surprised. Jason was nothing if not a gentleman with women, and would not have wolf-whistled if she were still within hearing distance.

Brian, Jason and Chad thundered into Richard's office and he gave them his update on the two interviews so far. "So when is the final girl scheduled?" asked Chad. "In another half an hour. Jessica Martin" replied Richard. "Well, as much as I liked the cougar, I am going to go back to the delightful kitten later." Jason declared moving to his own office. "What are you talking about Chuck?" Richard called out. "He is talking about the little bombshell in the coffee shop down the lane. We had coffee there and grabbed some lunch too." supplied Brian. Richard strode out of his office into Jason's and said, "You are talking about Sophie. Don't hit on her Jason. There's more than meets the eye there." The three men exchanged a look which raised Richard's hackles. "What?!" He snapped. "You are right Z. We also had a run in with some asshole who was giving her a hard time. There is certainly a lot more going on with her than we can see." said Chad calmly. He was the mediator amongst the team. And he had plenty of occasions to mediate what with Richard's explosive temper and Jason's constant ribbing. Rarely did Brian have to step in to physically break up the boys. "Just don't fool around with her."

The men all broke up and got on with their work. But Richard had lost his composure. He had not expected to get into a pissing contest with one of his friends over a girl he had barely had what would pass for a conversation. But there it was! He had done exactly that and he had no explanation for it. Before he could decide his course of action about it, it was time for the third woman and she was on time too. He heard Chad murmur something to her and heard her reply back equally softly.

Richard opened the door to his office to let her in, "Hi Jessica. Please have a seat." After half an hour of chatting with Jessica, Richard found that she was a great girl. But she was young, no more than 22, and he was not sure she could handle the aggressive, dominant men that she would end up working with. He needed someone who could not only hold her own in the sea f testosterone but also keep them in check if required. He knew his own team, himself included, tended to get a bit loud and wild every once in a while. The men joining their team in the future would be not much different. They required a calm and in charge, voice to step in when tempers got hot. he could not see Jessica being able to do that.

With that, he decided Clare was the right fit for the job and got together with the boys to let them know. Clare would be able to start work in 2 weeks, and then their Seattle office would be complete for the time. And now, he felt like a coffee...and NOT the machine coffee. He was itching to go back to the coffee shop and was sure it was a bad idea. Not because the girl was hiding something, something big if he were to guess, but because she seemed to have affected him like no one else had in a very short time.