The CEO's Secret

“Were we planning to hire internally for the position?” Shane, the CEO of our company, asked out loud. My mind was in another place. The long, cold conference table in front of me, holding ten of the top men and women in our company was far away from my brain despite being right in front of my face. The long night I'd had before filled with drinking and dancing with my roommate and our hot friends from college were consuming me. I replayed the night in my head several times, savoring how perfect and fun it was. “Taylor, are you with us?” Shane asked, a small smirk across his face. My name being called pulled me out of my daydream. “Goodness, sorry, yes. Must be I should've had that cup of coffee I thought about before our meeting. Yes, I'd like to hire internally for the position. I have a few people in the department in mind who already have been groomed for the job.” I answered. I was the director of the sales and customer service department of Addiquit. Addiquit started as a company selling nicotine patches and gum to help people quit smoking. Eventually, Shane branched out to include medications and programs to help all types of addiction, including nicotine, drugs and alcohol. The Sales and Customer Service department made outbound calls to sell our products to drug stores, hospitals and rehabilitation centers. We also took inbound calls to answer questions from distributors or health care professionals regarding the product, or to handle any problems with shipments of our products. We needed to hire a new assistant manager for my department. I was the director, the head of the department. I had two managers underneath me and typically an assistant manager, then supervisors and junior leads, then representatives. Representatives made or took calls. Junior Leads helped with follow ups and answering questions that representatives had. Supervisors took escalated calls and answered questions that the Junior Leads and representatives had, as well as helping make sure the junior leads did their jobs. The assistant manager was usually the point of contact for all of those levels as well as helping monitor everyone's productivity to help report to managers and myself. The last assistant manager walked out when she was told she couldn't have the time off she requested. She had an attendance problem as it was, so it wasn't a huge loss. “Can you get a job description on my desk by the end of today so that I can post the position and take internal applications?” Shane asked. “Yes sir.” I said. The meeting droned on about each department's current happenings and needs. I kept thinking about that cup of coffee I missed out on by running late to work. Even worse, I kept slipping into day dreams about the steamy encounter I'd had with Colt, the drool-worthy fraternity leader and football star from my Alma Mater. Finally the meeting was done and I'd made my morning rounds around the department to check in with everyone. I grabbed that much-needed cup of coffee and settled in to get my work done for the day. The work day went quickly and before I knew it, I was locking up my office for the evening. I had thankfully found the time to get the job description that Shane had asked for done. I walked to his office, my heels echoing in the mostly empty building. It was almost creepy how quiet things got when most of the people had gone home for the day. Shane's office door was open and he was standing on a hoverboard in front of his whiteboard. He had a dry erase marker stuck behind his ear and was scooting back and forth slightly on the board. I hesitated a moment while I considered the best way to make myself known. “Can I come in?” I spoke up finally. “Taylor! Sure, what can I do for you?” Shane asked, stepping away from the mess on the whiteboard that likely made sense to him but didn't to me. “I have that job description for you so we can hopefully get that job posted soon.” I said. We exchanged usual pleasantries and then I took the elevators down to the first floor. I exited into the busy New York City streets. It was rush hour and the sidewalks were busy. Normally, I would pay attention, but a notification on my phone caught my attention. When can I see you again? A text from Colt came in, bringing a huge smile to my face and making my head spin with memories from the night. My roommates, Megan and Ashley, convinced me to go out with them the night before. We'd all gone to the same business school here in New York City, and ended up all landing jobs with Addiquit. Ashley was the head of account, and Megan, the head of purchasing. We decided to just get an apartment together to save cost. Spending time in bars was no rarity for us, but this had been the first time they invited some of the men who had graduated with us. Colt was one of them, and as soon as he started talking to me, we connected. He began buying me drinks, we danced the night away, and the rest was history.