Once Upon a Fantasy Ch. 07-08

Chapter 7: A Tricky Combination

The advertisement for a sales person had run the previous weekend and already résumés were arriving at the store. I decided not to review any of them until Wednesday when I felt the bulk of the responses would have arrived. No one used the mail any more. They were either delivered by hand or by e-mail.

In the meantime, I was still trying to figure out just what Kim was all about. I was happy that we had a date on Saturday, but still confused about the strange interlude on the back deck last Saturday. It was uncomfortable but, in the end, I got the result I was hoping for. Still, it seemed like a very strange few minutes.

I blocked out a couple of hours to review the résumés on Wednesday morning and set about going through them. There were twenty-four in all. Most were local, but several were from outside the area. The job market was tight and I expected I would get quite a strong reply to the ad.

Once I had gone through them, I would give them to Len Murchison to get his thoughts. He was our comptroller, but he was also a good judge of character and wouldn't have any bias that would rule out a good candidate. When it came to actual interviews I wanted Len to talk to them separately, again to get his unvarnished opinion. I was keeping my fingers crossed that I would find a likely candidate in this pile.

I began to go through them, quickly weeding out several that didn't look very promising and set them aside. A pair of them were very amateurish and full of errors and omissions, ruling them out right away. Another couple were from people with no business experience at all. They might be suitable for a trainee position but that wasn't what I was looking for.

Around file number fifteen, I was stopped cold. The applicant was Kimberly Lorraine Penny. It took me a minute to open the cover page and begin to read. According to her history, she had worked for a large national packaging company selling to manufacturing and industrial customers. She had worked for them for seven years before taking maternity leave, presumably for Deborah. She never went back.

Attached to the back of her résumé was a letter of recommendation from the general manager of the company. It was effusive in praise of her talent and work ethic. If she chose to re-enter the job market she would have been rehired by the company. The letter was dated sixteen months after taking her leave.

I sat back in my chair. This was completely unexpected. She must have dropped it off when she came in to buy the barbeque on Saturday. She hadn't said a word about it that evening. I thought about the implications of hiring someone I might be involved with. It could be a dangerous step but it also might be a smart one. There were two or three ways this could go but not all of them were good.

I picked up the phone and dialed the number.

"Hello?"

"Hi ... it's Norm. I've just read your résumé. I had no idea you were looking for a job or that you had applied for our sales position. You didn't say a word about it on Saturday."

"No, I didn't. I assumed you would find it this week and decide what to do about it. I didn't want to influence you on Saturday."

"Do you need the job? You haven't been working for some time according to this."

"No ... the settlement from the insurance company on my husband's accident has left me well off. With Deb getting older and needing me less I wanted to find something meaningful to do that I would enjoy. Your sales position sounded very interesting, so I thought 'what the hell' and pulled up my old CV, updated it and dropped it off on Saturday."

"So you're serious then?"

"Absolutely. I've been watching the help wanted ads hoping something interesting might show up and it did. It was just a fluke that it was your place."

"I want to talk to you about this job, Kim. I also want one of my staff to talk to you as well. I don't want to be biased, but just looking at your background and knowing you, well, I don't think I'd be totally neutral."

"I understand. When would you like to meet?"

"Is tomorrow afternoon too soon?" I asked.

"No ... not at all."

"Good. Why don't we meet here at two o'clock? That will give me plenty of time to discuss the job, have you meet with Len Murchison, my comptroller, and show you around."

"I'll be there. Do I need to bring anything with me?"

"Nope. I've got what I need here in front of me. I'll see you tomorrow then."

We signed off and I hung up the phone. This was a completely unexpected development. I got up and walked over to Len's office.

"Len, can you spare me some time to interview a candidate for Barry's sales position tomorrow afternoon."

"Sure. About what time?"

"Three o'clock if I don't get too involved with my interview."

"Fine. I'll be here," he smiled.

I walked back out onto the floor of our showroom. It wasn't terribly busy, but I knew from experience that this was normal for a Wednesday afternoon. I had three sales people on at present, one in vacuums and sewing, one in TV and Sound, and one in appliances. Any one of them could help out in another department along with me if the store suddenly got busy. It was an old formula that had worked well over time.

"You won't guess who applied for the sales job," I said to Candy at dinner that night.

"Mrs. Penny," she said immediately. "She asked me about the job on Friday night. I told her you had a couple of women on sales so it wasn't an obstacle."

"Thanks. You didn't mention it though."

"I wasn't sure if she was going to apply. I thought she might. She wants to find something to do instead of sitting at home alone during the day. Deb says her mom used to be in sales years ago before she was born."

"Yes. She was very successful by the sound of it. It will be interesting to interview her."

"Why don't you just give her the job, Dad? You know you're going to anyway."

"It doesn't work that way. There are laws about giving people an equal opportunity to apply for the job. Whoever I choose, it has to be fair and justifiable. If I don't interview anyone else, that would be deemed unfair."

"I'm sure you'll find a way, Dad," Candy said giving it no more thought.

I wondered. I hadn't seen any résumés that indicated experience yet, but I hadn't looked at them all either. For that reason I'd brought them all home in my briefcase with the intention to go over them that evening. Was I already deciding Kim was my choice? I was acting like it. I had some thinking to do before her interview tomorrow.

I went though all the applications that evening and pulled five that I thought had potential. Two of them had retail sales experience and one of those two had sold appliances. Two others had industrial sales experience and the fifth was Kim. Three men and two women.

To be honest, when it came to everything except electronics, I had a preference for female sales people. They used the products we sold far more than men did. Most of them could operate any sewing machine, microwave oven, or washing machine. True, some of the new models were much more electronically sophisticated, but they understood the basics of what the machines were expected to do and that made them a quick study when new models came along.

I sat down with Len on Thursday morning and we worked out a schedule for the remaining four interviews. I would write a letter to the unsuccessful applicants thanking for their interest and promising we would keep their information on file. After Kim, we would do two each day, Friday and the following Monday.

Kim arrived promptly at two that afternoon and I greeted her, showing her into my office. I already knew a lot about her, but it was her work experience that I was interested in.

"This is strange, I've got to admit," I confessed. "I already know quite a bit about you. I don't know anything about your work history or experience, so that's what I want to concentrate on this afternoon. Tell me about your sales job."

Kim responded immediately.

"I began on the customer service desk and worked there for almost three years. I was slated to be promoted to customer service manager when I heard about a new sales territory being opened up. I applied for the job and after a lot of interviewing and testing, I was given it. It was great. I was selling corrugated boxes, which isn't that interesting a product. What was interesting were the customers.

"They were in all kinds of businesses and I couldn't help but learn a lot about them as I learned what they needed and what was important to them. I loved the job and as a result I did really well. I was on straight salary but soon I was earning some nice bonuses. I couldn't have been happier.

"I was dating a guy I met at one of the customers. He was a sales rep too and we seemed to hit it off really well. We were both successful and the next thing we knew we had fallen in love.

"It was always my plan to have a family, so when I discovered I was pregnant I was just as happy as could be. My boyfriend, Tom, was delighted as well. We got married and I worked until my eighth month then took maternity leave. At that time I was planning to return to work and my employer let me know I would be welcomed back.

"When I gave birth to Deborah there were some complications and the result was that I couldn't have any more children. At the time it didn't matter. We had our daughter and I was going to be the best mother I knew how. Within a few months I knew I didn't want to go back to work. I was too involved with Deborah to give her up to a nanny or day care. Tom was doing so well in his job that we didn't need the money, so I decided to be a full time mom.

"I don't regret that decision at all. I've enjoyed watching Deborah grow up and become the nice young lady she is today. My only regret is that it's all happening too fast. She'll be grown and gone sooner than I'd care to think and I'll be on my own. When I started thinking about going back to work I knew I was going to be very fussy about who I worked for. I'd had such a good experience with my first job that I wasn't going to settle for something less."

She went on to outline the kinds of customers she called on and the types of sales she got involved with. She often had to deal with automated packaging equipment and the cartons her company made had to run efficiently on that equipment. She became technically very knowledgeable and that had made her very effective in the field.

"It doesn't sound to me like you would have any problem learning our product lines, Kim. I guess the main difference would be that you would be dealing mostly with the general public in a retail setting and most of your sales would be made here at the store. The exceptions would be where we teamed up to present bids for items going into commercial establishments like motels, apartments, and townhouse and single family developments. We do quite a bit of business in those areas."

"Do you call on the contractors and developers to get your products specified?" she asked.

"Not as much as I'd like. That would be a real opportunity for the person who took this job."

"You haven't said how much this job pays."

"It starts at thirty-six-thousand per year plus commission at two percent on gross. Raises would be forthcoming annually based on performance. The man you are replacing was earning over seventy-five thousand annually."

"The money isn't that critical," she said. "I'm more concerned about the quality of the job. I want a challenge and I want some satisfaction from my work."

"Do you think you would be happy and satisfied selling our products and working here?"

She smiled that smile again.

"I've done some asking around and your reputation is very good. I think I would be interested if I could have the freedom to create new business with developers as well as the retail customers. You only handle good quality items and that's a big plus in your favor. I'd say yes ... I could be happy in those circumstances."

I nodded. "We're always looking for new opportunities so I'd be supportive if you wanted to expand that part of our business."

"Your website is very good. Does it produce new business?"

"Yes. I was late getting one up. A young college student approached me with a proposal to set up a site that would advertise our business and allow on-line purchases as well. It's been a source of new revenue at a very modest cost. I wish I had done one sooner. On the other hand, I think the young guy I'm working with is something special. He's very inventive and has plenty of fresh ideas. I was lucky that he came along."

"I was thinking you could use a segment for interior designers and developers," Kim suggested. "I could point them toward it with direct sales calls and product brochures."

I sat back and chuckled. "You already see yourself in this job, don't you?"

Another of those marvelous smiles confirmed my suspicion.

"Well, I have an obligation to interview some other people, but I have to say I'm enthused about your attitude and ideas. It may turn out that I need two people. Anyway, why don't I see if Len is available and I'll take you down to meet him?"

She nodded as I pressed the intercom button.

"Can I bring our applicant over to your office now?" I asked.

"Yes, all clear Norm," Len replied cheerfully.

"You'll like him," I assured Kim. "He's a real gentleman."

"Something like his boss then," she grinned.

I let her compliment pass without comment, although I might have blushed. I rose and got the door as we walked the short distance to our comptroller's office. I introduced Kim before asking her to see me when she was done. With that, I returned to my office and sat in my chair, staring at the wall, lost in thought.

I was going to hire her and I knew it. Even ignoring that she was beautiful and I wanted to become involved with her, she was an ideal candidate and had the track record to prove it. What she lacked in product knowledge was overridden by her sales experience and her attitude. She was talking about finding growth business for us. She looked for ways to win. That was something I sought in sales people and she had it in spades.

She spent forty minutes with Len before she reappeared with him at my door. That was an unusual amount of time for him. I thanked him and he returned to his office. I would get his opinion before he left for the evening.

"How did your interview with Len go?" I asked.

"Fine. You're right, he's a real gentleman but he's also very sharp. He asks good questions and he looks for ways to find out what I really think, not what I think he wants to hear."

"Yes ... I've come to rely on Len for a lot more than just the financial information. He's a lot like my father, full of common sense and good advice."

The smile on her face this time was different. I want to call it warm and understanding. I think my comment must have told her something about me that she connected with.

I stalled for a moment or two, wondering just how to say what I wanted to say.

"I'm having a hard time thinking I'll find anyone better suited for this job than you, Kim. Unfortunately, I have to go through the process. I'm also wondering if I might want to hire a part-time person to free you up for developing outside sales as we discussed. It's an underdeveloped part of the business that might bring some pretty big rewards."

"What if I gave you a proposition that would be hard to refuse?" she smiled.

"I don't understand. What do you mean?"

"I'll work for commission only on new sales outside the store. Give me three months to prove myself and then we can discuss a more permanent arrangement."

"What kind of commission would you be looking for?" I asked, surprised by this approach.

"How about five percent of gross sales?"

"You'd have to sell a lot of product to earn a decent living, Kim."

"I told you money isn't the driving force in my life. I'm not going to have to worry about that for the rest of my life. I just want to do something I'd enjoy and get some satisfaction at the same time."

I grinned and then laughed a bit.

"You're right. That's an offer I couldn't possibly refuse. Agreed!"

I stood, extending my hand. She took it and squeezed it in confirmation.

"We're still on for our date this Saturday?" I asked.

"Of course. I do enjoy dancing. By the way, if I'm going to be working regularly I'll be changing my time at the exercise center. It looks like we'll be working out together."

I caught the look of victory on her face and I laughed again.

"You can show me the proper procedure on the weights then. I'm still ten pounds short of my objective. I'm hoping I'll be there by Christmas. It will be a present to myself."

"Good for you but it won't be just you that gets that present."

"Oh ... how so?"

"A lot of eligible women are going to be very aware of the new Norm Tyler and his very sexy body. You'll have to be on your guard for gold-diggers," she chuckled.

I looked at her and almost said something about my not having anything to worry about as long as she was around but bit my tongue and said nothing.

I walked her out to the front door and thanked her for coming in. We would organize the paperwork for early next week and she could start whenever she was ready. I watched her drive off with a wave and returned to my office.

"She's a very impressive woman, Norm," Len said as he came into my office.

"Yes she is. I gather you don't have any problems with me hiring her?" I asked.

"None. She's self confident without being arrogant. She is an imposing woman and has a very well-defined strategy for sales. I can see why she was a success in her previous job. I wouldn't think twice about hiring her."

I laughed. "I already have. She offered to work on straight commission for three months to prove herself. If she's as good as we think she is, I'll be looking for a second person. She wants to go after new business in the housing and commercial market. Anything she brings in will be over and above our normal volume. We can't lose."

"She told me about her insurance settlement," Norm said. "That's given her a lot of freedom to do what she wants to do. I have a hunch she's going to do very well in this job and I'm going to be cutting some substantial commission checks in the near future."

"I think you're right, Norm. I think you're right on."

Chapter 8: The Date

I don't have any great recollection of how I felt about my getting ready for dates with girls when I was in high school. Probably because I was pretty shallow as a teenager and had no sense that this was a big deal either for me or the girl. But getting ready for my date with Kim produced nerves that I was unaccustomed to. Maybe when I proposed to Andrea, or on my wedding day, but not since had I been anticipating anything quite as much as this evening.

My tan suit had been returned from the dry cleaners along with my pale blue dress shirt. My shoes were polished and my tie carefully knotted. I had a bright blue silk handkerchief in my jacket vest pocket and a fresh haircut to finish the job of looking as good as I could possibly look. If I was going out with a woman as spectacular as Kim Penny I was going to look my best.

I bought a fresh corsage at the florists that afternoon and kept it in the fridge. I had a fear of stabbing my date with the pin and I was going to have to be very careful that I didn't realize that fear. I wasn't sure my hands were going to be very steady when the time came to pin it on.

The car had been washed and vacuumed and I even sprayed a bit of deodorant in the interior when I was finished. I'd gone over my list of things I wanted to have done a number of times and couldn't think of anything that I had forgotten.