by Slaton Smith
VIII
Things Move Fast
Pittsburgh − May 5, 2011
Sean did not change his routine after the call from Thomas Hass, but he did decide to keep his phone with him. He was rewarded with a second call from the recruiter.
When he saw the Boston area code, Sean picked up the call on the second ring.
“This is Sean.”
“Good morning Mr. Garrison. Thomas Hass here.”
“Good morning,”
“Good news! My client was impressed with your background and wants to set up a meeting.”
“That is good news.”
“Great. How does Friday work for you?” Hass inquired.
“This Friday?”
“Yes, he will be in Pittsburgh and would like to sit down and talk with you.”
Sean felt his face and the beard covering his chin and then thought about his shaggy hair.
“That’s no problem. No problem at all,” Sean said without much hesitation. “I have a couple of questions.”
“Fantastic. He will meet you at noon in the lobby of the William Penn. I am sure you know where it is. What are your questions?”
“Yes, I know where it is. What is the salary range for this position?”
“The starting salary is $85,000, plus a fifteen percent signing bonus,” Hass replied. Again, he didn’t care about the money.
Sean was speechless for a moment; $85,000 was more than double his agency salary. He realized he didn’t have any more questions after hearing about the money.
“That sounds great!” Sean answered.
“I will let my client know you will see him at noon on Friday. His name is Walter Mathis. Thanks again for your time Mr. Garrison.” Hass hung up. This one was too easy. Hass, posing as Mathis would fly out to Pittsburgh the next morning. He wanted to meet Sean Garrison. Sadly, he would also have to meet with that asshole Pasco later that night.
Sean hung up and started scrambling. He needed to make sure his old, navy suit was clean, that he had a clean shirt and his shoes didn’t have holes in them. He also needed a haircut. Before making a move, he sent Brian a text.
SEAN: Interview on Friday. I think I have it in the bag.
BRIAN: Congrats dummy! I can’t wait to jack up your rent. Catch up tonight.
SEAN: Thanks dummy.
Sean put his phone down and went upstairs to find the clothes he needed. The dry cleaning gods were smiling on him as he had one clean white shirt and his suit would pass. He grabbed his wallet off the dresser and headed off to the barber down on Walnut Street.
Thomas Hass dialed Oscar Pasco, trying him three times before he picked up.
“Yeah,” Pasco answered, between drags on a Camel.
“Mr. Pasco, this is Thomas Hass.”
“I hope this is good,” he said, looking back at the craps table at the Greektown Casino.
“I think it is. My client, Walter Mathis, would like to meet with you this Friday. Will that work?” Hass was certain he could hear slot machines.
“When?”
“At 7:30 P.M. in the lobby of the Westin Cadillac Book,” Hass replied. He felt dirty just talking to the man.
“He buying me dinner?” Pasco asked, picking at his fingernails.
“I am certain I can arrange it,” Hass answered, thinking that he would rather dine with wharf rats.
“Good. I will be there,” Pasco said and abruptly hung up and returned to the craps table.
Hass assembled his notes, passed them on to McFarland and got back to the phones. It was going to be a busy two weeks for the team as they ran down and vetted all of the candidates.
Sean passed on going out with Brian and his buddies on Thursday night, preferring to stay in and get some rest. He worked a little bit on his resume, printed it out and placed it in a tan Rawlings portfolio that a major league baseball team had given him. It was nice. It was subtle with no logos on it, made out of the same leather they use for their baseball gloves.
Oscar, however, was on a hot streak and played cards through the night at the Motor City Casino.
Sean woke up at 9 A.M., anxious to get going. He wandered around the house for an hour before jumping in the shower and getting dressed. He found a suitable tie to finish off his interview get up and headed out. Bailey watched him from her spot on the bed. For once the weather was on his side; the sun was out and the temperature was in the mid sixties. It was a good thing, since his Jeep no longer had a real top. He had fitted the bikini top to the Jeep, but that only kept the sun off his face.
Sean left the house at 11:25. His Jeep started on the first turn of the key, which he took as a good omen. He backed out of the driveway, headed up to Fifth and downtown towards the William Penn. He arrived fifteen minutes early, but as usual he had trouble finding a parking spot downtown. He ended up springing for valet parking at the hotel. He pulled the Jeep up to the valet stand and was not really surprised to see the valets less than excited to jump in his nearly fifteen-year-old Jeep.
“Morning guys,” Sean said to the valets as he climbed out of the Jeep.
“You checking in?” the valet said, without returning the greeting. He was tearing a ticket off to hand to Sean.
“Just here for a meeting.”
“$15.”
“Sure.”
“What a rip off,” Sean thought to himself, as he reached for his wallet and handed the valet a $20. He also loved the way the guy made him feel like it was such a chore to park a car. The valet handed him his change and Sean walked towards the entrance to the hotel.
“That must be my guy. The Jeep is an expected vehicle,” Thomas Hass, posing as Walter Mathis, said to himself from the window and made a note in his folder.
Sean walked through the doors of the hotel and into one of his favorite spots in Pittsburgh. The hotel was built in 1916 and is a reflection of Pittsburgh’s place as one of the fastest growing cities in the early 20th century. The lobby is especially opulent with a soaring ceiling and rich period touches. The marble floor is original and shows the character and history you would expect from a building that has aged well. A tuxedoed man playing a baby grand in the lobby set the tone for the hotel.
Sean stood in the middle of the lobby and looked at his watch. He was about ten minutes early. He looked around the lobby trying to locate Walter Mathis. He didn’t have to wait long as Hass found him.
“Sean Garrison?” Hass, asked as he approached Sean. Hass had used the Mathis alias for years and the name was second nature now.
“Mr. Mathis?” Sean said extending his hand.
“Good to meet you. Is it acceptable if I call you Sean?”
“Of course.”
“Please call me Walter. Let’s grab a seat near the windows,” Hass said gesturing towards the front of the hotel.
‘Thanks,” Sean sat in an old wing back chair and Hass on a couch across from him. A mahogany coffee table separated the two. Sean was a little uncomfortable in the chair, but he figured he could manage through the interview. Hass placed a file folder on the table and a pen on top of the folder. He was about 5’11” with light brown and closely cropped hair. He had on a gray suit and a light blue shirt with a pale yellow tie.
“I have a copy of my resume if you need one to review,” Sean offered to get things moving. Frankly, he didn’t know why people even brought hard copies of resumes with them anymore. Everyone always had a digital copy.
“I have one, Sean. Thanks. I really wanted to talk a little bit about your restaurant experience, specifically how you handle yourself when you visit one unannounced. I also have a handful of those psychobabble HR questions everyone loves. If you have time, I would like for you to take two quick tests for me.”
Sean walked Hass through the ins and outs of his approach to restaurants. Sean felt Hass looked satisfied. Hass opened up his folder and flipped through a couple pages of notes, arrived at a typewritten sheet, removed it and set it on top of the folder.
“Very good, Se
an. I have a handful of HR type questions. They may seem a little weird, but I find them insightful.”
“Fire away.”
“Sean, what’s most important to you, money or the work?”
Sean answered without much thought. He didn’t need it for this question.
“The work. I need something to believe in. Something to get behind. Of course, we all need money, but if you have talent and passion, the money will come.”
Hass made some notes and looked back up at Sean.
“How do you work under pressure?”
“I like to think I process a lot of information quickly and don’t agonize over the decisions. I make a decision based on the available facts and move on it. I love pressure. It’s what makes things interesting. It’s one thing that is never missing from the restaurant business.”
Hass nodded, but did not respond.
“Sean, what do you see as your blind spots?”
“Walter, if I could see them, they would no longer be blind spots.”
Hass laughed. He was right. One of the goals of the questions was not so much what Sean said as much as how he said it. The tests would give McFarland all of the answers he needed.
“Ok. Another question. Give me a weakness.”
“I can be overly competitive, but it can also be seen as a strength.”
“True,” Hass replied.
“Ok, Sean. Last one. What is your favorite book?”
“The Fountainhead and To Kill a Mockingbird,” Sean replied without hesitation.
“That’s two.”
“Yes.”
“Yes, what?” Hass said leaning forward.
“It is two books. I have two favorite books.”
“I asked for one,” Hass said, interested in where this was going.
“I can’t choose one,” Sean replied.
“Then you didn’t answer my question.”
“I guess I didn’t,” Sean said, smiling.
Hass looked at him for a moment without speaking and then leaned back and made a couple of notes. Not only were the two books very telling, but the way he answered the question was as well. He refused to budge on what he believed and he knew McFarland would be intrigued. Waters would no doubt be alarmed with The Fountainhead, but Hass knew the reasons behind the answer would actually be to their benefit, making Sean easier to manipulate by hitting on his passions and what motivates his actions.
“Sean, I have a couple forms for you to fill out and then the tests we discussed,” Hass said, standing up.
“Do you want me to take them here?” Sean answered, standing as well.
“I have reserved a conference room. Please follow me.” Hass and Sean walked across the lobby, down a hall to a medium-sized conference room. The room had a conference table for fourteen people and featured a screen on the far wall. Everything, down to the drinking glasses on the table were in keeping with the style of the hotel. Hass gestured towards the far end of the table and closed the door behind them. Sean took a seat at the head of the table where there was an iPad. Hass followed and took a seat to his left and typed in a password on the iPad and slid it over to Sean.
“Sean, my company has created an HR app that speeds things up quite a bit. Paperwork used to take so long. I have three items that need attention today. The first is just to capture your personal information. The second is a quick personality test. It is timed and will take thirty minutes. The last item is the Wonderlic.”
“No problem. I love taking these things,” Sean answered. “Please don’t let me turn in Brett Favre numbers on this thing,” he thought to himself.
“Great. Let’s get going on the personal information,” Hass said, gesturing to the iPad. Sean started filling out the forms. Everything Sean entered was appearing on a terminal back in Boston. The results would be available almost instantly. Sean entered all of his data and handed the iPad back to Hass. Hass closed out the screen and brought up the personality test.
“Sean, you have thirty minutes to complete this. I will be at the far end of the table. I will let you know when the time is up.” Hass had a second iPad that monitored Sean’s answers.
“Got it,” Sean said, as he dove into the test. It was very different than what he had expected. Most of the questions dealt with how he would react in emotionally-charged situations or with split-second decisions. Others questions pressed him on his values and provided multiple courses of action based on a fictional scenario. Some scenarios were relationship based and others workplace based. The last few questions, asked him in different ways what he values most in his life - his independence - his freedom - his free will - monetary rewards or fame.
“Done,” Sean said. He finished six minutes early. Hass was already up and walking towards him.
“Fantastic. Let’s roll right into the Wonderlic.” Hass handed Sean a pencil and a piece of blank white paper. “Here’s a piece of scratch paper if you need it,” Hass said, as he called up the test.
“Thank you,” Sean said, taking the iPad.
“Twelve minutes. Fifty questions. The clock starts when you touch the screen.”
“Ready to go,” Sean said as he touched the screen and started the test. He blazed through most of it but ran into a couple of speed bumps over the geometry questions. He was able to answer every question with ten seconds to spare.
“Time!” Hass announced from across the room. He took the iPad from Sean’s hand.
“Is there anything else I can answer regarding my background?” Sean asked, standing and extending his hand. Hass shook his hand.
“No. I think I have everything I need.”
“How did I do?” Sean asked.
“Well, it will take a few days for me to review everything.”
“You were looking at my answers as I took the tests,” Sean responded.
“How do you know that?” Hass said, suddenly curious and at the same time surprised.
Sean gestured to the mirror at the end of the room.
“I could see your screen through the mirror. I couldn’t make out everything, but I knew it was not Words with Friends,” Sean said, smiling.
Hass laughed. He liked Sean. He was very clever. He knew Sean was going to be the perfect candidate for the program. McFarland said there would be a small group of men that would respond exactly the way the tests and models predicted. Sean, in his estimation, was one of them.
“Very clever and you are right, I am not a Words with Friends fan.” He paused and reached into his pocket and handed Sean a $20. “For your parking. I saw the valet giving you a hard time. I like the Jeep by the way.”
“Thank you and thank you for your time,” Sean said, as he walked to the door of the conference room.
“Thank you, Sean and we will talk soon.”
They shook hands again and Sean headed down the hall towards the lobby. Hass closed the door to the conference room and picked up his iPad. Sean’s scores were already posted. He scored a thirty-nine, which was very strong. What it meant to McFarland was he was an exceptional candidate. He would have the data behind the personality test shortly and would recap both the Pittsburgh and Detroit meetings with McFarland on Saturday morning. Other agents were at the same time interviewing candidates across the country. The pressure to get the program rolling was intense.
Sean walked out to the valet stand and handed off his ticket. The valet ran to get his Jeep. Sean stood on the curb. He wasn’t going to try and make small talk with the other valet. He pulled out his iPhone, turned it back on and sent a text to Brian.
SEAN: I think it got it.
BRIAN: Got what? You at the Dr?
SEAN: The job. I had a good interview.
BRIAN: Good news! Let’s grab a beer later.
SEAN: First round on me.
The valet pulled up with the Jeep and Sean gave the guy a dollar. If he had a handful of pennies in his pocket, he would have preferred that. “Another ten years and they will be begging to drive this Jeep. It will be a rea
l classic then,” he thought to himself. He did feel good about the interview. He was certain he was going to get an offer.
Hass was certain he would too.
Hass left the hotel in a cab and headed to the airport, where he hopped on a private plane for a meeting with Oscar Pasco in Detroit.
Hass arrived in Detroit shortly before 4 P.M. A driver in a Town Car met him at the airport and drove him downtown to the Westin Cadillac Book. He had booked a room simply to get his notes together before meeting Pasco. Like the meeting in Pittsburgh, he had a conference room reserved for the testing. Hass went down to the lobby at 7:15 with the goal of spotting Pasco when he came in. He had his picture from the DMV and an old shot from Facebook.