I'm Hired

Cesar called me in this morning to see Larry, the General Manager, for an interview. Apparently, when you're asked to see the GM it means that the other managers have decided to hire you and then only need his final approval. I arrived five minutes early wearing beige slacks and the olive dress shirt I bought with my one expensive black suit a few years ago. Cesar sat with me in the GM's office.

Larry looked over my resume and asked a few simple questions. "Where are you from?" "How did you get in this business?" "Do you speak Spanish?" "You know Maya?" I responded with simple answers. "I'm from here." "I started editing right out of high school after taking Cesar's television class." "Not really, but I've made tons of spanish spots over at FOX/Televisa." "I've toyed with Maya Complete a little bit."

Larry glared at me like I had just called him an asshole.

"If I call Kellie Wright over at Televisa, is she going to give me a good review about you because you go to the same church as she does?" he asked. He must have read the part about me currently being the chief sound engineer over at Calvary. I wondered why he had called Kellie by her maiden name.

"No, sir. I've known her a long while before I started working at Calvary. We're actually good friends," I said. Larry turned to Cesar.

"Let's get him on one of the machines and we'll see what he can do while I check his references." It's like I wasn't even in the room. I stood up, not saying anything and reached out my hand. Larry responded lazily, not even looking at me. Must be the don't-mess-with-me facade corporate managers often have. At least he meant business.

After a while, Cesar took me aside and told me I got the job. I told him my last job paid two grand a month. I wonder what these guys are planning to spend on me. Personally, any amount will be just fine with me.

As the day was ending I saw Sherry and she began to walk with me down the hall. She was asking me how everything went when we happened upon Larry.

"You know this guy?"

"Oh yes; from Calvary. Jason's very dependable," Sherry said. She has my back, I thought.

"I'm dependable on Sundays, anyway," I joked.

Sherry agreed and Larry finally smiled at both of us.

"Well why didn't you say so," he said.

I think he was showing that he felt he had made the right decision in hiring me. I'm not about to make him regret it.

That evening, I was editing at Calvary when Sherry and her husband Mike called to congratulate me. When I told her about the interview, Sherry told me that Larry used to be married to Kellie Wright. It made sudden sense why he didn't call her McDaniel, her new married name. Sherry told me they were still friends, though. I was relieved.

Sherry then said that had she known I was coming in to interview today, she would have just used her influence at the office to persuade Larry to hire me on the spot. She wouldn't have done that for just anyone, she said. I appreciated the offer, but I silently enjoyed the idea of proving myself today. See, world? I can do this!

Tomorrow will be a good day.