I got to the interview spot at eleven sharp. The office was kind of out of the way–not in the


    downtown area, but like a twenty–minute drive from my ce, on the edge of the city.


    I’d already done some digging on thispany. They were into lighting development and had even


    put in a bid for the amusement park’s lighting gig, though they didn’t end up getting it.


    Actually, when the amusement park had those lighting issues, I thought about hitting them up to


    help sort it out.


    These two things made me keep an eye on thepany, and as luck would have it, they were


    hiring for a job that matched what I was good at–marketing and promotion.


    I applied to them first, and they were the first to call me in for an interview.


    Thepany had rented out an office building–not exactly as fancy as RiverwaveCorp Tower, but it


    still took up three floors. I rode the elevator to the right level and followed the signs to the HR office.


    As soon as I walked in, someone greeted me with a smile. “You must be Keira Kay, here for the


    interview?”


    I smiled back and nodded. “Yeah, that’s me.”


    “Please, have a seat!” The guy looked to be around thirty–nothing special in the looks department,


    but he had this warm, friendly vibe that instantly stood out.


    They say a smile is the easiest way to show kindness, and that definitely felt true in this case.


    “We only have one interview scheduled for today,” he added, as if reading my mind about how he


    recognized me so fast.


    “Nice to meet you,” I said, holding out my hand. He seemed a bit surprised but quickly smiled again


    and shook it before introducing himself.


    “I’m Ron Shane. I’ve gone through your resume, and it’s impressive. It really lines up with what


    we’re looking for. I’d love to hear what your expectations are, Ron said, all professional and


    businesslike.


    I had already noticed his name badge during the handshake–HR manager and deputy CEO. Since I


    was interviewing for the Director of Marketing and Promotion role, it made sense he’d be involved.


    But the fact that he seemed to be waiting just for me suggested they might really need someone


    with my skill set, and soon. I didn’t overthink it and just focused on answering his question about my


    expectations.


    “I’m interested in talking about sry, vacation time, and thepany’s growth n,” I said, getting


    straight to the point. “We can start with the first two, and if we’re on the same page, then we can


    dive into thest one.”


    I was just like anyone else I needed to make a living and take some time off, so my priorities were


    pretty standard.


    Ron handed me a ss of water and set it down in front of me. “We’ve looked over your work


    history and know you were an executive assistant at RiverwaveCorp. We’re aware of the sry


    range there. We can’t match that base sry, but we do have a performance based bonus


    structure.”


    I wasn’t shocked by this. Ron continued, “Your base sry here would be fifteen thousand a month,


    with a


    year–end bonus that’s three per thousand of your total annual performance. Insurance and holiday


    benefits are in line with standard regtions. Does that work for you, Ms. Kay?”


    “Sounds good,” I agreed. The monthly sry was five thousand less than what I made at


    RiverwaveCorp- about a 25 per cent drop. But I was okay with that.


    Thispany wasn’t on the same level as RiverwaveCorp in terms of size. If they’d offered me the


    same sry I got there, I’d be a little suspicious.


    Plus, at RiverwaveCorp, my title as an assistant was just for show–everyone knew I was the CEO’s


    fiancee, so my pay reflected that.


    Here, though, I was just me. I’d be earning based on my actual skills, and the offer seemed fair.


    This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org .


    “Ms. Kay, if you have any other requests, feel free to let us know,” Ron said.


    “I’d like to review thepany’s development n,” I replied. This was crucial to me–I needed to


    know where thepany was headed. I wasn’t about to invest my time and effort into a job that


    might not even be around in a few months.


    Ron walked over to his desk, grabbed a file box from a shelf, and handed it to me.


    I spent about ten minutes flipping through the documents before passing them back. “Mr. Shane, if


    you’re good with it, I’m ready to start as soon as possible.”


    Ron’s smile got even wider. “Today’s Thursday. You can finish up your onboarding paperwork now


    and officially start on Monday. How does that sound?”


    “Sounds perfect,” I agreed.