“Don’t take it personally Robert. I was impressed with that oil deal you brought me in on. Not many people could have put together that regulatory side step. All my lawyers and accountants told me I was going to take a bath. Instead, we made quite a tidy profit.” He let the compliment sink in before he continued. I was still waiting for how he found out my business. “I watch people like you Robert. The staffing company you use is a wholly owned subsidiary of one of my acquisitions.”
“You have been spying on my activities.” I was flabbergasted. I knew men like him liked to have their advantages but, this leaned a little too far onto the wrong side of the ethical divide. “I’m not even sure what side of legal you’re on.”
“Spying is the wrong word Robert. I would use the term studying. I wasn’t trying gain an unfair advantage. I was trying to vett a future business partner. You only seem to hire the best and your retention rates are high. All good indicators of strong leadership and business savvy. Your caretaker position just happened to cross my desk with the rest.” He sidestepped the legal insinuation, complimented me and dangled future deals all in a few seconds.
“I’m not sure if I should feel complimented or insulted.” I didn’t want to fully let him off the hook. I was miffed at the intrusion.
“You asked how and I answered. There are very few people in the world who would have gotten that straight of an answer. If I didn’t respect you and your skills, you would have never received that resume.” He was complimenting me again and drawing me back to the original issue. He was a master at negotiation. The problem was, I did feel a bit proud that he singled me out. Ego is a bad place to negotiate from.
“I don’t quite understand why you felt that two obviously highly educated women would be a good fit for this position.” I dropped the personal intrusion issue. He was done talking about it and pushing it would only cause problems that were no help to anyone. I added a new staffing company to my mental todo list.
“They are more like personal assistants then caretakers. You will find them invaluable in all aspects of your life.” I found myself questioning his sincerity. Could he be imbedding spies or someone to control me? I didn’t like feeling paranoid but, I was always wary of people with power. He continued, “They are intelligent, discrete and fiercely loyal. Before you ask, that loyalty would be to you. I know you may doubt that now but, I assure you, I am not trying to get another tentacle into your life.” I believed him. Using the word ‘another’ he was admitting that he knew that the staffing service was intrusive.
“Tom, I wasn’t really looking for a PA, much less two of them. I am just trying to find someone to take of the house and grounds. I’m not sure this a good fit. Do they even know what they are interviewing for?” I was trying to lay the groundwork for disappointment. These ladies obviously meant something him and I didn’t want this to create a lot of friction between us.
He laughed. It felt kind out of place. “They are more aware than you are. Just meet with them Robert. As a favor to me, meet with them and hear them out. If you don’t hire them, so be it. It won’t stop me from making money with you in the future.” Good, he left me an out. I didn’t quite understand why they would be more aware than me but, his last statement made me feel much better. It was time to seal the deal.
“For you Tom, I will give them a fair hearing.” Let’s make sure this is me doing a him a favor. “I am not all that certain it could work out but, I am intrigued.” I just gave him a big qualified maybe. I really hope he meant what he said and won’t hold any rejection against me.
“I know you won’t regret it, Robert.” That is about all the thank you I will ever get out of him. “On another note, my pipeline guys have a proposition you might be interested in. I would appreciate you taking a look at the deal and see if you would like a piece. I would appreciate another set of eyes and a share of the risk.” He really wants me to meet these girls.
“If it’s that northeast alignment, than I would be very interested.” Paybacks a bitch I thought. I wondered if he was just feeding me a bone.
“Now who’s spying on who. We need to have lunch so I can find out how you know anything of my supposedly secret alignment.” I could almost feel the smile across the phone. My ego was pumped again. “I’ll have them put together an informational packet send it over next week. You have a nice day, Robert.”
“You too, Tom.” The call ended and for some reason I felt like I won. I know he maneouvered me into doing what he wanted but, he let me feel like the victor. The pipeline was a long term deal with many hurdles and lots of risk. The payoff would be immense if it could be completed. It is just wise business to seek out multiple investors to share the risk. Why did I feel special when he asked me to jump on. I really had to learn to not be so impressed with people like him.
The first four interviews went as well as expected. Two of the applicants were more impressed with me than the job. I think they were just looking for a nice place to be for a couple of years. Not quite what I was looking for. Finding someone to trust is hard enough, I certainly didn’t want to repeat the process every couple of years.
One of the ladies, Pam, seemed a bit more permanent. She had run a large house for many years and only left when the family downsized and moved south. She did seem a bit controlling. That is a good feature when dealing with third parties but, I felt we might clash. I asked her if she would have any problems keeping anything she might see or hear private.