The fifth resume was the strange one. It referenced two females; Samantha and Rebecca Jones. I had never seen a resume for two people in all my years of business. A caretaker team I laughed to myself. I could barely force myself to accept one intrusion in my life much less two. I humored myself by reading further. They had no job history but, had quite the educational background. Both had done undergraduate work at Vassar with masters of business from Harvard. These two should be working on their first million for a fortune 500. Why would the service send me anyone with these qualifications without a job history? Why would they send me a resume with two people in the first place? I got to salary requirement portion of the resume and did a double take. This was the true definition of sticker shock. All the other applicants were asking for between 25-35k plus room and board. This pair wanted 150k plus room and board and full medical.
I began to think that someone screwed up and I received the wrong resume. This wasn’t an entry level position and I certainly wasn’t looking for two people. I especially wasn’t willing to go way over the going rate. I was considering calling the service to clear up the issue when I hit the references section. It was a page right out of the who’s who list of the rich and powerful. These two were obvious pedigrees. This was an obvious mistake.
The first name Thomas Thornbird, a man I have recently had some very successful dealings with. His wealth made me look like a panhandler but, then again, he had about 20 years on me. All though the address was his business offices, I thought I recognized the phone number. I grabbed my phone and scrolled the contacts. Sure enough, it was his private mobile line. A man like that didn’t give out his private line unless there were millions at stake. These two must be very close friends of the family.
I scan the list further and saw a General, a Federal Judge and the Secretary of State for these United States among other well known figures. None of this made any sense. I no longer thought this was accidental. I could smell business tactics a mile away. I was meant to see this resume but, for what reason? Obviously, someone wanted me to meet with these two. I really don’t like being maneuvered without knowing the end game. Looking at the list of names again made me feel way out of my league. I was an orphan who made good, not old money and power like this list. I was being set up for something. I disliked being in the dark.
I tapped on Thomas Thornbird’s entry on my phone. Might as well call someone I have dealt with before. Not sure the Secretary of State would even take my call. It rang a couple time before he answered.
“Robert, I was wondering when you were going to call.” Caller ID was all the introduction he needed.
“Hi Tom, I guess you know I am calling you about this resume I have in my hand.” I left it an open question. I didn’t want to sound too ignorant with a man like this.
“Kind of took you by surprised did it?” I could hear the humor in his voice. Why was he playing with me? Our last dealings were cordial but, very business like. He didn’t really seem to want the relationship to go past the millions we were making.
“Yes it did. Not quite what I was expecting but, your name made me question discounting it immediately.” I wanted him to know that I respect his opinions. If there were future deals between us, I didn’t want to alienate them here.
“I appreciate your confidence in me Robert. Your business acumen is quite close to mine and I figured you would appreciate meeting Samantha and Rebecca.” I was being butter up for something and I feared I wasn’t going to be able say no. “I am the one who made sure that resume was in your stack.”
“I would really like to know how you knew there was a stack to put it in.” I tried to sound relaxed but, I suddenly felt kind of raped. Who else knows about my private business?
“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.