Chapter 251

Ron hung up the phone with a sigh but turned to me with a smile. "Take a seat, Ms. Kay," he said, gesturing to a chair.

I sat down, and he sighed again. "It's getting harder to find top talent these days."

From his call earlier, I had already figured that out. "Are we really that short on technical staff right now?"

"We are," he said, shaking his head. "One of our senior engineers quit yesterday. We were already stretched thin, and this just makes it worse."

For once, he looked a bit stressed—a side of him I hadn't seen before. Usually, he was all smiles, like nothing ever bothered him.

"The job market's super polarized right now," I said, sharing my thoughts. "We've got tons of people with fancy degrees, but hardly anyone with the real hands-on experience we need. It's like there's no shortage of gig workers, but try finding someone who'll actually get their hands dirty."

Ron nodded, giving me a thumbs up. "Exactly. You get it. You're seriously a pro at both business and HR—a to