CHAPTER 5: TWO SIDES OF A TRIANGLE

CHAPTER 5: TWO SIDES OF A TRIANGLE

In the boardroom of NextGen, William was going crazy. It was already past midnight, yet his team could not agree on the final candidates to shortlist. The company was in the process of hiring some marketing executives that would steer the company into the global market. The human resource department had carefully chosen candidates that had a proven track record in their various industries. The candidates had been put through a vigorous interview process throughout the day and several candidates managed to survive the elimination process. The secretary had already been instructed to prepare the offer letters for the team of ten new marketing executives that would be joining the company within the next two weeks. This had been the easy part that had been concluded earlier in the day. The hard part came about when the team attempted to complete the issue of hiring fresh graduates. Each of the four regional managers had been asked to shortlist 5 fresh graduates from the job applications received for various roles. William had chosen five random applicants, based on the fact that none had the work experience that they were looking for. In addition, none of the shortlisted candidates had any other indicator of their skills except for what was listed on their academic results. William had imagined that all the staff would use similar techniques to choose their candidates, and he had thought that this meeting would only take about half an hour. Unfortunately for him, his colleagues were of the opinion that there were other indicators of quality. The staff had disagreed on the criteria to pick the final ten candidates from the pool of individual selections, and this deliberations were keeping them up this late. William was getting frustrated by the different opinions and he had chosen to just sit back and listen. The team continued deliberating until they were down to the last two candidates. 

The two candidates had various similarities in that their academic performance was excellent. However, the issue that made both of them controversial was the fact that they had held other jobs before. None of them had permanent jobs in their fields of study, but they had earned money from part time ventures during their time in college. One of the candidates he had chosen was on the final list and suddenly William became interested in this discussion. He began paying attention just in time to hear a rather persuasive argument. “The fact is that not everyone has a trust fund that will get them through college. Some of us had to work hard to get an education for ourselves. If we discriminate against these kinds of people then I don’t know how they are supposed to get ahead.” This statement came from the finance manager who was not normally vocal on such matters. “I understand what you are saying, but the essence of the fresh graduate program was to recruit someone who has no prior experience. Their ability to develop loyalty is dependent on the individual’s  innocence so to speak. They must be like a clean slate that is ready to take in fresh content. Otherwise, we may as well hire anybody off the street.” The human resource manager put across his point with disdain. He was passionate about discrediting these two individuals because he had been unable to secure employment for one of his friend’s children. This would have been a great opportunity for him to generate clout that his friend would reward financially. 

“Can I say something?” William asked. Everyone indicated their consent and the group remained silent to allow him to speak. “I don’t think waitressing jobs and any other part time work count for experience in this case. The candidates meet all the other criteria. They are below 25 years of age, they have graduated within the last year and they are both active job seekers with excellent academic credentials.”

“With all due respect sir, let’s take a closer look at these candidates,” the IT manager said. “Robert Hill has been working at the same restaurant for two and a half years. He is almost a permanent employee only that he works on shifts. The other one is Jessica Harris. She has two part time jobs. One is at waitressing and the other is cleaning one of our hotels. Surely, these jobs must count for something.”

“I agree, but what I think is that these are two ambitious individuals who have struggled to get this far. These two individuals did not know that we were looking for fresh graduates. I think their applications are the most authentic because they simply took a shot at a stable income. Most of those we have already chosen seem too good to be true. I’m more willing to take a bet on these two,” William said decisively. Several other staff members took a similar stand and eventually the most vocal ones backed down. William was becoming famous for his stand on integrity, and no one wanted to be found guilty of practicing nepotism or cronyism. Jessica made it to the final list while Robert was placed on the runners up list. Robert’s slot would be guaranteed if one of the others failed at the interview or did not show up. The team called it a night, and as usual, William was the last to leave. 

He enjoyed doing his reports at this hour when the night was calm and there were no distractions. He was done in another hour and he tidied up his desk ready to leave. As he went through the final list of appointees, the file of Jessica Harris caught his eye. He quickly went through her social media platforms and all he could see was a cheerful young woman. She didn’t list any of her jobs on her platforms and she seemed very conservative about her private life. William had chosen her because she had graduated within the last few weeks and yet had already begun to apply for jobs. He was impressed with her hunger for growth and personal development. As he shut down his laptop, he looked forward to working alongside someone who was driven as much as he was. He walked to his car in the parking lot and the exhaustion of the day began to kick in. He was pleasantly surprised to find his father’s driver waiting for him. This was his father’s preferred arrangement as he was wary about his children’s security. The drive home almost ended without incident, except that William spotted a couple having an equally late night. The couple looked like they were having a standoff as the guy walked away and left the lady standing at the door with a disapproved look on her face. The couple were Jess and Pete.  

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Jess walked into her house feeling frustrated.  Her plans had worked against her and instead of getting out of this mess, she had got in deeper. Pete was so domineering and manipulative. He knew just how to use her fear against her so that she would do what he wanted. He had managed to force her into a new job and wouldn't let her go. It was clear that he wanted her to continue working for him indefinitely. ‘And why is he always kissing me? He must be a pervert'. She said to herself as she got into the kitchen to get a glass of water. She almost bumped into her father who was also in the kitchen. 

"Dad, why are you still awake?"she asked.

"I just woke up to get some water and then I happened to hear you come in,"he said. They chatted a little about how the day had been and he updated her on the current affairs. They stood quietly, emptying their water glasses then Jess put the glasses in the sink.. 

"Jess, how come you've never introduced me to your boyfriend?"her father  asked after a short silence. "He's not my boyfriend,"she said a bit too quickly. Her father smiled gently then he said,"I didn't even say anything about the young man who dropped you. But I guess he's the one who is not your boyfriend?" Jess blushed deeply and nodded. 

"He's a friend from school and I applied for a job at the company where he works. I'm hoping he'll help me get in,"she said. She hated lying to her father but she wouldn't let him know what was really going on. He would never approve.

"That will be great. I hate to see you working so many hours,"her dad said with a gentle smile. "By the way, Leslie stopped by earlier.  She helped Margaret with dinner and said she'll call you."

"I've been meaning to call her but the last couple of days have been so crazy,"Jess said. "Take it easy for a while. I have some money coming in tomorrow so you can cut back on your shifts,"he said. 

"Don't worry about it dad. I'm managing really well."she said. 

"We should get some sleep now."he said and she walked him to his bedroom. He had moved to the guest room downstairs when his illness had progressed because the stairs strained him too much. As she was heading upstairs, she reminded herself to set two alarms in case she was too sleepy to hear the first one. After changing into her pyjamas, she curled into bed and set her alarm. She was soon fast asleep.

Jess’s morning shift started out surprisingly well. She had literally forced herself out of bed this morning because she still felt so sleepy. A quick shower had made everything better and she was soon ready for her routine. As she arranged the things she would need for the day, she realized that she needed a bigger handbag that would hold the packages without raising unnecessary attention. After putting everything together in another handbag, she opened the envelope that Pete had given her yesterday. She gasped in surprise when she counted the money and realized it was extra. There was a handwritten note inside that simply said ‘Thanks for dinner’. She grinned in delight as she divided the notes into different small piles. She then placed each of the piles in a separate envelope and returned the envelopes to her lockable bedside drawer. The envelopes had different titles that were set aside for each bill. This arrangement helped Jess to keep track of her expenses and to ensure that nothing was forgotten. The month was looking very good because she already had enough money for the water, electricity and gas bill to be paid in full. She had even put aside a little extra for the car repairs. Maybe this job was a good thing after all. 

She headed downstairs with a spring in her step as she imagined how much easier this had made things. She considered dropping one of her waitressing shifts so that she could meet Pete and make some time for Leslie. Jess smiled to herself when she thought about how much she had missed Leslie. She had so much to tell her. The morning routine went quickly and Jess prepared things for her father and then left. While heading to work on the bus, Jess got a text message from Pete. ‘5 out of 5 in 2D’, The message suddenly extinguished all the pleasant emotions she had been feeling. How was she supposed to get to this hotel room if her shift was not on this floor? How would she explain her behavior to her supervisor? The hotel had security surveillance on all the floors so the workers’ activities were monitored constantly. This was going to be hard to pull off. Jess arrived at the hotel with her palms sweating. She decided to move with the packages around the hotel as she completed her shift, and then she would sneak into the room when she got the chance. Her plan did not go as easily as she had imagined because her supervisor had other plans for her. After getting her list of rooms to clean,he introduced her to a young lady who looked nervous.   

“Jess, this is Lydia. Show her around the hotel and teach her everything she has to do. She is taking over from Lisa. She will be with you throughout your shift so that she learns how we operate.” Jess complied and she assembled her trolley with all the necessary equipment for the shift’s activities. She was wondering how to sneak the packages into her trolley without attracting attention. She looked Lydia up and down and then realized that she was wearing heels. “Lydia, did you carry any other shoes?” she asked.

“I have some flats that I will wear later. I wanted to make a good impression,” she said smiling. “Wear them now because you will get tired before the hour is over.” Jess said. Lydia went into the locker room to change her shoes and Jess quickly placed the packages in a sealed bag. She wrapped the bag in one of the large towels and then placed the towel at the bottom of the towel rack. Lydia came in just then and they began their rounds together. She turned out to be a quick learner and the two of them finished the shift earlier than expected.  Jess began to panic as she could not think of a way to get to the second floor without attracting unnecessary attention. “Thank you for showing me around. I wish you could help me with my shift now,” Lydia said while they were heading to the service elevator. Maybe if you ask the supervisor for your list, then I can help you before I go. I still have half an hour to spare,” Jess said. Lydia has just given her a brilliant idea that would allow her to go to the second floor where 2D was. She would send Lydia to the ground floor and therefore have some minutes alone before Lydia came back. The cleaning schedule was often formed in hierarchy of floors and check out times, so Jess was sure the second floor was next on the roster. Jess got out of the lift at the second floor while Lydia headed to the ground floor. She quickly identified where room 2D was and she carried the package together with 2 large towels. She let herself into the room and found 2 foreign gentlemen. One was sitting at the desk working on a laptop while the other was sitting on the couch smoking.

“Can I help you?” the one at the couch asked.

“I brought this,” Jess said nervously as she uncovered the packages. The man at the laptop turned to look at her at this point. He seemed very excited to see the packages and he stood and walked to Jess. He took the packages and opened each quickly then he smiled at Jess when he was satisfied with the contents of the packages . “Tell your boss that I owe him big time,” he said. He took out his wallet and gave Jess some cash as a tip then she smiled politely and left. She stood next to her trolley and heaved a sigh of relief just as Lydia walked out of the lift and joined her. 

“Let’s start with 2D. Lydia said as she looked at her list.

“Let’s do the next one because they just requested for extra towels. They haven’t checked out yet,” Jess said. This statement was enough to explain her presence in the room as well as to deflect any attention away from her conduct. The rest of the shift went so well and Jess finally relaxed and began to be comfortable with her new job.