Page 78 of Pick Me
He nodded. “If you like. But that goes both ways. Not everyone has what it takes to play for our team,” he said sadly. “Being very real with you here, it’s demanding, rewarding work. I love it. But if you’re the sort of person who wants work-life balance in the first year or two…” He shrugged in a what-can-you-do sort of way. “I get the feeling you could hack it, though.” He winked again. “And Boston’s a great city.”
It was. And—my stomach did a giddy two-step—it was closer to Vermont than New York was by a couple of hours.
Not that it mattered, since Knox and I wouldn’t be together by then.
I bit my lip. Except… what if we could be?
“In any case, you’re only talking about… oh, half a year. Maybe a year.” He paused, considered. “Year and a half at most. But in the meantime, we’d be paying you handsomely.”
He named an amount that was at least triple what I’d earn at Sunday Orchard if they could afford for me to work for them full-time.
I coughed lightly. “That’s yourstartingsalary?”
“Yup.” He winked a fourth time. “And I haven’t even told you about the employee stock options. That’s why that waiting room out there was so packed, Gage. We expect a lot from our employees—long hours, some sleepless nights—but we reward that. That’s our version of work-life balance.”
I chuckled uneasily. “No wonder it’s popular.”
“I’ve taken a look at your resume,” Jason went on. “I’m extremely impressed. Your professors had excellent things to say about you. And is it true that you’re related to the guys who found the Whispering Key treasureandto Jayd Rollins, the musician?”
I blinked. “Uh. Yeah. Wow, your google skills are strong.”
“Oh, I take no credit. It’s all down to Hannah. But all of that would be nothing if you weren’t extremely qualified for the position,” Jason assured me, “and if Knox hadn’t given you such a glowing recommendation.” He winked again.
“Did he? That’s nice.”
Was it weird for someone to wink five times in five minutes, especially in an interview? Itfeltweird. I was pretty sure it wasn’t dry eyes or a tic, either. The man seemed to think he was being charming and friendly, but it wasn’t working. Especially not after hearing Knox’s name conjured an image of the man in my mind—honest and scowly andsolid, charming without ever trying. In fact, charmingbecausehe didn’t try to be.
“Oh, it’s better than nice. Knox thinks you walk on water, Gage. Went on and on about the app you’re creating and how easily you fit into the scene up there in Vermont, figuring out exactly what your clients needed. I’ve never heard him be that enthusiasticever.” Jason seemed baffled by the very idea of Knox being enthusiastic. “But that’s the kind of boundless energy we need here at Rubicon.”
“Oh. Yeah.” I nodded, more because it seemed expected than because I was really excited. “Yes. No, I can totally do that.”
“Awesome.” He leaned toward me conspiratorially. “Technically, today is supposed to be for first-round interviews, where we’re supposed to ask all those questions about your strengths and your goals and whatnot. We’re not supposed to make selections until after the next round, but I told my boss I’d already picked you. So what do you say, Gage? Would you like to join the Rubicon team?”
I opened my mouth to say a heartyyes,of course, but when I tried to make the words move through my thick throat, it came out sounding like a wheeze. I licked my lips to try again, when a woman knocked on the door and poked her head in.
“Jason? Sorry to interrupt, boss, but Max is asking for you. It’s urgent,” she said apologetically. “And you know how he hates to wait.”
“Sure.” Jason winked at me once more—seriously—and stood up. “Two seconds, Gage. Be right back.”
I smiled and nodded, but when he was gone, I stood up and began pacing the length of the small sitting area—which was only three very unsatisfying paces long.
Why was I self-sabotaging?Jesus Christ.I needed this job. Not the way the other guys in the waiting room did, maybe. Not because I wanted to prove something to anyone…
I turned to pace in the other direction.
OrdidI sort of want to prove to everyone that getting money all of a sudden hadn’t turned me into a dilettante and that the company I wanted to start wasn’t just a hobby or a vanity project?
I turned again.
It didn’t matter, because I needed to learn about running a business before I could start my own. I needed to understand how to bring a project from a dream to an end product.
I spun once more.
But would I really learn here? Jason seemed like a really nice guy, but the gaps in his knowledge were large enough to drive a tractor through. How many times had he said that he trusted people in other departments to take care of the parts of the business he didn’t understand? And if it wasn’t uncommon for a project to take years and years just to get into development, how long would it take for me to get that experience? Not to mention, how well would I fit with people like Preppy McDouchebag from the waiting area?
I turned again.
Still, no job was perfect, and—
