Chapter 12
“Levi, when do you think the renovations will be done?” Jon asked.
Levi hadn’t been home much for the past few weeks. The bar was in full renovation, and he was spending a lot of time there. Jon was not thrilled to be alone with his thoughts, but he understood. Levi was overseeing the renovations, and Jon suspected he was doing some of the work himself to save money.
Levi took a sip of his coffee. “Soon babe. Only one more major project left. I think it’ll be finished next week. Thanks for cooking breakfast. I’ve been burning the candle at both ends.”
“It’s the least I can do. I can’t wait to see it.”
“I know. How’s the job hunt going?”
“Well, I’ve put in some applications, not gotten anything back yet. I’ll keep casting the line til I get a bite. Don’t worry.” He grinned at Levi. Jon knew his concern wasn’t about his work status or even the money.
“I’m not worried.” Levi chuckled, “But, I’ve been thinking…and doing a little searching, trying to find some stuff for the bar, but I don’t know anything about computer shit. One thing I found was the rate a freelance IT person usually charges, and I’d be willing to pay for the time you spend on it. I know your money’s tight right now. Would you be willing to help out?”
He looked at Levi, his brow furrowed.
“What? I figured why pay some random mook off the street when you need work? Besides, I trust you better than anyone I’d be bringing in to not upsell or rip me off.”
Jon’s face softened. “I’d be happy to. What are you looking for?”
“I’d say probably everything. Gus is less technical than I am, so if it still seemed to work, it was all fine. Now I’m thinking maybe we need some kind of system like you see at those corny fast-casual restaurants that call themselves a bar and grill that keeps track of the drinks, recipes, tabs, and rings everything up. Maybe something to help with bookings for performances, and something for accounting and payroll, too. I’ve been doing all the accounting by hand, but by God now I’m thinking maybe my life would be easier if it was automated.”
“Sure thing, I’ll work on it some today, and see if I can’t find you some good options.”
Levi kissed him goodbye and turned as he headed out the door. “Be sure to log every single minute you spend on this. The bars gonna pay you as an independent contractor. To make the math easy, how does $40 an hour sound? All above board, so if anyone asks, you have some experience at least. I know it isn’t much, but it could help.”
“That means a lot, but I think that’s too much.”
“Nah. It’s not that much more than the average. For extra motivation though, keep in mind that the better this works, the more time I’ll get to spend at home.”
Jon smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind. Have fun today.”
The gig at the bar was like a shot of energy. He hadn’t told Levi he had already considered freelancing, but wasn’t sure where to begin. There isn’t much that’s not computerized anymore. “Hell, even hookers have gone online,” he had thought, and even put in a few applications doing IT grunt work and tech support for various companies.
He threw himself into the assignment. After sorting through a list of solutions, he had narrowed the field to a few good options. He created a chart with the pros and cons of each choice, including which one he thought was the best. He smiled as he admired his handiwork and muttered, “God, I’m such a dork.”
Jon focused on his chart until a notification caught his attention. It was an email from Electropolar Software Solutions. He opened the email and stared at the screen, unable to remember anything about the company, and the email itself didn’t provide any details other than the position he had applied for, and some contact information for scheduling an interview.
Once he had pulled up their website to refresh his memory about the company, he remembered it, and completing the application, but he still didn’t know anything about the company. They claimed to handle contracts for state and local governments but never identified what they specialized in.
At this point in his job search, any opportunity was worth checking out, so he called and scheduled an interview for the following Wednesday morning. Luckily it was later in the morning so he could catch the later bus to Houston and the earliest bus back. He debated calling Levi to tell him the good news, but sent a text instead. It was probably loud in the bar, and he could feel the nerves setting in.
“What if this company sucks? What if they laugh me out of the interview?” He dropped his head and sighed. He felt a sudden urge to call his father, the person he would normally talk to about stuff like this with him. Without thinking, he pulled the contacts on his phone up, stared at the screen, and cried.