Twenty-Nine
Sally looked down at the CV in front of her and tried not to yawn. This was now the third interview she’d sat in on with Nick and it was as tedious as hell. So far, they’d had three young men who’d spent most of the time talking themselves up and not really taking on board what the position was truly about. To make matters worse, she’d had a hand in choosing these potential candidates.
She’d been in the middle of reading through the CV’s Nick had sent over for her feedback when Darren had decided to cause trouble and she was blaming the after-effects of the trauma for her poor choices.
When Nick finally wrapped the interview up, it took all of her willpower not to do a happy dance although given how tiny the office they were sitting in was, even a happy shuffle would be a challenge.
‘Now I remember why I usually let my dad do these things!’
Nick walked back in from showing the candidate out, arms high above his head and a large yawn stretching his mouth.
‘I have to say, I hadn’t expected the task to be this onerous!’
‘Well, three down and three to go – any thoughts on those we’ve seen so far?’
‘Yeah! If I never see them again, it’ll be too soon. Talk about loving the sound of your own voice.’
‘That can be a problem with junior vets who’ve trained up in the city – they think we’re all a bunch of country bumpkins!’
‘Who’s next on the list?’
Nick looked down at the next CV on the pile.
‘Juliet Turner. She’s due in twenty minutes.’
‘Ah, yes, the only woman in the pile you sent me. Any reason for that?’
‘She was the only one experienced enough for the position. We had others but they weren’t yet ready for the level we need.’
‘I see.’
‘To be honest, Sally, of all the vets we’re seeing today, she’s the weakest candidate.’
‘So why are we seeing her?’
‘Because you chose her and this is as much your gig as it is mine. I didn’t want you to think your opinion wasn’t valid.’
‘Okay, thank you for that. Let’s see how it goes.’
It took Sally less than ten minutes to know that she liked Juliet. The woman had a kind vibe, a gentle tone of voice and both were entirely in keeping with her no-nonsense appearance. Her mid-brown hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail at the base of her neck, and her brown eyes, which were the colour of milk-chocolate, seemed to draw you in and you instantly felt you could trust her. Her makeup was minimal and in keeping with the tailored dark-grey trouser suit and white blouse that she wore. The ensemble was finished off with a pair of ankle boots whose heel was solid and low. Furthermore, she didn’t make any attempt to blow her own trumpet and so far, her answers had been concise and to the point.
‘Juliet, may I ask you a question?’ Sally leant forward. This was her own personal test question which she hadn’t bothered to ask the previous three candidates because she’d written them off pretty much from the start of their interviews. ‘If you had a poorly animal in front of you, which required a high level of care that would be very expensive, how would you approach it? Would your first thought be to try and save it at all costs or would you weigh up the expense and decide if the costs involved would be worth the effort?’
Juliet looked her straight in the eye and answered, without even a breath of hesitation, ‘I would do absolutely everything in my power to save the animal. While I appreciate that cost must be considered in some aspects, it would never be my first thought. I do this job to help animals first and foremost.’
‘Thank you.’
Sally worked really hard on keeping her face poker straight but inside she was skipping like a three-year-old! This was exactly the kind of vet she wanted to work with. Someone who understood that their first priority was to do everything possible to save the animal and to hang with the cost.
She sat back and let Nick lead the rest of the interview but she’d already decided it was Juliet whom the remaining two candidates would have to match up to.
‘Hmm, I’m not sure about her,’ Nick said after he’d shown Juliet out.
‘Why not?’
Sally wanted to hear his thoughts before she voiced her own.
‘Well, there’s the eighteen-month gap in her work history for a start.’
‘She explained that. She was doing voluntary work overseas with various small animal sanctuaries, helping them to understand more up-to-date procedures. I thought that was rather commendable, actually!’
‘Hmm… also, she’s too soft. I don’t think she’s got what it takes to be a country vet.’
‘But she’s not going to be a country vet – her primary role is for small animals. That’s what we agreed.’
‘But she may need to cover in an emergency.’
‘Then you will have to either give her additional training or be on the end of the phone to talk her through anything that might come up. But, for what I am looking for, she’s perfect. And I would like you to keep in mind that this is my vet, not yours. I know we agreed to share resources but if that means compromising on the kind of vet I want to deal with on a daily basis, then we need to rethink the situation.’
This was the moment when it came home to Sally just how much she’d grown to love her prospective new ventures. She was looking forward to getting the B&B up and running but her passion lay with the rescue and that was where she knew she’d get the most satisfaction even if it meant having to put her foot down with Nick.
‘Okay, it’s your call. We’ve still got two left to see and we can discuss it further after that.’
It was with no small amount of irony that Sally acknowledged to herself that she’d fallen in-dislike with their next candidate, Simon Groves, in the same amount of time she’d taken to fall in-like with Juliet.
Simon was loud and bombastic. So much so, it actually felt as though he was interviewing them! While she appreciated interviews were a two-way street, the arrogance of this man was beyond belief.
She decided to test him and so put forth the same question she’d asked Juliet.
‘Well, naturally, I’d assess the cost first before administering treatment to ensure the owners could afford to pay.’
The answer was directed at Nick even though she’d asked the question and such was her annoyance with this, her hands had to be shoved under her thighs because her self-control was clinging on by a fingernail.
‘And if they couldn’t afford to pay? Or could only pay a partial amount?’
‘Then I’d recommend they have the animal put down. After all, we’re here to make money.’
‘Actually, Mr Groves, we’re here to save animals!’
The ice in her reply could have sunk the Titanic but the pompous oaf in front of her ignored her and centred his whole attention on Nick. Thankfully, her business-partner-to-be wrapped the interview up rather quickly after that which gave her enough time to grab a coffee and calm down.
‘Well, he wasn’t too bad.’
‘Excuse me? Come again…’
Nick looked up from the notes he was writing on Simon’s CV.
‘He was a decent candidate. He has the experience we’re after and he can be available in two months.’
‘I don’t care if he’s available in two hours – that man does NOT get to set foot on my property.’
‘Why not? I thought he came over well.’
‘Nick, were we just in the same interview? He’s an arrogant, loud-mouthed ass, and I know for a fact that he’d be a patronising asshole when dealing with me and the owners of our clients.’
‘You can’t say that—’
‘Yes, I can! I’ve met enough vets in my time who seem to think they know more about my cat after five minutes than I do after living with him for five years! I will not have anyone like that in my surgery. I want to see kindness and sympathy over costs and expenditure.’
‘That’s not how you run a business, Sally.’
‘Then it’s a good thing I’ll be running a rescue centre, isn’t it!’
She glared at him over her mug, both hands gripping it tightly to prevent it suddenly flying across the room.
Nick held her gaze for a moment before sitting down with a sigh.
‘You’re right. I’m sorry. I’ve made this whole process about what we’re looking for, not what you are looking for. And I agree, Simon would not be a good fit for your needs.’
At his admission, her anger flowed away.
‘Look, Nick, I don’t want to seem ungrateful and I do appreciate the time and help you’ve given me for this, I really do, but I have to make sure the person I’m going to be working so closely with is a good fit for me and what I want to achieve.’
‘You’re right. Look, let’s see this last one and then, after that, would you like to discuss everything over dinner? It’s steak night at the Drover’s and they’re pretty darn tasty.’
‘Sure, okay. That would be nice. Thank you.’
‘Right then, let’s see what Keith Melon – is that for real? – has to offer us and then we’re done for the day.’
‘Bring him in. The sooner we start, the sooner we get fed!’