Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 91490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
When I left this morning, all the lights were off in her cabin. She was either still asleep or she’d already left. Maybe she went back to wherever she came from, and decided to give her fiancé another chance.
Or maybe not.
“We’ve had a couple more applications today but I’m hoping that’s going to increase,” Hart says. “We’ve got four people in town handing out flyers, and as of thirty minutes ago, the shuttle bus between the Club and the town will run every thirty minutes.”
“People need to know that the place is easy to get to if their car breaks down or they don’t have access to transportation,” Janet, the head of my HR department, says. “And it’s good for our sustainability charter too.” I brought Janet in from New York, and it’s clear that’s where she’d rather be. She doesn’t get the culture here in Star Falls. It’s understandable. If last night at Grizzly’s taught me anything, it’s that I’d forgotten how much this town is a law unto itself. I’ve sunk a lot of money into the Colorado Club, but that doesn’t make me the king around here.
“Thanks for the update. Janet, you and I need five minutes,” I say, effectively dismissing Hart.
We’re in one of the lounges, but because the Club isn’t open yet, we’re the only ones here. I could have these meetings in my office, but it’s good to be visible to what staff we’ve managed to secure. Besides, it’s good for me to see what’s going on around here—things I might miss if I were stuck in my office.
“Are you sitting in on interviews?” I ask Janet, once Hart has left.
“Absolutely. For the more junior positions, I’m not leading the interviews, but I’m there.”
“I think you need to take a step back,” I say. Janet is a seasoned New Yorker. I can be blunt with her.
“Okay,” she says. I hear the edge of a question in her tone.
“I went into town last night. There’s clearly a local issue—wariness around the changes the Club will bring. I think we need to make things less formal.”
“More folksy?” she says, raising a cynical eyebrow.
God, I miss New York sometimes. Not as much as I thought I would, but enough.
“People need to be interviewed by their direct managers. We have the first tier of management in place—that couldn’t have happened without you. But a lot of the recruitment decisions we’re making now are around more junior staff. They have a different perspective. Maybe it’s folksy they need. Or maybe they don’t trust New Yorkers.”
Janet pulls her shoulders back. “You’re right. And I guess you can take me out of NYC, but you can’t take NYC out of me.”
“Right,” I say. “We both know this isn’t a permanent position for you.”
“For you either, right? You’ll be back in New York as soon as this place is up and running?”
“Exactly,” I say. I have no intention of leaving New York permanently. But for the next six months, I need my focus to be here. There’s too much at stake for me to be on the other side of the country. I miss my friends and the anonymity of the city. I miss the energy, the constant hum of traffic and people. I’m not leaving for good. But in the meantime, the mountains aren’t such a bad backdrop. Mountains that have been here seventy-five million years and will tower over this valley for millions more. No matter how long I stay in New York, I know this view will be back here, waiting for me.
“How long until the VP of HR arrives?”
“Thursday,” she says. “But she’s coming from Switzerland. And before that, Paris. She’s not going to be folksy.”
“No, but she’s in the hotel business. She’ll do okay.”
“So I’m fired?” Janet looks hopeful.
I chuckle. “Not yet. But almost. I’ll get you back to New York as soon as I can.”
“And I’ll be going back to Miller Investments, right? Or am I fired from that too? You’re looking kinda comfortable here.”
“I’m not going to be back in New York for at least six months. I need to be on the ground here. But you’re not getting away that easily. I need you back here every month at least. Senior management coaching, one-on-ones…”
“I can cope with once a month. You never know, I might even start to look forward to a little mountain air.”
We stand and something catches Janet’s attention out the window. “The first shuttle from town just arrived.”
I glance down and see Rosey step off the bus. She’s no longer wearing a wedding gown. She looks like she could have been born in Star Falls, complete with hiking boots and a beanie.
“Looks like we have our first local candidate of the day. Don’t worry. I’ll get someone else to interview her so we don’t scare her off.”