A police officer on a bike stopped to assist me. I glanced at the
building that seemed closer than it actually was and told the
officer that I had an interview that I needed to get to and feel
free to call a wrecker to haul my car away. As I turned to head down
the sidewalk towards the building, I fully expected the officer to
call me back to handle the issue with my car ... but, amazingly she
didn't. There is a God, I thought.
I called my partner on my cell phone and asked him to jump in his
car and see if he could get downtown before the wrecker arrived so
he could make sure the car got to a garage instead of an impound
lot. He did. What a sweetheart.
You can only imagine my attitude as I dripped off the elevator
into the Firm's sheik reception area after trudging five blocks in
the Texas heat in a wool suit. The receptionist, who remembered me
from the first visit, took one look at me and asked if I was
alright. I asked if the Firm had a pool I could jump in before my
interview with Thad. She giggled and we became instant friends as
she led me to a conference room just off the reception area. She may
have giggled ... but, if she said the pool was on the floor above
us, I would have believed her.
After I was hired, they took me on a tour of the Firm which
included a visit to the locker room where staff could take a shower
after a morning or noon run around Town Lake. Not a pool ... but,
nice nonetheless. And, an interesting environment as well ... but,
that's another story!
I spent the next few minutes standing under an air conditioning vent
trying to cool off, dreading the moment I'd have to stick my arms
back into the sweat-laden suitcoat. After a few minutes, the
marketing assistant came in and announced that Thad would be a few
minutes late. Ok, God's finally working with me, here, I thought. I
was about ready to relay my story but considered it would take to
much effort to do so.
She kinda stood there and stared at me while we made small talk.
It didn't take long for her to ask if I wanted a glass of water.
"Two", I responded with a forced smile. I had just finished sucking
down both glasses when Thad came into the room. He wasn't wearing a
suitcoat ... thank God. I kept mine draped over the chair.
It was a fascinating interview. After enduring a few of his
questions that made him look like a total ass, I came to the
conclusion that the man obviously had no clue about marketing. For
fun, I launched into a diatribe about vertical markets and brand
marketing all the while spewing out a bevy of marketing lingo and
then started to ask him questions about what he thought about the
subject just for the sheer pleasure of watching him squirm. And,
squirm he did. But, the enjoyment of doing so caved to the fact that
I needed the job to bad to be risking pissin the guy off. So, I
bailed him out and played nice for the balance of the interview.
Over time, I found the guy to be a little weasel who seemed to be
more interested in kissing the asses of the Firm's senior partners
than anything else. And ... that hair of his ... I never could
figure out whether it was a decent toupee or he just spent an
ungodly amount of time in the morning with hair products and a blow
dryer. Either way, it was the talk of the office for the legal
secretaries.
One thing I didn't contemplate when considering the Firm's offer
was the special creature comforts that the Firm proffered. Well, I
did, I guess. I had a friend who worked for a Firm up in Michigan
who had told me stories ... but, his stories were not as adventurous
as I was about to experience.
During my first week, the Firm had a party for the incoming
summer associates. It was a breakfast party ... and the spread was
impressive. Anything one could want was at the fingertips ...
including champagne and orange juice. Of course, it was a law firm
... so work began at 9:00AM. The party started at 9:15. I was
pleasantly snookered on Mimosas by the time I had met ... well, I'll
use the name "Judy" for the purpose of this story. Earlier from
across the room, I noticed that she was particularly gregarious.
Energy bubbled up from within her soul, or somewhere within that
body of hers, anyway. I suspected that Judy was in her late 40's.
She was also stunning. She had a body that looked like she spent
every waking moment at the gym.
I'd drink her bath water.
