Headhunters by Charlie Cole Read Free Book Online Page A

the fire
crackle and fade in the fireplace. I was simultaneously looking forward to and
dreading that first day of work. But right then, in that moment, there was
nothing else I wanted or needed more than dreamless sleep.
     
    ***
     
    The elevator doors opened and I saw
the name “Donovan & Associates” etched in glass on the door. Donovan owned
the office space on the entire seventh and eighth floors and part of the ninth.
While many executives might have placed themselves on the highest floors of the
building, Donovan liked being on the seventh floor. Lucky number seven, he’d
said. Recruiting and Operations were on 7. Consulting and payroll were on the
8th floor and the legal department was on the 9th.
    I stepped off the elevator, pulled open the office door and
was greeted by the receptionist. She looked to be in her mid-20s with her hair
severely pulled back away from her face in a French braid. Her business suit
was navy blue and perfectly tailored. She was speaking on a headset and
motioned that I should give her a moment. I smiled and nodded and busied myself
by looking at the paintings on the wall without really paying any attention to
them.
    I feigned distraction for a moment until I realized that the
receptionist was speaking on the phone in Portuguese. A moment later, she
switched lines and picked up a conversation in French, then on to a third line
that she picked up in Italian. Finally, she ended the calls and looked at me.
    “Good morning,” she said.
    She was professional enough, but there was no humor about
her so I saved my charm.
    “Simon Parks to see Mr. Donovan.”
    By now, my name had become commonplace here. She stood and
extended her hand which was small and looked fragile.
    “Isabelle Athabasca, pleased to meet you. Welcome to Donovan
& Associates.”
    She rang him and a moment later Max Donovan emerged into the
reception area. His smile was genuine and his handshake firm. Max was wearing a
dress shirt and Dockers, what I’d come to learn was standard fare for him in
his offices.
    “Simon! How are you? How was the flight? Everyone settled
in?” Max barraged me with questions and I answered every one. He might have
been a little grandiose, slightly larger than life, but one thing Max was not
was insincere.
    “We’re good, we’re good,” I said. “Kids started school
today. It’s a big day.”
    “Well, you’re right about that. Come on back and meet the
team.”
    Max led me down a hallway and past several conference rooms.
At the end of the hall, a room opened in front of me. Glassed in offices sat on
the perimeter. At the far end I saw a massive suite that I presumed must have
been another conference room. In the center of the room were three rows of cubicles,
each row held five desks.
    “This is our operations center,” Max began. “These cubicles
are for our team of consultants working on software projects, analysts doing
market research and our business intelligence group. You’ll meet them as you
get along here, but first there’s some people I’d really like you to meet.”
    Max began at the west end of the ops center at the glassed
in offices. In the first was a man in his early fifties with a wild tangle of
hair he’d only barely managed to tame to come into the office. He looked more
like a math professor than a headhunter to me, but then this business attracted
all types. Max knocked and entered without being asked.
    “Simon Parks, meet Tom Ellis,” he announced.
    I stepped forward and extended my hand to Tom. He smiled,
pleasant but bewildered. He obviously wasn’t expecting me. We exchanged quick
hellos and he reached for my hand, realized he’d smeared cream cheese on
himself from his bagel that he’d abandoned on his desk and lunged for a napkin.
    “Oh geez, sorry,” Tom said, laughing at himself. “I’m more
of a mess than the paper shredder at Enron.”
    I snickered despite myself but quickly recovered. Tom looked
up and laughed without reserve. He