Page 12 of Someone Just Like You

“That’s my line.” I chuckled, humored by his hospitality in someone else’s office.

Once we were both seated, me with my legs crossed and hands resting on my thighs and him on the other side of my desk with his legs spread and arms clasped over his head, I opened up the dialogue. “I don’t think I’ve had an opportunity to officially welcome you to Gotham. Welcome!” Getting right down to business without small talk would make me appear unconfident or nervous. It was important to send the right message.I am capable!You can trust me!

“Thank you. I wanted to discuss your performance at work.”

I pasted on a smile. “I’m happy to.” Who needed small talk?

“Tracking of your computer shows you spend as much time on sites like Vault and Above the Law as you do on the internal job database, LinkedIn, Leopard List, and other attorney databases.” He leaned forward and squinted at me.

My pulse raced. I was well aware all work conducted on a firm computer was subject to surveillance, but why would Michael monitor my activity personally? “I wouldn’t sayas muchtime, but yes, I utilize both sites regularly.” Vault was a website that ranked law firms and their attorneys based on reviews by verified employees. Above the Law was another great source to secure dirt on firms.

Michael removed one of the many picture frames I kept on my desk and studied it. “Why?” His gaze remained on the photograph. It was one of me, Nicole, and Michelle dressed up and smiling against a view of the Hudson River at Michelle’s wedding.

“It’s part of my due diligence. There’s always more to a firm or company than what the hiring manager shares with us.” I smiled knowingly—recruiter to recruiter. “Candidates appreciate that I go above and beyond and feel confident that when I send them on an interview, it’s a big step toward getting their dream job.” Remembering my coffee, I took a sip.

Still holding the photo, Michael poked his tongue into his cheek. “The employerpays usmoneyto match them with employees. That payment constitutes any review we need. You shouldn’t be wasting your time vetting existing clients or even potential ones.” He placed the picture back on the desk facedown.

I touched a finger to my cheek. The skin was hot. His interrogation suggested I was a suspect in a crime as opposed to a thorough recruiter. Placing the photo back in its rightful position, next to one of me and Esther on a booze cruise in Turks and Caicos, I said, “Our clients also appreciate that I don’t waste their time sending them candidates who are wrong for the position. Is it such a bad thing to wantbothparties to be happy? I scheduled an interview just this morning with Abraham & Painter. They called me personally for this opening because they trust me to bring them good candidates. I’m very confident it will be a match.” My skin still buzzed with excitement.

I continued. “The departing paralegal is retiring after eight years in the position, which speaks volumes about the work environment, as does the firm’s general low employee turnover rate. And the candidate has twenty-five years of experience, a well-rounded résumé, and an easygoing personality I think will mesh well with the rest of the department.” I beamed at him. Surely, my enthusiasm would transfer.

He sneered. “It’s very sweet how nurturing you are. You’re almost maternal toward your candidates.”

Sexist son of a…I felt my blood pressure rise and squeezed my flaring nostrils.Keep your cool.

“Recruiting is a competitive career.” Michael clasped his arms behind his neck again. “Competition between clients, candidates, and recruiters alike, but it’s what drives us all.”

Notallof us. What drovemewas making the best match between client and candidate. I forced my gaze away from the sweat stain beginning to form on Michael’s right armpit and waited for the imminent mansplain.

“Have you ever heard of the Triple-A method? Not the American Automobile Association”—he snickered—“but Alpha, Aggressive, and Ambitious. In the real world, Molly, not all work environments are congenial playgrounds. But people still need to work for those companies.Weneed to work for those companies. We can’t turn down a client or leave an opening ignored indefinitely while you wait for some unicorn position to come available that ticks every single box.” He stood. “It’s in your best interest to take on more clients. Be more of a team player.”

My breath hitched. Did cherry-picking my clients mean I wasn’t a team player? I assumed the autonomy in this position meant my work had no bearing on my colleagues. Jill had encouraged individuality and finding your own path. But Jill wasn’t here anymore.

I’d quit my job at the law firm in large part due to a hostile working environment. Each time I imagined placing a candidate in a position my gut screamed was wrong, wrong, wrong, my imagination exploded with visuals of them waking up each morning with dread in the pit of their stomach and a single goal: to get through the day. The way I had. Except it wasn’t only one day. It was day after dayafterdaywith no reward except a paycheck I had no time to spend.

Finding the perfect match between employer and employee was my mission statement—mybrand. It took research, meticulous attention to detail, and a lot of patience, but when it all came together, the reward waschef’s kiss.

“Closing more deals also means more money for you, in case you’ve forgotten,” Michael said.

I worked on commission, which meant I only got paid when I successfully connected a prospective employee to an employer. Michael had a point in that I could probably make more money if I sent candidates out on more interviews and encouraged them to take less than ideal or evenadequatejobs. But it wasn’t how I worked. It wasn’t who Iwas. I didn’t want more money if it came at the cost of selling out my candidates.

“Think about it, Molly. Alpha. Aggressive. Ambitious.” He knocked three times on my wall and left.

I turned my chair to face the East River outside my window and let my head fall back. More likeQuadrupleA: Alpha. Aggressive. Ambitious.Asshole. I opened my eyes.

Michael was gross, but I couldn’t afford to get on his bad side or, worst-case scenario, be pushed out. And what if the complaints came from higher up? Gotham Recruiting got a cut of my commission. The less I brought in, the less money they made. The plan was to stay with the company for a minimum of two years, hopefully longer with promotions. A history of switching jobs every year wasn’t a deal breaker, but as a recruiter, I knew it raised a red flag.

I closed out of Vault and vowed to keep off it and other similar sites from now on, at least for openings already in our system. Once I saw a bad review of the firms who employed us, I couldn’t unsee or ignore it. The only remedy was to stop looking. A hostile environment was the exception, not the rule. What Ididn’tknow couldn’t hurt me, and if I was being honest, earning more money wasn’t a bad thing, for me or for my candidates. I just needed to find a compromise to up the pace without selling them out. Besides, it was unhealthy to lose sleep over their continued job satisfaction.

Keep telling yourself that, Molly.

I clicked the attachment on an email sent from the human resources coordinator of Pro City Sportswear and read the job specification form again.

The sportswear company was looking to fill the legal counsel position in their in-house legal department. They sought someone with two to three years of law firm experience in entertainment or intellectual property law. Since this was a repeat client for me, I’d already run my due diligence in terms of work culture earlier that year. Hopefully, nothing had changed since then. Before my conscience got the better of me, I sent three résumés of qualified candidates.

A text message from Jude popped up on my phone. We were seeing another restaurant that night.

Jude:Sotto 13 is closed for renovations. Meeting place has changed to office space at 328 Broome Street. See you there at 6:30.

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