“Of course.” Mandy thought for a moment, mentally running through the week’s schedule which she’d just updated that morning so it was fresh in her mind. “Would you like to help with the wine dinner? I could use an extra server since the count has gone up. It should be a fun, and easy night.”
Stacy nodded and looked grateful. “I’d love that, thank you.”
“What kind of work does your husband do?”
“He was an analyst with a Boston-based financial services firm. They were just acquired and had a big layoff a few weeks ago. John is one of the newer employees and works remotely so he was caught in the layoff. He’s been sending out resumes but all the jobs he’s finding are in the city.”
“I can’t promise anything, but if you want to email me a copy of his resume, I can give it to my ex-husband. His company is headquartered in Boston too, but he works out of the Nantucket office and has a small team here. I don’t know if he needs anyone, but I can at least give him John’s resume.”
“Really? That would be wonderful. I’ll send it to you as soon as I get home.”
Chapter 2
Jill turned at the sound of a bell ringing in the office bull pen where most of their recruiters sat in an open space. She knew what that meant. She smiled, pushed her chair back and walked out of her spacious corner office with its floor-to-ceiling glass windows and stunning city views. Her husband and business partner, Billy Carmanetti, was a few steps ahead of her and had his hand up to high-five Emily, their newest hire, on making her first placement.
“Fantastic job, Em. That was a tough one. Did the counteroffer happen the way you expected?”
Emily nodded. She was a pretty girl, in her mid-twenties, and this was her first job in recruiting. She’d joined the company after working for several years in marketing at one of the city’s top financial services firms. Her salary was good, but she’d been bored with her job and had come in to meet with Billy regarding a search he was working on. But once he met her, Billy had another idea and had Jill meet her, too. Without him saying a thing about what he was thinking, Jill made the same suggestion, and asked Emily if she’d ever thought about recruiting? She hadn’t. But once it was presented to her, Emily immediately saw the potential and became excited about the opportunity.
“Yes, it happened exactly the way you and Jill said it would. And I told him to expect that he’d get the counteroffer because they wouldn’t want to lose him. He didn’t believe me, because he’d asked for a raise before looking and they’d told him it wasn’t possible, that they couldn’t afford it. Suddenly they came up with the money and he was flattered enough to sleep on it, but in the morning he realized they’d lied to him and he wondered what else they would lie about, so he knew accepting this offer was the right choice.”
“I’m so proud of you, Emily. Hold on…” There was a knock at the front door as Jill went into her office and to the small wine refrigerator that she kept well-stocked with various wines—and for occasions like this, bottles of Veuve Cliquot champagne. She pulled out a bottle and a bag of plastic champagne glasses from her closet and brought everything back to the bull pen.
Billy was signing a charge slip for the stack of pizzas that had just been delivered. They’d ordered lunch in as Billy and Jill were leaving later that afternoon to fly to Nantucket for the rest of the month. And now they had something to celebrate too. Jill opened the champagne and poured a small amount into eighteen glasses, so that everyone in the company could toast to Emily’s first placement.
Everyone grabbed a slice or two of pizza and gathered in their big conference room. While they ate, Billy led a job order meeting, where everyone gave status updates on all their open searches and candidate interview activity. When they finished the updates, he grinned and added, “So, any other non-work news? How’s everyone doing?”
“I came in third last weekend in my first Iron Man competition,” Rick said shyly. Jill was impressed. Rick was in great shape, but Jill knew how tough the Iron Man was, a triathlon where they had to run, swim and bike. It sounded horrible to her, but she knew it was quite an accomplishment.
“Rick, congrats! That is amazing.”
David, one of their newly married recruiters, reached for his wallet and proudly pulled out an ultrasound picture.
“Some of you already know this, but Jenna and I just learned yesterday that we’re having a boy!”
The room erupted in a chorus of congratulations and back slapping. Jill caught Billy’s gaze and he grinned and raise his eyebrows. She knew what he was suggesting. He was dying for her to get pregnant. He knew not to mention it again though. She’d made it clear that she wasn’t ready yet. Although she’d known Billy for what felt like forever now, it was as friends and business partners. Being a couple and now a married one was new and Jill wanted to enjoy their alone time for a bit longer, ideally a year or two before they started to try for having a baby.
They decided to close the office early and gave everyone the afternoon off, which was unexpected and much appreciated by the staff. It felt like the right thing to do, since they were ducking out early and wouldn’t be there for over a month. They’d still be working part-time remotely though from Nantucket, so they could keep up with their current activity and hopefully close a few more searches. Thanks to technology, like Zoom group calls, they’d be able to still meet with the team for update meetings.
They’d brought their luggage with them to the office, so they could head right to the airport when they left. It was a clear day, cold but sunny. They had a smooth flight to Nantucket and landed a little before four. Mandy was there to pick them up and had the kids with her. Jill loved that Brooke and Blake were so excited to see her. She’d grown close to her niece and nephew during the year that she’d spent on Nantucket, when she and her sisters worked together at the restaurant. She’d been happy to go home to Manhattan when the year was up, but it had been a very good year and a wonderful chance to spend time with her family—they’d all grown closer and it had been a hard year in some ways for Emma and Mandy. Both were going through divorces and it helped to be there and support each other.
Jill was glad that Emma was so happy with Paul now and it sounded like Mandy and Matt were doing well. Both Jill and Emma wondered about that though. Mandy had married Cory soon after college and really hadn’t dated much at all. Jill had hoped that once Mandy’s divorce was final that she’d get out there and date lots of different men and enjoy herself. Instead, she and Matt found each other and her sister didn’t seem to have any interest in dating anyone else. Which Jill was pretty sure was a mistake.
* * *
Emma was looking forward to seeing her sister, Jill, and her husband, Billy. Mandy was picking them up at the airport and had invited her and Paul to join them for dinner. Paul couldn’t make it as he had to work, but it was Emma’s night off and she’d made Jill’s favorite appetizer, a creamy, hot artichoke and spinach dip. When Jill had lived with her at Grams’ house for a year, they’d often had the dip as their dinner, along with a glass or two of good chardonnay.