can speak to easily, someone who has the same vision as me, someone I can trust. The people I’ve been talking to today just don’t fit the bill.” Decker sighed heavily; but talking about the problem had helped him put it into perspective a bit.
“Well, boss man, I know you’ll get it figured out. Ever since you were a little boy you were always able to solve tough problems; you have a lot of drive and determination. Keep looking; you never know, the next one may be the absolute perfect person. I’ll let you make your phone calls.” Nicky stood to leave the office but stopped and turned back around. “Decker? I want you all to know just how happy we are that you’re all back home; it just didn’t seem like Torey Hope without you all here. We love you.” Nicky and Decker smiled at each other, and Decker took a deep breath before picking up the phone to call the next applicant.
“Hello, this is Decker Morgan at The Center+. I’m calling for Ms. Katherine Turner in regards to her recent resume and job application.” Decker held the phone away from his ear as he heard an earsplitting blare coming through the line.
“Oh my God! I’m so sorry! Hold on please Mr. Morgan! This is Katherine Turner….hang on just a second! Where’s the damn broom?!” A cacophony came through the phone and Decker was tempted to hang up; if this was the way Ms. Turner conducted herself on the phone she was obviously not the one for the job.
“Shut up, damn it! Just shut up!” Her words were barely distinguishable over the shrill alarm-like noise. “There! I’m so sorry, Mr. Morgan. Mr. Morgan? Sir? Are you there? Please accept my apologies. I was helping my grandma bake cookies. I didn’t realize that Grandma had accidentally turned the oven up to 500 and the timer to thirty-one minutes rather than thirteen minutes. Needless to say, our little cookies are now burnt offerings. On the bright side, we know her smoke detectors work.” Katherine Turner spoke in an airy, breathless way that had Decker picturing her in a smoky kitchen, hair askew, with a broomstick to turn off the offending smoke detector.
“Well, Ms. Turner, you’re the first applicant I’ve called who has provided so much entertainment in such a short amount of time. I trust that there’s no danger to you or your grandmother?” Decker really couldn’t explain why he felt the need to continue with this phone interview; the girl obviously wasn’t management material, but he wanted to hear her answers to his questions because she had him feeling something he hadn’t felt in a long time. Intrigued.
Forty-five minutes later, Decker hung up from the most enjoyable phone interview he’d ever conducted. Katherine Turner was not the typical uptight management applicant that he’d been speaking to; this woman was genuine, whip-smart, well-spoken, and on the same path as him. It amazed him just how much they had in common both personally and professionally. Before ending the call with her, Decker had done something he’d never planned on doing; he offered her the job over the phone, sight unseen, no further interview. She had accepted, and he was pumped to meet her in person the next day and get the paperwork filled out so that she could get to work right away.
Looking at the clock, he realized that it was late enough he could call it a day. There was really nothing else he needed to do right then. He texted his brother to see if Sawyer wanted to play some basketball before they headed home. As it turned out, Sawyer’s meeting with the potential martial arts instructor had run over so he wasn’t available; Zach, Kendrick, and Decker played a little game before their dads and uncle showed up. Nate Morgan, Jeremiah Jordan, and Kyle Martin had been playing ball together for years and gave the younger men a run for their money. In the end, all six men were sweaty but laughing. Decker paused as he left The Center+ on his way home. Yeah, it was good to be