Thursday, 8/12/10 - The They

"Hello, Mr. Warner?"

"Yes."

"This is Aimee from People Power Employment Agency."

"Hi, Aimee, how did I do on my phone interview yesterday?"

"How do you think you did?"

"It's hard to tell. The interview was short, it lasted only about five minutes. They seemed to know a lot about the places I had worked and the projects I had worked on. They focused mostly on my PR work with the bank."

"Well, they just called me. They want you in for a face-to-face this afternoon. Do you think you can make it?"

"All depends on where they are located. You still haven't told me who they are."

"That's standard policy. It protects both you and them."

He wanted to say that it protected no one but People Power but after eighteen months without a job he didn't want to risk annoying anyone. "Where do I need to go?"

She gave him the address and directions. "You are in public relations so I probably don't need to tell you to dress well and to bring your portfolio. They were really impressed with your phone interview. You should have no problem in person. Just show them what you have done."

"Are you going to tell me who they are, now?"

"No, I think it best that they tell you."

"And this is standard practice?"

"No, at this point we would normally tell you but the client has requested that they remain anonymous until they speak with you directly."

He hears a hesitation in her voice. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"We normally don't make recommendations to our clients about salaries but this employer had indicated that a six figure salary is not unreasonable for the position." She lets her last statement sit for a moment before continuing. "And, Mr. Warner, the first figure is not a one."

---

A salary over $200,000? That's crazy! But it's his kind of crazy. He would probably be nervous if he had time to think about it but after agreeing to do the interview this afternoon, she called back and told him to arrive at 2:30. That left him only one hour to get ready. The drive would only take twenty minutes but he wanted to shower and run through his portfolio and include only his best work.

His best work was done for Bank of Boston after their creative financing techniques made front page news. His job was to coordinate a media campaign that made the bank look like victims to poor government oversight and over zealous investors.

His work was brilliant and the public, outraged by the first news stories, quickly came to see the situation from the poor bank's point of view and, for the rest of the bank's fifteen minutes of fame, the public called for legal action, referendums and stricter laws to protect their banks.

He never considered that he would be laid off after this level of success or, even if he was, that he wouldn't be snapped up by another PR firm. But he was laid off and no one came looking for him. All of his contacts were cordial but no one had anything for him. The placement firm couldn't tell him what was wrong. They claimed that they were sending his resume to every potential employer but recieving nothing back.

This was his first lead in eighteen months and he was determined to show them his best.

---

The street was typical downtown: coffee and sundry shops on the ground level and offices above. It woke at 6am with an in-rushing of commuters and went back to sleep at 6pm when the tide of people receeded.

He looked for a parking spot. Not finding one on the street he decided to pay whatever it cost to use the garage in the office building he was visiting. If they were willing to pay him a huge salary, they would probably have no problem paying for his parking.

The garage was almost empty and he was able to park next to the street exit. He popped a breath mint, checked his hair then his nose in the mirror, then got out and put on his jacket before grabbing his portfolio, shutting the door and heading for the street.

---

The receptionist greeted him by name as he entered then picked up the phone, pressed a button and told the person on the other end that Mr. Warner had arrived. She thanked the person on the other end, hung up and asked him to follow her.

The lobby was what he had expected in a building of this age. It was clean but worn and old. The furnishings were sturdy and not all coordinated. What he saw on the other side of the large double doors she led him through was like a door in Kansas opening into Oz. The hallway was bright, the carpets thick, and, if he wasn't mistaken, the artwork on the walls was all originals.

The receptionist offered no conversation in the hallway and, as with most people, she said nothing in their elevator ride to the top floor. When the doors opened she motioned for him to exit. The doors closed behind him and he could hear the elevator start its descent.

"Good afternoon. Thank you for coming on such short notice."



If the hallway downstairs was Oz then the elevator had taken him up to heaven. He stood unable to process what he was seeing. Blue sky. All around him was blue sky. Not only were the room's walls glass but the roof, twenty feet above them, was also glass. He felt a sense of vertigo pulling him over the edge.

"Beautiful isn't it?" The voice brought him back.

"Yes, yes, quite beautiful." He reached out and shook the hand extended out to him and tried not to look out as the man with the hand introduced himself.

"Frank Warner. Pleased to meet you Mr. Trask."

"Come in, have a seat." The conversation started out with small talk. Weather, sports, nothing personal. After a few minutes it got more serious. "I should probably tell you who we are and why we hired you."

He looks startled.

"I am going to tell you some things that might seem crazy to you. Bear with me, it will all make sense by the time I am done."

He listens while Mr. Trask tells him that his salary is $250,000 and that it is being paid retroactively back to the date that he was laid off.

"We were the ones that requested that you be laid off. We were the ones that kept you out of work. It's only fair that we pay you for that time."

It wasn't vertigo making his head spin. "That's very generous of you but what is it that you want me to do and why didn't you just make me an offer eighteen months ago?"

"We've had our eye on you for several years but we needed to be sure that you were the right person for the job. The only way to prove that was to see how you handled the past year and a half."

He was completely lost. "So, I guess you don't really want to see my portfolio?"

The other man chuckled. "There is nothing in there that we haven't already scrutinized. Your work with Boston Bank was brilliant. You took a company in the middle of a media feeding frenzy and made them look like angels. No, even better, you made them into victims that Mr. and Mrs. Normal Everyday could relate to. Quite honestly, Mr. Warner, we need you."

"Do I dare as who 'we' is?"

Another chuckle, "You're not going to believe this but we are Them."

"Them?"

"We sometimes do business as They but most people know us as Them."

This was just silly and he decided to have some fun with it, "So, you want to hire me. And, that would make me one of Them?"

"Exactly!"

He stands up.

"Please, sit, let me explain. We really are Them. We are the ones who say all of those things that They say. We are the Them that everyone refers to. The problem is that we are often mis-quoted. That's why we need you, to clean up our image, to do for us what you did for the bank."

"I don't..."

"Before you decide, I need you to know that you will have all of the funding you need, you will have full control over the PR campaign. You can do radio, TV, hell, put a ten story LED billboard in Times Square if you think that's what we need. Anything you need, you will have."

"Anything?"

"Yes, anything."

"Even access to all of the things that They say?"

"I would expect you to use those to promote use. If, of course, you think that would be wise."

"Could be interesting..."

"Oh, there is one little thing you should know."

"What's that?"

"From now on, you will hear things you say coming out of other people's mouths. From now on, you are the They."