The Dating Game (4 page)

‘Well, if they set you up with any dates, we’re coming,
too,’ Debbie said firmly.

‘What?’ said Gill.

‘You’re not going on your own,’ Debbie was emphatic.

‘Oh right, I’ll really be able to relax with you sitting at
the next table,’ Gill said sarcastically.

‘Better than ending up chopped up into small pieces and left
to be devoured by wolves in a wood.  Seriously, Gill, if you are going on a date
with someone we don’t know, at least one of us has to be close by.  Maybe next
door?’

Gill mulled this over, saw the sense of it and said
grudgingly, ‘OK. But under no circumstances are you to come into the bar we’re
in.  I’m not good at pretence, as you know.’

Debbie did know.  Gill was a terrible liar.

‘So, have you had any suitors yet?’ Debbie asked.

This time it was Gill who almost spat out her drink. 
‘Suitors?  What is this, the nineteenth century?  It’s not that long since I
last had a date.  I realise you’re insisting on chaperoning me, but really,
suitors?  Next you’ll be talking about him having to wait in the parlour for me
when he comes to pick me up.  And before you say it, no, he won’t be coming to
pick me up, just a turn of phrase.  Of course we’ll be meeting in a neutral
environment.’  Gill had been reading Happy Ever After’s Dos and Don’ts.

Dos & Don’ts of Dating

DOs

Meet in a neutral place.  Under no circumstances invite
your date to pick you up from your home

Wear smart, but casual clothing

Be positive and friendly

Listen to your date and allow them the opportunity to
talk

Exchange e-mail addresses or phone numbers if you want
to see them again

Be honest – if you want to see them again, say so.  If
not, thank them for a nice time and say it was nice to meet them.

DON’TS

Accept a lift from your date until you know them well
enough

Complain all the time

Talk about past relationships, apart from fleetingly

Insist – if they want to call you, or get in touch,
they will

Give out your home or work address

‘OK.  So have you had any potential dates yet?  Is your
removal from the shelf imminent?’ Debbie asked.

‘Not yet,’ Gill said.  ‘It’s too early.  I only confirmed my
profile today.  But the woman did say she had a few men in mind for me already,
so maybe I’ll hear something soon.’

‘Well, I suppose as long as we’re going to be there to watch
your back, I can’t complain,’ Debbie said.

‘We?’

‘Well, you don’t think I’m coming by myself, do you? 
Sitting around in a bar like a right saddo.  The girls will need to come.’

‘But I haven’t told them yet,’ wailed Gill, ‘and I really
wasn’t intending to until I absolutely have to.’

‘I think
absolutely have to
comes when you arrange
your first date,’ Debbie pointed out.

She left it at that and they had one more drink before Gill
said she really had to go, as she had a lot to prepare for the next day.

‘So, how exactly are you going to fit seeing someone into
your hectic schedule anyway?’ Debbie asked.

‘I’m not seeing someone.  That requires a lot more time and
energy than a few simple dates.’

‘Does it?’  Debbie wasn’t so sure.  ‘Once you’re comfortable
with someone, you don’t have to go to the same lengths to prepare for going out
with them.’

Gill admitted this was probably true.  ‘Anyway, I have it in
hand.  I’m going to recruit someone else for the agency.’

‘You’re going to hire someone so you have time to have a
relationship?’

‘Well, not exactly, but without hiring someone else, I’m
never going to have a social life, let’s be honest. I’ve always too much on and
Janice does her best, far more than a receptionist should do, but she’s
inundated, too.’

‘Good on you.  It’s not before time.  So, have you done
anything about recruiting yet?  Or is it a bit like when you’re a painter’s
wife and yours is the last living room to be painted?’ Debbie asked.

‘Well, it is a little bit like that, to be fair.  No, I
haven’t done anything, but I’m going home to write the ad tonight and then
Janice can upload it to the site tomorrow.  If I get as many applicants for our
role, as I have for these technical roles I’ve been advertising for recently,
I’ll be more than happy.’

‘Good luck,’ said Debbie, as she left Gill at the bus stop. 
‘See you soon and text me when you get a profile.  Promise?’

‘I promise,’ and hugging her friend, she stepped into the
bus shelter.

Next morning, Gill arrived at the office even earlier than
usual.  She wanted to finish preparing the advert for the recruitment
consultant.  Although she had got the basics down the night before, she hadn’t
quite perfected it.

Senior Recruitment Consultant

£25-£35K DOE + bonus

The company
– McFadden
Technical Recruitment is a small, but well-established recruitment agency based
in Glasgow, addressing the requirements of a varied client base across Scotland
and the UK.  The company was founded in 2009 and is going through a period of
accelerated growth, as we build our client base and continue to satisfy our
clients’ demands.  We concentrate principally on Engineering and Sales &
Marketing and have many clients in the Oil & Gas, HVAC, Environmental,
Manufacturing and Industrial sectors.

The ideal candidate
should have
previously worked as a Senior Recruitment Consultant (SRC) and/or have specific
experience in dealing with Technical/Oil & Gas clients.  Your remit will
include creating and delivering a business plan, to ensure you build and
maintain excellent business relationships on your own merits. 

The rewards for the right candidate could be great and
the possibility to make your mark and help influence the shaping of the
agency’s future is also within reach.

To apply, please send your CV and covering letter in
the first instance to [email protected]

Gill made a few minor adjustments and then turned her
attention back to her e-mails.  She would be out of the office most of the day,
as she had meetings with clients in Clarkston and down in Ayrshire.  Although
most of her business came from the immediate Glasgow area, this was starting to
change, due to word of mouth recommendations.  She was pleased to see that she
had already received a reply from Bryan Oliver.  She had called him back after
her final meeting yesterday, to discuss the agency’s services and to go through
the terms and conditions with him.  He wanted to arrange a meeting as soon as
possible to discuss filling three positions.  This was excellent news.  At
£2,500 per client placing, that would be nice revenue, if she could get it. 
Checking her online diary, she saw that she had a space the following Tuesday,
so quickly e-mailed him back to see if that would be convenient.

Not long after Janice arrived and they had talked through
the schedule for the day, Gill left the office to head over to her first client
meeting, which was at quarter past ten.  She’d decided to ditch her attempt to
go green by taking the bus.  Quite frankly it simply wasn’t possible with
client meetings here, there, and everywhere.

The traffic had eased a little due to the morning rush hour
having passed, but there was still a steady flow of cars and Gill seemed to get
stopped at every traffic light.

Typical
, she thought.  Taking advantage of being
stationary at a junction where she knew the lights took an age to change, Gill
checked her phone.  There was an e-mail from Caroline Morgan entitled
Profiles.  Excited, she clicked and read Caroline’s message,

Dear Gill.  Here are the first three
profiles.  Let me know if you are interested in meeting any of them and I will
contact them on your behalf.  Regards, Caroline.

Gill tried to click into the first profile, but just then
the lights turned green and, cursing under her breath, she eased the car into
first gear.  By the time she pulled into the client’s car park, she had ten
minutes to spare before her meeting.  She took the chance to open the profiles.
She could make out the photos, but the text was too small to read.  Number one
looked promising, though; broad shouldered, sandy blond hair.  Number two
seemed old, really old. What age had she said she would go up to?  Late
forties?  This guy could easily be in his early sixties.  Number three, she
wasn’t sure about number three.  She’d have to blow up his photo when she could
access her laptop and of course, she’d need to read his profile.

Glancing at her watch, Gill saw she only had a few more
minutes and she was a stickler for punctuality, so she rapidly tapped out a
text to Debbie, ‘3 prfls recd.  Call l8r’.

The meeting overran.  Gill knew today was going to be busy. 
With no time to check her messages, she jumped in the car and drove down to
Mauchline in Ayrshire, to meet her next client.  She was going to be late. 
Blasted average speed cameras.

A smiling Gill emerged two and a half hours later, starving
but satisfied.  Her appointment had gone even better than expected.  The
company manufactured chemicals for use in personal care products, such as
shampoo, shower gel and hand wash.  They had grown their business thirty
percent last year, amazing in these tough times, but she supposed their line of
work was fairly recession-proof.  Beauty salons and hairdressers actually
seemed to make more money during tough times, as people wanted to at least look
good, when everything else was crumbling around them.  Now her client hoped to
expand by opening a plant in North Berwick on the east coast and intended to
recruit staff both for the new plant and also for the existing one, as some of
the key workers in the Ayrshire division would be relocated to North Berwick,
so their expertise could be utilised.  Business couldn’t be better.  Gill was
grateful for this, as she knew not every agency was in such an enviable
position.  It was very much a ‘dog eat dog’ industry, but she truly believed
that you got what you put in.  Gill was always decent towards people, and
likewise clients and candidates tended to treat her with respect.  To many
agencies you were just a number.  Even with the enormous amount of applicants,
she tried her best not to let that be the case with her agency. Algaeonics
intended to hire another fifteen people initially.  With the new Algaeonics
contract won, Gill found herself hoping she received some replies to her SRC ad
soon.

Stopping at a supermarket in Kilmarnock to grab a sandwich
and a cup of tea in the café, she scrolled through her texts and e-mails. 
Seeing the number of unread e-mails, she wondered how she was going to get
through them and prayed for divine intervention.  Pressing speed dial for the
office, she quickly connected with Janice, who ran through what had been
happening.  After advising Janice that she would be back in just over an hour, Gill
hung up and resumed drinking her tea, shutting out the cacophony that was a
crowded supermarket café.  At least the schools had gone back now, as during
the holidays she didn’t dare enter supermarkets during the day.  Gill loved
kids and doted on her brother’s two.  Harry was four and George had just turned
six and didn’t he want to tell you all about it.  Actually he wanted to tell
you about everything, just like his dad as a child.  It was other people’s
kids, particularly in supermarkets, who drove Gill mad.  She tried to ignore
their tantrums or when they threw themselves on the floor, refusing to get back
up.  If they looked between two and three, Gill gave the parents some leeway. 
After all, even she had heard of the terrible twos.  Although her brother,
Christopher, did seem to have got off lightly in that regard with his pair, who
were angels – well, most of the time.  But if they were older than that, Gill
often wanted to strangle the parents.  She knew it must be hard being a
parent.  Debbie had told her often enough what a trial it could be, but there
were limits to what she felt the general public should be subjected to, and
shrieking which would shatter glass she felt was well beyond that limit.

After returning her empty tray to a vacant spot on the
catering trolley, Gill dialled Debbie.  She answered on the second ring.

‘Hi, it’s me.’

‘I know. I can see your number.’

‘Right, anyway, did you get my text?’

‘Yes, very exciting.  So what do you think?’

‘Well, I haven’t actually been able to read any profiles
yet, as I’ve only seen them on my phone and you know how blind I am.’

Debbie knew.  Gill was known for being clumsy, always
falling over things and also for losing her contact lenses on nights out.  She
was as blind as a bat without her glasses or lenses in.

‘Oh, right,’ said Debbie. ‘So, where are you?’

Gill explained to her friend about her morning and how the
meetings had gone.  ‘I’m just heading back to the office now.  I was going to
ask, I know we met up last night, but I was thinking I could print the profiles
off and we could have a look at them together.’

‘We-ell,’ Debbie hesitated.

‘Or do you need to pick Olivia up?’

‘No, my mum’s doing that, it’s just I haven’t seen much of
Gerry this past week.  He’s been working a lot of overtime.’

‘Oh right, don’t worry then.  I’ll just phone you when I’ve
had a look at them.’

‘No, let me see if I can work something out. I’ll call you
back,’ and with that Debbie hung up.

It took Gill less than forty-five minutes to get back into
the west end of Glasgow, as traffic was still relatively light.  Everyone was
still in work.  The rush hour would probably start within the next hour.

When she arrived in the office, the normally unruffled
Janice appeared stressed out.

‘You OK?’ she asked with concern.

‘Yes, it’s just been bonkers in here today.  The phones have
been ringing off the hook.  Three people have dropped in about the SRC role you
advertised, bringing their CVs in person, and the e-mail is totally choked up. 
Plus the server went down just after you called and I’ve only just managed to
get it up and running again now.  All in all, today could have been better.’

Gill felt guilty, but didn’t quite know how to respond to
make things better.  Perhaps in hiring this new recruitment consultant,
Janice’s workload would automatically reduce.  She already did so much more
than a receptionist and was an essential cog in the business.  That’s why Gill
paid her more than the going rate for a receptionist role, to ensure she didn’t
think of leaving.

‘Do you have the CVs from the walk-ins?’ Gill asked.

‘Sure.  Here,’ Janice handed them to her.

‘Thanks.  I need half an hour without interruptions, unless
it’s life or death, OK?’

‘No problem.  You can count on me to hold them off,’ she
winked at Gill.

Laughing, Gill retreated into her office, where she booted
up her computer and started working her way through the CVs Janice had handed
her.  She then made a start on the remaining mountain she still needed to
address.

Apart from an e-mail sent by Debbie into her work account,
saying in the subject simply, ‘
All is cool.  Spoke to Gerry.  Meet me in
Drummonds Kelvingrove at 7
,’ Gill barely glanced up all afternoon.

She was vaguely aware of Janice shouting goodnight just
after five, and next time she glanced at her watch it was quarter past six. 
Hurriedly, she logged into her e-mail and brought up the profiles.

Number One – yes, he looked even better on the big screen. 
Charlie Prentice.  Broad shoulders always did it for her.  Maybe he was a
mechanic or a shipbuilder, something manual labour related.  On second
thoughts, she doubted that, or he wouldn’t be on a Professional Persons dating
site.  More like Blue Collar Workers Are Us. 
There was nothing wrong with
blue collar workers of course
, she thought. 
On the contrary
…  Gill
thought back many years, to Paul, a production worker at the local factory
which made ball bearings and other parts for the automotive industry.  The sex
had been fantastic.  Gill hastily pulled herself back to the present, feeling a
touch aroused at her reminiscing.

Candidate Profile

Name:  Charlie Prentice

Age:  44

Lives:  South side Glasgow

Occupation:  Surveyor

Qualifications:  BSc Hons Environmental Management and
Planning

Height:  6’ 1”

Marital status:  Divorced

Children:  One daughter, aged twelve

Smoker:  No

Interests:  Playing and watching rugby, swimming,
socialising with friends, mountain climbing, dining out, cooking, travelling

Further information:  Originally from Barra, I moved to
Glasgow when I started university and ended up staying here.

Looking to meet:  A woman who likes socialising and who
is open to romance.  She should be independent but enjoy being part of a
couple.

Divorced?  With a daughter.  So he had some baggage, but
didn’t they all?
Gill thought.  It was a plus that he didn’t smoke.  No
wonder he had that build, if he played rugby, and the swimming would account
for those gorgeous shoulders.  Blond, shortish hair, blue eyes.  Yes, there was
a real possibility she’d feel some sort of spark, she thought, if she could
meet him in the flesh.  And he shared some of the same interests as her,
travelling, dining out and he could cook!  That had to be a bonus.  Just as
long as he didn’t expect her to cook for him, or any friendship would be over
before it began.  Domestic goddess she wasn’t.  And ‘open to romance,’ should
that be interpreted, as ‘wants sex’?  It was hard to know.  You’d really have
to give the guy the benefit of the doubt.  She quite liked the Western Isles
lilt, too.  Charlie sounded promising.

Candidate Profile

Name:  Ronald Fotheringham

Age:  49

Lives:  Loch Lomondside

Occupation:  Antiques dealer

Qualifications:  MA Art History, FDA Furniture
Restoration, PhD Fine Art & Design

Height:  5’ 9”

Marital status:  Widower

Children:  Three of adult age

Smoker:  Occasional

Interests:  Art history, restoration, fine dining,
black and white movies, squash, tennis, reading the classics.