I RECEIVED SEVERAL replies to the advert I placed looking for work, but none of them seemed interesting enough to get in touch with and arrange to meet. Then one day I got a letter from someone called Jaime Rijas, a business consultant, who needed an office manager. In the letter he gave a mobile phone number to ring to arrange an interview. The first time I called I had no luck. His mobile was permanently switched off. When I did finally manage to get through, the person who answered gave me a very good impression. He sounded very professional and was looking for someone equally serious to work for him. We agreed to meet at his office after lunch.
Jaime’s offices were in the heart of Barcelona, in the Eixample district, in a pale pink building with wide balconies. When I arrived at the agreed time, the door was opened by a man of around fifty, with a lively look in his eye and smoking a pipe. I thought the secretaries must still be at lunch, which meant that this gentleman, who looked more like an executive than an administrative assistant, had been obliged to answer the door himself. We exchanged a few words and then Jaime appeared, limping slightly, from his room at the far end of the corridor. The man with the pipe disappeared almost at once, while Jaime shook my hand vigorously.
‘Is there something wrong with your leg?’ I asked him, trying to be friendly.
‘No, it’s nothing. I pulled a muscle playing tennis last weekend,’ he replied, in a very cold tone that suggested it was not worth talking about.
He immediately ushered me into his office. It was a rather dark room that gave onto the interior courtyard of the building. He switched on a halogen lamp, and I was surprised to see so little furniture in the office for someone who was supposed to be a company director. For a second time Jaime, who was observing the way I was taking everything in, stressed how unimportant it was.
‘Don’t pay any attention to the way the office looks. We are in the process of moving in. Everything still has to arrive,’ he explained.
The room must have been four metres wide, and the only furniture was a stupendously big President desk, and a black leather chair with wheels. There were two or three books on labour legislation on the desk, and little else. The interview began.
‘I am Jaime Rijas, partner and director general of this company. The person who showed you in was the other partner, Joaquin Blanco. We’re looking for a trustworthy person to organize this office and to build up a good relationship with our clients. In other words, a kind of public relations person. Did you bring your CV?’
Jaime spoke with all the seriousness and solemn air of a university professor. I could see he was someone who commanded respect. He did not seem to be easily approachable.
I handed him my CV, and he began to read it in silence. When he looked up, I felt even more intimidated.
‘I hope the references you supply here are proper ones, because I always telephone to make sure. Do you have any problem with my calling your previous employers to check what they think of your work?’
‘No, sir, on the contrary,’ I answered, confident I had nothing to be ashamed of.
‘Why did you leave your last job?’
‘Because I was fired. I’m not sure if that’s the best way to put it, but they were cutting down on staff, and I was the first to go, Mr . . .’
‘Rijas.’
‘I’m sorry?’
‘Jaime Rijas,’ he said, rummaging in a drawer until he found a business card to give me. ‘Well anyway, I’ll ring them.’
‘You can speak to Mr Andres Martinez. He used to be my boss.’
‘Fine.’ He wrote the name at the bottom of my CV. ‘Obviously,’ he went on, ‘I have to tell you that you’re not the only candidate for the job. I’ve already seen quite a few, and there are three more after you. You will understand how important it is I make the right choice.’
‘I understand, but I’m not sure I did the right thing in coming to the interview. To be frank, I don’t know whether the position would suit me. Until now I’ve always worked in publicity. I would have to think it over. What sort of salary are you offering?’
‘About two hundred and fifty thousand pesetas a month, before deductions.’
‘To tell you the truth, Mr Rijas, that is not exactly the best offer I’ve ever had.’
‘That’s what we would be prepared to pay during the probationary months; when we sign the proper contract we would reconsider. And of course that does not include expenses and a small commission we would pay if your public relations efforts helped lead to any new contract.’
‘I understand, and thank you for seeing me and considering me for the position.’
‘May I ask you another question?’
He sat up in his chair and peered at me far more seriously than at the start of the interview.
‘Yes, of course.’
‘Are you married?’
This did not come as much of a surprise. A lot of employers ask the same question.
‘No, sir. I’m not married, and I have no children.’
‘A boyfriend?’
He sat staring me in the face so intently I was flustered.
‘I don’t think that is a relevant question, Mr Rijas,’ I said, angrily.
He did not seem upset by the way I reacted. On the contrary, he immediately became more concerned.
‘I know it might seem an odd question. But I need someone with no family commitments. It’s likely that whoever gets the job will have to travel quite frequently. That’s why I need a woman who has no emotional ties.’
I didn’t find this explanation very convincing, but I answered all the same.
‘I understand. In my case, I have neither family nor emotional ties.’
‘Good. That’s all I wanted to know.’
After that our conversation became a little more relaxed. We talked about the time I had spent in Spain, why I had left France, and the possibilities of promotion within the company. The end of the interview was very friendly, and when we shook hands to say goodbye he promised to call me within a week to tell me what decision he had reached, after carrying out all the other interviews.
I wasn’t completely sure it was the sort of job I wanted, but then again, I wasn’t losing anything by going for it. I had formed contradictory impressions of Jaime. On the one hand he had seemed very professional and serious, but on the other his prying questions into my personal life had left me nonplussed. I found the mixture of solemnity and shamelessness very seductive. Above all, Jaime was a great psychologist of women.
After thinking it over carefully, I’ve decided not to accept the job offer from Mr Rijas, should he call me to say that I have been chosen. The position is not at all what I am looking for, so I want to go on with my search – and anyway, I’m pretty certain he won’t call me again.
But I was wrong. This morning his secretary rang to tell me I had been shortlisted, and invited me to call at the office again in the afternoon to speak to Jaime.
Without much enthusiasm, I turned up at the office more out of a sense of professional duty and so as not to upset them, than because I wanted to work there.
Jaime Rijas was much more relaxed and friendly than the first time. I was surprised at how certain he seemed that I would accept the offer.
‘It’s a very prestigious post. I have chosen you and another young lady, who has just graduated from the Barcelona Business School. If you are the one who finally gets the job, it will mean you discover all the secrets of a lot of companies, and will come to understand what makes them a success or a failure. Our consultancy is about helping them meet proper business standards, amongst other things. It’s fascinating!’
‘I don’t doubt it, Mr Rijas. I’m not saying the job isn’t interesting, simply that it may not be what I am looking for. I think someone with a business diploma might be more suited for this kind of consultancy than I am.’
There I was, busily doing myself down. But Jaime insisted on trying to convince me it was exactly the job I was looking for.
‘Between you and me, diplomas aren’t worth much. What I appreciate are people and their potential.’
‘Yes, I completely agree.’
‘So we’re beginning to see eye to eye,’ he said, smiling. ‘Perhaps if I offered you more money, you might be tempted to accept?’
‘I’m not sure. It’s not just the money.’
‘Think it over. It’s also a question of your career.’
‘I will.’
We said goodbye, and he promised to call me within a couple of days.