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Silvia Interview

Gerard Point of View

Once I made the decision that I was not going to interview Silvia, I thought the matter was resolved. I knew I'd probably have to explain myself to Katy and Ronny, but I thought I'd do it by claiming that there were wonderful candidates. But when I reviewed all the applications, two problems emerged: One was that the candidates were so-so good. The second, that there was a request from Silvia.

"Damn". But I wasn't going to give up so quickly. During one of the meetings that all my brothers and I had to talk about business, I brought up the fact that it would be inappropriate to consider Silvia for the position.

"She's perfectly qualified for the position," Ronny said. She has done some freelance marketing work in the past, and she is very creative artistically speaking. I think she would be a great asset.

"she is a part-time barista, a part-time freelancer, and a part-time artist. “This job requires someone who is looking to have a career, not someone who is waiting for the moment to stop being a starving artist,” he argued.

"She's right," said my brother, Carter, who until then had been indifferent.

However, he was eager for support. I looked at Noé, my brother, who had his feet propped up on the table and looked bored. He shrugged with his usual indifference.

"We can't waste time on this," Ronny said, his voice becoming sharp. We are close to the launch in the European market.

I thought that after a free fake Tuscan wedding and a week-long honeymoon in which he fell in love with his assistant, he would be in a better mood, especially when it came to this European expansion. The man who organized the wedding and honeymoon, Christian La Mont, was clear that he liked Ronny, so he couldn't understand why he looked like he was going to have a fit.

"There are a lot of people among the candidates we can interview," he explained.

"This expansion is too important to allow any kind of delay. Silvia is aware. At least, she could work on it now, even if she doesn't intend to make this her career,” Ronny continued.

I looked at the rest of my siblings hoping they would support me, but it was clear they didn't care one way or the other.

"Grandma put us in charge of each of our departments because we are the best at what we do. I am the head of marketing for this company and I hope you all trust me that Silvia is not the best option for this job.

"You just want to fuck her, right?: Noah finally spoke from his end of the table." Not that I blames you, she's hot."

I shot him a death glare. Although he wasn't wrong.

"Of course, the company has a rule about not getting intimate with the staff, so if that's the case then he can't hire Silvia because if he did, then he wouldn't be able to sleep with her.

Although I didn't really like that logic, it wasn't wrong, and if it helped me get my way, I would go with it. I wouldn't admit it out loud, but I did agree curtly.

"On the other hand, that didn't stop Ronny from fucking his assistant, so maybe the rules are more of a guideline," Noé finished.

I glared at him, hating that he was always so smart.

"I wish you'd grow up," I told him. Putting my thoughts aside, I decided to follow a new tactic before my other brother started asking me if he really wanted to fuck Silvia. The thing is, hiring Silvia would make it seem like we are not fair in our hiring practices. It would seem like nepotism.

Noah let out a loud laugh.

"Look around you, brother. We are all here because of nepotism”.

Damn. Of course, he was right. We were all in our positions in the company because our grandmother had put us in them.

Since I'm not one to give up, I continued.

"It's only family by marriage”. She is Ronny's sister-in-law.

Ronny's eyes darkened.

"That makes his family.

The tension between Ronny and I became more evident, thicker, but when I looked at my other brothers, they remained indifferent.

Ronny straightened and his shoulders relaxed a little as he rolled them.

"Listen, it's your department. You have to make the decision. The only thing I ask of you is that you interview her.

"Because? Is your wife going to worry about you if I don't do it? "I knew it was a stupid thing to say, but I felt at a disadvantage. I felt like I deserved it.

"No, because Katy is a good person, unlike some people at this table. But it is true that Silvia is part of the family and the only thing that has always been important in this company is family. So, give it a fucking chance and if it doesn't work out, fine. But give him the chance. "Ronny stood up". Now I have other work to do. He headed towards the door. My other brothers shrugged and stood up guide it When Ronny reached the door he turned and said, "And if that thing about you wanting to fuck her is true, don't do it."


That's how a couple of days later I was waiting at my desk for Silvia to show up for an interview. When my secretary called to tell me that Silvia was here, I stood up straightening my tie and jacket as she reminded me that I didn't actually have to hire her. I just had to interview her.

I walked around the desk so I could greet her when she entered. The door opened and she walked in, and immediately, I wished I had stayed behind my desk as all the blood in my body rushed straight to my groin. She had been very attractive in Thailand, but now, standing alone in my office, she was even more stunning than she remembered.

Her dress was classic cut, but she still had the wild colors that she was known for. Her soft curls were styled in a way that made me think of pin-up girls from the fifties. Like Marilyn Monroe, but with lavender hair instead of platinum blonde.

She smiled and held out her hand to me.

"Hello Gerard, I don't know if you remember me. I'm Silvia Nichols.”

"Yes, I remember you.”

I had a moment to worry that my tone sounded more lewd than friendly. I extended her hand to shake his. This one was small compared to mine, and warm and soft, and again I had sensations in places I shouldn't have. I removed my hand from her and motioned for her to sit as I quickly moved behind my desk and sat in my chair.

"Why don't you tell me a little about what interests you about this job? "It wasn't my usual initial question, but I figured if I was right, and this wasn't really interesting to her, she'd give me a chance to delete it.

She wore a small smile on her face, but then she responded:

"I like to tell stories with art.”

I was intrigued by that idea. Indeed, marketing was partly a form of storytelling, as well as persuasive and psychological manipulation. But what better way to strike a chord or access people's most intimate desires and needs than through a story.

We chatted a little more and then I decided we should get to the point. What would she do with this campaign that Ronny insisted she had to be the best of all time? I took out the models that Liz and her team had prepared for European expansion and handed them to Silvia.

She looked at the work and, at first, her face revealed no response. Then, she looked at me with a raised eyebrow and said:

"You're not going to use them, are you?”

"Why wouldn't I?”

For a moment she looked at me in disbelief, and I didn't like the feeling she evoked in me. I was good at my job, so why was she looking at me like I was a fucking idiot?

Feeling the need to defend myself, I said:

"This campaign is going to attract the European market. It is classic and traditional. It's a throwback to the days of Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. Think Roman Holiday.

"First of all, Roman Holiday didn't star Cary Grant. Second, the romance of Roman Holiday appeals to people in the United States, not Europe. The people of Rome are not interested in a Roman holiday. They live there. It's just another place for them.

"Okay, smart one, what would you do?”

The word "intelligent" was reflected in her eyes. It's clear she didn't like it, but in the end, the joke backfired on me, because seeing that fire in her eyes made me wish I could lay her on my desk and show her all kinds of classic, traditional things that can be done between a man and a woman.

"Hush Incorporated creates a very Californian line of shoes. In fact, it is very beachy Californian”. That's what should sell. And if you wanted to go with some vintage historical vibe, you could go with sixties beach, like the Beach Boys or something. But it definitely has to evoke a California girl vibe.

That didn't fit well with my classic traditional marketing thinking.

"Don't you think it's a little clumsy?”

She smiled.

I felt my jaw tighten and I tried hard to keep it relaxed because I didn't want him to know he was getting on my nerves.

"This campaign has to be ready by yesterday. These are the sketches we have. Do they help you work?

She put them back on my desk.

"No."

I cocked my head, wondering if maybe she didn't want this job as much as I didn't want to give it to her.

"I was told that this job would have some creative scope. This is not creative. Europeans already have access to traditions. Your goal shouldn't be to fit in with what's already there, your goal should be to stand out. Europeans who come to the United States go to the Wild West because they are infatuated with cowboys or come to the beach in California hoping to see movie stars. If you want to sell your sandals in Europe, that's what I would do."

I know why I was so outraged. Maybe because she was questioning my knowledge of marketing and advertising. Maybe because she was right.

"I wouldn't expect someone who spends their days painting landscapes to fully understand what it takes to design a marketing campaign. " Yeah, I was going into asshole mode.

To her credit, she smiled again, as if she was more amused by my outburst than by my offence.

"Well, at least my landscapes offer something interesting to see.

"Well, at least mine do what they're supposed to do and make money.

I shuddered and the satisfaction I wanted to feel at gaining the upper hand wasn't as good as I expected. I hated that being a jerk made me feel guilty. She stood up.

"The problem is that you think this is art and it is not. Yes, it's traditional and all, but your goal is to inspire people to buy your shoes. This is too boring to inspire anyone to do anything. Most likely it won't make them go shopping for shoes.

"You clearly don't fit this position," I said. She laughed.

"That's a euphemism. Thank God it's over, right?

I stood up, ignoring the bulge in my pants that, despite everything, was still present.

"TRUE".

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