Quid Pro Quo

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PART 1: The Interview

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Luke stands in the elevator, making his way up to the top floor of the Salesforce Tower. He has his coffee in hand wearing his backpack on one shoulder. He stares at his reflection on the elevator door. He stands at 6’0 dressed in his usual business casual look. He has silver pants tailored to his build with a tucked in blue button up shirt and a pair of black shoes. The elevator chimes and the door opens. He makes his way down a hall and to the suite for the company he works for. Luke opens up the door and walks over to the reception area, greeting the receptionist.

“Good morning Amanda!”

“Good morning Luke! Beautiful day, huh?”

“Absolutely!”

He makes his way over to his office in an enclosed room. He takes a deep breath and glances out the large windows of his office. He takes in the gorgeous views of the Bay Area. It’s a clear sunny day with blue skies. He’s happy to not see any fog, especially in the vicinity of the Golden Gate Bridge where it’s common.

Luke drinks some coffee before setting up his desk. He has a busy day ahead of him. He has an interview scheduled with an applicant, two business meetings, and a project he has to have completed before the end of the day. Luke is an HR Representative for a tech company. He specializes in marketing, promoting his company online and is in charge of hiring new employees.

Luke opens his laptop, pulling up a file in his business email. The potential candidate’s information for the interview he has scheduled. He takes a look at the name and writes it down on a note pad he has set up with a set of standard interview questions. The name of the candidate is Samantha Myer who’s scheduled to arrive for her interview in half an hour.

Time flies by. At 9:30AM sharp, Amanda knocks on Luke’s door to his office.

“Luke. I have Ms. Myers here for her interview.” Amanda says.

“Bring her in!” Luke replies, taking a seat at his desk.

The door opens slowly. A tall attractive woman walks in. She’s Caucasian, about 6’2 with short brunette hair that barely touches her shoulders. She wears a dark suit jacket completely open with a white tucked in shirt. She has tight pants on that match her suit with heels. She carries a small hand bag and a file with her resume. Luke smiles at her as she makes her way to the seat in front of him. He can’t help but feel like he recognizes the woman.

“Ms. Samantha Myers?” Luke asks the applicant.

“Yes sir.”

“Hello, nice to meet you . My name is Lucas Smith. I’m the HR Representative and Lead Manager for the marketing team here.”

“Nice to meet you Mr. Smith.” Samantha says with a nervous smile.

Luke begins her interview by reviewing her resume on file. The job that Samantha is applying for is in marketing management, being in charge of the company’s social media pages. She has the experience needed to meet the requirements including two paid internships with other companies. Luke suddenly knows who Samantha Myers is after looking at her educational background. They went to high school together. Luke takes a glance at Samantha, recognizing her. Or who she used to be. Over fifteen years ago, they went to high school together. The only thing was that Samantha was named “Sam.” She was a guy. Samantha in present day is an attractive transgender woman.

Luke distracts himself from his shocked state of mind with asking Samantha some questions using the STAR method, otherwise known as Situation Task Action Result. The method is used in most job interviews to ask potential candidates about situations where they had an issue and how they resolved them. Luke asks Samantha three STAR questions but can barely focus. He smiles, shakes his head, and jots down notes into his pad as she replies to his questions.

Back in high school, Luke was a geek. He had a small group of friends and mostly kept to himself. He minded his own business for the most part and loved math and science. His junior and senior year, he had many classes with Sam, a popular athlete. Sam played basketball and ran cross country. Luke and Sam were partners in chemistry their junior year. Sam would tease Luke any chance he could and tried to bully him into doing his homework. Sam would also try and cheat off of Luke on tests and quizzes. Luke was quiet and soft spoken back in the day. Sam would take advantage of Luke knowing he wouldn’t defend himself, constantly cracking jokes at him throughout class. Others joined in sometimes and laughed at Luke. He just stayed quiet and tried to focus on his course. After graduating from high school, Luke never heard from Sam again. At least until present day where now “Sam” sits in front of him.

Samantha sits facing the man interviewing her. She walked into the building feeling confident and ready to ace her interview. Her years of marketing experience, graduating from college with a four year degree, and internships prepared her for this moment. She applied for her dream position at one of the best tech companies in the Bay Area. All the years she made sacrifices, working hard and studying was about to pay off. She walked into her recruiter’s office to meet her employer. Somehow someway, she remained calm and kept her composure when he introduced himself as Lucas Smith. Samantha recognizes him from high school almost instantly. She had not began her gender transition and was known just as “Sam” back then. Sam was a cocky, popular athlete. He had a wide range of friends and always picked fun at anyone he felt was beneath him. Samantha remembers how poorly “Sam” treated Luke back when they had classes together. And here she is in present day. Asking him for a job after bullying him more than fifteen years ago at their high school in Danville, where they lived.

Luke continues with his questions, asking Samantha about her previous jobs and internships. He does his best to get a good read on her. She has come a long way and has a polar opposite personality compared to who she used to be. There are no character traits in Samantha that she shares with “Sam” from back then. She has confidence, answering each of his questions without hesitation and seems to be genuinely kind and sincere. Luke notices how she seems to be almost too friendly. Almost as if she’s working hard to show that she’s not who she used to be. The interview lasts about forty five minutes. Luke comes to the conclusion that he’s not ready to hire Samantha and wants to consider hiring another qualified candidate for the position.

“Well thank you Samantha for coming in today and for your interest in working for this company. You did a really great job at answering all the questions and you definitely have the experience. However, I have to let you know I won’t be moving forward with you in the hiring process. I have a couple of other candidates who are more qualified and seem to have a better fit for this position.” Luke informs her.

Samantha’s heart drops in her seat. She tries to swallow but feels a lump in her throat. She’s come a long way to get to where she is at this moment and Luke has turned her down. She feels this is personal to him. She’s more than confident that she’s just as qualified as the other candidates who applied. He was impressed with her resume. There could be no other explanation as to why she’s being denied her dream job other than payback for the way “Sam” treated him back in high school.

“Mr. Smith sir-“

“Please just call me Luke,” he says interrupting her.

“Luke, sir. I’d like to kindly ask you to reconsider. This position is what I’ve worked hard for for many years. You saw my resume. You told me I meet the qualifications. I earned my way to get to where I am right now. I’m asking you to take a chance on me and show you that I’m just as great or even better than your other candidates for this position.” Samantha says, her voice beginning to tremble at the end.

Luke thinks about what she has to say. He knows that she would be a great fit for the company. When the flashbacks of all the mean and nasty things that Sam used to say to him back in the day came to mind, he decided he didn’t want Samantha working for him. Karma is a bitch and this is his way of self-served justice.

“I appreciate your determination Samantha. However, I’ve made my decision. If you would like another opportunity to try again for this position, please apply again and be on the lookout on our website and LinkedIn for future job listings.” Luke says firmly.

“Luke, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for everything I did to you back in high school,” Samantha says, trying to keep her composure and not break down crying.

Luke stares at her with a look of confusion, shocked to hear her acknowledge she recognizes him from back in the day.

“I was a complete asshole. To you. To so many people. I’m sorry for how I treated you. I was a different person then but that’s no excuse. That’s not who I am anymore. ‘Sam’ is gone and I’m a woman now, working hard to proof I am not that person while working even harder to make something of myself and establish my career.”

“Samantha, I don’t hold any grudges. That was then, this is now. I’ve let go of the past. This is a professional environment. Let me reassure you my decision today was solely based from a professional perspective and nothing personal.” Luke says, not believing his own lie.

Samantha stays quiet, getting ready to forfeit her efforts to plead for the job. She stares at him, seeing how serious he is. She knows he isn’t going to hire her. Whether or not he says it’s not personal, she knows she deserves the outcome. If she was in his shoes, she’d probably seek payback against her bully.