Page 93 of Let's Call a Truce
We arranged ourselves in the seats before she jumped in.
“Now, I need to admit something. I may have gotten you here under false pretenses.”
I froze in my seat.
My eyes were wide as they flicked back and forth between Maureen and James. He was still smiling brightly, which helped calm some of my fears.
“When we spoke for the first time, all the way back in early March when you outlined your program, you made me realizethere was a sizable gap in our curriculum, especially our business school. We teach them marketing, finance, accounting, negotiation, and more, but we don’t teach them how to leverage those skills for their long-term careers.”
I nodded along, agreeing it was something missing from most schools. James and I had even debated, when I visited in April, the role schools should play in career preparedness.
“Without even realizing it, you developed a course for your interns, complete with learning outcomes and assignments, but I wanted to wait to see how the summer went before talking to you. The midsemester evaluations from your students were some of the best I’ve ever read.”
I glanced between Maureen and James, my mind falling far behind where it needed to be.
“We have added courses for all students on how to grow their professional skills, but we don’t have the capacity in our faculty to teach it yet. We want to offer you the position. You’d have to come in for a final interview with the selection committee, but, between us, that’s more of a formality. You would be an instructor in the business school, but you’d teach students from all majors.”
My eyes were wide again, unsure how to even respond. “You know I don’t have a PhD, right?” I nearly slapped myself on the head for such an abrasive and unhelpful remark.
Both of them laughed, and James jumped in. “We aren’t a research institution, and the business school puts more weight on your experience. It’s not a tenure-track position, so all you’d need is a master’s. Maureen has agreed to make an exception if you pursue your master’s in business administration. There is a well-respected program here at Billings, and you could attend for free as an employee of the university.”
He laid out a job offer in front of me. The pay couldn’t compete with the CRO role I was about to take on, but it wassubstantially more than what we had been living on for the past couple of years. The offer said the contract was for ten months, and I turned back to James.
“Thank you so much for the incredible offer, but I can’t afford to leave such a reliable position for a ten-month contract.”
James placed his hand over mine. “I can see how that would be confusing. I forget you aren’t a career academic like most of the people I work with. It doesn’t mean you would only have a job for ten months. It means you would only work the fall and spring semesters. You would have the summers free. Most people use them for research or to teach summer classes, but your summers would be yours to choose.”
Maureen jumped in. “I know you have two young girls. I want to be up-front and tell you it would be a lot of work trying to manage them, teaching classes, and working on your own degree, but after you were done with your own studies and as you gain seniority in the department, you would have a lot of flexibility. You could even schedule your classes around their schedules to some extent. As a fellow mother, I can tell you this life works well for families.”
My mind was reeling. KMG was a supportive workplace, but it could never be this flexible. I’d make less overall, but I would have more time with my family. But it would also mean taking them away from my parents and all their friends.
“Wow. Okay. This is unexpected. When do you need an answer?”
“I want the first round of classes up and running for spring. The faculty senate approved and added it to the curriculum. If we need to look for another candidate, I would want the search to start by the end of this month. If you decide to join us, we will need you up here by the end of November. Is two weeks enough for you to decide?”
I thought through all the things I would need to work throughand nodded. “Yes, two weeks is plenty of time. Thank you for your flexibility.”
“Of course. Read over the offer packet and let me know tonight if you have questions.”
I gathered the materials, making my way to the door with James. As I was about to leave, something popped into my mind.
“Maureen, have you told Eduardo about this offer?”
“I spoke with him right before I met with you. He is a large donor for our campus, and I didn’t want it to appear as though we rewarded his generosity, both in money and time, by blindsiding him.”
I nodded again, leaving the room in a daze and wondering how I would face my boss. James lightly grabbed my elbow.
“Would you like me to look over the offer with you?”
“No, thank you. I think I need some time alone to think about everything.”
I left campus, wandering the streets of Boston without a destination in mind. Being cooped up in my hotel room wouldn’t help my fragile mental state.
I looked up and found myself in the Public Garden. Ben was right. It had been beautiful in April, but in July it was glorious. I watched the willow blowing in the soft breeze, children running across the grass, laughing as they chased ducks and oddly large squirrels. I was standing right in front of the George Washington statue again, allowing my imagination to wander, except this time I was imagining how Ben’s arms had wrapped around me as he stood at my back, rather than what the garden looked like.
Could I leave Orlando? I had been born and raised there, and besides my time in college and my short study abroad, I had never lived anywhere else. I could see myself in Boston, soaking in the history and beauty. I’d always loved the idea of livingsomeplace different from where I grew up. And with Quinn here, it wasn’t like I’d be starting from scratch on the friend front. But I loved my town. As wild as Florida could be, it was home and where my family and best friends were.
Could I make my children uproot their lives? My girls loved where we lived, too, exploring the beaches and lakes and chasing friends around the different theme parks. They loved their soccer team and dance teachers, our friends and family right around the corner. They even loved our tiny house that made us live on top of each other. But this job would give me the freedom to be more active in their lives.
