When an employment agency called and asked me if I was interested in doing a three month assignment for an investment company, I eagerly accepted.

The seventeen story glass and steel building was the epitome of luxury. Marble greeted me in the lobby, mahogany furniture on plush carpets surprised me in the private offices.

My colleagues were generally nice people and one them, Rita, soon became a friend.

"Have you seen the Executive Assistant job posting on the notice board?" she asked me one day over lunch.

"I did," I said, "but the deadline to apply was two weeks ago."

"You can still apply," Rita nodded.

"Even though the closing date has come and gone?" I asked.

"Absolutely," Rita said.

I must have looked doubtful because she insisted, "Apply, just do it."

So I did. I filled out an application form and handed it in at the Human Resources department.

The very next day Antoinette from Human Resources notified me that I had an appointment with Mr. Gary Burke at 3:00 p.m. that afternoon. Gary Burke being the Financial Director of the company who needed an Executive Assistant.

I much regretted not dressing more business like to come to work that day. My outfit was okay, but if I had known that I was going to have an interview in the afternoon I would have made the extra effort.

Having arrived at the seventh floor, I was greeted by Trish, Gary Burke's current assistant who would presumably be leaving her position.

"You can go right in," she extended her hand to a door on my left.

Through the door I found myself in a vast office, where an elderly man sat behind a desk. He looked like Albert Einstein: ruffled gray hair, intelligent eyes peering at me over a pair of glasses that perched on the tip of his nose.

"Sit," he indicated a chair in front of his desk.

We talked. We discussed the hot weather; the lack of rain; the effects this would have on the farming industry and how this could affect the economy.

Although it was a pleasant enough conversation, I wondered when the actual interview was going to start.

Perhaps Gary Burke picked up on this because he suddenly crossed his arms on his desk, sighed and stated "I suppose we have to talk business now. Are you interested in the job?"

Of course I was. Working for this man would mean a full-time job, which was an improvement over the temporary work I had been doing over the past year.

"You come highly recommended by Rita," Gary Burke stated when I had confirmed that I was indeed interested. "So how much would you like to earn?"

Taken aback by the directness of his question I was momentarily at a loss for words.

We had not discussed the requirements of the job nor my qualifications. Money talk usually came at the end of an interview.

"Well," he said, "what did you have in mind?"

I named an annual figure, careful of not asking too much, but not underselling myself either.

Gary Burke briefly lifted the glasses off his nose and looked at me very intently.

"Hm," he grunted, "Are you sure? Wouldn't you like a bit more?"

For the second time I found myself dumbfounded. This man was offering me more than I had asked for! How was I supposed to respond to this? I decided to leave it up to him and said so.

"In that case, let's slap on another $10,000 a year," Gary Burke smiled. "I'm sure you're worth every penny."

I was not so sure, but I was not going to argue his assumption.

Never in all my years did I have, or will I likely ever have again, quite the fantastic boss Gary Burke proved to be.

Learn more about this author, Conny Manero.
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