“You don’t think…”
“What?” He asks as if he’s trying to lure the words out of me, coaxing them into safety while I’m not completely sure if it’s okay to say.
“It’s not too soon?”
He shakes his head with his eyes piercing mine. The confidence that ekes out of him shows fear is the last thing on his mind. With his upturned lips and dark eyes, all I see is determination.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Andrew
I don’t know muchabout nonprofit organizations aside from the obvious “not for profit” implication from the wording. I’ve worked various jobs since I was seventeen, and most were usually in some way or form an extension of corporate America. Of course, there was the exception of a small family-owned pet store I worked at the summer after my freshman year of college.
Sitting in the simple waiting area of The Hope Foundation, I quickly glance over the email on my phone. It’s from Olive with the subject line WHERE ARE YOU? I can practically hear her urgent voice through the screen.
Mr. Sheridan is looking for you. I told him you’re stuck in traffic. Hurry back!
I sent an email to HR this morning saying I’d be taking a long lunch, and I’d like to use some of my personal hours to cover it, the usual policy when we need any time off, even if it’s just a few hours during the day. I probably should’ve cc’d Mr. Sheridan, but I didn’t want to add another reason for me to rescind my appointment with Thad at The Hope Foundation. I’d barely convinced myself to take the meeting.
I tap out a quick message, letting her know I’ll be another hour or so. All while the heel of my foot bounces off the carpetedfloor. Hopefully the vein on his neck won’t burst through his skin by the time I get back.
My phone buzzes in my hand with another alert. This time, it’s a message from Grace. In the message, there’s a picture of her lunch. A lunch I packed for her. It’s a grilled cheese sandwich, wrapped in parchment paper to minimize any sogginess with an individual serving of minestrone. Under the image, there’s a quick message accompanying it.
Grace
Thank you for lunch.
I never brought up this meeting to her. I knew she’d be excited for me, possibly jumping to all the outcomes where I can finally leave my current job and getting both of our hopes up. The thing is, I’m not expecting much from this. It isn’t a job interview, per se. It’s more of a meeting to learn the ins and outs of the nonprofit business. See if it’s a good fit for something I can pursue in the future. It’s nothing more than some delving and inquiry that’ll all probably amount to nothing.
I respond with a hasty ‘Y’ and ‘W’ with a kissy face emoji, just as I notice a man with dark curly hair and thick-rimmed glasses walk up to the glass doors leading to the waiting area. I quickly tuck my phone away, and as soon as he opens the doors, he greets me with a smile.
“Andrew?”
I stand from my seat. “Yes, hi.” I extend my hand, and he offers a firm handshake.
“I’m Thaddeus,” he says, warmly introducing himself. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too. Thanks for taking the time to meet with me.”
“It’s no trouble at all,” he assures. “We’re going to meet in the conference room. My office is a mess right now, and I don’t think there’s a place to sit beside my chair and the floor.”
I chuckle, followed by an unimposing, “No worries.” I follow his lead, and we veer down a hallway. The office bustles with amicable chatter and the occasional outbursts of laughs inside a thicket of cubicles. It’s a setup similar to Sentry Investments, but there’s a milder, more carefree air to it. People aren’t tense and bitter. They look happy to be at work.
We enter the conference room, and I settle into one of the many seats surrounding a large oblong table. Thad starts with his fingers linked in front of him. “So, did Josh go over what we do here?”
“A little bit,” I answer. “But I did some of my own research. It looks like you connect people with higher medical needs with state resources so they can take advantage of those services. There were some things I’m not familiar with, but it looks like you connect a lot of your members to services they might not be aware of or have immediate access to.”
Thad nods along, patiently waiting for me to finish. “Yeah, it’s a little more complex than that when you get into the details, but you summed it up nicely. Do you have any questions?”
“Maybe just the financing needs on your end,” I answer. “I guess I just want to know how finance personnel would fit into your day to day.”
“Of course. So, we’re still a fairly small organization, but we’re growing fast. The vice president who oversees the care management team handled all the finances because he has a background in accounting. But it’s getting to be a bit much, so we’re looking to have a finance manager on board. We still have to get it approved by the board, which is why there’s no official job posting, but a lot of the leadership staff is open to it. We need someone who knows what they’re doing to step in and help us.We need to make sure we’re using our resources efficiently. We want to be able to speak for all our costs and budget, and we feel having someone with a background in finance can help with that.”
“I see,” I say. I take in all the information he gives me. It’s a lot, but very informative. A small glimpse into the world of nonprofit organizations.
“Can I ask, how extensive is your experience in finance?”
I sit up straighter, a force of habit when talking about myself. An unboastful attempt to sell myself. “I’ve been at Sentry Investments for about five years. I started right after grad school. I handle a lot of the budgeting and planning throughout the fiscal year. I haven’t quite made the transition to the investment side with advising clients, but I’m hoping a promotion will help with that.”
