They Tell Me I'm The Bad Guy Read Online Free PDF Page B

black padded seat. "One of the main things we're looking for in a Lead Machine Operator is someone willing to go that extra mile for the company. Name a time that you made a suggestion to improve an existing procedure."
    I had nothing. "Including previous jobs?" I asked lamely.
    Chuck nodded his large head slightly.
    "When I worked at a mechanic shop after high school, I suggested a few new package deals we could offer to customers. It was basically bundling services like a discount on a lube job when you buy an oil change, free carwash with a state inspection, shi--'scuse me, stuff like that."
    "And what was the result of that?"
    "My boss took my suggestions and put them on the board. Within a month, we had increased business by four or five thousand dollars." Bullshit. Never happened.
    "Was that a lot?"
    "For the size of the garage, yes."
    "Describe yourself with five words or phrases."
    I don't even remember the bullshit I made up to answer this one.
    "Have you ever held a position where you had people un der you?"
    "I haven't yet. I'm hoping this will get me started."
    He went on asking me all kinds of shit about what my thoughts were on the kanban system for the stations and how I would improve it, anything I saw as frequent problems with the WIPs, if I was fluent in Spanish, all that kind of shit.
    Finally, he looked at me kind of emotionless and just said, "Tell me why I should hire you out of all the candidates? What do you have that they don't?"
    I leaned forward and tapped my finger on his desk. "I can guarantee you that no one wants this job more than I do. I'll do whatever it takes to succeed in it. If you want me to work overtime, I'll work overtime. If you need me to come in holidays, I'll come in with a smile on my face. I'm looking to move up and move out of where I'm at. And I'll put more effort into it than anybody else."
    Chuck made a note.
    "Anything else you'd like to add before we finish up?"
    "Not that I can think of, no."
    "Do you have any questions for me?"
    "No."
    "Okay." Chuck stood. I stood. He shook my hand.
    "Thanks for coming in, Don."
    "Thank you."
    I shut Chuck's door behind me and stared out at the production floor. He was a dick. I didn't 'improve procedures' because nobody listened to me. And I was just there to work, not to reorganize the goddamn company or put new policies in place. I didn't get paid for that. Management did.
    I pushed through the steel doors outside and threw my wadded ball of interview clothes onto my backseat. It was hot in the parking lot, but I couldn't feel it. The interview had been bullshit and was stacked against me from the start. Chuck didn't want to hire me. It was all a bunch of bullshit. It didn't matter what I had said or done, it wouldn't have made a difference. I lit a cigarette and fumed before I punched back in for work and put my br ain on the other problem I had.
    Five people were dead because of me. My sister might have been in danger. Just in a couple of fucking days and a couple of stupid choices. Fuck, man. And then I realized I'd lit the cigarette in public in broad daylight with my powers instead of my lighter. I was fucking losing it.
    I got a buddy to pick up my Saturday shift and put in for bereavement time with human resources to get Monday and Tuesday off for whatever the hell Kamikaze had planned. Will stayed with me most of the weekend. He would keep his phone on him like a rash for the next few days; if I gave him the word he would drive like a bat out of hell to Woo ster to keep tabs on my sister.
    Saturday morning, I had the barber give me a short buzz cut that made the thinning hair on top of my big head less noticeable. At home, I over did a hard workout with the dusty weight set under my bed to try and give what I had a little definition as it would fool people into thinking I wasn't a lazy b astard.
    And I pulled my old fireproof suit out of the closet.
    "You think I should bring the costume?" I asked Will Saturday afternoon.
    He