“I guess you have a point.”
“Are you heading for the ladies’ room? Because I have to go.”
“Yes, I was.” We continued in that direction. “So, what exactly does a video coordinator do?” I asked.
“I collect and…” She paused, chuckling. “Coordinate all the video taken during games and any other official events. I make cuts to send to the coaches for when they want to go over games or specific plays, I make different versions for events and commercials, stuff like that. That’s the general gist of my job.”
“Are you a big hockey fan?”
She laughed. “Believe it or not, I’m from New Orleans, where we don’t know hockey from curling, but I dated a hockey player in college and I was hooked.”
“Is that your husband?”
“No. Just a guy I dated for about six months. But it was enough to make me fall in love with the sport. What about you?”
“Honestly, I didn’t know much about it until the last year or so, watching the team. Then I was hooked.” We went into separate bathroom stalls, continuing to talk as we did our business.
“Hockey is exciting,” she said. “I love watching. I love going to the games. I love the team, to be honest. The guys are great. And Nash is my buddy.”
“He is?” I asked in surprise.
“There’s more to the man than a pretty face. He’s a prankster, though, always pulling shit on his teammates. And sometimes me, but he knows I can send doctored videos to the whole team showing him doing anything I want, so we’ve come to an understanding.” Her voice was filled with amusement.
“That sounds…intense.”
“No, not at all.” She laughed. “I’m mostly kidding. We do bust each other’s chops, especially on the road, but—”
“You travel with the team?”
“Oh, yeah.” Her voice softened. “I love it, but it’s hard at home sometimes. My husband is an accountant, so he never goes anywhere but to work. He’s a homebody. I’m the opposite.”
“They say opposites attract, right?”
We came out of our stalls within a few seconds of each other and our eyes met in the mirror as we washed our hands. “Damn straight they do.” She fixed me with a gorgeous smile and it was infectious.
“Anyway, I have to get some work done,” she said as we got back into the hall. “Once you get your bearings around here, come find me and we’ll do lunch later this week.”
“That sounds awesome. It was nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.” She headed in the opposite direction and I went in search of my cubicle, even though I couldn’t get much work done yet.
Lance had said he wanted me to sit with a different sales guy for a few hours every day this week. That way I’d get a feel for the different styles and personalities, as well as how they did things around here.
“Hi. Sariah, right?” An older man, who looked to be in his late fifties, came over holding out his hand. “I’m Kevin Gerard. You’ll be sitting with me this afternoon, after our lunch meeting.”
“Nice to meet you.” We shook hands. “I’m not sure who Lance wanted me to sit with.”
“He just sent me an email. So come on over to my desk and I can show you a few shortcuts I use.”
“Great.” I followed him. I was enjoying the vibe here; professionalism tempered with friendliness and a laid-back attitude.
We spent about forty minutes going over the basics of the different season ticket packages and had just stood up to go to lunch when a couple of guys came into the office. One was holding a hockey stick and he approached Kevin.
“Hey. Here’s the stick you asked for. The whole team signed it, as requested.”
“Thanks, Wes. Appreciate that.” Kevin nodded and turned to me. “This is Sariah; she’s new to the sales team. Sariah, this is Wes Kirby, the captain of the team.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Kirby.” His hand was warm and dry as we shook.
“Welcome,” he said to Kevin, his eyes crinkling a little as he smiled. He turned to look back at me and said, “Nice to meet you too, but please—it’s Wes.”
“Okay, then. Wes.”
“This stick is for a customer who just bought season tickets for next year,” Kevin told me. “He wants to give it to his son for his birthday this weekend and this is how I clinched the deal. Luckily, the guys are great about doing stuff like this.”
“Anything you need,” Wes said to me. “If we can do it and it helps the team, just reach out. And please don’t stand on ceremony here. Kevin has my cell number. Get it from him and let me know how I can help close a deal. I know it can be a little intimidating in the beginning, but don’t hesitate to call me.”
“Wes—you comin’ to lunch or what?” A voice called out.