The Dating Game Read online

With the list in her hand, Gill entered her office and closed the door. As she sat down, she took off her shoe and rubbed her foot, wishing she had broken in her new shoes properly before wearing them to work.

  Clicking on her Inbox, she sighed as she saw the sheer volume of e-mails sitting awaiting her attention. She clicked into her personal e-mail, as she bit into her Ploughman’s. Scrolling down, she hovered over one which read Profile, from Caroline Morgan. Opening the e-mail she read,

  Dear Gill

  Thanks for choosing Happy Ever After to help fulfil your relationship needs. Please find attached the profile I have compiled for you. Should you wish to make any changes, please advise. On receipt of your confirmation, I will send your details to the first few candidates, with whom I have already matched you, based on the answers you provided.

  Please also find attached our list of Dos and Don’ts for Dating.

  Regards

  Caroline Morgan

  Gill clicked on the first attachment.

  Candidate Profile

  Name: Gill McFadden

  Age: 37

  Lives: Glasgow

  Occupation: Company Director

  Qualifications: BEng

  Height: 5’7

  Marital status: Single

  Smoker: No

  Interests: Socialising with friends, going to the cinema, eating out, Zumba, travelling and ice skating.

  Further information: From Glasgow, I qualified as an engineer, but then moved into Recruitment Consultancy. I set up my own agency three years ago.

  Looking to meet: Someone in their late thirties to late forties, who is open, honest, fun to be with and who can be relied upon. It would be good to meet someone who is open to trying new activities.

  Gill read and re-read it. Apart from the ice-skating, (where on earth had she dreamed that up? She hadn’t been to an ice rink since she was in her late teens); the rest of the profile looked OK. Decisively she pressed reply and told Caroline that the profile was fine and she could go ahead.

  Sitting back on her swivel chair, she exhaled noisily, blew her hair out of her eyes and cast a glance across her desk, taking in the mountains of work amassed there. She needed some free time. This dating agency had been a good idea. She was sure of it. Feeling lighter, she picked up her mobile and texted Debbie,

  ‘What u up to tonight?’

  She ate her Ploughman’s greedily, as she waited for Debbie to reply. If her friend didn’t reply within five minutes, it meant she was probably elbow deep in cow or de-worming a dog. Debbie had her own veterinary practice about ten miles outside the city, in the countryside.

  When no immediate reply emitted from her phone, Gill turned her attention to the headings of the many e-mails cluttering up her Inbox, trying to work out which were the most urgent.

  Gill had published two ads on the local jobsite search engines a few days ago and so far she had received two hundred and seventy-four applications. She had only had time to read through fifty of them.

  Gill chose to leave the CVs until later, clicking instead on an e-mail from the Sales Director at a national Heating company she recruited for. Jotting down on her notepad to call the candidates tomorrow morning regarding potential interview dates, she moved on.

  Bryan Oliver, she hadn’t heard of, but the subject, Terms & Conditions, made her think he could well be a new potential client and her assumption proved correct. Quickly she brought up his company’s website and ascertained that they were in the Aerospace industry. Glancing at her watch she saw she didn’t have enough time to go into detail with him before her three o’clock. She’d call him afterwards. A small company could never have enough new business. And on that note, she made another reminder to herself to investigate hiring another recruitment consultant.

  She managed to answer a couple more e-mails, before Janice buzzed her to tell her that her candidate had arrived.

  The interview had gone well. She had spent the rest of the afternoon tackling some of her massive To Do list. It was with relief that Gill looked at her watch and saw it was six o’clock. Time to go and meet Debbie.

  ‘Hi, how are you?’ Gill lent forward and kissed her friend on the cheek, as she rose to meet her.

  ‘Good thanks. Sorry I was so late in replying, but…’

  ‘I know,’ interrupted Gill, laughing, ‘you had your hand up a cow’s arse.’

  ‘You’d be amazed how much less disgusting that is than some of the things I do,’ Debbie smiled. ‘Anyway, you’ll be glad to know I’ve showered. Assisting at a calf’s birth can be messy.’

  ‘I bet you the cow thought that, too. Do you sedate them?’

  ‘No. Natural birth for them generally. Animals are not wimps like us humans.’

  ‘This from the woman who only had gas and air at Olivia’s birth.’

  ‘Well, I thought I would practise what I preach, although I have to admit later I really wished I’d gone for the epidural, but by then it was too late to change my mind. She was on the verge of popping out.’

  Suppressing a shudder, Gill asked her friend what she wanted to drink and attracted the barman’s attention.

  ‘Hi, can we have a large glass of Pinot Grigio and a vodka and coke, please?’

  ‘Sure,’ the barman smiled at her, leaving them to their conversation.

  ‘Gill, do you honestly not notice the way people look at you? Sorry, the way men look at you?’

  ‘What are you talking about?’

  ‘Erm, the admiring glance that barman gave you, or perhaps the sidelong glances he was giving you before he came over, and,’ Debbie gestured towards the bar, ‘is still giving you now.’

  ‘You’re imagining things,’ Gill said dismissively.

  Just then the barman returned with their drinks, his shy glance sweeping over Gill as he placed their drinks on the table. Gill blushed slightly as he smiled at her.

  ‘I told you,’ said Debbie after he had gone back behind the bar. ‘He’s surprised to see you twice in one week, since you haven’t been here with us more than once a month recently.’

  ‘He’s just being nice,’ Gill insisted. ‘Anyway he’s not my type, too slim.’

  ‘What, you want a big fatty do you?’

  ‘No, but I mean he’s not broad enough.’

  ‘Gill, you don’t have a type. You’re just too picky.’

  ‘Well, excuse me for having standards,’ Gill retorted marginally offended.

  ‘Oh, don’t go in a huff, you know what I mean.’

  Not one to stay annoyed with Debbie for long, Gill said, ‘I’ve got something to tell you.’

  ‘Well, I know you can’t be pregnant,’ Debbie joked.

  Gill looked at her sternly.

  ‘Sorry…’

  ‘I’ve joined a professional dating agency.’

  Debbie’s vodka and coke sprayed out of her mouth and all over the sofa they were sitting on.

  ‘You’ve what?’ Debbie shrieked, then slunk down low in her seat, realising she had shouted out loud.

  Keen not to draw any further attention to them, Gill whispered, ‘You heard.’

  ‘A dating agency? Really? No point asking why of course, but, really?’

  ‘Yep. I saw an ad on a bus.’

  Debbie gawped at her friend as if she were deranged and had just admitted to joining a satanic cult. ‘Oh, that’s OK then. If it was advertised on a bus, it must be a reputable company,’ she said in despair.

  ‘Oh, c’mon,’ Gill said impatiently. ‘of course I checked it out.’ Actually the furthest she had gone was to read their credentials and testimonials on their website, but on reflection she had seen something about them belonging to an association, like ABTA. No, ABIA. She gathered it must be similar to the ABTA scheme for the travel industry, but for dating agencies. She made a mental note to check it out and see exactly what it covered.

  ‘Well, if they set you up with any dates, we’re coming, too,’ Debbie said firmly.

  ‘What?’ said Gill.

>   ‘You’re not going on your own,’ Debbie was emphatic.

  ‘Oh right, I’ll really be able to relax with you sitting at the next table,’ Gill said sarcastically.

  ‘Better than ending up chopped up into small pieces and left to be devoured by wolves in a wood. Seriously, Gill, if you are going on a date with someone we don’t know, at least one of us has to be close by. Maybe next door?’

  Gill mulled this over, saw the sense of it and said grudgingly, ‘OK. But under no circumstances are you to come into the bar we’re in. I’m not good at pretence, as you know.’

  Debbie did know. Gill was a terrible liar.

  ‘So, have you had any suitors yet?’ Debbie asked.

  This time it was Gill who almost spat out her drink. ‘Suitors? What is this, the nineteenth century? It’s not that long since I last had a date. I realise you’re insisting on chaperoning me, but really, suitors? Next you’ll be talking about him having to wait in the parlour for me when he comes to pick me up. And before you say it, no, he won’t be coming to pick me up, just a turn of phrase. Of course we’ll be meeting in a neutral environment.’ Gill had been reading Happy Ever After’s Dos and Don’ts.

  Dos & Don’ts of Dating

  DOs

  Meet in a neutral place. Under no circumstances invite your date to pick you up from your home

  Wear smart, but casual clothing

  Be positive and friendly

  Listen to your date and allow them the opportunity to talk

  Exchange e-mail addresses or phone numbers if you want to see them again

  Be honest – if you want to see them again, say so. If not, thank them for a nice time and say it was nice to meet them.

  DON’TS

  Accept a lift from your date until you know them well enough

  Complain all the time

  Talk about past relationships, apart from fleetingly

  Insist – if they want to call you, or get in touch, they will

  Give out your home or work address

  ‘OK. So have you had any potential dates yet? Is your removal from the shelf imminent?’ Debbie asked.

  ‘Not yet,’ Gill said. ‘It’s too early. I only confirmed my profile today. But the woman did say she had a few men in mind for me already, so maybe I’ll hear something soon.’

  ‘Well, I suppose as long as we’re going to be there to watch your back, I can’t complain,’ Debbie said.

  ‘We?’

  ‘Well, you don’t think I’m coming by myself, do you? Sitting around in a bar like a right saddo. The girls will need to come.’

  ‘But I haven’t told them yet,’ wailed Gill, ‘and I really wasn’t intending to until I absolutely have to.’

  ‘I think absolutely have to comes when you arrange your first date,’ Debbie pointed out.

  She left it at that and they had one more drink before Gill said she really had to go, as she had a lot to prepare for the next day.

  ‘So, how exactly are you going to fit seeing someone into your hectic schedule anyway?’ Debbie asked.

  ‘I’m not seeing someone. That requires a lot more time and energy than a few simple dates.’

  ‘Does it?’ Debbie wasn’t so sure. ‘Once you’re comfortable with someone, you don’t have to go to the same lengths to prepare for going out with them.’

  Gill admitted this was probably true. ‘Anyway, I have it in hand. I’m going to recruit someone else for the agency.’

  ‘You’re going to hire someone so you have time to have a relationship?’

  ‘Well, not exactly, but without hiring someone else, I’m never going to have a social life, let’s be honest. I’ve always too much on and Janice does her best, far more than a receptionist should do, but she’s inundated, too.’

  ‘Good on you. It’s not before time. So, have you done anything about recruiting yet? Or is it a bit like when you’re a painter’s wife and yours is the last living room to be painted?’ Debbie asked.

  ‘Well, it is a little bit like that, to be fair. No, I haven’t done anything, but I’m going home to write the ad tonight and then Janice can upload it to the site tomorrow. If I get as many applicants for our role, as I have for these technical roles I’ve been advertising for recently, I’ll be more than happy.’

  ‘Good luck,’ said Debbie, as she left Gill at the bus stop. ‘See you soon and text me when you get a profile. Promise?’

  ‘I promise,’ and hugging her friend, she stepped into the bus shelter.

  Chapter Six

  Next morning, Gill arrived at the office even earlier than usual. She wanted to finish preparing the advert for the recruitment consultant. Although she had got the basics down the night before, she hadn’t quite perfected it.

  Senior Recruitment Consultant

  £25-£35K DOE + bonus

  The company – McFadden Technical Recruitment is a small, but well-established recruitment agency based in Glasgow, addressing the requirements of a varied client base across Scotland and the UK. The company was founded in 2009 and is going through a period of accelerated growth, as we build our client base and continue to satisfy our clients’ demands. We concentrate principally on Engineering and Sales & Marketing and have many clients in the Oil & Gas, HVAC, Environmental, Manufacturing and Industrial sectors.

  The ideal candidate should have previously worked as a Senior Recruitment Consultant (SRC) and/or have specific experience in dealing with Technical/Oil & Gas clients. Your remit will include creating and delivering a business plan, to ensure you build and maintain excellent business relationships on your own merits.

  The rewards for the right candidate could be great and the possibility to make your mark and help influence the shaping of the agency’s future is also within reach.

  To apply, please send your CV and covering letter in the first instance to [email protected]

  Gill made a few minor adjustments and then turned her attention back to her e-mails. She would be out of the office most of the day, as she had meetings with clients in Clarkston and down in Ayrshire. Although most of her business came from the immediate Glasgow area, this was starting to change, due to word of mouth recommendations. She was pleased to see that she had already received a reply from Bryan Oliver. She had called him back after her final meeting yesterday, to discuss the agency’s services and to go through the terms and conditions with him. He wanted to arrange a meeting as soon as possible to discuss filling three positions. This was excellent news. At £2,500 per client placing, that would be nice revenue, if she could get it. Checking her online diary, she saw that she had a space the following Tuesday, so quickly e-mailed him back to see if that would be convenient.

  Not long after Janice arrived and they had talked through the schedule for the day, Gill left the office to head over to her first client meeting, which was at quarter past ten. She’d decided to ditch her attempt to go green by taking the bus. Quite frankly it simply wasn’t possible with client meetings here, there, and everywhere.

  The traffic had eased a little due to the morning rush hour having passed, but there was still a steady flow of cars and Gill seemed to get stopped at every traffic light.

  Typical, she thought. Taking advantage of being stationary at a junction where she knew the lights took an age to change, Gill checked her phone. There was an e-mail from Caroline Morgan entitled Profiles. Excited, she clicked and read Caroline’s message,

  Dear Gill. Here are the first three profiles. Let me know if you are interested in meeting any of them and I will contact them on your behalf. Regards, Caroline.

  Gill tried to click into the first profile, but just then the lights turned green and, cursing under her breath, she eased the car into first gear. By the time she pulled into the client’s car park, she had ten minutes to spare before her meeting. She took the chance to open the profiles. She could make out the photos, but the text was too small to read. Number one looked promising, though; broad shouldered, sandy blond hair. Number two seemed o
ld, really old. What age had she said she would go up to? Late forties? This guy could easily be in his early sixties. Number three, she wasn’t sure about number three. She’d have to blow up his photo when she could access her laptop and of course, she’d need to read his profile.

  Glancing at her watch, Gill saw she only had a few more minutes and she was a stickler for punctuality, so she rapidly tapped out a text to Debbie, ‘3 prfls recd. Call l8r’.

  The meeting overran. Gill knew today was going to be busy. With no time to check her messages, she jumped in the car and drove down to Mauchline in Ayrshire, to meet her next client. She was going to be late. Blasted average speed cameras.

  A smiling Gill emerged two and a half hours later, starving but satisfied. Her appointment had gone even better than expected. The company manufactured chemicals for use in personal care products, such as shampoo, shower gel and hand wash. They had grown their business thirty percent last year, amazing in these tough times, but she supposed their line of work was fairly recession-proof. Beauty salons and hairdressers actually seemed to make more money during tough times, as people wanted to at least look good, when everything else was crumbling around them. Now her client hoped to expand by opening a plant in North Berwick on the east coast and intended to recruit staff both for the new plant and also for the existing one, as some of the key workers in the Ayrshire division would be relocated to North Berwick, so their expertise could be utilised. Business couldn’t be better. Gill was grateful for this, as she knew not every agency was in such an enviable position. It was very much a ‘dog eat dog’ industry, but she truly believed that you got what you put in. Gill was always decent towards people, and likewise clients and candidates tended to treat her with respect. To many agencies you were just a number. Even with the enormous amount of applicants, she tried her best not to let that be the case with her agency. Algaeonics intended to hire another fifteen people initially. With the new Algaeonics contract won, Gill found herself hoping she received some replies to her SRC ad soon.