Chapter 3

I was glad to see in the following weeks that nothing changed between Addy and myself. At first, I was worried that she might be embarrassed after what we had shared but after seeing her a few times, I saw no evidence of that. I had told her that I wanted my weight to stay at about two hundred ten pounds or so. She immediately put me on a diet of high protein which was unbelievable. I was eating probably five times a day and working out four days hard then take one day off. I repeated this cycle for close to four months and had pushed my weight up to two hundred and fifteen pounds. I decided to continue to work out during the summer and then go back to Addy’s original defining workout after.

Addy had finished the project that we worked on and had gotten a score of ninety-nine on it. She was really pleased and thanked me for helping her. She was returning home for the summer but would be back the middle of August for her senior year. I would as well be a senior next year but knew I still had another half year or so with my master’s degree.

By the end of July, I was right at two hundred twenty-one pounds so decided to continue for one more month. That way Addy would be back when I changed routines. I pushed hard through August until Addy came back on the twenty-first of that month. I happen to have been in the gym when she walked in.

“Damn Tim, you have been hitting it hard huh?” she stated, hugging me firmly.

“Been trying Addy. Honestly, I was waiting on you before switching back to the other routine.” I replied.

“Well, finish out the month and we will start the first or so of September.” she suggested.

I scheduled a rough year finishing my senior courses and taking four courses toward my master’s degree. By the middle of my senior year, I was thriving both in the classroom and the gym. I had worked my way up to almost two hundred thirty pounds before switching routines. I had now dropped almost fifteen pounds but as Addy stated, I had bumps all over.

Addy, had decided to stay at school and work on a master’s degree as well which basically would keep her here for another two years. I was hoping to be out of school around the beginning of the following year leaving me with about six months to go. My scholarship was intact due to my finishing up earlier than I was supposed to.

By the time the year ended, I was once again at the top of the class with a 4.12 GPA. During the summer, I only took one advanced class leaving me with four to take the following year. We had the end of the week where prospective employers would set up in the auditorium and interview graduating students for positions with their companies. Since, I still had at least six to possibly twelve months to go, I disregarded it. That evening my guidance counselor dropped by the dorm and informed me that a company wanted to interview me on Friday at one o’clock in the afternoon. I mentioned that I was definitely coming back in the fall. He informed me that they knew that, but they still wanted to interview me. I took the card he handed me and closed the door. The card was from a law firm in Dallas by the name of Butler, Land and Reyes. I did an internet search of them and to their credit they were ranked as the second best law firm in the city of Dallas and number four in the state of Texas.

I had a brutal workout at the gym that morning then went and took a shower in the men’s locker. I bought a high protein drink from the gym bar and hung out in the library for a few hours. It was amazing the attention I was getting from the girls now. When I first arrived at school no one gave me more than a glance. Now after the transformation in the gym the attention was unbelievable. Sometimes they would just come up and say hello for no reason.

I left the library a little after twelve-thirty and walked directly to the auditorium. I wanted to be a few minutes early, at least. Being late for a job interview was not the way to start a relationship with a prospective employer. I arrived at twenty minutes to one and there were quite a few interview tables set up. Each table had a placard that gave the company name. I walked through the aisle and saw the placard that said Butler, Land and Reyes. The table had two women behind it, brief cases open on the table looking over folders they had in their hands. One lady appeared to be mid-thirties at best, dressed in business attire. The second women looked much younger, maybe mid-twenties and drop dead gorgeous. She had on a white silk blouse and a very short black skirt with black heels. I walked up to the table and took a seat in one of the folding chairs across from them.

“Hi, I’m Tim Williams, you wanted to see me?” I asked.

“Yes, we did Mr. Williams. I’m Amanda Peat. I’m in personnel and the HR director for Butler, Land and Reyes.” she said, shaking my hand.

“Hi Tim, I’m Robin Woods. I’m the special projects director at Butler, Land and Reyes.” she stated, shaking my hand as well.

Robin Woods had the softest hands I had ever felt and she made direct eye contact with me. She was a beautiful, young woman who exuded confidence in herself. I was broken from my trance as Amanda Peat brought me back to reality.

“Tim, we appreciate you taking the time to meet with us considering the course load you carry. I’m not sure if I ever interviewed someone with this kind of background. Since, you gave us permission to interview you the school gave us all of your high school and subsequent records here at the university. I have to say, I’m very impressed.” she stated.

“Thank you, ma’am.” I replied.

“You are going to take the CPA exam, am I correct?” she asked.

“Yes ma’am. Hopefully within the year.” I answered.

“Great, that’s what we were hoping. Let me get right to the point. Mr. Richard Butler is our firm’s manager and senior partner. He wants to hire an in-house CPA to handle all of the firm’s expenses and from time to time work on cases that we will be trying. Second, he wants someone young, very motived that he can mold into a valuable company resource. We have been searching for a while and when your records were brought to our attention, he sent us here immediately.” she said, pausing.

“Thank you, but you do know that I’m staying here for to pursue my master’s.” I inquired.

“Yes, we know that. In fact, once hired we plan on sending you to take several legal course’s we think would be beneficial to you. Of course, we would house and pay for all expenses while you’re enrolled. You would work in the office part time and go to school. Then, take the CPA exam and join the firm full time. So, what do you think, so far?” she asked.

“Honestly, I don’t know. I had never thought about a job. My main goal was to get my master’s and then take the CPA test.” I answered.

“Tim, let me be truthful with you. We are not interviewing anyone else here for this job. If either you or we’re back to the drawing board. I can promise...” she began before Robin Woods interrupted.

“Tim, I was in your seat a few years ago and probably felt as overwhelmed as you do now. Richard Butler recruited me right out of Baylor. I was blown away by the offer that he made but sitting here today, so grateful I was wise enough to take it. Mr. Butler is one of the best men I have ever known. You work hard for him and it will pay off, I promise you. And if you agree, you can further your education and study for the CPA while you’re working for us. Don’t think you’re going to find many offers like that.” she said, softly.

“No, you’re probably right.” I admitted.

“Tim, how about we may you an offer. Look it over and then get back to us. I can mail the offer here to you.” Amanda asked.

“That sounds great Ms. Peat. I promise, I will get back to you.” I replied.

She quickly packed her briefcase and left the table heading for the exit. Robin Woods finished and walked out next to me.

“Tim, are you an athlete?” Robin asked.

“No, I have never played sports.” I admitted.

“So, you just workout at the gym?” she asked, somewhat shocked.

“Yes, that’s about it.” I replied.

At the start of the next semester, I took all four courses which I knew would be tough. All I did for the next two months was study and workout. I tried to help Addy out as much as I could but my time was limited. Just about that time, a large envelope arrived for me from Butler, Land and Reyes.

It was an employment package from Amanda Peat with two business cards. One from her and the other from Robin Woods. I would start at twelve hundred and fifty dollars a week which would amount to sixty-five thousand annually. In addition, company bonuses were available along with a 401K plan and health insurance. This package also included rent for an apartment in Dallas and use of a company car until I started full time with the firm.