by 3manweave » Fri Apr 01, 2016 4:14 pm
[July 10th, 2015 - Downtown Kansas City, MO (6:56 PM)]
Before heading home, I decided to stop at the Whole Foods down the street from the office to pick up some things to make homemade alfredo sauce. One of the perks of living in Italy for six years is that you learn how to cook REAL italian food, not the mediocre offerings you get at Olive Garden or Macaroni Grill (albeit, they have SOME good stuff).
As I was checking out in the line, the cashier kept giving me funny looks. It was several more moments when she finally piped up. "You're Cale Jefferson, the new basketball coach at UMKC, right?" She asked. Seriously? Of all the dumb luck...
I paused for a moment, looking around, before going on. "Yeah, that's me. Who wants to know?" I said, somewhat shocked-slash-annoyed. She continued to ring up my groceries while smirking at me. "Sorry, I didn't mean to come off as an ass, but I'm just a little surprised someone recognized me," I said sheepishly. She was in her late twenties, I suppose; and she was rather gorgeous. However, she gave off a hipster vibe. Not that there's anything wrong with that; and it's not always the case, but college and professional sports generally isn't within their spectrum.
"You don't look like the type that is interested in sports," I added. Just shut it, Cale!
She sarcastically chuckled and rolled her eyes before totalling up my purchase. "That'll be $16.54." There was a long, awkward pause as I pulled out a $20. As I handed her the bill, she continued on. "Look, I'm off work here in just a few minutes. Can you wait outside for me? I need to talk to you." Okay, this just got really awkward. She grabbed the "Lane Closed" sign near her register and placed it on the conveyor, much the annoyance of the man with a cartful of stuff who was wheeling his cart towards the belt.
"Sure," I said nervously as she handed me the $3.46 in change, and I grabbed my bags to go wait. About ten minutes later, she walked out and began to introduce herself. "Hi, I'm --" I cut her off, putting my hand up to stop her.
"Look, this is all just really weird and strange. What is this about?" I said.
"As I was going to say, my name is Kristin Jacobs," she said. "My friend, Aislin Luna, just interviewed with you a week or two ago." Dun-dun-dun-dun. "Look, the advertising firm she works for just cut her work schedule, and she's really upset about it. The only reason I know who you are is that I happened to run across an article that talked about your hiring, and a big picture of you was splashed below the tagline. She really, really wants this job. I've seen her in action. She's amazing at what she does."
"Does she know you're talking to me about this?" I asked. "I mean, you're kinda putting me on the spot here."
"No, she doesn't know, and she'd kill me if she knew," Kristin said frankly. "Please, if you have any pull with this Charles Roast guy, see what you can do. And yes, I know it's a tough ask."
"I'll see what I can do, but a decision hasn't been made yet. It's not my call in the end anyway. I have some input, but since it's an athletic department position and not a coaching position, it's the department's call," I said. Technically, this person would be my boss."
"That's all I ask," she said. "And don't worry, I won't say anything to her." I nodded, and began to walk back towards my car, goods in hand. I didn't get ten yards away when....
"You know, my dad has season tickets to UMKC basketball, and I attend almost every home game with him," she said. I stopped and turned around. "He also donates a small amount to the program, so I don't think that's any way to treat the daughter of a booster, don't you think?" She sheepishly grinned at me and began to walk away, presumably towards her home. Oooof. Not my finest moment.
"Do you need a ride home?" I yelled after her as she walked away, but she waved me off without turning around. I chuckled to myself, and shook my head in disbelief as I put my things in the car to head home.