Chapter 173: Expected Salary

Butterfly effect or not, these are matters that even future experts and scholars can't fully understand. If Carter could figure it out, it would be a miracle. Rather than dwelling on whether Microsoft's development might deviate from its original path, the pressing task at hand was to find those three people and get the bank's electronic transaction processing system up and running as soon as possible.

Shaking off the complicated thoughts swirling in his mind, Carter took the piece of paper with the details of the three individuals and headed downstairs. He found the currently free teller, Greta, and instructed her:

"Ms. Greta, please go to the back warehouse, find some unused cardboard boxes, break them down, and make some signs to put at the city entrances."

"Okay, is this to receive... uh, this..."

Putting down her coffee cup and taking the paper Carter handed her, Greta took one look and nearly choked on the coffee that had just reached her throat.

"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

"Boss, these people have already been to our bank several times."

Greta shrank back a little, worried about having sent away the people her boss had been expecting, but also a bit puzzled. When these three had come asking about jobs, the bank had no hiring plans because the workload and the number of positions were well-balanced. So, would these three additional people threaten their jobs?

"They've been here? When did they come, and why didn't anyone inform me?"

"They didn't ask to see you; they just inquired if we were hiring."

"Oh! I remember now. Two thin guys and a chubby one, right? Those are the three?"

Carter smacked his forehead, realizing that they had indeed arrived three days earlier!

But why on earth didn't they just tell the tellers they were there to see him?

Since open recruitment was not suitable due to the required level of expertise and trust, many companies often used industry contacts for targeted hiring. For job seekers introduced this way, the usual public recruitment process wasn't followed. Just like in Douglas, with probably less than a dozen computers in the whole city, openly recruiting computer experts was unrealistic.

Thus, Carter hadn't planned any public recruitment, just casually informed the tellers that some people might come looking for him and to notify him if they did.

And then...

"Excuse me, Mr. Black. Good afternoon, I met some people who said they were referred here for jobs at the bank. I wasn't sure if it was true, so I brought them over."

Just as Carter was pondering why these three didn't mention his name and instead asked about job openings, Montbat suddenly walked in.

Seeing Carter in the lobby, Montbat's eyes lit up, and he turned to wave at the two thin guys and the chubby one, introducing them to Carter:

"It's them. Officer Hobbs said they came from Seattle. Can you check if they are the right people?"

"Yes, that's them! Thanks, Montbat, I was looking for them!"

Following Montbat's waving direction, Carter saw the comical trio and, with the mention of Seattle, these details confirmed their identities.

After thanking Montbat for bringing them, Carter stepped down, approached the three, and extended his right hand:

"Ha ha, welcome to Douglas! I'm Carter Black. Come on in and have a seat... Are you sick? Not feeling well?"

"N-no, not at all."

The first thin guy to shake Carter's hand was trembling, and his words were shaky too. Carter initially thought they might have caught a cold.

But when all three showed the same reaction, it couldn't just be a cold; they seemed scared, frightened even.

They're afraid of me? But why? It makes no sense!

Perplexed, Carter thanked Montbat again and led the three to his office. He pointed to the sofa and said, "Sit down," then closed the door.

As the door closed with a "thud," the three still standing straight shivered.

"I was just thinking about when you'd arrive, not knowing you had already been here for three days. Sit down and relax; I don't bite! If you're this nervous now, how can you work for me?"

With what he thought was a reassuring smile, Carter sat down first. But after waiting a moment, he noticed the three still hadn't sat down, and he said helplessly:

"Why don't we start with introductions? I'm Carter Black, the boss here and of Pearson City Forest Bank. In the future, some of you may work there too. The job isn't hard; mainly, you'll help set up the computer software platform, do some maintenance, and teach my tellers to get used to handling transactions with computers."

"No need to teach them programming, just how to use the software they need for their tasks. This job shouldn't be hard for you, right? Paul said you are all top-notch in the field!"

In response to such flattery, most Chinese people would typically respond with modesty, while in the U.S., there are generally two reactions.

One is if they think they deserve the praise, they accept it and either discuss job specifics or start talking about salary.

The other is if they feel unworthy of such titles, they might blush, feel embarrassed, and either directly state they don't deserve it or hesitate, waiting for further details to negotiate better compensation.

Both reactions were within Carter's expectations. However, the response he got was a third, unexpected one.

"Just that? I mean, Mr. Black, our job is... really just that? Nothing else...?"

Jon looked surprised, not knowing how to finish his question. Carter was equally puzzled:

"What else would there be?"

"There's..."

Quick-witted Jon, upon hearing Carter's response, was about to ask if there were any illegal activities, but Drew tugged his sleeve. Realizing his mistake, Jon quickly waved his hands:

"Nothing... nothing."

"Relax, feel free to ask anything if you have doubts. If there are no questions, let's discuss compensation. Paul mentioned Jon and Drew would be full-time, and Newell is a part-time intern. Who is Newell?"

"That's me, Gabe Newell!"

"Alright, regarding pay... I'm not familiar with the going rates. Why don't you tell me your expected salary?"