She waved off my response. “You’re missing my point. This woman is in the world of sports broadcasting. Her daughter mistakenly believes that because she skated on her high school team, won a state championship and competed for two years on the college skating level, that would give her a leg up over her peers in the job market.”
“Might also give her an advantage because . . . oh . . . her mother works in the business.”
“That’s where Maddie the major jumper—and you—are both wrong. Some cutesy twenty-two-year-old with a newly minted degree is no competition for a woman like you, with the accolades, experience and passion for the sport. That’s what they’re looking for.”
“Who is looking for that?” I demanded.
“Wolf Sports North.”
My jaw dropped. “What the hell, Liddy? You didn’t tell me that your appointment was at Wolf Sports North! They’re the biggest independent sports reporting network in the Upper Midwest.”
“I didn’t?”
Count to ten. “No, you did not. And yes, you absolutely should’ve led with that.”
“See?” Liddy beamed. “You tossing out an official word like led just proves my point that you’d be a natural in the world of broadcast journalism.”
“This person—what’s her job at Wolf Sports North?”
“She used to be in PR, but now she’s production associate for Minnesota Weekly Sports Wrap-Up.”
“Production associate,” I repeated. “For one of the most popular programs in their lineup.”
“Yes, but she and I both agreed that subject matter is too broad for someone like you. She’d rather see you focused on the college hockey scene. According to her, her boss, head of all programming at Wolf Sports North, is looking to diversify the male-dominated commentator roster, specifically for winter sports.” Liddy cocked her head. “I know you, Gabi. You can hold your own with any of them. So please seriously consider it, okay?”
“Consider what?”
Breezily, she said, “Applying for the sportscasting job opening.”
“What opening?”
“The one we’ve been talking about. You do need to pay attention, darling.”
Calmly, I lifted the lid off the teapot and peered in. Sniffed it for good measure.
“What are you doing?”
“Checking to see if you brewed cannabis tea, because clearly we’re both high right now since nothing you’ve said is making any sense.”
Liddy snorted. “I don’t know which I dislike more, you questioning my tea-making skills or you questioning my method in finding an opportunity for you to advance your career.”
“I’m not questioning you.” Yes, I was. I inhaled and exhaled slowly. Then I reminded myself that conversations with Liddy could read like CliffsNotes; she touched on the important points but left me to fill in the pesky details.
But if what she’d alluded to was true . . . this could be the clichéd career “game changer” for me.
I offered her a sunny smile when I noticed the pinched look setting in around her mouth. “For my own clarification, please let me start from the beginning. On Friday you dropped off promo at Wolf Studios North and ended up in a conversation with a production associate for Minnesota Weekly Sports Wrap-Up. She told you the entire cable broadcast company was looking for sportscasters, preferably women sportscasters with real athletic experience, to apply for an open position in their collegiate sports division. Specifically their collegiate winter sports division, with an emphasis on hockey.”
She rolled her eyes. “Bloody hell, Gabs, isn’t that what I said?”
Not even freakin’ close. “My next question is: What—if anything—did you tell them about me?”
“Give me some credit. I didn’t call you out by name. All I said after learning about the job opening was that a neighbor of mine from Snow Village had been considering a career change. I might’ve mentioned you were a former Olympic athlete, currently coaching hockey at a private facility.” She smirked at me. “My friend’s eyes positively lit up when I leaked that little factoid. Then she urged me to urge you to start the application process.”
“Process?”
“Oh, you know how corporations are these days. You fill out a basic application. If you make the first cut, then they’ll share the rest of their hiring process, which likely will involve multiple steps as they eliminate potential candidates throughout each stage.” She drained her tea. “You’d better get started since the application deadline is tonight at midnight.”
“No pressure.”
“No, darling, more like ‘no guts, no glory.’”
“Thank you, Liddy. This is . . . above and beyond.”
“You’d do the same for me, I’m sure.” Then she shooed me off. “I’ll clean up here. You go clean up your résumé.”