Manhattan Life

By Phil Wohl

Manhattan Life is the story of a management training program for recent college graduates that winds up being a veritable laboratory for intimate exploration, manipulation and bribery. The late-night novel explores the transition between collegial experiences and a graduate's first job.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Phil Wohl
• Release date: Nov 9, 2011
• ISBN: 9781466047662

Phil Wohl

Phil Wohl is a professional writer by day and fiction novelist by night. Wohl has written more than 50 books and eight screenplays as an independent author. The author gains pleasure from people feeling anything and everything through his words.

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Manhattan Life

Phil Wohl

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2011 Phil Wohl

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It was a rite of passage each year at Manhattan Life Insurance Company. The golden doors would open every summer to a new crop of bright-eyed college students, all of which were over-qualified for a job that required little more than a high school-equivalent GED and a fully loaded MetroCard.

The New York Times Classifieds section posted the following as, just as it had done the third Sunday in May the previous 22 years:

MANAGEMENT TRAINING PROGRAM

Only the best and brightest recent college graduates

need apply for this prestigious Management Training Program

with this Fortune 500 company. Competitive salary and benefits.

Call 212-555-2424

Manhattan Life Insurance Company

Your life is in our hands…

ONE

It was one of the few post-college interviews containing an imbalanced talk format: 20 minutes of classic face-to-face interviewing followed by a one-hour, times psychological profile test.

The word test stirs up various emotions in different people. Ken Bunning spent his entire 21 years passing one test after another with flying colors. From his first exam in the pediatrician’s office checking his ears and reflexes, to his last final at George Washington University, Ken was all about giving back what he was asked for.

Barbara Gray had passed many of the landmarks in her life by simply standing in place and letting people admire her good looks. These people, especially men and lesbians thinking they had a shot, were more than happy to let Barbara pass go even if her work was less than exemplary. The bright fluoride smile, sparkling blue eyes, and the body even a mannequin would be envious of, made the test portion of the interview an unneeded exercise for Training Coordinator Maureen Stewart, who simply stated was a same-sex advocate.

Next in the room was Jeanine Cary, cheerleader, class president and constant organizer. Her jet black hair was as big as her personality, and her blue eyes told no lies as her sincerity really came through in the interview. But it was her 4.0 cumulative average and tremendous attention to detail that made her hiring a virtual certainty.

Henry Moore had absolutely no problem on the 20-minute interview. In fact, Maureen Stewart had rated him the highest of all the 125 male candidates she saw during the three weeks of interviews. His test score, however, was another story. It was a good thing for Henry that there really weren’t right or wrong answers to each question, as his score indicated he was a sensitive person that would be a great team member, and prefer a collaborative atmosphere to individual work.

Stewart sat in the conference room going over the candidates with her partner in time at work, Kathy Melvin, when she said, This guy does not fit the profile of an underwriter but I think I can mold him.

Are you sure he would comply? Melvin asked, knowing that straying outside of the acceptable parameters of the search criteria usually ended with a predictable conclusion.

I will whip that boy into shape. He may be tall, but I will wear him down.

Stewart had seen her share of candidates come and go in her 25 years with the company, and liked a good challenge every now and then to keep things fresh. As much as she tried to inhibit her personal feelings when evaluating potential candidates, she did let a few ‘wild cards’ pass through each year. It made her job more enjoyable to see a round peg aimlessly being tried to jam into a square hole.

The Manhattan Life Management Training Program had ebbed and flowed in size over the years, and currently stood at 20 people. In reality, however, only a couple of people would actual remain with the company and ascend to the management level within the company.

This one is a guaranteed winner! Stewart said to Melvin as she pulled Jeanine Cary’s paperwork.

I’m with you on that one, but this one will probably work in pharmaceutical sales, Kathy replied as she pulled Barbara Gray’s file.

This guy is headed to be a buyer at Macy’s, Melvin said when faced with Ken Bunning’s information.

But when Stewart picked up Henry Moore’s file, she drew a blank. Kathy stopped long enough to say, I’ve never seen you so stumped about a candidate before.

Stewart’s pained smile turned to a scowl as he fiery, auburn-dyed hair seemed to catch fire for an instant.

This one… this one can be anything he wants, but not a manager at Manhattan Life.

Melvin was confused, So why bring him in?

Stewart smiled a more devilish grin, We’ll both enjoy the challenge.

TWO

It was mid June and a bizarre mix of relaxation and anxiety enveloped even the most laid-back recent college graduate - all except Henry Moore, who was happy to have some time off for a change. It had been a grueling four years with a full course load, a major in business and a minor in English, participating on two intercollegiate athletic teams, and discovering new and inventive ways to both drink beer and convince girls to relax their dress codes.

Henry had only interviewed for one job since graduating, pinning his hopes on a position he cared little about and wouldn’t mind being passed over for.

Did you send a thank you note for that job you interviewed for? his mother asked one late afternoon as he snacked furiously while she prepared dinner.

I sent an e-mail, he simply replied.

Rita Moore was disturbed by the flippant response, but that was just part of her know-everything personality.

E-mails are so impersonal. I always send letters.

Henry thought to himself, Well maybe that’s the way they did it back in the days of the Pony Express.

Did you check the messages? his mom asked.

His parents still had an answering machine, preferring garbled messages to the new-age clarity of voicemail.

I haven’t checked my cell phone, because I fell asleep on the float in the pool.

Rita rolled her eyes, Enjoy the life of leisure while it lasts, because you’ll be working for the next 40 years of your life if you’re lucky.

Henry came back to reality for a brief moment, Wow mom that sounds like fun!

My son, your days of fun are almost over, as she put her arm around him.

He left the room with a few processed snacks in tow and then checked his cell phone voicemail. There was a message from Maureen Stewart, who rarely ever called candidates directly, preferring to have Kathy Melvin perform the mundane task.

Henry smiled, The fun isn’t over just yet, mom.

Forty thousand dollars seemed like a lot of money when he first heard the amount. It was a considerable sum considering that he lived with his parents rent-free and drove a car that was already paid for. That plentiful salary would be divvied up between commutation expenses, gas for his car, and the remainder would be utilized for going out on the weekend. There was little or no room in Henry’s plan for a budget, which also meant that the bank would only serve as a means to house his money before he burned it up.

Henry’s dad, Ethan Moore, was so happy that his only son got his first job that he immediately took him to Syms to buy a few suits. After selected a few winners and then having the resident tailor hem the garments, Ethan took a few moments to reflect on the car-ride home.

I remember my first job out of college. They had me teaching kindergarten kids. I didn’t know whether to change their diapers or run them around until they passed out on the floor. No suite required for that job.

How much did you make? Henry asked, cutting to the chase.

I think the City of New York paid me the staggering sum of twenty-thousand, four-hundred dollars.

There was a certain pride for a son making more than his father, but the euphoria was short-lived.

Or course, with cost-of-living adjustments that would translate into about forty-two thousand and change today.

Father then looked over at son in a Not yet junior glance.

The news of the job came on Tuesday, giving Henry the rest of the week to relax before starting his working life the following Monday. While most parents encouraged their grown children to do internships while in college, Ethan and Rita Moore directed their son to enjoy the fun ride while it lasted. They had years of experience that taught them that work was anything but fun, and that was why some poor schmuck coined all that labor and toiling ‘work.’

When you’re 21 or 22 the sheer gravity of anything lasting for the rest of your life leaves too much by the shoulder of the imagination highway. Mortality and the sweet struggle of the commute is not a known commodity