The Greatest Assist (Patrick Kane)

1| Pleasant Surprise

Patrick

Being young, on your own and in one of the biggest cities in the world isn't usually a good mixture. Especially for someone like me who never went to college, who didn't have a normal childhood and moved out of my parents house at the age of 13. I wouldn't say that I was a bad person, I try my best to lend a hand when needed and I don't intentionally hurt people. But when it comes to making good decisions and being responsible, I'm not very productive in that department. I'm human and humans make mistakes, but for some reason I can't stop mine from happening one after another. There's not a lot of lessons that I've learned, whether it be I was never taught or I just make the same mistakes over and over again never changing. I would say being a borderline alcoholic with anger management problems and not connection to my emotions for myself or other people has made it hard to actually be in the moments I wanted, and needed to be in.

So my mom made a suggestion, or a threat rather. She said that I had to get a personal assistant who could help me organize my life in some sense. I know she just doesn't want me to go down the wrong path but I don't need someone following me around telling me how to live my life. To me it sounds like she just wants a baby sitter to keep a eye on me when she can't, but the other option was that my mom would move out here to watch over me and make sure I didn't do anything stupid. So instead of having my mom on me all the time I agree to get a assistant to help me... stay on a good path to put into simple terms.

Today was the interview part of this process and I was feeling a little uninspired by my options. I had about 20 people make it through my mom and the background check and none of them was what I was hoping for. A few of the guys who came out were just trying to be my friend and take pictures with me and stuff, the girls who interviewed were a lot older than myself and treated me like a little kid. Like I needed to be home by 10 and in bed by 11 and eat my vegetables before I can leave the table. Over all I was unimpressed and was ready to call my mom and tell her she got the job.

As I get up from my chair I hear the door open and I stop in my tracks. I see a girl around my age walk in and immediately a smile comes on my face. My heart starts to pound against my chest as she turns to me after she closes the door behind her. She had the biggest green eyes I've ever seen on a person as she stared right at me. There was a dimple in both her cheeks that made you just want to fall to your knees. Her big brown hair curled and falling down her shoulders like a waterfall. She has a portfolio clutched to her chest as she walked over to me. She certainly looked the part, so she had that going for her. The dress, the look, the professionalism, it was all there.

I didn't have any other interviews lined up by my mom so I wasn't sure who the mysterious beauty was or if she was here for me. I sure hope she was.

"How may I help you" I ask as I cross my arms across my chest continuing to admire the gift that just presented herself in front of me. The most pleasant surprise.

"Oh my, where are my manners? I'm Chelsea Tyler. I'm here for the personal assistant job with you Mr. Kane, I hope I'm not too late" she insists.

The smile on my face grows as I motion to the chair across from the one I was just sitting in. "You're not too late. Please, come sit" I insist.

She tries her best to walk in her heels as she makes it to the chair. She was small even with the heels on but I like that she was trying. Judging from her posture and designer purse she had a nice upbringing even if she showed the nerves on her face. I sit across from her and wait for her to say something, anything, but she doesn't. She just sits there and stares right through me with those big eyes.

"So..." I start. "Why do you want to be my personal assistant" I wonder.

She laughs a little as her eyes moved from me to the table between us. "I don't really know. To be honest with you I know nothing about you or hockey. I haven't been around Chicago for all that long and I'm not sure what makes me qualified for this job. I just saw the ad a few days ago and last minute figured the worst that could happen is that you would say no" she shrugs.

I seriously doubt that's what is going to happen here.

"Can I see your portfolio" I wonder.

"Of course" she assures me as she hands the folder over.

I open it up and see what we're working with. I see she is 23 and originally from California. She graduated from UCLA with a masters in business management and a bachelors in communication. And that wasn't even the most impressive part. She worked with the the Lakers for a few years as a PR manager before coming here. She's had nothing but the best education growing up and looked like she came from a family full of successful people. She certainly was impressive.

"Wow" I gasp as I set the folder down, "this is incredible. What made you want to take this job" I had to ask.

"I don't know" she sighs. "I just moved out here and I'm looking for a new start. Something that makes me uncomfortable so I have to spread my wings in order to fly."

"I make you uncomfortable" I question.

"I didn't mean it like that" she defends as she shifts in her seat. "It's just, I thought I always knew what I wanted to be. I thought my path was made for me, but I was wrong. I wanted to make a difference in peoples lives but you can't help people who don't want it. I saw that you wanted help so now I'm here" she explains.

I look at her portfolio before looking back at her. She was a little over qualified, and at the same time had no idea what she's getting herself into. She might have worked with basketball players but this is different. And we just won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 49 years, there was a lot of focus on me and the fact that I can't seem to keep myself out of trouble. Being my personal assistant comes with its own warning labels and I'm not sure I want to tell her that. I'm too afraid she will run off.

"This job isn't going to be easy" I tell her to put it in the simplest way possible.

"Easy doesn't make a difference in people's lives. That's why I want to be uncomfortable, only then does change come" she says.

"Why is making a difference so important to you" I questions.

She just smiles as she looks at her hands in her lap. She was a little timid but I'm sure that will go away if she ends up with me. Her long hair falling in her lap too as she lets out a sigh. "I lived in LA all my life, it's easy to get lost in the crowd" she starts.

"I'm sorry, but I don't see how a face like you're gets lost in a crowd" I insist.

Her cheeks start to turn red as a smile returns to her face. "Thank you Mr. Kane. But there is a lot of incredible people in this world. My dad is a physics professor at UCLA, my mom a neurosurgeon, my oldest brother is the mayor, my middle brother a police officer and my sister a marine. They all make actual differences, they know their places in this world, they save lives, they change peoples lives. And then there's me" she sighs.

"You have a masters and a bachelors and you moved from LA to Chicago all on your own. You marched yourself in here without a phone interview and you took a chance on yourself. I think that's pretty incredible" I argue.

"And what difference have I made" she questions.

"Maybe you should be asking what difference are you going to make" I try.

Her eyes go big as she perks up. "I got the job" she whispers.

"Well it's either I don't get a personal assistant or I have you. And I would really like to have you" I admit.

"I would be honored" she smiles.