Chapter 6
TRISTEN
Joel and I stood at the desk in his office and looked over the schedule of candidates for the resort assistant for the rest of the day.
We’d been alternating the interviews between us and were down to the last few candidates this afternoon.
I was so tired of meeting with the same type of candidate for the past several days and all morning that I could scream.
Joel’s thoughts and feelings mirrored mine.
All had degrees in hospitality.
All had experience in some facet of the hotel industry.
All eager to hand over their impressive resume in some paper portfolio.
All answered the interview questions the same way and as perfectly as you’d want them to.
All looking for a chance to work in a five-star resort.
All wearing the same cheap black suit and white shirt with a tie. The ties were the only authentic glimpse at their true personalities and who they were.
All were very capable of the job.
But none of them were exciting or different.
Joel and I had finished lunch in the restaurant and were walking through the atrium toward our offices to prepare for the afternoon interviews.
“Am I kicking it off this afternoon?” Joel asked.
“Yes. You get the first one. I’ll bet you a million bucks he’s wearing a black suit,” I suggested.
“White shirt and a tie that says how lively they are,” Joel said.
“But not too lively.” Instead of continuing to walk toward our offices, I stopped near the sliding door that led to the valet. “I’m going to catch a few minutes of fresh air before the next interview.”
“Alright, see you in a bit.”
Joel went to his office while I headed outside.
I briefly walked around and said hello to the valet attendants and waved at Luke.
Joel and I like to engage with our employees as much as possible.
Then I walked down the sidewalk just past the valet window to enjoy some peace before the next round of interviews.
I pulled out my phone to look at some baseball news when a loud car caught my attention.
An older Honda with a louder than necessary exhaust had stopped along the curb just before the covered valet.
A young man wearing a gray polo shirt and navy twill pants exited the car.
Was he here to check in early for the weekend party?
He didn’t look familiar, but Joel mentioned there would be some new faces this weekend.
I was very much finally ready for a new face to join the fun.
This one was young, and looked like he was probably in his early twenties.
From where I stood, it looked like the armband of the polo fit snug on his arms. Good sign that he was a fit guy.
I looked at his hair and decided that there was enough length there to get a handful, if needed.
From my experience, dirty, bad boys often needed their hair and head tugged on here and there.
Was he a good boy or a bad one? His skin looked like there was good color to it, like it was naturally tanned by the sun and not artificially.
Wonder if that tan goes inside those pants?
Before I got too carried away, I pocketed my phone and watched Luke approach him. They spoke briefly and then Luke showed the kid where the entrance was. I silently prayed for the party, but he didn’t have a suitcase or weekend bag. He carried a single piece of paper.
I went over to Luke and asked, “Is he here for the party or here for an interview?” I asked.
“Interview, Mr. Elliot.”
I nodded and headed back to where I’d been standing. This would at least be interesting and different. I quickly opened the app we used to text among employees. I shot off a quick text to Gabe at the info desk.
Tristen: The kid wearing the polo shirt is here for the interview. I think Joel is scheduled to meet with him. Switch the polo kid to me.
Gabe: I moved him to meet with you instead of Mr. Stafford. His name is Cash Jameson. Do you want me to notify Mr. Stafford of the switch?
Tristen: No. I’ll talk to him.
I opened my text string with Joel.
Tristen: Hey, I’ll let you off the hook and will take the next interview. I’ll let Gabe know so he can email you the resume for the other candidate.
Joel: Sounds fine. Maybe we can wrap up the interviews quicker and can decide on which one to hire.
That would be awesome if we could finish this up early today. I went inside, and Joel was talking to Gabe.
“Why were you so eager to take the next interview?” Joel asked as soon as I was close enough to hear him and so he could make sure no one else did.
“No reason,” I said as Joel raised his eyebrow. He knew better. “No, I thought it would be good to wrap it all up before the weekend party starts.”
Joel grinned but kept his eyebrow arched, as if he hadn’t believed me.
If he’d seen this guy, I was certain he’d hire him or make him his sex slave.
Joel and I had similar tastes but the difference was that he seemed to make more sound decisions on who he banged than I did.
I was turning over a new leaf and steering clear of the crazies. God knows I’d had my share of them.
I looked around the atrium and spotted the polo wearing guy in one of the seats near the fireplace.
I looked down and straightened my tie and then slapped Joel on the shoulder.
“Well, I shouldn’t keep the candidate waiting much longer.
Good luck with yours,” I said and then headed in the direction of Cash Jameson.
This guy was fuckable in every which way and then some, I thought as I walked toward him. Our eyes met, and I felt an instant connection. Why did he look like he’d seen a ghost?
“Cash Jameson?” I asked and extended my hand for him to shake. He eagerly jumped up and quickly shifted the bottle of water from his right to left hand.
“Yes, hi. I’m Cash.”
“Tristen Elliot,” I introduced myself as our hands connected.
His handshake was firm, strong, and confident, yet cool and clammy.
As our hands separated, I could tell he was on the nervous side because he seemed to fidget and move without purpose.
He shifted his weight between his feet, set the bottle on the table, picked up a piece of paper, then picked up the bottle of water again.
And he did it all while brandishing a set of pinkish red cheeks.
“Ready?” I asked. I stretched my arm out in the direction we’d be heading and took a step backward.
“Yes,” he replied and fell into step beside me.
“Did you find the resort okay?”
“Yes. My friend comes to Tahoe each summer and is familiar with the area.”
“Good to hear. Sometimes the online maps can send people to the resort on the other side of the main road. And with the median out there, they have to go ten minutes up the road for the first available place to turn around.”
“Yeah, that’d have pissed me off,” Cash commented.
His comment made me smile because so far he’d been the only candidate for the job to speak candidly. I liked his honesty and his fearless delivery of it.
“Is this your first time in Tahoe?”
“It is. I really like it,” Cash replied.
“What has caught your eye?” I asked.
A cocky smile began to appear on his face, but he brought his hand up as if to hide the grin. His answer was simple and he replied with, “I like the trees and leaves.”
I walked into one of the conference rooms Joel and I had been using for interviews and gestured toward a chair across from the one I’d been sitting in.
“Please have a seat,” I said as I closed the door and then sat across from him. While I opened my black portfolio to take notes, he stretched his hand out and offered me the sheet of paper.
“This is my resume.”
“Thank you for bringing this in. I noticed you hadn’t uploaded one.”
“No.” He paused and glanced out the window as Joel walked by. The foot traffic outside the conference room seemed to really distract him.
“Not much into technology?” I asked mostly as a joke, but also to pull his attention back to me.
“It’s not that.” He looked down at the table briefly as I set his resume to the side.
Those red cheeks of his were driving me wild with completely inappropriate thoughts.
I thought about him lowering to his knees to suck my cock with those perfectly full lips.
I’d control his speed by weaving my hands through his hair and either pushing or pulling him toward or away from sliding those lips all the way down my shaft. I’d calm those nervous eyes of his.
“I didn’t have a resume prepared, and when I found the job listing, I scrambled to make one.”
Without glancing at his resume and just based on what he’s said to me in the past few minutes, I knew he was young enough to have not worked much anywhere. I’d get to that, but right now I wondered if those lips of his have slid down a man’s cock before?
“Everyone starts somewhere,” I said as I leaned back in my chair.
He was easy to look at. He nodded in agreement with what I had said, making it clear that I recognized and acknowledged his lack of employment experience. A smile spread across Cash’s face, and I fantasized about being the reason for his smile after tugging on his hair.
Through the glass windows that showed the hallway, I saw Joel walking toward the conference room.
He knocked twice before opening the door and stepping inside.
As he gently closed the door, I stood and glanced at Cash.
Joel had that fiery look in his eye, similar to what I’d seen before, only this was far more intense.
“Cash, this is Joel Stafford, the other owner of Equinox.”
Cash slowly stood as Joel approached the table and extended his hand toward him. As they shook hands, I noticed how red Cash’s cheeks were.
“We were just getting started, so you’re just in time,” I explained as we all sat down. I looked at Joel, but his attention was only on Cash.
Joel smiled and replied with, “Fantastic. I prefer being on time.”