Chapter 11
CASH
Braxton and Quinn were all packed up for the trip back to L.A.
My decision to stay behind was very real this morning.
Was I nervous? Maybe a little bit, but Braxton was my safety net.
If things didn’t work out here, I could go back to L.A.
and stay with him until I got a job and on my feet.
Under no circumstances was I going back to Indiana to my parents and sheep siblings.
“Don’t be a stranger, Cash,” Quinn told me as we shook hands.
“I won’t. Don’t let Brax drive the entire way.”
Quinn laughed and then promised he wouldn’t as we watched Braxton toss the last of the bags into the back of his car. Quinn walked around the car to get into the passenger side, leaving me on the steps of the cabin.
“Okay, I think we have everything. Let me know if you find anything of ours,” Braxton said as he walked toward me.
“Nah, I’ll just sell it,” I teased.
“Punk,” Braxton said as he slapped his hand on my shoulder and pulled me into a quick hug. “So what’s your plan for the day?”
“I’m going to get my stuff packed up, and then I need to be over at the rental office at 10:00 to see the other cabin I’ll be staying in.”
“I’ll text you along our drive back, and I want all of the details on the six-foot-fuck-me-three Daddies.”
“I’ll give you all the scandalous details,” I replied sarcastically.
I watched them drive away until I couldn’t see their car anymore and then headed inside.
I pulled my phone from my pocket when I felt it vibrate from an incoming text.
A tiny part of me hoped it was my parents.
It turned out to be nothing other than a notification from my bank saying access had been restricted on my savings account.
Another alert came in from the bank saying an account holder had been removed from the checking account.
“Fuck,” I said out loud as I headed back inside.
I’d texted my parents the night that I accepted the job offer from Joel and Tristen, and told them that I was staying in Lake Tahoe for a job with Equinox Resorts.
While my father said nothing at all, my mom was at least replying, though still hanging onto hope that I’d come to my senses and return to law school “maybe next semester.” I guess the notifications from the bank was my father’s way of responding.
I sat alone in the oversized cabin and stared outside at the lake.
The cold reality of my decision was making me second guess everything.
I finally pulled myself out of the trance I was in and forced myself to do something to take my mind off things.
I grabbed the last energy drink in the fridge, picked up my sketchbook and pencil, and went out onto the deck.
The noise from opening the aluminum can seemed so much louder on the quiet deck.
I took a sip and flipped open the sketchbook to a blank page.
My pencil immediately began sketching Joel.
It was extremely calming and relaxing to sit on the deck and sketch.
There was no noise of Braxton and Quinn fucking or arguing.
No noise from the city. Only the sounds of nature and the pencil stroking the paper surrounded me outside.
As my pencil made marks that mimicked Joel’s broad shoulders, I replayed parts of the dinner I had the other night with him and Tristen.
I planned to draw both Joel and Tristen from that night when I saw them in the lobby.
While shading in Joel’s pants, I decided to give him a large obvious bulge by adding just the right amount of shading in the right places.
I took another sip of the drink and then smirked at my handiwork.
I left Joel’s shirt white without a tie and then paused as I thought back to that night.
Without a tie.
Tristen didn’t have a tie on either that night.
Joel wore black pants and a black suit jacket over a white shirt, but no tie.
Tristen only wore black pants and a light gray long-sleeved button-down shirt.
I’d imagine that was dressing down or maybe even casual for guys who owned mountain and beach resorts.
Had they done that on purpose? Was it because they knew I was traveling and didn’t have nice clothes?
During the initial interview for the job I knew I wasn’t qualified for, Joel and Tristen wore suits with ties that looked sharp.
As I drew Tristen, I couldn’t help but think that they dressed more casually on account of me so I wouldn’t feel so out of place.
And I liked that feeling.
I shaded Tristen’s shirt and gave him a goatee.
I gave both of them intense eyes and decided the only color in this sketch was going to be their eyes.
After I finished drawing them, I set the sketchbook down and ran inside to grab my plastic zipper baggie of colored pencils.
As I walked back outside to the deck, I rummaged around for the perfect blue to match Tristen’s eyes.
I colored in Tristen’s eyes with care and then picked up the light gray pencil.
While I put the finishing touches on Joel, his compliments of my drawing quickly overtook the loud silence of my parents. Doubt was replaced with confidence.
I was proud of what I’d sketched and stared at it in admiration. I should frame this sometime. Of course, it would look weird to frame a picture of my bosses with bulges in their pants and hang it on a wall of a cabin that they owned.
“Totally weird, Cash,” I said out loud to myself.
I carried everything inside and set it on the table in the living room.
I needed to head over to the rental office to meet Tristen and Joel.
Before I began my short walk to the rental office, I glanced at myself in the mirror of the bathroom to make sure I looked presentable.
I had on jeans and a dark green t-shirt and thought that would at least be good for the first day.
When I got to the rental office, I noticed a silver Porsche Cayenne parked in front along with a few other cars.
Did a six-foot-fuck-me-three Silver Fox Daddy drive a Porsche?
There were two other SUVs in the parking lot, but I’d seen both of those around the lake at the cabins, so it was safe to assume those belonged to people who were checking out.
I headed inside, and my eyes immediately found Joel’s.
So Joel is the Porsche driver. Joel’s warm smile made me feel …
wanted. Like, if he was here to meet with me and go over what he could probably have anyone who worked for him show me, I had to think it was because he valued me.
And even if that wasn’t the case, I allowed myself to think that it was.
The counter area was busy with two families checking out, and the older lady, Bea, was helping both of them at the same time. Joel picked up some keys from a drawer, a stack of folded shirts, and headed my way.
“Morning, Cash,” he said as soon as he was closer to me.
“Morning,” I answered as he held out the shirts.
“I had our human resources manager collect some shirts. You looked like a medium to me, so let me know if you need a different size.”
“No, medium is perfect; thank you,” I said as I opened one of the shirts. There was a mix of t-shirts and polo shirts with the Equinox Lake Tahoe logo in black, gray, and navy.
“Let’s go take a look at your place, and then we’ll go walk-through the two cabins that we just checked out. On our way, I’m going to call the cleaning company. If we’re lucky, it’ll be timed just right and then you can see the process.”
“That would be great,” I replied.
As we walked to where I’d be staying, Joel asked, “How has your morning been so far?”
“Good. Braxton and Quinn left earlier. After that I sat on the deck and enjoyed the quiet.” I left the part out about drawing and the part about my unnerving text notifications from the bank.
“Did you get yourself all packed up?”
“I have all my clothes just about ready and need to gather some stuff. But it won’t take long.”
We climbed the steps to a rustic A-frame cabin, and I stood behind Joel while he unlocked the door. Was it bad that I watched the line of his shoulder blade move under his shirt as he turned the door handle and opened the door? Even if it were, I didn’t give a fuck. Joel was hot as fuck.
I stepped inside and only after a few moments of being there and looking around, I felt like this was perfect for me and that I’d made the right decision.
From the entryway I could see the entire place, which was just the right size for me.
Downstairs was a living room, nook with a small table, kitchen with barstools at a breakfast bar, and a bathroom.
Through the glass sliding door across the room, I could see there was a deck with some furniture.
“This is perfect for me; thank you.”
Joel motioned for me to follow him upstairs and with each step, my eyes focused on his ass.
“Up here is a loft with the bed. You have a set of drawers just over there and a closet here,” Joel opened a door that led to a small walk-in closet while I set my new shirts on the dresser. “Over here is the bathroom.” He paused so I could poke my head in and take a peek.
“It’s perfect,” I reiterated. Perfect was the only word that came to mind.
As we left the bedroom, Joel stopped at the top of the stairs and opened another door revealing a washer and dryer unit.
“After each tenant checks out, our cleaners run clean cycles in the washers and the dishwashers so everything is fresh for the next guest. The dryer and appliances downstairs are also cleaned, along with the rest of the place.”
“It all looks great and really is a good size for me.”
Joel handed me a key once we were back downstairs. We locked the door then walked over to one of the cabins that had been vacated this morning.
For the next hour or so, Joel showed me how to do my initial sweep of a cabin to check everything and see if anything needed repair or replaced before the next tenants.
I also needed to check that the heat and air conditioning worked by turning them on and letting them run for a few minutes each.
Every time Joel talked about the air conditioning, I thought about the day I caught him and Tristen getting blown by the a/c tech on their deck.
It was easily one of the best days I’d had this summer.
“Once you go through the place and decide it’s all good, you can call the cleaning company and let them know which cabin number is ready for cleaning.
They’ll give you the time they’ll be here, and you just need to be here to unlock the door and let them in.
They’ll text you when they’re done and then you come back to lock the place up. ”
“This sounds very easy and not a ton of work on my part. I almost feel guilty taking your money.”
Joel laughed out loud as he looked at me.
“What?” I asked as I grinned. Something about looking at him while he laughed made me smile.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, Cash, but you wouldn’t have been a good attorney. Not after saying something like you’d feel guilty for taking money.”
I burst out laughing and nodded because he was so right. I was glad I didn’t have to worry about that fucking career field.
“Seriously, though, is there anything else you’d like me to do in between checkouts?”
“You can help us keep an eye on Frank and Trudy’s place.”
“Yes, that sounds fine. I can clean the hummingbird feeder and put fresh food in it. Anything else?”
Joel stared at me for a few moments and honestly, if he’d asked me to suck his dick, I wouldn’t have hesitated.
“Would you be interested in putting together some welcome gift bags for the guests that attend the private parties we have at Equinox?”
“Yeah, I can definitely do that.”
“That would be a huge help. Usually Tristen and I run out of time and have one of our admins do it. However, if you wouldn’t mind helping instead, we can bring the items by later today. I must warn you, though, it’s very adult oriented. Will that be an issue?”
I laughed because I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. For one, nothing adult oriented would ever be an issue and two, Joel hosted adult parties at Equinox. The images my mind was already creating were plentiful.
“Joel, nothing adult oriented will ever be an issue,” I replied.
“Good. Tristen and I will bring the stuff by later today.”