A New Job
By
Mathis B. Rogers
Copyright January 16, 2000 Mathis B. Rogers
Smashwords Edition
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Thunder rumbled in the distance. Ominous dark clouds loomed over head. I sighed. This was no time to be job hunting, but I was desperate. The company I'd been with for three years was relocating to a larger city in the northeast and, although I only had my parents, brother and his wife to keep me in town, I didn't want to move. I had been born and raised in Glacier Valley, New Mexico and, although I could probably find a job in Santa Fe, almost a hundred miles to the east, I had no desire to leave Glacier Valley and I was running out of opportunities.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Casey," a deep voice boomed through the closed door. "They're not going to do it and that's final."
The door was yanked open and a giant of a man wearing a red flannel long-sleeved shirt and a pair of blue jeans holding a yellow hard-hat in his massive hand, stepped out of the office. Fire flickered in his steel blue eyes, sending a chill up my spine as lightening popped outside the window and the window rattled from the following thunder.
"Mitch, wait," a gruff voice pleaded from the inner office.
Mitch sighed and turned to look back at the voice. "You have a customer out here, Mr. Casey," he said. "I don't think we need to discuss this any further."
Without waiting for a reply, Mitch stormed past me and out the front door of the plush office as Mr. Casey appeared in the doorway. He was a little plump and completely bald. The sleeves of his gray shirt were rolled up to his elbows and his blue tie was hanging loose at his neck. His collar was unbuttoned.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm Earl Casey. Are you Robin Abernathy?"
"Yes, sir," I replied getting to my feet. "Miss Willis told me to wait here for you. She said she had an errand to run."
"Yes, I knew she was going to," he replied. "Please come in."
"Thank you."
I followed Mr. Casey into the plush office and took a deep breath. Large windows covered the outer wall behind a large mahogany desk, framing Mount Apache in the distance. A leather couch set next to the wall by the door.
"How do you love it?" he asked, beaming as he noticed my expression.
"It's fantastic," I admitted, although I wasn't going to mention that I didn't care for the brown leather sofas. "I don't think I'd get any work done with a view like this."
"I have trouble, too, sometimes," he admitted with a chuckle as he motioned to one of the wingback chairs setting at an angle in front of his desk.
I sat down and asked, "Will I be replacing Miss Willis if I get the job?"
"No, no. I couldn't live without Rachael. You will be working on site with the construction workers. There is a lot of paperwork and phone calls that you'll be handling. Everywhere they go we set up a trailer for the Forman's office. You'll be working out of it. Mitch Willis, the guy who was just here, will be your immediate supervisor. I tried to get him to stick around, but he was pretty upset. I really needed him here to interview you, since you're going to be working close to him."
As another flash of lightening lit up the room, I said, "I can come back some other time, if you'd like."
"No, that's okay," he said, taking his place in the over-stuffed leather swivel chair behind the desk. "I'll just make the decision myself. He really needs someone as soon as possible and you said you need a job as soon as possible. How fast can you type?"
I told him.
He glanced through my resume that I had left with Miss Willis two days before and sighed. "Are you sure that you don't mind working in a trailer house? It's only a one-bedroom; the bedroom has been converted to Mitch's office. You're office is the living room. There is a functional kitchen and, I know it's sometimes considered sexist, but you will probably be required to keep coffee going for the guys. There's a large refrigerator in the kitchen and most of the guys will leave their lunches there. You can bring yours, too, if you like.
"From what I see on your resume," he continued, "you won't need much training. Why are you leaving your current position?"
"They're moving to Detroit and I don't want to go with them. I don't want to leave Glacier Valley. I was born and raised here. It's home."
He nodded. "I see. As a construction company, sometimes we get jobs in other cities because, as you know, Glacier Valley isn't a booming metropolis. We're currently building a ski resort out at the bottom of Apache Mountain. It'll probably take a few years to finish it; we just started it a couple of months ago. But when we get other jobs out of town, we'll be staying in motels and sometimes we'll take trailer houses for the guys. You will be required to join the crew and you're office will go with you. Do you mind traveling?"
I took a deep breath. I didn't want to travel with the job, but I had already looked everywhere and hadn't found anything at all that would pay near what this job did, nor would any supply the benefits I'd get here, either.
"Yes, I'll be willing to travel, as long as I get to keep Glacier Valley as my address."
"Deal," he replied. "And this salary is acceptable?" he asked, writing down a figure and handing the paper across to me.
My eyebrows shot up. "Salary?" I asked.
"That's right."
"That's not much," I replied to the $450 he had scrawled on the paper.
He frowned. "That's as high as I can go per week at start out."
I thought my eyes were going to pop out of their sockets and I gasped. "Per week? Oh, I thought you were talking about monthly."
He chuckled. "Sorry. We get paid every Friday here. You'll also be responsible for payroll for the crew. Your check and Mitch's will be set salaries, but the other guys work on an hourly basis. You'll be responsible for totaling their time. Mitch will show you how that works. It's computerized. Very simple."
"Good," I replied. "When do I start?"
Mr. Casey crossed over to a large filing cabinet and removed a folder. "I need you to go to this address," he said, writing something on the form before handing it to me. "You can just pop in Monday if you don't want to mess with it in this weather." By now, rain was pelting against the large glass windows. "When we get the results back, which won't take more than a day or two, I'll call you in and take you out to the site and let you meet Mitch, the crew and show you what you're up against. Until then, we'll just say you're interested and we're interested in you, but you don't have the job yet. After you look around the site, you might change your mind. We don't want you to make any decisions right now. And, I really need to talk to Mitch about you, too."
It had been the quickest interview I'd ever had. Opening my umbrella, I stepped out into the rain and wondered if I really wanted the job. What was it that Mr. Casey had wanted the crew to do that Mitch said they wouldn't? I had heard of construction companies using inferior equipment and doing poor jobs making multi-million dollar mistakes, but Harker Construction had been in business in Glacier Valley for as long as I could remember. They had built the public library and the mayors' home along with several other city office buildings. I also knew that the first building they had constructed was one the one in which Mr. Casey now had his plush office.
Climbing into my Toyota 4 Runner, I glanced up at the five-story building and sighed. The clouds reflected off the glass windows and sent a chill up my spine. I felt like I was in an old murder mystery movie. Thunder shook my 4 Runner and I jumped.
"Well, I might as well go get this over with," I said, looking at the form Mr. Casey had given me. The quicker they got the drug test back, the quicker I could decide whether or not I wanted the job. I had just one more week before my other company closed down and started packing. I didn't have any desire to help them pack.
Water sprayed up the sides of my 4 Runner as I turned into the parking lot at the hospital. I was thankful that I had let my brother, Dwight, talk me into getting the 4 Runner. Several times during the past year that I'd had it, we'd had bad weather and the four-wheel drive had come in handy. I didn't care for the size of it, it was a bit large for my personal taste, but at least it was high enough that I could go though some of the intersections when they were filled with water, without worrying about being carried away or flooding the car. Once I had passed through a flooded street and noticed as I glanced in the rearview mirror that the smaller car behind me had stalled out, trying to follow me.
I had been thankful that Dad had left a chain in the rear of the 4 Runner and I had been able to hook it to the guy's bumper and pull him out without either of us washing away.
Of course, Dad had told me which intersections in town I could cross and which ones I couldn't, so that helped, too.
The waiting room of the drug screening office in the hospital was empty. I walked up to the reception desk and said, "Hi, Glenda. How's it going?"
"Hi, Robin," she said glancing at the form. "Not many people willing to brave a storm like this just for a drug test."
"Well, I had to drive by the hospital on the way home from my interview anyway, so it made sense for me to stop by.
"Besides," I added with a grin, "I gotta go anyway."
"I guess I'd better hurry then, huh?" she asked, returning my grin as she pulled a plastic cup out of a filing cabinet close by.
"I'm not quite desperate yet; I could have made it home."
Glenda handed me the cup and directed me into the bathroom around the corner.
After I finished, I put the lid on it and took it back to her.
"So what is this job?" she asked placing a piece of tape around the cup. "I can't see you working construction. I know you're desperate to stay here in Glacier Valley, but I think if that was the only choice you should go to Detroit."
"Don't worry, Glenda," I replied. "I'm not going to construct anything. It's just a secretary position. The job title is On-site Office Coordinator slash Payroll Clerk."
I glanced around to make sure we were alone and softly added, "And you should see the stud that will be my boss."
Glenda smiled and replied. "Mitchell Willis. Yes, his twin sister, Rachael, is the Office Manager. She lives across the street from us. The green house with white trim that you like so much, but keep insisting should be painted blue."
"Oh really?" I asked, surprised. "I didn't know that."
"Mm, hum. Mitch comes to visit her at least once a week. I've never seen him come over with anyone, though, but I haven't asked her if he's taken."
"Please don't," I replied as the phone rang.
"I'll tell Dwight that you got this far," she promised as I turned to go.
Dwight and Glenda had been married for a few years, but they had decided they wanted to get their house paid off before they thought about having any children. Which was fine with me, but my parents really wanted grandchildren. Fortunately for Glenda's parents, her sister, Irene, had already been married twice and had two children. Now Irene was a single mom doing her best to raise the kids by herself. Luckily for her, her parents were happy to baby set when she needed them to. Occasionally, Dwight and Glenda took care of them, too. I had gone over one evening when the kids were there and I felt comfortable saying that Trish and Jacob were the real reason Dwight and Glenda didn't want any children. I knew I never wanted to have any after spending time with those two.
Lightening flashed across the sky and the large pelts of water became ice as I pulled into my carport. I was thankful that I had taken the afternoon off to go to the interview. I really didn't need to worry about a broken window in my car from a large hailstorm while I was at work. Climbing out of the 4 Runner, I locked the door and set the alarm. I was reluctant to do that since the thunder had been known to set it off before. Luckily, I knew that the rain and hail wouldn't hit it and set off the alarm as long as I was parked under the carport.
Unlocking the utility room door on the townhouse I lived in, I stepped in and glanced back at my 4 Runner, making sure that I had turned off the lights. I had. Although I didn't have a garage, the carport was right next to the utility room door at the back of the house. I was able to get in out of the rain without getting wet because the carport was connected to the back porch.
As I removed my raincoat, the phone rang, so I stepped into the kitchen and grabbed the extension under the cabinet.
"Hello?"
"Hey, sexy. Whatcha doin'?" a soft voice asked.
I grinned as I imagined the twinkling green eyes of the blond-haired man who was trying to soften his voice enough to sound like a woman, but wasn't doing a good job of passing.
"Jerkin' off, dreamin' about you," I replied as I removed my shoes and placed them on the floor in the utility room to dry.
"Oh, shit, Robin, you just made me pull a boner," he said in his natural soft male voice.
"Then you'd better get over here and let me suck on it. We know how hard it is for you to pull a boner, Neal. What is it now? Two, maybe three seconds tops?"
He chuckled and replied, "I'd love to, but Donnie and I are going out tonight, if this hail doesn't beat the shit out of us first."
Neal Greer and I had met in our final year of collage. We had everything in common, right down to our taste in men. While neither of us were each other's types, we did have "casual sex" when we were both horny and couldn't find anyone who was our type that wanted to have sex with us.
"You've been going out with Donnie a lot lately," I said, leaning up against counter. "Is this getting serious?"
"God, I hope so," he replied.
"I guess I need to start looking for a new fuck buddy, then, huh? Unless you want to share him with me?"
"In your dreams, babe," he replied. "I'm not even going to let you see him naked."
Grinning, I replied, "Too late, babe. 'Member we met him at the gym and we showered together."
"Oh, yeah," he said and I could tell his heart sank.
"But don't worry about it, Neal. I'd love to feel that hairy chest against me, but you can have him. I've got my eyes set on another stud who might wind up being my boss. Of course he’s probably a straight homophobe or redneck, with my luck."
"You got the job?" he asked hopefully, disregarding what I had just said about Mitch.
"I stopped by the hospital and pissed in a cup for Glenda on my way home. I actually just walked in when you called."
"Did you let her watch you?" he asked, seductively.
"Gross, Neal. She's my sister-in-law. Not to mention, a woman."
"Well, I don't know of any company that'd let you take the drug test then not hire you, Robin," he said, getting back to the subject. "When do you think you'll start?"
"Mr. Casey said he'd call me when the drug test comes back, which should be Monday or Tuesday. He said that he wants to take me out to the site and see what I'm getting myself into before I decide for sure if I want the job."
"That's a good idea," Neal agreed as the line crackled and thunder shook the house.
"I guess we'd better get off here," I said. "I'm not on my cordless and you're obviously at work, so you don't need to be on here, either."
"Yeah. I'll talk to you later, Robin. Good luck with the job."
"Thanks, Neal. Oh, do you want me to pick you up, since you don't like to drive in this mess anymore than I do? The streets are flooding pretty bad already. If this keeps up, it's going to be real bad by the time you get off."
"Thanks for the offer, Robin, I appreciate it. But hunky-pooh has a big 'ole Chevy four by four. He said he'd get me at five."
"Cool," I replied grinning at his nickname for Donnie. He really did have it bad for him. Yes, Donnie was a hunk and I really hoped that it worked out for them. The guys that we seemed to know from the bar scene in Glacier Valley were all into one night at a time relationships. Everyone had done everyone at least once and no one was interested in long-term relationships. It seemed to be that only Neal and I wanted a permanent relationship, but we both agreed that we weren't each other's types. So we enjoyed each other as best friends and sexually when we didn't want to be alone, which was frequently. But I had the feeling that now that he'd found Donnie I was on my own again. While I knew that I'd miss being with him sexually, I knew that I'd never lose his friendship and I was very happy for him.
I wasn't sure when the storm finally passed, but I awoke refreshed the next morning, relieved to see the sun shining brightly and to hear the birds chirping in the trees in the back yard. Opening the patio door, I stepped out onto the balcony and breathed in the fresh air. I smiled as I noticed the morning sun glistening off the rain drenched tree leaves. Some, though, had not weathered the hail and were lying on the ground. I was thankful that the complex's maintenance crew would take care of the fallen limbs. I also knew they'd be around to check the roofs of the townhouses to make sure they hadn't sustained any hail damage.
After taking a shower and getting ready for the day, I made a light breakfast and, opening the window beside the kitchen table, sat down to enjoy the morning and my breakfast. I was thankful that the morning sun shown in through the kitchen window and the patio doors in the den. I had chosen the bedroom above the kitchen because it had the balcony overlooking the back yard. The front bedroom overlooked the front yard. I had my computer in the den beside the fireplace, so I could look out into the back yard while I surfed the 'net and did anything I needed to do on my computer.
When I finished the breakfast dishes, I started a load of laundry and absently reached for the cordless as I glanced at the clock over the dryer. "He won't be up yet," I told myself. "If Neal went out with Donnie, they probably didn't get home until three." Neal and I both loved to dance, so we always closed the bars at two.
Packing my workout bag, I decided not to wait for the first load of clothes to finish washing before leaving. I could do them later, anyway. Because of the weather the day before, I hadn't felt like going to the gym, so I decided to get it over with. There was no reason to wait for Donnie and Neal; they probably wouldn't want to workout anyway.
I was surprised there weren't very many cars at the gym when I arrived, but I was kind of glad, too. I enjoyed working out with Neal, but usually other people would take the machine I wanted to use right before I got to it.
"Hi, Mr. Anthony," the well-muscled bronzed hunk standing behind the counter said with sparkling a white smile as I walked into the gym. "You're here early?
"Good morning, Clayton," I replied cheerfully. "Yes, I didn't have anything better to do so I figured I should get my workout over with."
"Good idea. Lots of folks had weather problems and aren't coming in today. The gym's pretty empty."
"Did you have any problems?" I asked, signing the register.
"Yeah, the back window on my car got broken in the hail. Luckily, my wife's car didn't have any damage, so I got her to bring me to work."
"That's good. I have a carport, so mine faired okay."
"We need to get one of those, too, I guess," he said. "Where's Mr. Greer?"
I shrugged. "He had a date last night, so I haven't had the nerve to call him this morning."
Clayton chuckled and I bid him farewell as I headed for the locker room. I couldn't see anyone in the gym that I knew, so I was going to have a pretty quite workout, it appeared.
The locker room didn't have a door, instead there was a long hallway that lead down to an opening, and then you stepped into the locker room. Most people who belonged to the gym knew that you always stayed to the right as you rounded that corner to keep from bumping into anyone coming out of the locker room. And, likewise, everyone knew that you stayed to the right as you came out of the locker room to avoid running into anyone coming into the locker room. Therefore, I was surprised when I collided with a giant of a man who stood at least six-foot three, coming out of the locker room.
"Oh, I'm sorry," he said and I ran my eyes up his massive body to see the worry in his steel blue eyes. "Are you okay?" he asked grabbing me by the arm to keep me from falling.
"Yes, I'm fine. You're Mitch Willis, aren't you?"
"Yeah. You're Robin Anthony. I was supposed to interview with you yesterday, but didn't get a chance to."
"That's me," I admitted. "You're new here, aren't you?"
He frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Everyone knows you stay to the right coming out of the locker room," I said, trying to keep from making a pass at him.
"Well, you're right, and I'm sorry," he said following me over to a row of lockers that appeared unused. "I just joined last week. Only worked out a few times. How long have you been coming here, Robin?"
"Two years," I replied. "The townhouse complex I live in gives free memberships with one year leases."
"Well, depending on how much you pay a month for the rent, it might be a good deal and it might not," he replied as he watched me remove my shirt.
"That's true," I agreed, hanging my shirt in the closest locker. "But it's a two bedroom one and a half bath. It also has a den and a living room. I pay four-fifty a month and they throw in basic cable, too."
"That's not bad," he replied as I slipped my workout shirt over my head. I had a feeling he was going to stay with me until I got dressed, as handsome as he was, I really didn't mind.
Kicking off my shoes, I unbuckled my jeans and took them and my underwear off in one motion, making sure that he had a great view of my ass. I then donned my jockstrap and then my shorts, after making sure that he saw my cock, too.
As I slipped on my shoes, he said, "Sorry I didn't stick around yesterday for your interview, but Mr. Casey had me pretty pissed."
"Yeah, what was that all about, anyway?" I asked leading him toward the locker room door. "If you don't mind my asking, that is."
This time we didn't run into anyone, not only because we stayed to the right, but also no one was coming anyway.
"No, I don't mind," he replied. "We've been working on the ski resort for a couple of months now. As long as the weather holds up and we don't have any more storms like we did yesterday, we should be done with all of the outside work by the middle of next year. Of course, being in the mountains, we're going to have problems working outside during the winter, but we can get some inside work done then. What Mr. Casey wanted us to do is stop working outside for a while and work on the inside of the front of the building. He wants us to finish it up and then we can work on the back part later. The way the building is designed, it's not broken up in segments that way and it'll not be livable until we're done with the whole thing."
I stopped at the treadmill and asked, "What would be his purpose for wanting the front of the building completed so soon?"
"Good question," he said. "You're not going to start without warming up, are you?"
"I usually start out on here, then move on to other machines," I admitted.
"No, way, Robin. You have to stretch out first. Come on."
Mitch led me over to an area by the large picture window where there were some mats lying on the floor. He began to stretch and I joined him, doing the same stretching that he did.
"Anyway," Mitch continued as we stretched, "the company that we're doing this for has already hired the decorators and they are pushing us to get it done as quickly as possible. Well, if we rush like that, we're going to screw something up. And being on the side of a mountain like we are, it's bad enough without taking any chances. So, I told him no. I know what they want to do, they want to move in while we're still working and start taking reservations."
"Why can't they take reservations elsewhere and then move the phones when you're done?"
"I don't know, but my job is to make sure that everything runs smoothly and I'm not going to let Mr. Casey or anyone push me. He called me back after you left and told me that I missed your interview. I told him that if he wanted to rush this thing through, he'd have to fire me and get someone else to do it. He said he'd let me do it my way and he'd let his boss know that."
"That's a relief," I said bending forward to touch my toes.
"Now hold your calves and touch your forehead to your knees," he instructed.
As I attempted to assume the position, he said, "Well, Mr. Casey knows that he wouldn't be running such a great outfit if it weren't for Rachael and me. We are good at our jobs and we make sure that everything is handled to the best of our ability. If you want to work under me, Robin, you're going to have to give it your best at all times. I don't care if you make mistakes, everyone does. Even Rachael and I do, but as long as I can see that you've done your level best, that's all that matters."
"Well, that's good," I said, timidly.
"I don't want to run you off, Robin," he said. "I looked at your resume and talked to your past two and current bosses. All three of them said you were a great worker and they'd hire you back in a heartbeat. Your current boss even told me that he offered you a substantial raise to get you to move to Detroit, but you wouldn't take it."
"No, my family is here and I have no desire to go to Detroit," I informed him.
"That's the same way I feel. Rachael is my twin sister and she lives here. You met her when you got your application. Our older brother Al, his wife, and two kids, live here. Our parents live in Santa Fe. And I enjoy my job as Forman, so I'm not looking to leave anytime soon."
"That's good," I replied.
I don't know if it was because Mitch was watching or not, but I worked out harder than I ever had before. I also noticed that I worked out longer, too.
"I think I over-did it," I gasped.
Mitch chuckled and grinned. "Stay here, I'll be right back."
A moment later he returned with two towels and two sports drinks. "Drink this," he said, tossing me a towel and handing me a drink.
"Thanks," I said. The drink was salty and tasted like a strong lemon.
I turned up my nose to it and he laughed. "It's good for you," he said. "Drink up."
I watched him down his drink and wipe the sweat from his face.
"I think I'm going to take a long hot shower then go die in the hot tub," I said, limping toward the locker room.
"You need to sit in the sauna first," he said.
"I can't do that. After I sit there for about fifteen minutes I can't breathe, so I have to get out."
"Okay, we'll rinse off in the shower then soak in the hot tub for a while," Mitch said as I peeled off my sweat-soaked shorts and jock in one motion. I was too tired to even hope that he was watching me.
Removing my shirt, I placed it, my shorts and jock in a big plastic zip-lock bag that I kept in my workout bag and he said, "I never thought of doing that. That's a good idea."
"Yeah, I hate getting everything else wet and stinking up the liner."
As I removed the towel I'd brought from home, I noticed Mitch glanced behind him to see if anyone else was in the room. Two other guys had just arrived and they were getting undressed from their sweaty workout clothes. While I had seen them there before and they had worked out with us that day, I didn't know their names.
Folding my clean town over my arm, I headed toward the showers with my shampoo bottle and bar of soap in my hand. There were eight showerheads in the shower. Two on the inside walls and four across the back of large tile-covered room. I chose the second one from the end on the right side of the back wall. As the hot water pelted over me, I let it wash over my sweat-soaked hair. A moment later, I heard Mitch whisper. "Come over here, Robin."
I frowned and looked over at him. He had chosen the showerhead on the inner wall in the left corner closest to the door. From where he stood, no one could see him from outside the shower and he'd be close to where we hung our towels. Mitch wanted me to move over to the second showerhead on the wall beside him.
"What for?" I asked, frowning. I already had the water warm; I didn't want to move.
"Please? Just do it?" he pleaded. I melted into those steel blue eyes and ran my eyes over his hard hairy chest and downward as I turned off the water. I almost gasped when I saw how big his dick was. He had to be at least six inches long although he was limp. He was also uncut. I had never seen a man in person, uncut. Trying to keep from getting an erection, I grabbed my shampoo and soap and he turned to face the wall as I crossed over to the showerhead next to him. As I walked, I noticed that he had a nice hairy ass, but his back was smooth. I was also surprised to discover that he had a tan line that indicated he wore bikini briefs while tanning.
"Thank you, Robin," he said softly as I turned on the water.
"You're welcome," I replied and relaxed under the water again as soon as it turned warm enough.
Before I could ask again why he wanted me on his right side, the other two guys came in to take their showers. They chose the showerhead that I had started to use and the one to the right of it that I had planned for Mitch to use.
As I leaned back to lather up my hair, I noticed they were both looking at us. To my surprise, Mitch had his back to them, but the way he was standing allowed me to see him. I couldn't figure out why he didn't mind me seeing him, but didn't want them to.
After a few minutes of washing, Mitch turned off his showerhead and said, "Come on, Robin, let's go sit in the hot tub. We'll get a real good shower afterwards."
I followed Mitch back to our lockers and he kept his towel in front of him so no one else could see him, but no one else was in the locker room but us.
I put on my blue swim trunks and he had a pair of black ones that he donned. I followed him to the hot tub and was not surprised to see three other guys already there.
"Hi, Robin," one said. "How's it going?"
"Great, Phil, how are you?" I asked as Mitch settled down next to me.
"Could be better. That hail got my windshield yesterday."
"Sorry to hear that," I said as Phil looked quizzically at Mitch.
"Mitch Willis, this is Phil Phillips," I introduced them. "Mitch might be my new boss. Phil's sister married my brother."
"Nice to meet you," Mitch said shaking Phil's offered hand. "I hope that Robin takes the job. We're getting pretty desperate."
"So's Robin," Phil replied smiling at me. "I've known him for four years now and he's never been fired from a job yet. You'll get a good worker if you hire him."
I blushed as Mitch grinned at me. "I've already planned on it. It's up to him now. We're a construction firm and he might not like working out on the site. I'll take him out there Monday, unless you'd like to go this afternoon after we get done here?"
I had planned on going home and finishing the laundry, but to spend more time with Mitch would be more fun, so I decided to go with him.
"Sure, if you're sure."
"I'm sure," he replied.
Phil stretched and pushed himself up out of the water "Well, don't shrivel up," he said. "It was nice meeting you, Mitch. I'll see you later, Robin. I've gotta get home before Phyllis gets worried about me."
"Tell her I said hi," I replied.
After Phil left, I leaned my head back on the edge of the tub and closed my eyes.
"What construction firm do you work for?" an unfamiliar voice asked.
I opened my eyes to see who had spoken. It was one of the other guys I didn't know who had been in the tub when we arrived.
"Harkey Construction," Mitch replied. "We're putting in the new resort at Apache Mountain."
"Oh, cool. My wife works for the interior decorator firm that's going to decorate it when you're done with it," he said and I felt Mitch tense up next to me.
"That's nice," he said. "If it rains again like it did yesterday, we might not get done on schedule. I'm hoping that we can get back to work on Monday."
"Good luck," the other guy said getting out of the tub. "I'll be glad when it gets done. I'm looking forward to being able to go skiing here in town."
"Me, too," the first replied and climbed out, also. "We'll be seeing you around."
"Take care," Mitch said.
I closed my eyes again and Mitch whispered. "That was close."
I smiled. "Don't worry about it. You're making the right decision by sticking to your guns. You've got Mr. Casey on your side, too."
I was grateful that the other two guys who had showered with us didn't join us in the hot tub, but as we returned to the showers, they were coming out of the sauna. Again, Mitch insisted I take the showerhead closest to the outside wall and he the one in the corner next to me. Since the other two guys were with us, I didn't take the chance to ask him why it was important that he keep his back to them.
After we got dressed, I followed Mitch to the front desk and as he handed Clayton the towels we used, Mitch said, "Hey, Clayton, Robin here didn't care for that sports drink you gave us. Next time we'll have to try a different flavor."
"I think I'll bring my own Gatorade next time," I said.
Clayton chuckled and replied, "Maybe so, Mr. Abernathy, but this stuff we have is better for you than Gatorade."
When Mitch and I got out to the parking lot, he glanced at my 4 Runner and asked, "Do you want to go in my pickup? I'll drop you off here when we're done."
"Sure," I replied and placed my sports bag in the back seat before following Mitch over to his Dodge Ram pickup. I was not surprised to discover that it was black.
"This thing sure is big," I said climbing up into the massive cab.
"Yeah, it's better for driving down muddy roads. In this business, there are a lot of muddy roads out there."
"Did Harkey Construction pay for it?" I asked when he strapped his seatbelt on and started the engine.
"Not out of their pockets, but they paid me my salary and I used it to buy it. I needed a new pickup anyway, so I decided this was the right thing to get. I had a regular four by four and it was getting old. You like the 4 Runner?" he asked, changing gears as he pulled out onto the street. There were still large puddles of water from where it had rained the night before.
"I like the way it handles," I admitted, "but it's a bit big for me. If my brother had not talked me into buying it, I probably would have gotten a Mustang or something smaller. I am glad that I got it though. There have been several times where I think I'd have gotten stranded in a smaller car."
"Yeah, especially as much rain and snow as we get here. Your brother had the right idea."
"Great," Mitch sighed as he steered the massive pickup off the road sometime later and pulled to a stop.
"What's wrong?" I asked looking down the shiny brown road that stretched ahead of us. It appeared to be a river of milk chocolate.
"It looks like it's pure mud," he replied. "I am tempted to just wait until tomorrow to come see if it's dried out any. Getting the county to come out here and grade it is like pulling teeth. If we do go all the way in, we'll make a mess."
"We won't get stuck, will we?" I asked trying to keep the worry from showing in my voice.
He chuckled as he looked at me. "No, we don't have to worry about that, it's just I don't want to mess up the road so much that it'll be hard to get down when it dries."
"We don't have to go, then," I said. "I can wait until tomorrow to see what I'm getting into, or we can wait until Monday."
"Well, I really kind'a wanted you to start Monday, if you can."
"I'd like that, too," I agreed. "They're not going to close and start packing until next Monday, but I really don't need to be there next week."
"I don't blame you. I don't care for moving either," he said.
"Well, we might as well get this over with," he said with a sigh. The muscles in Mitch's right arm rippled as he put the truck in gear and eased off the clutch. The large Dodge eased forward and sunk slowly into the mud.
"Why don't they pave this?" I wanted to know.
"The county isn't going to pave the road until we start working on the insides of the buildings."
"They could at least lay some gravel down," I said softly.
"It'd be nice," he replied.
"What time do you like to workout on Sunday?" he asked.
"Since most people go out to eat after church, it's not too busy around twelve-thirty," I replied. "My friend, Neal and I usually get there about then."
I watched nervously as we inched further and further down the long road ahead. Keeping both his hands on the wheel, Mitch kept the vehicle in the center of the road.
"Ever drive on a muddy road before?" he asked.
"No. And I don't think I want to," I admitted.
"You're going to have to if you're going to work for us. Just remember if you start to slide, don't slam on your brakes. And if you get the choice, always stay in the ruts that someone else left behind."
"What if they go into the ditch?"
He chuckled. "Then go as slowly as you can and get out of them. As long as you have four wheel drive, you should be okay, but if you don't you could get stuck."
"Luckily, I have it on my 4 Runner."
"That's good."
A few minutes later we rounded a bend in the road and a silver trailer house appeared in front of us. Mount Apache loomed overhead. Several hundred yards to the right of the trailer house stood the building they were working on.
Pulling the giant pickup to a stop in front of the trailer house, Mitch sighed and shook his head. "I'm surprised the hail didn't wash it away."
"It doesn't look like there were any mudslides either," I noted, seeing the green grass on the side of the mountain.
"Yeah, that's a relief," Mitch agreed.
He glanced at me and then at my feet. I was wearing a pair of blue jeans and white tennis shoes.
"I didn't think to have you wear any goulashes," he said and I was thankful he didn't say rubbers instead.
"It looks pretty muddy out there," I agreed.
Mitch reached behind the seat, pulled out a pair of high-top rubber boots, and opened his door. "Stay here, I'll get you in there," he promised.
Slipping the boots over his own cowboy boots, he hopped out of the cab and walked around to the door of the trailer. After opening it, he returned to the pickup and gently lifted me out of the cab and carried me through the mud to the front porch and stood me up.
"There, that wasn't too bad, was it?" he asked grinning at me.
I blushed as he removed the muddy rubber boots. How could I tell him how much I enjoyed being in his massive strong arms?
Regaining my composure, I stepped into the Air Stream trailer. I had never been in one before and was impressed at how spacious it was. To the right of the door was a breakfast bar and behind that was a kitchen. A large oak table stood under the front window. There were four chairs at the table.
To the left of the breakfast bar stood a desk that faced the front door. A computer terminal set at an angle on the left of it. I knew this would be my desk if I took the job.
A long leather couch set under the window beside the front door. "This couch makes a bed," Mitch informed me as I looked around. "When we go out of town, we take this trailer with us. That's why we got the Air Stream. They are more durable and I can pull it behind the pickup. Sometimes we get other trailer houses from a place in the area or we'll put the guys up in a motel, but since this is a fully functional unit, you and I will stay here. There's another couch just like this one in my office, which I use."
There was a short hallway at the back of the trailer to the right of my desk. On the left hand side of the hall was the bathroom and at the end was the door to Mitch's office. His desk faced the door and the brown leather sleeper sofa lined the same wall that the one in the living room did. I could tell that he would have to swing his desk around against the back wall in order to open out the sleeper sofa.
"This is nice," I said. It really was, but I didn't care for the brown and beige color scheme. However, I knew that if he was out in the mud and dirt all the time, he would need dark colors to keep the dirt from showing.
"Thanks. I like it. Actually, Mr. Casey let me pick it out. I wouldn't have done the color scheme if it weren't for the line of work we're in. I'd prefer some reds and purple, myself."
"You could get a red and black afghan to cover the couch," I suggested as he led me back into the living room and sat down at the desk.
"That's true," he agreed.
Mitch logged into the computer terminal and explained to me that our computers were networked together. "And I have a modem that I use to hook into the computer at the office," he added. "Actually, you can too, by going through my modem. After you do the payroll on Monday morning, you'll transmit it to the office. I'll pick up the checks on Friday and bring them out with me. Most of the guys have direct deposit, so if you'd like that, we can get you set up, too. It makes it easier since we don't want them taking a lot of time to get to the banks on Fridays."
"I like that idea," I agreed.