The Assistant

T H E I NT E R V I E W

CHAPTER 3: The Interview

Corey tapped his shoe on the wooden floor of the waiting room while looking around at the other anxious interns preparing to be interviewed. He had a pounding headache and slight hangover, which put a considerable damper on his mood. Especially because he wasn't going into this interview with a lot of confidence in the first place. He was supposedly going to be interviewed by the CEO of the company, which was the most terrifying thing ever. The worst thing was that he had almost no preparation for the interview.

He took a shuddering breath, a fruitless attempt to calm himself. It didn't help that this had been one of the most stressful mornings of this life. He'd woken up just 20 minutes before he was supposed to be interviewed.

Lilliana had aggressively shaken him awake while getting his shoes and belongings together for him. He told himself to get her some chocolate later for memorizing his plans and having more control over his life than he did. Corey tried to ponder where he would be without the girl. He stopped thinking about it after realizing just how bad that would be.

He then had to scramble to the Metro, dodging scraps of food and homeless people lying on the ground. He was breathless by the time he reached the building where the interview was supposed to take place. Scrambling past business men and women he flew to the elevator and aggressively punched the button for the level he was supposed to go to. He pointedly ignored the stares of the other people in the elevator.

That took him back to now. After thoroughly pondering the events that took place this morning and cursing whoever thought it was a good idea to schedule an interview on a goddamn Saturday, Corey was left to think about the one thing he didn't want to: last night.

Corey could still remember the way the stranger's body felt against his. They had molded together perfectly and everyplace the stranger's hands roamed had left a fire on his skin. If only he could piece together who the mystery man actually was. He faintly remembered the bouncer saying his name at the beginning of the night, but most of events prior to the erotic dancing with the stranger had been erased by alcohol. Though it seemed useless he scanned every inch of his head for the name. Hedgworth? Hollin? Hemingway? HEMINGWAY!? Where did that come from? He scolded himself for having such a piss-poor memory.

The only thing Corey could remember about the name was that when the bouncer said it, it seemed vaguely familiar. Was it someone I knew? No, that couldn't be, I would have recon-

"Corey Jones, will you please join me in the interview room?" His thoughts were interrupted by a tight-faced woman in a blue pant-suit calling him back into the interview room.

He stood slowly, not fully trusting his shaking legs to carry him back to the room. He took another breath and imagined what Liliana would say to him in this situation. Get your fucking shit together and march in their like you own this goddamn place. I swear Corey one day I'm going to kick your ass to Queens for being such a- He shut imaginary Liliana up after he gained a little more confidence. Clutching his resume he started walking to the room. He had reached the threshold, pant-suit women leading the way, when beheld the man who sat in the comically large desk on the other side of the room and froze. Stopped dead in his tracks. Because at that very moment, without the dimmed lighting of the club, he remembered the name of the man from last night and why it sounded familiar.

He had spent an entire night grinding against the notorious multi-millionaire: Ashton Hunter.

oOo

Ashton

Ashton had only two thoughts when he saw the beautiful, blonde headed boy walk in: Why is he here? and Why am I already hard?

Of course he didn't voice these thoughts, no. All Ashton seemed to be capable of doing at the moment was staring and staring and staring at the boy, much to the confusion of Ms. Francis, the uptight floor secretary.

The sound of the door closely swiftly behind the boy seemed to be the only thing that could snap Ashton out of his trance. He shook his head lightly and looked down at his sheet.

"Corey Jones, right? Why don't you take a seat." Ashton got no small amount of satisfaction from seeing how flustered the boy was in his presence. The blush crawling up his cheeks put a smug smile on Ashton's face.

"O-ok." Corey said in a small voice, as he walked across the room and sat down on the chair across from Ashton. The older man noticed that the boy was so nervous he couldn't even manage to meet his stare. He tapped lightly on the desk, a command, almost, for the boy to look at him. Corey obliged. Ashton's eyes softened as he peered again into the innocent eyes of the boy in front of him and sent a thanks to whatever god kept Ms. Francis from looking up from her papers.

"That's better. Now Corey, may I see your resume?" The boy handed him the piece of paper and he scanned it with his eyes, looking over the recommendations and trying to get a feel for his past experience. He set it down. "What interests you about the fashion industry?"

The boy's eyes shot right back down to the point on the desk he was staring at before, "I've always been interested in fashion and I've worked at s-several clothing stores before. Also, I sold and showed a couple of my works at some exhibits and yeah...."

Ashton smiled and leaned back in his leather chair, taking a second to admire the boy while Ms. Francis was still buried in her various papers and clipboards. Ashton peered down at Corey's resume, looking over his various accomplishments.

"I must say Corey you are a little over experienced for an interim position." Ashton spoke grinning down at the blond boy. Corey looked shyly up at him and Ashton felt his pants become tighter than they already were. God what is wrong with me? He thought, readjusting himself on the chair.

"O-oh thank you," Corey nervously stuttered, "But I think I could really benefit from this position." Ashton smiled back at Corey snapping his resume back into Ms. Francis's many folders.

"I believe you could too, however I don't think it's the right fit." Ashton watched as Corey's nervous exterior fell into despair. He tapped the desk once more, another silent request for the boy to look at him. The boy obliged again. Good boy. Corey nodded in appreciation, eyes just a little glassy, and began to stand up from his seat, "But," Ashton drawled and the boy turned, "How about I offer you another job, one as my assistant?"

ASHTONS POVVVVVV

Word count: 1.1K