“Not a chance,” he laughs. “You have Simon with you, right?”
“Yes, he knows the right questions to ask. I don’t know that much about catering and hospitality.”
“Then you’ll be fine,” he says.
“Gabriel, I’ve never interviewed anyone in my life.” I reason with him.
“I trust your judgement.” He moves closer and I have to put down my mug as he holds my hips and nuzzles into my neck. It’s certainly distracting me from thinking about the interviews. “You’re good with people, baby.”
I hear the door open and shut behind us but I ignore it as he kisses along my jaw. When I look over I see Andrés making a coffee. He turns and gives us his customary smirk as he takes his mug with him and goes in the direction of his office.
“I understand how Andrés can’t keep his hands off Simon now. That’s how I feel about you,” Gabriel murmurs and I melt a little. I’m loving this affectionate side of Gabriel. I’ve never known him like this, and it feels like I’ve unlocked a bonus level.
Once he’s left, I grab my notes and meet Simon in the bar area. We’ve decided to hold the interviews there as it’s quiet and we can also give the candidates a tour.
“Thanks for the recipe and wine suggestions yesterday,” I say to Simon as we wait for the first person to arrive.
“Glad I could help, and congratulations, I’m happy you and Gabriel got together.”
“Thanks, it seems slightly unreal. We’ve only been reconnected for a few weeks.”
“You can’t help when love strikes. I was obsessed with Andrés after about three seconds, and we only had five days together before he left to come here. I was lucky enough to get this job and now I’m able to be with him.”
I love their story, real attraction at first sight. I guess in a way, it was for me with Gabriel too, it’s just taken us a lot longer to get it together. But now we have, I know we can make it work.
Just then the first candidate arrives, and we spend the next few hours going through our questions, showing each person around. Except the third one. He’s dreadful, arrogant, but with no real knowledge. He also utters a few comments which are borderline homophobic as well as some very obvious misogynistic ones.
“I say we get rid of him as soon as we can,” I whisper to Simon and he stands.
“Thank you for your time, Mr Banks, but I don’t think you’ll be a good fit here.”
The guy doesn’t move. “I’m just what you need. People respect me, I run a tight ship.”
“Our first event is a ladies only night,” Simon says, which I know isn’t true but I want to see where he’s going with this as the guy has already ignored our dismissal.
“Oh, I’ve run a few of them. Those chicks can get pretty rowdy. Do you have male strippers lined up as well? I have some good bouncers who can stop them getting mauled,” he drawls.
“I don’t think you understand. The ladies are here to be together. They’re lesbians.”
The look on the guy's face is absolutely priceless as he works that through in his brain.
“No, that wouldn’t be allowed. We can’t have that here.”
“Wearen’t,” Simon says. “We won’t be offering you the job. The door is that way.”
He stalks out, still arrogant in defeat.
“Sorry about that. I have no idea how he got through the selection process. His CV was impressive,” I say.
“It might not have been real. The really impressive ones rarely are.”
“I have so much to learn.” I stand suddenly, needing a coffee, as we have a little time before the last person.
“You’re doing fine,” Simon says. “The first two were good. Nothing jumped out at me as perfect for us, but they’re both competent enough to do the job.”
“Well, we’ll see the final one before we make a decision,” I say, but I feel a bit down after the last one. His homophobia wasn’t directed at us but it still made my skin crawl. I haven’t felt like that since I last saw Miles. I shudder, not allowing those unwelcome thoughts in. The inclusive and friendly environment here just makes a greater contrast. I realise I feel safe here and I endeavour to make sure it’s safe for everyone.
We walk back through towards the bar and see a person in the reception area. The final candidate.
