"Yes we are," Julian said, "I was assured it wasn't going to be a problem."
"Since you are on equal levels in the hotel chain of command, it shouldn't be," Williamson replied. "On the other hand, I must make it very clear that regardless of that and your, ahem, personal relationship with Mr. Forrester, I expect you both to uphold the highest standards of professionalism. That means that where guests can see you, no public displays of affection, especially if you are on duty."
"We understand," I said, giving Julian a warning glance. I could read Williamson like a book, and understood it was a very old-school book. He ran his hotel like he was in the military, and would not be afraid to cut down anyone who gave him trouble. "Outside our quarters, there is no public displays of affection on resort grounds. Is that going to be all the time?"
"Most of the time. I'm not exactly Captain Bligh, regardless of what some of the younger staff may say about me. There are social events and other such times on the resort calendar in which the lines of duty are somewhat relaxed, and you'll be given the opportunity to act more, well, more relaxed. Miss Watanabe has that schedule already for the next two months."
It took me a minute to realize that Williamson was talking about Yuki, who in all the years we'd interacted together, I'd never heard anyone refer to her by her family name, although I should have known since Masaharu Morimoto signed the gift to her uncle with the same name. Still, it took me by surprise. "We'll check with her."
"Good. As to current business, for about the next month there isn't much on site for you two to do. I understand why Mr. Forrester asked you to come up however, as the weather turns cold very soon, and when the snows set in, it's not a pleasant time to travel. Also, from what I understand Miss Aksoy, you wish to create a menu that is based off of local products, correct?"
"Outside of a few standards such as hamburgers, a pasta dish, and other things, yes. I'd like at least half of the menu items to be seasonal and local."
I caught a hint of a smile from Williamson, and I think I went up a notch in his eyes. "Excellent. If so, you would probably want to spend as much time as you can over the next month exploring the Kennebunkport area. There are a lot of lobster boats in Maine of course, but there are other things as well. Do you have leads on suppliers?"
I shook my head. "I have some on vegetables, but since I wanted as much of our seafood to be straight off the boat as possible, I still need to meet the local fishermen."
"Okay. I suggest starting with the local chamber of commerce, and of course heading down to the docks themselves. There has to be at least four or five crusty old seadogs who can point you in the right direction. Now, as for you Mr. Castelbon, you have your own kettle of fish to fry."
"I do. First semester finals are next week, and I'm taking four courses."
"So I've been informed. Let me put it bluntly, Mr. Castelbon. I've worked for Forrester Hotels since I graduated the University of Ohio over forty years ago. In that time, I've worked with quite a few members of the program you are a member of. Each of them, regardless of whether under Mr. Dwayne Forrester or under his father's time as head of the company, came in with impeccable academic credentials, and a relatively clean history. Mr. Castelbon, you have neither. What you do have is a record that includes three felonies, numerous civil lawsuits, and a list of former girlfriends that reads like my grandson's copy of the Maxim 100. That, and the endorsement of Mr. Forrester himself. I will be a very strict, but a very fair taskmaster, Mr. Castelbon. Do not think I will not act with total professionalism towards you. On that same note, there will be no slack just because you are friends with Mr. Forrester. Do I make myself clear?"
"Perfectly, Mr. Williamson. I'm not trying to skate by as a friend of Mr. Forrester. I'm here to make something of myself."
"So be it. On that note, I have agreed to Mr. Forrester's idea that there be a separate fitness facility for staff as well as the normal guest facilities. Apparently, you are quite the accomplished lifter?"
"I try my best. In a conversation with Mr. Forrester, we both agreed that since this resort will not have the same year-round good weather for outdoor fitness that many of the Forrester Hotels have, he wanted to ensure the staff is able to maintain a proper appearance. Also, it saves us a ton of money on the health care premiums I heard."
Williamson nodded. "So I've heard as well. Very well. Please get with Miss Watanabe, she can show you a map to both locations. The guest facility is not ready for equipment yet, but I believe the staff one can be outfitted, if you do not mind a utilitarian room. For both of you, I have the budgetary details of your divisions already sitting on your company e-mails, along with your company laptops. Miss Watanabe has both. One final word on that. I know, at least according to the breakdown of the chain of command here, you two and Miss Watanabe are equals. Let me inform you that you most certainly are not. She has direct working experience in a similar posting, and from the words I exchanged with your father, Mr. Castelbon, she's very good. As such, she is going to be my de facto second in command here. She will be responsible for much of the day to day operations while I teach all three of you how to run a resort. So unless you think it is something she cannot handle, I want you to go through her for many of the questions you think of bringing to me. Understand?"
"Of course, Mr. Williamson," Julian said tightly, and I could see the cords of tension in the back of his hands. "Thank you."
"Yes, thank you Mr. Williamson," I said with as much decorum as I could muster as well. Julian and I got up and left the office, both of us staying silent until we were able to find Yuki's office which was down the hall.
"How'd it go?" she asked, trying not to smirk. Julian's response of growling and punching his hand into his fist I thought was a perfect answer for both of us. "That good, huh? Don't let him get to you. I called the last resort he worked at, checking up on him. He's like that to everyone until you earn his respect, then he's actually tolerable apparently."
"Great. So perhaps by the time I graduate and he retires we might have a reasonable working relationship," Julian said. "Whatever, I can deal with it. You and Krystal can keep my head straight, I know that. By the way, he said you had some laptops and stuff for us."
"Even better," Yuki replied. "You can thank Kimberly for these, but now the managers, instead of getting clunky laptops, are getting dual purpose computers. In your office or in your quarters, you can plug in the base and it works just like a normal laptop. But, you pop the screen out, and you have a tablet. Both of yours are setup, you just need to log your passwords into the system and you'll be walked through. It's a good system, your friend does good work Krystal."
"Thanks," I said. "But before anything else, I'd like to see our quarters. You know where they are?"
"Of course. Follow me."
Chapter 27
Krystal
That evening, after a light dinner at a local restaurant in Kennebunk , Julian and I were lying in bed together, although in a more domestic manner than I'd ever remembered us being before. I was reading a cookbook on my new computer, while Julian was on his older laptop, typing away at a paper he was writing. "Hey Krystal," he said as I was in the middle of reviewing some cod and haddock recipes, "what's your opinion on the role of classic gender roles in the modern world?"
I looked at him, not sure if he was joking or not. Instead, I found him staring at his computer, his face very intent and serious. "What are you doing?" I asked, setting my tablet aside.
"Psychology final. Most of the questions were easy, a lot of multiple choice, but there are five short essay questions that I have to answer too. This is the last one, and I wanted your input."
"Seriously?"
"Really. The instructor lets us take the final online this way, and I can get it done ahead of time."
I looked at the recipes on the tablet in my lap, and the computer in Julian's, and made a decision. "Can you save it and come back later?"
"Yeah, I have unlimited time until Friday at n
oon. Why?"
I pulled down the sheets that were covering me, and lifted my t-shirt up. "Because these are the gender roles I want to discuss with you right now."
Julian only needed a glance to agree with me, clicking his touchpad three times and closing his laptop with a forceful thunk-click. I had to admit, after our fight, it was a while before I let him back into my bed, and even longer before we made love again. For me, the wait was almost unbearable agony, but I wanted to make sure that when we had sex again, it was because I wanted him in my heart as well as in my body. However, between that, our busy schedules, and our travels, we could count the number of times we'd had sex since reuniting on the fingers of one hand. Now that we were settled in Kennebunkport, I planned on rectifying that as quickly as possible.
Thankfully, the long breaks hadn't dulled Julian's lovemaking skills in the least. Stroking my hair, he leaned into me, his soft lips teasing mine until both of us were grinning like Cheshire cats. "I wonder, should we keep it down, or just let it all loose?" he teased me, bringing his left hand up to rest on my ribs. "After all, we wouldn't want Mr. Williamson to call us to his office tomorrow."
"I don't care whose office I go to if it's because of how you make me feel," I teased back, resting my hand on his hip. He was wearing a light pair of sweat shorts, and I could feel the hard knob of his hip bone under my fingers. Julian still hadn't recovered from almost killing himself on the beach in Miami, and was easily ten pounds lighter still than when I first saw him deliciously naked. It wasn't that he was less handsome, just a bit smaller. Julian had gone from a super-ripped and muscular two hundred and fifteen pounds to a very lean one hundred and ninety five, and was now at just over two hundred. Still, I missed some of the raw animal power he had before, and wanted it back as soon as he could. "So how about we tear the roof off if we want?"
Julian's smile was the only answer I needed, and his mouth powerfully claimed me, kissing and sucking on the tender, wonderful points of my neck. I ran my fingers through his hair, encouraging him as he licked at the special spot just under the point of my jaw on the right side that drives me into utter incoherence. Within minutes I was writhing and mewling underneath him. Had I thought he was any less powerful than before, just because he couldn't lift as heavy a barbell? Boy, was I wrong. Pinning my body to the bed easily, he ravished his way down my chest to seize my left nipple between his lips, sucking powerfully until I was ready to scream, it felt so damn good. "Fuck!" I cried softly. "Don't stop!"
"I won't," Julian whispered in between kisses as he made his way across my chest to the other side, treating my right breast to the same amazing feeling as the other side. At the same time, his hands were busy, first tossing the blanket off of us and then pushing my shorts down until I could pull my legs out. I wrapped them around him, using my feet to push his shorts down to his knees. Julian lifted his head from my nipple to look down and smile. "Wow, you are in a good mood tonight, aren't you?"
"I should be. I have a new home, a new job, and a great man with me who loves me. What more do I need?"
"How about marrying me?" Julian said, his blue eyes looking intently into mine.
I felt my heart stop in my chest as I searched his face for any sign of deception, but there was none. "You mean it?"
"You've been the greatest thing in my life. You took me from self destructive darkness into light. You gave me joy, and showed me that love still exists in this world. I can't imagine having to live without you by my side. So yes, Krystal Aksoy, will you marry me?"
I nodded, tears forming and spilling down my cheeks as I smiled. "Yes Julian Castelbon, I will marry you. But before that, you have to do something?"
"What's that?" he asked nervously.
"Make love to me."
I could feel his cock rubbing against my thigh, and I wanted him inside me, but first I wanted to give him something special. Lifting my leg, I used a jiu-jitsu sweep to quickly turn Julian onto his back, giggling as he gawked up at me, although he clearly just moved with me instead of making me move all of his weight. "What was that?"
"That was called a scissor sweep," I taunted him. "Too bad we can't do any real scissoring. But I do have something we can do," I continued, climbing off of him only to swing my leg over his head and face his cock. I could feel the warm tickle of his breath on my pussy, and in front of me was the beautiful sight of his cock in front of me. I licked my lips, and grasped his warm, silken shaft. "I wonder who can make the other come first?"
Not that I complained, but Julian cheated, licking me first before I could even lower my lips to the head of his cock. Licking up and down his shaft, I trembled as Julian mirrored me, finding the deep folds of my pussy and stroking them with his tongue. The salty musk of his skin added to the heady sensation, and I quickly lapped around his head, teasing the underside on the bumpy little patch of skin where his circumcision scar left the only mar to his perfection. Thankfully it was also a very sensitive spot on Julian, and I could hear him grunt. Grinning, I opened my mouth wide and let his head slip between my lips, working myself up and down his shaft while he continued to lick my pussy.
I could feel him almost toying with me, and I knew what he wanted. I'd taken pride in my ability to pleasure him with my mouth, but I'd never attempted the one thing Julian's cock intimidated me, mocked me with. I let go of my fear and lowered my lips further and further, until the head of his cock brushed the back of my throat. I felt Julian pause as I dragged up and off swirling my tongue over the tip of his cock before easing my way back down.
What Julian didn't know was that I had a secret. Long ago, I'd learned to suppress my gag reflex, not on account of sex, even though it has plenty of advantages there, but in cooking. Choking down ingredients that make you want to gag is one of the things that I'd picked up to push my skills in the kitchen. From there it was easy to expand it to oral sex. I called on this secret now, sucking Julian deep, to the point I was before. I paused there, letting him think that was all I could do before swallowing him deeply. Julian's groan rumbled through his chest and out his mouth, a sound that told me that he'd never, ever had this happen to him before. Despite the constriction, I kept sucking until he was all the way in, letting my throat massage him momentarily before pulling off. "Hah!" I gasped as I came up for a bit of air. "How was that?"
Julian couldn't even reply, but instead flickered his tongue over my clit, driving bolts of electric pleasure through my body. I was glad he wasn't letting me go so easily, and I sucked him back in, bobbing my head up and down in long, deep strokes, letting him in over and over until I could feel the precum, sweet and slippery, slide over my tongue and down my throat. It was delicious, and I was hungry for more. Julian's nimble tongue created an erotic circuit between us, circling from my mouth to his cock, up his body to his tongue, where it coursed through my clit and up my body again. It built with every cycle, until I couldn't think any longer. I entered a state of animal eroticism that I'd never felt before, each lick and suck from my mouth mirrored by his, each explosion in my clit repeated on his cock. I felt my body tighten, dual explosions forming in both of our bodies until, with a muffled cry, my orgasm crashed over me.
At the same time, Julian's thick, heady come filled my mouth, flooding my tongue and completing the experience. I nursed his cock until he softened and was clean, enjoying the softness of his skin. "How'd you do that?" Julian asked after I dismounted and lay my head on his chest.
"What?" I said teasingly. I leaned in and kissed him, happy when he returned my kiss without any hesitation. Few guys were confident enough to do that. "Oh, you mean?"
"Yeah, that," he said, kissing my cheek. "What witchcraft did you learn to do that?"
"No witchcraft, just love," I said, laying my head down on his chest, listening to his heart beat. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course."
"Did you mean it? Do you really want to marry me?"
Julian's fingers reached down and lifted my chin to look him in the eye
s. "Tomorrow, after work, we're going shopping for rings."
Chapter 28
Julian
The space was empty, raw concrete floor with fresh studs exposed on the walls and ceiling joists still visible, with pipes running between them. It was raw, it was bare bones, and it was perfect. I couldn't ask for a better staff gym if I'd designed the thing myself. "So you said my budget is what?" I repeated to Yuki, who was standing next to me with her tablet. We'd come down here to the basement underneath the kitchen area in order for me to get my first view of the staff gym, and to get an idea for how I wanted to lay things out. "I assume there is a budget, of course."
"Yes, but you won't like it," Yuki replied. "Five thousand dollars."
I blinked, stunned. Five thousand? I could spend five thousand dollars and not have a single complete thing. "Okay. Then forget the budget, consider anything over the budget a donation by me or something. Think it can classify as a tax write off?"
"I doubt it. This is a for profit resort of a multi-billion dollar corporation, not the American Red Cross. However, I doubt you need the tax write off. You're not going broke any time soon. So what are you thinking?"
"Two lifting platforms over there," I said, pointing at the one wall. "One of them will have just squat stands, the other a full on power cage. I'll give you the makers I want you to contact. Lots of free weights, and some specialty bars that I'll also send you an e-mail on. In the space on the right of it, a flat bench, and a Hammer Strength Incline Press, plate loaded. The next wall is going to be back, so lat pull down and two more Hammer Strength machines. This wall we're next to will be the cardio wall, with options for Concept 2 rowers, bikes, and a treadmill for those who insist on that. The fourth wall is going to have the legs and butt section, so a leg curl, leg press, glute-ham raise, and an extension."
Mistake: A Bad Boy Stepbrother Romance Page 19