The car was beginning to slip and slide under the snow, as Gina struggled to keep on the country road. She had always learned to steer into the skid, but the compulsion to steer as normal was a hard habit to break. She slowed her speed to adjust for the roads. If she had lost control, she was certain to be stuck for several days. The resort was not going to be opened for another week, but a decent amount of powder had already fallen.
Her rented Lexus was still able to navigate the undulating road. It was not as if she was in a hurry to get to the resort. From what the owner of the resort had told her, the upgrade to the fibre optic line was supposed to allow for faster connection speed. Gina had a small panic attack as she wondered if her laptop was in her bag. Absentmindedly, she reached back and felt around for her knapsack. When she felt the stiff lump of the corner of her computer, she allowed herself to relax.
The crunching under the tires began to subside. Finally, she had made it up to the parking lot of Graymont, the exclusive ski resort in the middle of nowhere up in Wyoming. The town was constructed to cater to rich and aspiring rich people to spend the day on the slopes. Gina had never once touched a pair of skis, but would be all too happy to accept some contract work. She had to take time off her usual job just to accept.
It was not as if she had much else to do. The divorce was over a year ago, and Gina never recovered either emotionally or financially. Her deadbeat husband had been slowly stealing money from her, losing it at the casino and going to titty bars. They had to sell their home, as the debt her husband had built up was considered communal, meaning they were both on the hook. Gina still had her job to fall back on, but she felt as if she was starting from square one.
She pulled the Lexus up to the front of the main building. When she got out of the car, she stuck her behind out as she reached in to get her knapsack. A gust of wind blew snow from the car roof directly down into her butt crack as she was bending over. The jolt of cold and wetness caused her to jerk herself up, making her whack her head on the car roof. The soft padding of the roof prevented injury, but Gina felt self-conscious regardless. She pulled out the knapsack and threw it over her shoulder.
She was careful not to slip on the sidewalk as she made her way to the front door. The owner had said to meet up with the custodian. Gina had in mind the kind of man she was going to have to meet—some pot-bellied, foul-smelling, unmannered fool who barely made it through high school. Gina was not terribly snobby, but she did recognize when a weekend was about to be wasted. The man would likely be leering at her the entire time.
Gina did her cute little steps to the door. She should have worn better shoes than her UGGs, but she liked how comfortable they were. She squinted as she peered through the glass, placing her hand to shield her eyes. She tried knocking on the door.
"Can I help you?" came a voice behind her.
Gina let out a small squeal. She turned around quickly, only to find a tall stranger standing there. He was in a thick snow suit and ski mask, wearing sunglasses over the hood. He had a snow shovel slung over his shoulder.
"I'm...so sorry," Gina began, her heart still racing. "I was sent here by Tom Filk." She fumbled for one of her business cards.
The man scratched at his ski mask. "Oh, you must be the IT person," he said. Gina noticed he had an unusual accent. The man strolled by her as he produced a set of keys from his jacket pocket. He tried a few keys before finally getting into the front door. He swung it open and walked inside, while Gina reached over and grabbed the door before it slammed behind him. The man stomped in, shaking snow as he went.
"Uh, hello?" Gina began. "Can you please show me where the computer room is?"
The man shook off more of the snow from his suit. He cocked his head to the right. "It's over here," he said. "All of the CCTV screens are in there as well. I think they have the modems or whatever there, too." He walked away absentmindedly. "I'll leave your room key here on the desk," he said as he walked by the front desk, slapping it with his gloved palm. "Dinner's at seven in the main dining hall."
Gina sighed in frustration. Left to work on her own, she made way to the office. Inside were the screens for the various cameras that monitored the ski runs, as well as various parts of the resort. She looked around until she found the closet where the modems were stored. She opened the door, only to find a spaghetti tangle of cables and several modems dangling on the wall.
Gina ground her teeth as she let her knapsack slide off her shoulder. "You have to be fucking kidding me," she muttered. Gina was fastidious in her pursuit of a properly organized closet. This was going to eat up most of her afternoon just trying to reorganize the tangle of wires. She was hoping that the testing and install could go faster. Any spare time she could get in the village would be welcomed. She could go in and out of the overpriced shops, likely unable to afford the high-end clothes or gourmet chocolates.
She left her knapsack in the office and made her way back to the parking lot. Once she had made her way out of the door, she instantly slipped and fell on her bottom. Gina landed hard, feeling the pain all the way up her spine.
"Oh, FUCK ME!" she screamed. Gina slowly fell over onto her side as she grabbed at her butt. After a couple of minutes, the pain started to subside. Thanks to her Sicilian roots, she was blessed with a lovely round posterior. Her pants were starting to soak through with the melting snow, so she mustered her strength to get to her feet and try again. She looked down at her UGGs. "I still love you, even if I do look like a basic bitch right now."
Getting her toolkit from the trunk, she made way back to the front door. She made her way up the walk with utmost care, then made her way back to the utility office.
A young man was standing there by the front desk. He looked barely legal, standing with his elbows propped up on the desk and his feet sticking out in front of him. He had stunning blonde hair with cute curls on top. He was also deeply tanned with some of the smoothest skin Gina had ever seen. He looked her way and shot her a smile, showing a blindingly white set of teeth. It was probably the most appealing part of him. His shoulders had an amazing roundness to them. He was standing there in a tight white t-shirt, which was either specially tapered or his chest was stretching it to unimaginable proportions.
Gina struggled with words. "Uh...you're the guy from earlier, right?"
The man shrugged coyly. "No one else here. Sorry I didn't introduce myself before. I'm Jake. Jake King." He extended his arm and walked toward her.
Gina tried again to reach for her business card, then changed her mind. "Gina. Gina Barese." She grabbed his hand with her wet glove, instantly regretting it. Jake gave no indication of minding as he grasped her hand. His hand grip was soft, as if he was aware that he was not shaking hands with some drinking buddy. She liked the way he rubbed his thumb against the back of her hand, like a special reassuring rub.
She quickly took her hand back. "Oh, sorry! These are wet."
He shot her the smile again, giving her heart a flutter. "No worries. You look ready to do the Harry back to work."
Gina paused. "I'm sorry. Are you from around here?"
