He took a taxi to the used-car dealership and told the driver to drop him off at a corner a block away. He didn't want anyone to see him arrive in a taxi. When he crossed the street and glanced up at the "Lucky Vegas Louie's Used Cars" sign, he took a deep breath and exhaled. He hadn't been on a formal interview or applied for a job since he'd walked into Chickey's club a few years earlier,a nd that hadn't even been a real interview. He'd walked in, Chickey looked him up and down, then asked him to strip down to his underwear. He'd hired Treston on the spot, without even asking him to fill out an application.
The building at Lucky Vegas Louie's was a long flat affair in lime green painted stucco that looked as if it had once been a gas station where they'd done auto repairs. When Treston glanced at the used-car inventory he noticed a lot of domestic luxury cars-long, flashy Cadillacs and Lincolns-had to be at least five years old. They all had bright white prices written in the windshields and little sayings that read, "Drives like a dream," or, "Pull up in style," in uneven print. He saw one huge pink Cadillac that had to be twenty years old with a saying that read, "Only driven to church on Sundays."
He entered through a single glass front door that had an "open" sign hanging lopsided from a string. Inside, it smelled like machine oil and there weren't any windows except for a large glass display window in the front that didn't open and was hazed with smudges. The walls were gray cinderblock, the floors darker gray, the overhead lights fluorescent, and the office furniture reminded him of those old gunmetal desks from high school. In one corner he noticed a small sitting area with Danish modern furniture upholstered in orange vinyl. The sofa had a six-inch rip and the stuffing was coming out. In another corner he saw a reception desk in front of a wall with calendars and semi-nude women in provocative bunny costumes posing in exaggerated positions.
The room was empty, so he crossed to the desk where the calendars hung and looked around to see if anyone in the back. A clock on the wall said it was only eight in the morning. He figured Monday was probably a slow time of week for the car-buying crowd. When he saw no one at all around, he started to feel awkward about being there so early and almost turned to leave.
But then a deep voice came from a small office behind the reception desk. "Can I help you?"
Treston leaned to the right, peeked into the office, and saw a man sitting behind another metal desk. "Ah well, I'm here about the job I saw advertised on Craigslist. I could come back another time if you're busy." The man didn't look like Treston had expected a used car dealer to look. He'd been expecting a middle-aged bald guy with a paunch, a short-sleeved dress shirt, and a clip-on tie that stopped three inches above his belt. Although this guy was wearing a conservative gray suit, white shirt, and navy tie, his wavy black hair was cut short with a little turned-up wave and he had small diamond chips in both ears.
The man stood up and walked into the main room. He extended his right hand over the desk and looked Treston up and down. "I'm Jake. I'm the manager."
Up close, he was even younger than Treston had expected. Treston shook his hand and said, "I'm Treston Fair Leigh and I'm here to apply for the job as used-car salesperson." He started to feel excited all over. He couldn't stop smiling.
Jake looked him up and down again and said, "Why don't we go into my office and close the door? I have a feeling I know what this is all about. I get it." Then he set his palm on Treston's back and gave him a gentle push.
When they were in the office, Jake sat behind his desk and Treston sat down in a green vinyl chair in front of the desk.
Jake leaned forward on his elbows and laced his fingers together. He smiled at Treston and said, "I'm surprised you're here this early. I had a feeling Joe would do this, but I wasn't expecting you this soon. I figured you'd come around later at night. Ha-ha."
Treston thought it was an odd comment, but he wanted to make a good first impression. He figured Jake was speaking in a general sense about all the people who might stop by to apply for the job. So he crossed his legs and smiled. "I'm sorry if I'm too early, Jake. I just wanted to get here before everyone else started arriving. I could come back later if you like."
Jake glanced at Treston's legs and said, "No problem, not at all. I'm glad you're here early. It's much better that no one else is here. They don't show up on Monday until noon. It's typically a slow morning and we have the whole place to ourselves. I just want to go out and lock the front door. I don't want any customers coming in. I'll be right back."
Treston thought this was odd, too. Why would he need to lock the door to interview him? When Jake returned and locked the office door and said, "I'm really glad you're here this early because I'm more of a morning type of guy," Treston's eyes grew wider. He figured the guy wanted to keep the interview private, so he said nothing.