Hardly a day went by when she didn’t don her leotards and work through the basic moves.
She pulled her gym bag out from under her desk and made her way down the hallway. She still greeted the employees and guests she passed on her way. After all, just because she was in a state of irritation didn’t mean she had the freedom to reflect it to others.
When she walked into the locker room, she was slightly surprised to see Ryan there in a pair of cutoffs and a skintight black tank top. Since it was before the lunch rush in the dining room, she doubted the woman was due on shift yet. Employees used the locker rooms to change into their uniforms or to shower, since most of the bathrooms on the second floor were shared.
“Morning.” She continued past the woman toward a free area but stopped when Ryan motioned for her to come closer.
“I wanted to talk to you,” Ryan said in a low tone, looking around the room as if there were spies everywhere.
“Sure.” Elle tried to hold in her annoyance at the delay as she tossed her bag down on the bench.
“It’s about someone who works here,” Ryan said, continuing to glance around as if she was nervous.
Elle suddenly feared someone had done something bad to Ryan. After all, the woman was acting jittery, which didn’t correspond to how Elle had seen her all the other times. From what she knew of Ryan, the woman was self-confident, strong willed, and demanding. Had the guests in that pool incident tried to bring her into it too?
“We can meet in my office, if you want.” Elle touched her arm, trying to reassure her.
“No.” She waved off the suggestion, but her shoulders relaxed.
“Okay . . .” Elle sat on a bench and motioned for Ryan to do the same.
“Well, I’m concerned that this . . . employee is damaging the camp’s reputation.” Ryan’s distaste sharpened her words.
“Oh?” Elle felt her spine straighten. She’d trusted everyone they had hired, so far. It was the guests who were causing problems.
Hannah had, through some miracle, hired the popular Isaac Andrews as head chef, and they relied on his judgment to pick his staff. Like Ryan herself, for example.
Everyone else on campus Elle, Aubrey, and Zoey had overseen hiring and vetting personally.
“Yes, I’m afraid she’s giving the guests the wrong impression. I mean, I have personally seen her throwing herself at men.” Ryan laid an offended hand over her chest.
“Go on, who is it?” Elle’s head tilted. “I’ll make sure this is dealt with, quietly.”
Ryan took a deep breath. “I wouldn’t normally say anything, and I understand that she’s a friend of yours, but . . .” Elle’s spine tightened even further. “Well, it’s just gotten so bad that I can’t keep it to myself. Something simply must be done.”
“Ryan,” Elle said in a low tone. Her patience had been stretched too far.
After glancing around the room again, Ryan leaned closer. “You see, I’m sure Zoey just needs a warning or something . . .”
As Ryan continued to talk, Elle scanned the woman’s expression with a frown, really looking at her for the first time.
Zoey had told Elle about a few run-ins with her she’d had. She trusted her friend far more than she trusted the woman sitting beside her.
That thought sent a lightning bolt through her thoughts. She’d dealt with women like Ryan all her life—the spoiled child who bubbled just under the surface was obvious. Finally Ryan stopped talking.
“I understand your concerns and thank you for coming forward about them; however, I don’t think you’re quite up to date on the logistics of things around here. Zoey and her sister are both major shareholders in River Camp. Zoey herself plays a significant role in keeping this place open.”
Elle watched the woman’s expression change instantly, and if she hadn’t been sitting down, she would have taken a step back at the anger that grew behind her dark lashes.
“She is?” Her lips thinned.
“Yes.” Elle smiled and stood up. “So, you can rest assured that she is doing everything she can to represent the camp in the best light.” She picked up her bag and walked into the changing area. She hoped her words would keep Ryan off Zoey’s back for a while. After all, it appeared now that the woman definitely had it out for her friend.
She thought quickly of moving the woman into a different role, but the fact was, no matter what job she gave her, she would probably still run into Zoey. Especially since the camp couldn’t afford to let her go at this time. There was a serious shortage of good waitstaff in the area. Especially cheap workers who were already trained.
After changing, she walked into the studio and started warming up. Already, she felt better as her muscles stretched and began to burn. She greeted the three guests who joined her for the class and started moving them through basic beginning moves, soon losing herself in the music.
More than half an hour later, she had a sheen of sweat over her skin and felt limber and loose. After showering and changing for lunch, she wasn’t surprised to run into everyone in the employees’ dining room. The skies had turned dark, and she knew that within the hour, rain would start to fall, which meant outdoor activities would come to a halt.
Zoey sat next to her and dug into her lunch. “So. Good memo.” She nudged her elbow.
“Ugh.” Elle had forgotten all about it.
“No, I agree. You have a way with words. Especially when it comes to uncomfortable topics like orgies.” Hannah winked at her.
“Let’s never speak of it again,” Elle mumbled as she nibbled on her salad.
“What are we talking about?” Scar asked, sitting down.
“Orgies and sex,” Hannah said smoothly.
“Who’s having sex?” Scar asked, causing Zoey to choke on the sip of soup she’d just taken.
Every gaze turned to her.
“What?” Zoey said when she recovered. “Don’t look at me. I haven’t had any real fun in”—she looked thoughtful—“forever.”
Scar’s eyes narrowed as she looked at her sister. “There’s something else . . .”
“Did you hear?” Aubrey rushed over and sat down. Elle noticed she didn’t have a plate of food and pushed an apple in her friend’s direction. Aubrey was always forgetting to eat.
“Eat first,” she warned her.
Aubrey picked it up and took a bite but set it down again and continued.
“I was walking here and happened to overhear a few guests . . .” She paused with a hacking sound.
“Chew and breathe,” Zoey added with a smile.
Aubrey stopped talking and chewed, her eyes narrowing in concentration. Once she swallowed the bite, she started again.
“We made the cover of Florida Travel.” She pulled from under her butt a copy of the magazine, which she’d hidden from them as she rushed over.
“What!” The four of them jumped up, but Elle was fastest and snagged the magazine from Aubrey’s hands first.
There, on the cover of the popular travel magazine, was a picture of the five of them standing in front of the gates of River Camp.
“We actually made the cover,” she said under her breath. They had all been interviewed and had had a shoot, but she’d never dreamed they would actually make the cover.
“What does it say?” Hannah asked, trying to look over her shoulder.
“Did you read it?” Scar asked Aubrey.
“No, I thought . . . we needed to do this together. Go ahead.” Aubrey shoved it toward Elle. “Do the honors.”
“Just look at us . . .” Elle felt tears pool in her eyes as she ran a finger over the glossy magazine cover.
There the five of them stood, as different as they were, yet held together by one purpose. They were all wearing their camp shirts and shorts with their arms wrapped around one another, laughing at something Scar had said.
“Open the article.” Aubrey nudged her arm. “It’s on page fifteen.”
With shaky fingers, she flipped open the magazi
ne.
“Calling all snowbirds—Tired of the same old boring vacation spots? Looking for some adventure with your own age group and a little excitement to boot? The newly opened River Camp adult resort promises to be just that. With over 100 acres of private land to roam including your very own secluded beach, there are over thirty individual cabins to choose from, not to mention a full array of games and exciting events to keep you busy during your stay—swimming pools, zip lines, horseback riding, sailboats, canoes, and kayaks. You’ll never have a dull moment. But if you’re looking for a more relaxing time, there are several fully stocked bars to enjoy as well as a gourmet dining experience that includes celebrity chef Isaac Andrews. With all this and more, River Camp promises to be the next ‘Florida hot spot.’ Book your private cabin today, before you lose your chance.”
“We did it!” Elle screamed. “We made the list.” She leaped out of her chair and hugged the other girls.
They had been in lots of other travel guides—smaller ones, including local papers—but they hadn’t hit the big time. Florida Travel was the most frequent place snowbirds went to find out about new resorts.
For the rest of the day, nothing could hamper Elle’s good mood. Even when she stepped out to the dark sky and rain, her smile never faltered.
She dashed back to her office and plowed through the budget and the stack of bills on her desk with a smile on her lips. Aubrey had brought back more than a few copies of the magazine for the cabins and public areas. Elle would frame one cover for her office.
For a moment, she wondered if the article would attract different types of people from those they’d had during their first few weeks. After all, given the previous damage, she was hoping to keep the clientele a little more . . . upscale. Even though they were pretty much a wilderness retreat, the prices and activities they offered were of the highest quality.
She took a few calls from vendors and had a meeting with Aiden later that afternoon about the progress of the new cabins they were building. Two of them were currently in the works. One was almost finished and just needed a fresh coat of paint and some finishing touches on the tile work in the bathroom, while the other was just a skeleton of a building.
“How far out are we to booking the first of the two?” she asked, opening her calendar program.
“Less than a month,” he said. “Have you come up with names yet? I hate just calling them Thing One and Thing Two.”
She chuckled as she thought about it but shook her head. “No, the names usually come to me when I walk through them. I’ll try to swing by later this week and get the feel of the cabin.”
“We’re on budget for both cabins,” he muttered, looking over his notes.
Elle had known Aiden most of her life, seeing as he was technically the only real family she had left.
Her second cousin was tall and tan, with sandy-blond hair, and his silver eyes promised any woman he looked at a good time, or so her friends had always said. He’d been easily one of the most popular boys in school, which had initially scared her off from getting too close to him. But, he’d ended up being one of the nicest friends she could have asked for, and besides all of that, he was extremely skilled at what he did.
“I’ll have Julie add the cabin to our booking program for the following month.” She made another note. “Was there anything else?” When Aiden didn’t respond right away, she glanced up at him.
“There’s been some . . . activities . . .” he started, and Elle held in a groan—thoughts of new orgies flashed through her mind. “I’m not sure, but I think someone’s been breaking into some of the outbuildings. My men swear that they close up and lock the doors, but when they arrive the following mornings, things just aren’t where they used to be.”
“Were the locks broken?” she asked.
“No.” He shook his head. “I’ve asked my employees to turn in all the extra keys floating around, and I’ll replace the locks so I will be the only one who has the keys.”
“Just put the backup in my office. Have you checked the cameras?”
“We haven’t installed any in there yet,” Aiden answered. “I can show you the best spots to put them in.”
“Was anything missing?” she asked.
“No.” He frowned. “That’s the strange part.”
“Okay.” She thought about it. “Why not take the camera outside of the pool bar tonight and put it where you need it most. I’d like to find out who’s messing with things.” He nodded before he left.
She heard the thunder and rain increase a few minutes later as the room darkened. Flipping off the office lights, she decided to make some inside rounds to check on how everything was progressing. In the main dining room, she found a group of guests playing a round of bingo with Aubrey and joined in the fun for a while.
Then, taking her umbrella and jacket, she walked over to the pool bar and was surprised at how many people had crowded under the awning there.
By the time she had made it back into the main building, she was soaked and tired. She was going to skip dinner, since Hannah had assured her that she had things handled that evening, but an hour before the scheduled guest dinnertime, she ended up in the employee dining room beside Zoey and the three brothers. The other employees at the large table peeled off to their various duties as Hannah, Aubrey, and Scarlett joined them.
She had her standard few days off coming up. Since they all rotated their work schedules, each of them got two different days off a week. She had plans of putting her feet up, reading a few books, and sleeping a lot.
She was busy daydreaming about the next two days when she heard Dylan offer to help Zoey out. Hiding a smile, she quickly became shocked when all three brothers offered to help with camp security. She glanced around the table.
“What’s going on?”
Dylan jumped in. “What if one of you stumbled across another orgy in session?”
None of the brothers seemed phased, beyond having the desire to tease each other over that word. And she wasn’t sure, but she thought Zoey had kicked Dylan under the table.
“Okay.” She stood up as she broke into the mini-argument that had developed and took a deep breath. She needed time to think of how to handle this. So she arranged to have a meeting with the employees later that night and returned to her office to try to sort out her thoughts.
As she bade them farewell and made her way back to her office to write a speech for the meeting, Liam caught up with her at the doorway.
“So, you’re okay with this?” Liam asked.
“What?” She glanced over at him. Her vision flickered with the migraine pulsing in her head.
“You need some rest.” He stopped her just outside, under the overhang, as the rain fell around them. His hand rested on her shoulder. She didn’t realize that he had started massaging her neck until she closed her eyes and moaned, leaning into his touch.
“What?” she asked, trying to keep her eyes open.
“Rest.” He wrapped his arm around her and started walking her toward the doorway that led to the hallway of offices. “You look like you need it.”
The feeling of his arm around her almost caused her to give in, but her mind flitted between all the things she had to do. She couldn’t wait for the two days off from work that were coming up. At first, she hadn’t thought she would take her days, but after Hannah had forced her to start taking them, she’d grown accustomed to having the time to herself.
She shook her head. “I have a speech . . .”
“You’ll make something up.” He opened the back door for them both. When he tried her office door, it was locked. He glanced over at her with his eyebrows up. She took out her key card, swiped it, and opened the door.
Instead of turning on the bright overhead lights, he closed the door behind them, sealing them in the darkness of the room. She followed him to the corner that held a small sofa.
“I have . . .” she started to say, but he nudged her down to the sofa. She had to admi
t: getting off her feet felt wonderful.
“Rest,” he reminded her. “Clock out for half an hour.” He turned her and continued to rub her shoulders, moving her until she was lying facedown on one of the soft pillows Hannah had purchased, and she was helpless to argue with him about it.
Closing her eyes, she enjoyed the feeling of his hands on her. She’d dreamed of what they would feel like running over her. Her dreams hadn’t been this good. Before she knew it, she was fast asleep.
CHAPTER FIVE
Liam stood back and watched Elle finish her speech to the employees later that night. When she tried to slip out the back door after, he followed her.
He’d overheard her telling Hannah that she would take the next two days off of work. He was scheduled time off starting the following day as well and had decided to drive into town and check with Joel to ask if he’d heard from their father.
Joel had been working for the business for the past few years. Liam and his brothers believed the man was their father’s illegitimate son, but they didn’t have the proof. So, they kept their mouths shut, because they’d really started to like the guy after they’d made the extra effort to get to know him better.
As he stepped out into the cool night air, he noticed her hugging her arms around herself as she stood on the stoop watching the rain from under an awning that was normally occupied with smoking workers.
“Have a few days off?” Liam’s voice caused her to jump slightly. “Looks like the nap helped,” he said, looking deep into her eyes. They were blue, a nice soft color that reminded him of the waters off Jamaica on a warm day. Now, he could see they were clearer and more focused than before.
She had her hand over her heart and took a deep breath. “Yes, thank you.” She turned her shoulders toward him.
It had almost killed him leaving her on the sofa fast asleep. She’d looked like the proverbial princess sleeping until her prince leaned in and . . . it had taken all his willpower to set her phone alarm so she wouldn’t oversleep and then leave her alone to rest.
“Great speech.” He removed his jacket again and wrapped it around her shoulders.
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