One Shot At Love: A Billionaire Single Father Romance

by Weston Parker

  9

  Adam

  I tried not to feel frustrated about the fact that Bailey had tried to fix things at the ski resort without consulting me. I knew, rationally, that she was only trying to help. And sure, it would have been nice not to be called in on one of my precious days off. But Dad was there to watch Ethan, so really, it would have been better for her just to call me.

  I was a little worried to see just what she had managed to do. We had redone a lot of the wiring that summer when we had put in the new condos, but given the age of the lodge itself, everything was kind of on the same grid and that meant that it could be finicky, to say the least.

  I wanted to think that Bailey wouldn’t have done too much on her own before she called me. But I couldn’t help but feel especially nervous when I pulled up in the employee lot and saw that easily half of the lights in the main lodge, plus most of the lights in the condos, were all out. I groaned inside and immediately headed for the utility room in the new condos. Sure enough, that’s where I found Bailey and Kayla, still messing around with the switches.

  “All right, let me at it,” I told them, and Bailey immediately turned around with a look of relief on her face.

  “I can’t tell you how glad I am to see you!” she said. “I hit the switch for the hall, but it seems to have knocked out half the power at the resort, and now I can’t get it to turn back on.” She shook her head. “It’s all so confusing, all of these little labels. Someone really should clean them up sometime.”

  “I know my system,” I said, trying not to sound rude even though to be honest, I had very little patience left for her. There was a reason the resort had a maintenance man, after all. Was that one of the changes she thought that she could make in taking over this place, fire me? Or at least cut back on the hours of work that I did for the resort?

  She’d always struck me as intelligent, but I didn’t know what she was like as a businesswoman. Maybe she was the kind of person who only looked at the bottom line and didn’t really give a damn for how it affected the business itself. Or maybe she just really didn’t understand what my position was there at the mountain. Suddenly, I started to wonder whether my job was as secure as I had thought that it was. Brooks Mountain was in Bailey’s hands now, and she could really do whatever she wanted.

  And the trouble was, if I lost this job, I’d have a damned hard time finding a new position now, with the season already started. I didn’t want to have to uproot Ethan in the middle of the school year, nor pull him away from his friends, his ski mountain, and everything else. Plus, if we had to move away from Park City, I wasn’t naïve enough to think that Dad would follow us. That meant that I would no longer have the free help around the house and with Ethan.

  “Kayla, why don’t you get back to the front desk?” I suggested so that I could step in and take a closer look at just what they had done. Time to prove just how useful I was around here, so that I wouldn’t have to worry about losing this job.

  In actual fact, it might just be a good thing that Bailey and Kayla had really screwed things up on their own. It would give me a chance to prove myself to the new boss and all.

  But it was hard to concentrate on what I was doing with Bailey hovering behind me. “Can you explain to me what you’re doing? Just in case this happens again?” she asked.

  I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “Hopefully next time, you’ll just call me before you start monkeying around with the breakers,” I said. “But basically, when you flipped half the switches in the board, you shorted out a couple of the circuits. So I’m doing a little bit of repair on those. And no, it isn’t anything that you should be working on yourself.”

  “Oh,” Bailey said, sounding put out. She was quiet for a moment, but her eyes didn’t leave me as I continued to work. “So what were you up to on your day off, anyway?” she asked suddenly. “Anything fun?”

  “Just chores around the house,” I said, shrugging one shoulder. “Was hoping to get in some skiing for an hour or two, but there’s lots that needs doing at this time of year.”

  “Right,” Bailey said, sounding guilty. “I really am sorry that we had to call you in today. And that I messed everything up.” She paused. “If there’s anything that I can do to help you out, let me know. I know that there’s a way that things are done around here and I’m still trying to figure it all out, but I don’t want to be one of those bosses who…” She trailed off, not seeming to know just what she was trying to say.

  I had to admit, I appreciated her saying that. I was never a fan of those bosses who were totally hands off with the businesses that they owned. But at the same time, she was right; she didn’t know how things worked around here. There was no one to take up the slack for me if I cut back on my hours. And I didn’t like the idea of the resort hiring someone else who was skilled in the same area, if only because I had my system and things worked out well when I was the only person messing around with various pieces of equipment. Besides, it wasn’t really a large enough resort to warrant an additional maintenance and mechanics person.

  “So you’re sticking around Utah for the holidays, huh?” Bailey said, continuing to try to chat with me while I worked. “Bet your dad’s still here, isn’t he? He’ll never leave this place; he’s a true mountain man.” She laughed, but I grimaced. I knew she didn’t mean it as a bad thing, but I also knew that she probably looked down on people like me and my dad. We made our living by working hard, working with our hands. Not everyone could just come into a ton of money.

  But I let those comments slide for now. “Holiday season’s the busiest season at the resort,” I reminded her. “I kind of have to be here.”

  “Do you work here year-round?” Bailey asked curiously. “I mean, you must get some time off at certain times of the year, right?”

  I finally looked over at her. “You know, this would be a lot easier to straighten out if you left me alone to do my work,” I said. I didn’t mean to be so rude to her, but I didn’t really want to talk to her about my personal life either. I knew that Ian remembered Beth, or at least remembered that there had been a Beth. I wondered if Bailey did as well and assumed that she did. She hadn’t been that young.

  Which meant it was only a matter of time before Bailey asked about her. And the last thing I wanted right now was to talk about my deceased wife, or Ethan, or anything else related to those topics. Bailey was just my boss, and even though this resort operated more or less like a family, she was still an outsider. I wasn’t interested in opening up to her.

  Bailey looked taken aback by my abruptness, but then she nodded at me. “Right, I’ll get out of your hair. Kayla was actually giving me a tour of the resort before and introducing me to some people, so I guess I’ll get back to that. But I’ll see you around.”

  “Sure you will,” I said, already intent on my work again. I refused to turn and watch her leave, even though in my mind, I was already picturing those round hips of hers swaying as she walked away.

  I pushed those thoughts aside. She was just my boss. And anyway, I had enough on my plate at the moment without thinking about a relationship with someone. Let alone with my boss.

  It took me a little while, but I finally got lighting restored in all parts of the base area, plus put the lightbulb back into the hallway of the new condos. I wasn’t entirely sure why they had taken it out in the first place since it was working just fine, but I didn’t plan on asking Bailey to explain.

  I also redid a few of the labels on the breaker switches. Not because Bailey had told me that she didn’t understand them, but just because I was always tailoring my system to work even better the next time. That was all.

  I headed into the main lodge just as the skiers were starting to come off the mountain for the day. “All finished?” Kayla asked, grinning at me.

  “All finished,” I agreed.

  “Excellent,” Bailey said, appearing from the direction of the kitchen. She wiped off her hands on an apron, and I wondered if she
realized that she had a smudge of flour on one cheek. Interesting. I wondered what she had been doing back there. Not that I would ask, of course. I didn’t want her to start thinking that I wanted to be friends with her or anything.

  I mean, friends wouldn’t be that bad. But I just didn’t want her to get the wrong impression. To think that I was interested in her.

  She grinned at me. “Join me for dinner.” The way she said it, it wasn’t really a question. I glanced around to see what Kayla’s reaction to that was, but she was off chatting with a couple of the guests.

  I looked back at Bailey and shook my head. “I –” Then, I glanced past Bailey to where she was gesturing and realized that she already had food out on the table waiting for us. It was nothing special, just the normal food that the lodge served; hearty and warm, perfect for these chilly winter days.

  For a moment, I still hesitated. I didn’t want to hurt Bailey’s feelings. There was a part of me that still remembered the young girl that she had been. Witty and charming, a real riot to be around. Would it really kill me to open up to her a little? To become friends with her? Surely I was allowed to have friends, even if I never wanted anything more again.

  And Dad was perfectly capable of feeding Ethan. In fact, I had left instructions with him for dinner in case my work ran late. So there was no reason not to join Bailey. Other than that weird little flip in my gut as I looked at her.

  I cleared my throat. “All right,” I told her, moving matter-of-factly past her to seat myself at the table. “By the way, you’ve got flour on your cheek. The left one.”

  Still trying for casual, I only saw her flush out of the corner of my eye as she hurriedly swiped at her face with her apron. I couldn’t help grinning. I wondered if she knew how cute she was or if she was so wrapped up in acting like the perfect, powerful businesswoman that she didn’t think about things like that.

  But I sure noticed. Oh, how could I not?

  10

  Bailey

  When I told Kayla I wanted to help out back in the kitchen, and to invite Adam to join me for dinner, she rolled her eyes knowingly. “I told you not to get too interested in him,” she reminded me, but the way she said it told me that she knew I couldn’t help it.

  I wanted to ask her about Adam. He had to be in a relationship. Or have been in a relationship. I thought back to when we had last been here, but I couldn’t remember him hanging around with anyone other than Ian during that time. Still, I didn’t ask Kayla about it. It was one thing for her to know that I was interested in him. It was another thing entirely for me to actually start talking about it.

  I was still new here, and I wanted everyone to know that even though I wanted this place to be just as chill as ever, I was a professional. And that meant I couldn’t go mooning after my maintenance guy.

  Besides, this dinner wasn’t about any of that. It was just a way of saying thank you to Adam for coming in on his day off. And a way to help him out a little. I could tell that he was busy, maybe too busy. When he said that he was doing errands on his day off, I looked a little closer at him and could see the dark smudges beneath his eyes, like he was perpetually tired. Anything that I could do to help him, I wanted to know it. Letting him off the hook for cooking, at least for one night, was the first thing that came to mind.

  I had to admit, though, I was pretty excited to have him join me. I hadn’t really missed him; we had never been close friends or anything. But I had always liked his energy and youthful spirit, and there was definitely something about him that intrigued me.

  At first, though, I couldn’t think of where to start the conversation. Earlier, in the utility room, he’d been so short with me. It was clear that he didn’t really want to talk about himself. But I didn’t want to just start talking about myself.

  To my surprise, Adam rescued the conversation. “So whatever possessed you to buy this place, anyway?” he asked bluntly.

  I shrugged and took a bite of my meal as I thought of a way to answer that. Finally, I decided just to be honest. “My dad died a little over a month ago, and I came into my inheritance,” I admitted. “And I just needed a change. I quit working for the casino business earlier this year, and I’ve just been kind of adrift ever since. I needed to get out of Vegas for a bit.”

  “Huh,” Adam said, but he didn’t sound disinterested. “I’m sorry to hear that about your father.”

  “Thanks,” I said, staring down at my plate and trying not to choke on my emotions. Even though I’d heard dozens of people express their sympathy about my loss, there was something in Adam’s voice, something about the way he said it, which made it sound more genuine than all those other people.

  “What’s Ian doing with his money?” Adam asked, grinning at me. “Funding the next great series of pranks?”

  I laughed, glad for the lighthearted change of topic. “Actually, he’ll probably invest it into more of the casino stuff,” I said. “In more ways than one, he likes to gamble.”

  “As should every good businessman, right?” Adam said. “Just hope he knows when to quit. That’s something he never had a handle on when I knew him before.”

  I laughed and shook my head. “Fortunately, he’s matured a lot,” I said. “And actually, he’s taken over a lot of responsibility at the company. Even before Dad died.”

  “That’s good,” Adam said. The conversation abruptly died there, and I was back to struggling to think of something to say. I just didn’t remember things being this difficult with him. It was like he was totally guarded, like he didn’t want to get to know me at all, and like he definitely didn’t want me to get to know him.

  To be fair, I had reservations of my own. I couldn’t seem to stop thinking about how attractive he was, about how I would do or say whatever it took to get him to grin at me again, to get him to grin at me for real. And that was dangerous territory, I knew. I couldn’t let myself get too involved with him. It wouldn’t be professional, and anyway, I didn’t have the time to devote to a relationship right now. Besides, he was one of Ian’s friends, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about crossing that line with him.

  “Look,” I finally said, leaning towards him, “there’s a reason I wanted to have dinner with you.”

  Adam grimaced and looked away from me, carefully setting down his fork. I could see the way that his face closed off as he did his best to look uninterested in whatever I was about to say.

  Interesting.

  But I knew I needed to keep this strictly professional. I had to ignore that little flip in my belly at the thought that he might be trying to keep his own emotions in check in just the same way that I was. Focus on the task at hand.

  “I know this place is turning enough of a profit that we could hire someone else on as maintenance. To help you out some, especially during the holiday rush. It isn’t right for you to have to be on call all the time, even on your days off.”

  Adam frowned at me. “It’s not worth it,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ve got a system here. A way of doing things. You get someone else to come in and it’s that classic ‘too many cooks’ syndrome.”

  “I get that,” I said, having already thought about that. “But what I was thinking was, maybe you could switch so that you’re really just handling lift maintenance and operations. I’m sure there’s more than enough work there to keep you busy, and anyway, I know you know what you’re doing there and that that’s probably pretty specialized knowledge. We could hire someone else to deal with things like the lights, though.”

  Adam continued to stare at me for a moment. Then, he shook his head, exhaling noisily. “Nah, don’t worry about it,” he said, picking his fork back up. “I like that this job keeps me busy. I can handle it. And seriously, don’t worry about having to call me in on my days off. I’m just a few miles away. Or I’m here skiing.”

  “Well, at least credit it towards your hours for the week and take tomorrow off,” I insisted.

  For a minute, Adam looked like he might pr
otest. I could practically see him going through task-lists in his head, trying to figure out if he really could afford to take the next day off. Finally, though, he nodded. “All right,” he said. “I’ll take tomorrow off. There might be one or two projects that I’ll try to wrap up first thing in the morning, but then I think I’ll go skiing.”

  “Sounds like a good plan,” I said approvingly. I wanted to say more, maybe to ask if he wanted some company to ski with. But it had been forever since I was on skis, and I didn’t want to hold him up all day. And besides, he no doubt knew plenty of people around town that he would rather ski with. He wasn’t being too subtle about the fact that he didn’t want to be friends with me. And that was fine. I was his boss.

  “Thanks again for coming and helping today,” I said for the billionth time as he was getting ready to head home.

  He just shrugged one shoulder. “It’s my job,” he said gruffly. I wanted to say something in response to that, but he was already turning away from me. “I’ll see you around,” he said over his shoulder.

  “Yeah,” I echoed faintly. “See you around.”

  And I hoped that I did. I wanted to see more of him. He might be downright rude to me at times, and lukewarm at best, but to be honest, I kind of understood that. I was pretty emotionally guarded myself, especially when it came to men.

  Still, there was something about the air of mystery to him that made me want to break through those walls of his. To really get to know him and know his story. What was it that had turned him from the laughing prankster in my memory to the man he was now? I was determined to figure it out.

  11

  Adam

  Having an unexpected day off was a surprising luxury. I had almost balked when Bailey suggested it. I wanted to prove to her that I didn’t need it, that I could still work my regular hours and get everything done as needed. But at the same time, I knew that I was already worn out and that things were only going to get busier as we really got into the holiday season. So, any extra time that I could take off now was only going to benefit me in the long run.