Damn! It was nearly ten.
She’d walked to Allen Parker’s office. She should have driven. She’d be cutting it close.
The plan was to arrive at Bergen Mountain today and spend the next few days at the ski resort property with Abby and Brennen, Ray and Harriet Bergen, and Abby’s new friend and teaching colleague, Cadence Lowry and her young son, Bodhi.
Oh, and the king curmudgeon himself, Jasper Bergen, was supposed to be there, too.
Whoopty-doo!
She went to pocket her phone when the screen lit up.
Jovy Jones. Her agent extraordinaire.
She accepted the call, but before she could get a word in edgewise, her longtime friend was already going a mile a minute.
“Are you broke, lovely? Do you need me to overnight you some Dom or Godiva? Wait, no! You function better on carbs. I’ll have my assistant find the best cupcake place in Denver and have two dozen sent to your apartment. You still have your apartment, right? Oh, that awful little Monty Morris!”
The breath caught in her throat. For her mother’s sake, she didn’t want anyone to know about the state of her finances. “I’m going to be all right, but don’t breathe a word of this to anyone. Most of the money is gone, but I still have my apartment, and everything I’ve put in place to help my mom is safe.”
“Thank the stars! And I’d never breathe a word to anyone about your plundered bank account. We need everyone thinking Elle Reynolds is still the rich, fabulous adventurer we both know you are. Now, you need a night out in New York City! Jump on the next flight—you’ll be flying coach, but you’ll survive—and I’ll take you to all the best gay bars Manhattan can offer.”
It was tempting. Clubbing with her agent meant all the dancing and all the champagne without the bother of straight men.
She kicked a pebble across the sidewalk, and it plopped into a puddle. “I can’t, Jov. I’m expected up at Bergen Mountain.”
“Right, right! Your cousin and that handsome manwhore just got engaged. I saw it on social media. It’s everywhere!”
Her agent was right. Social media was blowing up. Brennen had proposed to Abby during a televised charity event a few days ago, and the internet was still buzzing with the sweet story of the former bad boy billionaire falling under the spell of the pretty first-grade teacher with a heart of gold.
Good girl tames bad boy.
Elle weaved her way through downtown Denver, dodging the pools of water left from the melting snow from last week’s storm and headed toward her apartment. “I hate to break it to you, but he’s not a manwhore anymore.”
“And you sure he’s straight?”
She barked out a laugh. “As straight as they come.”
Her agent sighed. “Too bad. I guess, good for her. Blah, blah, blah. Tell them they have my blessing.”
“Yes, I’m sure they’ve been dying to receive the go-ahead from you, Jov.” Elle smirked.
“You are one sassy, broke bitch,” he shot back, but she heard the smile in his voice.
“You know you love me.”
Jovy grew quiet.
She frowned. “What is it?”
“Are you emotionally stable enough to talk a little business?” he asked, his playful tone gone.
“I’ve lost most everything, and I’m still standing. Think of me as the twenty-nine-year-old version of Pat Benatar and hit me with your best shot.”
Papers rustled in the background.
“So, that issue you wanted me to look into with the Bergen Enterprises contract.”
She knew where this was going. “I’ll stop you right there, Jov. I need the money. I have no choice but to comply with the contract.”
“Good! Because I had a quick convo with their legal team and that contract is ironclad.”
Elle blew out a tight breath. She wouldn’t expect anything less from a company with Jasper Bergen at the helm.
“The Bergen gig is my best shot to get back on my feet and build up my savings again.”
Jovy snapped his fingers, and the sharp click popped through the line. “Working for the man. But that Jasper Bergen is quite yummy. All cheekbones and dead eyes. I’m staring at his bio on the Bergen Enterprises website right now.”
“Gag!” Elle said, switching from a stroll to a brisk walk as she passed a group of tourists. “Have you ever actually spoken with him?”
“No, just their legal team.”
Elle glanced into a candy shop and grinned. “You know those chocolate bunnies that look delicious, but then you bite into it and it’s brittle and hollow, and the chocolate crumbles all over the damn place?”
“Yes, total fucking gyp!”
“That’s Jasper Bergen. All yummy looking on the outside. Hollow and empty on the inside.”
Jovy lowered his voice. “Maybe you should take a bite out of that man candy and test your theory.”
Elle sidestepped another puddle. “Not if he was the last hollow chocolate bunny on the planet.”
“I’m just saying you don’t know what’s under the hood until you take a look,” Jovy shot back.
“I won’t be taking any looks. Zero looks.”
Jasper’s face flashed before her eyes. Strong jaw. Piercing eyes. And that body. The man clearly took care of himself. She’d never seen him in anything other than a suit. But holy hell, he could stop traffic.
She shook off that thought. What the hell was wrong with her? That man was the devil.
A couple holding hands passed her going the opposite direction. “Jovy, how long has it been since I’ve dated?”
A pause.
“That guy in Iceland?” he offered
Her jaw dropped. “That was three years ago! And I didn’t even date him. We had dinner.”
“You didn’t sleep with him?”
“No! We shared a triple chocolate torte. But no sex.”
“My lovely girl, it’s been a minute. That’s for damn sure.”
He was right! She hadn’t had anything serious since Tate.
Fucking Tate.
“You’ll need to start dusting off your lady parts pretty soon,” Jovy added.
She was ready to tell him what he could do with his man parts when her phone beeped. “Hold on. I’ve got another call.”
She glanced at the screen.
The Dalton.
Why would her apartment building be calling her?
Unless…
“I’m going to need to call you back, Jovy. I think my doorman is on the other line.”
“Is he hot?”
“If you think hot is a jowly man in his seventies who hasn’t smiled since 1962, then sure, he’s a dreamboat.” The phone beeped again. “Sorry, Jov. I need to take this.”
“No worries! Do consider jumping the hollow bunny. You need to get laid, my dear.”
Elle sighed, shook her head, and tapped the screen to switch to the incoming call. Before she had the phone to her ear, Harvey barked her name.
“Eleanor Reynolds!”
She groaned. Besides her parents, only Harvey the doorman called her Eleanor.
“Hello, Harvey! Did I forget to close the recycling bin again?”
The line went quiet.
“Harvey, are you there?”
The man cleared his throat. “You know your car?”
She smiled. She loved her candy apple red Porsche Cayenne SUV.
“Yep.”
“Did you forget to pay a bill or something?”
Her stomach dropped.
“Why?”
The man huffed, and she could almost see the disapproving set of his jaw. “It’s getting repossessed. Two men with a tow truck are here.”
She blinked once then twice as the city went blurry. “Harvey, tell them to stop! Please, tell them it’s a misunderstanding! I can explain everything. I’m five minutes away.”
He said something, but she wasn’t listening and ended the call.
“You’re tough as nails. You can get through anything,” sh
e whispered.
She stepped off the curb then reared back as a bus thundered by, striking a giant puddle and spraying her with an icy cold, gray, watery slush.
A woman walking by stopped and gave her a sympathetic smile. “Looks like it’s not your day.”
Elle wiped a piece of wet sludge from her cheek. “You have no idea.”
2
Jasper
“Collin, I don’t see the earnings forecasts on this spreadsheet, and the retail numbers are coded in yellow. I specifically asked for them to be marigold.”
Jasper Bergen stood, pressed his palms to his massive desk inside the corner office of the Bergen Enterprises building and surveyed the chaos. Somebody put a goddamn book on his desk.
Her book.
Nobody touched his desk. Nobody rearranged his desk. Nobody was to add to or take away from his desk. The cleaning crew were under strict orders not to lay a finger on any part of it.
His assistant Collin Chavez knew this. After running through a slew of incompetent idiots, Collin finally made the cut and had been with him for three years now. Collin knew better than anyone, he didn’t need this hassle.
Not today.
“Sorry, sir,” Collin said, entering the office.
Jasper’s jaw tightened. This book was messing with his mojo. He thrived on order, structure, and routine. This business trifecta ensured that the billion-dollar Bergen Enterprises remained profitable.
And the thought of straying from his prescribed course set him on edge.
That damn book set him on edge.
It was an anomaly. A fly in the ointment. A kink in the line.
Collin set a coffee—black, the way any respectable adult should drink their coffee—on the sideboard.
“Rough night?” the man asked.
“Rough night. Rough morning. And now I’m looking at yellow when I asked for—”
“Marigold,” Collin offered with a grin.
How the hell was this guy always so happy?
Oh yeah. He wasn’t responsible for the welfare of a Fortune 500 company, and that took complete focus and dedication.
When the hell did Jasper Bergen have time to smile?
Never.
His every minute of every hour of every day was precisely scheduled. He woke at four thirty in the morning for an intense ninety-minute cardio and weights session. After a quick shower and his sixteen-minute hygiene regimen, he dressed. Pressed and starched, all his suits were precisely cut and tailored to his body. Then he’d have a slice of toast spread with peanut butter and a cup of unsweetened vanilla yogurt. The same breakfast he’d eaten every morning for the last…since the day after…
He cleared his throat. “My brother didn’t have the right bread,” he huffed, scanning the spreadsheet.
Collin frowned. “I thought you were going to stay at the Ritz while your place was being renovated. I made all the arrangements.”
Jasper’s jaw clenched a fraction tighter. “It’s no longer a simple renovation.”
What was supposed to have been a week-long construction project putting in new hardwood floors had exploded into a full-blown asbestos abatement situation. His swank home in Denver’s high-end Cherry Creek neighborhood sat tented while men dressed head to toe in white coveralls and blue gloves duct-taped to their wrists wore protective headgear and respirators to remove the toxic substance.
“I’m sorry to hear that, sir. I must say I’m a little surprised that you’re staying in The Dalton’s penthouse. Doesn’t your brother still live there?”
“My brother’s not in town at the moment, and he’s indicated that he and his fiancée will be living in her bungalow. It doesn’t make sense for me to stay in a hotel while the Bergen penthouse sits empty. It would be a waste of money.”
Collin took out his phone and started typing. “I’ll message the market and have everything you need delivered.”
“Don’t bother. I won’t be there tonight.”
“That’s right,” Collin said, gaze glued to the phone’s screen. “You’re scheduled to be up at Bergen Mountain for the next three nights for your brother and Miss Quinn’s engagement celebration.” Collin looked up, eyes brimming with wonder. “Will Elle Reynolds be there, too?”
Elle fucking Reynolds.
Jasper glanced down at the book on his desk and scowled. “Why do you say her name like that?”
The entire building seemed to be losing its mind over her. And who was she? Just some writer.
Collin’s brow knit together. “How do I say her name?”
“All dreamy.”
He nearly gagged. Did he just say dreamy?
A wide grin stretched across his assistant’s face. “Well, because she’s Elle Reynolds. She’s been around the world. Her travel guides make you feel like she’s right there with you, introducing you to the local culture and leading you away from the tourist traps so you can experience the true essence of a place. And then there are her novels.”
“What about her novels?” Jasper grumbled.
He hadn’t read anything she’d written. He knew one of her books had been made into a movie, and that was as much effort as he’d put into researching the woman.
Serious decisions had to be made regarding Bergen Mountain Sports rebranding and retooling of their image. Decisions that needed to be based on numbers and facts and concrete data. Not travel tips on how to avoid diarrhea abroad.
But the writing was on the wall, and while Bergen Enterprises continued to be profitable, their overall revenue had flattened out. Whichever way he ran the numbers—and he ran them every day—he had to admit that the company needed a course correction.
But the one thing he knew for damn sure was that it wasn’t Elle Reynolds.
They’d met only a few days ago. His grandmother had set up the meeting for just the two of them. A get to know you say hello thing. The kind of easy breezy, waste of time, forced encounter he loathed.
And she was four minutes late.
Four fucking minutes late.
He could complete thirty-seven tasks in four minutes. He could check in with his VPs in Europe, Asia, and Australia in four minutes. He could review the safety protocols at all the Bergen ski resorts in four minutes.
What did he do instead?
He waited. He stood there like the last kid to get picked for dodgeball and fucking waited.
Then, once she sauntered in and graced him with her presence, she had the audacity to tell him the schedule he’d mapped out for her contribution to the rebranding project was too rigid and lacked imagination.
He pressed his lips into a hard line as his blood boiled. The nerve of that woman!
He never lost his cool.
Never.
But by the end of their brief tête-à-tête, they were nose to nose and red-cheeked from yelling at each other. Soft, chestnut tendrils framed her stubborn face as she jabbed her phone into his chest and told him off. Had his brother, Brennen, not walked in on them at that moment, he wasn’t sure what would have happened. She’d looked ready to claw his eyes out, and all he wanted to do was…
Fuck!
He’d never been so riled up. Her damn lapis blue eyes blazing. That petite, toned body mere inches from his. The air between them charged and crackling. He’d left the office and laced up his Nikes the minute he got home. It took him eleven miles of hard trail running before he was able to work Elle Reynolds out of his system.
But had he actually purged her from his thoughts?
Had he forgotten those flashing blue eyes?
Double fuck!
He’d be a liar if he said yes. She was everywhere. The sky at dusk. The awning of his favorite restaurant. Even on this morning’s trail run, the crocuses emerging from the hard ground burst with the deep blue hue.
Jasper glanced around his office. Jesus, it was warm in here! He had the urge to unbutton the top button on his dress shirt and loosen his collar. An urge he fought. He needed a plan. Even if his grandparents tho
ught Elle Reynolds was the best thing since sliced bread, he was not about to put the reputation of his family’s company in an outsider’s hands.
“Have you read it?” Collin asked, gesturing toward the book.
Jasper shook his head then glanced at it. Face down on his desk, the back cover greeted him with a profile shot of a pensive Elle Reynolds standing on a beach, chestnut hair blowing in the wind. His fingers twitched, wanting to tangle themselves in the flowing locks.
Triple fuck.
He did not need this kind of distraction. Not when the company required his full attention now more than ever. The sweeping rebranding effort focused on highlighting Bergen Enterprises’ philanthropic and environmental work as well as targeting segments of the population they’d lost traction with. Not a small task.
Collin shifted his stance. “She’s a good writer. I’ve read all her stuff. It’s no wonder she’s a bestseller. This is the book that was made into the movie. I listened to her interview about it on NPR. She says it’s a work of fiction. But when you read it, it’s so compelling and so visceral. There’s got to be a connection to her real life.”
“What’s it about?” Jasper asked, reaching for the book but stopping short of touching it.
“A woman who takes a solo trip around the world after learning the man she thought she was in a relationship with had a wife he’d never told her about. It has an Eat, Pray, Love and The Pilot’s Wife vibe to it.”
Jasper stared at Elle’s image. “I don’t know what that means, Collin.”
Jesus! What did the man think? He sat around reading chick lit in his free time?
Collin chuckled. “It’s an empowering, find your own path and make your own destiny, kind of story.”
Jasper inwardly cringed. Fucking perfect! They had an angsty, follow the rainbow to your pot of gold type guiding the rebranding charge.
Collin tapped the book with his fingertips reverently. “There’s a quality to her and her writing that feels accessible. Like she could be your best friend. Like each day is a new opportunity for adventure. Like she’s always on the cusp of surprising you. It’s magical.”
Who had time for magical?
Jasper pulled his gaze from her picture. He didn’t like surprises. He liked predictability.
Man Feast (Bergen Brothers Book 2) Page 2