by Jill Sanders
The young woman’s cheeks flushed as she reached up and nervously wiped at her short bangs.
He knew the feminine equivalent of flirting and, for the next few minutes, he allowed the girl to drone on about how boring her job was.
Indeed, the phone didn’t ring the entire time he stood there, nor did he see a single soul around the massive lobby area.
“Oh.” She glanced around and leaned a little closer to him. “Did you hear the news?”
“No.” He mirrored her move and leaned closer. “What news?”
“Raven Brooks is back. I, of course, had no clue who she was until yesterday.” She shook her head and sighed. “I had no clue that she owned the resort.”
“She does?” This wasn’t surprising news to him. After all, it had been her parents that had started and owned the resort years ago. He understood that her uncle and aunt had been running the business for her over the past ten years.
“Yes, she checked in late yesterday afternoon.” Christina leaned back, then smiled a little. “She seems nice, even asked me for my…” She dropped off and looked around.
“Your…?” he asked, curious why the girl suddenly looked nervous.
“My real name,” she whispered.
His eyebrows jumped up in question. “Christina isn’t your real name?”
“No.” She shook her head. “It’s the name Mrs. Brooks, Roslyn,” she added quickly to clarify, “demanded I use. She claimed that no one was going to be able to pronounce my real name.”
“What is your real name?” he asked, curious.
“Cemal Rahim.” She glanced around again.
“It’s a beautiful name, Cemal. And suits you much more than Christina,” he added with a smile.
Her smile grew. “Thank you.”
It was then that he noticed that her normal dull attire had been replaced by a crisp pressed red button-up shirt and black slacks. He could tell that she’d put a lot more effort into her attire than she had the past few times he’d seen her.
He wondered if that was Raven’s doing as well. Was she intimidating enough to scare the girl into wearing different clothes?
“Is she around?” he asked. “Raven Brooks, I mean.” He glanced around the empty lobby.
“Oh, she’s inspecting the property today.” Cemal motioned to the long hallway that led to several offices and conference rooms.
“She is?” he asked. “Hm, I probably should go check and see if she has any concerns as far as the fire safety around here.” He stood up straight. “Happen to know which room she’s in?”
“I think she’s in Mr. Brooks's office,” Cemal said.
He turned his attention back to her. “Thank you, Cemal,” he said, earning a bright smile in return.
As he made his way down the hallway, he could hear yelling from the office when he was still fifteen feet away, even though it was shut.
When he stood right outside, he eavesdropped and heard Colin Brooks’ raised voice.
“I don’t give a damn what you think,” Colin practically screamed. “You are not coming in here after I have given this place everything in the past decade. This was my brother’s place. He may have left it to you, but I’ve run it. I’ve worked hard to make it what it is now.”
Cade glanced around at the worn-down furnishings. He knew who Colin and Roslyn Brooks were, knew their problems, as did most people in town. Colin’s many affairs and gambling debts were well known, as were Roslyn’s drinking issues. She got kicked out of the town bar on a weekly basis. Rumors were that she had a few DUIs that kept her from driving. Her husband’s money and power had apparently kept her out of jail so far.
“I’m not going to let some young girl come in here with zero experience and destroy everything I’ve worked hard on. Your father may have wanted you to own this resort, but he had no intentions of having you run it.” Colin continued to yell. “Besides, everyone in town knows you are the reason he’s dead.” Cade leaned a little closer to see if he could hear Raven’s response. Her voice was too low and soft to hear her response.
“I don’t give a shit,” Colin yelled in response to whatever she’d said. “I won’t hand over this business. You can go to hell.”
At this point, Colin heard something that had him moving quickly—a loud bang just before a woman’s yelp. Cade recognized those sounds. He knew what they meant.
He never spoke ill of his father. After all, he’d been a colonel in the military and had died for his country. But whenever the man had returned home from duty, his mother had paid the price.
Moving quickly, Cade yanked open the door and charged into the office.
Colin Brooks was standing alone on one side of the desk, face red and full of anger, his hands lying down by his sides, balled into fists.
Cade’s eyes skimmed over to where a red-haired beauty sat behind the desk, concern and confusion flooding her eyes. Raven Brooks looked nothing like what he remembered.
The woman had pale almost flawless skin, except for some soft freckles that dotted her nose. Her long red hair lay in soft curls over her shoulders, perfectly in place. She was wearing a soft white sweater that somehow made her look almost untouchable.
Her crystal blue eyes were watching him with interest and a hint of concern.
“I, uh.” He cleared his throat, unsure of what to say now that he’d just barged in, having obviously misunderstood what had transpired in the office. “Heard a bang?” he said, feeling slightly stupid.
Raven stood up and motioned to the chair. “The chair,” she said before turning to her uncle, “is broken.”
Colin Brooks sighed deeply. “We’ll finish this discussion later,” he said, then he turned and stormed out, but not before nodding to him. “Cade.”
“Brooks,” he replied. It wasn’t as if he hated the man. Cade just knew his type.
When Colin left, he slammed the door behind him, leaving Cade in the room alone with the person responsible for his brother’s death.
Cade didn’t know what to expect. If he’d had a moment to think about it, he would have said one of the millions of things he’d come up with over the years. Instead, he stood there in silence as they assessed one another.
He watched several emotions flash behind those crystal eyes of hers and knew that he was feeling much of the same. But he could easily add anger to his list, where she had none.
“Can I help you?” she finally broke the silence.
“I’m Cade…” he started.
“I know who you are,” she broke in. “What can I do for you?”
He took a step forward. “I have some questions.”
Her eyebrows arched up.
“About?” She wheeled the chair away from the desk and motioned for him to sit in one of the chairs before pushing a different chair behind the desk and sitting down.
“Ten years ago,” he finally said after she sat down in the new office chair.
She tensed, her lips going very thin and her eyes growing blank. She stood again quickly.
“I have no answers for you. I think, Mr. Stone, you’d be better off…” She motioned towards the door.
“Fire Marshal Stone,” he corrected. He may not be able to get her to answer him just because he was Reggie’s brother, but with his job title and power, he could sometimes get what he wanted.
She tilted her head and ran her eyes over him. He wished he’d chosen to wear his uniform that day. Instead, he had on his plain clothes.
“Need to see my badge?” he asked, a little clipped.
“No, I’m sure you make a wonderful fire marshal.” She sighed and moved to lean on the edge of the desk. “As I just informed my uncle, I intend to take over every aspect of the running of the resort. Today is my first official day back home, and I have a lot of work ahead of me, assessing what needs to be done around here to bring it… up to code.” She glanced towards the desk filled with stacks of paperwork. “I’d suggest we set a time to meet next week to go over any issues you ma
y have found at the resort.” She ran her eyes over him again. “If you have any issues with the resort, we can discuss them then. But let me be clear. Personally”—she stood straight again and looked down into his eyes— “I owe you nothing.”
He stood suddenly and noticed that she didn’t move back. Normally, he towered over women, but Raven was tall enough that they were almost eye to eye.
He couldn’t deny the instant pull of attraction that he’d felt the moment he’d laid eyes on her and felt disgusted at himself for the moment of weakness. Even now, he felt it and tried to focus on the challenge she’d just issued him.
“That is left to be seen,” he said finally. “I’ll have my office call and schedule a full inspection. I take it you’re planning on making some changes around here?” he asked, knowing that he could wait a little longer and maybe approach her differently to get the answers he needed.
“Yes.” She relaxed slightly. “From the looks of it, there’s a lot that needs changing.” She took a step back.
“I take it your aunt and uncle aren’t happy with the changes?”
She tilted her head slightly. “You could say that.” Then her eyes narrowed. “Are we going to have a problem?” she asked suddenly.
He thought about it. About what, legally, he could and couldn’t do. He knew that the resort had just scraped by at the last inspection almost six months ago. He expected that their business licenses were up to speed but planned on making a stop off at the city building after he left here, just to confirm it himself.
As far as his personal feelings for the woman, he knew that the entire town held Raven Brooks responsible for the fire, even though the fire marshal from back then had deemed the fire an accident.
Since taking over the job, he’d scoured over every word in the file from that fateful day and had an extensive list of questions that Jon Jacob, the fire marshal Cade had taken over for, hadn’t asked back then.
“That depends,” he answered finally.
She exhaled and then shrugged. “If you’re done trying to intimidate me”—she turned and moved to sit behind the desk again— “I have a business to run and save.” She glanced towards the door. “I think you know your way out.” She turned to the paperwork on the desk and dismissed him.
Whatever he’d believed he’d find in her, she had completely defied his expectations. The last time he’d seen her, she was an insecure teenager with extremely long thin legs and out-of-control-bright red hair. The woman who’d just dismissed him was a far cry from that girl.
There was no way her uncle was going to survive an attack and takeover from the strong-willed, powerfully intelligent woman he’d just left. He didn’t know where Raven Brooks had spent the last ten years of her life, but he was determined to find out everything he could about the beauty. And he knew just the place to start.
Chapter Three
Every revolution begins with a spark
Raven relaxed back in the chair and allowed herself to finally breath. What the hell was that? Why the hell had her heart pounded out of her chest the moment Cade Stone had stepped foot in the office?
Of course, she remembered Reggie’s older brother. What young girl growing up in Cannon Falls ten years ago wouldn’t? If she’d believed Reggie to be the boy of her dreams, then Cade, his older brother had always been the man of them.
Even back when she’d been nothing but a pre-teen watching him play sports, she’d dreamed of him. Oh sure, as far as looks went, Reggie and Cade had been comparable. They both had thick dark hair, a strong firm jawline, and were well over six foot tall. That counted for a lot in Raven’s book since she was taller than most girls and towered over many men at five foot nine inches. But where they really differed was their eyes. Cade had those smoldering eyes that hinted at what lay beneath—pure, unadulterated sex appeal.
There was no woman alive that could fight against it. Even someone who had sworn off the possibility years ago.
Shaking off the sudden urge to rip the man’s clothes off and see what was underneath, she went back to work.
Her uncle had been less than enthusiastic about giving her access to the accounts. Even now, she had to hunt through his desk to find the business card for the accountant that ran the resort’s books, Joseph Ramsey. She vaguely remembered the man being always around when her father ran the resort.
When he answered the phone, she quickly jumped in.
“Mr. Ramsey, this is Raven Brooks.” She waited a beat.
“Raven?” The man sounded excited. “My little bird?”
She smiled at the man’s nickname for her. “Yes.”
“Well, how have you been? What are you up to?” he asked quickly.
“I’m back at the resort and hoping you can shed some light on where things stand.”
He was silent for a beat. “I’d love to help you out, little bird, but I haven’t looked at those books since your father passed.”
“You haven’t?” She sat forward and frowned down at his business card in her hand.
“Not since your uncle took over and hired the new company to oversee everything.”
“Do you happen to know what company that is?” she asked.
“Sure do.” His voice changed slightly as if he had a secret. “Um, it’s Roche Accounting Firm.”
She frowned. “I haven’t heard of it.”
“It was fairly new when they took over the books. Um, I can get you their number.” She waited and wrote the name and number he supplied her on the back of his business card.
“So, you’re back? Is it for good?” Joseph asked.
“Yes, I’ve taken over from my uncle.”
“You have?” He sounded surprised. “How’s Colin taking the news?”
“As you’d expect,” she said with a sigh. “Listen, Joe, I don’t know what my uncle’s agreement with the new firm is, but I’d sure like someone I trust, someone my father trusted, to take a look at the numbers. Think you can spare some time?”
“Sure thing, anything for my little bird. Besides, I owe your dad. He’s the only reason I was able to survive all those years and start my own business. He and I were best friends back in the day.”
“It’s why you were the first call I made,” she said with a smile.
“Well now you went and did it.” The man sniffled. “How does tomorrow sound?”
“Sounds wonderful. I’ll see what I can get from Roche.” She said goodbye and hung up.
She didn’t get as far with the next call, which went directly to an answering service. Still, she left her name and cell number in hopes that Morgan Roche, owner of Roche Accounting Firm, would give her a call back.
Next, she’d called the maintenance company that worked on the ski lifts. They claimed that the last time they’d inspected or maintained the five lifts on the property was almost four years ago.
Raven was completely shocked that her uncle would let the resort fall into such disrepair. After all, if any of the lifts broke during ski season, god forbid, someone could be seriously injured or killed. After scheduling a full maintenance overhaul on all the equipment, she moved on to her next call.
She’d taken her time talking with the owner of the landscape company, All Things Green, and giving him an idea of what she wanted. Jake Green had immediately jumped at the chance of such a big job. They were scheduled to come first thing in the morning to mow, weed, and edge, with basic maintenance scheduled to begin up again the following day. She’d also arranged to meet Jake and his crew first thing in the morning to discuss improvements they could make to the grounds.
After the calls, she logged onto her laptop and scoured a couple of business outfit sites for new uniforms for the bellboys and front office staff. Moments later, her cousin barged into the room.
“So, it’s true.” Liza Brooks hadn’t changed much. Her cousin was still petite, blonde, and perfect, right down to her heeled Gucci leather boots.
“Hi, Liza.” Raven stood up and moved over to air kis
s her cousin. She jerked away slightly.
“Daddy tells me you’re kicking us out?” Liza said, crossing her hands over her chest, which sent the massive collection of silver bracelets on both of her arms jingling.
“What?” Raven frowned. “Kicking you out?” She shook her head.
“Oh, don’t tell me you don’t know that we’re all housed on the top floor of the east wing.”
This was news to her. The last she’d heard, the house her aunt and uncle had owned at the time of the fire was still standing.
“Liza, I just got into town last night.” She sat on the edge of her father’s old desk. “I haven’t had time to learn anything, let alone decide what I’m going to do.”
“You aren’t kicking us out?” Liza asked with a slight pout.
Raven realized that she shouldn’t make promises, not when it could be true that her family was taking up an entire floor of the resort. A floor which, if everything went as she planned, she would need the income from.
“Why don’t you sit down, fill me in on what you’ve been doing?” Raven moved to sit behind the desk again and motioned to the chair. “Did you finish school?”
Liza glanced at the door and then shrugged before plopping down in the chair, much like a young child would have.
“No, I went to acting school in Hollywood for a year, but…” She shook her head, sending her blonde locks flying. “It wasn’t for me. They couldn’t teach me anything I didn’t already have the natural talent for or the knowledge.”
Of course, Raven thought to herself. Her cousin always did have a talent for being dramatic, overly so.
“What about Cal?” she asked.
“Oh, he’s around somewhere.” Liza shrugged.
Cal Brooks was a lot like his sister. Completely in love with himself.
“Is he back from school then?” she asked.
Liza waved her hand. “He never went. Not after he got all of those modeling gigs.”
“Oh?” Raven tried to maintain her patience. “Modeling?”
“Sure.” Liza sat forward slightly. “A few local shops, then that gig in LA.” She shrugged. “There’s no doubt that soon he’ll have agents knocking down his door.”