by Cross, Daryn
“I met Gerald Brooks. He has given both Zack Graham and me the same challenge. Sort of. We have to come up with a new product and roll it out in two weeks. You and I have to get on this immediately. It’s actually fortunate I have to stay here. It makes it easier since this is going to be so intense. Sort of like a marathon. We’ll probably be working night and day.”
Gretta closed her eyes and turned bright red.
“Are you okay, honey? You don’t look well.”
“Just peachy,” she mumbled. “I’m just so frickin’ surprised about this opportunity. I guess you could say I’m over…whelmed with emotion. I can’t even manage to explain how I feel.” She clenched her fists at her side.
“I knew you’d feel that way.” Crandall hugged her, noticing Gretta’s body shook with restrained excitement. Little dear was on the verge of tears she was so happy. “By the way, where is your guest room?”
****
Zack sat in front of computer screen staring at the list they’d been working on. “Something’s missing here, Mike. An ingredient, that delight factor, I don’t know exactly what it is.”
Mike flipped his phone shut as he walked across the room, his jaw pulsing. Damn if the guy wasn’t more worked up over this than he was. He knew his cousin really had a lot invested in this company but hadn’t realized until now what a large part of himself he’d invested in it. He frowned as Mike stayed silent. “What’s wrong? Have you discovered we’ve already made a mistake?”
“Yeah, I would say so,” he said.
“What is it?” Zack asked. “Is it the coating or the salt that’s causing the problem?”
Mike’s head jerked up. “Oh, I’m sorry boss. I just finished talking to Gretta. She’s a little upset right now.”
“What seems to be the problem?” Zack stared at the screen and frowned at the mock-up. “Is it personal or business?”
“Oh,” he said, “I think a little of both.”
“She didn’t have a death in the family did she?”
“No,” Mike said, his head jerking. “I’d say she’s gained a family member. At least, she has someone staying with her.”
“Someone’s freeloading?” Zack chuckled. “Some people just don’t get a hint. Why can’t people realize when others need some time by themselves?”
“Isn’t that the truth?” He collapsed in a chair.
“Okay, put her troubles behind you and concentrate on ours. Not troubles, that is, but our challenges. This is huge, and I’ll be damned if a woman, even if she is a looker and sexy as hell, is going to walk off with international honors and leave us holding the proverbial empty cookie bag. So think. How do we make a snack that stays fresh, tastes great, but keeps you thin?”
“That sounds like sex,” Mike said.
Zack sat back with a grin. “I can always count on you for a good laugh. As you know, Brooks’ deceased wife hated our last campaign. Actually told him we were chauvinists. Can you imagine she’d think that?”
“Just her and the whole WODC. Poor deluded females.”
“Sex worked for me. Still does. But this time I’m sure you’ll take great strides to make sure we keep sex out of it.”
“Yeah,” Mike said with a nod. “I think you can safely bet this project will make sure that happens.”
Chapter Six
“Gretta, get off my back.” Tom winced as she screamed into his cell phone. “Okay, I understand I don’t know what it’s like to have a maniacal robot staying with me who refuses to sleep, drinks coffee all day and doesn’t eat anything that isn’t organic.”
He ground his teeth as she went on. If she didn’t take a breath pretty soon, the woman was going to pass out. “No I didn’t plan on making Mike deal with a guy who had sandwiches delivered at the same time as pillows and blankets. I can’t control people. They have free will.”
He rolled his eyes as she started up again like a sputtering lawn mower engine. “I know Magic has a plan. I don’t always know all the pieces of the plan. I thought they were staying on the island for a while. How was I to know they were going back home after two days?”
He nodded as she continued to scream in his ear. He held the phone away from him. After a few minutes when he couldn’t hear screaming he put the phone back to his ear. “Are you through now? Good. No, not good. I’m sorry your throat hurts. Okay, Gretta. Yes, you’re right. Magic does know everything, but I don’t. He didn’t tell me how things were going to play out. All I know is I stay on the island except for short jaunts to do things in weird places across country. But this whole thing concludes on Isle Imaginique.”
He frowned. “I don’t think you really want me to tell Magic that.” Tom sighed as he closed his phone. Maybe she did. He swallowed hard. He’d never have enough nerve to speak to Magic like that, even if he were delivering a message. Whew, that little woman was charged up, and Gretta wasn’t pretty when she was mad. He shrugged. Oh well, on to Intervention Number Two. He sat on the bed in the tiny little motel and frowned. Not as nice as the island, but this is what he had for now.
He looked down at his sheet of instructions and laughed. “Nothing like playing the part of an innkeeper.” The guy who ran the joint had been more than pleased he’d rented out the whole place. And even more pleased when he’d handed Tom the keys for the next three days. Now, on to business. According to the sheet Magic gave him, he was to rent one room, and one room only, to the couple who walked in the door. Okay, now I know it has to be Zack and Crandall, just didn’t know they weren’t coming here from the island until now. He sighed. He’d never convince Gretta otherwise.
****
Crandall stared at all the information in her portfolio and smiled. It just went to show what a few people could do when under the gun on a deadline. The new pretzel treat, The Rainbow Twister, was an amazing feat. Every half inch tasted like a different flavor, but when eaten in one large mouthful, the flavors, mostly fruits with chocolate and caramel thrown in for good measure, were wonderful, especially when paired with their patented salt glaze. But the best part was the low fat content and the use of artificial sweetener instead of sugar. Not to mention the long shelf life. What wasn’t to love?
She chuckled. A different taste for each different type of person. Salty and sweet at the same time. Still crunchy but also soft bread. It even came in under the two hundred calorie mark. Not bad. Let’s see you beat that one, Mr. Graham. Just thinking about him made her hands shake. She concentrated on turning her wandering thoughts into righteous indignation.
Right now, letting her thoughts drift to anything but business was dangerous. She was faced with the hideous task of keeping Washington at bay. If her profits dropped too much more, the stockholders might entertain a change. She’d not considered he was a true threat before. But after this morning…
She leaned back in the cab and sighed. If only she could be driving herself. She hated cab rides, especially when it had to drive her a hundred miles. It seemed Tinytown, Tennessee was true to its name. It also didn’t help it was in the mountains. She thought she’d lose her stomach on that last twisting road up the side of a sheer rock trail.
As they turned around the last u-curve, she let out a gasp as a gorgeous valley lay hidden in this small indentation between mountain ranges. “It’s breathtaking.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the cabbie said. “Yer the second customer who said that today.”
She cocked her head, “Someone else took a cab ride in here?”
He nodded. “We’ve been real busy, Terrence and me. He’s my brother. This here’s the busiest weekend of this whole year. Fiddler’s Convention. Draws people nigh five hundred miles and even further for folks who fly in like you did.”
She frowned as she grabbed the back of his seat. “The man who suggested we meet here, he said I could find a room, no trouble. Didn’t need a reservation.”
“Yep.” He nodded. “That’s true every other weekend. But not this one.”
“You mean there aren’t
any rooms?” Her heart began to pound in her chest.
“Maybe one ma’am.” He smiled in the rear view mirror. “One guy gave me some flyers. Said he had a couple of rooms left if anybody was interested. Probably won’t be cheap.”
She grabbed the paper from him and sank back in the seat. “Hootin’ Holler Motel. Right.” She closed her eyes and dug her nails into her arm. “Just drive me over there.”
****
“What do you mean Brooks isn’t here yet and is just coming in tomorrow for the challenge?” Zack stared at the exterior of the motel in disgust as he talked to Mike on his phone. “Who would set up a challenge in Podunk, USA and then not be here in advance of the launch?”
He rubbed his forehead. “Yeah, I guess it is a rhetorical question. So, film crews, the works come with him?” he smirked. “The guy has a tour bus and sleeps on it.” Zack bit back a curse. “Two tour buses. Right. Okay, got the message.”
He counted to ten before he continued to speak. It was an exercise he’d been practicing to calm his raging blood pressure. Jerking his head up and plastering on a smile, he spoke back into the phone. “How about the triple cream salty surprise cakes, have our boxes arrived? What do you mean you’re not sure? I see, Brooks is supposed to be in receipt but you lost his signal. Wonderful, this is going so smoothly. If you don’t mind, I’m signing off so I can scream.”
Fighting back the urge to pitch his cell phone across the parking lot, Zack got out of his cab and handed the man his tip. “Terrence, it’s not your fault. Just poor planning.”
The guy grinned exposing two missing teeth. “Thanks, Mr. Graham. Hope your snack cake wins.”
Zack forced a smile. “Come by and vote. And pray the cakes really are here.”
The guy nodded as he pulled off. As he did, another cab pulled in behind him.
In amusement, Zack watched as Crandall emerged from the back and paid her driver. When her long legs reached out of the cab, he’d licked his lips. Oh yeah, he’d even dreamed about them. Once standing, she turned, and stopped in her tracks.
He smiled and waved. “It seems you have the same problem I do?”
She started to turn and walk away, then stopped. After all, where was she going to go? She faced him again and nodded. “At least I’m wearing flats with my slacks. Otherwise I’d sink it this gravel parking lot.”
“Is that what this is?’ His gaze circled the space. “There aren’t any cars here except that old Mustang. I thought it might be a satellite lot during the week. This is Sunday evening.”
She laughed. “Right, this town obviously has dreadful rush hour traffic.”
He chuckled. Thank the Lord she finally eased up, if only a little. “You have a point. I guess we’ll just have to go and see if this place really does have rooms.”
Inside the “proprietor’s office” a man with a cap pushed down on his head sat in a chair watching a small television set. He turned as they entered. “Good, last couple. Now I can turn in and go back to my room.”
Crandall let out an audible gasp. “What do you mean? We’re not a couple. We need two rooms.”
“Whoops.” He scratched his ear. “Hate to break this to you. There’s only one room left.”
“It’s a joke right? Are we on film?” Zack turned in the space, searching for view cams. “Look, fella, there aren’t any cars out there,” he said, pointing toward the parking lot. “We can’t share a room. Believe me when I tell you it’s a way-bad idea.”
The guy shrugged. “Can’t help the fact the guy rented all but one room. Said he and his folks would be arriving middle of the night.”
Zack leaned closer, squinting. “You look awfully familiar. Have we met?”
The man pushed the hat further down on his head. “Doubt it unless you’ve been to these parts before. Which I doubt, if you’re looking for a room today.”
“Yeah, you have a point.” Zack grunted as he stared over at Crandall. Her eyes were wide with anger and a tiny gleam of what looked like fear. “Crandall, there’s no big deal in sharing a room. That’s all it is, sharing. Two beds, not one. There are two beds aren’t there?” He glanced back at the guy.
The man nodded. “Yep. But one has a broken leg.”
He cleared his throat and held his fist in his other hand to keep it from going through the closest wall. “I can pull the mattress off and sleep on the floor. It’s only one night.” If I live from the desire to race across the room and ravish her.
She shook her head shaking, her hands fisted at her sides. “It’s two. We have to wait until the second day until the results are in.”
He blew out a sharp breath. “I’ll make it if you’re willing to try.”
She nodded, arms crossed and her eyes refusing to meet his. “Okay, I guess we have no choice.”
He turned back to the clerk. “How much for the room?”
“One twenty.”
He chuckled. “A dollar twenty? You’re kidding right?”
The guy shook his head. “One hundred and twenty dollars times two nights. Two forty, pal.”
****
“Did you find any food?” Crandall asked, as Zack returned to the room.
He frowned as he carried the bag over to a rickety old table at the front of the space. “There’s a hole-in-the wall convenience store about a half mile down the road. All it really had was junk food.”
“Nothing organic?” she asked, feeling like she might hyperventilate at any moment.
He shook his head. “Nothing identifiable, much less organic. The best I could do was two chicken fried steak sandwiches from the cashier’s grandmother’s kitchen, or so he said, and two sweet teas.”
She choked as the smell of fried food met her nostrils. “I haven’t eaten anything but baked or steamed in ten years.”
“Welcome to the south.” He smirked.
Her stomach growled savagely. She placed her hand over it. “Oh dear. I’m so sorry. I forgot to eat breakfast and then I missed lunch with plane transfers.”
He chuckled. “I haven’t had anything to eat either. If this is anything better than dog food, I’m eating it. It doesn’t smell bad once you get used to it.”
She stared at the sandwich. “What is a chicken fried steak? This looks like chicken fried chicken except it’s flat.”
He nodded. “I asked the guy. He stared at me like I was from another planet. It seems it’s a ground steak that is battered and fried in the same way as chicken. That little cup I gave you is gravy.”
“Good,” she said, “Maybe it will help drown the stuff.” She pulled of the lid. “Zack, it’s white and it’s real thick.”
“He called it milk gravy.”
She placed the lid back on it. “Wallpaper paste. I’ll just go with the meat, or whatever it really is.”
About an hour later, they sat at the table with all the containers empty. “The milk gravy wasn’t all that bad once you got over the grease taste.” Crandall patted her stomach. “At least my stomach’s not making noises anymore.”
He nodded. “The meat wasn’t too tough after I figured out how to bite into it. At least I’m full.”
“Well,” she said. “I guess I’ll go take a shower.” She stared back at an open doorway. “I assume they have one over there?”
He nodded. “That’s it. Haven’t tried the water pressure though.”
As she bent to take her carry-all into the bathroom, she stared directly into Zack’s green eyes and felt her bones turn to mush. “I’m sorry you have to spend the night in this room with me.”
His eyes closed halfway, long, dark lashes shielding the color of his eyes. “Oh, I’m not sure I’m half as sorry as I should be.”
At a loss for words, she grabbed the bag. “Don’t you dare come in this bathroom.” She scurried in, closing the door behind her. Leaning back on it, her breath came in long gulps. Lord, please give me the strength to stay calm and not give into my irresistible urge to jump his bones.
Quickly she reach
ed in the shower and turned on the water. Letting it run for a minute, she tossed off her clothes and held out a hand to feel the water pressure. Nice and hot. Then again, maybe she should make it cold. Tossing that thought aside in favor of creature comfort, she stepped under the spray.
As she massaged shampoo into her hair, she thought about his massaging her shoulders the same way. Not just her shoulders but across her breasts, her nipples. Between her legs. She shivered, despite the temperature of the water. Jeez, how had her mind wandered in this direction in such a short time?
As she got ready to rinse out the shampoo, the lights flickered. Even with her eyes closed, she could tell the difference. Okay that was just once. She winced as they went out a second time, her eyes burning as a little soap got in her right eye. She brushed at the soap, silently praying they wouldn’t go off three times because when they did go out it would be … Blackness engulfed her. She sighed. Yep, three times they went out for good.
Isn’t this just hunky-dory?
At least the water still ran, but better hurry up before it went cold. In total darkness, bending under the showerhead to get the remaining soap out of her hair, she felt for the side of the shower stall. Once the soap had rinsed off, she groped her way to the front and felt outside for the towel on the counter. Where was the blasted thing? There, her hand met terry cloth. She grabbed it, letting it drape down and began to dry off. Stepping out cautiously, her foot hit the mat. One down. As her other foot joined it, something ran over the first one.
Screaming at glass-breaking pitch, she hopped from foot to foot, and lost her balance, slipping on the mat and falling to the floor. The towel fell out of her hands and plopped on the floor somewhere out of her reach. Crandall’s breath came in gulps, realizing her whole unclad body was now in vermin territory. The damned things were probably waiting to scurry all over her like some horror movie right off late night TV. By the thousands in regiments. She was mortified of mice. Damned thing that had attacked her was probably a rat. Jumping to her feet in fear, she bumped into the toilet. Thank God. Quickly, she climbed on top. Now what did she do? Wait for the lights to come back on?