Soon after that, everything changed. The motorcycles were put into storage, and Tate’s schedule became more regimented. Looking back, his father was probably tightening his grip on him because he was afraid he’d lose him, too. Unfortunately, by placing so much pressure on him, Tate’s dad had driven him away.
“God, I missed those summers in your garage,” Gavin said.
“Me, too.” They’d all been so innocent. He and Gavin had hero-worshipped Rob, hanging on his every word. Rob was the reason Tate loved to ride his bike in the first place. It made him feel close to the brother who’d been taken away from him too soon.
“All these new changes are going to ruin my summer plans.”
Tate pulled himself from his memories and tried to focus on the present. “What can they do, exactly? They can’t stop people from dating.”
“No, but they can make things more difficult.” Gavin shook his head. “Whatever they have planned, it won’t be good. Everyone will be on high alert until this business with the lawsuit blows over. I’ll have to drive into the city to have my nightly fun.” He frowned.
“What’s so wrong with that?” Tate asked.
“City girls will stick around. I prefer the resort guests. After a few days of fun, we go our separate ways. There aren’t any expectations, you know?” He stood and stretched his muscles. “If I wanted to be tied down, I would have stayed at home in Texas.”
Tate snorted and stood as well. “Amen to that.”
Tate didn’t know what he’d do without Gavin. They had left home to explore life, Gavin as a chef and Tate in construction. While they weren’t always together, they’d always stayed in touch, thanks to the internet. When the situation allowed, one of them always tried to find work for the other close by, so that they could hang out.
That was how Tate had ended up working on this island in the first place.
Gavin glanced at his watch. “As much as I’d love to sit here and talk about the good old days, the meeting is about to start. I’ve got to run. Don’t forget about Alex. He’s waiting.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Tate waved Gavin off and sighed as the door to the trailer closed behind him. No rest for the weary. His fantasizing would have to wait.
…
Zoe glanced at her watch once more as her coworkers continued to file into the large conference room. Gavin should have been here by now. She briefly wondered if something was wrong, then remembered that he often had emergencies of some type or another with the kitchen staff. Most of the time, she didn’t mind that he was late. But today was different. At the beginning of the week, Carrie had sent a company-wide email, informing the staff of the circumstances surrounding Natasha’s departure and insinuating there would be some type of official policy change coming soon.
No one knew what new policy Carrie and the legal department had in mind, but people weren’t afraid to guess. Their opinions had made Zoe nervous, especially considering her relationship with Tate. While Gavin knew she was seeing someone, he didn’t know who. But they’d discussed at length what this potential policy change could mean for her relationship and his string of one-night stands. While he was okay with going off the resort to find his fun, Zoe’s situation was a bit more complicated…and a bit more serious, at least, to her.
People come and go all the time on the island, Zoe, Gavin had told her. That’s why I love flirting with the guests so much. A few days of fun, and then they go home. After that, our relationship becomes nothing more than a pleasant memory.
His words had felt like a punch in the gut. Zoe had never thought about what might happen after the wedding was over. Of course, Tate would leave and move on to his next project. In fact, just last night he had mentioned that he had some business to settle in Texas after the wedding. Any reasonable person couldn’t expect their relationship to last when there was an ocean between them.
Somehow, the thought of Tate not being around anymore didn’t sit well with Zoe. She had grown used to their romps by the spring, and not just for the incredible sex. He made her laugh, and though he hadn’t shared much about his life outside of the island, they had grown close. She didn’t know if she’d be able to cope with the stresses in her life if he went away.
“Sorry I’m late,” Gavin said, taking the empty seat beside her. “I lost track of time.”
“Where have you been?”
Gavin shrugged. “We got a few shipments in, down at the docks. I’ve been making sure that everything gets where it needs to be.”
“Do you know if the wood came in for the chapel? Tate said it should be here any day now.” If it did, that would be amazing. They could be ahead of schedule by the end of the week.
“No, not yet, but I wouldn’t worry about it. I’m sure he has something up his sleeve.” Her pleasure must have shown on her face, because Gavin smirked at her.
“You two have been spending a lot of time together.”
Red flags went off in Zoe’s head. While Gavin was a good friend, she wasn’t sure if she was ready to tell him about Tate. What she and Tate shared seemed personal, and after everything that happened with Natasha, Freddie, and the pool shed, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to put their relationship out there.
That is, if they even had a relationship. She wasn’t sure what she had with Tate, only that it was special. She knew that Gavin, with his string of one-night stands, wouldn’t understand that, and she didn’t want him to spoil what she and Tate shared.
“We’ve had to spend a lot of time together. We’ve got a chapel to finish, remember?”
“After work hours?” He flashed her a knowing look. “I saw you two go off on his motorcycle the other night.”
“We needed a break,” she hedged.
“I bet.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He held up his hands in mock surrender. “Nothing. Nothing at all.” He turned toward the front of the room as Carrie walked to the podium with several people from the legal department following close behind. “I’m just glad that you decided to take my advice and have a little fun, that’s all.”
“We’re not—”
“Honey, you forget—I know you, and what you’ve been going through with this wedding. It’s good to see you let loose and relax a little.” He leaned in close and lowered his voice. “Just be careful. You are the type of woman who throws her whole heart into something. Only Tate and I aren’t the kind of guys who want to be tied down. I’d hate to see you get hurt.”
“How do you know Tate isn’t—?”
Carrie cleared her throat and greeted the room, cutting off Zoe’s question. “As many of you know, I have been working at this resort since it was first built over a decade ago. I started out at the front desk, then worked my way up, taking advantage of several opportunities, until I am what you see before you today. It was a long and difficult road, but one I enjoyed because I always believed in this company and the people who worked here. There was a certain…ethical standard and polish in the services we provided, and it was our professionalism and attention to detail that had customers coming back for our services time and again.” She took a dramatic pause and glanced around the room before continuing. “In all of my years of service, not once have I been embarrassed or ashamed about how we conducted business on this site—until now.”
The entire room fell into an uncomfortable silence. As Carrie went through the usual opening introductions—outlining what happened without naming names or giving details—Zoe’s mind began to wander. Was her relationship with Tate becoming serious? She had to admit that she looked forward to their meetings at the end of the day. She loved that he cared about what she had to say and how she felt. She also loved how her stress seemed to melt away whenever he was around. But…
Her stress, her troubles… Zoe realized that whenever they got together, they would always talk about her. While Tate knew a lot about her family and her life at the resort, she still knew almost nothing about him. She wondered if G
avin was right, and Tate considered her nothing more than a pleasant distraction. If that was true, then he would most likely leave once the chapel was finished. Then they’d never see each other again.
Her heart ached at the thought of Tate leaving. She hated to admit it, but she had grown rather attached to him over the past several days, so attached that she had started to see them as a couple. They had never talked about officially dating, however, and she wondered if there might be some truth to Gavin’s words.
“And as a result of this incident, we have been forced to amend our rules about employee fraternization,” Carrie said, drawing Zoe’s attention back to the moment. “From this day forward, no one is to engage in physical relations with a guest, staff member, or anyone connected to the resort, on resort property. Doing so will result in immediate dismissal. Are there any questions?”
Zoe exchanged a glance with Gavin, who looked a little uncomfortable.
“Yes.” Carrie nodded to someone in the front row.
“There is a rumor that the mother of the child is suing us,” someone said.
Carrie glanced at the group from legal, then leaned forward toward the microphone. “We aren’t at liberty to discuss anything more about the incident than has already been said.”
A tall, blond man walked up to Carrie and whispered into her ear. Then she leaned back toward the microphone and spoke. “And if you see any reporters around asking questions, don’t answer them. Instead direct them toward one of us.” She glanced around the room. “Anything else?”
Zoe felt a squeezing in her chest as her boss’s words sank in. While Zoe understood that they couldn’t have guests walking in on staff members doing the wild thing, the definition of physical relations was rather broad. Someone could interpret that as hand holding, or even flirting.
“Since there are no more questions, you are dismissed.” Carrie held up her hand as people started to stand. “But before you go, remember that you are an employee of this resort, and as such, will need to act professionally at all times. Customers always come first here, and we must do everything we can to make them happy.”
“Damn, I’m going to have to rethink my entire dating strategy,” Gavin mumbled as everyone started to file out of the room. He turned to Zoe. “What are you going to do?”
“Do?”
“You know.” He nudged her arm. “About Tate.”
It looked like the cat was out of the bag. But that was the least of her worries. She wasn’t the only one impacted by this. If they got caught, Tate could lose his job as well. The burden of not only losing her livelihood, but causing Tate to lose his, weighed heavy on her shoulders.
And yet, the thought of ending her nights with Tate made her uneasy as well. She enjoyed the intimacy they shared. She had come to rely on his adventurous spirit to help her de-stress. With him, she’d found herself again.
She nibbled her lower lip in thought. “I don’t know, Gavin. We try to keep things off the resort, but it’s hard. The more time we spend together, the more our relationship spills over onto the construction site.” She shook her head and sighed.
“But you don’t want to end things,” Gavin said, guessing her thoughts.
“No.”
“You’re attached, I can tell.”
“I guess I am,” Zoe admitted.
“Maybe you should see if he is attached, too.”
“He’s not.”
“How do you know?”
“He’s never once indicated that he might stay after the wedding is over. In fact, he told me last night that once he’s done here, he’s going to Texas.” She looked down at her hands in her lap. “That doesn’t sound like someone who wants to stay, does it?”
Gavin frowned. “Not exactly, but—”
Zoe felt a vibration in her pocket. “Hold that thought.” Sliding out her phone, she glanced at the screen and saw that she had a text from Tate.
Just finished cleaning up from the site. I’ve got some good news and we need to celebrate. Meet me in the lobby in five?
“I have to go.” She flashed Gavin an apologetic look. “Sorry.”
“Maybe we should talk a little more before—”
“Later.” She gave him a quick hug. “Thanks for being such a good friend.” She stood and left the conference room before Gavin could ask any more questions. She didn’t want to talk to him about this. It was too personal, and she needed time to process all of this new information. Unfortunately, she was already running late.
As she hurried across the resort to the main lobby, she thought about her mother and how much she needed this job to keep her at that facility. Somehow over the past several days she had lost her focus and put her own needs above everyone else. After what happened to Natasha, she knew that keeping her relationship with Tate would mean engaging in risky behavior that would put everything she had worked for in jeopardy. There was too much at stake to keep going down this road, especially when Tate would be leaving in a few weeks. Perhaps it was better to end things now, before she got in over her head.
Zoe stepped into the lobby and saw Tate standing by the doors, looking casual, carefree, and as handsome as ever. Her heart skipped a beat, just like it always did when she first saw him.
She was already in over her head, she realized. Somehow, over the past several days, she had moved beyond just liking the physical release he gave her every night. She liked almost everything about him—the sparkle in his eye when he came up with a new idea, and the knowing grin he had when she admitted (grudgingly) that he was right about some small point. She liked how she could confide in him about her mother, and how he knew that she liked her morning coffee with cream, no sugar.
Their relationship had moved well beyond the physical. And that was a problem. It was far better to nip this in the bud before things got any more serious. She couldn’t lose this job, not for this, not for anything. There were far more important things at stake.
She just hoped that she had the willpower to do what needed to be done.
Chapter Eight
Tate could hardly wait for tonight. His foreman, Alex, had told him about a guy who was doing renovations on a set of exclusive condos he rented out on the other side of the island. As part of those renovations, he had imported a large amount of sandalwood, intending to build new furniture for the elaborate condos with it. The man had some wood to spare and was willing to part with it for an exorbitant price, but Tate didn’t think Zoe or Sadie would mind. At last they could begin building. While there wouldn’t be enough wood to build a chapel, he could at least make the small altar Sadie wanted.
No more sitting around and waiting. He could pick up the wood tomorrow, and after a quick phone call, had even worked an overnight in one of the luxury condos into the deal. It was a reason to celebrate, and Tate couldn’t wait to do just that with Zoe tonight.
“We got in a small shipment of sandalwood,” Tate said, grinning as she approached. He knew that he was beaming like a kid on Christmas morning, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. “It isn’t a lot, and I had to pay a premium for it, but now we can finally start building that altar Sadie wanted.”
“That’s great.” She didn’t smile, didn’t congratulate him or throw her arms around his neck like he had hoped. Instead, she shoved her hands in her pockets and averted her gaze.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “I thought you’d be thrilled. This was what you wanted, wasn’t it?”
“It was, I mean it is.” She rubbed her temple. “I’m sorry. I just had a really bad day.”
He thought about what Gavin said earlier about a company-wide meeting and some policy change. “Anything you want to talk about?”
She took in a deep breath and let it out before speaking. “Ever know that you needed to do something for your own good, but didn’t want to do it?”
“Sometimes it’s better to pull off the Band-Aid,” he said. “It might hurt at first, but if it would be better for you in the long run…”
“Hold on a minute.” He grabbed her arm as she turned to go. “What are you talking about?”
Tears stung her eyes as she turned back to him. “I just came from a meeting where we were told that we were forbidden to fraternize on resort property.”
“But we never stay on resort property.”
“Never? What about our first night?”
“That was different.”
She shook her head. “We’re already flirting at the construction site and kissing in the parking lot. It’s only a matter of time before one of my coworkers sees us and says something.”
“Not if we’re careful—or creative.” He narrowed his gaze as her words drifted through his mind. Ever know that you needed to do something for your own good, but didn’t want to do it? She wanted to see him, but felt forced to break things off. There had to be more to it than some decree from a resort executive. It was too easy to adjust their relationship to abide by the new rule. No, something else was causing her to break up with him, and Tate was determined to find out what it was.
“What’s this really about?” he asked.
Secret Games (Tropical Temptation) Page 7