Bunny Hills and Bikinis

by Heather Thurmeier

  Jim whistled through his teeth. “Possessive, huh? This is a new you.”

  “Not possessive. I just know you.”

  Jim shook his head. “Here I come to help you out with the workshop and this is the thanks I get. Next time I guess I’ll just let you fail all on your own.”

  Now it makes sense.

  “I get it now. You’re here because you didn’t want to head office to realize I didn’t need you to do a great workshop. You’re here for the promotion.”

  “Took you long enough to figure that out. Of course I am. Why would I let you snag the promotion I’ve been working for just because I got a stupid cold? This promotion is mine and I’m not going to let you steal it away from me while I’m sick.”

  “I’ve earned this promotion just as much as you have. Don’t think for a second that the head office will see you as a martyr because you came to the workshop sick. I’m still the one who’ll score the best evaluations from the attendees this weekend. I’m still the one they’re going to remember.”

  Jim shrugged. “The weekend isn’t over yet.” He turned and walked away without another word.

  “Shit.” Nate swore under his breath. This wasn’t what he needed right now. He’d been doing great here on his own and that promotion had finally been a real possibility. But not anymore, not with Jim here to put a kink in his plans.

  Nate pulled out the nearest chair and sat at one of the workshop tables. He rested his head in his hands, rubbing his forehead with his eyes closed. What was he going to do now?

  He should have seen this coming. He should have known that after bragging about what a great job he’d done in the first day of the workshop that Jim wouldn’t just let that slide. Nate should have kept his big bragging mouth shut.

  He shouldn’t have gotten caught up with Amelia either, but it was too late now. He was in too deep to simply forget about her. No. He had to find a way to both get his promotion and keep the girl who intrigued him so much, but how?

  He needed to talk to Amelia now and tell her what was going on before she got hurt. He couldn’t risk getting distracted right now. If he did that, Jim was sure to snag that promotion.

  * * *

  Nate walked around the conference room as everyone filtered in after their lunch. He watched for Amelia, but he hadn’t seen her since before the break. Maybe she’ll be in a better mood now.

  When he’d first seen her this morning she’d been full of smiles and suggestive winks but then all that changed. The rest of the morning she’d moped through the workshop exercises. She’d seemed disinterested or distracted somehow, but he wasn’t sure if it was just from being tired or if there was something more going on with her.

  When they’d gotten into groups to work on some team building activities, the other groups had done a lot of laughing and joking around at the silliness of the exercise. He’d seen William with a smile on his face the entire time—a really obnoxious smile at that—but every time he’d looked at Amelia, she seemed like she was in another world. He was a little concerned that their night spent together could have something to do with it—and that worried him more than he was willing to admit, even to himself.

  Coming back from the lunch break was a good time to chat with everyone individually and hopefully he’d get the chance to talk with her too. Maybe he could get her away from the others for even a few seconds of privacy. He wanted to make sure she was okay and he needed to explain to her about work.

  He waited by the door for her to come back from lunch, twisting the worksheet in his hand into a tight tube. He had to be careful and wait for the right moment so he wouldn’t accidentally draw attention to the fact that there was more to his relationship with Amelia than just presenter and attendee.

  He didn’t know if he’d get in trouble if anyone ever found out about them or not. It wasn’t the first time a presenter hooked up with a workshop attendee. But it was his first time and he didn’t want to risk anything getting in the way of his promotion. Not that it meant Amelia wasn’t important to him. He’d wager that she currently ranked higher on his priority list than getting a promotion did, but he still had to eat and that meant having a job—preferably a better one with more interesting locations and workshops to conduct.

  But where was she?

  William came back from lunch with an even bigger smile on his face than earlier. What was that about?

  For the last two days, William had participated but seemed like his thoughts were somewhere else while his body sat in the workshop and went through the motions. Today was different. Today he had a stupid grin plastered on his face and a new skip in his step—almost as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

  Nate wasn’t sure he liked this new William. It seemed like there was something odd about him, but Nate just couldn’t put his finger on why.

  Just then he noticed Amelia walk into the conference room and head directly to the coffee table, which had been replenished with new drinks and snacks over the lunch break. Coffee was exactly what he needed right now to keep his energy up.

  He wasn’t twenty-five anymore and it was getting a lot harder to go all night and still work the next day. Especially when all night took as much energy as last night had. It could take him a week to recover from the things he did with Amelia. Grabbing an afternoon cup of coffee was the perfect excuse to walk over and talk to her, and necessary if he hoped to have enough stamina to have a repeat performance with her again anytime soon.

  Crossing the small room, he avoided eye contact with any of the other people who milled around, waiting for the final segment of the workshop to get started. He didn’t want to get stopped to chat with anyone and end up missing his chance to talk to her. Avoiding eye contact was crucial.

  “Hey.” He walked up to the table and grabbed a Styrofoam cup. “How’s it going?”

  She shrugged without looking at him. He’d been expecting to receive a smile, not a shrug.

  “I’m tired as all hell, but otherwise fine. You?” She took a sip of her coffee, looking around the room instead of meeting his gaze like she usually did.

  “Same. I haven’t been this tired since college, but then I probably haven’t pulled an all-nighter like that since then either.” He laughed, trying to make a joke but it came out sounding awkward. Why was it that now that he’d actually been with her, he was nervous around her? It didn’t make sense. “So, is everything okay with you this morning?”

  “It’s fine. Why?”

  He tried to think of the right words. “I don’t know. I guess you just seemed—distracted and I was hoping it didn’t have anything to do with what we did last night.” As he finished talking, he scanned the immediate area around them to make sure they were still alone and no one had wandered too close to overhear their conversation.

  “It doesn’t have anything to do with last night. That was a lot of fun.”

  He knew she was telling him the truth, but he still couldn’t help but feel there was something wrong. She wasn’t acting like herself—not meeting his gaze, not smiling and winking like she had been earlier. Why wouldn’t she just tell him what was wrong?

  Her feelings were her business. He needed to remember that just because they’d been having fun spending time together this weekend didn’t mean she was all of a sudden going to open up and tell him everything little about herself.

  “It makes me very happy to hear that. How do you feel about a repeat performance tonight?” he asked. “Maybe we could get some room service dinner and we could share a Jacuzzi bath in my room. What do you say?”

  “I think that sounds wonderful but I can’t.”

  His heart sank. Can’t. What else does she have to do on her last night at the lodge when she doesn’t like skiing and the workshop is finished?

  “Can’t, huh? Got another hot date already lined up for tonight?” He tried to tease her, but behind his words was the worry that he might be right.

  Amelia folded her arms across her chest. “May
be can’t wasn’t the right word. Maybe won’t is more accurate.”

  Reeling back on his heels like he’d been physically hit, he was surprised by the venom in her words. Won’t?

  “What do you mean, won’t? Did something happen between last night and now to change your mind about me? Because I’m pretty sure you were still interested in more when I said goodbye to you this morning.”

  “I don’t know. You tell me.” She moved closer to him, so close there was no chance of anyone overhearing them. “You’re the one who slept with me last night then completely dismissed me today. If you think I’m going to beg you to be with me again, you’re wrong.”

  Amelia picked up her coffee and walked back to her table. She didn’t even glance back over her shoulder.

  He thought back to this morning. Had he dismissed her at any time or given her any reason to think he wasn’t interested in her anymore?

  He tried to sort through the fog that filled his brain. Everything from this morning after Jim showed up was a blur. There was a moment after Jim had his hand on her shoulder. Hadn’t she tried to talk to him then? Damn.

  He had to talk to her. Had to explain.

  “Great workshop today, man,” William said, walking up and patting him on the shoulder like they were best buddies or something

  “I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying it.”

  Where was someone else he could pawn William off on? He didn’t feel like dealing with him. He had one thing on his mind right now—talking to Amelia.

  He couldn’t stand looking at the guy knowing how he spoke to Amelia all the time. It was a good thing he was working because if he weren’t, William probably would have ended up with a shiner already.

  “I heard you had a pretty great time last night, too.”

  This caught Nate’s attention. What did William know about his night and how?

  “What’re you talking about?” he asked. He didn’t want to give anything away in case William was just making a general comment and didn’t actually know anything about what went on in his room last night.

  “Oh, dude, it wasn’t hard to figure out. She looked pretty rough this morning.” William patted him on the shoulder again and this time Nate felt like ripping his arm off for it.

  “Don’t dude me and whatever happened last night between Amelia and me is our business, not yours.”

  William nodded and grinned. A big shit-eating grin.

  I hate you.

  “Just like what Amelia and I did at lunch on our date is our business.”

  “So what? You had lunch with Amelia and the other workshop people from your table again. Good for you, man. Way to score.”

  “Actually, Amelia and I were alone this time. Usually dates are just two people you know.”

  “I don’t believe you. Amelia can’t stand you. Why would she go on a lunch date with you?”

  William shrugged. “Maybe because some jerk just slept with her and then threw her away and she finally realized that I’m not the kind of guy who’ll do that to her.” William grinned again. “Well done, my friend. I almost hate to be the one to show you up. What am I saying? I love that I’m the one who’ll be the nice guy in her books now.”

  Nate could actually feel his blood pressure rising as his anger and annoyance with William escalated. “What are you talking about?”

  “I have to spell it out for you? Since you’re the jerk who slept with her and then tossed her aside, I get to swoop in and be the hero. Thanks.”

  Don’t punch him in the face. It’s not worth it.

  No. She wouldn’t do that. The Amelia I spent the night with wouldn’t do that to me today.

  “You’re lying. It was a work lunch date and like with everything else, you’re trying to make it into more than it actually was.”

  “Sorry. Not true, dude. This is my real shot with her. Finally, she agreed to go out with me and I showed her a good time.”

  Nate scanned the room trying to find Amelia. He had to know if what weasel face claimed was true. Had she really just accused him of using her when she’d just gotten back from a lunch date with William?

  Nate’s temper almost boiled over. No—it simply couldn’t be true. She wouldn’t agree to date a guy who had pushed himself on her just a day before. She had more respect for herself and her body than that. William lied and Nate would make him pay for it.

  “You work with her everyday, I’m pretty sure you’ve already had your chance with her. Back off and leave Amelia alone,” Nate said through gritted teeth.

  William shook his head and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I would, but you see, what’s done is done. She agreed to one date already and I’m sure she’ll agree to more. I just need to ask her—and I will.”

  “There’s no way she wishes for a date with you or anything else. No way.” Nate could feel himself getting angrier every second he stood there talking to William. He had to go find Amelia and figure out what the truth was in all this. “I’m going to ask Amelia. I don’t believe one word that comes out of your jealous mouth.”

  “By all means go ahead and talk to her, dude. She’ll tell you the same thing,” William smirked at him. Actually smirked.

  I’m gonna hit him.

  “What? Can’t handle a little healthy competition?” William’s questions nudged Nate’s blood pressure higher. “Worried I’m going to have my shot with her and then she’ll decide that she likes me better than you?”

  One punch is completely justifiable in this case.

  “I swear,” Nate seethed, barely able to hold his voice steady and low so that the rest of the room didn’t hear their discussion. “If you so much as lay one finger on her, I’m going to break every single one of them. I don’t know what you think your lunch with her was, but it wasn’t a date.”

  “Wow. I would’ve guessed a big guy like you would be a little more secure with your abilities, but I guess not. Not sure that she liked what you gave her last night after all, huh?” William laughed, clearly enjoying the moment. “Well, best not worry about it anyway since Amelia will be heading home with me tomorrow afternoon, not you. Better luck next time buddy.”

  “You’re just jealous because after having every day with Amelia at work, you still haven’t scored a real date with her and here I am, waltzing in and one day later, she’s mine. All mine. So I think it’s better luck next time to you actually.”

  “Whatever you have to tell yourself, but I’m still the one taking her home tomorrow,” William said. “May as well get used to the idea of us together now, since her future is with me in Minneapolis, not with you wherever the hell it is you live. Got it?”

  William walked away with a grin on his face. Nate clenched his hands into fists at his sides. Too many workshop people lingered near him to risk saying anything as William walked away.

  He’d love to drag William out of the room and make him understand how serious Nate was about Amelia. Now wasn’t the time to make a scene, but Nate couldn’t help imagining the satisfaction he’d feel if he could walk up to William and hit him right now.

  He glanced to the table where William was just taking his seat. Amelia was already sitting there and she appeared to have a very worried look on her face. Her eyes kept flickering between William and himself. He needed to talk to her and tell her that William thought they’d gone on a real date. What if she already knew that?

  Regardless of what had happened at lunch between William and Amelia, Nate needed to tell her that he hadn’t meant to blow her off this morning. He had to make sure she knew how much last night had meant to him. But he couldn’t do that here. How could he get that message to her before too much damage had been done?

  Nate walked to the front of the room and cleared his throat. Jim stood to the side, having just come back from lunch. Nate didn’t wait to speak with him before addressing the group. He needed to secure a few minutes to speak with Amelia and this was the best he could come up with off the top of his head.

 
; “I hope everyone had a great lunch,” he started. “Welcome back to the final afternoon of the workshop. I thought we’d try something a little different today. Normally we spend all of our time working directly with the partner we came with. I thought it would be interesting to work with the other groups at your tables for a few minutes.”

  Jim crossed the room to stand beside him. “What are you doing? That’s not part of the workshop.”

  “Maybe it should be. Let’s try something new for a change. Maybe it’ll be great and if it’s not, then we won’t do it again.”

  “Whatever, man, it’s your promotion to lose.”

  “Or win,” Nate replied before turning back to the workshop attendees. “Okay, so I want you to go around your table, one group at a time and explain the marketing ideas you came up with earlier for your company. Then I want the others to offer their feedback and suggestions. Jim and I will come around and see how you’re all doing. Let’s get started.”

  Nate didn’t wait for Jim to say anything. Instead he strode directly to Amelia’s table intent on one thing.

  “Afternoon everyone. Stacy, why don’t you and Stewart start by telling us the ideas you came up with?”

  “Okay,” she said, sounding nervous having been put on the spot.

  Nate listened intently for a few moments as she began explaining. As the discussion started and Tonya offered a suggestion about how they could expand the idea, Nate saw his opportunity.

  Squatting down beside Amelia, he nudged her arm. “I need to talk to you.”

  She turned slightly in her seat and crossed her arms, her expression bland and unenthusiastic. “I don’t want to talk.”

  Nate ignored her statement. They needed to talk so he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Not this time anyway. “Did you go on a date with William for lunch today?”

  “It wasn’t a date.”

  “Really? Because he seems to think that it was.”

  “Well William is delusional as usual. Even if it were a date, why do you care?”

  “Why wouldn’t I care after—” Nate’s gaze darted around the table, “—after what we did last night?”