Goodbye Gifts_The Steamy Version

by Elena Aitken

  No. This can’t happen. None of this can happen, she told herself, forcing her thoughts to slow.

  She took a deep breath and exhaled loudly.

  She needed to tell Trent that whatever he was playing at, it was over. She wouldn’t sacrifice her morals just to get a leg up with the job. She couldn’t do it. Especially with someone like Dylan. She needed space from him, not closeness, not if she was going to escape unscathed. It was probably for the best anyway. No. It was definitely for the best. She opened her eyes and pushed off the wall, running smack into a solid, very male chest.

  “Carmen.”

  “Trent?”

  His hands squeezed her upper arms, steadying her.

  “Are you okay? I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t see you there and I wasn’t really expecting you to—“

  “I’m fine.” She wiggled out of his grasp and tugged on her blouse to straighten it. “Actually, I was going to come and find you because, I just can’t—“

  “I was hoping to see you, too.” He eyed her with suspicion, but there was no point in getting into anything with him. “I’m really happy you decided to take me up on my offer with Dylan. I know the two of you will have a great time together and—“

  “No.” She shook her head. “I can’t do it, Trent.”

  He tipped his head and smirked. “Why? Is it his looks? I know he’s not as handsome as his big brother, but I didn’t think—“

  “Stop it. That’s not it. I just don’t feel right about it.” She took a step backwards, needing distance. “I…I just…”

  “You want the job, don’t you?” His straightforwardness grabbed her attention. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that.” He took a deep breath and looked around a little uncomfortably. “Look, Carmen. Let me be straight with you.”

  She stared at him, waiting for more.

  “I don’t make a practice of abusing my position with the staff, but I really need a little help here. My little brother refuses to take any time off and I’m worried about him.”

  Carmen nodded. Despite how he’d approached it, he did seem to genuinely mean what he was saying. The look of concern in his eyes was real and Trent really wasn’t a bad guy. “I’m listening.”

  “I’m just trying to be a good brother. And I’d really appreciate it, okay? It’s not like anyone’s going to get hurt and if you can do me this little favor, I promise to put in a good word with management. It’s win-win, really. Plus, it’s not like he’s a bad guy. A bit of a workaholic maybe, but he’s a good guy and he’s not going to take advantage of you or anything. Who knows, maybe you’ll actually enjoy yourself.”

  That’s what she was afraid of, but she didn’t say so.

  She stared at Trent, looking for any hint of insincerity. Something that would tell her he was being a jerk and totally stepping out of line. But really, he did just seem to be a concerned brother. It would be like doing a favor for a friend; she just wouldn’t think of the added bonus there might be at the end of it. Slowly, Carmen nodded. “Okay,” she said. “I’ll do it.”

  “Thanks, Carmen. I owe you. And like I said, maybe you’ll actually have fun with him.”

  She bit her lip and turned away. Because that’s exactly what she was afraid of. Before he could say anything else, Carmen scurried down the hall and back to the front desk. With any luck, she’d be able to immerse herself in work and forget about everything else, because whatever attraction, or whatever it was that she was feeling for Dylan, it wasn’t going to happen. She wouldn’t let it.

  The phone rang, and she looked around for her front desk staff, who didn’t seem to be anywhere in sight. With a sigh, she snatched it up on the second ring. “Castle Mountain Lodge. It’s a beautiful day in the Rockies. My name is Carmen, how can I help you?”

  “It’s so cute how you answer the phone, Carmen.” Her mother’s voice came over the line. “I can just picture you at your little desk every time you say that.”

  Carmen winced at her mom’s dismissive tone. She knew she wasn’t trying to be that way; it was just the way her mom was. If she wasn’t baking cookies for a husband and child in some sunny kitchen somewhere, she wasn’t living up to her full potential, according to her mom.

  “Well, I am at the front desk, Mom,” she said. “And I have quite a bit of work to do, so can we talk later?”

  “Oh, of course you do, dear,” her mother said. “But this will just take a minute. I was just calling to let you know that your dad and I can’t come up for Thanksgiving.”

  Despite the fact that they drove her crazy and were completely condescending about her career choices, Carmen felt the sting of disappointment.

  “Why not? I thought you were looking forward to it. Is everything okay?”

  “Yes, yes.” Carmen could picture her fluttering around and waving her hand as if she could see it through the phone. “But we’ve been invited to a big potluck at the club and these things are always so much fun,” she said. “I’m going to make my potato casserole. You know, the one with the hash browns and the sour cream? But you can’t tell anyone it uses hash browns. I like people to think I chop all those potatoes myself, you know?”

  “Yes, Mom. I know.” Carmen rolled her eyes. “But why is the club having a potluck on Thanksgiving? Aren’t people with their families?”

  “We’ll do it on the Saturday, of course. That leaves lots of time for turkey on the Sunday and Monday.” She spoke as if it’d been obvious and Carmen hadn’t been paying attention to a word she said. “But it’s hardly worth us coming out for a day, is it?”

  “No, Mom.” Carmen rubbed her temple and took a deep breath. “I suppose it’s not.”

  “That’s what we thought. So we’ll see you this weekend, then.”

  “Okay, Mom, that’s—wait. What?”

  “This weekend,” her mom repeated. “It makes perfect sense for us to come up this weekend. We don’t have plans and you’re always saying how it’s your slow season at your little hotel, so why not.”

  She let the comment about the little hotel slide and focused on the real problem. “But, this weekend?”

  “Is it a problem?”

  Carmen knew it was a loaded question. Of course it was a problem. She needed time to psychologically prepare for a visit from her parents. Plus, at Thanksgiving, she could usually find small issues to busy herself with so she didn’t need to spend too much time with them. But if they came in two days…and there was the small matter of Dylan Harrison and her promise to spend time with him. She shook her head. No. Dylan couldn’t impact her decision. Why should he? There was only one way to answer her mother.

  “Of course it’s not a problem, Mom,” she lied, forcing herself to smile. “I can’t wait to see you guys.”

  “Oh good. We’ll be there before you know it.”

  That was exactly what she was afraid of.

  “A real lifesaver?” Dylan spoke to the empty room. “Did I really just say that to her?” He slammed his palm down on the table and shook his head.

  Ever since Carmen had left the room, he’d been beating himself up over his stupid choice of words. Could he be any lamer? He was an absolute moron in the female department. He was ridiculously out of practice talking to a woman.

  “You do your job really well.” He mimicked the words. “I’m seriously an idiot.”

  “Yes you are, brother. But I’ll defend you if anyone says it.”

  Dylan turned around at the sound of Trent's voice.

  “Why are you an idiot today?”

  The last thing Dylan wanted to do was confide his women troubles to Trent. Not that they were troubles so much as a complete inability to say anything intelligent to a woman he found remotely attractive. And he did find Carmen attractive. More than he wanted to admit. And there was no way he’d be admitting it to Trent, anyway. There was no point.

  “Because we didn’t have the projector for the meeting,” Dylan lied. “Carmen just rushed it down here for me.”

  Trent r
aised an eyebrow. “Well, I hope you didn’t give her a hard time. She looked a little frazzled to me.”

  Frazzled? Hopefully not because of anything he’d said or done. Or maybe, not said. Dylan dismissed the thought and shook his head. “Of course I didn’t. She’s great. Besides, it wasn’t her fault you forgot to put the projector on the order.”

  “I did no such…oh, yeah. I probably did,” Trent admitted. “I have a million freakin’ things going on and if I forget one or two things, you’re just going to have to deal. I can’t wait to be done here. I can’t keep anything straight anymore.”

  Dylan gave his brother a quick once-over. “You’re sure you’re okay with leaving the Lodge? I know how much you like it up here and nothing’s guaranteed with the Springs. If it doesn’t work out, I don’t know what we’re going to—“

  “It’s going to work out,” Trent said quickly. “Besides, there’s no reward without a little risk, right? Isn’t that what Dad used to say?”

  “Dad used to say a lot of things,” Dylan mumbled.

  Ignoring him, Trent walked around the table and opened his briefcase. He pulled out a stack of shiny folders. “I had these made up,” he said and handed one to Dylan. “I like them. What do you think?”

  Dylan took the glossy folder in his hands and examined it. On the front there was a photograph of mountains, not unlike the ones out the window. “The Springs” was in large bold script across the picture. It was classy and understated, just the way the brothers pictured their resort to be. He flipped it open and scanned the information inside.

  “I included all the financial projections, as well as the floor plan and progress pictures of the hotel,” Trent said, explaining the pages Dylan was looking at. “I know the investors are mostly interested in the bottom line,” he continued. “But I thought it was important for them to see exactly what we’re hoping to accomplish with this development.”

  “I agree.” Dylan nodded and closed the folder. “It’s great, Trent. And in my presentation, I have the latest images from the job site and a few shots of the town and lake. The resort is going to be the whole package and more than just a place to go for healing and spa treatments. I want to offer the outdoor experience, as well. I like what you do here at the Lodge. I think we should be able to incorporate some of that into our plans as well.”

  Trent walked around the table, setting a folder in each place. “I agree one hundred percent, brother. And I think the Braxtons will too.”

  Dylan hoped he was right. They needed the Braxton family to get on board with their vision, which is why they’d brought them all the way to Castle Mountain Lodge. The Braxtons ran a successful chain of resorts and hotels in the Eastern states, but it was rumored they were looking for an expansion plan, and what better investment than a thermal hot springs spa in the Canadian Rockies? Dylan and Trent had used their own substantial savings, not to mention bank loans and other investors, to get them as far as they had in their development. But in order to take it to the next level and be on track to open their exclusive resort in time for the busy summer tourist season, they were going to need the backing of the Braxtons.

  “Don’t worry, Dylan. We’ve got this,” Trent said. He straightened his tie, smoothed his suit and gave Dylan a confident smile. “Oh, and if we can convince them to stay at the Lodge tonight, I’ll handle the wining and dining.”

  “Don’t you mean, we both will?”

  “You’re meeting Carmen for a drink, remember?” Trent wiggled his eyebrows and Dylan shot him a look. “Okay fine,” Trent said with a laugh. “I know it’s not like that. But I do need you to relax. You deserve it. Go have some fun. I can handle the Braxtons.”

  Dylan had most definitely not forgotten about his date with Carmen, if he could even call it that. Besides, he had responsibilities to Trent and their project. “I’ll meet her later,” he said. “First we need to take care of this deal. Drinks can wait.”

  Trent narrowed his eyes. “You’re really going to blow off a date with Carmen?”

  “That’s not what I’m doing,” Dylan answered too quickly. He took a breath and continued, “But this is important.”

  “I got this, Dyl. Trust me.” Trent flashed him a toothy grin. “Besides, maybe you can talk to her about an idea I had.”

  “What’s that?”

  Trent paused for a moment before he said, “I know you were kidding earlier, but I’ve been thinking about what you said about Carmen being perfect to come work for the Springs.”

  “I thought you said she was up for the general manager position here?” Dylan narrowed his eyes and tried to figure out what his brother was up to. He couldn’t be sure, but he knew there was something more going on that Trent wasn’t saying. “Why would she want to give that up to come work for an unknown resort?”

  Trent shrugged. “Maybe just get a feel for it,” he said. “I mean, I wouldn’t bring it up right away, but maybe you can plant the seed of change with her. You’re good at that type of thing,” he continued. “Make it seem like it’s her idea. That way if she doesn’t get the job here, she’ll have options. And she really is good at her job.”

  Trent wouldn’t meet his eyes, furthering Dylan’s suspicions that he was up to something. But before he could push the issue any further, there was a knock on the door and Sam Braxton, the patriarch of the family, followed by his son, Les, entered the room, and there was no more room for discussion.

  Dylan could hardly keep his mind on the important meeting taking place around him. He should have been focused on listening and answering the questions that could make or break the Springs resort, but instead he found his mind constantly drifting to Carmen and the idea of spending some time with her. Maybe he could even repair some of the damage he’d done with his stupid comments earlier.

  As the meeting started to wrap up, Dylan glanced at his watch and jumped on the opportunity to seal the deal for the evening. He stood and shook Sam Braxton’s hand.

  “Thank you so much for coming all the way up to the Lodge,” Dylan said. “I do hope you see now what we’re hoping to accomplish with the Springs in creating a similar type of atmosphere. Although, as we said, the Springs will definitely have a spa feel, and be primarily a place of relaxation, escape, and healing.”

  “Of course,” Sam Braxton said. “You both did an excellent job conveying that, and my son and I have a lot to consider.”

  “I do hope you’ll be taking us up on our invitation to stay at the Lodge tonight and enjoy everything Castle Mountain has to offer,” Dylan said. “Trent will be happy to show you around some of the finer points of the Lodge.” Dylan avoided making eye contact with Trent and continued, “No one knows the Lodge better than he does.”

  “Is that right?” Sam looked to Trent and then to his son. “I think we did plan on staying,” he said. “At least for one night. Isn’t that right, son?”

  “Might as well,” Les said. “We’ve come all this way. It would be a pity not to enjoy it.”

  “Excellent,” Dylan said. “And I wish I could join you, but I have a prior engagement.” He pushed back his chair and stood.

  “That’s a shame,” Sam Braxton said. “I was looking forward to asking you a few more questions regarding the financials.”

  Dylan hesitated, his desire to be with Carmen warring with his commitment to the project.

  “Perhaps we can set something up for lunch tomorrow,” Trent jumped in. “Unfortunately, Dylan has an important meeting tonight regarding staffing for the Springs.” Dylan shot Trent a look, but his brother continued speaking. “We’re already starting to put the key staff members in place, and I’m sure you’d agree, proper staffing is crucial to the success of the venture.”

  Sam nodded his head. “Staff is important,” he agreed. “I’d be happy to meet you for lunch tomorrow.”

  “It’s settled, then,” Trent said.

  Dylan nodded and shook the man’s hand. “Well, I’ll leave you in my brother’s very capable hands,” he
said. “Thank you, gentlemen. It was a pleasure.”

  Dylan slipped from the room and all but ran down the hall to the elevator. He took another quick look at his watch. Perfect. He had enough time to go back to his room, change into something that wasn’t a suit, and meet Carmen at the Grill.

  He ignored the little voice in his head that was telling him he didn’t have time for women. Dylan was a businessman, married to his job; there was no room for anything, or anyone else in his life. That was the way it’d always been and with the Springs resort set to open in less than a year, he didn’t see that changing anytime soon. But there was something about Carmen that made him forget all of that. He had to know more about her, even if it didn’t make any sense at all.

  CHAPTER THREE

  All Carmen had been able to think about all afternoon was meeting Dylan for a drink. The moment her shift was over, she grabbed her purse and ducked out the side door to head back to the employee residence and change into something that wasn’t her uniform. She took her time walking through the wooded path, enjoying the quiet of the crisp fall evening, forcing herself to calm down and reminding herself that she wasn’t meeting Dylan as a date. She was only going out with him as a favor to Trent. A favor that could very well lead to a promotion.

  Her roommate and friend, Astrid, was just leaving the apartment when Carmen arrived.

  “Are you coming to the bonfire tonight?” Astrid asked her. “It’s probably going to be the last one before it snows and then we’ll be stuck inside. You have to come.”

  Astrid knew as well as she did that Carmen rarely partied with the rest of the staff, but it didn’t stop her friend from trying.

  “Sorry,” Carmen said. She continued to talk to Astrid, who’d followed her into her room, while she changed. “I actually have plans tonight.”