Gold Fire

by Starr Ambrose

  Zoe stayed seated but beamed at Matt as he stopped beside her. “Hi!”

  “Hi, yourself. I didn’t know you had sisters, but you three gorgeous ladies have to be related.”

  Zoe opened her mouth, but her older sister was faster. “I’m Maggie,” she said, introducing herself with a handshake. “And this is Sophie.” Sophie stuck her hand across the table, appraising him a bit too frankly as he took it.

  He gave each one the full force of his direct gaze and perfect smile. “Matt Flemming. I’m pleased to meet you.” He turned to Zoe, letting his hand rest lightly on her shoulder. “We’re having an impromptu lunch. Would you care to join us? That is, if your sisters don’t mind me stealing you away.” He flashed his smile again, and they mirrored it with twin grins. Zoe gave her sisters a cautious glance. Speculation had to be zipping around like fireworks behind those polite looks.

  “I’d love to, but I don’t think I’m dressed for it,” she told Matt, glancing pointedly at her knit top and jeans.

  “You make blue jeans look like the latest fashion statement,” Matt said. “No one will say anything.”

  He’d asked; that was all that mattered. She smiled and shook her head with sincere regret. “I wouldn’t be comfortable in that restaurant dressed like this,” she insisted. Appearances counted, especially when people expected the worst from you, but he probably didn’t know about that and she wasn’t going to explain it. “Go enjoy your lunch. Their crab salad is great.”

  He cocked his head. “You’re sure? It’d be more fun with you there.”

  “Positive.”

  “Okay then, I’ll see you later.” He gave her shoulder a slight squeeze, said good-bye to Maggie and Sophie, and cut back across the grass toward the Silver Nugget. Zoe waited through ten seconds of nail-biting silence.

  They looked at each other. Sophie wiggled her eyebrows. “Nice,” she said, drawing it out.

  “He touched you,” Maggie said, going straight for the jugular. “Bosses don’t do that.”

  That thought had been screaming in Zoe’s mind, too, but she pushed it aside. “I’m sure you’ve touched Holly while you were working in the store.”

  Maggie gave her a don’t-be-stupid look.

  “He kept touching you,” Sophie added. “He likes you, and not in a give-you-a-raise way.”

  Zoe pretended disinterest. “I wouldn’t mind a raise.”

  “This is going somewhere,” Sophie declared with conviction. “The question is, how far do you want it to go?”

  Both of her sisters waited expectantly, and Zoe’s nerves got the best of her. She laid her fork down, twisting her napkin while giving the question some honest thought. “I’m not sure. I like him, and he does meet all the criteria, with room to spare.”

  “What criteria?” Sophie asked Maggie.

  Maggie rolled her eyes. “You know how methodical she is.”

  Zoe smiled, making her decision. “I think it’s worth finding out.”

  She expected cheers or high-fives—something other than the scoffing noise Maggie made. “Figured it out logically, did you? How exciting. Maybe you and Matt could each pull out your lists and compare attributes.”

  Shoot, the matchmaker hadn’t seen a spark between them. It was more irritating than it should have been. “There’s nothing wrong with a cool head. It’s better than a broken heart.”

  Sophie smirked. “I think I read that on a fortune cookie. And what’s with the list? You used to date without a checklist.”

  “I used to do a lot of things I wouldn’t want to repeat.”

  Maggie sighed and reached out to take her hand. “Sweetie, do it however you’d like. We both want you to make the right decision. If that means using a checklist, then go for it. Right, Soph?”

  “Right. Who knows? Maybe he really is The One.”

  “You think so?” she asked, but looked at Maggie.

  “It’s too soon to tell,” Maggie said with a reassuring smile. “You haven’t even kissed him yet.”

  She was right. A kiss would definitely cross the line from employee to romantic interest. She could already feel pleasant prickles of anticipation.

  Sophie held her hand out as if bestowing a blessing. “Go. Kiss. Then report back. You have one week.”

  “Deal,” Zoe said.

  Chapter

  Eight

  Jase hoped questioning Jennifer didn’t require delicacy, because he wasn’t in the mood for it. He stopped her as soon as she came in, while she was still kneeling behind the bar, pulling out her ledger. “Did you give that DVD of the security tape to the police?”

  She straightened, facing him calmly. “Yes. That’s what you intended to do, isn’t it?”

  “No, actually. I’d decided not to.”

  “Oh.” She blinked a couple of times, then shrugged carelessly. “Sorry.”

  She didn’t seem to get how important the issue was to him. “Jennifer,” he said, his voice harsh enough to widen her eyes. “It wasn’t your decision to make.”

  She studied him for a long moment, her expression gradually turning into a cold mask. She folded her arms tightly across her chest. “I see. And how was I supposed to know you decided to hide evidence from the police?”

  The accusation took him by surprise, and he scowled. “I’m not hiding evidence. The tape doesn’t show anything.”

  Her stare was icy enough to frost the beer mugs. “It shows your new friend from the Alpine Sky driving over here just before the fire started. If that’s not evidence, it’s a pretty strange coincidence.”

  He bit back a denial, realizing she was right. He’d simply chosen not to see it that way. But turning it in without his knowledge was out of line. “So you went out of your way to make sure the police knew about it.”

  “It wasn’t out of my way. One of the city cops came by while you were out. He said he was investigating the fire, so I gave him the DVD.” Her eyes turned to slits as she stared him down. “I didn’t know it was a secret.” She emphasized the last word with a sarcastic lift of her eyebrows.

  He clenched his jaw, wondering how this had turned around, putting him on the defensive. Her aggressive response was unexpected, and more evidence of how much she disliked Zoe.

  “Your job is to take care of the money, Jennifer. Anything else in that safe is not your concern.”

  Her mouth tightened. “Fine.”

  Jase felt as tightly wound as Jennifer looked. They’d disagreed before, but he’d never had to confront her about anything she’d done. It left him feeling sick to his stomach and glad it was over.

  “What’s going on?”

  Russ stood at the end of the bar, giving each of them a piercing look. Jase’s stomach clenched a little more as he wondered if Adam’s father would automatically rise to his daughter-in-law’s defense. Russ and Jennifer had been almost like family to him—emotionally damaged and distant, but still family. The last thing he wanted was an angry split in their ranks. “We had a disagreement over procedure,” he told Russ. “We settled it.”

  Russ looked at Jennifer. “Seemed more serious than that.”

  Jennifer’s face had shuttered and closed, a look he’d seen too often during the past week. “Everything’s fine,” she snapped. It was clearly a lie, and just as clear that she wasn’t going to discuss it. Grabbing her ledger, she stalked toward the kitchen.

  Russ’s gaze settled on him. Jase shook his head, cutting off questions. “I didn’t agree with something she did, but it’s over. Just let it go.”

  He couldn’t read the older man’s expression, but caught his almost imperceptible nod. The knot in his stomach loosened. Russ turned to leave, tilting his head toward the kitchen as he did. “You think she’ll let it go?” he asked.

  Jase stared at Russ as he left, then at the closed door to the kitchen.

  Tension pulled at his gut again, tightening the knots. Jennifer wasn’t good at letting things go.

  • • •

  Zoe’s plan to kiss M
att wasn’t going to happen at work. That much became clear Friday when a popular professional football star checked into the resort with his girlfriend of the moment, who just happened to be starring in a hit TV sitcom. Paparazzi and reporters descended like locusts, and she was kept busy soothing the complaints of other guests while herding photographers out of stairwells. She barely had a chance to say hello to Matt.

  Friday was better. The celebrity couple accepted an invitation to a party at the private residence of some local producer, and the media herd followed. All the resort had to do was make sure no enterprising reporter broke into their suite while they were gone. Security had it under control.

  Matt walked in at eight, sat on the corner of her desk, and announced, “The Rusty Wire is open for business.”

  She leaned back in her chair and smiled. “I know.” And she was ready, wearing a more feminine blouse this time, one that wouldn’t look out of place in the saloon when she took her jacket off. Her hair was down, its waves falling just past her shoulders.

  “You still want to hit Garrett with that new proposal?”

  “Yes, but you haven’t even heard it yet.”

  “I trust your judgment, and you can fill me in on the way over. It’s time for a scouting trip.” He grinned engagingly and gave her that long, direct look that said it was really a date and he couldn’t wait to go.

  She smiled to herself. One scorching-hot kiss, coming right up.

  • • •

  Jase saw her as soon as she walked in, her plain skirt and heels showing off her long legs better than jeans could have. Her top was clingy enough to actually draw his attention away from her legs. Very nice. She was here with her offer, as promised.

  The slick weasel from the Alpine Sky followed her in. Shit.

  “Now you can quit watching the door,” Brandon said. “She’s here.”

  “I wasn’t watching the door.”

  “I’ve been here for two hours. You look that way every time it opens, and it’s putting you off your game. Take your shot so I can beat you again.”

  Jase lined up the shot, glanced up to see where Zoe sat, then knocked the cue ball. It hit the side, grazing the twelve ball enough to make it move an inch.

  “Pitiful,” Brandon said. “Stand aside.”

  He half-watched while Brandon cleared the table. He also watched Zoe lean close to Matt, then laugh at whatever smooth pickup line he’d fed her. From the way the guy touched her all the time, he was sure Matt was ramping up his moves.

  Brandon pulled the stick out of his hand. “Christ, Jase. Just go talk to her. I’m gonna find Hailey—I need some decent competition.”

  Jase nodded and walked toward the front room where most of the noise and action were. Where Zoe was. He wouldn’t go talk to her yet, though. He wanted to watch them for a while, see how much the boyfriend-boss status had shifted.

  A while turned out to be eight minutes. That’s all he could take of Matt Flemming leaning close to her ear as he put his hand over hers on the table, twining their fingers together. Jase could feel the hairs on the back of his neck bristle. If she couldn’t see what a sleaze the guy was, he needed to show her.

  He paused at several tables on the way to theirs, saying hello to regulars and thanking them for coming to their reopening. Chatting up the customers. Just following his normal routine.

  He gave Matt a surprised look. “Howdy, neighbors. Another date? Nice of you to help celebrate my reopening.” He grabbed a chair from a nearby table and wedged it between Zoe and Matt, straddling it. Arms folded across the top, he gave them a friendly smile.

  “Hi.” Zoe pulled her hands off the table, looking self-conscious.

  He’d bet Matt had to reach deep to find that untroubled look. “Hello, Garrett. Actually, we came on business.”

  “Oh?”

  “We’d like to talk with you if you have some time.”

  “I’d take you back to my office, but I’m temporarily without one. But we can talk right here. What is it, another offer, with yet more money?”

  “Sorry.” Matt gave him a condescending smile. “The last offer was generous enough. But I’d like to add something to it that might be just as valuable to a conscientious businessman like yourself, one who cares about his employees.”

  “Am I conscientious?” He turned to Zoe, giving Matt the back of his head. Matt might be presenting it as his own idea, but Jase knew it came from Zoe. He’d rather hear her list his attributes.

  “I believe you are,” she said calmly. “I believe you feel some responsibility for the people you employ, and you wouldn’t want to see them lose their jobs if you sell the saloon.” She paused. “Especially Adam’s wife and his father.”

  Her research hadn’t turned up everything, not yet, but this she’d gotten right. She’d obviously done more than read news articles if she’d learned about the debts Adam had left behind—the coaching bills, the loans that paid for travel to various competitions. Russ and Jennifer had never talked about it, and their financial situation wouldn’t have been in the news reports. But it was there if someone could read between the lines. Zoe had been clever enough to figure it out.

  “You’re right,” he told her quietly. “I won’t sacrifice a couple dozen jobs for a pile of money I don’t need.”

  “Everyone needs money,” Matt said. “And more is better than less.”

  “Some of us are satisfied with enough. I have enough.”

  “So I heard.” Matt looked slightly puzzled, but amused. “That’s why I’m not offering more money. I’m offering jobs.”

  The way he’d appropriated Zoe’s idea irritated Jase, even if Zoe didn’t seem to mind. “I thought this was Zoe’s idea.”

  “What made you think that?”

  Zoe sat perfectly still beside him, but he felt a sudden kick on his ankle. She didn’t want her boyfriend-boss to know she’d mentioned it to him. Why? Because she would have talked to him without telling Matt? He liked the thought of Matt knowing that. Or maybe she was simply willing to let her boss take the credit for it. That chapped his ass. But he wouldn’t get her in trouble.

  “I just assumed, since she was sent here to offer the first deal,” he answered, looking Matt in the eye. “But it doesn’t matter. Go ahead and tell me about these jobs you’re offering. Are you planning to promise jobs to my whole staff in a burst of generosity?”

  “That’s up to you. What I’m offering is a position doing what you’re doing now—running a bar.”

  “The Rusty Wire is more than a bar.”

  Matt smiled. “My mistake. I’m sure you’re familiar with the nineteenth hole on golf courses. Our clubhouse will have a bar, and we’ll need someone to run it. We hire you, and you hire whoever you need. Jobs saved.”

  Jase didn’t say anything for several seconds. He had to give Zoe credit, it wasn’t a bad idea. Russ and Jennifer would still have secure positions, along with the kitchen and waitstaff. If he’d been debating selling, it might have been the deciding factor. Big if.

  “Nice solution,” he told Matt. “I have to hand it to you, you know how to make an offer hard to resist.”

  “Just trying to address all your concerns,” Matt said, still leaving Zoe out of it. Jase hoped to hell she was offended. “I can have a contract drawn up and delivered to your lawyer’s office tomorrow morning. You’ll be three million richer before lunch.”

  “No thanks.”

  Matt couldn’t quite hide his annoyance, giving Jase a brief feel-good moment. “I thought the jobs were important to you.”

  “They have jobs.”

  “They could have better ones. I’m willing to bet we offer a more comprehensive benefits package than you do.”

  He wasn’t so sure about that. Not that it mattered. “What about that year or more in between tearing this place down and building the new clubhouse? Unemployment doesn’t cover all the bills.”

  Matt still looked annoyed, but some of the stiffness left his body. “Is that all you’
re worried about? We can add a stipend in the contract, enough to get them through.”

  “Generous of you.” He let Matt look satisfied for several seconds. “But I’m not interested.” He stood while Matt gave him a calculating look, which Jase thought was pretty restrained considering the way he’d played him. “Nice talking with you, though.”

  He finally looked at Zoe, who was biting her lip and scowling. Probably holding back one of those “why” questions. “You two have a nice night.” He should have smiled when he said it, but couldn’t, and it came out sounding more like a dare. One he hoped she was going to lose.

  • • •

  Zoe kept her mouth shut as Jase walked away. She hadn’t wanted to correct Matt in front of Jase, and it didn’t matter who’d come up with the idea as long as Jase accepted it. But he’d known it was her idea, and knew it made Matt look bad to pretend it wasn’t. She didn’t know who she was most mad at—Matt for not giving her credit, or Jase for secretly enjoying making Matt look arrogant.

  Since Jase was gone, she chose Matt. He’d seemed so honest and decent she hadn’t expected this from him.

  She opened her mouth to tell him how insulted she felt when his gaze shifted from Jase’s retreating back to her, and his features softened with concern. “I’m sorry, Zoe, I didn’t mean to be rude to you.” He reached across the table to grasp her hands, encasing them in his own. “You must think I’m a complete chauvinist and a bastard for cutting you out like that.”

  Her anger faltered. She couldn’t have said it better. “Why did you?”

  He gave her an embarrassed smile. “I thought he might be a chauvinist bastard. I wondered if one of the reasons Garrett was putting us off was because he didn’t take you seriously. He didn’t say anything to make me think that, but you can’t always tell. Some of these local cowboys have old-fashioned ideas about a woman’s place, and they resent having to deal with them as professionals. If Garrett was like that, I thought he might prefer an offer that came from me.” He shrugged. “I guess that isn’t his problem.”