Nothing.
She walked over to the window beside the front door and looked out. “Crap,” she muttered. It was still snowing and the footprints she had made just minutes ago outside were already disappearing. “That’s not a good sign. Come on, Ted.”
Behind her, she finally heard footsteps. Turning around she gasped. “Beckett? What are you doing here?”
Chapter Four
For some reason, it didn’t seem odd for Beckett to be standing there. Hope looked at him and smiled. “Did you get called to give up your Christmas too?” And before he could answer, another thought hit her. “Oh, so you’ve met my brother! Now you know who Ted is!”
“Hope,” Beckett began cautiously. “What are you doing here?”
“Ted’s fiancé was in a car accident this morning. She couldn’t reach him on the phone and I was heading to Knoxville and…”
“Knoxville? What were you going to Knoxville for?”
“I took your advice and decided to spend Christmas with a friend,” she said brightly. “Anyway, I was on the road when Merry called and…”
“Merry?”
“Ted’s fiancée.”
“Seriously? Her name is Merry?”
“I know, right? And it’s Christmas!” she giggled. “Anyway, Merry calls and tells me about the accident and the paramedics were just getting there and…”
“She called you from the car? While she was waiting for the paramedics?” he asked incredulously.
She was getting slightly annoyed with his constant interruptions. “As I was saying, she called me when she couldn’t reach Ted, so I decided to track him down and let him know in person.”
“Where is he?”
“Getting his stuff. He has to get back to Raleigh and be with her. She’s pretty banged up.”
“He’s here to work, Hope,” Beckett said with annoyance.
That got her hackles up. “Excuse me?”
“Doesn’t she have family or other people that can help her?”
“What difference does that make? She wants Ted. He’s her fiancé and she wants him there with her.”
“He made a commitment here,” Beckett reminded her.
“What’s it to you?” she asked, no longer amused or happy with him.
“Oh, Mr. James…there you are,” Ted said as he walked down the stairs. “I see you’ve met my sister.”
Everything inside of Hope went cold. Mr. James? Beckett was Mr. James? Mr. G.B. James? And then it hit her…the “B” was for Beckett. Her brain scrambled to try to remember if he had given her any clues as to who he really was. “I’m a bit of a workaholic and tend to put in the time without being asked.” Well that wasn’t a flag raiser. Not really. “I’m usually too busy in my own office to pay attention to the revolving door of employees.” That seemed to fit the bill a little bit more but not in a way that it would have revealed who he really was.
Beside her, Ted and Beckett were talking in hushed tones, not that she cared. Her mind was still reeling. She needed to grab Ted and get out of here. Soon. Now.
“You can’t leave,” Beckett said loudly, effectively snapping Hope out of her own thoughts.
“But…my fiancée, she’s…she’s hurt. I need to go and make sure that she’s all right.”
“Did you speak to her? Did she say she was all right?”
Ted took a small step back. “Sort of. I would just feel better if I could go and check on her myself, sir. Please.”
“This is unacceptable, Theodore. You made this commitment to this project and we have a schedule to keep. By you running out of here to go and play nurse is going to put us seriously behind.”
“I’ll come back tomorrow. I swear. Merry’s parents are flying in from Florida tonight. I just hate to think of her being in the hospital all by herself,” he said nervously. “Please. You know that I never ask for time off.”
Beckett studied him hard. “I know that you don’t but this is one time that I simply cannot allow it. We have too much to do and by the time you drive all the way back to Raleigh, her parents will already be there and your presence will be pointless.”
That was it. Hope had had enough. “Do you even hear yourself?” she demanded as she stepped closer to the two men. “Ted is your employee, not your prisoner. You don’t own him. No one planned this. It was an accident for crying out loud. Cut him some slack!”
“Hope,” Ted warned. “Please stay out of this.”
“No!” she snapped. “I’m not going to stand here and listen to him try to control you! Let’s just go. My car is right outside. We can get on the road and you’ll be there before you know it.”
“If you leave, Theodore, consider your position with James Enterprises terminated,” Beckett said sternly.
“What?” Ted croaked. “You can’t be serious.”
Beckett merely shrugged. “If you can’t do your job, then you’ll be replaced.”
“But I can do my job!” Ted cried out with frustration. “I just need a day to go and check on Merry! Please be reasonable!”
“I am being reasonable. I came here with a very exact schedule that needs to be kept. You assured me that you were the person who could handle the work. So I took your word for it and now we’re not even here for an hour and you’re trying to leave. It seems to me that you’re the one not being reasonable.”
“I’ll be back here tomorrow afternoon. I promise. Just…just let me do this and I’ll work twice as hard to get us done ahead of schedule.”
Hope could only stand there and stare. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. It seemed completely ridiculous and unreasonable and yet…there it was. Her brother was begging for his crappy job and Beckett? She sighed. And Beckett was a complete tool. That was the real shame in all of this. The man that she thought she knew completely didn’t exist.
“I need another person here, Theodore,” Beckett said tiredly. “There is far too much to do and it required no distractions. If you leave, that’s going to put me behind. And you know how I hate when that happens. Deals are lost that way.”
Hope was just about to tell Beckett he could take his stupid job and shove it when Ted called out. “Hope can stay with you!”
Both Hope and Beckett stared at him and yelled, “What?” at the same time.
Ted’s eyes were wild as he took another step back. “I’m serious. Hope can stay here tonight and help you get things started and I’ll take her car and go back to Raleigh. You know I’ll come back because I wouldn’t leave my sister stranded here and…and you’ll have someone to assist you. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
“Ted, have you lost your freaking mind?” Hope yelled. “I just freaked out on him for acting like he owns you and you go and offer me up as a sacrifice as if you have the right to? What is wrong with you?”
“Hope, I need to get home and check on Merry! You said so yourself!”
“Yeah, I get that,” she snapped. “But forcing me to stay here isn’t going to help anything. I have no idea what you do except that it has to do with numbers and finance and that’s totally not me! And besides that, there is no way that I’m going to stay here with…him!”
Everyone grew silent. Hope refused to look at Beckett but she could feel his eyes on her. Too bad. Whatever relationship she thought they had was over. It didn’t matter how great of a kisser he was or how handsome and sexy he was. Dammit. All that mattered was that he was a complete jerk and she just wanted to be away from him.
“Okay,” Ted said calmly. “Fine. I won’t go. That was wrong of me to expect you to do my job for me. I’m sorry,” he said as he looked at Hope.
“It’s okay. I know you were just desperate. It’s completely understandable.”
“If you’ll just give me a minute, I’m going to call Merry back and let her know that I won’t be there. I’ll just step out on the porch for some privacy. Please don’t leave until I have a chance to say a proper goodbye to you.” He walked out the front door, leaving Hope and Becket
t alone.
Awkward.
Unable to help herself, she muttered, “I can’t believe you couldn’t give him twenty-four measly hours to go and check on his fiancée. Like it would’ve killed you.” Walking away from him, she went to stand by the window and watched the snow fall.
Beckett was beside her in an instant. “I value people who honor their word,” he said tightly. “I understand that his fiancée was hurt, but his presence there wasn’t going to change that. She’s in the hospital where she has constant care and her family is on its way to her. All your brother was going to do was stand there and be in the way.”
Turning her back on the window, she glared at him. “So? Maybe being in the way was what he wanted! What she wanted! Who are you to tell people what they should and shouldn’t do? They love each other and that’s what you do when you love someone! You’re there for one another even if there’s nothing you can do to help. Maybe you’d know that if you were actually nice to somebody and they’d want to be with you.”
One dark brow arched at her. “Really?” he asked sarcastically.
Hope nodded. “Yes.”
“And tell me, does this apply only to those madly in love or would you say it goes for family members too?”
“Of course. Love is love. When you love someone, you want to be there to support them.”
“Interesting.”
There was something in his tone that didn’t sit right. Clearly he was trying to make a point but she wasn’t getting it. “What? What are you saying?”
He shrugged. “Nothing. It just occurred to me that for all that you do for your brother, and all the love that you show to him, it’s not really reciprocated.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked wearily, just wanting to be done with him and free to leave.
Without a word, Beckett nodded toward the window. Hope turned around and gasped. Her brother had stolen her car! All she could see were the taillights disappearing into the forest that she had driven through to get here. “No!” she cried and pulled the front door open.
Running down the steps and nearly killing herself slipping and sliding on the slick surface, she hit the ground running and called out after him. “Ted! Ted, come back!!” Obviously, he didn’t hear her and soon the car was completely out of sight. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Hope looked toward the driveway and saw her luggage and all of her personal belongings in a pile on the ground. “Son of a bitch!” she hissed.
She stood frozen in place in total shock by what she had just witnessed. Beckett came up behind her and let out a low whistle. She turned and glared at him over her shoulder.
“That’s what love gets you,” he said with a cocky grin before he walked over to the driveway and retrieved her things.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Like it or not, you’re stuck here. At least for tonight. I didn’t think you wanted your things to stay out in the snow.”
She didn’t but she also wasn’t ready to concede defeat either. “Are there any hotels nearby? I can call a cab.” Beckett didn’t appear to be listening as he continued up the front steps and into the house. Dejectedly, she walked up the stairs behind him. She found him in the foyer. “Seriously, I can’t stay here.”
“Why not?”
“Why not? Isn’t that obvious? You’re…you’re…”
“I know who I am, Hope.”
“Really? Are you sure? Because you seemed to conveniently leave that out whenever we spent time together. You knew how much I hated you and yet…”
He chuckled. “Which is exactly why I didn’t tell you who I was. Believe it or not, I enjoyed talking with you and spending time with you.” He stepped in close. “I particularly enjoyed kissing you.”
A hot blush crept up her cheeks. She did not want to be reminded of that right now. “Well…that doesn’t matter. Now that I know who you are and witnessed first-hand how you treat people, it won’t happen again.”
“The treating of people or the kissing?” he asked with a smirk.
She wanted to kick him in the shin and leave but she was stuck here, for the time being at least. “Where is the closest hotel?”
“Right here.”
She shook her head. “Not happening. I’m not staying here.”
“Hope, it’s snowing, you don’t have a car and it’s only for one night. There are ten suites here in the lodge. Trust me. There’s more than enough room for you.”
“I don’t give a damn about the space, Beckett,” she snapped. “I don’t want to be here with you!”
He studied her for a minute before taking a step back. “Make yourself at home. I’ve got some calls to make.”
She stood there completely enraged as she watched him walk away. Shock, anger, outrage…it was all there. Now she just needed to channel that energy into finding a way out of here and away from the insufferable G.B. James.
***
Hope stood there for a solid minute in stunned silence. Off in the distance she heard a door close and realized that she had thoroughly been dismissed.
“There is no way that I’m staying here,” she mumbled and pulled her phone out of her bag. The first call she made was to her brother to demand that he come back and get her, but – surprise, surprise – he didn’t answer. “He’s dead when I get my hands on him.”
Her only other option to get herself out of Beckett’s house was to do a quick Google search for hotels in the area and find a room for the night. It totally sucked and it wasn’t quite in her budget but desperate times called for desperate measures.
Ten minutes later, she had secured a room at a small hotel ten miles up the road. Another Google search helped her to locate a cab service and after giving them her location, the dispatcher didn’t seem all that confident that they would be able to get a car to her any time soon.
“I’m kind of desperate,” she pleaded with him. “My car was stolen and I need to get to a hotel for the night.”
“Ma’am,” the dispatcher said sympathetically, “with the way the snow is coming down, even if I had a car available, it would still take about an hour to get to you.”
“Please,” she said miserably. “I’ll even be waiting up by the road. I need to get out of here and to my hotel.”
The dispatcher paused for a long moment. “I’ll see what I can do, miss. But if I were you, I’d count on it being a minimum of an hour.”
It was only a small glimmer of hope but it was something. “Thank you! Thank you so much!” Hanging up the phone, Hope slipped it back into her purse and looked at her belongings. There was her rather bulky suitcase – which, thankfully, was on wheels – and another cooler bag filled with baked goods she had planned on sharing with Tara’s family. And her purse.
After several minutes of contemplation, she came to the realization that there was no way she could maneuver it all down the long and winding driveway in the snow. Reaching into the cooler bag, she played around with the tins until she managed to make one with a variety of her favorites in it and then put the rest back. Beckett could have them all if it meant she was getting out of here.
Looking out the window, Hope began to doubt her plan. The snow really was piling up and what if she made it all the way to the end of the driveway and the cab didn’t come for hours? Or not at all? Then she’d have to face the humiliation of dragging herself all the way back here and having to beg Beckett for a place to stay.
“Worst. Christmas. Ever.” Putting the cooler bag off to the side, Hope bundled up as best as she could, taking an extra sweater out of her suitcase and putting it on under her coat, and walked out the door.
***
Beckett paced in his spacious office and called himself every name in the book. What the hell had he been thinking? He knew who Hope was and how she felt about him and at the time it seemed harmless to sort of play with his name and not tell her who he was. But then he’d spent a little more time with her and really connected with her. It was quite the blow to
his ego when he realized just how much she hated him. Normally other people’s opinions of him didn’t matter but with Hope? It did.
And then there was Ted. For a moment it had been almost comical to watch him take off in Hope’s car. The look on her face was priceless. But the reality was that Ted had intentionally thrown his sister under the bus and taken the coward’s way out. True, Beckett realized, he could have been a little more lenient and let the man go and check up on his injured fiancée, but the reality was what it was – Ted was going to be of no use to his fiancée or anyone. It wasn’t the popular opinion, but it was the practical one.
Why couldn’t everyone be as practical and see logic like he could? Beckett wondered.
Now his work schedule was shot to hell and he was stuck here with a woman who hated his guts. He was used to dealing with people’s dislike of him, but he hated anyone messing with his work schedule.
James Enterprises ran like a well-oiled machine. Why? Because Beckett made sure that it did. He only hired the best and he expected nothing less than one hundred percent dedication from his employees. He didn’t grant favors or show favoritism and although that may not win him any awards amongst his employees, they all benefited from the profits he made year after year.
With Ted going off and leaving him, Beckett now faced the task of running numbers solo.
He hated math.
That was what he paid Ted and his entire department for. With a weary sigh, Beckett pulled out the first file he had planned on going over with Ted and scanned through it. His mind was blank. This new project was for a proposed ski resort right here in North Carolina. There were several resorts here already; hell, he was living in one right now, but this new one was going to be better than all of them. Posher. More luxurious. In the simplest terms, it was going to be the ultimate getaway for couples. It would make the Four Seasons look like a Holiday Inn, with guests’ every whim being catered to in suites so deluxe that they might never want to go outside to ski. In his mind, Beckett saw it all – the rooms, the lobby, all of the amenities.
Stranded: A Winter Romance Duet Page 7