Did Kendra just scoff? Well, Miss Top Sales Rep was in for some competition now.
“We agree that his joining the team here at Webber Pharmaceuticals will be mutually beneficial,” Roger continued. “Nolan can grow in this position while bringing a more intimate approach to the sales process.”
Intimate. Funny word choice. He’d already been intimate with one element of Webber Pharmaceuticals. As well as vulnerable and open...
Roger was staring at him. Waiting.
Shit, right, he should say something. He cleared his throat as quietly as possible. “Yes, that’s right. I’m excited to work with this amazing award-winning team and hope I can bring a fresh approach to the table.”
Another scoff from Kendra?
He’d totally call her out on it if it wasn’t his first five minutes with the company. No one else seemed to notice. Maybe they were all used to her not being a team player.
“Nolan will start officially next week, but he will be joining us for the team-building event this weekend,” Roger said.
He what? His head swung toward Roger. “Well, I’m not really officially part of the team just yet...” He’d only accepted the company’s offer the week before and moved from Juneau to Anchorage in record time. He’d planned on using the next few days to talk himself up to the challenge of pretending not to be infatuated with one of his sales staff. How the hell was he supposed to be impartial to her, treat her fairly, when she wasn’t just another coworker?
It terrified him that this one detail of the job could completely throw him off his game when he knew he could excel here. He’d needed a few more days to figure out how he was going to handle seeing Kendra every day, knowing he couldn’t be with her.
But Roger was adamant. “What better way to get acquainted with the team than jumping right out of your comfort zone and into a challenge?”
That was the problem. He’d jumped right out of his comfort zone three months ago when he’d met Kendra, and unfortunately, she’d allowed him to crash. He didn’t need a repeat of that disappointment so soon.
* * *
KENDRA’S FINGERS FLEW over her cell phone as she hurried out of the boardroom and down the hall to her office. Everyone else was greeting their new team member, but she’d had that pleasure already, so she’d faked needing to be on a conference call to skip out without question from Roger.
You’ll never guess what happened.
Her best friend Nisha’s reply was immediate:
YOU GOT THE PROMOTION?!
Kendra felt another sharp kick to her stomach at the mention of surprisingly the least devastating thing to happen in the last hour. She’d thought for sure she was going to get it. She’d been confident enough to tell Nisha about the possibility, and now she had to tell her friend that she’d been overlooked...for a man. And not just any man. One who’d been on her mind relentlessly for three months. One she’d talked to her best friend about for three months. One she’d really missed for three months.
Three long months of silence.
And he hadn’t even looked the slightest bit embarrassed or apologetic standing up there in the boardroom. She’d felt his eyes on her the whole time. What kind of uncaring, sadistic freak was he?
An amazingly sexy one who’d made her body and heart react in ways it never had before. Damn it! Before meeting Nolan, her main priority—scratch that—her only priority had been her career. She loved her job, she was good at it, and at twenty-six, she’d been at the point in her life where it was unapologetically her sole focus. Then she’d opened herself up to the possibility that a career wasn’t the only thing she wanted. It had shocked the hell out of her to realize that she was interested in a relationship. Seems it only took meeting a man she couldn’t resist to open her eyes to the fact that not only could she have it all, but that she wanted it all.
And then she was left with a void that hadn’t existed before.
No promotion. A new boss.
The sad-face emoji Nisha sent in reply partially mirrored how she felt: unhappy and disappointed, but also annoyed and conflicted. Three offices down the hall, Nolan would soon be settling in and casting a shadow over her in the process. Working with the first man she’d ever really had feelings for was going to be torture. Her office had once been a second home, a place where she felt confident and secure. Now she felt as though it were being invaded...just like her heart had been.
She hesitated briefly, then hit Send on the next message.
It gets worse. It’s the guy from Seattle.
Her cell phone rang immediately and Kendra closed her office door before answering. “Hey, Nish...”
“The love-at-first-sight guy is your new boss?” Her friend’s disbelief came out in a shrill tone.
Kendra winced. Maybe she had to stop being so open with her friend. It was embarrassing that her gut feelings about situations and people were so off. From now on, she’d tell Nisha things after they happened. No more counting unhatched chickens for dinner.
“What the hell am I going to do? Working with him is going to be very difficult.” Understatement. Especially since seeing him hadn’t triggered feelings of rage or resentment. It had only brought back memories of how freaking great they’d been together.
Sure, it had only been a week. But it had been the best week of her life.
They’d met the first day of the pharmaceutical conference at the registration desk. She’d been dripping Seattle raindrops from her hair when he turned to her and joked, “Rainy enough for you?”
“I’m from Alaska, so the rain doesn’t bother me. It’s a nice break from all the snow,” Kendra said, receiving her badge and attendee schedule.
“You’re from Alaska?” Nolan’s voice had warmed her right away, and when she’d turned and met his friendly smile, she’d been hooked. Never one to believe in love at first sight, she’d definitely started to question her stance on the subject.
“Yes, Anchorage. Where are you from?”
“Juneau.”
Had the planets actually aligned in her favor? A guy who was hot as hell and lived in her state? In her field of work? They weren’t exactly neighbors—Anchorage and Juneau were separated by a twelve-hour drive and a ferry ride—but she was already mapping the route in her mind and juggling her vacation days.
“Which company are you here with?” And was he traveling with coworkers or was he up for a conference buddy? She wasn’t prepared to share her leads...but someone to sit next to at the sessions and have meals with would be nice. Maybe explore the city with in the evenings after the networking sessions wrapped up.
“Pharmatech.” He glanced at her badge. “Wow—Webber Pharmaceuticals. Impressive. I think we might currently be up for the same client, actually.”
Interesting. Her competitive spirit was piqued, only enhancing her interest in the guy. “Well, then, my condolences in advance.”
His grin was downright drool-worthy as he nodded. “Stiff competition for sure. Actually, I’ve been interested in working for Webber for years. Applied a few times.”
“Really? And relocating to Anchorage wouldn’t be a problem for you...and your family?” Okay, she was fishing. Could he tell? He wasn’t wearing a wedding ring, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t blissfully betrothed with six adorable children.
If he sensed the intention behind her question, he didn’t seem to mind as he answered, “No family to consider. I mean, I have a family, like parents and stuff...just not wife, kids...that kind of thing.” He cleared his throat awkwardly.
If she was still asleep on the plane and this was all a dream, Kendra was going to be severely pissed off when she woke up.
But it hadn’t been a dream. It had been the start of an amazing week together. They’d attended most of the same presentations and met up for lunch. They’d had dinner together every night and stayed up all hours talking a
nd walking along the pier. And then their final night: they’d spent it together...in each other’s arms. She’d never been someone who opened herself up easily, but it had felt natural and right with Nolan. It had seemed like she’d known him her entire life. Thinking that her life had changed that week had both terrified and excited her. They connected on so many levels—emotional and physical. He was the first man she’d met and been genuinely interested in who wasn’t at all intimidated or put off by her drive and ambition. In fact, Nolan had been attracted to it.
He’d hinted about seeing each other again when they got back to Alaska, and she’d eagerly agreed that she’d like to continue what they’d started that week. Figure out the distance thing somehow. She’d been more optimistic and excited about it than she’d been about anything in so long... Could she have found Mr. Right?
And then her fantasy had evaporated when she never heard from him again.
Until now.
Had she read the situation completely wrong? Or had winning the client they’d been competing for cost her the guy? She didn’t want to believe that Nolan would be a sore loser, but admittedly she really didn’t know him after a week, despite their connection.
“When does he start?” Nisha asked, breaking into her thoughts.
“Next week, but get this—Roger’s sending us on a survival training team-building thing this weekend. How am I going to survive this?” she groaned, rolling her eyes toward the ceiling, hoping to find the answer written there.
“This is actually perfect,” Nisha said.
Had her best friend lost her mind? “Did you not hear me? Wilderness survival training—two full days...” She gulped. “And nights stuck with him.”
“Exactly. Think of it as bypassing the frying pan and leaping right on into the flames.”
Her friend’s analogy was spot-on. Kendra was terrified of getting burned again.
“You’re going to go on that wilderness survival training and you’re going to show Mr. Heartless that you are completely fine, that you are strong and competent, and you haven’t given him a second thought since Seattle.”
Kendra nodded, swallowing hard. But she had given him a second thought. A lot of second thoughts. As much as she was annoyed by his ghosting, she couldn’t help but feel that what they’d shared was real. She hadn’t imagined it, had she? Her instincts really couldn’t be that off, could they?
She hoped not, as she was going to need them to survive the Alaskan wilderness that weekend.
* * *
“SO, DID LITTLE Miss Wrong Number faint when she saw you walk into her office?”
No, but Nolan almost had. His cell phone cradled between his shoulder and chin, Nolan collapsed into the chair of his soon-to-be new office before confessing the truth to his best friend. “Man, I did not think it was going to be so hard seeing her again, but damn...” Being fourteen hours away hadn’t helped erase her from his thoughts and now she was just a short hallway walk away.
“But you held it together, right?”
“Barely,” he mumbled. His buddy didn’t get it. Married to his high school sweetheart with a baby on the way, Matt had never experienced the heartache of wanting someone and being rejected.
And she looked even more beautiful than in his memories—that certainly hadn’t helped mend his broken heart. She’d blushed when he walked in the room, which reminded him of another encounter that had her flushed and sweaty... A night of passion like none he’d ever experienced before. It had completely caught him off guard in the best way; for the first time in years, he’d allowed himself to fall.
And then Kendra had let him fall further, down a dark hole of second-guessing and doubt.
“Well, don’t lose sight of your goals,” Matt was saying. “You busted ass for years for this opportunity. You can’t throw it away on some woman.”
If only she’d been just some woman. “Yeah, yeah, I know. It’ll be fine. We’re both adults.” Now coworkers who’d seen each other naked, who’d spent all hours of the night tangled up in one another. Who’d had a hard time saying goodbye as she’d left his hotel room, knowing they were headed to different sides of Alaska. Damn, he’d replayed those final moments together so many times, and not once could he detect hesitation from her when she said she wanted to keep in touch, see him again. He prided himself on being good at reading people, so what had he missed?
He swallowed hard. “We just need to survive this team-building event this weekend in Wild River.” Tents. Close quarters. Stressful situations. All the ingredients for a recipe for disaster.
“Hey, you got this, man.” But even Matt’s confidence sounded like it was wavering. Everyone knew feelings were less difficult to ignore in the light of day. Come sunset, all bets were off. “You’re wiser now,” he said. “Don’t let her play you this time.”
Nolan suspected it was easier said than done. He’d fallen hook, line and sinker for her the first time and that was before he knew how incredible she was.
“I don’t plan on it,” he said, but he was unsure if that call was his to make. The heart wanted what it wanted. Though Kendra’s quick exit from the boardroom told him she might not be interested in playing any kind of games with him anymore. And while that should give him a sense of relief, it didn’t.
“The good news is that at least now you can put this whole thing to rest,” Matt said.
Nolan frowned. Seemed to him this whole thing was just beginning. “What do you mean?”
“Well, you can’t exactly date her now anyway if you’re her boss, right?”
His stomach dropped as though he’d plunged on a roller coaster. He hadn’t really thought about it. He’d been too focused on getting through their first face-to-face encounter since the last time he saw her—when he’d kissed her so long in the hotel hallway that her taxi to the airport had almost left without her. But Matt was right. “That’s true,” Nolan said.
And that should make things at least a little easier... So why did he suddenly feel less excited about this opportunity he’d just moved across Alaska for?
CHAPTER TWO
SNOWTREK TOURS WAS one of the best adventure tourism companies in Alaska. It might have been located in the heart of the ski resort town of Wild River, but its reputation for providing one-of-a-kind, adrenaline-filled experiences for all athletic abilities was second to none.
Still, that knowledge did not put her mind at ease as Kendra stood on the uneven, slightly muddy ground of “base camp” late Friday afternoon with only her water bottle, a new pocketknife and the required piece of rope as the company’s tour guides unloaded the emergency-only supplies from the van. Not that there was much to unload. Just a few extra water bottles, a first aid kit, a flare gun and walkie-talkies.
Her boss had actually signed the eight of them up for real wilderness survival training. Albeit a shortened two-day version, it was still going to be a challenge, not some comfy glamping trip with inflatable beds and shower facilities.
Kendra was about to spend a lot of time with Nolan and she was going to look...well, like someone who hadn’t had proper hygiene maintenance for two days. Not that he seemed to care what she looked like. He’d barely glanced her way at all on the uncomfortable drive from Anchorage to Wild River, where they’d carpooled in several SUVs. He’d sat in the front seat and made comfortable, idle chitchat with their boss while she’d sat cramped between two other male sales reps in the back seat.
She dared a quick peek at him now and immediately wished she hadn’t. Dressed in a pair of gray sweatpants and a tight black Under Armour T-shirt, running shoes on his feet and a Seattle Mariners baseball hat—the baseball hat he’d bought in Seattle that week—he looked too gorgeous to her broken heart. Sunglasses on, she couldn’t tell if he was looking at her or at the guides as they called everyone in for a briefing. Secretly she hoped the guides made him hand the sunglasses over, like they
had with all their other personal items back at the shop. Without her own sunglasses, she was at a disadvantage, not being able to hide her emotions behind dark lenses.
“Okay, is everyone excited to get started?” Cassie Reynolds, the owner of SnowTrek Tours, asked the group. So much energy in her five-foot-nothing frame. She looked actually pumped to be spending two nights out there, roughing it.
A low rumble of forced enthusiasm came from the group, but Cassie wasn’t dissuaded as she launched into the safety briefing.
Kendra tried to focus on information that could actually save her life, but her attention was elsewhere. For the next forty-eight hours there would be no getting away from Nolan. No avoiding him. How was he feeling about this? Could he really just be okay forgetting about their time together and not even addressing it? Did Cassie have any really useful tips, like how to survive close quarters with an ex-lover?
“And before anyone panics, you won’t be taking on the next two days alone. We are going to pair everyone up for the weekend’s challenges,” Cassie’s colleague, Mike something-or-other—she’d been distracted during the introductions—said. “The key is to work together. Push one another. Help each other. Use your strengths and lean on your partner in areas where you might not be as strong. Your success out here this weekend depends on your ability to work as a team. And to make things more fun, along the way, you’ll be competing against the other teams for points.”
Cassie nodded as she stepped forward again. “That’s right, and keep in mind that while this course is the beginner, shortened version of our certification course, it will be demanding. Some of you may not be able to keep up, and that’s okay, but we hope you’ll have fun and learn some new skills. Most of all, you’ll learn about yourselves as you become more aware of your perseverance and strength.”
Roger nodded as he glanced at the group.
Kendra stood straighter and forced herself to forget about Nolan and focus on her own goals. This was another test of her abilities and she was determined to shine. She would show her boss that she could adapt, be resourceful, think outside the box—whatever it took to prove that she deserved the other, still available, senior sales position.
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