by A. J. Wynter
“Thomas is the principal in our land acquisition department.” I swept my hand toward my executive. “Perhaps he can start things off.”
Thomas cleared his throat. “Sure,” he said. He raised his eyebrows at me. I always took the lead in meetings, but there was something about this Charlotte O’Hare that had unnerved me.
“As you may have heard, Caldwell International is in the process of acquiring the ski resort here in Chance Rapids, along with several of the local heli-ski operations.”
Charlotte nodded. “It’s a small town. I’ve heard.” She smiled wryly and leaned back, crossing her arms across her chest.
“Right.” Thomas pulled out a glossy brochure. “You also may have heard that we are in the process of amending the town’s official plan in order to apply for an expansion to the existing mountain village. He pushed the glossy brochure towards Charlotte. She picked it up and quickly flipped through its pages, pausing at the center fold.
“Is this a high rise?” she pointed to the tower that was planned for the town square.
“It is,” Thomas said. “Twenty stories, with commercial units on the first and second floors.”
Charlotte turned the page to the summer section. “And is this a McBroom golf course?”
The woman knew her stuff.
“There are going to be three of them.” Thomas grinned. “We are going to turn this town into a year-round destination.”
“Three golf courses,” Charlotte said quietly and then shut the brochure. “It looks like you’ve got everything all planned out. What did you need from me?” she asked.
Baxter interjected. “There are a few landowners who are holding out.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Is that so?”
He couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or not, so he continued, “And there are a few who we can’t reach.”
“And where do I come into all of this?” she asked.
“We were hoping that you could provide us with some current market information, trends, comparable sales and the like.” I leaned forward and placed my hands gently on the table, a negotiation tactic that showed that I was open to a response. She didn’t bite. She remained silent, another negotiation tactic, so I continued. “We would compensate you of course.”
“Is that all?” she asked.
“Well,” The room felt like it had shot up ten degrees and the collar of my shirt was strangling me. “We were hoping to find some local business people who would be supportive of the project. And in your case, perhaps approach some of the landowners and convince them that they would be crazy not to sell,” I continued.
“Mr. Caldwell.” Charlotte pushed the brochure across the table away from her. “If you want to get the locals on board with your plan, you’re going to have to change it. That...” She pointed to the brochure. “Does not help out the community. That is creating another community that will take business away from the downtown core. And I’m no expert, but it looks like those three golf courses will probably impact some of the natural habitats. Most people around here would rather have grizzly bears than golf courses.”
Baxter had scheduled the meeting with the realtor first, assuming that she would be on board with the development. This meeting was not going as planned. “Are you sure about that?”
“No. As I said, I’m not an expert, but opposition to your project is strong. If you want to get this to go through, I highly suggest you communicate with the community, ask them what they want, what will make their lives better. And Mr. Caldwell—”
“Baxter,” he interrupted.
“Baxter,” she smiled. “Your biggest hurdle is going to be getting the Conservation Authority on board.”
Barry chuckled. “We’ve got them under control.”
“You do?” Charlotte raised her eyebrows. “How so?”
“Our pockets are deeper than theirs,” Thomas replied. “Our lawyers are better than theirs.”
“Well, it sounds like you’ve got everything sorted out then, doesn’t it?” The smile had disappeared from her face. Fucking Thomas, getting all cocky about their resources. Baxter didn’t want to reprimand him in front of the rest of the team, or this beautiful stranger, but that idiot had just blown their shot with one of the few people in town who might have actually been on their side.
“We’ve got a meeting with the Conservation Authority tomorrow.” I kept my voice low and flat, trying to bring some calm back to the room. “Mrs. O’Hare...”
“Miss.”
“Miss O’Hare.” I stood up. “I want to thank you so much for your time. You have given us a lot to think about. Perhaps we need to come to this development with a different strategy.”
“I think that would be wise.” She stood and my team followed suit. “Come back to me when you have a revised plan. One that won’t destroy this small town, and then I will consider helping you.” She opened the door to the conference room, signaling the end of the meeting. “Aligning myself with your project as it stands, would be career suicide for me. I hope that you understand.”
He did. They left O’Hare Realty and headed back to the swanky lodge. As they drove, Baxter started to wonder if they were in way over their heads. His dad was going to kill him. Had he underestimated these small-town people?
Chapter 5
SKIS AND POLES RATTLED around in the back of the car as Lauren drove to her sister’s house. As soon as the car was parked, Tabitha jumped out and ran to the front door.
“Whoa,” Lauren yelled. “I’m not your porter. Come and help with your stuff.”
Tabitha skipped down the heated driveway and the two of them carried her ski gear to the front door where Charlotte was waiting.
“Thanks so much for taking her,” Lauren said. She handed Tabitha’s ski boots to Charlotte. Of course, one of the most important days of her career had arrived, on the same day as a professional development day for the school.
“No problem.” Charlotte rested her hand on Tabitha’s head. “Although, soon I’m going to have a hard time keeping up with her on the slopes.”
“You already do,” Tabitha grinned and headed inside.
Charlotte smiled and shook her head. “Sassy. I like it.” Then she turned to face her sister. “Are you ready for this?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Lauren replied. “I’m actually glad that they moved up the meeting. We might as well get this over with. Are you going to tell me what they wanted from you?” Lauren asked.
“Are you allowed to ask me that?” her sister smiled.
“It’s probably better if you don’t answer,” Lauren muttered.
“I told them to take a hike,” Charlotte smiled.
“You did?” Lauren looked at her sister. “Really?” Her sister was a businesswoman through and through, and if there was money to be made somewhere, she would be the one to do it.
“You were right, their plan is terrible. It would ruin this town.” Charlotte leaned her head on the open door. “I can’t be a part of something like that, even if I would’ve made some very good money.”
“Who are you right now?” Lauren laughed.
“I know,” Charlotte smiled. “I guess this small town is getting to me.”
“Well, it looks good on you.” Lauren was shocked and proud of her sister at the same time.
“You better get going, Tabitha has probably eaten half of my refrigerator by now,” she laughed.
LAUREN PULLED UP TO the Sugar Peaks Café. She usually made coffee at work but figured that the big city executives might turn up their noses at the instant stuff. The café was always busy, and this morning was no exception. She stood behind some snow pants-clad skiers and waited for her turn to order. To her surprise, Megan was working at the counter.
“Hi, Meg,” Lauren smiled. “Where’s the baby?”
Megan pointed to the cash register, where the baby carrier was sitting. “That kid can sleep through anything, except the night,” she laughed.
Lauren
smiled and laughed with her but wondered if Megan should be working. The circles under her eyes were even darker than they had been the day before, but she kept her opinion to herself, who was she to judge? She had brought Tabitha to her office all the time and had pumped breast milk in the break room. She knew how hard it was to be a new mom, and how critical others could be of their choices.
“What can I get for you?” she asked.
“How about four black coffees.” Lauren had cream and sugar at the office, the Caldwell executives could doctor up their own coffees.
“Coming right up.” Megan turned to pour the coffee.
Lauren checked her watch; she was cutting it close. Those executives should be the ones bringing the coffee, she thought to herself as she pulled out a ten-dollar bill. She looked around the coffee shop and saw mostly familiar faces and waved when she saw Freddie and Serena at one of the tables in the back. She paid for the coffee and pulled on her mittens as Megan passed the tray to her.
“Thanks, Meg,” Lauren smiled.
“You’re welcome,” Megan replied.
“Hey, Meg.” Lauren paused. “If you ever need a break, I might be a little rusty, but I’d love to spend some time with a baby, so would Tabby.”
Megan’s eyes lit up. “Thank you, Lauren. I might take you up on that.”
“Please do.” It was a genuine offer. Lauren would’ve killed for a few hours off here and there when Tabitha was young.
Lauren paused to say hi to Serena and Freddie and then headed out the door. Lauren was thankful that the sidewalks had been freshly plowed as she hurried along in her boots. The sidewalks could be treacherously icy during the in-between phase when Mother Nature was still trying to decide whether it was fall or winter.
Today, it was winter, and she was focusing on keeping her feet underneath her. She heard heels crunching on the hard-packed snow behind her, their owner marching at a faster pace than she was. She moved to the side to allow the speed walker room to pass. “Thanks,” the woman said breathlessly as she squeezed by, also carrying a tray of coffees. Lauren glanced down and saw that the woman was wearing expensive leather boots, with a heel far too high for the sidewalk conditions. Lauren shook her head, even her sister had retired all of her impractical footwear from her Chance Rapids closet.
Lauren’s focus was abruptly drawn back upward as the woman screeched. The scene in front of her went into slow motion, the tray of coffee shooting up into the air, the lids flying off the cups as steaming coffee rained down on the sidewalk. Now freed from the coffee tray, the woman’s hands flailed wildly, grasping for anything to save her, as her feet, first the left, then the right, flew up over her head.
Her hands found Lauren’s coat sleeve and she grabbed on with a death grip. The momentum from the woman’s body crashing to the ground pulled Lauren to her knees. Lauren tried to hold the tray of coffee upright but lost the fight. The two of them crumpled to the ground amidst a sea of steaming coffee.
Lauren sat on the sidewalk blinking as she assessed the level of damage. She grimaced as she pressed up from the ground to a half-kneeling position, breathing a sigh of relief as she realized that nothing was broken. She rubbed her ass, her tailbone wasn’t broken either, but it was going to be bruised. Thankfully, her sweater had absorbed most of the hot coffee, and its clammy warmth clung heavily to her chest.
Two sets of expensive shoes appeared, and she felt strong hands slip under her arms, helping her to her feet. “Are you okay?” The girl groaned as she was helped up.
“I’m fine, just a little...” She pulled her coffee-soaked sweater away from her chest, “wet.”
“Oh no.” The girl’s eyes went wide as she took in Lauren’s cream-colored sweater that now featured a dark brown avant-garde looking coffee splotch.
Lauren brushed the snow off her arms. “It’s okay.” The girl obviously felt terrible, and Lauren tried to shrug off the incident, even though one of her best sweaters was ruined.
The man who had helped her up was bending down again, picking up the empty cardboard cups that had been rolling around on the sidewalk. “Let me replace the coffee. It’s the least I can...” As he stood up and turned to face Lauren, the cups slipped out of his hand and clattered back down to the ground.
Chance Rapids was full of good-looking men, but this man was the hottest guy she had seen in years. Her heart started hammering hard against her ribcage. Amongst the sea of rugged mountain men sporting plaid coats, this clean-cut man with eyes the color of ice staring at her from behind thick-rimmed glasses, stood out like a sore thumb.
“It’s alright,” Lauren bent down to pick up the cups. “I know the owner,” she smiled.
“Absolutely not,” the second man, the oldest of the group, stepped in between them. “Come on, Nicole, we’ll get more coffee.” He dragged the red-faced girl back to the café.
Left with the Clark Kent doppelganger, Lauren noticed that the man’s bottom lip was quivering. Was he cold?
“Your sweater.” He pointed to her chest.
She gripped her wool coat closed with her mittens. “It should come out.” She knew that it wouldn’t. The sweater was ruined.
“Is that cashmere?” he asked.
“A blend,” Lauren sighed.
“Did you get burned?” His eyes kept flitting down to her chest, but Lauren understood why.
“No, thankfully the fibers absorbed most of the liquid before it could reach my skin.”
“I’m so sorry.” He looked at his watch. “Come on.” He grabbed her by her hand, and Lauren stiffened at the unexpected touch.
“Oh.” He looked at his own hand like he couldn’t believe what it had done. He let go of her hand like it was burning hot. “Let me buy you a new sweater.” He pointed to the outdoors store across the street. “We can find one there.”
“You don’t need to buy me a new sweater.”
“Yes, yes, I do,” he yelled as he crossed the street. When he reached the other side, he turned and opened his arms wide, “If you don’t come, I’ll be forced to pick it out myself.”
Lauren’s hammering heart stopped completely. The whooshing in her ears had stopped too. Everything went silent as Lauren stared at the man across the street. There was something drawing her to him, and before her brain could catch up, her feet started crossing the street on autopilot. He was like a magnet, drawing her in.
“Shall we?” He crooked his arm and she accepted it, sliding her mitten in to rest on his wool coat. “After all, I’ve heard that these sidewalks can be slippery.”
“Your shoes are probably worse than mine,” she managed to stammer. Her heart had started working again and resumed its hard pounding.
“Yeah,” he laughed. “Why do you think I’m holding onto you?”
She laughed. He continued his gentlemanlike behavior by opening the door for her and gesturing for her to enter ahead of him.
“Where are your finest sweaters?” the man asked the clerk.
“On the wall there.” The clerk pointed to the right-hand side of the store.
They made their way through the sea of Gore-Tex ski coats to the wall of base layers and sweaters.
“How about this one?” he asked, holding up a hideous floral cardigan.
“Maybe for my grandma.” She took it from his hand and hung it back up.
They both reached for an emerald green sweater at the same time. He set it in her hands. “This is the one.”
She flipped over the price tag. This was one of the stores her sister shopped in, not her, and she almost fell over when she saw the four-hundred-dollar price tag. “No,” she handed it back to him. “It’s too much.”
“Just try it on.” He held his hands tight to his body like a T-rex so he couldn’t accept the sweater.
She couldn’t shove the sweater back into his hands no matter how hard she tried. He glanced at his watch again, and Lauren realized that if she didn’t hurry, she was going to be late too. She sighed. She couldn’t show up to the me
eting with Caldwell wearing a stained shirt. “I’ll try it on, but I’m paying for it.” She turned and stepped into one of the change rooms. She clicked the lock shut rested her forehead on the back of the door. This man was bringing out feelings in her she thought had disappeared forever. Her hands were shaking as she peeled off the offending coffee-stained sweater and wiped at her chest with the sleeves. She pulled the silky green sweater over her head. It felt like butter against her skin, fitting her like it was made just for her. If she put it on her credit card, she could have it paid off soon enough, she rationalized. She pulled off the tags, rolled her ruined sweated into a ball and put her coat back on. She stepped out of the changing room and glanced around the store, disappointed but also relieved that the dark-haired man wasn’t anywhere in sight. She made her way to the cash register, her breath shallow and her heart pounding in her ears as she glanced around the store, trying to catch sight of him. But from the displays of cross-country ski hats to the leather gloves from Norway, there was no sign of him, he was gone.
She pulled out her wallet, but the clerk shook her head. “That man already paid for it.” Her eyes sparkled as she winked at Lauren.
“Can you refund it and put it on this card?” Lauren shoved the card at the clerk.
“Nope,” the girl smiled and shook her head.
Lauren slid the card back into her wallet and bolted out onto the street. She frantically looked left and right, but there was no sign of the man. “Shit,” she muttered to herself. She hadn’t even gotten his name.
Chapter 6
HE RECOGNIZED HER THE second he laid eyes on her. There she was, sprawled out on the sidewalk, taken out by his clumsy assistant. She looked as good as he remembered, with the same freckles and dark hair that had glowed in the candlelight. But the eyes. He would never forget those emerald eyes, and he couldn’t believe that he had doubted himself the day before. The realtor was pretty and had similar features, but she wasn’t her.