by Ali Parker
“I will.”
I walked away and checked in with the displays. All of them were still standing. I stopped by the pop-up and found it was doing fine as well. I started out the back and ran into Cori. She nearly dumped her coffee on me.
“Is everything okay?” I asked her, noticing she looked a little frazzled.
She groaned. “No. It will never be okay. For one, that devil cat scratched the hell out of me.”
I had to stop my smile. “Did you try to give it a bath again?”
“It smells like sour milk!” she said.
“Sweetie, cats notoriously hate water. Let her clean herself and you’ll both be happier.”
She wrinkled her nose. “It’s his fault.”
“Whose fault?”
“Nick. Why would he give me a cat?”
“Because he was being nice.”
“No, he’s not. He thinks one kiss changes everything. I will never drunkenly kiss another man. That was stupid. He won’t leave me alone.”
“How so? Is this something Chase needs to know about?”
“No, no, no. Nick is convinced there was chemistry. He’s convinced we are meant to be together. I don’t want to be with him.”
“Obviously, you are attracted to the guy. He is pretty damn hot.”
“No! He’s Chase’s best friend. Chase would have a fit if he thought I was hooking up with Nick. He already told me to stay away from him.”
“Why would he tell you that?”
“Because he is Chase.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
She let out a long sigh. “I know. He dated my best friend in high school and didn’t ask me how I felt about it.”
It was the first time I considered she might not have been okay with the two of us dating. “True,” I said, not wanting to get into all of that.
“It doesn’t matter. I’m not dating Nick. I don’t like him in the least.”
“Liar.”
“He’s attractive but he’s not my type.”
I smiled, certain she was protesting a little too much. “If you say so.”
“I have to get in there.”
“I stopped at the shop. The worker said it was a very successful first day of sales.”
Her eyes lit up. “It really was. I just knew people would want all the shiny baubles. We’re going to run out of stock before Christmas.”
“Should you order more?”
“Nope. Limited edition is limited edition. It will make people want it more.”
“Good strategy and good job. It’s really a good thing.”
Later that evening, Parker and I were alone in our suite.
I took off my shoes and propped my feet up on the coffee table with a glass of chardonnay in my hand. “God, this feels good.”
“Yes, it does. I worked my ass off today.”
“You and me both, but it was a good day.”
“They did an about-face,” she said. “The Santas. They were on their best behavior.”
“I got a stack of notes from pleased guests. It was so much better than the stack from the night before.”
She sipped her wine. “You rocked that outfit. If I would have known that’s what needed doing, I would have told you to slap that thing on earlier.”
I laughed. “Me too. I can’t believe it actually worked.”
“Which reminds me, there is a reporter coming to stay for a couple of nights. I’m hoping to give her a stay she won’t forget. We need some publicity and this is a great way to get it from an inside point of view.”
I winced. “Is that a good idea? I’m not sure we are ready for that. Today might have been a fluke. These guys are like wild animals. They can turn on you at any moment.”
“Cori set it up. She knows her.”
I wasn’t sure that was a great idea but Cori was the boss’s sister. “I will have another conversation with our team.”
“Are you going to wear the hot outfit again?”
“It wasn’t sexy! What the hell is wrong with you people? It’s Mrs. Claus. You guys had some weird childhoods if you think that is normal.”
She giggled. “You wore stripper heels.”
“They are not stripper heels. They were a necessary evil. I needed the height or those pants would have tripped me.”
“And the lipstick?”
I shrugged. “It needed a little oomph.”
“Oh, that was some oomph.”
“It worked,” I told her, trying to play it off.
“Yes, it did, but I think you might have to hold weekly rallies to make sure they don’t forget who is boss. Keep those heels and lipstick handy.”
“I’m just glad I have a job. Did you know I resigned?”
“You were serious about that?” she asked, her eyes wide.
“Yes. Very. I was on my way out the door when I got the idea to give them one last speech. I was going to leave afterward but Chase stopped me.”
“Because he knows you are the best there is and because he wants you.”
“Unfortunately, that last part can’t happen.”
“Why not? You guys are made for each other. You’ve got that whole dark and light, yin and yang thing going. He’s funny. You’re serious. It’s all very cute and you guys play off each other so well.”
I didn’t want to get into the whole sordid story. I didn’t want to think about the sordid story. “It isn’t that simple. We have history and that history makes it difficult to hop into another relationship with him.”
“I would think it would make it a little easier. You already know each other. All the preliminary stuff is out of the way. There are no mundane questions about where you grew up and who your parents are and all that stuff. You get to jump right to the good stuff.”
“But we have history and that gets in the way. It’s hard to forget old hurts.”
“Girl, how long ago was it?”
“Ten years.”
“You need to decide if holding a grudge is really worth sacrificing what could be a lot of happiness.”
“It’s not that I’m holding a grudge, but those old hurts aren’t easy to just let go of.”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I think you have a choice. You’re choosing to hold on to something that hurt you back then. I have a feeling you’ve probably moved past it. Why can’t you look at the fact he’s back in your life and things are going really well with the two of you?”
I tossed a piece of popcorn at her. “Stop being so sensible. Let’s talk about this thing that’s happening with you and Jake. What’s going on with that?”
She turned about three shades of red. I knew that would shut her up.
Chapter 29
Chase
I walked into the small conference room where my leadership team was waiting. That was what I was calling them. My A-team. They were the people that were leading this grand opening. I had a renewed sense of confidence after a really good day yesterday. I wanted to make sure we kept up the positive momentum.
“Good morning,” I said, taking my seat at the table where Cori, Harper, Parker, and Jake were already seated. They were all sipping on coffee.
“What’s this about?” Cori asked. “I need to get to the shop. If you want to chew our asses, do it later.”
“Relax. I’m not chewing anyone’s ass. I want to thank all of you for the hard work. Yesterday was great. The Santa thing is really turning out well. I think we’ve turned a corner, which means it’s time to look ahead.”
“Look ahead?” Harper asked.
“The event team is feeding off the momentum you guys have created. They are ready to put the finishing touches on the Vail Business Council’s annual Christmas party. This is a really big deal. We were lucky to land the deal. We can’t screw it up. It all has to be perfect. I trust them, but to be perfectly honest, I trust you all more.”
I didn’t miss the looks of pride on their faces. They had every right to be proud of the job they had done.
<
br /> “What do you want us to do?” Jake asked.
“Go over every detail. They are doing a winter-wonderland theme, so I know you guys are familiar with that. Your execution was perfect. I want to make sure the event team has the same attention to detail. They are running with a white, silver, and blue color scheme. They are planning snow-covered appetizers and so on. Harper, you did such an amazing job at the photo set. Can you bring that same excellence to the event?”
“I can try, but honestly, it was a lot of Parker’s ideas.”
“Then the two of you will be in charge of décor. Cori, can you handle the accessories? They want little tree stirrer sticks and things like that.”
“I can do that,” she answered.
“Jake,” I said.
He held up a hand. “I know. Everything else.”
I smiled. “Basically. Thank you.”
“Anything else?” Cori asked.
“No. Keep up the good work.”
The meeting broke up. Before Harper could leave, I gently touched her arm. “Can we grab lunch later? I’d like to go over some details.”
She nodded. “Sure. I’ll find you around noon.”
“Works for me,” I said and followed her out of the room.
She thought those details were about the event, but I was not going to miss the chance to make things right with her. I went to my office and worked on a few things, counting down the minutes until I could see her again.
When it was time for lunch, I walked into the lobby and looked for her. She was chatting with a young woman. I waited until she noticed me.
“Ready?”
“Are we going to the restaurant?” she asked.
“No, I was thinking we could get away from the resort for a bit.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
I looked around. “I think they have things well in hand. They can call us if there is anything that requires our immediate attention. We have to trust them, right?”
She looked uneasy but agreed. “It would be nice to leave the grounds. I feel like I’ve been living and breathing this place forever.”
“It’s been a while. The driver is waiting.”
We got into the waiting SUV and were immediately on the move. I had an ulterior motive to taking her to lunch. The SUV pulled to a stop at one of the many five-star restaurants in the city. We were shown to the table I’d reserved.
“What’d you want to talk about?” she asked.
I took a drink from the water glass. “I wanted to tell you how proud I am of the work you’ve done. You really are doing well. Very well. I’m impressed. The party is going to be attended by some of the most influential business owners in the city. It’s going to be a real who’s who in Vail and, of course, Boulder.”
She nodded. “I’ll make sure I check all the details. If there is anything that needs attention, I will let you know. I’m sure they’ll have everything under control. I don’t want to step on their toes.”
“You aren’t stepping on their toes.”
“I hope not.”
“There’s something else I wanted to talk to you about,” I said, getting to the reason I really wanted to talk to her. I felt a little guilty about my little white lie.
“What is it?”
“Would you attend the party with me?” I asked.
“I assumed I would be there working.”
“No, not work the party. As a guest. My guest. Dare I say, my date?” I added the last bit with a small laugh to keep it light. I didn’t want to scare her off.
She didn’t immediately answer. “I will go with you, but this is strictly professional.”
I held up my glass. “Of course.”
Professional, my ass. It was a two-fold mission. I wanted to introduce her to some of the business owners that she could possibly seek out to employ her. I was going to introduce her to the most arrogant, self-important owners that would make her life miserable should she choose to work for them.
“Is this going to be one of those parties where I will be expected to schmooze?” she teased.
“Schmoozing is optional. I’ll make some introductions and you can get to know the rest of the business world here in Vail. It’s small and most everyone knows everyone.”
“It would be good to make some contacts,” she agreed.
We both knew why she wanted to make contacts. She was planning on leaving me at the end of the season. She viewed my job as temporary.
I wanted to make it permanent. I wanted her to work with me and help transform the entire chain. We could fly to each resort together making necessary changes. We made a good team professionally and personally. I was hoping to use that professional relationship to convince her of the personal relationship.
“It’s a formal event,” I said, already picturing her in a tight black dress or maybe a dark green dress that brought out her eyes.
“I’m sure I can find something. There are plenty of shops in town.”
“Yes, I’m sure you will be absolutely stunning.”
I noticed the faint blush. I liked making her blush. She looked so damn pretty. “Thank you. Will you be wearing a tux?”
“I will.”
“Is this event a good place to pitch some potential marketing events for the resort?” she asked. “I mean, if you have all the bigwigs in one place, it seems natural to want to impress them.”
I smiled. “It wouldn’t be terrible if we landed a few more banquets and parties. But no hard sales. I am hoping the event speaks for itself.”
“I’ll have a small, discreet table set up outside the ballroom with brochures and event ideas. We had some made up earlier. This is a great place to pitch future events without even trying.”
“Good plan. I like it. This is why I need you as my marketing manager.”
She waved a hand. “Anyone would have thought of it. That’s what we’re paid to do.”
“I’ve worked with marketing managers before,” I said. “Trust me when I say I know real talent. I would love to talk to you about a full rebranding campaign once this season is over.”
I saw her bristle. She was still not ready to talk long term. It pissed me off. I was a good boss. She had total control over the marketing. Most places would not give her such freedom. I hated that she refused to look at me or my job as worthy of sticking around.
“Let’s get through the next couple of weeks,” she said with a forced smile.
“Agreed.”
We ate our lunch and it was over too quickly. I wanted to spend more time with her. It was hard to be this close to her but not allowed to tell her how I felt. I couldn’t show her either. I had to pretend to be someone else entirely. I hated it. I wanted to be with her so badly it dominated every thought.
“Should we head back?” she asked.
Clearly, she was anxious to get away from me. Another blow to my ego I wasn’t sure I could take. “I suppose we should.”
“Thank you for lunch. It was nice to get away.”
“Sure. Anytime.”
“Chase?”
I stopped walking and looked at her. “Yes?”
“I am glad you are giving me a second chance to redeem myself here. Truly, I am. However, that doesn’t change anything. I want to make this right. I can’t stand the thought of leaving this mess in your lap.”
“And you don’t want a black mark on your resume when you start looking for a new job,” I said.
She shrugged. “No, I don’t.”
“Got it,” I said and walked to the waiting SUV.
I was trying hard not to be hurt and pissed, but damn if she didn’t know how to cut me. She wasn’t trying to. I knew that because I knew her well enough to know she wasn’t a mean person. This was her defense mechanism. This was her protecting herself from me and I had no one to blame but myself.
But damn, how long was I supposed to pay for a sin that wasn’t nearly as big as she was making it out to be?
I missed the g
irl she used to be. The girl that fell head over heels in love with me without a second thought. We’d been so happy. She was truly the person that made my world better. When I chose to help my father in the business instead of going to college, it was for us.
I knew I was never going to do well in school. I wasn’t great at math. I wasn’t great at studying. I was more of a doer than a reader and learner. I learned by doing, not by reading.
I wanted to be able to take care of her. I was hoping to kind of leapfrog over the college thing and jump right to the good stuff. I wanted to have the experience I needed to take over the family business so I could take care of her. If I wasted four years in college, it was hard to say what could have happened to the hotels. When I stepped in, things were already pretty dire. The family could have been bankrupt in four years.
I wasn’t claiming to be the savior, but I knew my ideas and my fresh outlook on things definitely changed the game. Now I was financially stable and ready to start my family with her. I just needed her to see that it was all for the best and I had never stopped loving her.
Although I had a sneaking suspicion she would not be okay with me sowing my wild oats, she had dumped me. I had acted out. That was my story and I was sticking to it.
“Are you okay?” Harper asked when the SUV stopped in front of my hotel.
I turned and smiled. “I’m good. I was just thinking about our future.”
She gave me a funny look but didn’t comment on it. “Thanks again for lunch. I’ll see you around. Please, if those Santas give anyone any trouble, do not hesitate to find me.”
“I won’t. I might just make something up so I can see you in that getup again.”
She rolled her eyes. “I am never going to live that down.”
“Nope. I’m going to remember that for a long time to come.”
Chapter 30
Harper
I reviewed the plan from the event planners. They really were a crack team. I didn’t think Chase had anything to worry about. Nothing stood out to me.
I was having a few additional brochures printed that focused on corporate retreats to add to the others we already had available to our guests. Any little free promotion was helpful.