And now she’s gone.
What the hell am I supposed to do now?
Wait. My brother. Everest. He has her Tinder!
I take my last bump of coke, hopefully ever, exit the stall, checking my nose for any residue before I walk over to the rental station. On my way over I am stopped in my tracks by my boss, Raul.
“Hey, Aspen! Can I have a word?” He calls out.
Good God. Doeseveryoneneed me today? I’m on a mission, people! I need to find my dream girl before she’s gone for good!
I plaster on a smile. “Hey, boss! Of course! What’s up?”
“In my office,” he says, his tone unreadable.
His office? Okay… great. I must be in trouble. But for what?
I step inside—the same office I was in just days ago when I got my promotion. I had a sinking feeling then too, and that turned out great. Could this be the same?
He leans against his desk, arms crossed. “I called you in to show you some footage I came across last night. I need your help identifying a few people.”
My stomach drops.
Yup. I’m in trouble.
He swivels his monitor toward me and the footage starts playing.
Genevieve and I appear on the screen, lacing up our snow boots in the rental room.
Genevieve.
God, I miss her already. Ineedto talk to Everest.
But reality snaps me back—I’m in my boss’s office and I’m definitely not here for a friendly chat. Speaking with Everest will have to wait.
“I know you know I’m not an idiot, Aspen,” my boss begins.
Here we go.
“So why don’t you explain to me what the heck you were doing here after hours with a girl?”
Shit. I didn’t even think about the cameras. I was so focused on making sure the security guard didn’t catch us that I completely forgot we were still being watched.
“I, uh… I don’t know, sir. I’m sorry,” I say scrambling for words.
“You don’t know?” He raises an eyebrow. “Come on, Aspen. You obviously know. Were you trying to impress her? Show off your after-hours access?” Was I trying to impress her? Hell yeah I was, but I won’t admit that.
“No,” I shake my head. “I never told her it wasn’t allowed. I just… I wanted to show her a good time. She was only visiting and she left today. I was teaching her how to ride.”
“I see.” He leans back, considering. “Using the ski liftalonewas reckless. Anything could have happened without supervision. You could’ve gotten hurt—ruining your shot at going pro. Someone could’ve fallen. You could’ve gotten stuck. Don’teverlet it happen again.”
I can’t get fired. I brace myself for the worst as he takes a slow breath.
“Turn in your keys,” he repeats.
This is it. The drop-off I can’t come back from. Say goodbye to your job, your shot at becoming pro, maybe your last real connection to her.
“You don’t need lift access anymore now that you’re in a different department. That’s all. No word to anyone. Now go on with your day.”
