Ugh…I stepped right into that one.
The thing with her boss was that he had a lot of patience and could wait her out, no matter how long it took. But rather than playing that game, she decided to simply be honest.
“I’m honestly more upset with myself,” she admitted. “I think I knew that something wasn’t…right with our relationship, but I didn’t examine it too closely because I didn’t want to. And now I’m embarrassed and upset because I’m obsessing over the way he thought of me.”
“To be fair, no one enjoys knowing when other people think negatively of us. Whether their thoughts are true is irrelevant. We all want people to like us.”
“I know,” she said miserably. “And to have someone else witness it didn’t feel great either.”
He shrugged. “It was just Slater, and he’s not judging you for it. He wanted me to fire Tucker, though.”
“He told me.”
“Evie, you know I think the world of you…”
She held up her hand to stop him. “You don’t have anything to worry about, okay? You’re far too honorable to do something like that, and I never expected you to step in. It had nothing to do with business. It was personal. I’m just sorry it happened in the office.”
They stood there for a moment, and she just wanted them to change the subject.
“What’s the plan for tomorrow?” It was almost nine at night, and as much as she still had a bunch of energy, she knew it was getting late.
“We’re going to meet everyone up at the lodge for breakfast,” he said. “Actually, we’re going to meet everyone up at Axel and Maisie’s suite. It’s got the most room and it’s sort of become tradition since the resort reopened. So we’ll eat with everyone, and then Nora’s going to take you on a tour of the property while I deal with some resort business. Then, after lunch, we’ll head over to the new office.”
“Sounds like a plan! I can’t wait to see it all in the daylight.”
“Yeah, I feel bad that I made us leave Seattle so late in the day. If we had left earlier, you could have seen how amazing the views are.”
“Not to worry. I’m going to be here for a month, so there will be plenty of time for that.”
That seemed to make him relax a bit. “Is there anything you need before I go?”
Glancing around, she shook her head. “I think I have everything I need to get me through the night. I’ll just plan on seeing you in the morning.”
“Perfect. We’re supposed to meet everyone around nine.”
Laughing softly, she said, “Wow! I even get to sleep in a bit!”
“Things will be a little more relaxed while we’re here. At least…that’s what I’m thinking.”
“We’ll just take it one day at a time.” They walked to the door, and she followed him out onto the porch. “Go and have a good night, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Have a good night, Evie.” He gave her his usual smile and wave before heading down the path to his cabin, which was two doors down.
Instead of going back inside, she stood on the porch and looked up at the starry sky. Back home, she never stopped to do that. Everything here was so peaceful and quiet that it was a little unsettling. The resort had settled into its nighttime hush—crickets humming, the lake somewhere beyond the trees.
She should go inside and unpack and shower. Maybe do something productive.
Instead, she leaned against the railing and stared out at the path winding between the cabins, her arms folded loosely across her chest. The day had been long, emotionally and otherwise, and sleep felt… premature. Plus, she was still on Seattle time, so it felt relatively early.
That’s when footsteps crunched softly over gravel.
She glanced up just as Slater came into view, hands in his pockets, jacket unzipped, and just casually strolling like he hadn’t planned on going anywhere in particular. He slowed when he saw her, a small smile tugging at his mouth.
“Hey,” he said. “Are you settling in okay or is the quiet freaking you out?”
“It’s definitely a little weird,” she admitted. “I was debating whether pacing would make me feel better or worse.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “Strong case for worse.”
