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18
AUSTIN
“You wanted to see me?”
Jackson stepped back from the door, and Nicole ushered me inside with the wave of her hand. She was seated at the table with her holopads again and barely glanced up as I approached.
“Yes. The excursion is tomorrow.”
“Yes it is,” I replied, still annoyed that she’d asked me to behave that way for the press conference. I was an athlete, not an actor, and I didn’t appreciate head games. The only reason I did it was to make sure Rosi knew I wasn’t worth her time. She deserved a lot more than what I could offer, and it was the only way to keep her away from me because I when I was near her, I had no fucking self-control.
At this point Nicole looked up and swiveled toward me. Her ice-blue eyes seemed to cut straight through to my brain. “If anything happens on that outing other than holo vids and a ride over the scenery, I will have you confined to quarters for the remainder of the trip and arrested on return to the mainland. Is that understood?”
Heat rushed to my cheeks, but I breathed through it without pause. I felt bad for people like Nicole. People whose lives centered around always being on the defensive, afraid of attack, who were focused on the wrong things. But I didn’t want to pay for her insecurities with my career.
“I am not a saboteur. I thought we’d been over this,” I said, simply tired of dealing with it.
Nicole smiled. She was gorgeous, but she did nothing for me. We were very different people.
“Of course. I’m just covering my bases. Whatever she offered you that you thought you couldn’t get from me, well, it won’t do you any good in prison.” She went back to her holopads in silent dismissal.
“She?” I asked, curious.
“Whoever is behind this ridiculous attempt to shut down the Fantasy Resorts,” Nicole snapped. “He, she, they, it. I don’t care what my enemy’s pronouns are. Just make a good choice when you take those women out for the excursion. And let Ms. Sanchez know that whatever you two have planned is off the table. In fact, just so you know, no one is going to be aware you’re out there. Not until it’s over.”
“But you said it would be broadcast live across the—” I protested, knowing that was part of the marketing.
“There will be a recorder for both of you, and we will edit the footage later. The date is four days from now according to all advertising and scheduling materials as of a week ago. So if you do try to pull something, no one will see it or know about it. Just me.”
Inhaling, I swallowed back my next remark. She could live with her suspicions. Nothing was going to happen on the excursion. Rosi would look for her cryptids, and we’d go back to the resort and part ways. End of story. End of whatever it was that might have been between us.
The lights blinked overhead, and Nicole and I glanced up at the same time.
“If you’ll excuse me, I have to speak to Ms. Sanchez about the details.” I forced a smile and left the suite. Nicole could worry about how I magically did that if she wanted to waste her time. I had more agonizing conversations to deal with.
But contacting Rosi proved impossible. I thought she’d have answered at least to go over the details. I hoped I hadn’t hurt her that badly with the press conference. There was no way her feelings for me ran that deep, was there?
* * *
Early the next morning, I showed up outside the double doors of the resort exit where the hellipod waited, a spherical contraption with a rotating propellor on top. I half expected Rosi not to turn up after all, but there she was, walking toward me across the glinting surface of the ground. She was covered in gear and all the appropriate clothing, but my cock reacted at the memory of the last time we were together. At least it wouldn’t be obvious with all the layers I wore.
“Where’s your friend?” A puff of steam released along with my words.
“She was injured yesterday. She’s okay, but she’s staying in. Let’s go while the weather is good.” Rosi turned her back to me and climbed in the automated hellipod, ducking below the propellor.
My heart sunk. This was going to be a torturous four hours. You deserve it, you ass, I told myself as I climbed in after her. The AC glass doors slid closed, blocking out the cold and leaving us in sudden silence with a 360-degree view. The bench seat circled the entire pod. She sat at the farthest point from the door, arms and legs crossed. I sat near the door, respecting her space for fear of being torn to shreds, and pulled off my ski mask.
“Rosi, I—”
“Don’t,” she said, also pulling off her mask. I wish she hadn’t because seeing the hurt in her chocolate eyes and knowing I put it there, made me wince.
“Okay,” I said, hanging my head. “Computer, activate hellipod. Take us on preapproved course A.”
The hellipod lifted into the air and swayed slightly as it adjusted to our weight and its preprogrammed course. The insides were sparse save for a snack cabinet and an emergency medical supply cabinet beneath the bench.
I snuck a glance at Rosi, but she was looking out the window. In that moment, I desperately wished I had the ability to read her mind.
Below us, Greenland’s unabashed beauty unfolded in a dreamscape of white hills, crystal waters, and sunshine that glinted off the entire reflective field to the point I had to squint even through the treated windows. My heart caught in my throat when I realized my first impulse was to put an arm around Rosi and share the experience with her. Seeing the excitement in her eyes, the way they sparkled when she told me about her work, that was what I craved more than anything. And I one hundred percent blew it.
