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“His legacy?” I repeated softly. Chase nodded gravely.
“Yes. Unfortunately, he passed away three years ago. Heart attack, out of nowhere. He was as strong and healthy as he’d always been. It was just some bizarre, freak occurrence. The doctors said that happens sometimes, especially to men in high-stress occupations,” he described, sipping his Scotch.
“I’m so sorry for your loss,” I told him earnestly. I reached across the table to pat his hand, and although I was only doing it to be sympathetic, even that simple, tiny touch was enough to send a tingly shiver down my spine. There was still that inexplicable heat between us. I didn’t know if he felt it, too, but for me it was almost like a blazing fire.
“Thank you. But it’s been years. I have had plenty
of time to cope with losing him. My mother and siblings had a more difficult time grieving. My little sister, especially, was badly affected. But these days she’s doing much better. In fact, she helps run the company alongside me. Dad left the business to all of us, but my brother isn’t interested. That’s fine, it’s his prerogative to decide what to do with his life. But it is nice having my sister to work with. I think that’s the way my father would want it,” he explained.
“That’s wonderful, that you get to work with family. I’m glad to hear things are going better for you,” I said. I smiled warmly at him and he nodded.
“Yes. Me, too. Of course, I’m very busy. This line of work does not allow for a lot of free time, but in a way, that’s been helpful. I like to stay busy. I get bored easily if I don’t have enough challenges to conquer,” Chase professed. “In that way, this is the perfect job for me.”
“To be honest, I have a feeling you would succeed at whatever you did,” I confessed.
He chuckled. “You have more faith in me than even I do.”
“I always have,” I said softly. There it was again. That heat. That warmth radiating between us like an electric shock. Suddenly, it dawned on me how long it had been since I felt anything like this. In fact, I couldn’t remember the last time I had even been out on a date, good or bad. My job was everything to me. It took up every moment of my day and every thought in my head. I never really talked at length like this with anyone, not even my friends. How could Chase just show up out of nowhere and make me feel things I hadn’t felt in years?
I forced a smile as I sipped at my watery drink awkwardly. I badly needed a refill, but I wasn’t sure if it would be a good idea.
However, Chase seemed to disagree.
“Just a moment,” he interjected, taking the glass from me. “It’s causing me physical pain to watch you try and drink that watered-down mess. You need a new drink.”
“Oh, you don’t have to--” I started, but he shook his head.
“Yes, you need this. I can tell. You work your ass off, Haley, and you deserve a damn break,” he told me firmly. I couldn’t exactly argue with that reasoning. He looked for a second like he might walk over to the bar, then he laughed and set the drink back down on the table with a clink. He looked at me hard, as though he was sizing me up.
“What?” I asked, confused.
“It’s after midnight,” he pointed out. “The bar is closed.”
“Oh my God,” I mumbled, genuinely shocked at how late it was. It felt like we had only been sitting there for a few minutes, and so much time had passed.
“But I was serious about you needing another drink,” he told me. “I have a fantastic bottle of red in my room. Would you like to come up with me?”
He held out his hand. My heart began to thump wildly. Somewhere in the back of my mind, an alarm bell was ringing, warning me that this might not be a great move on my part. But I quickly silenced it as I remembered the fact that my life was crumbling all around me. I had given everything for this resort, for my father’s dream, and it was still slipping away from me. I was stressed-out and overwhelmed beyond reason, and damn it, I needed this.
So I stood up and took his hand. I followed Chase to the elevator and up to his room, wondering how the hell I got here and what exactly I was hurtling toward.
7
Chase
A new door handle turned in my hand when I reached my room door and pushed it open. I led Haley inside.
“I’d show you around, but that would just be kind of like showing you a room in your own house, wouldn’t it?”
“You know, I actually think about that all the time. When it gets warmer and we don’t have as many guests, I can just waltz into any of the suites I want and pretend I’m living like a princess.” She gave a fanciful wave of her hand as she spoke, smiling playfully.
“And hey, if they’re occupied, just kick them out, right?” I teased back. “It’s not their resort now, is it? Bunch of freeloaders.”
She giggled at my joke, and I smiled back at her as I made my way to the bottle of wine and got a corkscrew to pop it open.
“That might be taking it a little too far, I want to be a benevolent Resort Princess.” She accepted the glass of wine I handed her and blushed a little as I winked. I noticed her hastily take the first sip, and it was a little bigger than I’d expect.
She was nervous, but eager. Same old Haley.
