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“Are you hiring someone?” I asked curiously. I hadn’t heard about any open positions within the company.
He shook his head and waved a hand dismissively. “No, that was just something sent to me by mistake.”
“Mistake?” I repeated, confused. “But who would—”
“Did you say you’ve made arrangements with the ski lodge?”
I frowned. Connor was acting weird. I couldn’t remember a time that he’d ever interrupted me like that, and his tone was more brisk than usual. “Yeah, I have the contract right here.”
I held it out to him, but he didn’t take it. “When are we going to take a look at the place?”
“What?” I asked, certain I’d heard him incorrectly.
“Well, I want to see the lodge for myself before I sign anything committing the company to a week-long stay there.”
“Really? Why?” Making the trip prior to the retreat seemed so unnecessary to me. We had a brochure and the lodge had a website with tons of pictures.
“A few years ago, I took the company to Miami. I thought that I’d found a top-of-the-line resort to stay at, but I was wrong,” he said. “The pictures online were all old, or just fake. The place was outdated. The Wi-Fi didn’t work well and there was a noisy construction going on across the street the whole time. Made the stay a nightmare.”
“Well, there’s no other buildings on the mountain, so I don’t think we’ll have that problem.”
“Still, I want to see it in person before signing,” he insisted. “It’ll be a quick trip there and back. We can go tomorrow.”
“What?We?” My eyes grew round in shock.
“Well, I don’t want to make the trip by myself,” he said with a shrug, as if what he was asking was no big deal. “Besides, I value your opinion.”
“My opinion is that we should go to Key West,” I said in a wry tone, even though I was dead serious.
“So, clear my schedule for tomorrow,” he continued as if he didn’t hear me.
“They aren’t open tomorrow.” My exasperation was clear in my voice. “They’re closing down today for the holidays.”
“Well, we’ll just go have a look at it.” His gaze held mine unwaveringly. “We don’t necessarily have to go inside. You can learn a great deal about a place from the outside, and where it’s located. I’m not signing anything until I know this lodge, and everything it has to offer, is legit.”
“I’mnotgoing to Colorado tomorrow,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest and shaking my head adamantly. “No way.”
“Why not?” He looked genuinely surprised by my refusal. Probably because I hardly ever argued with him, or told him no.
“Because...it’scrazy,that’s why.I can’t just take a spontaneous trip to another state.” Technically, I could, considering I had nothing tying me here other than my grandmother, but that was beside the point.
“I told you, it’ll be quick. We’ll leave in the morning and be back by nightfall.” Seeing my continued resistance, he sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I know it’s a bit of an inconvenience, but I’m willing to compensate you with an extra bonus for your time.”
Now,thatgot my attention. “What kind of bonus?”
Connor smiled triumphantly before grabbing a slip of paper and writing a number on it. I rolled my eyes at his dramatics as he folded it in half and slid it across the desk to me. But I picked it up anyway, my jaw nearly dropping at the overly generous figure staring back at me.
Holy shit.I could pay the nursing home for the entire month of January with that money, with a bit leftover. A one-day trip would solve that problem, even if it was just temporarily. But the bonus he was offering would at least give me some breathing room to figure out how to pay for the upcoming months. How could I turn that down? I couldn’t, not without risking my grandmother’s place at the home.
“Okay,” I agreed, feeling as thought a two ton weight had just been lifted off my chest. “We’ll go. But I still think you’re making a mistake with this cold, frigid, retreat idea of yours.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he said with a chuckle. “Just book the flight.”
