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You’d never know from their relaxed poses what went down in here.
Glancing at my phone screen I can see it’s almost ten o‘clock.Shit.“I’ve got to go.”
I type out a message to Elias.Was asked to stay late. About to clock out. Guests very happy.
Well, two of them are.
Brecken rises, coming towards me. “One of us will drop you home.”
“Thanks but the buses are good. Lots of staff live in my apartment block. I won’t be alone.”
“I’ll drive you. I’m sober.”
Grateful, I smile. “Thanks, but I’m good.” A pause extends between us. “I-I’m sorry that…If you felt… left out. I was tired.”
God, I’m so smooth.
Brecken pushes a hand through his sexily messy hair. His eyes dance around the room before they lock on me like a heat-seeking missile. “Tired or not, it wouldn’t have mattered.”
Oh. Looks like I misjudged the situation.
Trying not to feel rejected, to feel eviscerated under his sharp gaze all over again, I say my goodnights and head home.
CHAPTERNINE
When I wake,it’s with a sickening lurch so deep in my belly that I’m dizzy with it. Blackness consumes me, my thoughts stuck on Levi, and on the video that’s still out there because of him. And yet hope dances enticingly before my eyes. Can Brecken save me from my hectic mind? As a corporate lawyer, the chances are good.
Eating breakfast alone, I focus instead on the fact I’ve not got many days left with my cabin boys. But damn, Santa Claus has been generous this year.
Emily has a day off today, her evening plans looking busy with her favorite bartenders. Justin doesn’t have to start work until 3 PM, so I tiptoe around the apartment as I gather my things for the day, and head out. On the shuttle bus, I read Brecken’s messages that I saw waiting on my phone this morning. I couldn’t face them so early, worried they’d only reveal bad news, especially when I saw that the time stamps ranged from 2.18 AM to 3.41 AM.
Brecken:Letter delivered at 0900 GMT to owner of website, Dan Jarvis
Brecken:Video has been removed. Confirmation received three minutes ago
Brecken:Letter of legal proceedings and damages also delivered to Jarvis and Levi Banner
With it being Christmas Eve, I was worried that no one would be working at the registered address of the website. These places seem to have dubious PO Box addresses and ineffective phone numbers that never reach anybody. Maybe that’s why Levi chose this site, in a different country, not only to limit my knowledge of its existence but to limit my success in getting it removed.
Whatever his moronic ideas, Brecken’s immediate action—and crucially his success—has me weak with relief. Overcome, I sob into my hands, the lady next to me on the bus casting me a dubious look.
I don’t care. For too long, I’ve felt like the needle in an ineffective compass, uselessly swinging around as I tried to get back on the right path.
Brecken deserves my undying gratitude, and because I’d rather thank him in person, intimately, I don’t text him back. Plus, I worry that he’s asleep and that I might wake him. Going by his messages, he worked some insane hours last night.
Outside, the sky’s a dense gray, heavy snow falling. I can just make out lights from the snow groomers working the slopes. They’ve been working round the clock lately.
At the hotel, I take my ski equipment to the cabin before clocking in, finding Maria waiting for me in the doorway of her office. “Winter, could I have a quick word please?”
My pulse skitters as I enter and close the door behind me. Knowing I have a job if my exploits become known doesn’t help my fraying nerves right now. What if Luca is unsuccessful with his bid? What if Elias refuses to sell?
“How’s it going?”
“Good. You?”
“Yes, yes,” she dismisses. “Erm, Elias told me you were looking very cozy with the mystery shoppers yesterday. Is there anything I should know?”
Either Maria doesn’t know about the purchase, or she’s still pretending. With Luca not intending to deliver the contract until some time today, it’s probably the former. Despite admiring Maria for putting up with Pothole all these years, it’s not my place to tell her. “No Maria. We flirt a bit, but nothing’s going on.”
