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“Huh?” I replied, only half aware of what he was saying. “Oh, uh… I still have to run it by my board, Mark,” I said with a faux chuckle.
Mark had been hammering me about adding on a “Nike wing” of the lodge so that they could build a shop in it. I was the top-rated ski lodge in the area, beating out all my friends in profits and hospitality ratings. It was something I knew really burned Kevin’s ass and gave me a little chuckle.
I had considered it, but hadn’t taken it to my board yet. You see, one thing people constantly talked about was the homey feel of the resort, and I’m not sure blatant capitalism had a place in that.
On the other hand, it would make me a cool hundred thousand a year, and that was just to host a Nike store. That didn’t include my cut of the profits.
“Well, get on that, James,” Mark said with a laugh, his cheeks nearly glowing from drunken redness. “It’s time for both of us to get paid.”
He patted me on the back once more, a little harder than I think he intended, then walked away. Presumably, he’d spotted his next victim as he approached my friend, Zane.
“God, that guy is a leech,” someone said from behind me.
I turned to find one of my rivals, Harry Sutton, sipping something brown on the rocks. He was the youngest of us localresort owners but had a shit-ton of potential that I, for one, was eager to see play out.
“Mark’s all right,” I said, taking a step back so we were standing side by side. “He’s just doing his job like the rest of us. And he does have a point. That deal would make me a lot of money. I just have to decide if money is my top priority.”
Harry nodded. “That’s fair, I suppose. My father was totally uninterested, I can tell you that.”
Harry’s father was the one who made all the financial decisions for the resort. Harry was simply the good-looking kid who was the face of the place.
“Well, your father is a good man who runs a dream, not a business.”
“What does that mean?” Harry asked.
It was then that I spotted Haley again, her breasts looking like they’d been created by a doctor in that dress.
“I’ll tell you when you’re older,” I replied playfully. Then I walked away from Harry and toward Haley, doing my best not to be the creepy older man who couldn’t take his eyes off her.
Regardless of the fact that it was true.
Fuck.
Now was the worst possible time to get hard and yet, here I was. Haley looked like a goddess in her tight-fitting, plunging neckline navy dress, and I was gawking at her like I was a teenage boy at his first school dance.
I moved around a pair of partygoers and approached her, trying to regain my cool before I spoke.
Haley caught sight of me, and gave me a smile. “Hey, need me to do anything?” she asked sweetly.
I could think of about a million and one things I’d like her to do, me being at the top of the list. But I shook my head, patting her on the shoulder. Her skin was unbelievably soft and smelled like plumeria.
“I think I’ve got everything covered,” I said looking around. For the first time tonight, I could feel the drinks I’d already had. “I just want you to enjoy the party. You work as hard as anyone else to make this lodge run.”
Haley cocked her head and smiled with confusion. “But I just babysit your kids.”
“Believe me when I say that alone keeps the operation running. If I had to be worrying about my kids being safe, nothing would ever get done. Even more so if I had to worry that my home was being destroyed.”
Haley giggled and I beamed with pride. I had said something to make this vivacious, talented girl laugh. Fuck me, I was smitten.
“Can I get you a drink?” I asked, noticing her champagne flute was empty.
“Only if you’re paying,” she replied. “I didn’t have anywhere to store my wallet.”
Haley ran her hands over her sleek curves which the satin dress only accentuated. There wouldn’t have been room for a house fly in that thing, let alone money—not that she needed it.
“I can see that,” I said with a laugh that echoed all the way down to my cock. I was hoping that if I kept her engaged in conversation, she wouldn’t glance down at the embarrassing bulge in my pants.
“Why, Mister Warner,” she said. “Whatever would bring you to be looking at my dress so closely, let alone the fit.”
