AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“So, when did you realize you had a gift for hospitality?” I ask.
She grins. “Well, I was always great at throwing parties and things as a kid, but I didn’t realize I loved the hotel business until college. I did an internship with this amazing hotel during undergrad. In two days, I knew I wasn’t going to get my MBA, after all. I decided to go to the hotel management school at Cornell and the rest is history. How about you? Was ski resort domination your plan from the get-go?”
I grin. “It was, actually. I borrowed the money to buy my first resort when I was sixteen.”
Her eyes widen. “A bank gave a sixteen-year-old a loan?”
I shake my head. “No, my older brother did. Billionaire privilege, I know, but he made it clear I’d be expected to pay every penny off, with interest. So, I made sure I had a business plan drawn up beforehand and started with a small place I thought I could improve and make profitable in a short amount of time. By the time I graduated from business school, I’d paid Luke back and had three resorts under my company umbrella. From there, it’s been pretty smooth sailing. I’ve been very lucky with my investments.”
“Don’t sell yourself short,” she says. “You’re clearly a brilliant businessman.”
I tip my head. “Well…thank you. I’ve done my best.”
She laughs. “How did you end up like this? So humble and gracious about your success? Didn’t you get the big, bad billionaire memo? You’re supposed to be ruthless and entitled.”
It’s the perfect entrée to the thoughts plaguing my mind since last night. “Well, Ihavebeen doing my best to steal a ski mountain from a local small business.”
Her eyes narrow, but she’s still smiling when she says, “That you have. But I trust you’ll see the error of your ways.”
“And if I don’t?” I ask, some perverse part of me compelled to ask the question even though I’ve all but decided to give her the mountain.
I can’t help it. I want to know if Kayley would still be interested in dazzling me if she doesn’t get what she wants from this multi-day seduction. Is this as real for her as it’s becoming for me? Could I become a person whose dreams matter to her as much as hers matter to me?
“Well…” She trails off, taking a sip of her coffee and swallowing it slowly. “I guess we’ll have to cross that bridge when we come to it. I’d be disappointed, for sure, but—”
Her cell rings, and she sets her coffee down, reaching for the phone on the ledge of the tub. “Sorry, it’s my assistant. I should take this.” She answers the phone, listening to the rapid speech on the other end.
I can’t tell what the other person is saying, but it’s clearly urgent.
Kayley blinks and lifts a hand from the water. “Okay, Violet, calm down. I’ll be there in just a second. Don’t do anything until I arrive.”
She hangs up and reaches for her towel. “Sorry. Emergency with the Mendelsons. The special-order birthday cake hasn’t arrived, the room wasn’t stocked with the right kind of almonds, and the roses are the wrong color. I need to go smooth things over. The Mendelsons come here every year for Marjorie’s birthday. I don’t want to lose them. I take pride in my repeat customers.”
“Of course,” I say. “Go take care of business. I’ll be here. Or down in the bar by the fireplace checking email if I start to turn into a prune.”
She leans down to kiss me over the side of the hot tub. “Sounds good. Even though I bet you’d be a sexy prune. Be back soon.”
I finish my coffee in the hot tub and place our empty dishes on the room service cart for easy collection. I shower and dress in ski clothes—Kayley mentioned a cross-country exploration later—and head down to the bar area with my laptop.
I settle into an overstuffed chair by the fireplace and dive into my email. I’m so warm and comfortable—and lulled by the combination of jazz piped through the sound system and the satisfaction of emptying my inbox—that I don’t realize an hour has passed until the grandfather clock in the corner gongs softly.
Ten o’clock.
Surely, Kayley has to have sorted things out with the Mendelsons by now.
I consider shooting her a text but decide that’s silly when I’m literally a two-minute walk from her office. I head through the lobby to the door marked “Office” tucked discreetly into a hallway beside the front desk. But before I can reach for the door handle, it flies open and a lovely young Asian woman with glossy black hair appears in the doorway.
Her eyes widen at the sight of me, and a soft squeak escapes her throat. “You. You’re still here.”
“Yes, I am.” I extend my hand. “I’m Bran—”
“Ratcliffe,” she supplies. “Yes, I know. I just…I thought she would have told you that she was leaving.”
“Kayley?” I ask, pretty certain that’s the “she” in question, but wanting to make sure.
The woman nods, her brow furrowing miserably. “Yes. But I know she’s not mad at you. She’s just disappointed. You know how it is. We had our hearts set on that mountain and all the new brochures printed up and reservations and now…it’s just a big mess. But it’s our mess. Not yours. So…congratulations!” She squeezes by me and backs away down the hall. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to put out a fire on the patio. Or rather, try to start one. The fire pit won’t light and s’more time is in fifteen minutes.”
She hurries away with a quick, “take care, and stay in the room as long as you like,” shouted over her shoulder.
