AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hello?” His voice—his gravelly, deep voice—does something to my insides. After a moment of speaking, he finishes the call.
“I need you to take some paperwork to get notarized. There are four copies of the same thing. When you get back, take it to my brothers’ offices and give them each a copy. Do you understand?”
A please wouldn’t hurt anything, but I nod. As if he can hear my thoughts, he adds a gruff, “Please.”
I stand and smooth down my power suit—the thing even has shoulder pads . . . shoulder pads! “Do you have a specific notary you want me to use?”
“There’s only one in town. She’s at the bank.”
“And I’m assuming there’s only one bank here?”
He gives me a look like I have three eyes.
“Okay, so that’s a yes. Got it. And where are your brothers’ offices?”
“I haven’t even given you a tour of the place yet, have I?” He stands and tugs on the knot of his tie. “What’s on my schedule at nine?”
I pull up The Calendar on my laptop. “It just says ‘strategy.’”
“Right. That’s just for me to do, and I can put that somewhere else. Is there an open slot for that?”
I don’t think there’s a single open slot for another fifteen years, but that’s maybe because the doc is a mazed forest. I search through all the colors and find a green tab, which means his schedule is open for fifteen minutes tomorrow afternoon. I tell him that and he checks my screen.
“Okay. Put strategy in that slot and let’s go.”
I try not to think about how he had to verify what I told him. I don’t know why it stings. I’m new at this. But there’s a tight burn across my chest. I want to do a good job. I want him to be able to trust that what I tell him is reliable. I want to prove myself to him. And dagnabit, I want him to be proud of me.
We enter the hallway, and he turns the opposite direction of the elevators.
“Oooh. I’ve never been down here before.”
He just points to the doors as we pass, except the first one, which has double doors recessed into an elaborate frame that I’m pretty sure is his own private suite. “Here we have a couple of our high-end suites. This is the best of the best that we offer on this property.”
“How many properties do you have in total?”
He glances at me, and his look says,How do you not know this yet?But instead, he says, “Ten that we built, with two more being built. And we’ve acquired ten more that we’re rebranding to fit into the Tate International line.”
“Wow. That’s a lot.”
He nods. “I have a good team of people.”
I’m drawn to how he defers the praise away from himself and onto others.
We continue down the hall, and he shows me a couple of conference rooms and a balcony overlooking Longdale Lake. I don’t miss the way his eyes rest on certain points—the high profile of the molding and the antique brass hardware for the doors—with the quiet pride of a gentle father.
He points to a veranda. “We’ll close those doors in the winter months, but for now, it’s pretty nice.”
I can see past it, and the leaves of the trees in the dense forest surrounding the resort are just starting to turn red, gold, and orange.
“This is The Summit, our premier restaurant on the premises.” The smell of tri-tip and fancy steak sauce permeate the air. He seems to notice the way my head lolls back at the scent. “They’re smoking some meat for tonight’s guests. When it’s ready, we can sample it.”
As we walk back along the hallway to get to the elevator, an employee comes from around the corner. We nearly run into the cart he’s pushing, and Sebastian grasps my elbow to help me out of the way.
I’m closer to him than I’ve ever been, his musky citrus scent quickening my pulse. His touch burns through the wool blend of my blazer, my arm feeling the absence of his grip when he lets go.
We make our way to the next floor down and he shows me the library, which smells of fresh paint and drywall. “This used to be Oliver’s office, but it was recently renovated to be the resort library.” I can’t decipher his sigh, and I wonder what kind of backstory that whole thing has.
He gives me a brief overview of the rest of the building, and we make our way out to the back patio area with views of the lake. Guests are longboarding and motorboating around. Several people are sunbathing on the decks on loungers, getting their last bit of sunshine before fall is fully here.
