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That drew a laugh from her. “I’m just teasing you, but you know what I mean. At least you have Zach. I have no one.”
“Tess, I don’t have Zach. We broke up after college.”
“Only because you went out of state for your MBA,” she argued back. “And you guys were on-again, off again for ages when you both came back.”
“That wasn’t anything serious,” I insisted. “We just go way back. It’s comfortable. We’ve known each other forever and we’re both in the same position. He’s as stuck at Snowshoe as I am at Aspen Ridge, family drama and all.”
“Yeah, well, methinks the lady doth protest too much,” Tessa replied in a singsong.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“All I’m saying is, he’s exactly what you say you need: a peer who will never be an employee. He’s super hot and also understands your position in the family business because his family has thesamebusiness.”
“Yeah, well, that’s part of the problem. Because he wants to take over our resort and form a network under Snowshoe.”
“What did your dad think?”
I almost choked on my beer. “Are you kidding? You think I told him that? I didn’t want to have to visit my dad in jail. There’s no way in a million years my dad would be on board for a merger, let alone my brother or the Blackwells. I’m sure the Dubois kid would agree to whatever got him more money, but my dad and Robert? They bleed for this mountain. They’d never sell out.”
“Are you so sure it’d be a sellout? I thought it was more like giving access for people staying at Snowshoe to ski here and vice versa.”
“I’m sure. He laid out his whole scheme in complete detail. We’d be beholden totheirboard for all the ways they wanted us to runourbusiness. No thanks. My dad and Robert made sure they collectively had sixty percent of the shares when they brought on investors. Even once James, Reece, Stella, Blaise, and I inherit, all of us will have larger shares than any of the board. They worked it out in advance, to make sure of it. If any of us decide to sell, we have to offer our shares to resort family to purchase first. So there’s no way in hell my dad would even consider something like Zach proposed.”
My blood boiled just to think of it. We’d been moving toward reconciling—Tessa wasn’t wrong, we were a great match—and then he let slip his grand idea. A team of investors built Snowshoe Ridge Resort, and Zach’s family had the largest single share, but the ruthless board outmatched them. They built a quaint resort town about twenty minutes from us, perfectly laid out, the way Napoleon III redesigned Paris—by plowing over the locals and rebuilding to suit their own needs. Oh, they paid the businesses in the small village a fair amount to pack up, and then razed the entire area. But while beautiful, Snowshoe had none of the historical charm that most of the other local resorts had. They literally tore it all down. It was like winter Disney World now, completely manufactured.
Our resort was the lifeblood for the entire town of Aspen Ridge. I couldn’t imagine what would happen if my family weren’t at the helm, protecting the locals that supported us.
Anyway, after Zach told me what he was after, I couldn’t trust that he was trying to get back together with me for the reasons he said. What if it was just a tactic to get Aspen Ridge? The doubts crept in until I just couldn’t do it anymore and called it quits for good.
“I suppose you’re right,” Tessa sighed. “And I can’t even date him, out of solidarity for my bestie. What a waste.”
I knew she was joking, but it still sent a twinge through my heart. Even if I couldn’t trust his motives, I still cared about him. The truth be told; he was a great boyfriend. Kind, attentive, and generous. Even though he technically owned the resort, I always saw him treat the staff with respect, and his management approach was much like my own. So while I didn’t want him, I still wanted him to be happy.
I shrugged and rolled my eyes. “Hey if you want my sloppy seconds, be my guest. But you should know he snores like a freight train.”
“Snoring?” She feigned disgust. “Absolutely not. I’ll settle for patchouli and pot.”
We dissolved in a fit of giggles, and I felt the crush of anger in my chest loosen. This was why I came here—I knew Tessa would help put my mental train back on the tracks.
And she was right. In his own way, my dad was trying to help me out. He just didn’t believe I could run Aspen Ridge Lodging my way—perhaps it was from his experience taking over the business. But in my world, today, we believed in different methods. I learned everything they taught me at business school, but I also had a lifetime of experience in our family business, and I knew it intimately. I knew which practices we could update, and so many ways we could make things better for our staff. Happy staff made happy customers, which was one reason I insisted on paying for the best at our end of season parties. When the staff felt appreciated, they kept coming back and passed that appreciation along to the customers. ‘The way it’s always been done’ was a tired, dated excuse for not innovating.
So before I gave up and just did what Dad wanted to get him out of my way, I resolved to get Jake on my side. I could show him that my methods may be different, but that didn’t mean they were wrong. If Jake, with all the military establishment/brainwashing, could see my side, then perhaps my dad could, too.
I just had to set the boundary now, because what happened Friday could never happen again. If my dad ever found out, he’d lose his mind—his one rule was to keep business and personal life separate.
Not that it was my fault I didn’t know whoJakewas, but itwassort of my fault that Jake didn’t know whoIwas, and I’d done it on purpose.
So no matter how I felt about it, I had to keep things strictly professional with Jake.
From now on.
* * *
By the timeI returned to the office, I had my plan well in place. I’d be cool, calm, and proficient going about my day, and let Jake see how well I could run things my way, with zero need for his leadership tips.
Having a plan didn’t chase the butterflies from my stomach at the thought of spending so much time with him, but I’d just have to suck it up and get over it. Exposure therapy or something like that. It was a thing, right?
And of course, my extra stop at the restroom in the lobby had nothing to do with Jake. I just had a sudden, totally rational fear I had ketchup smeared on my cheek from that massive burger. Definitely didn’t want to walk around, as Assistant CEO, with ketchup on my face.
