AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Not always. But having someone to handle things seven days a week comes in handy.”
That made sense. I knew he was a busy guy who likely had emails and phone calls all hours of the day. Unlike James, who only needed help during business hours. You can make it work around Mom. “How many hours per day?”
“Depends on the day. It could change if something comes up last minute.” His lips twitched up at the corners, his dark eyes glinting. He knew that wasn’t doable for me. He knew. If he hadn’t put the pieces together before now, they were certainly heading that way. “You’d need to be available most of the time except for your scheduled days off.”
“You’re not even considering me, are you?” I blurted.
His brows rose, a little chuckle oozing from his lips. “I never said that.”
Something snapped inside of me. This man, this uncaring dickhead, didn’t give a shit. He wanted to toy with me, to irritate me, to waste my time because of my brief moment of understandable stupidity yesterday due to inexperience.
I wasn’t going to deal with his bullshit. I wasn’t going to let him walk all over me. I’d just have to figure something else out, and fast.
“You’re clearly implying it.” I grabbed my purse from where it sat on the hardwood floor between my feet. “You know that’s not something I can do. I made that obvious when you asked why I’d been fired. You’re just wasting my time, which is apparently something you care very little about doing.”
“That’s not?—”
“Don’t.” Adrenaline pooled in my gut and I tightened my grip on my bag to keep from shaking as I stood. “Good luck finding someone with half of my experience who’s willing to put up with you.”
“Ray,” he barked. One word—my name—enough to make me feel like I needed to sit down and shut up.
But I wasn’t a child, and he wasn’t my parent. Yes, it was an amazing salary and a cushy job that could fix half of my problems, but it was never really going to be mine to begin with.
My heels clicked against the wood floor as I headed toward his too fancy office door, my fingers wrapping around the handle.
“Ray,” he tried again.
But I was already halfway down the hallway, cursing myself and cursing him.
Chapter 4
Wade
The incessant tweeting of birds in the trees above was enough to keep me as focused as I realistically could be. Some of the land would need to be cleared. Not too much, and definitely not enough to ruin any of the natural ecosystems, but there would still be work to be done. I was already doing the mental math to figure out how much extra it would cost on top of the land itself.
“In terms of wildlife, there are a lot of, uh… elk that live on the property. They’ve never been an issue before, but it might be something to keep in mind if you’re going to have people in the woods,” Silas said, his voice echoing off the trees. He turned to me as I tripped over a fallen log, my right knee screaming in agony. Fucking flare-ups. “I wouldn’t suggest displacing them, though. You’ll need a lot of permits, the cost is astronomical, and you’ll probably have some very upset environmental activists on your hands.”
“I figured as much,” I sighed. I leaned forward, lifting my leg as casually as I possibly could. I rubbed at my knee, internally cringing when my fingers passed over a screw. “We could fence off the courses to keep them out and keep the cyclists in.”
“That’s a great idea,” Silas chimed.
Of course it is. He would agree to anything I said—he just wanted me to buy the property. It had been on the market for years, and considering my resort bordered the land, I’d had my eye on it for nearly as long as it had been available.
The idea was simple. When the snow melted, our prices dropped to almost a quarter of their regular rate during the resort’s downtime. Adding extra land that wasn’t for the purpose of skiing or snowboarding but instead for a more practical seasonal sport would elevate our income significantly, allowing us to keep people in the resort year-round at a good rate. It also meant fewer seasonal staff and more full-time year-round employees. Our staff wouldn’t need to look for other jobs from late spring to late fall.
Mountain biking seemed like the perfect option; exciting enough for extreme sports enthusiasts like myself yet calm enough that we could set up easier routes and beginner courses for first-timers and kids. I just need to find an investor.
“Is the owner flexible on the price or is it a hard line?” I asked. The pain flared again as I stepped wrong, my leg turning ever so slightly unnaturally on the not-so-smooth snow.
“Flexible to an extent. We’re on the border of Rocky Mountain National Park, as I’m sure you’re aware. There’s always going to be a higher price wanted for that reason alone.”
Silas continued speaking, but the words fell flat before they reached me. The pain in my leg was getting worse, my ability to hear or focus on anything else falling to the wayside.
I held up a hand to let him know I needed a moment. I leaned against the nearest tree, the alpine bending slightly to hold my weight, and rubbed harder at the tender, scarred skin beneath my jeans. There was only so much I could do during a flare-up, only so much pain I could control.
My knee is the reason why I don’t ski professionally anymore. Each time the pain comes back, it comes back with a fury, bringing me to a screeching halt.
I could still ski on my good days if I wanted to, I could still compete. I could still win. But I never know when the pain will get so bad that it will put me on my ass for a few days. The few times it unexpectedly flared while going down the slopes had put me in near life-or-death situations. It was worth it to ski, but I know my competition time is over, as much as it always hurts to admit that to myself.
