Page 19 of Leave Me Not: Nick & Elissa 2

8

ELISSA

Lunch with the girls is just what I needed and now that things with Nick seem settled and my pregnancy is out in the open, I feel like I can relax a little.

We spent three hours chatting and laughing, talking about having a dual baby shower with Harper and me. It all sounds like a wonderful idea, especially since Harper and I are such great friends and Nick and Max are too. Sammie, of course, suggested we make it princess themed, joining us for our girls’ lunch as if she’s an adult and not a four-year-old. It’s going to be a shock to her little world if Harper has a boy and not the sister Sammie has been hoping for.

As much as I would have loved to have spent the day with the girls, I have tons of paperwork to get through at the ski lodge, behind on placing orders and taking inventory. It’s been nice though to have moved Ana to a management position, giving Gabby a break too. While it has eased some of the responsibilities for me too, I’m still the one who runs the whole damn place.

I’m sitting at my desk signing off on payroll when Ana appears in the doorway to let me know that someone is here to see me.

“Should I tell him to come back?” she asks me when I look up from the computer. “He said he could come back if you don’t have time to meet with him today.”

“Did he say who he is?” I ask, scanning my memory to see if I’ve forgotten a meeting I scheduled for today. Harper did say pregnancy brain is a real thing.

Reaching for my phone, I quickly scan the calendar seeing nothing, but I do have interviews set up for tomorrow to fill Ana’s spot that was left open when I promoted her. He could be someone coming in to drop off a résumé or talk with me about the job opening.

“He didn’t. He just said he’d like to talk to you about some skiing things,” she tells me, and I try hard not to roll my eyes. It’s pretty typical for salespeople to stop by and promote their product, because it’s big money if it ends up in a ski lodge. Rentals account for a huge number of sales after people try out the gear.

We generally only stock Holden and some of the other bigger names, but I guess it might not hurt to hear this guy out and see what he has to offer.

“It’s probably someone trying to get me to stock gear in the lodge,” I reply back, standing up from my desk and walking toward the door. “I’ll meet him out there and see if it’s even worth my time.”

At least if I’m out in the lobby of the ski lodge with all the tourists trying to get their gear on, it might go a little quicker. It’s not exactly the best environment to make a sale in, which is exactly how I want it.

When I walk out of my office, I look around, trying to find a guy with a bag full of gear, but I come up short. It’s just the usual types of people, skiers, snowboarders, families and the people who work for me.

I look over at Ana and she motions to a man standing in the corner of the room, he’s focused on his phone, not realizing I’ve come out to meet him. Walking over, I stop in front of him, waiting for him to notice, but again, he’s more wrapped up in what is on the screen than he is in me.

If he is selling something, I can say it right now, I’m not buying. He has no interest in me and is clearly here in the hopes of making money off a woman he thinks he can con.

This kind of shit has been happening ever since the remodel and most of it is because we’ve grown so quickly and upped the number of skiers on our mountain. Everyone wants a piece of the action, and that includes gear companies looking to cash in on our success.

“Excuse me,” I say, clearing my throat. “I was told you asked to speak to me.” I’m not friendly, I’m not even trying to show interest in the hopes that the conversation ends here. I really have a lot to do and I want to get home and find out how Nick’s meeting with his coach went.

The man looks up, blinking his eyes a few times as he takes me in. “Are you Elissa?” he now asks, a disinterested tone to his voice.

“I am,” I reply, as equally disinterested.

“Is there someplace we can go that’s a little less,” he pauses, looking around, an annoyance present on his face, “loud.”

“What, you don’t like the ski lodge as a location for a sales pitch?” I ask, laughing a little when a kid starts wailing, obviously unhappy about something.

“I’m not here to sell you anything,” the man now says, and that’s when I notice his jacket. There’s a small logo in the right corner and I realize exactly who he is.

I nod, waiting for him to introduce himself, but knowing he must be Nick’s coach. I have no idea why he’s here, but maybe Nick sent him. Nick could have talked me up when they met, and now he’s here to meet with me. I wouldn’t think he would be interested in having a pregnant woman join the US team, but who knows.

“Are you Nick’s coach?” I now ask, but before he can answer, I suggest we go to my office, realizing I don’t want to be out here either.

He follows me, not saying much and when I close the door behind me, he lets out a hard sigh.

“It’s really nice to meet you,” I now say, plastering on a smile since I was not exactly welcoming when we first met. “Nick talks about you all the time. He speaks so highly of you.”

“That’s funny,” the coach says. “This was the first time I’ve heard about you.”

I’m instantly taken aback by this comment, and I’m sure it shows on my face. My mouth nearly falls open and I try to pull myself back together, but it’s too late.

“I see that you’re surprised by that,” the coach replies. “I’m not though. Nick was very focused when he was training with the team. Not really concerned about what was going on at home or what was happening with his ex-girlfriend.”

---