Page 26 of Wilder

Kayleigh glanced at her. “Well, he’s familiar with the area and what’s available, plus he knows lots of people. He can connect you with many who can help out with the event.”

Lexi thought of the handsome man with friendly brown eyes and an easy-going personality. Would they be able to work together? She wasn’t going to be pleased if he dragged his feet onthings when she was trying to work her way through the list that she’d set up with Kayleigh.

“He’ll be a big help,” Kayleigh said. “I promise you.”

“I guess as long as he doesn’t mind giving up his time to help.”

“Right now, he’s not working since the slopes aren’t open, so he has the time. Once he starts work, he’ll have to do anything we need him to do outside his hours on the slopes because they count on him for instructing during the ski season. He’s very popular with the guests.”

Lexi could understand why that might be. “Do you have a lot of regulars here?”

“Yep. We have people who return yearly. Some even more frequently than that.” Kayleigh frowned, then said, “By the way, Wilder wanted me to make sure that you are aware that if any guest bothers you, you should speak to me or the HR manager right away.”

“Bothers me?” Lexi asked. So far, the people she’d come in contact with had mainly been young men and women who traveled in groups. None of them had paid her much attention.

“We’ve had some guests over the years who’ve felt that since they’ve paid for an employee’s time that they are entitled to more.”

“Really?”

“Yes. And that applies to both genders. Wilder has dealt with it from wealthy women who thought he’d be flattered if they wanted more than just ski instruction from him. He’s had to change his phone number at least once after a guest got hold of it and started to harass him. We have a strict policy about not giving out the phone numbers of our employees. And I wouldsuggest you not give anyone your number either. If they want to book a slot of time with you, tell them to do it through the main desk at the hotel.”

“I never even considered something like that happening.”

“I hope it never does, but just know that it’s something we take seriously. Don’t think you have to tolerate any kind of behavior that crosses the professional line.”

Lexi had never been the sort of person to accept someone behaving in an untoward way to her. It hadn’t occurred to her that she might run into that at the resort, but she supposed it made sense. Some people with money assumed those without would be at their mercy or would be appreciative of the attention.

“Anyway, Wilder just wanted to make sure that you knew how we handle situations like that here.”

She had a moment of awe. A guy who barely knew her wanted to make sure that she knew how to keep herself safe. And as she considered it, Lexi realized that not once had he made her feel unsafe around him.

It wasn’t something she thought a lot about since her life had been fairly insular, and it was rare that a man who she didn’t know well had access to her. And for the ones she didn’t know well, she’d never been left alone with them.

“Thank you for letting me know,” Lexi said. “I appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome.” Kayleigh smiled at her, and for a moment, Lexi had a glimpse of Wilder in her features. “I need to get back to my office, but do you have any questions before I go?”

“Will you speak to Wilder about us meeting together, or do you want me to do it?”

Kayleigh picked up her phone and tablet and got to her feet. “I’ll talk to him about it, then he’ll probably contact you to set something up. Since the slopes still aren’t open, his schedule is more flexible than yours.”

Lexi walked with her to the door of the rink, then returned to her office once Kayleigh was gone. She sat down behind her desk and leaned back in her chair as she thought back over their meeting.

This was all so far out of her comfort zone, and it made her want to just run away. The possibility of failure was high, which wasn’t something that Lexi was comfortable with.

The unfortunate part was that there was no way she could impose her high standards on a group of casual skaters. And yet, the idea of putting out something that wasn’t perfect made her feel a little sick.

A skating program with a crowd of people—many of them children—was just asking for trouble. All she could envision was all the ways something could go wrong.

On Friday morning, Lexi was at the rink early to meet with Wilder. He’d called her the day after her meeting with Kayleigh, enthusiastically on board with what his sister wanted.

Lexi had hoped that he would tell Kayleigh that what she wanted was impossible, but nope. The man had sounded so excited on their call that Lexi knew that the event was going to go forward, regardless of her apprehensions.

Taking a seat at a table near the corner, she relished the warmth coming from the nearby fireplace. Outside the rink, it was a gray day, and light snowflakes drifted down. November was off to a cold start, though they weren’t forecasting too much snow just yet.

It wasn’t too long before Wilder stepped through the door, pausing to stamp the snow from his boots on the large mat in front of the doors.

Glancing around, he smiled when his gaze found her. Lexi gave him a quick smile in return, then watched as he walked toward her with something in his hands. He had an easy gait, his long legs quickly eating up the distance between them.

---