Page 21 of Mountain Boss

He stares back.

I look at the door.

The code?

And then I see the little keypad above the handle.

It’s locked.

The Food Hall locks, but the cabin I sleep in doesn’t.

I bet if I looked at the doors on all the other cabins, I’d find locks.

Cool.

I dig my thumbnail into my index finger.

He made that damn comment about the bears and round handles and…

I grit my teeth.

And everyone else gets a damn lock.

Lock it down, Courtney.

I refuse to show him my frustration.

Not today.

Keeping my eyes away from Mr. Black, I loosen my hold on the clipboard and lift the top page.

In the corner, I see a four-digit number.

No label. No explanation.

3324

I lower the top page.

Moving to the door, I’m grateful that I’ve used these exact locks before, so I know how to work them.

I type in the code, the lock whirs, and I open the door.

Dawn is coming through the uncovered windows—windows that are much larger than the ones in the Laundry Cabin—but I still look for the light switch.

Finding it, I flip it on, illuminating the one-room building.

More picnic tables are inside, and a wood-topped island separates the tables from the back wall where the oversized appliances are. A fridge, freezer, giant oven-stove combo, and another stretch of countertop hosting a coffee maker from the same era as the washer and dryer in my cabin.

“Is this the?—”

When I turn around and find myself alone, I stop talking.

The door is standing open, and I step back outside in time to see Mr. Black’s form disappear between the trees.

“Wow,” I whisper. “What a great onboarding session.”

My eyes dart around the woods, checking for bears. And coworkers.

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