Page 20 of Stuck on the Slopes

There was a bite to her voice I’d never heard before, even when she and I were at each other’s throats a few weeks ago.

Dare I say it’s kind of hot?

Wait, what am I thinking?

I shook the thought off as she continued. “You know, if I remember correctly, you gave me a ‘Meets Expectations’ and the bare minimum raise that, given inflation, was technically a slap in the face. If you really needed me so badly the company’s entire marketing department was going to fall apart at the seams without me, then where was this energy two months ago, huh?”

Her free hand found a spot on her hip as she shifted her weight and tapped her foot. Whatever the other person said made her sigh through her nose.

“Listen, I appreciate you thinking of me. Really, I do. But this is far too late. And frankly, I’m really happy here, so I’m not exactly willing to up and go back.”

Her words sent a feeling through my chest I hadn’t experienced in years. While I knew none of that had anything to do with me—my reception wasn’t exactly the warmest—it still stroked my ego. Ignoring the goosebumps rising on my arms beneath my flannel, I waited until she hung up before I proceeded forward.

“I knew you were there.”

I cringed. “Here I thought I was discreet. I hope you didn’t say that for my sake.”

Rachel shook her head. “I’d never say anything for your sake. I meant it. Fuck ‘em.”

As much as I fought it, I couldn’t help my smile. “Listen, Rachel, I’m sure I’m not the warmest and fuzziest guy, but I’m glad you’re here.”

“You’re not. But you’re my boss, you know? I don’t need you to be.”

For a reason I couldn’t identify, it felt like a blow. I swallowed it back. “Well, regardless, I shouldn’t be an asshole. I’ll work on that.”

I turned to leave, heading back out the door. I’d forgotten what I’d come to ask her about anyway, so there was no point in lingering. Before I could try to trace my steps to recall why I was here in the first place, she called my name.

I turned, looking at her. “Yes?”

“For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re an asshole.” She brushed some of her brown curls out of her face, and now, I noticed some of the auburn highlights. Some part of me wondered what they smelled like, as the other part of me chastised myself for being a fucking creep.

“At least that makes one of us.”

Rachel laughed. Maybe it’d always been this way and I’d finally woken up, but her laugh sounded like a melody. “You want to work on something? Work on that self-deprecation. Then we’ll talk about if you’re an asshole or not.”

“If I’m your boss, shouldn’t I be the one telling you what to do? Not the other way around?”

She winked. “I’ll work on that.”

I shook my head, trying to ignore the emotions stirring within me. It had been a long time since I’d last allowed myself to have fun, never mind flirt, and the idea of doing that with someone under my payroll didn’t feel right.

But I couldn’t deny this new way I looked at her, especially in the wake of almost potentially losing her to her old job. There was no pretending I felt anything other than possessiveness when she’d been on the phone, and I’d only be lying to myself if I denied that and the rest of it. Sasquatch tugged at the hem of my coat, pulling me back to reality and reminding me of why I was here in the first place.

“Say, I got some new gear for the ski rental booth. The packages should show up here any minute. Care to help me unload?”

“Yeah, I got you. I’d just wrapped up in here, so perfect timing.”

“Stuff might get pretty heavy, so we’ll have to tag team it.”

“Between the three of us, we should be able to make it work.”

Tidying up the rental booth would either give me a necessary distraction or make everything worse. At least I’d be able to say I tried.

We made the short trek outside to the back of the lodge where the ski rental sign hung above the small log hut. To my delight, the truck was small enough to drive back here without running down anything, so the boxes were stacked neatly against the door, still on their pallet.

We worked in sync wordlessly. Rachel let me take the lead on the lifts so I could make sure I wouldn’t make my back worse, and if something was too heavy, she found creative solutions for how to push them through without having to pick anything up.

“When you’re a weakling like I am,” she explained, “and had to order everything for a home office on Amazon, then you figure out how to do this real quick.”

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