Page 85 of Stuck on the Slopes

“I know kissing someone to start the new year is a tradition,” I said, “but this is much nicer.”

“Consider it ours, then. Our tradition, I mean.”

I wasn’t about to say no to that.

When we emerged from the bathroom, Juniper tossed his flannel on as his phone rang. He picked it up as I redressed in my clothes from the night before, planning to change before we started our day. Before he spoke, he tapped the speakerphone button on his phone screen.

“Rick, how’s it going?”

“Juniper! Is it just me, or does it sound like your heart’s grown three sizes? Get it? Hart?”

As I sat next to him, Juniper sighed at Rick’s pun. “You haven’t changed a bit. How unfortunate.” Rick laughed a singular boisterous sound as Juniper continued. “By the way, I’ve got you on speaker. I want you to meet Rachel Friedman.”

“Hi!” I chimed in. “Juniper has told me so much about you. It’s nice to finally meet you—well, sort of meet you, I guess.”

“Rachel! The girl I’ve seen all over the internet! How wonderful to hear your voice, my dear. I trust Juniper hasn’t been giving you too hard of a time.”

“She keeps my ass in check, that’s for sure,” Juniper said.

“Good. I’m glad there’s someone there to do that in my absence.”

Juniper rolled his eyes. “I’ll rue the day the two of you get in a room together.”

“Listen, Juniper, I’ve got some exciting prospects for you. No snowboarding is required, either. What do you think about getting the team back together for some unique partnerships?”

“I’m listening,” Juniper said. He opened the Notes app on his phone so he could jot down some highlights while Rick spoke.

Rick rattled off three of the brands that Juniper used to work with. The company that outfitted him with all of his gear offered to provide ski and snowboarding equipment for the lodge, focusing on an upscale line of Juniper Hart-approved rentals for guests to use when they hit the slopes. Everything would be based on the actual products Juniper wore or used by them. Another was a sports drink company which would send out a fridge with plenty of drinks to stock in the gift shop on the first floor. The third was a new clothing company that would now have its own gift shop section and asked that Juniper and I post a photo of ourselves wearing their clothes or accessories on Instagram at least once a month.

“They get their cut, you get yours,” Rick said after he ran through the numbers. “It’s a great deal, Hart. Granted, I know this is too late for an opening day perk, but it could be a good way to entice people to come back.”

Juniper looked at me. “Well? What do you think?”

I thought it over in my head for a moment, grateful that he valued my opinion, and then said, “I agree with Rick. This sounds like a great deal. That gift shop is looking pretty scarce, so we could use a lot of this stuff.”

“You heard her,” Juniper said. “Rick, consider us back in business. Rachel and I won’t have time to manage this shit on our own, so am I good to rely on you for this?”

“Music to my ears. Sounds like Rachel’s a good influence on you.”

I laughed. “I’d like to think so.”

“Don’t laugh at his shitty jokes, it just enables him.”

“Please, Rachel, enable me!” I could hear Rick clap his hands. “Well, I’ll send over some more details via email and see you on opening day!”

That afternoon, Sasquatch nudged Juniper’s right leg as he picked at his nail beds in the lobby, waiting with me for our first round of new hires to arrive. I understood his struggle; I fought the urge to bounce my knee repeatedly, a nervous tic I had. But I figured if I could survive corporate America, I could survive training a few new employees.

“How on earth do you do it?” Juniper asked. “Make a good first impression, I mean.”

“Smile and address them by name,” Rachel said. “Goes a long way.”

“Right. Fuck, why am I so nervous?”

“This lodge is your baby. Of course, you’re nervous! Pretend it’s a snowboarding competition. How would you handle your nerves before those?”

“I was never nervous at those. Since I started so young, younger than most, hopping on a board felt like second nature. Here? I’m pretty sure they’re going to see right through me.”

“No matter how hard we try, sometimes it’s just like that. Even for me, I’ve got my days where I’m convinced that everyone sees right through me, including you,” I confessed.

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