Page 71 of Privileged (Adrenalin)

“Aren’t you going to invite me inside?”

I step aside and extend my hand toward the living room. Closing the door behind him, I make my way back to the kitchen. “Coffee?”

“Please.”

I take another mug from the cupboard and pour him some, setting it on the counter so neither of us has to handle the scalding hot cup.

“I didn’t think I’d see you before the meeting.” I slide the mug toward him when he makes no move to take it.

“You had some decisions to make before then. I thought it best we go over those.” He brings the steaming liquid to his mouth and takes a sip.

“It’s not a problem anymore. Sloan no longer works for me.”

“You weren’t supposed to fire him,” he says sternly.

“I didn’t. He left.”

“That’s a better outcome than I hoped for. I’m proud of you for making the right decision, son.”

I blow on my coffee, a lame attempt to keep my words to myself. It doesn’t work. “I didn’t get a chance to make it. If I had, I would’ve chosen him.” I don’t add that I still might. I’d rather spring that one on him with the board as witnesses.

The cup stops halfway to his lips. “I’m sorry?”

“If he’d have stuck around long enough, I would’ve chosen him. But he said my vision for the resort was too important to the town for him to get in the way. So, he left.”

“Well,” my dad sputters the way he does when he can’t decide if he should lecture me about or ignore my faults. “That’s for the best. Even if he no longer works for you he started off as your employee, and your career doesn’t need to get run through the mud over that technicality.”

My mug cracks against the granite counter when I set it down with too much force, causing my father to jump. “My career,” I snort. “If anything, Sloan’s the reason my career is ready to take off. He helped me find an alternative solution to the expansion plans when the first idea fell through. He helped me earn the town’s support for the plans to expand. None of this would be possible without him.”

“You’re giving him credit for your vision?” My dad sets his coffee down and crosses his arms in front of his chest, his way of demanding I elaborate.

“I’m giving him credit with helping bring it to fruition, yes.” I match his stance.

“And what qualifies someone who works in the spa to offer input on the operations of the resort?”

“Don’t assume the position he heldtemporarilyhas any bearing on his ability to offer meaningful insight. Sloan has great management instincts, and as a lifelong skier he’s just as qualified to evaluate skiable terrain as anyone on the board. Maybe even more so.”

I don’t know why I’m defending the man who broke my heart to my father. Maybe I want him to know he’s not always right. He doesn’t always have the answers. Even if it doesn’t change things with Sloan, it gives me satisfaction to dispute him.

“That’s all well and good but being a lifelong skier wouldn’t convince the board your plan is a good one.” He sets his hands on the countertop and leans forward. “Unless he’s qualified on paper, he’s a liability.”

“We don’t have to worry about that now, do we?” I fling my mug against the backsplash, shards of ceramic flying in all directions as coffee runs across the counter and drips onto the floor. “In addition to giving up the position that was astepping-stoneto the job he wanted so I could maintain my role, he left me entirely so he couldn’t be used as an excuse not to approve the expansion. Problem solved, right?”

Chest heaving under the weight of my angry breath, I stare my father down, daring him to give me another justification for why Sloan was expendable. Instead of giving me the fight I’m now itching for, he seems to deflate before my eyes. The sight is almost as jarring as the next words out of his mouth.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were in love with him?” His soft voice almost sounds… sad?

“What?” My foot slips on the wet floor as I take a step back, forcing me to grip the counter for support. “You told me it was reckless to date an employee in my position.” That’s the only answer I have for a question I never expected him to ask.

“It is. That doesn’t mean the risk isn’t worth it, for the right person.”

“What?” My heartbeat is so loud in my chest I think it’s messing withmy hearing.

“How do you think I met your mother?” His curious gaze has me racking my brain for stories from their past, though nothing comes to mind. My parents love each other, I’ve never doubted that, but either they aren’t very nostalgic, or I wasn’t around enough to witness it, because I can’t recall how they met. When I offer no answer, he continues. “She was my secretary. It was a conflict of interest, but we both thought the risk was worth it. We were right. We’ve been married over thirty years.”

“You’re saying it wasn’t stupid to get involved with Sloan? Because that’s exactly what I heard over the phone.” I wipe my hand over my face with a groan.What is happening right now?

“I’m saying, for the right person, the rewards can outweigh the risks. Sounds to me like this Sloan could fall into that category. I wish you would have told me how you felt about him.”

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