Page 6 of Thankful for My CEO

“It was a pleasure meeting you… again,” he added with a sly tone that brought fire to my cheeks.

“Nice to meet you,” I returned, and went to close my laptop and put this whole irritating fiasco of a meeting behind me.

That was when the lights overhead flickered. Kit and I made eye contact, and then…

Pitch black.

Chapter 3

We stood in the room without a word for a moment, both shocked into silence.

The wind and rain kept battering the window. No -that couldn’t be just rain. I walked to the window, dimly lit up by the sun somewhere behind the storm. Flecks of ice pelted the glass, mixed with the rain.

“It’s starting to hail,” I said, unhelpfully.

“God dammit.”

I turned to Kit, surprised. I hadn’t heard him swear yet. Even though he seemed full of himself, he’d honestly been fairly professional.

“Apologies,” he said when he saw me looking. His brows were knit and he was scrolling through apps on his phone, his face glowing pale blue in the dim light. “This can’t be happening. Damn.”

“No internet?”

“No internet.”

“I’m sorry, I know… It sounded like you were on an important call earlier.”

“It was.” He put the phone back in his pocket and sighed, rubbing his temples. “I’ll talk to Mrs. Taylor and see what can be done.”

I followed him out of the meeting room and into the dining room. Mrs. Taylor was handing a lantern to a couple seated at one of the tables, nervously eating their cereal and toast. Without the radiators going, the room was already chilled enough to raise goosebumps on my arms beneath my thin sweater.

“We’re no stranger to storms like these,” she was saying in a comforting voice. “I recommend you stay by the fire in your until it passes. Complimentary firewood, of course.”

“We were on our way to Blue Lake,” the man said. The name sounded familiar. It was a popular tourist destination a couple of hours farther into the mountains. “You think we’ll still make it today? We have reservations up there. Expensive reservations.”

“No, sir,” she answered. “When it picks up like this, it seldom goes down soon.”

The couple leaned into each out and starting arguing in hushed tones.

The reality began to sink in.

“Oh, no… Mom,” I said, accidentally letting my worries slip out aloud.

I saw Kit look toward me. Was that a flicker of genuine concern I saw on his face? Or was I imagining it in the dark room?

“It’s fine,” I added. “I just… I’ll feel horrible if I can’t make it for Thanksgiving dinner. My mom’s expecting me today, actually. And now I don’t have any way to let her know.”

He didn’t need to know the details, of course. I was probably oversharing.

“I’m positive we’ll both make our original Thanksgiving plans,” he said. I almost admired his blind optimism. That’s what having nearly unlimited funds at your disposal must do to you.

Mrs. Taylor approached us. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Hayes. Our handyman is checking out the damage to the downed power lines, but I don’t think there is much he can do before the crews come when the storm lets up.”

“I have a driver arriving this evening,” he said. “Or, I thought I did.” He sighed. “I hope you don’t mind if I stay an extra night in the executive cabin.”

“No, no, of course not,” Mrs. Taylor said. “It’s all yours.” She looked at me. “Ms. Moreno, is there anything I can do to make your time more comfortable while you’re here with us?”

For however long that might be.

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