I gentled my tone. “Did you consider that people are giving up their weekend, the weekend before a major holiday, to be here? Some would’ve taken the upcoming week off and spent it with loved ones or on a vacation of their choice. And many have family obligations this week, leaving others to do the caregiving and holiday preparations.”
“Oh.” A pair of lines formed between her dark eyebrows. “Everything had to be done in a rush, and this was when the resort had space for our group. I guess I didn’t think of people with family responsibilities. Which is weird because I have them myself, just not on the daily. I guess we have that in common, huh?”
I twisted my mouth to the side to keep from contradicting her. Caitlyn’s face fell when I’d delivered the news that she couldn’t come with me to Costa Rica. Plus, I’d given up a lot of leverage with Zara by switching weekends again. According to my lawyer, I had to stop doing that if I had any hope of winning a more favorable custody agreement. But my custody, my family, and my obligations were none of Bridget’s business. It was better to separate my work and personal lives with a high fence. Otherwise, I risked someone thinking I had higher priorities than work.
Instead, I nodded and changed the subject. “Why didn’t you bring one of the admins to deal with the front desk and run the schedule?”
“I asked, but everyone had family obligations.” Flashing me a wry smile, she resumed her path to the bungalows. “I guess the admins don’t mind telling a CEO no, even if the executive staff won’t.”
“A prestigious job with a big paycheck comes with bigger demands. At least, that’s how I’ve always seen it.”
The path opened up to a cluster of single-story bungalows. Some looked large enough for a family, and others were the size of the cabins at my old Boy Scout camp. I hoped they didn’t have the same bunk beds and flimsy mattresses. They were painted in pastel colors that reflected the bright lantanas and flowering ginger in the landscaped beds around them.
“You’re right,” she said. “I didn’t assume an admin would want to come, but I assumed the executive staff would be thrilled to spend time together in a beautiful environment for teambuilding.” She paused, glancing from the key cards in her hand to the bungalows. “Thanks for being a good sport about it.” She cleared her throat. “It means a lot to me.”
Jesus Christ.The suitcases suddenly felt double their normal weight. She was so earnest. She cared so much about it all. And I was the asshole who’d said nothing, who’d let her pin her success to this disaster of a leadership retreat. I struggled to find an appropriate response.
“It’s okay.” She turned toward a pair of smaller units. “I know you don’t want to be here either. Especially not with me. But we’ll get through it.” She stopped in front of the sky-blue one. “This is me. You’re in the pink one.” She pointed next door. “We’re neighbors. At least we don’t have to share, like in the office.”
I refused to let myself think about sharing a room as she opened her door, giving me a glimpse of a small living room and an open interior door that revealed a bedroom. I cleared the gravel out of my throat. “Want me to roll your bag inside?” I asked.
“I’ve got it. Thank you.” She took the handle and heaved it across the threshold. “For everything.” Gently, she closed the door.
I turned my back to it and dropped my head back, exhaling. She’d fucked herself with this ridiculous retreat.
But apparently, so had I.
10
I AM A PEDANT ABOUT CROCODILES
Favorite animal?
Cole:Polar bear.
Bridget:Dolphins, definitely. They’re so smart!
COLE
During my ten years in management, I’d been on my share of retreats and offsites. Most of them were boring, many of them were annoying, and a handful were downright toxic. Like that one offsite I’d had with my finance team when I’d first joined Apex. It was an all-male team, except for the assistant, and after a couple of beers, two of the analysts made crude comments about her. Their manager said nothing. So I’d fired all three of them the following Monday. Still, I was the one who got a reputation for being cruel and volatile.
Like I said, toxic.
This retreat was different. Bridget had packed the schedule with a mix of activities from a Trivial Pursuit tournament topickleball. While every one of them was competitive—planned by Bridget, remember?—they also offered opportunities for us to collaborate. Our VP of sales, Miguel, had an encyclopedic knowledge of music and film, and with my sports knowledge, we’d chased Bridget and Stan to the final trivia round, but the questions about 1980s politics had stymied us, and Bridget and Stan had swept the floor with us on a question about glasnost. Gina, the new COO, had been a surprisingly strong pickleball partner, and I’d evened the score.
This morning, Bridget had shown up for breakfast with the tiniest hiking boots I’d seen since I’d taken Caitlyn to Yosemite last July. She wore hiking pants, and her hair was in a long braid down her back instead of its usual slicked-back twist. Until this weekend, I’d never thought of Bridget’s shellacked bun containing actual hair, and now I couldn’t keep my mind off what it’d feel like to loosen the rubber band at the bottom and comb out her silky braid with my fingers. The restaurant hostess only made it worse when she laughed and tucked a white orchid behind Bridget’s right ear.
If I didn’t get away from her, I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I was afraid it’d be something I truly regretted. So when our guide paused for the first break during our hike up the volcano, I chatted with him in Spanish about the trail and continued up alone.
Or so I thought.
A few minutes later, as I swatted aside an overhanging wild banana leaf, there was a muttered curse behind me. I whirled to face the interloper.
Bridget stood a dozen feet away, her face pink and glistening with sweat. She peeled a long leaf off her forehead and tossed it onto the trail. “Watch how you fling those branches around, Indiana Jones.”
“I didn’t realize I was being followed,” I grumbled.
“You shouldn’t hike alone. They taught us to use the buddy system in Girl Scouts.”
