“Just hear me out.” Maya held up her hands, either as a pleading gesture, or because she was trying to stop Noah from tackling me. “This is your chance. Show Victoria that this place still has value. Generate interest. Grow bookings. Increase revenue.”
I kept my mouth shut. Before we borrowed one of the resort’s pimped-out four-wheel-drive golf carts and drove down there, Maya and I agreed that she would do all the talking. My job was simply to stand there and keep quiet. And I fully intended to execute my half of the plan flawlessly. Plus, Yeti was staring at me and drooling, so I didn’t want to make any sudden movements and set her off.
“I think this could really be helpful for everyone,” Maya pleaded. “It’s not as bad as it sounds.”
“No?” Noah spun his boot in the gravel. “Cause it sounds like the worst idea I’ve ever heard.”
Maya leveled her index finger at my nose. “She’s on our side. Sam wants to show real Colorado experiences, not that crap they’re peddling up at the resort.”
“You mean the crap Victoria hired her to promote?” Noah glared at me like I was personally responsible for LuxeLife screwing him over. “WhateverSamanthathinks she wants, she won’t find it here.”
“Noah, please.” Maya chased after him as he stomped toward his hunk-of-junk Jeep.
From across the parking lot, I watched Noah and Maya angry-whisper, clearly about me. Every couple of words,Noah’s face would get red, and he’d jerk his arm in my direction like he was chopping wood.
“You’re back,” said a woman’s voice behind me. I turned and saw Jenn come out of the log building. Luckily, muck-free.
A wilderness-y looking Latino dude joined her. He wore half a wetsuit, the top half peeled back over his torso like a banana. Even from a distance, I could tell he smelled like river mud.
“That her?” asked wetsuit dude.
“That’s the one.” Jenn’s lips twisted into a smirk.
“Doesn’t look very influential to me.”
They walked over, studying every inch of me along the way.
“New shoes?” asked Jenn.
“Yes, they are,” I said, flashing my best influencer smile. Noah already hated me, so I was determined not to make enemies of his friends. “Maya let me pick them from the boutique.”
“Boutique?” asked wetsuit dude.
“Yes, at the resort.”
“The resort. Right.” Wetsuit dude was now the third person who’d pronounced “resort” like “bear-poop-on-the-bottom-of-my-shoe.”
I stuck one of my legs out and twisted my foot back and forth so Jenn could see the colored pattern on the laces. They really drew out the orchid purple color of my puffy vest. And the red matched my lip gloss perfectly.
Nothing bonds two women faster than new footwear.
Except in Colorado, apparently.
“Nice.” Jenn’s tone didn’t match the word. “This is Diego.” She jabbed her thumb at wetsuit dude. “Diego, this is Samantha.”.
“My friends call me Sam.”
“I’m sure they do, Samantha” said Diego.
Across the parking lot, Maya and Noah were still engaged in robust conversation, with more grumpy looks and wood-chopping-esqe finger pointing. The three of us watched the back and forth like a high stakes tennis match, where the losing player would be forced to watch more tennis.
“So.” I said, pulling their attention back to me. “LuxeLife wants me to get some content of all the stuff you all do.” If Noah wasn’t going to cooperate, I’d just have to go around him.
“Content?” asked Diego.
“Stuff?” asked Jenn.
“You know, like …” I gestured at Diego’s half on, half off wetsuit, and the still dripping life vest in his hand. “Videos of river whatchahoosies. And photos of horsey thingamabobs.”
