16
ZOE
“And then Ineed you to go and check with—” Mrs. Greer was mid-sentence when her phone rang.
She picked up the phone, and I took a step back, half-relieved. I’d been worried she was about to tell me to check something with Asher. And while we’d been getting along a tiny bit better, that was still my least favorite task.
Mrs. Greer hung up and finished her sentence. “The ski instructor.”
“Pardon?”
“Check with the head ski instructor and make sure he’s got next week fully staffed for lessons. All guests will have checked in by then, and we must do whatever we can to keep them entertained and content.” She said that last part very sternly, as if I’d suggested otherwise.
“Of course. I’ll go right now.” It was late afternoon, so Kai was probably done with his lessons for the day.
“Talk to the other one, too.”
I paused, assuming she meant Landon. I didn’t particularly like the way Mrs. Greer referred to him as ‘the other one,’ but I kept my expression neutral.
“Make sure he’s checked that the maintenance and inspections are up to date on the chairlift.”
“Landon knows how to do that?”
“He knows how to check a report, I presume.”
“Right. I’ll find them now.”
I walked away thinking that at least Mrs. Greer was occasionally giving me something useful to do. But so far, this internship hadn’t been at all what I’d thought. I’d imagined making improvements, implementing changes, fixing problems. Not running around checking on reports and schedules like some glorified messenger.
A wry thought crossed my mind—maybe Mrs. Greer didn’t like me because I’d accidentally written a bad review about her and forgotten about it, too.
I was crossing the lower lobby when I heard laughter ahead of me, loud and unmistakably Kai.
I rounded the massive Christmas tree and found him talking to an older couple. He was still in his ski jacket, animated and grinning, clearly entertaining them. The older man was chuckling, and his wife was beaming at Kai like he’d just told her the best story she’d heard all year.
For a minute, I wished it were Landon. I’d like to see him act that way—so open and carefree. But Landon carried his grief like a weight that was always there, whether it was visible or not, and I wondered if he’d ever be that lighthearted again.
The older man glanced at his watch and said something to his wife before heading toward the elevator. Once he was gone, I realized there had been someone else on his other side—a younger woman.
She was drop-dead gorgeous. Blonde, probably in her early thirties, with bouncy hair and glowing tan skin that looked like she’d just spent two weeks at the spa. Her green eyes were trained on Kai’s face.
I slowed my steps, half-hidden by the Christmas tree.
The older woman patted Kai’s hand, and he took hers and squeezed as they talked, his smile easy and warm. The blonde touched his bicep, and he didn’t pull away. He laughed, deep in his throat, and when the two women finally moved off together, his blue eyes followed them.
Well, notthem.
He seemed to be focused on the tight backside of the younger woman.
“Making friends?” I asked archly as I stepped around the tree.
He grinned. “Always.”
I felt a spike of irritation. “So is it your job to flirt with the guests?”
“Sometimes.” His tone was even, but there was an edge to it. “Just like it was your job to not tell off that horny old man who kept touching you at the bar?”
“That’s different.”
