“I wish I could, Zoe. You’ve done an excellent job here. But that’s Helen’s domain. I need to maintain apleasant working relationship with her, and that would be stepping on her toes.”
“I understand.” I fought to keep my voice steady.
“I suppose that feels a tad cowardly to a young woman like you, but I’m very happy with my position here.” She gestured at the mountains outside the window. “I can’t do anything to jeopardize it.”
“I understand. Really, I do.”
“However, please feel free to list me as a professional reference when you’re applying for jobs.”
That shocked me for just a moment. “Thank you. I really appreciate that.”
She smiled and took her leave. I stared at the marble floor as she walked away. Having her as a reference would be a real plus—but it didn’t matter if I couldn’t get a positive internship report. Without the report, I wouldn’t graduate.
It just seemed so unfair that four years of hard work hung in the balance. More than that… this had been my career path since middle school, and I’d worked damn hard to get here.
“Hey.”
I looked up to find Asher in front of me. I blinked rapidly in case any tears had collected on my lower lashes. “Hi.”
“I’m sorry about that,” he said.
It was clear what he meant, and my heart sank further. He was the last one I wanted to witness my professional failures. Not when hehad such a bright future in front of him. “Thanks.” I turned and left, but he came with me.
“I know what it’s like not to be recognized for your work,” he said softly.
That almost made me laugh. “You have a million fans who sing your praises.”
He shrugged. “Fans, not the owners of Michelin-starred restaurants. And don’t forget, I didn’t even get those fans until I took my shirt off. Before that, no one was interested in my channel.”
He was trying to be kind, which was a rarity, but his words only hurt worse. For some reason, I kept going back to view his videos—and the thirsty comments underneath. The things women said about him—the things they wanted him to do to them—made me uncomfortable in a way I couldn’t quite identify.
But maybe that was just because Asher and I had an unpleasant history, though I hadn’t even remembered giving him that bad review until he’d brought it up.
“Zoe? Talk to me. We’re both in the same industry. We’re in the same situation.”
“Then where are my million fans?”
He gave a soft smile, not snapping back. “From what I’ve seen, you have quite a few at this resort.”
Had he heard all of Vivian said to me? If so, that made me feel worse. Yes, she’d complimented me, but she’d also turned me down. And Asher was the last person I wanted to witness that.
“It doesn’t matter,” I said, as briskly as I could. I gave him a small smile to reinforce my words. “I’ll see you later.”
He caught my arm. “Just talk to me.”
“Stop trying to be all sympathetic. It’s not your strong suit.”
“You mean unlike Landon.”
“Whatever.” It wasn’t my best comeback, but I walked away with my head held as high as possible. As soon as I was out of sight of the lobby, I ducked into the cloakroom. Just to clear my head and get a little time alone.
Except that Asher followed me right inside.
“What?” I didn’t need a shoulder to cry on, and if I had, it wouldn’t be his. He wasn’t the arrogant prick I’d thought at the beginning of winter break, but there was still some kind of tension between us. I’d enjoyed my encounter with him—with all three of them—but there had been something a little disconcerting about being so close to him, our bodies entwined while we made intense eye contact. But that wasn’t what I wanted to be thinking about at the moment. “The lighting’s not right in here.”
He glanced up automatically before giving me a confused look. “What?”
“It’s too dark, in case you came in here to make a shirtless chef cooks in a cloakroom video.”
