“It’s a beautiful place, Ben.” My eyes followed the massive beams that ascended to the vaulted ceilings.
I took off my coat and hung it on the nearby rack while Ben explained that once the bar at the resort opened, the bar would cater to weddings, corporate parties, birthdays, bachelorette parties and any other excuse someone could come up with to party.
“Well, this is amazing, Ben. Congratulations on this venture.”
“I’ll get you a drink to celebrate your new job. What’s your poison?”
I slapped my hand on the bar. “Gin and tonic, extra lime. Please,” I said.
“Coming right up.” I watched him go up to a bartender. A woman who looked like she lived, breathed, and ate fear for breakfast. She wore all leather, black eye makeup, had tattoos down her arms, and an expression on her face that looked like she wanted to kill me. She had red streaks in her black hair and lipstick to match.
“Hi,” a woman with long brown hair and brown eyes smiled at me when she sat down in the stool beside me. “I’m Emily.”
“Melinda,” the scary woman placed my drink in front of me just in time for me to cheer Emily. “She may or may not scare me,” I said.
“Mary? She is nice. She just has a serious look about her.”
No kidding.
I loved the atmosphere. It was joyful, and everyone introduced themselves. After an hour or two, I felt pretty good about my decision to move here. I was about to call it a night, though, regardless of the good time I was having. I was exhausted and wanted to see the impressive chalet I was staying in. I was about to grab my jacket when the door opened, letting cold air in. I looked toward the door and dropped my drink.
Chris Bates.
Thefreaking Chris Bates from high school. What were the chances of that? No. No way could I work for him. I needed to get out of here.
“Chris! Come here. I want you to meet our new marketing manager,” Ben called out.
I turned my back so he couldn’t see me and started to panic.
“Melinda, this is Chris. The CEO of the place.”
I put on my brave face and turned around, holding out my hand with a fake smile. "Chris."
His smile faltered when he met my hand. “Melinda Bailey.”
“Yeah, how did you know?” Ben asked.
“I think we may have met,” Chris said. “A long time ago.”
“We did? Oh yeah. You were the snowboarding kid in high school, weren’t you?” And so much more. But I wanted to pretend I’d never noticed that. “Can I have another drink, Ben? I dropped mine.” I wanted my forgetfulness to sting Chris. Not that it would. He'd been the one to hurt me all those years ago. I had guessed that he needed to prove he could have me just like he had all the other girls fawning over him. Me. Never. Not until that night. I'd always thought he was Mr. Good Shoes. The best athlete. The best student. The hottest guy. Arrogant. Irritating. Until that night in the theatre. Forced together, we eventually started talking. Properly. Not just goading each other. And he'd shown another side. A good side.
“Shocker,” Chris mumbled behind me, so no one else could hear him.
Well, he hadn’t changed at all.
This was supposed to be a new start. Why did it feel like I was slammed back into the past?
