DAME:
wait, really? You want to sell it now? The fuck is going on?
CAL:
are you dying or something? It’s your baby.
AUGGIE:
absolutely, yes.
I chew my bottom lip, eyes darting between my closed office door, the stack of paperwork beside me, and the screen. It’s not hesitation I feel at all, but certainty.
ME:
what’re you offering?
In a matter of moments, they’re throwing new deals at me, deals that could set me up for years. Setusup for years. I don’t need to hold onto the lodge anymore, not with Lydia waiting out there for me.
And with the money this sale could bring me, I would be out from my aunt’s thumb. She’d have nothing to hold over me—or Lydia. No reason to use her, and no reason for me to get in close with her family anymore.
Tobias drops a link to a video call in the chat, one I click on immediately. Four separate screens appear in front of me, with my own down the bottom.
“So, what changed your mind?” August asks, sweat dripping down his brow as he leans against the wall in his home gym.
“I don’t need it anymore,” I reply honestly. “Things have changed.”
“Have you taken up your aunt’s offer about moving back to New York?” Tobias grins from his bed, one arm behind his head. “I knew the girl could get you moving. You get in with her dad yet? Time is ticking, and your aunt needs results.”
I stiffen, teeth gritted as I shake my head. “I’m not coming back,” I reply, voice low. “I’m going to give up my position in the company.”
The questions come through rapid fire, loud and full of surprise.
“What the hell is going on there?” Callahan grumbles from his desk.
“Have you finally lost your mind on that mountain?” Damien asks from his kitchen.
I scrub a hand down my face, leaning back in my chair. “Guys?—”
My office door creaks, and when I look up, I find Lydia standing in the doorway with two new cups of coffee in hand, her wet hair pulled into a bun, still wearing my flannel.
But rather than the sweet smile she’s been sporting all morning, horror shines in her eyes. “What?”
“Lydia,” I murmur, shutting the laptop and standing. “I?—”
“Why would you want to get in with my dad?” she asks, voice firm. “What does your aunt want from him?”
I shake my head and round the desk, heart pounding. Betrayal flashes in her grey eyes as she takes a step away fromme. “I don’t know,” I reply honestly, holding my hands up defensively. “I never asked.”
“But you were going to use me to talk to him, weren’t you? For her?” Her eyes shine with unshod tears as she takes another step back. “That’s why you hired me. Because of him.”
“I didn’t hire you,” I remind her, meeting her next step back with one of my own. But she just releases a shaky breath and starts down the hall towards the kitchen. “Lydia.”
“Hold on,” she snaps, voice thick with emotion. I follow her into the kitchen as she sets the coffee cups down and braces her hands on the counter. “Did you really need me to be your assistant?” she asks quietly without looking back at me.
“I don’t know.” I swallow hard, frozen in place as I watch her lower her head. “Yes, probably. But you were able to offer them something else.”
Lydia scoffs and shakes her head, still not looking at me. “Them, you say, like you aren’t part of this.” Finally, she whirls around to face me, the colour completely drained from her face. “You were going touseme. For my family.”
