Chapter 6

6

BOONE

I scanned the parking lot as I entered the Seduction Summit Lodge the next morning. I’d nearly fallen over dead when I saw Alex’s name on my phone last night while I was enjoying my beer and pizza at home. I was sure I was about to get reamed out for fucking one of his employees in the gift shop on the property.

The sad thing was we hadn’t even had sex. But if being with Skye meant losing out on working with the guy, I’d take that a thousand times over.

“I’m here to see Alex,” I told the woman standing at the front desk.

She had head-turning good looks, but nobody could hold a candle to my Skye. In just one day, she’d ruined me for all other women.

In fact, I found myself looking around for Skye as I stood awkwardly in the lobby waiting for Alex. The gift shop door wasn’t visible from here, and walking in that direction might make it obvious that I was looking for her, so I stood with half an eye on the front door, hoping she’d rush into work.

My senses perked up when I saw movement outside, but it was a guy with a build not too different from mine. Probably a local looking for breakfast. I’d read up on the town last night, and one thread posted by skiers mentioned some remote cabins spread throughout the mountains housing what they called strange dudes with beards and no social skills. If that described someone who was dangerous, I definitely fit the bill.

I was so busy watching the approaching figure, I didn’t notice Alex was coming from the other direction, big smile on his face, until he said, “Boone? I’m Alex. Sorry about yesterday.”

His hand was extended, and I reached out and gave it a shake. Behind me, the automatic doors slid open, letting in a blast of cold air. Alex released my grip, his smile fading slightly as he turned in the direction of the person entering.

“Lucky?” he asked.

“What’s this all about?” the newcomer shot back. “You told me I had the job.”

I stepped back, but my body was tense and ready for a fight. I’d been in more than a few physical altercations over the years, always in self-defense. I didn’t go out looking for trouble. If something pissed me off, I just went home and stewed about it until I decided I wasn’t going to let the person occupy that much brain space.

“Nothing’s final yet,” Alex said. “Boone here has more resources, and as one of my workers pointed out, he lives closer, so we won’t have to worry about paying to put him up until we can get him into a place to live.”

“You don’t have to pay to put me up,” Lucky said. “I never asked for that.”

“He’s staying with me.”

That came from Georgia, who was behind the desk. We all turned and looked at her, and she just shrugged. It was an apologetic move.

“So you’re dating one of my employees,” Alex said.

My ears perked up at that. If dating a Seduction Summit Lodge employee put this gig at risk, maybe I should just turn the whole thing over to this angry guy. I’d definitely give up the work before I’d cut ties with Skye.

And that was when I knew I had it bad.

“I’ve already come up with a proposal for you,” Lucky said. “Does this guy have everything mapped out?”

“Yep.” I turned back to Alex, crossing my arms over my chest. “I spent all day yesterday scouting locations. I could put together a proposal and have it on your desk by the end of the day.”

I turned back to Alex, and as I did, I saw something over his shoulder. A certain beautiful brunette. I had to force my eyes to stay on Alex. They were dying to drift over and take in her fresh-faced beauty with that long ponytail and the body that was imprinted in my brain. If I lived to be a hundred, I’d never forget the sight of her, eyes closed, lips parted, hand beneath the thin cloth of her underwear…

“Sounds good.” Alex looked from Lucky to me and back again. “Both of you have a proposal with dollar amounts on my desk by end of day tomorrow. I’ll make a decision and let you know.”

With that, he turned and walked off, leaving me standing there awkwardly with my competition, his live-in girlfriend, and the woman I couldn’t stop thinking about. The woman of my dreams.

“Look,” Lucky said. “No hard feelings. Someone just tipped me off that Alex was meeting with a logging crew.”

I think I knew exactly who that someone was. She’d been tapping away on her phone during the few minutes I stood waiting for Alex to come out. The big question was, how had he gotten here so quickly? He must have been in the area.

“Name’s Lucky,” he said, thrusting out his hand.

I eyed it skeptically a second before uncrossing my arms and returning his handshake.

“Boone,” I said. “I own a logging operation in Adairsville.”

That made my business sound bigger than it actually was. Lately, I’d been doing a lot of tree removal and firewood sourcing. Small jobs that wouldn’t pay the bills, but I knew more than anyone what it was like to have someone come in and snatch your business away from you. That was exactly what had happened to me, but this had been a larger company with crews all over the region. I was small potatoes in comparison.

“May the best man win,” Lucky said.

And then he nodded at the woman behind the desk before turning and walking out. I glanced over at Skye, whose eyes were on the other woman. That made clear what I should have already known. I needed to keep things professional with Skye. If anyone got a hint that I had my eyes on one of the Seduction Summit Lodge employees, it could jeopardize the whole thing.

I’d get the job, then do something about this raging erection. But could I stay away from Skye long enough to do that? I had my doubts.