doing, he might complain about it, but he’d do it. And he did a good job. And, aside from the fact that he really liked murder movies and smoked pot, he was a nice guy.
Wren was kind of quiet, but there was a lot going on inside her head. When she did say something, it was either terribly witty, or extremely insightful. Or both.
Olivia was a sweetheart. She simply wanted to please everyone. I think she just needed a little more confidence to help her own her place.
Ben was just awesome. He was a powerhouse of energy and he just jumped in whenever anyone needed anything.
And Ken was an unmitigated rock star.
Yeah. I guess I did have a great staff. I should spend more time getting to know them, and appreciating them.
I did miss having a connection with other people. A real connection, I mean. Not just a nod on the way to the water cooler or an exchange over a boardroom table. Real stuff.
I knew it would be hard for me to make this shift, because I’d become so ensconced in the corporate culture, I’d forgotten to think about people as people.
As annoying as it was that Coop had brought this up, I was glad he had.
Olivia and I had a nice chat that night, while the adults were drinking. We talked about her plans for the future, and her upbringing and her dreams. She really wanted to pursue hospitality as a career. I told her about the management mentoring program and the classes Eden offered employees who wanted to advance.
When she told me about her boyfriend, a mechanic named Lance, I pulled out my phone. “This is my boyfriend, Dirk,” I said, showing her a picture.
Her eyes got all big. “Oooh. Dirk’s hot.”
I nodded. “He’s a cover model. And a physicist.” Because it bore repeating.
“Holy crap.”
Right. He was perfect. On paper.
Her brow wrinkled. “But I thought you and Cooper were a thing?”
Oh. Yeah. “Coop and I were a thing about fifteen years ago.”
Her smile was sly. “It seems like you’re a thing now too.”
I shrugged because, honestly, it kind of did.
“So… Which one do you like better?”
Her question caught me off guard. Which one did I like better? There was no competition. Life with Dirk was pleasant. Predictable. Placid. Low-pressure. If Dirk dumped me for Barbie Malone, I’d be like, “Okay, have fun, dude.”
Dirk and I were just marking time together. I could see that now.
Coop was an entirely different story. Coop was exciting and challenging and the sex was beyond the stars.
My heart screamed, “Coop! It’s Coop!” But my head told it to shut up because my head was scared.
“They’re both awesome,” I answered—somehow the truth and a lie at the same time.
“Yeah. But you have to pick one, don’t you?”
God, life was so simple when you were in your twenties!
Just pick one! See how easy that was?
But, if I was being honest, I already had picked one.
I just needed to convince my head to go along with my heart.
Cooper came to my room for a “shower” again that night. This time, our lovemaking was a lot slower and more, shall we say, exploratory. But I have to say, my favorite part was after, when he held me in his arms and we just talked into the darkness.
Honestly, I could get used to this.
Chapter Nine
Christmas Eve dawned with a new sprinkling of snow. As much as I wanted to stay in bed with Coop, we had to get up. Today was the big day. The guests were leaving for snow adventures and shopping again, and while they were gone, we had the Christmas Evening Dinner and Fairy Ball to set up.
Jamison’s In-N-Out burgers arrived in time for lunch, still hot. Unfortunately, Jamison was not there to eat them. Apparently, he’d taken off sometime in the middle of the night after one of his fights with Farley, and no one knew where he was. Not even his mother, which concerned me.
Too bad it didn’t concern her. She sat in the great room sipping Don Julio, and telling everyone he would be back in time for the afternoon excursion.
Neither Farley, her friends, nor any of the adults in the party wanted burgers, and all Jamison’s pals had left with him—so it was up to the staff to chow down on In-N-Out burgers, delivered straight from Los Angeles.
Yes. At times, there were perks.
At any rate, when Jamison and his friends returned to the lodge, they had already eaten in town.
As