I stole a glance to see his big goofy grin.
Vincent turned to me. I sucked in my lips.
“Roxanne, I never had any doubt you’d be amazing. I’ve watched you all week. You’ve learned to trust and delegate. I’ve never seen two people so communicative. Next week let’s discuss your transition into the lead events coordinator.”
“Thank you,” I said with a grin. “That would be great.”
Vincent smiled back. Flicking his gaze back to Sanders, he added, “Now why don’t you two go out and celebrate. You’ve both been working so hard all week, you’re practically dead on your feet. You should really get some sleep.” He glanced between us one last time with an unreadable expression.
I knew we hadn’t been as discreet as we’d thought. My palms began to sweat. Things were happening too fast.
After we left Vincent’s office, Sanders turned to me, his gaze far too intense to be appropriate for work. “Good work, Roxxo.”
“Thanks, Colonel.” I fought to keep my face neutral. “So are you thinking of partnering with the Lodge?”
“Of course,” he said, his excitement growing more palpable with every step. “I think this could really work,” he said. His eyes shone with a manic excitement.
“Well, as lead events coordinator we’d probably work together regularly,” I said, flicking a glance to him, playing it cool.
Once we reached the lobby, he stopped in front of the fireplace, eyes bright and wide as they bounced around my face. “That’s the best part. I could move out here and start a second location in Green Valley. Guaranteed business through the Lodge and maybe more throughout eastern Tennessee.” He all but bounced on the balls of his feet. “Yes. Yes, this is perfect. I’ll start looking for an apartment today.”
“Today?” The shock of his words chilling me. I forced myself to think about the logistics. “Wait. Wait. You can’t just—”
His smile faltered and I realized I had to be careful how I framed this. He was so quick to go after what he wanted. But he needed to do things the right way. We needed to.
“Okay. Before you do that. Let’s think about a few things. You said you have to go handle your dad’s estate.”
He flinched. “I don’t—”
“And what about your office in Denver? You should probably go talk to them before you do anything sudden.”
“Don’t you want me?” He frowned. “To stay?”
“Sanders,” I said evenly. “Of course, I want that. This last week has been amazing but I just think you should slow down.”
“Why slow down when I know what I want? I want you. I want to be here with you. What else is there to know? We’re a great team. MooreTek said it. Vincent said it. You have a mind for the details. I handle the activities.”
Wasn’t that what he said about Skip? Was that how Sanders saw me? As Skip’s replacement? His words weren’t sitting right. He grabbed my hands as a growing panic sped up my heart. I glanced around.
I tried to pull my hands away but Sanders held me tighter. “What are you looking for?” he asked, his smile was gone.
I tugged my hands free. “We’re at work.”
“Well, they’re going to need to know about us.”
“No, I know. Just. Slow down.” I pressed fingers to my forehead to fix my bangs. “I need to think.”
Icy panic threatened to close my throat. This was all happening too fast. Buses were loading and unloading. A line had queued up at the front desk. The lobby was bustling for a Friday afternoon, guests checking out and new ones arriving.
Breaks squeaked loudly to a stop outside, drawing my attention. Skip stomped off a bus followed immediately by Jack.
I couldn’t hear them but Skip was frowning, fists clenched and head down, as he entered the lobby. From behind him, Jack tossed out his arms and shook his head before turning and getting back on the bus.
“Hey, Skippo,” Sanders called carefully to his partner.
Skip took in the pair of us, clearly noting my panicked gaze as he joined us. His scowl melted into concern. “What’s going on?”
I’d never seen Skip so disheveled. Dirt smeared his cheeks, his flannel and hiking pants were wrinkled and dirty. The smell of campfire and male stung my nose.
“Whoa, mate, you need a shower,” Sanders said.
“I know,” Skip snapped. “That’s where I was headed. You called me over. What’s going on?”
“Geez, cranky. I’ve got great news.”
I kept my face expressionless as Skip looked between us. “Okay?”
“The Lodge wants to partner with Outside the Box,” Sanders said excitedly but faint lines of tension bracketed his eyes. He didn’t like my concerns. He didn’t like seeing his friend grumpy. His gaze flicked to the bus where Jack was presumably trying to get the kids settled to return home. Sanders focused on his best friend. “Is everything okay with Jack? How was the camping trip?”
“One thing at a time,” Skip said. He ran his hand through wild hair.
“It’s good news, mate. I can stay here. You can handle the Denver office.”
“What?” Skip swallowed as a flush splotched up his neck.
“Yeah. I’ll stay out here. Get a place and start a new branch.”
“Wait,” I started. “Vincent just threw out the idea,” I clarified. “He still wants to talk to you both. The Lodge is in a state right now anyway. It could be months before the board approves anything,” I emphasized. Couldn’t he see this was too much for his best friend? Couldn’t he understand that Skip needed him to go slow? Couldn’t he see that I needed him to go slow?
Sanders looked at me like he couldn’t understand why I’d said that.
When Skip spoke, his voice was slow and deliberate. “Dev and the team need to hear from you. You can’t abandon the Denver office.”
“I’m hardly abandoning anybody.”
“You know, Dev and Callum told me they were thinking of starting their own business.”
Sanders faltered for a minute, then shrugged. “So let them. Denver is over. Green Valley is where it’s at.”
Skip’s face drained of color. “I
