Chapter Twelve
Curtis chuckled like she had just cracked a joke. “No, you don’t.”
“Trust me, I am. I’m not going to sit back and let some arrogant, entitled rich guy who is absolutely not worthy of my time treat me like a servant he can do what he pleases with. I’m not a doormat. He likes to throw his money around; he can get someone else. I’m not the only ski instructor at the resort, Curtis. There are many other highly skilled professionals who would jump at the opportunity to take his money, which is probably dirty since I can’t find anything on the internet to explain where his billions came from. They won’t care where they train him or who they inconvenience in the process. I’m not the right person for this job. I do care where his money came from, how he spends it, and where I train him. He shouldn’t get a bunch of special treatment just because he’s rich. I can’t do the job right if I can’t stand my client. And trust me when I say I can’t stand that man!”
“Listen to me, Leighann. You will not quit, and you want to know why? I’ll tell you why.” His voice was loud and clear, but it held a seriousness she hadn’t heard from him in a while. She clenched her jaw as she listened to him.
“You know how much he paid me for this experience?” he asked. “One million bucks. That’s right. One million dollars , Kiddo. And that doesn’t include his accommodation or anything extra. That is just for my overhead, ski equipment, resort fees, and your experience during these ten days. That is 500 grand for you and 500 grand for me. Your half of the money will be more than enough to not only pay off all your student debts and Ph.D. but also fund your current research. You wanna know what my half will do? You know how long I’ve wanted to launch my next location. Depending on which location I go with, that money would take care of most, if not all, of opening my third shop. And I did mention he paid half a million dollars to secure one-half of the mountain, didn’t I? The Baileys have been trying to raise enough capital to make major upgrades to the resort. They will be able to do that with this private party reservation. He is only reserving half, so they will be able to keep the other half of the resort running and maintain their usual cash flow, maybe more if people get frustrated with the crowded lifts and slopes. They may spend more time inside the lodge eating and taking advantage of the other amenities like the spa. Enrique gets to enjoy the privacy he wants while all the other players get an influx of cash they desperately need at no major loss to him. Now, can you honestly tell me that doesn’t sound like a win-win for everyone? What you see as a rich man throwing his money around is seen by others as a much-needed blessing. Angel, I know you were hurt in the past, but when did you become so judgmental? This doesn’t sound like you,” Curtis finished, concern coloring his voice.
Leighann silently seethed during his lecture, but her anger waned as he listed the positives of the situation. He had made his point loud and clear, and as much as she hated to admit it, she had slowly begun to see things from his point of view. Curtis was right, but it didn’t change the fact that Enrique was a real pain in the rear.
“Can you agree to suck it up and make the best of it?” He paused, but no response came from her end of the line. She was still processing all the information he had shared, fighting hard to realign her thinking when so much told her that Enrique was a rich jerk and she should move on.
“You’re my sister, and you and I both know you’ve done harder things than this. You’ve taken on much more difficult challenges and succeeded in every one of them. I wouldn’t have asked you to do it if I didn’t think you could handle it. I know when you put your mind to it, you can make the best out of any situation, but especially this one. Sure, he might be annoying and frustrate you a little bit. He’s not perfect, and his faults, from your perspective, might be a little larger than others. But he’s just a man, Angel, just like me, and you have me wrapped around your little finger. You can do the same with Enrique if you put your heart into it,” Curtis encouraged.
“Remember earlier when I told you Enrique was like an onion?” he asked patiently.
“Yeah, what about it?” Leighann pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration and screwed her eyes shut. She needed this conversation to end so she could think; her mind was spinning.
“Well, you peeled back a few today. What you do with the information is in your hands. You can hate Enrique for the man he is or try his flavor and see if you can learn to like it. Many folks say they hate onions but notice something is off when their favorite dish is missing them and they had no idea they were hidden inside minced until they were invisible but still flavorful. Enrique takes time to grow on you, but trust me when I say he is worth the effort.”
“I just don’t understand how you two are even friends,” Leigh stated, hitting on one of her biggest points of confusion.
Curtis’ chuckle was light, but he sighed afterward. “As I told you before, En’s a bit rough around the edges. There’s more to him than meets the eye, ya know? If you do give him a chance, I think you’ll actually come to like him. Instead of onions, think of him as your favorite candy, those chocolate-covered cherries you always get every Christmas. Initially, it looks hard on the outside, but when you bite into it, it becomes all soft and gooey. That’s Enrique.”
She raised a brow. “A chocolate-covered cherry? ”
There was a smile in her brother’s voice. “Precisely. You just need a little bit of patience when dealing with him. He’ll come around. I promise.”
“Fine,” she gritted. She had her doubts, but the fact that everyone was benefiting from this made her ignore her own feelings towards him and look at the bigger picture. “Whatever. There’s only nine days left. I can handle anything for nine days, right? It’ll be over before we know it,” she chuckled, trying to convince herself of what she was saying.
“Now, that’s the spirit,” Curtis praised. “Who knows? If you loosen up and open yourself to the possibilities, you might even have fun doing this.”
She harumphed as she curled her eyelashes before coating them in mascara. She, Enrique, and fun in the same sentence? Not likely.
“Yeah, that’s not happening.”
Curtis hummed. “Sure,” he drawled. “Whatever you say. I’ve been picking up on your vibes. Just try not to be too hard on him.”
“Fine, fine. I heard you,” she said. “I’m hanging up now, Curtis. I’m supposed to meet up with Angelo, Kate, and the rest of our ski friends. I’m already late.”
“Say hi for me, will ya?”
Leighann assured him she would, and they bade each other a good night before hanging up. She turned her head upside down and spritzed some hair spray around her head before flipping it back over to give her straight hair some semblance of volume, then applied a cherry lip gloss over her tinted lip balm to add a tiny extra splash of color.
She glanced at the time, murmuring under her breath as she quickly slipped her feet into a pair of brown, knee-high boots and pulled her long, puffy winter coat over her sweater and skirt before reaching for her purse. She slipped her phone into her coat pocket, locked the house, and made her way to Curtis’ lime green Jeep, waiting in the driveway. She missed her remote start hybrid on cold, snowy nights like this. Her car would already be warm and waiting for her. This drive was going to rattle her teeth.
Holiday lights still twinkled on the streets as she drove to the resort. All she could think about during the thirty-minute trek to Avalanche Crest was the conversation she just had with Curtis. Her mind tried to put all the pieces she had together to make a cohesive picture of the man her brother loved so much, but she struggled to like it at all. She parked in the lot and took three cleansing breaths before stepping down carefully onto the compacted, frozen snow and slamming the door shut.
She decided to let go of him tonight. She was about to see her friends and wanted to be fully present in the moment and have some much-needed fun. A few cups of hot chocolate and a good talk would do the trick.
That was the mantra that played in her head as she headed towards the main lodge, where Angelo and the rest of her friends excitedly waved her over. She grinned, her heart full at the sight of them, and she embraced each of them as they laughed and threw ‘Happy New Year’ greetings, left, right, and center.
She did forget about Enrique. As she sat there, basking in the warmth of her friend’s love, comforted by the closeness that the years had not dimmed, laughing as her fellow instructors recounted tales of their family holidays and dreamy or nightmarish clients that came to town this time of year, she did forget about her handsome, arrogant billionaire… for a moment.
Then, about thirty minutes into the most casual and enjoyable evening she’d had in a very long time, she caught sight of him walking out of the manager’s office, which was less than fifty feet away from where they sat.
At 6’3”, which she only knew because it was documented in his profile at the store, Enrique Rodriguez wasn’t someone who could easily fade into a crowd. He stood out, not only because of his height and his looks but also because of the confidence he exuded everywhere he went.
She sat up straighter, unsure whether she was hoping he would or wouldn’t see her. She assumed he had been in the manager’s office, probably signing paperwork and making his payment for the reservation of the mountain. He wasn’t looking in her direction, so she watched as Mr. Bailey - the owner - and Mr. Lawrence – the manager – followed him out, both with smiles on their faces as they took turns shaking his hand.
A single lock of hair on his forehead made him appear younger than he was, and he smiled curtly at them as he received their handshakes. He turned away after that, exiting the lodge, and Leighann finally relaxed into her seat.
She didn’t call out to him or invite him to join her and her friends because she couldn’t—not tonight. Another dose of his machismo would push her right over the edge of her tolerance. All she wanted was to relax and unwind with her friends as they caught up on all her years away.
Tomorrow, she would put on her armor and prepare herself to be strong against his arrogance and attitude. Tomorrow, she would be all his.