Lassos and Lace (Healing Springs Ranch #3)

Chapter 1

“Of course you can’t come in. I understand.” Pacing her office, Emberly McQuaid tried to summon compassion for her employee, but all she felt was panic.

“I’m so sorry.” Dwight’s apology was drowned out by a fit of hacking that sounded like a barking dog.

Emberly halted at the window overlooking the front of the Healing Springs lodge.

A light snow was lazily falling at midday, adding to the several inches that remained from last week.

In the high country of Colorado, they always had plenty of snow, but a fresh dusting would make everything especially pretty for their incoming important international guests.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, closed her eyes against the wintry landscape, and drew in a breath.

Dwight was her best ranch ambassador, the most polished, the most experienced, and the most knowledgeable.

He was also mature, cultured, and professional—all the things that were important for being the private concierge for Mr. Milton, the president of Europe’s largest and wealthiest bank, KWB—Karltenberg World Bank.

What would she do without Dwight?

Emberly opened her eyes to her reflection staring back from the window. Her long red hair was pulled into an elegant chignon, her slender face was taut, and her brown eyes were wide with desperation. “You need to take care of yourself, Dwight. That’s what matters.”

She meant it. She wanted Dwight to feel better. He was a good employee, and it wasn’t his fault that he’d come down with the flu on the day the bank president and other executives of KWB Group were arriving.

“Maybe I’ll be better by tomorrow.” Dwight sniffled, then sneezed so loudly that Emberly held the phone away from her ear.

“I hope for your sake you do feel better tomorrow.” She mentally tallied the list of available employees who could fill in for Dwight.

She had a crew of twelve ambassadors. Half were already assigned to other important guests.

The remainder were paired up with two—and in some cases, three—of the KWB Group’s board members.

The truth was, she had no one to spare for Mr. Milton—especially not anyone as qualified as Dwight.

“I’m sure with some rest and plenty of Nyquil,” Dwight said through more sniffling, “I’ll be back to myself in no time.”

“I’ll have Chef Vivalda send over his chicken noodle soup for you.”

“Thank you.” Dwight’s voice held a note of weariness.

Had she been working him too hard? How long had it been since any of her ambassadors had taken a day off? Now that January was halfway done, had it been three weeks? Maybe four?

She held back a sigh of frustration aimed at herself. “You need the break, Dwight.”

“But I know how important this event is to the ranch—”

“People are always the priority.” The words fell out effortlessly—words drilled into her by her dad.

His philosophy was that people were more important than programs, and that included employees as well as guests.

Of course she felt the same way. But with the KWB Group visiting them for the first time, this was an opportunity to finally promote Healing Springs Ranch on a worldwide level.

Even if Karltenberg was only a small country in Europe, it was still one of the wealthiest and home to the world-famous bank, and the recognition would make their ranch a renowned destination.

Already, it was one of the most luxurious vacation spots in the United States, attracting celebrities and the wealthiest Americans. The ranch had reservations booked at least a year in advance for every available room, cabin, and house.

But with an international stamp of approval, they would gain more attention and popularity.

In doing so, they could finish earning the multimillions needed to purchase an adjacent area of land in the foothills, which had recently gone on the market.

Both her dad and her oldest brother Tyler already had plans for that land, and they were excited about the new possibilities.

Emberly couldn’t let them down. KWB Group’s experience had to be excellent in every way, and she’d been planning each detail over the past few weeks to make sure their stay was perfection. That included making sure the ambassadors were assigned to the right people.

“Maybe you can pair Mr. Milton with a group of his friends?” Dwight’s suggestion ended with another spurt of coughing.

She managed to say goodbye to him while at the same time texting a request to Chef Vivalda for the soup. Then she tossed her phone onto her desk, dropped into her chair, and surveyed the spreadsheets she’d printed.

Was there another group the president of the bank could join?

She read through the lists, then shook her head. From all she’d learned about Mr. Milton and the discussions she’d had with Tyler and other staff, the middle-aged man was high maintenance and needed a one-on-one ambassador at his disposal.

After all, the ranch was known for its luxury concierge service to every family or couple who visited.

The ambassadors contacted the guests three weeks before their visit to discuss and plan their desired itinerary.

The ambassador reached out again a week before the arrival to touch base and make any updates.

Then once the guests arrived, the ambassador made sure the visit went smoothly.

Not only did the ambassadors provide warm hospitality, but they also helped guests get the most out of their visits, scheduling activities from among the eighteen offered in the winter and the twenty-five available the rest of the year.

Yes, Mr. Milton needed his own personal ambassador, and if Dwight couldn’t do it, she had only one other option left. She would have to take on the duties herself. She’d worked as an ambassador for a few years, and she knew the duties of an ambassador better than anyone else.

At twenty-five years of age, she might not be as experienced, knowledgeable, or cultured as Dwight, but she always acted professionally with guests and could pull strings to allow Mr. Milton to do anything he wanted.

In addition, she could speak several languages. She might have failed out of college, but at least languages came easily to her, and she knew enough German to be able to converse with Mr. Milton in his native tongue.

Taking on the ambassador role for the week would mean delegating many of her responsibilities as event manager to her assistant.

But Karen would do just fine. She had been doing the job long before Emberly had taken over, and knew every vendor, every supplier, every staff member, and every aspect of the ranch.

She managed well, kept events flowing smoothly, and always took care of the logistics.

In fact, Dad had offered the event manager position to Karen first. But the single mom with two teenagers had turned down the promotion because she didn’t want it taking away from her time with her sons.

Emberly felt like she was constantly having to prove she was capable of the job, that she hadn’t just gotten it by default or because of her family.

She’d done her best to create memorable and elegant events for each client, carefully lining up only the very best decorators, entertainers, activities, and transportation.

She’d learned to make each event perfect, including seating arrangements, schedules, and even menus.

She’d also shown herself to be financially savvy, keeping within budgets but still providing the best of everything.

Even with all her efforts, she knew staff still gossiped about her.

Expelling a long sigh, Emberly stood and smoothed a hand down her navy suit coat and matching pencil skirt.

She’d taken extra care with her appearance today, even wearing heels, wanting to appear as qualified as possible when she met the KWB Group.

But now, if she took on the role of ambassador, she would need to change into something more casual.

The walkie-talkie app on Emberly’s phone dinged with an incoming announcement. “The KWB Group is arriving.”

She glanced out the lodge window to see several BMW SUVs slowly making their way up the winding drive toward the lodge.

The group was early.

She wouldn’t have time to run back to her cottage and change. Maybe that was for the best since she needed to make a good first impression on Mr. Milton. If he knew she was the event manager and that she was taking on his ambassador role personally, hopefully that would make him feel more special.

She freshened her makeup, made sure every hair was in place, rolled the lint off her suit, then lightly spritzed on more perfume.

On her way out of her office, she stopped to talk to Karen about filling in for Dwight.

Karen agreed that doing so was the right decision and assured Emberly she would take care of everything else for the week.

As the BMWs came to a halt in front of the lodge, Emberly waited with the ambassadors just inside the doors to welcome the group, her spreadsheets in hand.

The lobby was quiet, since most of the other guests were either still doing a morning activity or eating lunch.

A large fire in the massive fireplace on the opposite wall crackled in the silence.

Surrounded by stone from floor to vaulted ceiling, the fireplace with its long mantel was central to the lobby.

Cozy leather chairs and couches were positioned beside side tables with log pedestals and glass tops.

A chandelier made of antlers hung low and provided a warm and welcoming glow.