Chapter 6
They took a luxury bus to the mountains, seventeen of them forced to breathe the same air all because Ryker’s dad had thought it would help with team bonding.
As if this was actually a team bonding trip, and not just something the man wanted to use as a tax write off.
Ryker sat in the way back with his headphones in the entire drive, flashbacks to being a moody teenager keeping him from being rude whenever one of his father’s associates grew bold and tried to get his attention.
The whole reason he was here was to rub elbows with these arrogant pricks to help pave his way into the company, so the last thing he could afford was to roll his eyes at them when they made it too obvious they were kissing his ass.
Besides, there was only one person he was actively trying to avoid.
Rue sat in the middle of the bus with the two friends he’d brought along, Bowie and Lenore. Ryker only knew their names because he could count on two fingers how many close friends Rue had. The three of them chatted the entire way, seemingly excited to be there.
Which only helped prove to Ryker even more that Rue was a damn liar that couldn’t be trusted.
Because he hadn’t been able to make eye contact with Ryker the rest of this week either. Had gone back to avoiding him, despite how prettily he’d begged for it in the library.
Ryker regretted it.
Regretted giving in and touching him.
Regretted going in there at all.
Especially right before a trip he couldn’t get out of, where the two of them would be stuck in the same vicinity for a week straight.
Fireview Lodge was a luxury lodge and resort nestled in the woodlands, built on the side of Mount Ember, and surrounded by five million mountain acres, better known as Fireview forest. The area was protected, meaning there weren’t any other residences or businesses for miles and miles.
It would just be them and the staff.
Alone.
For days.
Hooray.
Ryker glanced to the front of the bus where Uriel and Ellery were seated.
The doctors had recommended the first get out of the city for a while, citing that the bustle wasn’t conducive for reacclimating into reality—whatever the fuck that meant.
Ell had come along since their families hadn’t trusted Uriel on his own just yet, and they all knew Ryk would make a terrible baby sitter.
Aside from his and Rue’s friends, and their parents, there were also the members of the board. Ironically, despite this being pitched as a business retreat, the members of their party that were in their twenties outnumbered those in their fifties.
There were seven board members, including Rhys and Eulalie. The Smiths were childless and came alone, but the others had all brought their offspring. Darae Corvina’s daughter, Esti, had even invited her boyfriend.
Ryker didn’t give a shit about any of them.
Already dreaded the massive waste of time having to pretend to be interested in their vapid stories was going to be.
Expected them to all suck up to him the same way their parents had been, unwilling to pass up the chance to get on the Hart Heir’s good side.
He couldn’t blame them, but still.
The last thing he wanted was to be here, with them.
Any of them.
And that included Rue.
By the time they made it to the lodge, it was late afternoon.
The van pulled in front of a four-story redwood building.
The area had apparently been named for the way the trees turned vibrant shades of reds, oranges, and yellows during Autumn, but since they’d come in the summer, everything as far as the eye could see was green and brown.
The amenities list was vast, including spas, fitness centers, kayaking, and an onsite movie theater. There were guided activities that included hiking and fishing, and the dining hall was said to be open twenty-four-seven.
Ryker stood on the outskirts of the group, taking it all in, and nodded to Ellery when he and Uriel joined him.
Ell let out a low whistle. “Leave it to Rhys to book the entire place.”
It was laughable. There was more than enough space for their party of seventeen without him having to have gone the extra mile like that.
“He likes to show off,” Ryker stated.
“He’ll tell you he simply prefers privacy,” Ellery corrected. They’d been friends since grade school, and he’d spent plenty of time around Rhys Hart to know how elitist he could be.
A woman and two staff members dressed in burgundy greeted them outside the main entrance, wide smile plastered over her face. She greeted them as their bags were taken and the bus drove off.
“Hello, everyone! Welcome to Fireview Lodge and Resort. We’re excited to have you here, and hope you’re all looking forward to a fun filled week.
If your goal is to relax, we’ve got you covered, but if you’re looking for a little adventure, there will be opportunities for that as well.
First things first, my name is Cosima. I’ll be your event coordinator during your stay.
If you ever have any questions, please come find me.
If, for some reason, you can’t, there are nineteen other staff members who can all help you. ”
A place like this probably took more than twenty staff to manage, meaning his father must have also requested they halve their numbers. Typical. He’d use the excuse that they’d be discussing confidential information on this trip, but the reality was, Rhys simply didn’t want to be bothered.
Ryker imagined his father would find a way to excuse himself from the brunt of socializing and separate himself and his closest board members.
Cosima led them all into the building, the smell of cedar and something floral tickling at Ryker’s nose as soon as they entered the spacious lobby. Their keys were distributed at the front desk, each of them receiving their own rooms, and then they were excused to go check it out and freshen up.
“Meet back here in fifteen?” Ellery suggested as they made their way to the wide spiral staircase off to the right.
Ryker nodded, incredibly aware of Rue and his friends directly behind him as he ascended the steps.
“What room number are you?” Bowie asked Rue, and Ryker couldn’t help but tip his ear slightly in their direction.
“Thirty-six,” came the reply. “What about you?”
“Twenty,” Bowie sounded disappointed. “We’re on different floors.”
“I’m twenty-one,” Lenore said in a chipper tone, either missing how bummed Bowie was by being separated from Rue, or choosing to ignore it.
The old-fashioned key attached to a wooden keychain in Ryker’s hand had the number forty-two on it.
“You’d think a place like this would have elevators,” Ellery grumbled as they kept moving up, even after most of the others had gotten off on their floors.
“People come to places like this to experience a more rustic lifestyle,” Uriel explained, only for his cousin to snort.
“Yeah, tell that to the people running the spa. Bet their clients are really roughing it.” Ell and Uriel ended up on the fourth floor as well, just further down the hall from Ryker.
His bags were already there when he entered his room, a cozy space with a king-sized bed and view of the forest. There was a private bath and a closet large enough to accommodate a month-long stay.
A map was out on the small desk pressed against the wall across from the bed, showing the connecting paths that attached the front building, where all the rooms, the dining hall, and the main lounge areas were located, to the smaller ones that branched out on either side.
Those buildings only had two levels, and were where the spa and entertainment spaces were.
Maybe Ryker would visit the movie theater and attempt to find the zen a place like this was meant to instill. Light knew he could use it.
He was still angry.
Still had that unsettling buzzing sensation crawling beneath his skin. But there was confusion there as well. The way Rue had responded to him in the library…Ryker was torn. There was a chance Rue had acted that way because he missed Ryder. They shared the same face, after all.
But Ryder didn’t want him. Had never wanted him.
By now, that message would have been delivered to Rue by Uriel.
The Black Harts arrival had been the talk of the town all week, and Ryk had seen Uriel and Rue in deep discussion outside of the bus this morning before they’d climbed on and settled in.
He’d tried to glean Rue’s emotions from a distance, but hadn’t been able to. He’d even been too far to catch the color of the other man’s eyes accurately.
They’d been blue when Ryker had stormed into the library, but he could have sworn they’d turned green by the time he’d left.
Or, maybe he was imagining it.
Not wanting to sit here and dwell, Ryker got changed into fresh clothing and headed out. The others were already waiting in the lobby once he made it there, but Ellery and Uriel weren’t alone.
“They mentioned you guys are going to explore the grounds,” Hollis Broderick, Esti’s boyfriend, spoke to Ryker first. They’d met once or twice at corporate events, but weren’t close.
“Cosima said there’s a small hiking trail past the camping area,” Ishleen Henrietta, the daughter of Rhys’ best friend Vance, told them, coming from the front desk. She was holding a pamphlet in her hand with a folded map of the grounds.
“Perfect,” Ellery exclaimed, clapping his hands and glancing around at their small gathering. “We all here?”
“Didn’t realize this was going to be a group event,” Ryker grumbled.
Ell tossed an arm around his shoulders, ignoring the way he bristled at the contact. “Relax, Ryk. The whole point of this retreat is to mingle. Everyone here will be entering the company after graduation, same as you.”
“Not everyone.” He pointedly looked in Rue’s direction, where he was standing with his friends, waiting. As far as Ryker knew, Bowie and Lenore were here strictly to provide Rue companionship. Neither of them would be getting jobs at Hart Holding.
Playing the part of team leader—probably just for shits and giggles—Ellery did a head count.
What a showy idiot.