Chapter 5 #2
Milo: Their website says there’s a massive outage in the area.
And from my program, it looks like that includes the resort.
The generator was on in the lodge last night but it was turned off this morning.
Now it’s on in the cabins. That tells me Axel spent the night at the lodge last night and then moved to the cabin this morning.
Walker: Why the hell would he stay in the lodge?
Connor: It’s a long story, but he had his reasons.
Oh, crap…
Walker: What does that mean?
Connor: The last decorator showed up late for her interview, and they got stuck there together. I talked to them both, and at that point, the worst of the storm hadn’t hit, but she was staying put.
Walker: Oh, right. That’s why he sent us her entire presentation this morning. He failed to mention that part. All he sent were the pics of her ideas.
Connor: That was all that mattered, I guess. I didn’t even think about the storm either.
Slater: Is she hot? Is that why he waited until this morning to send us the info? Lol! You know it had to be wild there last night with them trapped at the lodge together!
Walker: Crap. Don’t say that. We don’t need him messing around with the decorator we just hired. Why don’t we have an HR department yet? I have a feeling we’re going to need one!
Connor: Everyone calm down. I had a video chat with the two of them yesterday to put Maisie’s mind at ease. I don’t think anything inappropriate is going on, so relax. Axel wouldn’t do anything to endanger our reputation.
Double crap…
Walker: I hope you’re right. The last thing we need is to have a reputation of being the kind of owners who sleep with their employees.
Milo: Technically, Maisie’s not an employee. She’s one of the contractors. It wouldn’t be a great look for us, but definitely not as bad as if she worked for us.
Slater: We all need to stop jumping to conclusions and focus on whether Axel and the resort are safe.
Slater: Milo, is there any way to tell if there’s damage from your end?
Milo: No. I just can see that the generator’s on.
Milo: The cameras are all blurry because of the rain. Hang on. Let me check the feed from earlier.
Walker: Maybe instead of chatting we should try to actually call Axel.
Connor: You just said that it’s possible the cell tower’s down. If we don’t hear from him soon, we can call. I think we’re all just letting our imaginations run away with us.
Walker: Maybe.
Walker: Milo? Anything?
Milo: It looks like Axel moved a bunch of stuff from the lodge down to his cabin after Maisie left.
Connor: Anything after that?
Milo: She came back an hour later, but then the feed got blurry because the rain started again.
At that point, Axel knew he’d read enough. And before anyone called and he had to have a conversation out loud in front of Maisie, he joined the text chain.
Axel: Hey, I’m here! Sorry. I had my phone muted.
Axel: I haven’t done a walk-through of the property because it’s been wild here.
Axel: Tons of branches and debris in the main parking lot, and some flooding around from what I can see. But the lodge was fine all night, and so far the cabins are okay. Except for the power.
Axel: Maisie came back because the 87 is blocked with downed trees.
Axel: She left and had to turn around and come back. We’re in my cabin because I didn’t want to keep running the generator up at the lodge.
Milo: A generator is a generator no matter which one you’re using. It was probably safer for the two of you to stay up there. Our cabins haven’t been fully rehabbed yet.
Walker: That’s a good point. Any chance you can get back up to the lodge?
Axel: It’s storming very hard right now. There’s more of a risk of us getting hurt trying to haul everything back up there. I cleaned out the fridge and freezers up there and brought it all down here. We’re staying put.
Walker: Are you doing okay? You’re not making Maisie uncomfortable, are you?
Slater: Or are you making her VERY comfortable? LOL!
And…triple crap.
He glanced over at Maisie, but it looked like she was texting someone too.
Axel: Everything’s fine and under control. Stop freaking out, okay?
Walker: That’s not a confirmation or denial, dude.
Axel: Either you trust me or you don’t. Dude.
Walker: Point taken.
Walker: Just keep us updated on what’s going on with the weather and the resort.
Axel: Will do. The storm’s supposed to finally move on, but the rain’s going to hang around until tomorrow. I’ll let you know how everything looks when I can finally go out and walk around.
Connor: Sounds good. Stay safe, Axel.
The rest of the guys chimed in with the same sentiment, but by that point, Axel was already feeling like he’d been reprimanded.
But he didn’t care.
Beside her, Axel tossed his phone down with a weary sigh. Maisie had no idea who he had been chatting with, but whoever it was, it sounded like it didn’t go well.
Much like her own text exchange with her mother.
Mom: Seriously, Maisie, you’re behaving like a brat. When are you going to come home?
Mom: This little stunt of yours is getting old. I don’t know why you’re being so difficult. Your father and I are just trying to look out for you. I would think you’d be grateful.
Maisie: I’m not going over this again. I told you I didn’t want to marry Bryce, and you promised to give me a chance to get my career off the ground on my own.
Mom: Yes, but you took off and no one knows where you are.
Maisie: Because you already poisoned all your friends and everyone you know so they wouldn’t hire me. I’m not stupid, Mom. If I’m going to do this, I had to go somewhere where you and Dad didn’t know anyone.
That’s when it hit her—they could be tracking her phone.
Maisie: I need to go. We’ll talk soon. Bye.
Then, she immediately turned her phone off and calmly put it back in her bag, immediately regretting that she had fallen for the concerned parent trick.
When was she going to learn? Her parents weren’t the warm and fuzzy kind.
They always had agendas. And they were never concerned about what was good for her, only what was good for them.
Well, this time she wasn’t going to just fall in line.
This time, she was going to fight for what was right for her.
Although…even with this job with the resort, it was really only the beginning.
She might be able to go back to Manhattan victorious, but it was really just a temporary thing.
She was going to need to have multiple jobs lined up, and none of them could be connected to the Quinnland family in any way, shape, or form.
Which meant staying in Manhattan might not be an option.
Dammit.
Maisie let out her own weary sigh as she fell back against the pillows.
“You okay?” Axel asked, lying down beside her.
“Yes,” she lied. But when she turned her head and looked at him, she told him the truth. “No.”
“What’s going on?”
“Just…family drama. It’s part of the reason I’m in the predicament I’m in.” Another sigh. “I never should have responded to the text, but I did and now I regret it.”
“Oh.”
He didn’t push her for more information, and she really appreciated it. At some point, she might feel comfortable sharing all the details with him, but not now.
Now she wanted to simply bask in the afterglow of an amazing afternoon.
Talk about a sexual awakening. Maisie never knew sex could be like that.
So…raw and needy and exhilarating! Axel took her to places she never knew existed, made her feel things she’d never felt before.
And now that she was thinking about it, she wanted to feel it all again.
Rolling onto her side, she faced him.
“I don’t want to think about any of that—the family stuff.” Reaching out, she smoothed her hand over his chest. “I’d much rather think about everything we did here in this bed.”
He grinned, holding her hand over his heart. “Yeah?”
She nodded. “Definitely.”
When he didn’t move or make a move, she wondered if maybe she should be the one to do it first. Moving closer, she was about to kiss him when he stopped her.
“Maisie, I…”
Oh, crap. The tone. She could hear it in his voice that he had regrets. Moving back to her original spot, she tried to pull her hand away, but he wouldn’t let her.
“It’s okay,” she said quickly, unable to look him in the eyes. “Like I said earlier, I don’t have a lot of experience, so…”
His grip on her tightened. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s just…I can hear it in your voice, okay? We had some fun, but you’re not looking to do it again. I get it. It’s fine. I’ll just…”
The next thing she knew, she was dragged across the bed and then Axel was on top of her. “It’s not fine, and that’s not what’s going on,” he said firmly. “I was going to say that all those text messages were from my partners and they were all speculating on what you and I were doing together.”
Her eyes went wide.
“I didn’t tell them anything, but…it’s out there, and I didn’t like it. I don’t want anyone talking shit about you—or me. And I certainly don’t want them thinking about us being together like this.”
“But…they are.”
He sighed again. “I know. I’m sorry.”
For several long moments, neither of them said anything, but Maisie hated the silence. More than that, she hated having to keep her feelings to herself. She’d been doing it most of her life, and it had to stop.
“Look, we didn’t plan this, and we’re both adults. On top of that, we know that…you know…sleeping together has nothing to do with the resort or my job. So if anyone’s worried about that, I’ll talk to them and set them straight.”
Now it was Axel’s eyes that went wide.
“I’m serious,” she stated. “I’m so tired of people talking about me like I don’t know what I’m doing or that I can’t take care of myself.
It’s insulting. And I know that last night I was the one who was worried about it, but I know now that I can separate these two sides of our relationship. Can you?”
He mutely nodded.