Chapter 9
CHAPTER 9
MARIAM
“ T his is Gabby, and Elizabeth, and of course, my sister, Mariam,” Brian said as he introduced us to the man who had just walked in, pointing at each of us girls in turn.
I’d been caught up in my thoughts before the door had opened, vaguely listening as Brian made small talk with the other two. At the click of the door shutting, I’d looked up and there he was. Arland.
I couldn’t believe it.
I would’ve laughed, but instead, my face went numb. Shock radiated through me, making my limbs go cold.
In a town the size of Sun Valley, I supposed the odds were higher that something like this might’ve happened, but it still felt like a cosmic joke was being played on me. Mere days ago, I had accidentally gotten with my new boss who also happened to be my brother’s new business partner.
See, this is why we don’t sleep around , a snooty voice said from deep inside my mind. Good girls never have trouble like this. Curse that stupid naughty list. You never should’ve agreed to participate. No one can hold you to things you agreed to when you were fourteen freakin’ years old.
Yet, even as my subconscious raged at me, I felt an undeniable thrill at seeing Arland again. I watched as he recognized me, noticing the barest flare of his nostrils and the spark deep in his bright green eyes.
He stiffened—not enough to attract attention—and then he seemed to recover, his features resuming a polite but aloof expression. Nodding at Gabby first and then at Elizabeth, he finally turned the full force of his intense gaze on me and I prayed that my cheeks didn’t turn red.
Choking back nervous laughter, I managed a pathetic little wave before I looked away, definitely not oblivious to the sudden tension in the room. Jeez. It’s hot in here. What happened to the air-conditioning?
“It’s nice to meet you all.” His deep voice rumbled across the room, sending shivers I had to hide down my spine.
Dressed in a tailored, dove gray suit with a black tie, Arland looked like the successful businessman he apparently was. All that thick, salt and pepper hair had been styled away from his face, the silver strands shimmering under the harsh light in here while the black seemed darker than ever.
His eyes were even greener than I remembered, but I supposed that might just be the shock. Honestly, I hadn’t been expecting to see him here either. How small is this godforsaken town? Why did he have to turn out to be my new boss?
I didn’t do one-night stands. I definitely didn’t give my boss full-frontal views of my body. This was mortifying. Perversely thrilling, perhaps, but mortifying.
The other girls stood up one by one, leaning over and shaking his hand. I decided the best thing to do was to play dumb. The only thing that could make this worse was if Brian found out, and I absolutely would not let that happen.
My brother can never know anything about this.
Shooting to my feet, I nearly fell with my face flat on the table in my haste to offer my hand. “Hi, Arland. I’m Mariam. It’s very nice to meet you.”
A furrow appeared between his eyebrows, his eyes narrowing in confusion and surprise as he looked back at me. For a minute, I thought the jig was up. Any moment now, he’d say something that would clue Brian in to what had happened, and my brand-new coworkers would find out too.
Ugh, they’re going to think I slept my way to the top. Not that I’m on top, but I’m already a nepotism hire. I wouldn’t have been here if not for my brother and now I’ve ? —
The touch of a dry, hot palm against my own broke me out of my spiraling thoughts and I blinked hard, finding Arland now standing directly across from me. His grip was firm and businesslike, but there was amusement glittering in his eyes as he shook with me.
“Mariam, of course. The sister. It’s so nice to finally meet you as well. I’ve heard good things.”
I almost squeaked, wondering just what Brian had told him while simultaneously struggling to believe that he wasn’t going to out us. “None of them are true.”
Brian laughed, charming and magnanimous as always as he shot me a fond smile. “Stop underestimating yourself, Mims. I’m damn proud of you. Everything I’ve said is completely true.”
The other two looked at me with curious expressions on their faces, but neither of them appeared angry or even worried about my familial connection to Brian. So far, they’d both been super nice, and unless this revelation derailed things, I had a feeling we could be fast friends.
Arland released my hand, straightening before he started passing around drinks from the tray he’d carried in. The cups were fancy, a smooth thick cardboard with a glossy logo and embossed letters on it.
Brian accepted his. Sighing happily, he cradled the cup to his chest and glanced at the girls and me. “Our coffee machines here are amazing and you’re welcome to use them, but if you’re in the mood for a real treat, stop by Plato Coffee in town. The barista is a magician.”
I glanced at the cup I’d taken, tentatively bringing it to my lips to test Brian’s statement. As I took my first sip, the rich, sweeter flavor of ristretto hit my tongue, followed by a foamy, creamy goodness that was simultaneously coconutty and chocolatey.
Oh, wow.
A soft moan escaped me and my eyes widened, my cheeks burning instantly, but Arland was the only one that seemed to have noticed the moan. Brian was back to chatting with Gabby and Elizabeth, but Arland was looking directly at me, heat simmering in those eyes.
“Good, right?” Brian asked us all, and I tore my gaze away from Arland’s to nod at my brother. The other girls seemed to like their drinks too, both wide-eyed as they sipped from their cups. Brian turned to his business partner, the blue eyes he and I had both inherited from Dad bright and excited. “We should get going. How about I do the tour of the main lodge and then you can take the rest?”
Arland nodded his agreement, glancing back at me for a moment before he smiled politely at the others. “Very well. I’ll meet you at the main doors when you’re ready.”
Brian grinned. “I’ll text you when we’re almost done.”
Arland spun around and left us in the conference room with my brother, who seemed truly happy about getting to show us around. Brian smiled again as he looked around the table. “Alright, so we might as well start right here. This is our executive conference room. It’s the only one we’ve set up so far, but the furniture for the others will be arriving within the next week. This entire wing will become the business center, so we’ve got workstations and privacy partitions coming in as well.”
Gabby produced a small, spiral notebook from her purse and immediately started to jot down notes. My brother seemed pleased, waiting until she was ready before he continued.
“Upstairs, we’re having a conference venue fitted. It will also double as a reception hall for weddings and other functions.” He finally stood up, motioning for us to follow him. “You can leave your things in here for now. Arland will show you to your offices when you’re done with the tour, and then you can come collect your stuff to take it to your own spaces. You don’t want to have to carry it around with you.”
The girls and I followed after him. As he showed us around the business center, I took the opportunity to really take in my surroundings and my coworkers. The main lodge was becoming the heart of the resort. It was where the offices and the conference facilities would be. In the outbuildings surrounding it, there was also a spa, indoor as well as outdoor swimming pools, a covered pathway to the gym, and then, of course, ski-rental and storage areas.
The lodge was more of a sprawling complex than just one structure, and it was gorgeous. While it was clear that it was still very much a work in progress, I could picture what it was going to become.
Hardwood floors had been installed and the walls had been painted a crisp white. Lots of gray pots told me they would be bringing in plenty of greenery, and the ceilings were high, creating spaces that were both airy and warm.
Some of the walls were made entirely of glass, letting in plenty of natural light and providing incredible views of the slopes, mountains, lodges outside, as well as the forest surrounding the resort.
When Brian had told me he was opening a ski resort in Sun Valley, I’d had no idea it was going to be a place this nice. I’d kind of imagined a tiny little B&B, filled with the scent of fresh cookies in the oven and offering only a few rooms.
Instead, I was quickly learning that this was an actual resort—and it was going to be a fancy one. A restaurant, bar, several breakfast areas, and lounges were scattered around the main lodge, with statement fireplaces in every room and logs already stacked in them.
I inhaled a deep breath, genuinely impressed with what my brother and Arland were doing here. My brand-new coworkers seemed positively thrilled themselves, and I didn’t blame them. This was a pretty exciting venture to be part of and we were here to see it take shape.
As for the girls themselves, they were both around my age. Gabby was a tad shorter than me, probably around five-and-a-half feet. She had wild brunette curls that she held off her face with a sparkly purple headband. Huge, soulful brown eyes darted around from one side to the other, sliding around every room we entered as if she were drawing a mental map of it.
Elizabeth, on the other hand, was as light as Gabby was dark. With platinum blonde hair that hung in sleek, straight waves to her shoulders and massive hazel eyes, she moved with the easy grace of a dancer and her shoulders didn’t seem to know how to slump.
We followed my brother around until he’d brought us back to the main doors, where Arland was already waiting. He was looking at something on his phone, a frown puckering his brow. He shook his head before he pocketed the device.
When he looked up and saw us, he wiped the frown from his features, but glanced at Brian. “The IT people need to talk to you about the online booking platform. They’re having trouble setting it up the way you wanted.”
“I’m on it.” Brian sighed but smiled again when he glanced at us. “This is where I hand you over. Enjoy the rest of the tour.”
The girls nodded and I went to give my brother a quick hug. I hadn’t been able to do that yet, and right now, I didn’t care if it was unprofessional of me. “I’m so darn proud of you. This place is incredible.”
He chuckled and wrapped his arms around my waist, enveloping me in a bear hug and squeezing before he let go. “Thanks, Mims. I’m so happy to have you here. Go take a look around and we’ll catch up later, okay?”
“Okay.” I looked up at him, noticing the light wrinkles that had appeared around his eyes since the last time I’d seen him and the strands of gray that now shot through his dark blond hair. Underneath the obvious signs of aging, he was still Brian, though, and I’d still missed the crap out of him. “I’ll see you later.”
Skipping back over to Arland and the girls, I noticed he’d slid his hands into the pockets of his slacks and was waiting patiently for me to join them. Those green eyes caught mine as I went to stand next to Elizabeth, and it was almost like I could hear him thinking about the night we’d spent together as he looked at me.
My cheeks threatened to flush, but I locked it down. There was no way I was letting anyone know that he and I knew each other intimately .
As if he’d heard that thought in turn, he smirked slightly, head giving a quick shake before he turned and motioned to the left. “Let’s start over here. As you can see, we’re going to be a ski-in, ski-out resort. The idea is that our guests won’t ever have to leave the property if they don’t want to. We’d like to offer them everything they might want or need.”
“Do we offer self-catering lodges?” Gabby asked, her pen poised to jot down his answer.
Arland dipped his chin in a nod. “Some of the units will have kitchenettes and we’re building barbecue facilities for the summer crowd.”
She quickly scribbled down what he’d said, then nodded. She continually asked questions as our tour progressed. Arland showed us all the outlying buildings of the main lodge before he took us around the chalets.
As we walked into the first one, I realized that the scatter cushions on the bed were the same as the ones he had on his couches at home, and it was like recognizing them sent a bolt of electricity through me. I was completely shaken that this was the same guy, but I wasn’t sure I was mad about it.
I’d had the best time with him, and working in close proximity would inevitably allow us to spend some more time together. Can’t complain about that.
After our tour, Arland showed us to our offices, taking a step back as he nodded. “Take the afternoon to set up your spaces and get settled in, and we’ll reconvene in the morning.”
Gabby and Elizabeth left us alone in the hallway when they went to their offices, and I was about to follow when I realized he was looking at me like he had something to say. Hesitating, I wrapped my arms around myself and looked into his eyes, hoping he wasn’t angry about me pretending to have never met him before.
“So, who’s Mimi?” he asked.
I winced. “Guilty.”
“Then who’s Mariam?”
“Also guilty.” I drew in a deep breath, knowing I owed him an explanation. “When I meet strangers, I prefer to give them my nickname. It’s just a quirky, self-defense mechanism I developed a long time ago, but being here is also a chance for me to change things up a bit and I happen to like Mimi. She’s a little less serious than Mariam.”
“Right.”
“I never thought you were going to end up being my boss as well as my brother’s friend and business partner,” I rushed out, needing him to understand that I honestly hadn’t known who he was. “At least it happened before I started working for you, right?”
Arland held my gaze for a long minute before he nodded. “I didn’t see things going this way either, but as long as we never let it happen again and Brian doesn’t find out, all is well.”
I felt a surprising tinge of sadness when he said never again , but I smiled anyway and shook the feeling. I was only here for a few months, and this man had been a one-night stand. He didn’t mean anything to me. Right?
“Thanks for understanding,” I said finally. “I was afraid you might be offended that I didn’t want Brian to know.”
His eyes widened a bit, his head shaking back and forth. “I don’t want him to know either. It’ll be our little secret, Mariam . Go get settled into your office, okay? You and I will need to sit down tomorrow and figure out how best to work together. For now, I think the best thing we can do is to keep our distance as much as possible.”
Flashing me a quick smile that was polite but not warm, he spun on his heels and marched down the corridor to his own office. I blew out a heavy breath. So much for getting to spend more time together, but he’s not wrong. Distance probably is for the best, even if I really don’t feel that way right now.