Chapter 4 – Georgia
FOUR
PARK CITY, UTAH
GEORGIA
If I knew about all the access senior interns gained to the CEO’s personal life and password collection, I would’ve begged to be demoted months ago.
Alas, I’m currently knee-deep in tiny styrofoam trees that lead the way to my living room, and I’m three chrysanthemums away from crafting the perfect gingerbread and stocking mantle.
I’m also slightly drunk and drowning in regrets.
This time last year, I was working my dream job at The Grace Estate.
It’s a six-star resort in Colorado that’s owned by my grandmother, and I was on the verge of becoming the youngest executive manager in its history.
Well, I was until I made an unforgivable mistake, and she forced me to resign indefinitely.
Although I begged her to change her mind, she refused. She said I “wasn’t mature enough yet” and “didn’t understand true work responsibility.”
So, I bailed and came here to Utah, determined to prove I could be a mature workaholic like my older sister, Savannah.
As I’m hanging my family’s special ornaments on the tree, I can’t help but sigh.
My grandmother might’ve had a point.
“Can we turn some of the nutcrackers in the bathroom around?” Jessica steps in the doorway. “I feel like they’re watching me pee and it’s starting to creep me out.”
“They’re only in there until I finish rebuilding the faux gingerbread houses that’ll hold the towels,” I say. “Two more days at most.”
“Okay, I can deal with that.” She walks over to the train station near our fireplace. “Does this train need to run all night?”
“Yes.” My chest tightens. “It does…”
“Why, though?” She picks up one of the railroad signs. “I mean, the chugging is kind of soothing and it’s one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen, but—”
“But what?”
“But it goes through our entire apartment and it never stops. I don’t think the little passengers will care if their route only runs for a few hours a day instead of all day, right?”
“I’ll mind, so drop it.” I nearly hiss. “I’ll adjust any of the decorations except the goddamn train.”
“Okay, okay…” She holds up her hands in a slight surrender before grabbing her coat. “I’ll be back later. Hopefully you’ll be more chill about discussing things then since I live here, too.”
She slams the door shut, and I wince as the walls rattle.
I walk over to the train and make sure the two passengers in the luxury car, my parents, are still sitting upright in their best Sunday clothes. That my mother’s gloves are still on her lap, and she’s smiling about her and my father’s final destination that never came.
I set this train up every year for the holidays without fail, no matter where I am. As if it’ll somehow reverse fate, I never turn it off until the new year.
My phone buzzes as I’m reaching for the superglue.
It’s my grandmother.
I stare at the screen as it vibrates, torn between answering with an “Oh my god, please let me come back home and work at the resort again” or letting it go to voicemail.
My heart refuses to let me do the latter.
“Hey Grandma Hattie,” I answer.
“Hey there, Georgia Bee.” Her voice sounds like a warm hug. “Am I catching you at a bad time?”
“No, I’m just hanging some ornaments.”
“I bet your decor is breathtaking as always. Send me some pictures.”
“I will,” I say. “Did you get my emails about the best way to dress up the top suites and the grand lobby this year?”
“Of course, I did.” There’s a smile in her voice. “The staff has been implementing those suggestions all week. I’m calling you about something far more important, though.”
“I’m listening.”
“I told him yes, and I’m very proud of you.”
“Huh?” I ask. “Yes to what? Better yet, who is he?”
“Very funny.” She laughs. “I’m super excited for you two.”
“Can you tell me what you’re talking about so I can be excited, too?”
“Your boyfriend, hun,” she says. “Well, your fiancé. Dante called to ask if I would approve of him asking for your hand in marriage.”
WHAT? “Um…” I swallow, resisting the urge to ask if he sounded drunk. “That’s quite shocking.”
“It is! It also means that whenever you’re ready to come back to where you belong, we can discuss you becoming the executive manager of The Grace Estate.” She pauses. “No one handles hospitality quite like you do, and I can’t imagine ever leaving this place in someone else’s hands.”
“What exactly did Dante say to you?”
“Mainly that he knew you were the one after a few dates,” she says. “He said he’s also looking forward to meeting us at Christmas.”
“He told me that he wanted to come home with me to make a sales pitch to the estate.”
“From what you’ve told us about him, he’s quite the accomplished young man.”
“Yeah…” I glance at Dante’s stack of “about to be bestselling” books and “Learn to Be a Boss” business manuals that clutter our couch.
“Your cousin Taryn also tells me that he’s a great kisser?”
“Seriously, Grandma?” I regret ever mentioning that. The truth is, Dante is an average kisser, and our sex life is pretty nonexistent.
“Wait a minute…” I suddenly rewind her words. “Did you say that you’re ready to make me manager of The Grace Estate?”
“Now that you’re finally learning what it means to be ‘well-rounded,’ yes.” There’s a smile in her voice. “I know you hate surprises, so please don’t tell Dante that I told you about the proposal. I’m sure you knew it was coming, though.”
I didn’t.
“Thanks for the heads-up, Grandma. I’ll call you later, okay?”
“Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
I slump onto the floor and shake my head.
Unless I’ve been living in an alternate reality over the past several weeks, I’ve felt like Dante and I have hit a stalemate in our relationship. We haven’t been on a date in what feels like forever, and with him hopping on every podcast on the planet, he’s been “saving” his voice for other people.
He has yet to notice any of my decorations around our apartment. When I asked him if he wanted to stay up last night and drink twisted eggnog over a “Truth or Dare game,” he said, “Do you honestly think that’s something that an aspiring billionaire would do?”
In desperate need of a distraction, I call the first person who crosses my mind.
No, wait.
Scratch that.
I call the second person who crosses my mind.
“Hey Georgia!” Savannah answers on the first ring.
“Hey. You got a second?”
“I always have plenty of time for you. What’s going on?”
“I need some boyfriend advice.”
“Of course!” She gasps. “This is about Dante, isn’t it?”
“Yeah…”
“Well, Grandma Hattie already told me everything, so before you start, let me give you some advice.” She pauses. “You need to make sure you have every work assignment done to perfection before you come home.”
“What?”
“There’s a new organizational app I’ve developed that can make sure that you’re at least three weeks ahead. Also, be sure to ask your boss if there’s anything extra that you can—”
I hang up and call the person I should’ve called first, after all.
“Yes, Miss Grey?” Dominic answers on the first ring.
“I think there was a mixup with me being off today.”
“I believe you mean, fraud.”
“Most normal people don’t leave their email passwords out on their desk…”
“They also don’t trespass into the boss’s office by stealing the building engineer’s keys.”
“That’s why I used a bobby pin.” I clear my throat. “I mean, oh no. I believe I was breaking up just then. Did you hear me?”
“Every goddamn word.”
“Oh, well, um…” I sigh. “I’m sorry I falsely gave myself off days.”
“Are you really?”
“No, but I’d like to come in and finish all the work I’ve missed, so I need access to one of the overtime suites. Can you please tell security to let me in?”
“I’m spending the night here already,” he says. “I’ll let you inside. Would you like me to send a car for you?”
“Yes, please.”
“Do you need dinner, too?”
“Yes.”
“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”
“Please don’t make me.”
“Okay, I won’t,” he says. “I’ll see you soon.”
Not wanting Dante to stay up and wait for me, I send him a message.
Working late and sleeping in at the office. I’ll call you tomorrow.
Dominic is outside waiting for me when the driver pulls in front of headquarters.
He opens the back door for me and reaches for my hand. Then he drapes his coat over my shoulders before leading me inside the building.
I avoid staring at him as we board the elevator, but I can feel him watching my every move until we reach his floor.
“Where do you want to work tonight?” He ushers me into his opulent office suite. “My anteroom or my side conference room?”
“The latter, but I don’t want to jump into any assignments yet.”
“That’s the entire reason you’re here.”
“I accidentally left my laptop and all the spreadsheets at home.”
A smile crosses his lips. “Of course, you did, Miss Grey.”
“I’m also tired from decorating all day.”
“How shocking.”
“So, um, if it’s okay with you, I’ll take a quick nap on one of your couches first. Then I’ll do some work.”
He laughs and walks over to the linen closet. “I can’t believe I put up with this shit…”
Taking off my shoes, I plop onto the large red sofa that overlooks downtown.
“How’s Amy?”
“Alive and well.” He tosses a couple of blankets toward me. “She thinks I’m attracted to you.”
“Tell her that you’re not.”
“Why would I lie?”
“I’m sure you’re attracted to a lot of women here, so she’s probably used to it.” I move my head as a pillow flies my way. “If I see her, I’ll tell her that I’ve recently stopped trying to poison you, and she has nothing to worry about.”
I wait for him to laugh, but he’s staring at me intently.
“Why the hell are you working here, Georgia?”
“I have bills, and I like being one step away from homelessness.”
“I’m serious, Georgia.” He moves closer. “Why are you working an office job?”
“It was between this place or AutoZone,” I say. “Honestly, I tried AutoZone first, but they fired me when they realized I didn’t know shit about cars.”
“Noted.” He laughs. “You’re very good at decor and hospitality, though. You should be doing that.”
“I thought so, too.” I lean back on the couch’s luxurious cushions. “I already told you that I was forced to walk away from the highest job I could possibly get in that sector, though. All other places pale in comparison. No offense.”
“None taken.” He looks as if he wants to say more, but he holds back.
He’s often asked me about my previous job but never pressed for me to share more. He can sense it’s a hurtful subject.
“Will you quit working once you reach billionaire status?” I change the subject.
“No, I’ll probably work ten times harder.”
“So you really enjoy this corporate soul-sucking stuff?”
“Yes.” He looks amused. “It’s something I’m the best at doing. Well, one thing, anyway.”
“Don’t let me keep you away from it for another second then.” I roll over, facing the back of the couch. “I’ll redownload the spreadsheets via the cloud after my nap.”
I shut my eyes and hear the familiar sound of him hitting the lights. But his footsteps don’t trail down the hall as usual.
Instead, I feel the couch cushions shift, then him moving next to me.
I can feel his breath against the back of my neck, his cock slowly hardening against my ass as the seconds pass, but his hands aren’t touching me.
I should move, but I like him being this close to me. It’s the most comfortable I’ve felt with anyone in a very long time.
“Can I ask you a quick question?” I whisper.
“Of course.”
“Hypothetically, if I didn’t have a boyfriend and you were single—”
“We wouldn’t be 'talking' or ‘napping’ right now.”
“So, you'd want to add me to the long list of women you've had sex with in your office?”
“No, I'd make you the first.” He presses a kiss against my neck. “Go to sleep.”