Chapter 16
16
ADDISON
T he week flew by between meeting with my clients and organizing the charity drives we held for the holidays. I was also in close communication with Walker about the fundraiser we were holding at the Wilde Ski Resort. Thankfully, his brothers were on board with letting us use one of their rooms for one night.
At Walker's suggestion, I asked Noelle to assist us with the event. I was meeting with her at the resort to discuss the logistics.
Noelle was seated on one of the benches in the lobby. I approached her, but before I could say anything, Walker appeared.
It was the first time we'd been together in public since we were intimate. I wasn't sure how to act. We hadn't had any discussions about whether we were in a relationship. I thought it was implied, but now that we were standing awkwardly in front of Noelle, I wondered if I should have cleared that with him first.
Noelle lifted her gaze, moving from me to Walker. "Hello. "
Walker blinked and directed his attention to her. "Thanks for helping us out with this one."
I frowned. "You'll mainly be working with me, since I'm the point person for social services. Walker, you don't need to be involved with the decorating decisions, do you?"
"I needed to talk to Noelle about a few other things going on here at the resort."
"Oh?" Noelle asked, her brow raised with interest. She gathered her things to her chest and stood. "What about?"
"Eli said you were interested in a personal assistant business that could operate out of the lodge."
Noelle nodded. "The season slows after the holiday decorations are cleaned up and stored, so I need to find something else to fill my time, and this seemed like a good option."
"We're interested in the concept, but we still need to work out some of the details. How the guests will book your services and what the compensation will be for the resort."
"We can set up a meeting to discuss a contract. I've been thinking about possible options for splitting the profits."
"The other thing is that Killian is coming home, and we need someone to kind of keep an eye on him, if you know what I mean."
Noelle frowned. "I don't know what you mean."
"His assistant won't be traveling with him, and we were hoping you'd offer your services. He could be your first client."
Noelle laughed without any humor. "You want me to be Killian's assistant?"
Now it was Walker's turn to frown. "We thought it would be a good fit. He needs an assistant, and you want to offer those services."
"But you said you wanted me to keep an eye on him. Why would I need to do that?" she asked cautiously.
"He's coming home because he's injured. His management team needs him to take it slow and listen to the advice of his physical therapist."
Noelle snorted. "No one can get Killian to listen."
"You were close to him when we were younger, and we figured if anyone could get through to him, it would be you."
"I'm interested in partnering with you guys and the resort itself. I'm excited to start this assistant services business, but I'm not sure about this. Killian and I don't have the same relationship we did as kids. We haven't kept in contact."
"He won't want us to hover around him. You can get away with it under the guise of being his assistant. It will be a great reference for your new business."
Noelle sighed. "It would be."
"We already talked to him about hiring a local assistant, and he said he'd pay the same rate as Riley." Walker tipped his phone in Noelle's direction so she could read it.
She whistled softly. "For that money, I'd be at his beck and call twenty-four seven. What about my donut business, the other guests who need services, and my family?"
Walker held up a hand. "I'll talk to him and explain the situation. I'm sure he'll be amenable."
She bit her lip. "I don't know."
"We'd really like it to be a family friend. You know how Killian can be, especially when he's injured."
Noelle considered him for a few seconds. "I'll do it."
Walker touched her shoulder. "Thanks. I'll be in touch about the contract." Then he turned his attention toward me. "Addison, can you see me after you meet with Noelle?"
I smiled as professionally as possible. "Sure."
Walker turned and walked away.
Noelle sighed. "I can't believe I'm going to be Killian Wilde's personal assistant."
We headed toward the room we'd be using for the event. "This is good, right? You wanted to start a new business, and what better then landing your first client, who's a bona fide celebrity?"
She scowled. "It could be awkward."
"Killian can be grumpy too."
A group passed between us, and when we came back together, I agreed. "Are you worried about working with him? You used to be friends, right?"
"I don't know about friends."
I held the door open for her. "Is there something you want to tell me about what happened when he left for college and you decided to stay?"
Once we were inside with the door closed, she said, "Nope."
I shook my head. "It's hard to understand what you're worried about when you won't talk to me."
Noelle walked farther into the room and did a slow circle considering the space. "Killian was the best. He deserved everything he got. But I gave all that up, and it hurts to be around someone who got to live their dream, ya know?"
"Oh, Noelle." I crossed the room to hug her. When I drew back, I said, "You never talk about it. I wasn't sure how you felt."
"It'll be fine. This will be great for my business." Then she smiled and lifted her notebook. "Now, what did you have in mind for your event?"
I didn't want to let this go. I wanted to know more about her past with Killian, but we were here about business. There would be other opportunities to glean information from her. Especially with Killian moving home. It would bring up a lot of memories, and she'd need a friend to talk to.
I wondered if Killian coming home would force her to deal with her past.
"What about a casino night?" Noelle pulled up her phone and showed me images of previous events.
I knew she ran a holiday-decorating business and made donuts for a store downtown, but I had no idea she was also a party planner. I didn't know how she would do it all and have time to be Killian's personal assistant.
We sat down at one of the tables, and Noelle drew a plan for the room. Then we chose ideas for the decor.
"We don't have a lot of money for decorations. I should have mentioned that upfront. I was planning on using my personal savings for this. We don't usually have something so elaborate." I'd gotten caught up in our plans, forgetting we didn't have unlimited funds.
"I have the casino stuff from last time. I store it in the garage of my mom's house. So that doesn't cost anything. I also have black and gold curtains we can use for the decor."
I frowned. "Yeah, but you don't plan parties for free."
She smiled softly. "It's a charity thing. I can use it as a tax write-off."
"Noelle, you need to get paid for your work."
Noelle shrugged. "Don't worry about it. It's fine."
"Can I at least pay you for your time?" I asked her, my stomach knotting. I knew how much she needed the money to support her family.
"You can help me move what we need out of storage and set it up." Noelle offered.
"I can do that," I said even though it didn't sit right with me.
Noelle smiled. "Great."
I didn't like not paying her, but I didn't have a choice. I'd help out as much as possible so it wasn't too much work for her.
"Things are better now that Christopher has a job at the resort. Xander makes sure he has enough hours but still time to do his schoolwork. He's been a good mentor for him."
"Are you talking about Xander Wilde? I thought he was the wildest of them all?"
Noelle laughed. "I think that's Killian now. Xander has been amazing with Christopher, and I heard he's really come through for the resort. "
"I had no idea."
Noelle stood, gathering her things. "I think a lot of that was just a rumor anyway. Tori said he's a good man and not nearly as much a player as everyone said. I wouldn't leave him with Christopher otherwise. He needs a male figure in his life, and Xander has been great for him."
"Huh. I guess you never truly know someone," I said, feeling a little stupid for assuming things about Xander. "Maybe you could give Killian the benefit of the doubt too."
Noelle scoffed. "He acts like a diva, as if he deserves special treatment because he can snowboard."
I sighed. I wasn't sure if this consternation was because she was jealous of his success, or he'd done something to her at one point. "You never know."
"I didn't realize how much real personal assistants make. Maybe I need to raise my proposed prices for my business."
"You can always raise them later too. Might be better to get off the ground first."
"Yeah."
"Thanks for your help. I couldn't have done this without you, and hopefully, it will help us raise more money. I need to get the flyers printed today and distributed."
Noelle nodded. "Forward me a copy. I'll share online."
I followed Noelle out of the room and into the lobby.
"I have another client to see about a design, but I'll talk to you soon about getting the stuff out of storage."
I hugged Noelle, then made my way upstairs to the resort offices. At some point during my meeting with Noelle, Walker had texted to say he was in the conference room since he didn't have an office yet. I knocked on the open door, and Walker lifted his gaze.
A smile spread over his face. "Addison. How did it go?"
I walked inside, shutting the door behind me. The room had a nice view of the mountains and one of the slopes. "Noelle wants to do a casino night, and she's the expert, so I let her do her thing."
"From what I'm hearing, Noelle is good at everything she attempts."
I sat in a chair while Walker remained standing. "I'm a little worried about her. I don't know how she does it all."
"She's a big girl. If she needs help, she'll let you know," Walker said.
The problem was, I wasn't so sure about that. Noelle was stubborn, didn't like to ask for help, and never told anyone what was actually going on. We all just assumed she had it together, and I was worried she didn't. "I don't want to take advantage of her."
"How would you be doing that?" Walker asked.
"She's not charging us to rent her stuff or for her time."
"I mentioned that it was a charity event when I asked if she could help us. I wouldn't worry. Noelle can handle her business."
I sighed because he was right about that. Noelle was amazing at business and generous to a fault. I kept my concerns about her working for Killian to myself. "What did you want to talk about?"
Walker leaned a hip on the table next to me. "I missed you."
I smiled. "I missed you too. I wasn't sure if public displays of affection would be okay in your place of work."
"Mmm." Walker tugged me to stand so I was leaning against him. "They're actually encouraged."
I giggled. "Somehow, I don't believe that."
"Well, no one can see us here." He lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me. He cupped the back of my head, angling me so his tongue could delve into my mouth. My tongue tangled with his, and my nipples hardened under my bra. I wanted more than we could do in this room .
I finally pulled back, his hard cock pressed against my belly. "We probably shouldn't."
"Maybe I should have invited you to the cabin? I could have said that was my office."
I stroked a hand over the buttons of his shirt. "That would have been fun, but I'm supposed to be working, and my boss isn't my cousin."
He wrapped his arms around me, holding me to him. "True."
It was nice to be with him, even if it was a brief connection in the middle of a work day. His phone buzzed on the table, lighting up with the words, Telluride High School. Walker moved away from me to grab the phone and hold it to his ear.
"Hello?" His tone was sharp and filled with concern.
I couldn't hear the other side of the conversation, but Walker was tense. "Is she okay?" Then he said, "I'll be right there."
He hung up and grabbed his keys, leaving his laptop and file on the table. "I have to get Dakota. She's upset."
I expected him to say she was sick or something else. "What happened?"
"I don't know. The counselor just said she was crying in her office but wouldn't talk to her." He shrugged on his coat. "You think this is grief? She's been doing so good."
"I wouldn't be surprised." The offer to go with him stuck in my throat. This was his daughter, and he should handle it on his own.
"I'll see you later?" he asked as he opened the door.
"Of course. Let me know how she is."
With a curt nod, he was gone.
My heart was racing from the brief scare. I was worried about Dakota too. I wanted to be there when they were having trouble, but it would be good for Walker to handle these situations on his own. They needed to connect. Maybe she would talk to him.
I carefully closed his laptop and tidied his paperwork. Then I walked down the hall, finding Oliver in one of the other offices. He lifted his head. "Addison. How is the room?"
"It's perfect. Thank you for letting us use the space."
He leaned back in his chair. "Anytime. We love to help out when we can."
"Walker got a call from the school about Dakota and needed to leave."
His brow furrowed. "Is she okay?"
"I think so." I didn't want to overstep and say something that Dakota wouldn't want me to share. "But Walker's laptop and paperwork are still in the conference room."
"Thanks for letting me know. I'll get it and take it to his cabin for him. He likes to have it at home so he can work at any time." Oliver stood and moved around the desk. "Remote work is good when you have kids."
"I bet," I said as he moved past me.
Oliver raised a brow. "Do you need anything else?"
"I'm done with my meeting with Noelle, so I'll let myself out."
"Have a good evening." Oliver disappeared into the conference room.
I shouldn't have felt anything because we only just started dating. But I wanted to be part of the family.
I turned and headed for the lobby. I shouldn't be thinking about Walker in this way. I had to remember that he walked away last time. I couldn't trust that this would last. I was supposed to be seeing how it would go, not falling in love all over again.