Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Scarlett
After three days, I should have been able to push all thoughts of a certain Cage out of my mind. In fact, I should be able to ignore that he even existed in the first place. I hadn’t slept a full night since the moment I’d left him, however.
I could still taste him on my lips, I could still feel his body pressed into mine. Why was it so difficult for me to even breathe when it came to Hudson Cage?
He made no sense. He practically hated me and I wasn’t sure what I felt about him.
How could I when every time I saw him, our push and pull nearly gave me a migraine?
He’d seen me at my worst and yet I’d never seen him close to his.
He hid himself so well it was hard to even imagine what that could be.
But I could still taste him on my tongue and had to wonder where the hell that had come from because there was no way I was going to ever be able to breathe the same way again when he was around me.
I was losing my sense of reality when it came to him. I paged through my planner on my desk, knowing I had a long day ahead of me. And having Hudson on my mind would only complicate things.
And yet there had been something on his face. Not lust, not need. But something else. Something I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
Perhaps I was looking for something that would appear, but it felt as if there was a damage beneath the surface other than him being worried about me. Other than him always being angry that he had to step in to help me. As if I wasn’t just as angry that he had to do the same.
I ran my hands over my face and went back to my planner.
Today was a big day at the resort. We had a sizeable and grand wedding, and I wanted to make sure it was perfect.
Not only for the bride, groom, and wedding party, but for anyone else who happened to be at the resort.
The Cage Resort didn’t normally do weddings on a scope such as this.
Yes, there were a few smaller ones that fit the atmosphere the elder Cages had envisioned, but the resort was usually for skiing, hiking, and other outdoor activities.
Getting your hot toddy while the rest of your party was out on the slopes, or hiking in the spring, was the main event.
I wanted to help bring the resort into a new era.
Climate change was affecting the way the timing of the resort worked.
This generation of Cages were environmentally and economically responsible and doing their best to combat climate change.
They were putting their money, talents, and designs into making sure the resort was self-sustainable on solar and wind energy and were looking into different ways to help increase the population of certain wildlife, as well as aid in water conservation and quality, and even had a science team on property working on different erosion studies.
I knew Hudson’s father had been staunchly against things like this.
In fact, I knew that he would rather burn the place down than worry about any tree-hugging nonsense.
This generation of Cages cared. Truly cared.
I was grateful that I could be part of something.
And as the changes affected more than the environment, it meant that what happened on property would also need to evolve.
There needed to be a way to make the Cages money, that way they could put it towards more research and to ensure that they didn’t only rely on using what was around them.
I was so thankful to be part of this company, and I wanted to show them all that hiring me wasn’t a waste.
At first, I had been afraid they had hired me because I was a local and had stood up to their father on more than one occasion. Part of me also had thought that maybe they were using me to get back at their dad, or even just because I was a pretty girl who happened to live in town.
I knew that they trusted me. They believed in what I could do.
At least, they used to. Now I was adding more and more to their plate, trying to get them to see that there was so much more that could be done within the Cage name.
And considering I wasn’t a Cage, sometimes it felt as if I were perhaps taking on something far too big that wasn’t mine to begin with.
But I needed to push that from my mind and get back to what I knew would be beneficial for the town, the resort, the Cages, and maybe a little to me.
“Hey, I was just stopping by to check on you. How are you?” Isabella asked as she walked into my office after tapping on the doorframe.
I’d had the door open, and she knew that if the door was closed, I wasn’t ready to talk to anyone and was focusing. But I did have an open-door policy. If the door was open, I was free to chat, or to see what anybody needed.
I couldn’t help but remember the last time I thought I had closed the door, but had failed.
The bruises had healed, even the bruises within.
Perhaps those were more scarred over than anything, but I wasn’t the same woman I had been when I had looked into that mirror and realized I had failed.
And yet having Hudson there, watching my failure, had been the final pin.
I had yelled, screamed, and hated myself for breaking down in front of him.
And it turns out it hadn’t been the last time I would do so in front of him.
And that was why I needed to stay away from him. Of course, his sister was here, and I was trying to impress my friend, as well as the rest of her family, when it came to the wedding today.
No pressure.
“Hey there. I’m okay. I didn’t know you’d be here this early.” I smiled, looked at my watch, and held back a wince. Apparently daydreaming about Hudson had made time move far too quickly. I wasn’t behind, but I was no longer ahead either. This man was a menace.
I quickly closed down my computer and moved around the desk to hug Isabella.
Her hold tightened as she let out a sigh. “It’s good to be back. I love living in Denver. But I think I’m slowly becoming a Cage Lake resident.”
“You are a Cage Lake resident, considering you’re married to a local. It just happens.”
Isabella shook her head. “Weston needs time in the city too though. So this way we’re both able to get what we need, and we don’t have to choose. And frankly, I enjoy being able to work in the office.”
Isabella worked with Cage Enterprises. Everybody in the family had the option of doing so, although they needed to find their niche.
Not every sibling did, however. Ford owned his own company with his husband and their family.
They ran security for the Cages, but they had a completely different business and focus.
Hudson didn’t work with Cage Enterprises at all.
He was an artist. I held back a smile thinking about that art.
He always surprised me, how talented he could be, even beneath the gruff growly exterior.
Isabella hadn’t always worked with the Cages, and in fact, I knew had resisted working with them even after she’d found out that they were siblings.
She was damn good at her job as a forensic accountant and could do most of her job outside of the offices.
Getting to know her family and becoming a cohesive unit was a large part of why she spent so much time in Denver.
“Anyway, I see that your team as well as the wedding planner are running around with such efficiency that I knew it had to be your doing.”
I smiled at that, even as nerves began to tense my shoulders. “Oh good. I’m glad that they’re on schedule. I was just working on a few things and then I’ll get back to it. I promise I’m not leaving them alone.”
Isabella frowned at me, and I realized my voice had gone slightly high-pitched.
“They’re your team. Of course they’re doing what they should.
I’m not here to check on you, Scarlett. I just wanted to see how the wedding was going.
I trust you. You’re the best manager we could ever want.
In fact, you could be managing an even bigger establishment. I’m just glad that you’re here.”
Even as she said the words, I wanted to believe her, yet part of me knew that she was still part-owner of the place that paid my bills.
She, more than some of the other Cages. Aston, James, Blakely, Flynn, and Isabella were all part of Cage Enterprises and therefore my bosses.
They were the owners of this establishment.
Technically everybody else in the family were considered owners, because they were part of the main trust, but they weren’t part of the day-to-day ownership.
Much of the Cage business and will info had been newsworthy and I couldn’t help but pick up on some of it.
Hudson didn’t work for Cage Enterprises.
Of course that’s just reminding me that technically Hudson wasn’t my boss, and that was my main excuse for telling myself not to think of him. But that was fine. I had plenty of other reasons not to think about him. Ever. At all. For anything.
I swallowed hard and tried not to let my thoughts show on my face.
“Oh. I know.” I paused. “I should still go check on them. It’s good to see you. Is there anything you need?” I asked, my voice still slightly high-pitched.
“We are good. Do your thing.”
I moved past Isabella and down the corridor. I was stopped by a few of my team members, answered their questions, and kept moving to the beautiful open area where the wedding would take place.
The flowers were set, the chairs in order, and yet, I needed to go by each point with the wedding planner to ensure this went off perfectly. This wedding and event was the first step in ensuring that we grew as a company.
The couple, Mark and Jacob, were fabulous, caring, and had wanted their perfect day. And I was going to make sure that happened.
Denise, their wedding planner, came up to me with a list in hand. “We have a few little snafus, but nothing we can’t handle.”
I gave her my calmest of smiles. “Give me the list and I’ve got it.”