Wendy wiggled excitedly in her office chair. For an hour, she and Marci had been going over final key components of the contest.
It had been determined earlier in the planning stages, that each team would start the marathon with fairly easy clients. That way, each crew was on a level playing field. They would prove their strengths and weaknesses and the point value accumulated at the end of the first week would determine which team would have access to the stunning lodge at the top of the mountain for the next client. The lodge that resembled a mansion. Eight bedrooms, indoor heated pool, Jacuzzi on a covered deck overlooking the valley, and a home theater. The house had everything a person could want or need while snowed in.
Marci had to admit it had been a little slice of heaven on the few nights she and Wendy had invited friends and family for the weekend. She’d imagined owning something just as remarkable one day.
That was until she’d chased a skirt down the map to a living hell on earth.
With a mental groan, she shoved the thoughts away. Not today. Not when she was minutes away from becoming the middleman for eight group leaders who would find out quickly that Marci was only there to make their phone calls. To make their needed reservations. Not be their friend. Or their counselor. Or anything, for that matter. To just make those damn phone calls. Nothing more. Absolutely nothing more.
“The remaining teams will get the other lodges in order of their scorecards,” Wendy concluded.
“And the photographers? You said some crews didn’t have their own? Meaning, you have assigned one to those crews.” Marci hoped the question was legit and one she hadn’t already asked while her thoughts continued to warp to a nameless goddess.
She couldn’t stop the images from rolling through her mind. Hoped she got to experience that raw, unfiltered sex again. Of course, not with the mystery woman. She’d made her intentions clear. That she didn’t want Marci to know her. Not even her name.
“Correct. We didn’t get enough participants for each team to have their own. So the resort hired the missing photographers and they will double as the client’s photographer as well as take group shots for social media. At the end of each week, if that team is still standing, they turn over one photo and a synopsis of the team’s work for the weekly blog. Zoe from KDOX promised to report highlights every Monday.” Wendy added a little wiggle in her seat. “So even for the teams that are eliminated, someone can still get a job opportunity. It might not be the golden prize, but it will be a step above whatever their profession is. Isn’t that fantastic?”
The fact that Wendy was looking out for the losers didn’t surprise Marci. Wendy always thought outside the box. She thought far ahead. She was always like that. Always pushing people to be all they could be. Always wanting to see people achieve, even when they failed. Like she was still doing with Marci. Pushing her to get back out there. Not to let Ashley have the final laugh.
Truth was, Ashley hadn’t gotten that final laugh. Because the game wasn’t over yet. Marci still held the deed to the house. The house that she had at first gotten to call her own, and then soon got to call theirs. She was still holding out for the perfect offer. Not out of spite, but out of greed.
When she signed those closing papers, she would get back every dime she put in thanks to Ashley deciding that she didn’t want her name on the title, that she was only keeping her apartment so her roommate could continue to stay there, even years after they moved in together. That should have been the first red flag for Marci. That Ashley hadn’t completely committed herself. That after eleven years, she still held a lease in her name.
In the end, Marci was thankful for that little piece of help. For that reason, she would get to keep the entire sale price. She was owed at least that.
And then, she would finally close the doors on that part of her life.
Until then, she was going to sit back and let Ashley think any damn thing she wanted. One thing being that Marci wasn’t selling because deep down, she wanted Ashley back. That soon, she would move back to Arizona. Or so Wendy had concluded. Numerous times.
“I’m so excited I can barely contain myself. This is going to bring so much publicity to the resort.”
Marci gave her a side glance. “Yes. Because people crowding my space is exactly what I need.”
“Hey, you’re the one who offered. And if you so much as hint that you’re going to take it back, I swear I’ll send a sappy, I miss you so much and want you back text to that loser you call an ex. From your phone.”
Marci scoffed. “You are the devil.”
“No. Just desperate. And vengeful.” Wendy pursed her lips and blew an air kiss.
“Don’t worry. With or without your evil intentions, I’ll behave with your precious misfits.”
“Why the gloomy face, cupcake? Didn’t find a piece of ass in that little bar of yours over the weekend?”
Oh, how she’d found a piece of ass. She couldn’t stop thinking about it. Wishing she could go back in time so she could start those hours all over again.
This still thinking, days later, was out of character. For so long, she’d wanted to feel something. Anything. Something to indicate there was still life on the inside. Now, she couldn’t stop feeling. Her insides tightened with just the thought of the woman, how she’d screamed her name, the sounds of her, the feel of her. She just couldn’t stop. Not even with the conference room down the hall already starting to fill up with contestants, all she saw was the woman’s parted lips. All she could feel was the drive of her hips.
Dammit. Why hadn’t she asked more questions? Like, when she might be back in town. If she’d like to get together again. If she’d like to fuck again. And then again. And again.
“Earth to you.” Wendy snapped her fingers.
Marci lifted her chin. “Don’t I always find what I want?”
Wendy rolled her eyes. “If that’s what floats your boat. Truthfully, I’d rather see you crushing out again. You know, pretending you’re alive and not dead. Dating. Actually smiling.”
Marci adored how much Wendy cared about her. How often she voiced those concerns. But it was getting rather old. It wasn’t up to Wendy to decide when she should get over her failed marriage. When she should get over finding her wife of eleven years in the bed with a fucking pubescent.
“I’m not dead, Wendy.” Marci attempted a smile. “Just doing things my way. For now.”
Wendy reached out and squeezed her arm. “I’m sorry for being such a mom. Maybe this contest will keep me off your case. For now.”
“One can pray.” Marci winked.
“And thanks again for stepping up to help me. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.”
“Don’t thank me just yet. The first leader to come bitching on my doorstep could have this whole contest crashing down around your ears.” Marci playfully drew a finger across her throat to imitate a knife.
“Don’t kill your second chance, woman. I’ve worked my ass off to polish this silver platter.” Wendy pushed away from the desk before Marci could inquire what that statement meant. “Ready to go meet these contestants?”
Marci stood. “Ready, boss.”
“This is going to be so much fun!”
“Let’s do it.” Marci opened the door and allowed Wendy to exit first, while dirty images of hot sex with her mystery woman danced through her mind.
Her nameless mystery woman.
* * *
Tessa’s nerves attempted to unravel as she waited with her crew in the middle section of the conference room.
She’d deliberately introduced herself to practically everyone in the room until she found her entire team, wanting her rivals to remember her face, to see that she wasn’t afraid, and that she was coming straight for each of them.
And so far she was super impressed with her crew members.
Hunter, who was a wedding photographer hired by Wendy and the resort to capture candid shots but would also double as the client’s employee to collect pictures for their vacation. He had dabbled in sport shots for his niece’s volleyball team as well as a few NBA teams and wanted to make a career out of his talents one day. He had a sweet smile and didn’t appear to be nervous at all.
Then there was Sally who had been working as a decorator and occasional planner for several years and even pulled off an event for a well known NFL player, with over four hundred people in attendance.
Tessa was impressed. That kind of event had to take skills, and she was proud to have her on the team.
However, Sally was a talker. A mile a minute, she carried on about everything, right down to finding her kitten, Sam Adams, in a sewage drain, how she’d nursed him back to health, and now he was the love of her life. Minus her ample guy friends who offered tons of benefits, she’d added with a wicked grin.
If Tessa could focus all that energy to their tasks, she’d be unstoppable.
And then there was Danny, an assistant wedding planner in a small town venue. He and his best friend had applied for the job on a dare when they were in college and when the owner had taken him on a tour of the grounds, he kind of liked the idea of helping to make someone’s dream wedding come to life and was shocked that he had a knack for organizing and keeping things on task.
But she was most impressed with Seth. A caterer for a five-star restaurant in Washington. Even catered events at the White House, though he regretted he’d never gotten the chance to meet Obama. He had dabbled in decorating, his exact words, when in fact he’d spent an entire summer in Europe taking decorator classes. Also, he took a floral design class in Chicago, just because he was bored while visiting family members. And if that wasn’t punishment enough, he was a part-time substitute teacher for an elementary school. He said if he could handle a classroom of tiny assholes, he could sure as hell handle a bridezilla. He indeed had a point as Tessa had seen toddlers act better than a few of her own brides.
Best of all, Seth had a vibrant smile, loving aura, and was super positive about their upcoming clients.
She knew they were going to go far in this event. Unless some of the other teams could top the talent she had on her squad, she doubted they would hold a candle to them.
And then she had herself. Who had been on top of the wedding venue game for more years than she’d like to admit. Planning weddings and events, even small birthday parties, was in her blood, handed down from their mother who had started out helping brides part-time. When her girls were too little for school but cleaning dust bunnies and toilets wasn’t active enough for her. From the time she was a toddler, Tessa had been molded into this world. From a very small age, their mother had woven their lives into creating events for others, helping to pick out the perfect colors, how to find the best cake decorators, how to transform an ordinary table into a work of art. She didn’t have a venue. She didn’t have a business card. But she had taught her children how to find out what people wanted, and go five steps beyond their desires. Do the things they never thought possible. And never take no for an answer.
Just like when she was a child, adoring being with her mother, being a sponge when she talked out loud about her plans, Tessa planned to take everything she’d ever learned, over all of her thirty-nine years of life, and shove it into conquering this contest. She had every intention of wiping the floor with the other teams. There was no one who could outplan her. No one who could outwedding her. And damn sure, no one who could outdo her.
Her mother had already taught her how to outthink even herself. How to one-up herself. And then one-up herself again. Until a simple plan blossomed and flourished.
She’d been taught by the best. Trained to be an overachiever. She damn well would win this contest. Or die trying.
“I’m so nervous,” Sally whispered from beside her.
Tessa wanted to scold her. To tell her to get a grip. This was war, after all. But she didn’t want to act like a complete bitch before they were given their first clients.
Instead, she patted her leg and gave her best smile. “We got this, girl. Together, we’re going to be unbeatable.”
“Damn, skippy,” Seth chimed in. “We’re going to take them all by storm. They won’t know what the hell hit ’em.”
“No shit. We have the perfect crew,” Hunter added. “Wedding and event planners, catering, decorating, photography…we have all bases covered. We’ve got this licked.”
He extended his arm out, formed a fist, then motioned for everyone to join.
“Team Tessa,” Seth quietly cheered amongst the loud chatter of the other groups around them.
Tessa liked their fighting spirit and enthusiasm. With that kind of encouragement, together they would help keep each other on point. And from Sally’s hyper personality, that could come in use.
She hoped.
They all bumped fists as the door opened. A woman about Tessa’s height with cropped brown hair that fell around her face in soft waves stepped inside the room. Her smile was genuine as she looked around at their faces, excitement visible in her bright eyes.
Everyone silenced and Tessa could feel a wave of anxiety spread around the crews. She drew in a quiet breath to settle her nerves and pressed a little deeper in her chair.
That new life was about to kick off. That new career was just around the bend. These people, these opponents, were nothing more than rocks on her path. She needed only to kick them out of her way one punt at a time.
And she would. Come hell or high water, she was going to reach that dream. She was already one step deep and nothing could block her way now.
The woman made her way to the head of the room where a table had been set up. She laid a stack of files on top and turned to face everyone.
The door opened again and another woman stepped inside.
Tessa felt the breath catch in her throat. Her insides clamped down tight as the memories flooded.
Raw images of their sweaty sex filtered through her mind as Marci followed the woman to the table wearing loose faded jeans and a pullover sweater. Hours upon hours, they’d spent grinding against each other, quenching their thirsty needs.
Tessa couldn’t move as Marci leaned against the table, her gaze on no one in particular.
How was this possible? The very woman she hadn’t been able to rip from her mind was right here, in the flesh, and not just a hot memory in her mind.
This was bad. This was very, very bad. Her beginning could be over before it ever began. Damn her need for sex. Dammit.
The shorter woman greeted the room. “Hello, everyone. I’m Wendy. I hate the word boss, but that’s what I am. I’ll be your boss through this incredible adventure.”
Marci looked over the group until one face stopped her cold in her tracks.
The woman from the bar. The woman who had writhed beneath her for hours. The very woman she couldn’t pluck from her brain. Her nameless beauty.
Marci expelled a sigh as heat gathered between her legs and Wendy glanced over at her.
“This is Marci Jones. She will be the stand-in liaison for all of my group leaders due to an emergency. Once you have your plan of action put together for your clients, you will report to her. She will square away all of your reservations and appointments, right down to setting up time slots for the ski slopes. If there are personal problems, don’t take them to her. She can’t help you with those. She is basically your secretary and nothing more. All she will do is point you to my office at the resort down the hill. So save yourself the time and bring all personal matters to my door.”
Marci struggled to tear her sights off of the woman, off of that shocked expression, and finally she turned to Wendy and gave a firm nod.
Wendy gave her a puzzled look before turning her attention back to the group. “To start things off, I would love for each of you to give us your name and tell us where you’re from and what talents you will share with your squads.”
Marci glanced back at the woman. Finally, she would know her name. Why that was so important, she had no damn clue. Especially after she’d convinced herself that she didn’t need that name. That she didn’t want that name. But dammit, she did.
Right now, she shouldn’t dare need that name. She should cry mercy to her best friend and excuse herself from this entire contest. Wendy wouldn’t be happy to know her one-night stand was sitting in this room, among these contestants, fighting for a chance to work at this resort. There had to be some kind of conflict of interest.
Instead, she watched the contestants, one by one, give their name, where they were from, and if they had been chosen to be the team leaders, pretending to care anything about them. Some faces Marci recognized from the files. But not the woman who was firmly watching Marci. That face she would have never forgotten.
Finally, her mystery woman stood. She never took her eyes off Marci as she lifted her chin.
Marci gripped the edge of the table.
That name. She needed that name.
“I’m Tessa Dalton, from Peoria, Arizona.”
Marci felt her breath catch in her throat. The name from the file. The name that had stirred those pain-filled memories to the surface. The very file her trembling fingers hadn’t allowed her to open.
“I run a wedding venue, True Beginnings, with my sister. I’ll be a team leader.” Tessa smiled at Wendy then turned those pretty eyes on Marci, the smile smoothing into a serious expression. “I look forward to working under you.”
A few people in the room giggled at her choice of words, including Wendy, who leaned into Marci and whispered, “Well, someone needs to do it.”
Marci shifted. Tessa. Even her name was sexy. But not nearly as sexy as those serious eyes were, still tagged on Marci, reminding her that they’d looked up at her, down at her, directly at her, all while Marci worked another orgasm from her body.
Her insides trembled and she forced herself to look away.
This was going to be disastrous. Telling Wendy that she would have to bail was going to be completely disastrous. She could feel it all the way down to her soul.
Tessa had been too mysterious. Too closed. Something was amiss. What, why, she didn’t know. But she felt it nonetheless.
An hour later, after all instructions had been given out, as well as their tablets that would link them to their client’s video, the room had been emptied of contestants on their way to see the designated cabins where they would be living for the next eight weeks, Marci could finally breathe.
Wendy turned a hard stare on her. “Care to share what that sexual tension was all about? Did my best friend just have a moment of lust? Not that I could blame you. She was smoking hot and those green eyes were sinful.”
Marci almost hated to admit that she’d had more than a moment fucking Tessa. “Wendy, you might need to find a replacement for me. I think I screwed up.”
“I will roll your butch ass down this mountain if you say replacement one more time.” Wendy dared her with a cocked eyebrow. “Explain how you think you screwed up. Quickly. Before I let my imagination run wild and think horrible things and kick you down the mountain anyway.”
“Me. Her.”
“There’s nothing wrong with fantasizing. I’m sure I might do the same thing when I close my eyes tonight.”
“No, Wendy. Me. Her! This weekend.”
Wendy snorted. “Stop playing. You wish you had fucked up with that sexy piece of ass.”
When Marci didn’t break eye contact, Wendy angled her head. “You’re shitting me.”
Marci shook her head. “No. Not shitting. She was at the bar this weekend.”
Wendy propped a hand on her hip. “Okay, so what does that have to do with replacing you?”
“Do I have to spell out conflict of interest?”
Wendy broke into laughter then tried to compose herself when Marci didn’t share in the amusement. “Look here, glorified secretary. Who do you think would give a shit if she was fucking the secretary? The one and only person involved in this contest who can’t do a damn thing to help her climb any rungs on a ladder. No one. That’s who.”
Marci was shocked at Wendy’s response, assuming she was going to get a tongue-lashing and then be forced to make endless phone calls until she found her own replacement.
“It’s not very ethical to have slept with someone from one of the teams. Don’t you agree?”
“Ethical? Maybe not. But again, who cares? You hold no water in this game and I made that clear to everyone in the room. I promise by the end of this contest, you won’t be the only one to have fucked someone else from the crews. Hell, you probably won’t be the only person to have fucked her.”
The insinuation made something tighten in Marci’s gut. She looked away and took a deep breath to loosen its grip.
“But she didn’t know that I was unimportant until today.”
“And. What are you implying?”
“I’m just curious. If she knew who I was, thought she could earn some brownie points, that would explain why she sought me out at the bar.” Marci felt the ridiculous punch of her words but couldn’t shake the possibility that they were true.
“La-di-da look how you think your shit don’t stink!” Wendy chuckled. “Are you being dead serious right now?”
Marci crossed her arms and looked away. Why was the notion so hard to believe? “Yes. I am.”
“Tell me, how in the hell could she have known that you, just forty-eight hours ago, got yanked into this contest? She was likely in flight when you were agreeing to fill in.” She threw her hands up. “No. Do not answer that. Dear Lord, Ashley did you in, didn’t she? Now you’re making up shit so you can recede into the darkness. I’m not sure you’re ever going to recover.”
“Don’t go there, Wendy.”
“Well, someone has to. You can’t even get out of your own head long enough to enjoy a little thing called fucking.”
Marci smiled. “I did not say I didn’t enjoy it. Never said that.”
God, how she’d enjoyed it. How she wanted to do it again. Very soon. But the fact remained that there was a possibility that Tessa had tried to use her. How, she wasn’t certain. But people were evil. People thought they could be sneaky and get away with it. It could have happened. It likely happened right under her nose while she was too busy trying to pull another orgasm from that undulating body.
As much fun as it had been, it sucked for Tessa that her attempt was short-lived and a glorious waste of time. Good for Marci, however. She got a free fuck out of it. Hours of fucking, as a matter of fact.
“I’m seriously getting worried about you, Marci. This isn’t healthy. Sooner or later, that guard has to come back down or you can bet your sweet ass you’ll be adopting orphaned animals from these woods and giving them all first, middle, and last names.”
Wendy was right. She could feel it. Even her gut told her she was being ridiculous and childish and too guarded. If only she could shake that slim possibility. If only she could shake that untrusting bone in her body.
“Fine. If you don’t see it as a conflict, then I’ll forget about it and move on.”
“Great. And the only conflict I see here is when, where, and how you’re going to do it again. I’d be a repeat offender for that one any day. Career be damned.”
Marci pushed away from the table. “You’re impossible.”
Wendy fell in step behind her. “Coming from someone who tagged herself a sexy little thing, who could do it again without even so much as a stink eye from her boss, I’ll take that as a compliment. Thanks.”
Marci stepped out into the hall.
Oh, how she’d tagged herself a sexy little thing.
One who thought she was clever.
But she wasn’t. Tessa wasn’t clever at all.