A shiver runs down my spine.
Even when he’s steaming, he’s hot.
Bridget’s heels clank over the floor as she heads to my office. I glance up from my monitor as she enters without so much as a greeting. “I reviewed your videos.” There’s no smile on her face, no glint in her eyes of a job well done.
She comes to my desk, sitting across from me in the vacant chair. “I’ve put you on a lot of assignments, Cali. I’ve trusted you to give an honest portrayal of a resort. I can’t understand how you can give the place where you sprained your ankle and fell out of a ski lift a five-star review.”
“Those things weren’t his—the Blue Sky Resort’s fault.”
Her eyes tighten, and her jaw grinds as she clenches her teeth. “The fact that you fell out of a ski lift proves the place is dangerous. Had the equipment malfunctioned, or was there no bar to keep you in place? Either way, it’s a lawsuit waiting to happen. I’ll reach out to a lawyer, and we can sue for damages.”
“There weren’t any—” I begin, and Bridget cuts me off.
“I know you like to see everything with a cheery and sunny disposition. I thought that sending you to the mountains, in a cold, wintery climate, would help give you a little perspective when creating your next video. Our viewers don’t want to see five stars for every destination we review.”
“I don’t always give five stars. I gave that Jamaican resort with the dirty linens four stars.”
Bridget rolls her eyes, unimpressed. “You’re not brutal enough. I sent you to the mountains expecting a one-star review. You hate the cold, you’ve never gone skiing in your life, and it’s the middle of winter. It’s too bad there wasn’t a blizzard, and you got snowed into the resort. You could have seen how little there was to do outside of skiing.”
“It’s a ski resort,” I say. “I wasn’t expecting a day spa and a beach.”
Bridget stands, miffed at my rebuttal. “I don’t need your attitude, and frankly, I’m not paying you to go on vacation and leave boring five-star reviews. We need to be edgy and innovative. We want to be a leader in the leisure category. That’s not going to happen with you on our platform.”
My head spins, and my mouth drops. “Are you firing me?”
“I’m letting you go,” Bridget says. “The video footage that you’re working on is our property. You’re not to touch any of it or post it anywhere. Is that understood? We paid for your trip. The footage that you shot belongs to us.”
I exhale a heavy sigh. “Yes, I know the terms under my contract.”
“Good. Pack your desk. I want you out immediately.”
NINE
Logan
I haven’t heardfrom Cali. Not so much as a good morning text or a note that I should check for her video review.
My stomach keeps grumbling, and I shut it up with more coffee. I’m jittery, and the caffeine doesn’t help.
Cali enjoyed her time immensely at the resort, but was it because of me or because the resort deserves a high star rating?
I believe we’re worthy of five stars, but does she think the same? She did fall off the ski lift, which, according to Julianna, had nothing to do with a malfunction and everything to do with Cali being careless.
The girl should be surrounded by bubble wrap.
I glance at my phone. Should I text her? She was the last one to respond, and I never answered her back.
I stalk the clock app where Cali posts her video reviews for Vacationer’s Paradise. A new video was posted two minutes ago.
Exhaling a sigh, I click on the video, and every fear inside of me is nothing compared to the horror I witness. There’s a close-up of my biceps, the tattoos that cover my arms. I’m not as tan as I’d like, but it’s December.
There’s no voice-over, just captions that pop up throughout the video.
Billionaire Logan Henderson, owner of Blue Sky Resort.
Okay, so the video review focuses a little too much on me, but maybe that’s my fault. I did sleep with Cali.
Easy on the eyes. Awful on the slopes.