Her Cowboy Prince, page 6
part #1 of Once Upon A Western Series
“Hey,” he said, smiling at her.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were in a meeting.”
“We’re finished.” As Justin stood, he caught a glimpse of a look that passed between his brothers. What was that silent conversation about? Did they know about his dad without him divulging the truth? After all, Wes had heard about the gambling. And they’d all seen their dad tossing back a few more beers than was typical over the past few months.
But neither of them said anything as they stood as well.
“Melody Shaw, have you met my brothers?”
She shook her head. “Not officially.”
“Wes, Roman, Melody is helping out with the Christmas festivities I mentioned.”
“How did this guy rope you into doing his work for him?” Wes asked with a nod toward Justin.
“He just asked,” she said.
“Huh. And here I thought I was the one with the charm.”
“Don’t you have work to do?” Justin asked as he gave his middle brother a playful shove toward the door.
Roman extended his hand to Melody. “It’s nice to meet you. Sounds like you’re going to give us a great event.”
“It’s nice to meet you, too. And I’ll help where I can.”
“See that,” Justin said to Wes. “Roman has actual manners.”
Wes just smiled in that way that showed he was the brother who got in the lion’s share of mischief. He leaned toward Melody as he approached the door.
“Don’t let him work you too hard. Just because he’s a workaholic doesn’t mean everyone else has to be.”
“I’d threaten to make you run the entire place for a while,” Justin said, “but I don’t want us to go bankrupt.”
Roman, to his credit, placed his hands on the back of Wes’s shoulders and shoved him toward the hallway.
Justin shook his head as he listened to his brothers head off to their respective jobs. “Sorry about that. Wes can be a bit full of himself sometimes.”
“No need to apologize.”
He noticed she didn’t come any further into his office. “We need to go to the conference room again?”
She shook her head. “I keep thinking maybe Nadine or someone else would be better for you to work with on the execution. It might go over better.”
“What makes you say that?”
Melody took a couple of steps into his office but didn’t sit. Instead, she gripped the back of one of the chairs. “Don’t you think it’ll look odd to the rest of the staff to have a housekeeper working on something like this, and with the boss?”
“Did someone say something to you?”
“No. I just know that companies have a hierarchy, and the top and bottom levels don’t usually mix.”
Justin crossed his arms and leaned his hip against the side of his desk. “Where are you from?”
The area between Melody’s eyes scrunched. “What?”
“Before you came here, where did you live? I can tell you aren’t from Montana originally.”
“Um,” she said, fidgeting. “Little Rock, Arkansas.”
“What did you do there?”
“I worked in housekeeping at a hotel.”
“A big chain?”
Her head tilted the slightest bit. “Yes. Why?”
“Because you sound like you’re speaking from experience, and that’s just not how we do things here. Granted, I don’t routinely hang out with all the employees, but I’d like to think I’m not seen as an elitist.”
“No, no. That’s not what I meant.” She sounded horrified that he’d even think that.
“Then you have nothing to worry about. In fact, come with me.” He didn’t give her time to decline, instead heading out the door and down the hallway. As they passed through the lobby of the lodge, he paused to greet a couple of guests and said hello to Bridget at the front desk, suddenly self-conscious that maybe he’d inadvertently slighted someone.
When they reached the dining room, almost empty at this time of day, he led the way back through the kitchen to the office of his dining manager, Colleen Jenkins. The door was standing open so he poked his head in.
“Got a minute?”
Colleen looked up from her computer. “Sure. What’s up?”
He turned and motioned for Melody to enter the office ahead of him. “You know Melody Shaw?”
Colleen nodded. “We’ve met. She had kind things to say about my tiramisu.”
“The best I’ve ever tasted,” Melody said.
“Melody is the brains behind a new series of Christmas events and a holiday package we’re going to be offering this year. I drafted her in a moment when I was convinced there were no ideas left in my head. She was kind enough not to tell me no. I’ve got a couple of things to take care of, so I thought maybe you two could work on the food and beverage part of the planning if you have time now, Colleen.”
“Are you kidding?” She aimed her friendly smile at Melody. “You’ll be saving me from scheduling. I swear it’s like putting together a jigsaw puzzle while blindfolded.”
“Great,” he said. “I have complete faith the two of you will come up with something that will blow the guests’ minds.”
He did his best not to laugh at the stunned look on Melody’s face as he turned toward the door. But as he walked back through the kitchen and caught a glimpse of the look on some of the faces of the staff, it hit him that maybe Melody hadn’t just manufactured or imagined that some of the people on his payroll might think him working alongside her was odd, even suspect.
As he proceeded back toward his office, he realized that all the looks he’d seen had been from the female employees. Did they think there was more than a professional relationship between him and Melody? That she was using him to advance?
Maybe he’d been too hasty in burning a quick path to Colleen’s office with Melody in tow.
After Nadine stopped him to sign some papers, he retreated to his office and sank into his chair. Instead of diving into the work stacked on his desk, he stared ahead at nothing in particular. Could some of the staff think that Melody was making a play for him? He wished he could let them all know that wasn’t the case, but would saying something just make them believe their original assumptions all the more?
Besides, what would be wrong with them being together anyway? He’d never been one to only associate with certain “classes” of people. He felt as if class structure caused more harm than good in the world. And Lord knew the next time he got involved with someone, it sure wasn’t going to be with someone only interested in his money and position. He’d made that mistake once and didn’t plan a repeat.
Justin shook his head and forced himself to open a file folder on his desk. But no matter how much he tried to focus on the vending contracts inside, the more his thoughts drifted to Melody and how he wouldn’t mind getting to know her as more than an employee. But she’d not once indicated she was interested in such a relationship. In fact, she’d evidently tried to pull away from even the appearance of one. Not to mention that he was her boss and making a move could be seen as sexual harassment if it was unwanted.
He sighed. Best to just focus on work and family. He had enough on his plate without adding possible romantic complications to the pile. He needed to remind himself that the last time he’d gone down that road hadn’t turned out so well, and nothing indicated that traveling it again would turn out any better.
Chapter Five
“You look like you got jolted with a cattle prod.”
Probably because that’s how she felt. Well, how she imagined contact with an electric cattle prod would feel.
Melody shifted her gaze from the now empty doorway to Colleen. “Sorry we barged in on you.”
Colleen waved away her concern. “Please, planning for a Christmas event sounds way more exciting than anything I had on my docket today.”
“Really? I’ve always imagined you in here conjuring fabulous dishes with culinary magic.”
Colleen laughed. “I like that image, but no. There’s more to running this kitchen than menu prep.”
“Oh, I know. There’s always more to a job than meets the eye.”
“You sound like you know what you’re talking about.”
Melody remembered she was supposed to be a housekeeper, not anyone with vast knowledge of business structures and an array of careers.
“Just seems like common sense.”
“So, tell me all about this Christmas extravaganza.”
Melody shared all her thoughts related to the daily events and what they might require from the kitchen—a selection of holiday cookies and cakes, hot chocolate and spiced cider, flavored popcorns for the movie viewings, and finally the big Christmas Day meal.
“This sounds fabulous,” Colleen said. “You’re a natural at this. No wonder Justin recruited you.”
“It was just a coincidence,” Melody said, deliberately suppressing her true self, the one who had been planning events and naturally taking the lead since she was literally in elementary school. “I happened to be emptying his trash when he was looking for an idea of something new to offer the guests. I may have watched more than my share of holiday Christmas movies over the years.”
“Whatever the case, I’m excited to work with you on this.”
“Same here.” It was true. She saw in Colleen a bit of a kindred spirit. The other woman ran her kitchen the way Melody and her dad had run Redmond—expecting hard work and dedication from employees but also giving them a reason beyond just a paycheck to want to give their all. A vision and a belief that they could bring something positive into others’ lives. When Melody thought about it, a stay at Peak View was simply another way to benefit one’s health. Excellent food, relaxation in the spa and hot springs, bountiful fresh air and an escape from reality and the pressures of everyday life. Maybe all those things would help stave off the need for many of the drugs that Redmond Pharmaceuticals manufactured. Especially at the elevated prices now attached to those products.
“You okay?” Colleen asked.
Melody nodded, annoyed that she’d let Angelica’s actions dampen her mood. “Fine.”
“Because for a minute there, you looked as if you could break a baseball bat with your teeth.”
Melody smiled, trying to make light of what Colleen had seen. “Sorry. Had a passing thought about a non-work frustration.”
Angelica was way more than a frustration, but she couldn’t share that with anyone here. That was one of the hardest parts of her new life—not having a single person she could talk to about what she was really feeling inside and why.
“Well, I better let you get back to work.”
“I’ll pull some ideas together and get back with you to ask what you think.”
“I’m sure it’ll be great. You’re the expert, after all.”
Melody debated not returning to the executive office wing, but she didn’t want to draw extra attention or questions by hanging out in the break room until her housekeeping shift started. When she headed down the corridor that led to Justin’s office, she found him in the conference room.
“How’d it go?” he asked as she entered.
“Great. I swear I could taste gingerbread cookies and smell cinnamon by the time we finished.”
He looked up from where he had several papers spread out in front of him and smiled. Did he have any idea how sexy he was when he did that? From what she heard through the grapevine, Wes was the flirt of the McQueen clan. But if someone were to ask her which of the brothers was the most attractive, her answer would be Justin, hands down. The man honestly ticked off all the items on her list for what attracted her physically.
She hated Angelica anew because the situation Melody found herself in because of her stepsister made any attraction she felt toward Justin a moot point, even if his reciprocating her interest was a possibility.
She motioned toward the papers on the table. “What do you have there?”
“What I like to call divide and conquer. There’s a lot to do to make this Christmas package a success, so I divided up the tasks so we can all hop right in.”
Good, if she focused on work, maybe she’d stop thinking about how darn good-looking Justin was and how her co-workers might be speculating about them.
When they began to wrap up ahead of her regular shift, they’d made good headway in contacting everyone who would need to pitch in to make the Peak View Old-Fashioned Christmas a success. As she folded her list of tasks and shoved it in her pocket, she noticed Justin watching her.
“What?”
“I’m sorry if I was too pushy earlier when we went to see Colleen. I think I know why you were concerned before that.”
She lowered her eyes, wishing she had another piece of paper to fold. Wishing she could escape the room.
“And I’m sorry if I’ve made you uncomfortable in any way or caused you to feel as if I forced you into this project. If you want to quit at any point, I won’t stand in your way.”
The sincerity in his words caused her to look up at him. That same sincerity was there in his dark eyes.
“Thank you. I appreciate that.” She considered taking the out he offered, but the truth was she didn’t want to. She’d always loved Christmas, but it had been a lonely affair since her father’s death and her ouster from her life. She realized she wanted to find the joy in Christmas again, and if she could bring that same joy to other people who were alone, all the better. “But I’d like to continue working on this, if that’s okay.”
He smiled, causing her heart to beat a little faster. “Great. Because I don’t think I can run this show by myself.”
She couldn’t deny the thrill that went through her that not only would she be working alongside Justin for the next couple of months but also that someone actually needed her again. But the truth was she needed this more than Justin McQueen would ever need her.
*
Justin looked at the figures for what he estimated the Christmas festivities were going to cost and told himself it would be worth every penny. Sure it was a new venture and it was dependent on enough singles booking to be a success, but it was different than so many Christmas events held at resorts. He couldn’t deny the business side of his brain wondered if they should ditch the whole singles aspect and open it to everyone, but he’d asked for different and Melody’s idea was exactly that.
And abandoning the singles aspect would defeat the purpose. Well, one of the purposes. Yes, he needed this to be profitable, but perhaps more important was Melody’s vision to give those who had no one with whom to spend the holidays a reason to look forward to Christmas, a way they could be surrounded by holiday cheer instead of depressing loneliness.
And he was totally going to use the opportunity to give his dad something to focus on besides booze and card games, so he headed outside to wait for both his dad and Melody.
As he waited, he spotted one of the guests wrestling with a spare tire and went over to help. The guy looked to be around his dad’s age but nowhere near as strong.
“Looks like you could use an extra pair of hands,” Justin said as he approached.
“You’re right there. I remember this being a lot easier.”
Justin wondered how many years it’d been since the man had been faced with changing a flat tire.
“You sure have a beautiful place here,” the man said as Justin made quick work of removing the flat and putting on the doughnut spare.
“Thank you. I’m glad you like it.”
“If it was up to me, I’d move out to the country like this. But my wife wouldn’t want to leave her friends in Portland, not that I blame her.”
“Well, we’re glad to have you here any time you need the getaway.” Justin stood and placed the flat tire, jack and tire iron in the trunk before shutting it. “You take that tire to Ollie’s in Logan Springs, and he’ll fix it good as new.”
“Thank you.”
As the man drove away from the resort, Justin’s dad pulled into a space at the side of the lodge where the employees parked.
“What’s the big mystery?” he asked as he approached Justin a few moments later.
“Let’s wait until Melody gets here.”
“Melody? That the gal you’re working with on the Christmas stuff?”
Justin nodded.
“Something going on there?”
Justin eyed his dad. “What makes you say that?”
His dad shrugged. “Heard you were spending a lot of time with her.”
“Because of the Christmas events. These types of things don’t plan themselves.”
“I hear she’s pretty.”
“You seem to be hearing a lot of things.” He resisted the urge to shift the conversation to how Melody wasn’t the only one who was the object of speculation.
His dad actually chuckled a little, and it was so good to hear that Justin decided he’d take whatever teasing his dad could dole out then deal with Wes later. Because, no doubt, that was who’d been running his mouth.
He shifted his gaze at the sound of an approaching vehicle. His pulse jumped a bit when he recognized Melody’s little hatchback, but he did his best to not show any outward sign. His mood soured when he saw that Melody wasn’t driving, however. Instead, a young guy was at the wheel, and when he pulled to a stop at the curb, Melody hopped out and waved as the guy drove away.
Evidently the Peak View gossip didn’t travel as far as his office because he had no idea she was seeing someone. Maybe they even lived together. Damn it, why did he care? Hadn’t he told himself that being attracted to an employee was a bad idea anyway?
“That her?”
He glanced at his dad. “Yeah.”
His dad made a vague “huh” sound that Justin wasn’t able to interpret. Not that he had time because when Melody saw him, he waved her over.
“Hey,” she said as she drew close and darted a quick look toward his dad.
“Melody Shaw, this is my dad, Tom McQueen.”
Melody shook the hand his dad offered. “Nice to meet you, young lady.”
“You too, sir.”
“Now maybe my son will tell us what the devil we’re here for.”
