billion book
47
We climbed out and moved to the side of the road, peering over the edge of the cliff that showed the road we’d taken to get up here.
“Envision this in the fall and winter,” I said to him. “Everything bursting in color and then covered in white.”
“A goddamn winter wonderland.”
I chuckled. “With several two-bedroom penthouses that’ll each get you upward of five thousand a night.”
“Music to my fucking ears.” He turned, walking toward the center of the massive lot. “This one has it all over the other two.”
Even though the land was covered in trees, which would be quite the undertaking to get it all leveled and paved, it was obvious how special this property was.
“Imagine the building protruding out the side of this mountain”-I pointed toward the rock where the base of the hotel would sit-“shaped in a way where every room would have a view of this magnificent landscape.”
“What else do you see?”
We’d played this game before; therefore, I knew how it worked. Walter wanted my vision beyond a legal standpoint, and he paid me a heavy sum for it.
“I see fire being the main element, mountain-chic decor. The scent of s’mores the moment you walk into the lobby with the crackling of wood thrumming in the background. When they enter their rooms, I want them to feel like they’re in a high-end cabin with heated floors and gas fireplaces, bedding that doesn’t just tuck them in but cuddles them.” I paused, thinking of my conversation with Jo. “This hotel isn’t just going to be a place where they come and ski. It’s going to be a place where they come to reset and unplug. Where they find themselves …”
The sound of tires spinning across the rocky gravel drowned out my voice, and I turned to the SUV that was pulling up a few feet away.
Walter looked at me and said, “My guest has arrived.”
“The realtor?”
Since this was our first walk-through, Walter hadn’t wanted the realtor to come with us.C0ntent © 2024 (N/ô)velDrama.Org.
He didn’t want to be sold.
He wanted to make a decision and then call in the realtor to draw up the paperwork.
“No, it’s my newest employee,” he said. “I asked her to join us. She just flew in.”
The driver got out and opened the door to the backseat.
There were too many trees blocking the space between us, but I saw a pair of high heels hit the ground and the sound of the door shutting. As she moved past the tall, thick trunks, I could see lean legs and a trim waist, tits that weren’t any bigger than my hands. Long black hair that trickled past her shoulders, hitting her elbows as she walked.
I held my fucking breath as she turned at the path, a feeling blasting through my stomach when she faced us.
A feeling I hadn’t at all been prepared for.
My stare moved up her face-her perfect, pouty lips and eyes that were screaming blue, now connected with mine.
Jo.
What the hell is she doing here?
The Gucci bag that I’d given to her dangled on her shoulder, and she gripped it as she came over to us.
If anyone looked at her in this moment, they would see confidence, charisma. A woman who was about to blow our minds with whatever came out of her mouth.
But I knew that smile that was lifting across her lips. It was her timid, uncertain expression. She wore it whenever we talked about us and whenever we were outside the airport, one of us flying home.
Something is going on here, something I haven’t figured out yet.
If Jo had landed a job, why hadn’t she told me?
Working for Walter was a hell of an accomplishment. The hires I’d met in the past weren’t recent college graduates. Walter looked for experience, in-depth knowledge of the market, employees who could escalate his brand. He didn’t want numbers on his team; he wanted quality.
Not that Jo wasn’t capable of bringing that, but she didn’t have the real-world experience that he was usually after.
I certainly wasn’t going to let my largest client know I had a thing with his newest employee. He knew how much I slept around. I didn’t want him to think she was someone I’d fucked in a restroom. That wouldn’t help her career or her longevity at Spade Hotels.
So, when she came to a stop, standing between Walter and me, I said to Walter, “Are you going to introduce me?”
He looked at Jo and put his arm around her shoulders, grinning at her in a way that made my fucking stomach hurt. Touching her in a way that made me question everything I was witnessing.
He finally looked at me, his smile even larger now. “Jenner, I don’t believe you’ve ever met Joanna …”
Joanna?
The hurt in my stomach was still there.
But so was a deep churning, one that circled with fucking claws.
Especially as she gazed at me, our eyes fucking locking, the pain increasing tenfold.
Walter’s grip strengthened around her, the movement causing Jo’s shoulders to shake as he added, “My daughter.”
JOANNA
A
s I watched Jenner register the news, my stomach caught on fire. I reached into the pockets of my jacket, putting pressure on my navel just so I wouldn’t throw up.
I didn’t know what I had been thinking. I should have found a way to tell him sooner.
And I’d wanted to. Every time we were together, the guilt had nagged at me.
But it was easier to just keep going, to keep him in the dark, especially since we weren’t in a relationship, and I didn’t know if we would ever be in one. And then my trip to LA happened and things between us started to change. The trip brought us closer together, and the guilt thickened.
I didn’t want to ambush Jenner.
Not like this.