Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 24074 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24074 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
There was a fire in the break room.
And I started it.
Mr. Wallis is going to kill me.
I have to tell him in person (because of course the bearded recluse has no phone).
So, I head to his cabin deep in the mountain wilderness to find him chopping wood shirtless and drinking whiskey straight from the bottle.
They definitely don’t have men like him where I’m from.
If they did, I never would have left.
Mr. Wallis takes one look at me and my blushing cheeks and says he’s going to punish me his way.
We’re far enough from civilization that no one can hear me scream.
Or moan…
Or beg for more…
Lauren is about to find out how a hot possessive mountain man hands out a punishment. Lucky her!
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Chapter One
Lauren
“Excuse me,” the middle-aged woman wearing the red coat says in an impatient tone as she glares over the reception desk at us.
Tina and Tiffany don’t look up from their computers, which… of course, they don’t.
“Yes, Mrs. Carter,” I say with a big smile. “What can I do for you?”
“The accommodations in this lodge are horrific.”
Tina snorts out a laugh and then does a poor job of hiding it with a fake coughing fit. Mrs. Carter frowns.
“Is this funny to you?”
“Sorry, I’m on the phone,” Tina says as she suddenly grabs the receiver and puts it to her ear. “Lauren will be happy to help you.”
“What have you found unsatisfactory?” I ask.
The lodge is anything but horrific. It’s stunning. It’s the most gorgeous place I’ve ever seen.
Greene Mountain Lodge is the ultimate in luxury. It’s a ski-in, ski-out lodge at the base of Greene Mountain with a spectacular lake that’s walking distance from the front door.
The huge building has every amenity possible from an indoor pool, outdoor pool, multiple hot tubs, a sauna, a spa, a five-star restaurant, and an amazing bar with live singers every night. Every inch of this place is immaculate. It’s expansive, yet cozy at the same time. I feel like I’m a princess in a fairytale whenever I’m walking around it.
Every suite has rustic wooden beams running along the ceiling, a cast-iron fireplace, and a private balcony overlooking the spectacular Montana mountains or the beautiful lake.
Any guest who gets to stay here is incredibly lucky. Even this irritated woman, although she doesn’t seem to realize it.
“I found a hair in my bed,” she says with a look of revulsion on her face. Everything about her screams money from her designer coat, purse, and shoes to the expensive diamond jewelery hanging around her neck and on her fingers and wrists. “I would like an upgrade.”
“An upgrade?” I say, managing to keep the pleasant smile on my face. “Unfortunately, you’re already in our platinum room and there’s nothing to upgrade to.”
“What about the Aspen Suite?”
“The Aspen Suite is taken.”
Both Tina and Tiffany glance at me.
“This is unacceptable. I’m paying a fortune for this room and look at what I have to deal with—a hair! In my bed!”
“Are you sure it wasn’t yours?” Tiffany asks.
The woman whips her head around and gives her a vile look. “Excuse me?”
“Sorry,” Tiffany says as she grabs her phone, just like her twin sister. “I got to take this.”
I hold in a breath as Mrs. Carter turns that vileness onto me. “It was not my hair,” she hisses. “I’ll go get it and you unhelpful clowns can tell me if you think it came from my head.”
She storms away with her scarf flowing behind her.
“Maybe it came from her chin,” Tina mutters as she hangs up the phone.
“Or from her chest,” Tiffany says as she hangs up hers.
“Thanks for the help,” I say as I sit down with a deep breath.
“You’re the one who wants the manager job,” Tina says with a shrug. “It’s good practice for you. You’re going to be the last stop to deal with all sorts of Karens.”
Tiffany nods. “The manager position is basically a Karen tamer.”
“Can we stop with the whole Karen thing?” I say with a frustrated breath.
They both look at me with blank faces. Having them on either side of my chair, staring at me with the same brown eyes, behind the same round black-rimmed glasses, with the same black hair cut and styled into the same bob makes me think there’s a glitch in the Matrix.
As far as I can tell, these twins have the same look, the same personality, and might just be clones of each other. If it weren’t for their nametags, I would never know who was who.
“My sister’s name is Karen, okay?” I say as they both stare at me like I’m not making any sense. “And I think that we as a collective society need to move on. We had our fun with the name, and Karens were a good sport about it, but it’s time to let it go.”
Tina snorts out a laugh. “Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk,” she says in a horrible imitation of me.
“You mean, thank you for coming to my Karen Talk,” Tiffany corrects.
They both laugh. I don’t.
“Are you a Karen spokesperson?” Tiffany asks.
“What? No. That’s not even a thing.”
“I think her name is secretly Karen,” Tina says. “Can we see your birth certificate?”
“No,” I say, getting flustered. They always do this. They’re so annoying. I sit between them and they just make fun of me and get me riled up all day. I feel like a ping pong ball they’re batting back and forth.
“My name is Lauren Hurst.”
“Lauren Karen Hurst?”
“Karen Lauren Hurst?”
“Stop it,” I say in a firm voice. “I have an important guest coming and I have to concentrate.”