Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80052 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80052 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Cole’s expression sobers. “No. Meeting adjourned. Back to work.”
There’re only weak protests as everyone shuffles out.
Cole turns his microphone off and nestles it back in the stand before turning to face me with a sheepish smile.
“Do you hate me?” he asks, tilting his head in that adorable way.
With that face, if I was harboring any anger, it would have already dissolved.
I narrow my eyes. “Only a little. I would have appreciated a heads-up.”
“But that would have ruined the surprise.”
“Hmm . . . surprise, huh? Well, give me the details. Does my promotion come with a raise?” I waggle my eyebrows at the possibility.
He keeps his smile in check when he replies. He’s the boss man right now, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love it a little. “Yes, I’ve suggested one with HR. You’ll work out the kinks with Beverly. Also, the excursion team will get a sizable budget increase.”
What! Under Todd, our budget was laughably small. There was no way to keep all our equipment up to date, and all our complaints fell on deaf ears. When we worked up the courage to bring it up with him, Todd would inevitably shoo us out of his office with a brush-off equivalent to Here’s five dollars . . . don’t spend it all at once, kid.
“Oh my god! We can upgrade our yoga mats and paddle boards. Oh! Oh, we can get better snorkeling gear!”
Cole’s smiling, watching me flail around. I can’t wait to tell everyone. They’ll be so excited. We’ll have to catalog and inventory our current gear and then create a system to figure out what we need to replace first. My heart skips a beat I’m so excited.
Oh dear.
Maybe I’m more like Cole than I thought. This much excitement over work?!
“We’ll celebrate tonight,” Cole tells me, his gaze holding a dangerous promise.
My stomach flutters, and I step closer. I can’t touch him, even though I’m dying to. We’re still up onstage, and while most everyone has already trickled out, it’s still not appropriate. We’ll have to save it for later.
Speaking of . . .
“I know just the way to celebrate. You should do a real excursion with me! Y’know . . . goat yoga, hot-coal walk, late-night forest trek. Your choice.” I wink.
He fights to hold back an eye roll. “As tempting as it sounds to exercise with hooved animals, I was thinking of something a little more private . . .” His leisurely gaze eats me up from head to toe. “Maybe like a personal, behind-the-scenes tour of your . . .” He leans in close and finishes his sentence by whispering a word into my ear.
“COLE!”
I playfully shove him back. My cheeks are on fire.
He doesn’t even look slightly contrite. Mostly just smoking hot. Ugh. The injustice of it all!
I recover from shock and decide to turn the tables a little. “Well, just so you know . . . that excursion can be a bit strenuous—are you sure you’re up for it? I wouldn’t want to be the cause of any more injuries.”
Cole’s whiteboard in the break room has officially been retired. I’d hate to have to bring it back out of storage.
“I think I’ll manage,” he says confidently, grasping my hand firmly so he can start to lead me toward the stairs.
“All right, well, before every excursion I like to make sure my guests are prepared physically,” I tell him. “There are no injuries I should know about?”
“None whatsoever,” he replies seriously.
“And equipment wise? What are you packing?” I look pointedly down at his crotch to emphasize my double entendre.
He barks out a laugh, and then—even though we’re still in plain sight of everyone—he leans down and presses a swoon-worthy kiss to my lips.
“What in the world am I going to do with you?” he asks as he pulls back.
I smile innocently up at him. “Oh . . . I don’t know. Love me for a lifetime?” I respond lightly.
His mischievous gaze says, All right, Paige. Game on.