This would be the third weekend in a row Nichs would spend with Charlie, and once again, he found himself excited about it.
He felt a little bad about taking Justin up on his offer to do a
retreat for all the employees. Maybe he should have said no and approached Charlie on his own. But he had the feeling both Justin and Brooke were doing this to y matchmaker. Who was he to stop them?
Nichs arrived at the cabins a few hours ahead of the TravTech group. He’d actuallye up the night before, spending Thursday night at his condo so he’d be rested and nearby when it was time to get started. But he’d been too anxious to just hang out at home, waiting for the team’s midafternoon arrival, so he’d headed to the clubhouse to pace the lobby area until the caterer arrived.
What he didn’t expect was that Charlie would show up ahead of everyone.
“You’re early,” she said as she stepped through the big doors that led into the building. No doubt she’d seen his car parked outside.
“Just waiting for the caterer.”
Charlie lifted her right hand, which clutched her smartphone, and looked at the screen. Yeah, he knew what she was thinking. The caterers weren’t scheduled to arrive for at least another hour. But she was nice enough not to speak those thoughts out loud.
“There’s water,” he said.
It was an absurd thing to say, but an awkwardness surrounded them. He wanted to find a way back to the ease they’d had before the wedding. Yes, it had still been a little awkward, mostly because he’d been on his best behavior so he didn’t scare her off, but now it felt like there was a barrier between them.
Charlie stared at him with a quizzical expression. “Someone dropped off water?”
He supposed his words hadn’t been very clear. He gestured to indicate the big area with couches, chairs, and a firece. She hadn’t seen it yet, so she would have no idea what he was referring to.
“It’s always there.” He cleared his throat, which sounded scratchy and hoarse all of a sudden. “It’s an amenity provided to the guests staying in the cabins. I’ll show you.”
He could have just pointed her in the general direction of the water cooler. That would free him up to stand here and continue his pacing. But he wanted to be near her, even with this awkwardness between them. Maybe if he spent enough time around her, he could break down that barrier.
“Wow,” she said as they entered the room.
With that word, he expected she’d be looking around the big room, admiring the firece and fancy furnishings. That’s what he had noticed right off the bat, anyway. It was fairly upscale for a rental cabin clubhouse. Instead, she was looking at the water cooler.
“It has fruit!” She looked over at him, eyes wide, a big smile on her face. Something about a giant ss container filled with water and fruit brought out her childlike glee.
He found himself falling even deeper in love with her.
It was strange, the way that worked. With all the time they’d spent together, seeing her reaction to fruity water was what made him realize he’d gone over the ledge. He’d fallen for her, despite his resolve to hold his feelings back until he was sure she felt the same.
“Do they cut fresh fruit for this every day?” she asked as she walked over to pour a cup of water for herself. At least he thought it was for herself. Instead, she set it aside and reached for another cup, filled it as well, then brought both over to hand him one.
“Thanks.”
He wasn’t really thirsty, but he was so touched by the gesture, he took a drink anyway. The fruit definitely made a difference in the taste. He wouldn’t exactly get excited about fruit-vored water, but he couldn’t help but feel a lift in his mood due to Charlie’s reaction.
“Thanks for arranging all this.” She took another sip and looked around. “I think the team will really love this ce.”
Nichs took a deep breath. Was this the time? They had a while before the caterer was scheduled to arrive. They’d be alone until then. But as he thought about it, he also considered that she might reject him. If that happened, not only would he be devastated, but he’d be stuck hanging out around her for the rest of the weekend.
No. He should wait untilter.
Shaking that off, he decided to go in a different direction entirely. “Tell me about your presentation.”
He headed over to the seating area, hoping she’d follow. She did. She didn’t quite follow him as far as he’d wanted, though, choosing the chair on the far side of the sofa rather than the chair next to him or, even better, the empty cushion beside him on the sofa.
“My presentation is on retirement,” Charlie said once she’d settled in her chair. “Boring, I know, but I did my best to make it fun. I’m focusing on all the things employees can do to retire as early as possible.”
Nichsughed. “If they all leave, you guys will be in a pinch.”
“When I say ‘early,’ I don’t mean this year. I’m talking about fifty or sixty instead of seventy or eighty.”
“I can see that.” Nichs set the drink on the table next to him before turning back to face her. “I hope to retire pretty early myself. That’s why I’m focusing more on property investments rather than buying businesses. Real estate appreciates.”
Although Charlie nodded along with what he was saying, Nichs worried that he was boring her. Nobody wanted to talk about investment property.
“I’ve been thinking about that myself.” Charlie shifted in her seat, repositioning the cup of water, which was clutched in her hands in the center of herp. “Not at your level, of course. Maybe a small vacation rental like the ones here. I could enjoy it when it’s not upied and make some money on it the rest of the time.”
Interesting. Just when Nichs thought he knew her, he learned something new.
“I can help you with that. I pursued it for a while, but decided it was too much workpared to buying upnd and owning properties that I just resaleter.”
Now she looked at him with an interested expression. Was it possible she was developing a new appreciation for him? Or was she just interested in learning about buying property?
“I assume you already have a retirement n set up,” he said after a long silence.
Her eyes narrowed and he immediately realized he’d made a mistake. “What makes you say that?”
The defensiveness in her tone had him skipping back, reviewing what he might have said to offend her. Could he redirect it somehow? The problem was, the longer he hesitated, the more time she’d have to start working up some anger.
“You just seem very organized, like the type of person who would make sure she was taken care of in the future.” He wasn’t sure if those words would help. Chances were they’d only make matters worse. “It’s one of the things I admire most about you.”
“Oh, yeah. I’m a nner. I’m organized. Ick all spontaneity. I seem to be reminded of that at every turn these days.”
Nichs’s eyes narrowed. “You say that as though it’s a bad thing. All of those qualities are positive.”
“All of those qualities make me sound like a total bore.”
She was anything but boring, but how did he tell her that? He wasn’t yet ready to bare his soul here, so it was tricky. There had to be a way he could make her realize how fascinating she was without confessing he was in love with her.
“Being interesting isn’t about being spontaneous. It’s about being able to hold a conversation and enjoy what’s happening now. You walked up those steps in San Francisco without fear. Even when you were exhausted, you kept going. Would someone who was a total bore do something like that?”
It was a stretch. Someone who was boring could do all kinds of things, he supposed. All he knew was that this particr woman was theplete opposite of boring to him.
“Do you think so?”Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org.
The look on her face told him that his words hadnded. Instead of that tense set of her jaw she’d had a couple of minutes earlier, her expression was rxed. She’d even sat back in her seat when, before, her posture had been stiff and upright.
“I know so.”
He wanted to say more but now wasn’t the time. As he struggled for a way to get the conversation on a more casual track, they heard a male voiceing from the direction of the entry.
“Hello, hello!”
Wait. He knew that voice. That was the voice of Justin.
“Justin and Brooke drove separately,” Charlie exined, likely noting Nichs’s frown. “They didn’t want to pack into the van with everyone else.”
“So much for trying to look like they’re not a couple,” Nichsmented, mostly to himself, as he stood and headed in the direction of the voice.
They didn’t have to walk all the way to the front door. Justin and Brooke came rushing in, and Brooke had a huge smile on her face. “You guys beat us here.”
Brooke said that as though they’d traveled here together, even though she knew otherwise. But that didn’t surprise Nichs. After all, Justin had been the one who had reached out to him about putting this weekend together, and from the first call, Nichs knew it was all aplicated matchmaking scheme. Nichs had been all too happy to go along with it, but he was no fool. He knew what was up here.
“No caterer still.” Charlie held up the mostly empty cup of water.
“There’s fruit water, though. It’s delicious.”
The fruit water didn’t impress Brooke nearly as much as it had Charlie. She nced over at it, then looked around. “Where can I set this down?”
Brooke was carrying an overstuffed tote bag. Charlie led her into the other room, leaving Nichs standing there with Justin.
“Thanks for arranging this, man,” Justin said. “This ce is dope.”
Dope. A word Nichs had never used. But Justin was always trying to fit in with the younger people moving into the Valley after college graduation.
“My friend gets all the credit for that. I just sent a few texts. Thanks foring up with the idea.”
Nichs didn’t know why he was thanking Justin. This was mostly for Justin’s own benefit and the benefit of his team. He was hoping to inject a little morale boost into his staff by bringing them all here. The mood had beengging since theyoffs, and the meeting in the conference room had briefly helped. If Nichs could work his magic again, maybe they could find a way to improve things permanently.
Doubtful, but Nichs was game for helping out.
He pped Justin’s upper arm and turned toward the room where the women had gone. “I know we don’t get to hang out as much as we used to, but I’m always here for you.”
“That’s going to change,” Justin said.
Nichs’s eyes widened. He hoped Justin wasn’t about to reveal the reason for that change was that things weren’t going to work out with Brooke. They certainly seemed happier than ever.
“I miss doing stuff.” Justin shrugged. “Let’s pick a night every week and get together for drinks or dinner, like the old days.”
“The old days as in, like, two months ago?” Nichsughed.
Justinughed, too. “Good point. Seems like a lifetime. So how about Wednesday nights? No excuses, unless we’re out of town for work. We’ll treat it like we would a client meeting-unchangeable.”
Nichs liked the sound of that. He knew how easy it was to bump casual get-togethers when even the smallest things happened. The noexcuses approach was the only way to go.
“Deal.” Nichs nodded.
They would have shaken on it, but there was a knock on the door behind Justin. The caterers had arrived.