Off Season

by B. Allison Miller

  Once I left Slopes and regained my cool, I turned toward my office. I needed to work. There is always plenty to do at a busy resort.

  When I reached my office, I saw someone was sitting in my guest chair waiting for me. I couldn’t tell who it was until I walked through the door. That’s when I noticed it was my friend Anne Marie who works as a massage therapist at the Chalet. I’ve known Annie for a few years. She’s about my age and a lot of fun. We try to have a GNO (girl’s night out) once a month so that we can catch up and talk about things that aren’t directly related to working at the Chalet. We were past due for a GNO; maybe she was stopping by so that we could plan one.

  “Hi Annie,” I said to my friend as I entered the office.

  “Hey Mandy,” my friend replied. I often envied Annie because instead of the brown nondescript suits that I had to wear to work each day, Annie got to wear flowy white scrubs when she worked with her clients. She wore her long brown hair in a simple braided ponytail, and she wore comfortable shoes on her feet. On the other hand, Annie had to give massages to people nearly every day—touching their naked bodies—that part of the job was off-putting for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love a massage, I just don’t have what it takes to touch all of those bodies.

  “Did we have a meeting scheduled?” I asked, still a bit surprised that my friend was in my office. I’m always happy to see Annie, but we don’t usually hang out together at work.

  “No, we didn’t have a meeting scheduled,” replied Annie. “I just felt I needed to talk to you about something.”

  “Of course, what’s on your mind?” I replied as I took a seat across from my friend.

  “I may have a bit of a conflict of interest in my job this week,” said Annie in a low voice. I noticed that she had her hands tightly clasped in her lap.

  “Really? What do you mean? What kind of a conflict?”

  “This is about Crater McMurphy. I’ve met him before,” said Annie. Her face flushed noticeably.

  “And?” I could see that Annie looked nervous. She’s usually an upbeat woman and a consummate professional so I was concerned.

  “And it’s probably best that I don’t meet him again. I noticed that he is scheduled for an eighty-minute Swedish massage tomorrow, and I’m on the schedule. I hoped that we could call in one of the other therapists—preferably a male,” said Annie. Preferably a male the words rang like a warning in my ears.

  “Um, is there something I should know, Annie?” I asked cautiously. Annie wasn’t just a co-worker she was my friend, and I knew that Crater had a bad reputation. According to Tate, Crater McMurphy was a womanizer. I had to wonder if Crater’s womanizing was the reason for Annie’s concern.

  “It happened several years ago—before I worked for this resort. I worked for a private company that would send me out to do massages for clients,” Annie began. “It was a completely legitimate business—we didn’t do anything untoward.”

  “I remember. Your glowing references were why the Chalet’s owners wanted to hire you,” I replied.

  “Yes, only, my previous employer didn’t tell you the full story,” said Annie, swallowing, “I think she was trying to protect me.”

  I got up and shut the office door to create a safe space for Annie. I wasn’t sure what she intended to say, but I had a feeling it wasn’t something she wanted anyone else to overhear.

  “I was on an assignment several years ago. I was sent to work on a production site for one of Crater McMurphy’s adventure programs,” Annie stopped and took a deep breath. “I was still pretty young, just twenty-three, and for most of the shoot, I was the only woman on site. Mr. McMurphy was growing famous. I was really honored and excited to be given the opportunity.”

  I dreaded the next words that my friend would say. I felt the skin prickle at the back of my neck.

  “He has a very charismatic personality, Crater, and well, he lured me to his tent one night telling me that he was having muscle spasms. I went in to see if I could help him. The next thing I knew, he sweet-talked me into his camp bed.” Annie’s face turned scarlet with embarrassment.

  “Oh, Annie,” I replied imagining my friend’s mortification.

  “What we did was consensual, Mandy, but it was a very bad idea,” Annie whispered. “I guess I was a bit star-struck, and flattered by his attention. When I realized how stupid I’d been, I snuck out of Crater’s tent before everyone was awake. Anyway, the rest of the crew found out that I spent the night in Crater’s tent. I don’t know how they found out. I always thought that Crater told the crew about what happened between us. They were a good old boy’s kind of network. The next thing I knew, I had to fight off the advances of several of the crew. It was terrifying and embarrassing,” said Annie.

  “Oh, Annie, I’m so sorry that happened. Did Crater come to your defense? Did he tell the crew to leave you alone?” I asked horrified that my friend had gone through the experience. She must have been terrified.

  “No. He did not. Crater acted amused. I contacted my boss and told her I needed out of there, and she personally came to get me. She confronted Crater, and he flat out denied everything. It seems there is a Mrs. McMurphy who Crater rarely mentions, and he didn’t want her to find out about his indiscretions,” said Annie. “I swear I didn’t know he was married, Mandy. Not that it makes what I did okay.”

  “I believe you, Annie,” I said as I reached out and took my friend’s hand in mine. “And I’ll find a replacement therapist for Mr. McMurphy’s appointment. Does Crater know that you work here?” I asked. Crater knew that Tate worked at Silver Powder so it wasn’t completely unreasonable to think he might have tracked Annie down too.

  “Not that I am aware of.” Annie shook her head. “We haven’t spoken or been in contact since that day.”

  “Good, let’s keep it that way,” I said. “And for the record, another employee voiced concerns about Crater McMurphy too. I think it might be in our best interests to keep an eye out for each other this week. In the meantime, I’m going to talk to corporate about what they want us to do. Don’t worry, I won’t tell them about you. I’ll just tell them that I have concerns.”

  “Thanks, Mandy,” said Annie. “I was just so embarrassed by the whole thing. Honestly, it’s been years since the incident so I doubt Crater would even remember me. And maybe he’s changed. I just find the whole thing so humiliating, and I would hate it if Paolo found out.”

  “You never told Paolo?” I asked. Paolo is Annie’s husband. He’s a great guy, but he is very protective of Annie. They’ve been married three years, and Paolo is the Executive Chef at the resort as well as a friend of mine.

  “I haven’t told him,” confessed Annie. “I don’t know if I should. I know he was excited to meet Crater, Paolo is a big fan, but I don’t want to get stuck in the middle. I don’t know how Paolo will react if I tell him what happened with Crater.”

  “That would be a tough position, but only you can decide what to do. Don’t worry, I won’t say anything to Paolo, Annie,” I replied. “Are you okay?”

  Annie nodded, “Yes.”

  “Hey, changing the subject a bit. We haven’t had a girl’s night out in a while. What do you think?”

  “You’re right, we haven’t, and actually, I could really use a break. Do you have plans tomorrow night? I know it’s kind of last-minute, but Paolo will be working at the restaurant.”

  “Friday night. I’m free. Imagine that,” I laughed. “I don’t know who else will be free at the last minute, but I’ll call around and see if anyone wants to meet us. Why don’t we get a ride-share and go to Rascal’s at nine?”

  “Oh, Rascal’s, huh?” Annie winked at me. Rascal’s is a modern nightclub not far from the village. To be honest, Rascal’s is a bit of a meat market, but it’s the only local club that features live rock music, and I was in the mood for something other than country music.

  I shrugged. “I’m not going to meet anyone, Annie, I just want to listen to some good music and hang ou
t with my gals.” My tone must have been a bit defensive, because Annie tilted her head and said, “Whatever you say, Mandy.”

  I shook my head.

  “I should get back to the spa.”

  “I’ll see what I can do about finding a backup therapist,” I said as Annie stood to leave. I walked with her to the door, “I’ll call you later.”

  “Thanks for understanding,” Annie opened my door and walked from my office.

  Right! I needed to find a substitute massage therapist ASAP. I also needed to call my bosses and voice my concerns about Crater McMurphy.

  THREE

  “When someone shows you who they are believe them; the first time” – Maya Angelou

  I AM SURPRISED ON FRIDAY morning to see Tate walking through the small lobby of the Chalet and headed towards my office. I was about to head to the spa to see Annie and then to the staffroom for a sales meeting when we ran into each other. Well, I didn’t actually run into Tate, but I met him in the hallway.

  “Are you looking for me?” I asked feeling a bit hopeful. Talking to Tate had to be more enjoyable than attending the monthly sales meeting.

  “Yes, I am,” said Tate with a cautious smile.

  “What’s up?”

  Tate’s face looked a bit flustered, but then he spoke, “Crater McMurphy tracked me down yesterday.”

  Doh! I should have told Tate that Crater asked about him. “I forgot to tell you. I met him at Slopes yesterday afternoon, and he mentioned that he knew you. It took me completely off-guard.”

  “Me too. I ran into him outside of Slopes when I left last night. I’m not sure how he tracked me down,” replied Tate. “Anyway, it sounds like a few guys from our old unit are staying in the village this weekend. Crater asked me to go camping with them tonight.”

  “What did you say?” Surely, based on what he’d already told me, Tate had said ‘no’ to the invitation.

  “I said I’d go. It’s just for tonight, and I wouldn’t mind seeing the other guys.”

  “What about Skye? When does she arrive?” I asked remembering that he planned to spend the weekend with his daughter, and the three of us would spend some time together having lunch and skateboarding.

  “She won’t be here until tomorrow afternoon. Her mother will be dropping her off here in the lobby. I hope that’s okay. I’ll be here to meet them,” said Tate.

  “Of course, it’s okay,” I replied. So, I would get to see the evil Shannon in person, I thought. I wondered if Tate knew how curious the female Chalet staff was about his ex. I knew I wasn’t the only one to notice the man. “Are you sure that hanging out with Crater, even for one night, is a good idea?”

  “Actually, yes. I can keep an eye on him while spending time with a couple of old friends. Maybe I can keep the guys out of trouble.”

  I shrugged. “If you say so.” Keeping Crater inline wasn’t Tate’s responsibility, but that’s just the kind of guy he is. I hoped that he wouldn’t regret his decision.

  “I told Skye you were going to help her with the skateboard this weekend. She was thrilled. She really admires you, Mandy,” Tate smiled widely.

  We hadn’t yet set a time to meet, and I had Sunday off. I knew Tate had the entire weekend off to spend it with his daughter. “I have Sunday off; maybe we could meet in the afternoon,” I offered.

  “That sounds great. How about we meet at that new burger joint in town, and have lunch first?” Tate offered, smiling. Was this going to be a date? Do dates include children? I wasn’t sure. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to date Tate. The truth is, he’s a great guy, but I wasn’t certain that dating him was a good idea. My heart pounded a bit with anxiousness. A date with Tate? Well, now my brain is filled with pointless rhymes about Tate. Tate/Date, Tate/Fate, Tate/Great... yes, you get the idea. My stomach clenched nervously.

  “Okay. How about we meet there at noon?” I asked. This was not a date! I reminded myself. I couldn’t date Tate. He was my employee and he had a mysterious ex, and I didn’t know if they were divorced. No, I cannot date Tate.

  “That sounds good,” he replied.

  We said goodbye and looked at my watch. I had a few spare minutes to check in with Annie before I had to attend my meeting.

  I HEADED INTO THE SPA. It was quiet inside, and the air had a clean, crisp eucalyptus scent to it. Appointments were usually scheduled from 9 in the morning until 8 at night, and it was still too early for the first appointment. I headed into the staff room and found Annie preparing pitchers of cucumber water for the guests.

  “Hi Annie,” I said as I walked into the room.

  “Hi, Mandy. Thanks for calling Roger to fill in for me today. I am going to be working in the back while Crater is here, and we have a lot of appointments today so Roger should be plenty busy. I didn’t tell Roger that I was avoiding Crater. I just told him that we have a full schedule and we can use an extra set of hands—which is true.”

  “That’s good,” I replied. I leaned against the counter. “I’m glad Roger could fill in for you.”

  “Hey,” said Annie as she glanced around to make sure we were alone, “I spoke to Paolo last night about what happened with me and Crater. I started thinking about the conversation I had with you, and I decided it was about time that Paolo knew the truth. We’ve always been honest with each other, and I decided it was wrong to keep that secret from him.”

  “How did Paolo take it?” I asked. I wasn’t sure that I would tell Paolo if I were in Annie’s position. Yes, honesty is a good policy, but she’d waited years to tell Paolo, and I wondered how he felt.

  “I think he understood. He was angry that Crater treated me so badly, of course, but he wasn’t angry with me,” said Annie.

  “Of course, he wasn’t,” I replied. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Crater took advantage of you and put you in danger.”

  “Well, what I did wasn’t ethical, Mandy. I learned my lesson, and now I can move on,” said Annie.

  “I know,” I replied. “You seem to be relieved.” Annie didn’t seem upset like she had the previous day.

  “I am. I never realized what a burden it was carrying that secret around all of those years until I spoke to you. That’s why I knew I had to tell Paolo.”

  “I’m glad you can finally put it behind you,” I replied.

  “Great, what are your plans this weekend?” Annie started folding towels.

  “Tate has his daughter Skye this weekend, and he asked me to help her learn to ride her new skateboard. We’re going to meet up in town on Sunday afternoon and have lunch first,” I replied trying to hide my smile.

  “Really?” That sounds cozy.” Annie knows that I am attracted to Tate, and she also knows that I haven’t pursued anything more than friendship with him. I do date on occasion—okay, those occasions are rare—I am the queen of first dates, all right? It’s difficult. I work in a job where practically everyone I meet is either my guest or my co-worker. When I meet guys when I’m not at the resort there’s always a 50/50 chance that they will recognize me as Mandy Swift, a former professional snowboarder. When guys recognize me, there’s a pretty good chance that things are going to get weird, and frankly, I am not into weird. You wouldn’t believe the things some guys think about female athletes—the things they dare to ask us can be mind-boggling. Men: If you ask me out, no, I am not going to treat you like my snowboard. Why can’t I just have a fun meet-cute with a nice man who knows nothing about my past?

  I laughed, “Tate is a great guy, but I’m not sure I’d label what we are doing as cozy. His eight-year-old daughter will be with us. In fact, she’s the reason we will be hanging out.”

  “True, but you can’t fool me, Mandy. I can tell you like Tate.”

  “I do like Tate, but the whole thing sounds so complicated. We work together, he has a little kid, and I’m not even sure what his relationship status is with Skye’s mom. Are they separated? Are they divorced? I don’t know. That’s a lot to take in for a woman like me who has been living on her
own forever,” I replied. “I think not dating is easier than dating.”

  “You’re scared? I can’t believe the woman who used to perform nine-hundred airs is afraid of getting involved with a great man with a cute little kid,” Annie grinned.

  “It’s a totally different thing. Catching air is thrilling,” I said.

  “Being involved with the right man can be thrilling too. Anyway, when was the last time you had a boyfriend? It’s been a while,” said Annie with a wink. “I wouldn’t write off Tate just yet.”

  It has been a while, indeed, maybe fourteen months. But who’s counting?

  “Anyway, I should start getting set up for our first appointments. Maybe we can chat more at Rascal’s tonight. We have a lot to catch up on. You can tell me all about your plans with Tate.”

  “Okay,” I looked at my watch for an excuse to end the uncomfortable conversation. It was nearly nine o’clock, “That’s my cue to go. I have a sales meeting to attend. Have a good day.”

  I walked out of the spa, and down the hallway towards the staffroom. That’s when I nearly plowed into Crater McMurphy and his entourage in the hallway outside of the spa.

  “Good morning, Mandy,” said Crater in a croaky early morning voice as he grabbed my biceps with his giant hands to prevent our impending collision. His strong grip unnerved me. I could see how a guy like Crater McMurphy could be intimidating to a woman or to a man, for that matter.

  “Excuse me,” I apologized before I realized it was Crater.

  “In a hurry? You’re about as strong as the water buffalo we met in China,” Crater said with a chuckle. He continued holding my arms. He was close enough to me that I could smell his aftershave and feel the heat radiating off his body.

  “No, sorry, I’m just on my way to a meeting. I didn’t realize anyone else was in the hallway,” I explained.

  “No worries,” said Crater. “My friends and I just had breakfast at the kitschy little diner in town, and I’m scheduled for a massage in a few minutes. Mind if my friends check out the grounds while they wait?”