Their Colorado Conquest [Spirit, Colorado 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Zara Chase

  “We’re planning to turn this into the most exclusive and, naturally, most expensive boutique hotel in or around Spirit,” Rex told her, bringing Josh’s attention back to the here and now.

  “How big is it?” she asked, pulling a pad from her bag and opening it to a fresh page.

  “We’ll give you a tour in a moment, but basically we have just twelve suites.”

  “That’s not many.”

  “Precisely the point,” Josh said, way too defensively for his own liking. “We want exclusivity.”

  “I understand that, but it could backfire if you get it wrong and you’ll finish up with empty rooms.”

  “That’s why we need your help with the opening,” Rex said. “It’s crucial.”

  “And it’s also why we’re installing state-of-the-art spa facilities where women, and men for that matter, can come to be pampered all day.”

  Ellie nodded, all business. “Makes sense. My job, I take it, is to get the place noticed. Make sure all the right people come to the gala opening?”

  “Right. Any ideas?”

  “A few. Let me have a look round the place first.” When Ellie stood up and bent to retrieve her bag, he and Rex automatically eyed her butt. No one said he couldn’t window-shop, did they? “I gather I’m to live in.” She glanced through the open door at the chaos over the rest of the ground floor, grimacing as she took in the horde of workmen and materials scattered everywhere. Josh couldn’t entirely blame her skepticism, approving that she’d come to work dressed in jeans and a thick sweatshirt rather than trying to impress. “Is anywhere safe?”

  Rex laughed. “I keep asking myself the same question.” He stood back and let Ellie precede him through the door, flashing a questioning glance at Josh behind her back. Josh merely shrugged. “Right, this way,” Rex said with a shrug of his own.

  Josh was surprised at the incisive questions Ellie asked as they toured the ground floor and conceded that she was, if nothing else, professional in her approach. Her doubts seemed to give way to cautious optimism as they moved to the upper floors and she saw the sumptuous suites, now almost complete.

  “The spa’s in this wing.”

  Josh opened the door, a feeling of calm satisfaction enveloping him as his gaze roved over the pristine space, sparkling clean and, more importantly, ready for use. The pool had swings suspended high above it for guests to lounge in comfort and watch the swimmers below them. There were treatment rooms, a sauna, Jacuzzi, an outdoor heated plunge pool, and every possible massage facility.

  “Cool,” Ellie said, nodding her head. “This thing might actually work.”

  Josh flashed a reluctant smile. “Don’t get too enthusiastic.”

  “It doesn’t matter what I think. My job is to engender enthusiasm in others,” she said, jotting more notes on her open pad.

  “Right, that’s about it.” Josh opened the door again. “Come on, we’ll show you home sweet home.”

  They took a staircase hidden behind a discreet door that led to the loft. Ellie stepped into it and gasped. The space was vast and sparsely furnished, but the view through the full-length windows looking directly onto the mountains was spectacular.

  “Wow!”

  Josh felt a sense of deep satisfaction. At last he’d impressed her, although why that mattered to him so much, he couldn’t have said.

  “Perhaps you should have put the best two suites up here and kept the basement for yourselves,” she said, but there was laughter in her eyes. He was relieved that she’d actually lightened up a little and relaxed himself as a result. Damn it, he hated not being in control.

  “Not a chance,” Josh said. “This is gonna be my headquarters, so I need space.”

  “And views,” Rex added, grinning. “Josh likes to look down on the town that once shunned him.”

  Josh flexed his jaw, expecting her to make some glib remark. To his surprise she flashed a guarded smile at him, like she understood. She couldn’t possibly, of course. Her father was some sort of media tycoon, and she’d never been looked down on in her entire life.

  “These are mine and Josh’s,” Rex said, pointing to two closed doors. “This is for you.”

  “I’m living in this apartment with you two?” Ellie frowned. “I don’t—”

  “Problem?” Josh asked, raising a brow in challenge.

  “Nope,” she said after a prolonged pause. “I guess not.”

  Josh opened the door to her room and watched her as she stepped into it and took in her surroundings. She clearly liked what she saw.

  “How long did you say this job would last?”

  All three of them laughed spontaneously, a great icebreaker.

  “Where are your bags, babe?” Rex asked. “I’ll bring them up for you.”

  “Green Mustang parked opposite the café,” she said, throwing him her keys.

  “A Mustang in a ski resort?” Josh asked.

  “It’s my one indulgence,” she said sheepishly. “And I didn’t know I was going to work up here.”

  Rex disappeared, and Josh and Ellie faced one another across the large bed, imbued in the stultifying silence he left in his wake. Her lips parted in a startled O and then firmed. She wouldn’t look at him after that but the tension was so thick he could have cut it with a knife. That was no way to go on. Ellie was mad about Annabel, naturally believed her friend’s version of events, and Josh admired her loyalty. But if they were going to work together then she ought to hear his side of the story, unlikely though it was that she’d believe him.

  “Just so that you know,” he said, enunciating each word slowly, “I didn’t propose to your friend, nor did I dump her.”

  “But she said—”

  “That we were gonna get married?” Ellie nodded. “Her idea, not mine. I never agreed to it.”

  “Just a minute. Are you trying to tell me that she proposed to you?”

  Josh nodded. “That’s about the size of it.”

  “But Annabel’s gorgeous.” Ellie frowned then shook her head several times. “Men are all over her. She doesn’t need to make the first move. Besides, she would have told me if that’s what she was planning.”

  “You don’t believe me?” Josh rolled his eyes. “Why am I not surprised?”

  “I—”

  “Why would I lie?”

  She shrugged. “Because you feel bad for dumping her, I guess.”

  “I didn’t dump her. I came back early from a trip down here and found her in bed with the producer of a television news network.”

  Ellie’s expression darkened. “No, I definitely don’t believe that! She wouldn’t. Don’t try to put the blame on her.”

  Josh scowled. “Unfortunately, she would, and she did. She pretended to love me but got in the sack with a guy she thought could get her out of print journalism and onto the box.” He moved toward her and cupped her chin in his hand. “How’s that for loyalty?”

  “It’s a pack of lies.”

  “It’s the goddam truth. And do you know what’s so ironic?” She shook her head, but Josh suspected it was a reflexive action. “She never did get that job and ruined her relationship with me in the bargain. Perhaps that’s why she’s so sore.”

  He released her chin and left her gaping after him as he left the room.

  Chapter Three

  “Thanks, Rex,” Ellie said when he returned with her bags and deposited them in her room.

  “No problem. I brought your car around and left it in our lot.” He threw the keys on the dresser. “I’ll leave you to unpack and get settled in. Anything you need?”

  “No, I’m good, thanks.”

  “Okay, come down when you’re ready and we’ll get to work.”

  “Will do.”

  “A quick word of advice,” he said, turning back from the open doorway. “Don’t jump to conclusions about Josh.”

  “I’m not jumping to anything,” she said huffily. “I’ve known Annabel for ten years, I know what she told me about her relation
ship with Josh, and I know he broke her heart. Annabel doesn’t tell lies.”

  “Neither does my buddy,” he said quietly, leaving the room and closing the door gently behind him.

  “Damn!”

  Ellie hadn’t meant to get on his wrong side. He seemed like a decent guy. She expelled a long sigh. This wasn’t going well, and she needed a moment to get her head round the outrageous accusations Josh Cooper had made about her best friend before she committed herself to staying. She probably had already committed herself, but it wasn’t too late to change her mind. Of all the despicable, unmanly, lame excuses for his crass behavior, trying to put the blame on Annabel! Ellie was so angry she felt ready to explode. How could she possibly work for a man who had about as much integrity as a rutting deer? No, boar, she reminded herself. Rutting boar was the right expression. She really had to stop playing the family game of screwing up similes, even inside her head—something she’d fallen into the habit of doing whenever she was angry or nervous. She was trying to make an impression here, not come across as a basket case.

  Rex was no better than Josh, she decided, revising her opinion about him being a decent bloke. He couldn’t possibly know all the facts, not like she did. Men didn’t share in that way. He’d simply thrown his weight behind his friend and probably thought that Annabel being broken-hearted was just another notch on Josh Cooper’s bedpost—nothing to get upset about.

  She flung herself full length on the bed as another thought occurred to her. Annabel didn’t know she’d taken this job. She’d been away on assignment when the offer came through and was only due back in Denver today. Ellie wondered if she knew of Josh’s connection to Spirit. Perhaps she could keep it from her and save her any additional pain?

  No, that wouldn’t work. Annabel wasn’t a reporter for nothing. Ellie’s dad, who was a news media mogul, had given Annabel her first job on his Denver paper. She’d made her mark and then moved on to New York, where she met Josh. She was bound to know all about his background, and as soon as Ellie mentioned she was in Spirit, she would join the dots. It would be better just to tell the truth and get it over with.

  Annabel had been deeply depressed by Josh’s desertion and still wasn’t back to her sparkling self. Moving from New York and taking a job on a leading Denver newspaper was, Ellie hoped, helping her to get back on track. The paper was owned by Ellie’s father’s corporation, and she wondered if Annabel had applied to her dad for help to get her position. Neither of them had mentioned it if she had. Besides, Annabel’s résumé spoke for itself. She probably didn’t need any help.

  Annabel tried to pretend that Josh’s behavior had nothing to do with her career change, but Ellie had always suspected that wasn’t true. Annabel had simply been trying to save face and stop Ellie worrying about her when she said she’d moved on from the Big Apple because she didn’t make the longed-for break into television.

  That thought brought Ellie up short. Josh had said he caught her with a television producer. It felt as though steam billowed from her ears when it occurred to her how clever he’d been. Of course he’d know about her career ambitions and had cleverly used that information to deflect blame from himself.

  Annabel did sometimes use her sexuality to get what she wanted, there was no denying that. It was an aspect of her character that they’d disagreed over several times. But she adored Josh and would never sleep with another man when she was engaged to him. And they were engaged, even though Josh pretended otherwise. Annabel didn’t actually have a ring before Josh got cold feet and dumped her. They had been due to go shopping for it when he returned from a trip—the same trip he tried to say he’d gotten back early from and found her in bed with another man.

  Ellie blew air through her lips. He was a real force of nature, and she hated him. She also thought he was sex on legs, and her pussy leaked every time she looked at him. But that was beside the point.

  Ellie rummaged in her bag, found her phone, and called Annabel’s cell. She needed to get this initial conversation over with before she lost her nerve.

  “Hey,” Annabel said, answering on the first ring. “How are you, babe? I was just thinking about you.”

  “I’m doing pretty good. How was the assignment?”

  “Good. Productive. Where are you?”

  “I’ve taken a temporary contract in a place called Spirit,” she said, aware of the waver in her voice and her gut roiling with nerves. “Do you know it?” A deafening silence greeted this statement. “Annabel, are you still there?”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I didn’t know until I got here.”

  Another long pause. “I assume you’re helping Josh and Rex put their lodge on the map.”

  “You know about that?”

  A mirthless chuckle echoed down the line. “I wouldn’t be much of a journalist if I didn’t have my finger on the pulse.”

  A sliver of doubt crept into Ellie’s mind. Annabel would have to be superwoman to know everything that happened in a large state like Colorado. She pushed aside her fleeting uncertainty, feeling disloyal for even allowing it to creep past her guard. Of course she’d keep track of the man who’d broken her heart, but that didn’t mean she’d moved to Denver simply to be near him. The thought was ridiculous. Annabel was beautiful, clever, and much in demand. She could have any man she set her heart on and didn’t need to stalk the only one stupid enough to have dumped her.

  Stalking? Where did that thought come from?

  “I didn’t know I’d be working for them,” Ellie said earnestly. “I was told a consortium owned the place, and since it was the only offer I received, I just took it. Say the word and I’ll walk away.”

  “No, don’t do that. Why should I care? It’s water under the bridge.”

  Ellie thought Annabel sounded a little too casual. “Well, if you’re sure. I hate Josh for what he did to you, but if I stay here, I’ll put my own feelings aside and do the very best job I can.” Ellie shrugged, even though Annabel couldn’t see the gesture. “I’m not capable of giving less than a hundred percent.”

  “I know that. Go for it, babe, don’t worry about me.”

  Ellie smiled with relief. In spite of everything, she was already brimming with ideas for the Lodge. “What did I ever do to deserve such a good friend as you?”

  “You’ve always been there for me when I’ve needed you, Ellie. Isn’t that enough?”

  “Well, now that I have your permission to proceed, I shall get the little gray cells whirling and come up with some off-the-wall plans to publicize the place.” Ellie chuckled. “Some of them just might take Mister Cooper out of his comfort zone, I’m afraid.”

  “What have you got in mind?” Annabel asked sharply.

  “I’ll tell you more when I get it off the ground. This is just day one, and I have to get a better handle on the place first. Now, how are you and Dan getting along?” Ellie asked, referring to the first man Annabel had gotten interested in since being dumped by the rat.

  “We’re doing fine. What did Josh say about me? I assume my name came up.”

  “Yes, but you don’t want to know.”

  “I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t,” Annabel said, an edge to her voice.

  “Okay, but don’t shoot the messenger. I know it’s not true, but he said you were never engaged and that he caught you with a TV producer.”

  “The bastard!”

  “My thoughts exactly.”

  “Did you tell him that I’m working in Denver now?”

  “No, why would I?”

  “Well don’t mention it, but keep me in the loop with your plans for the place. When you invite journalists to take a tour, which I assume you will, make sure I’m one of them.” Ellie felt another moment’s discomfort when she heard the determination in Annabel’s voice. It was almost as though she was plotting something. Where was she getting all these ridiculous ideas? Annabel wasn’t like that. “I shall prove how over Josh Cooper I am by giving an unbiased view of h
is lodge to my readers.”

  “You’re too kind for your own good.”

  “That’s me all over. Just be careful, Ellie. Don’t let Josh sweet-talk his way into your pants.”

  “Don’t be silly. This is strictly business.”

  “Seducing women is Josh Cooper’s business.”

  “He has no personal interest in me,” Ellie said, feeling guilty because of her earlier reaction to both men.

  “I don’t want you getting hurt the way he hurt me. I wouldn’t wish that sort of humiliation on anyone, especially not you.”

  Annabel feels humiliated? “Don’t give it another thought.”

  “Don’t say you haven’t been warned. I’m gonna be worried about you all the time now. Keep in touch.”

  “I will.”

  Ellie broke the connection, still feeling uneasy. Annabel hadn’t once tried to deny Josh’s accusations or give her own version. Was that natural? Well, of course it was! Annabel had moved on with her life. She dated Dan now and seemed to be really into him. Besides, she knew that if anyone was firmly in her corner, it was Ellie, and she didn’t have to convince her of her innocence.

  Relieved to have gotten the conversation out of the way, Ellie put her possessions neatly away and made her way back downstairs, ready to do battle with her new employers.

  * * * *

  “This place is cursed,” Josh said moodily when Rex re-joined him. “Of all the damned luck. Why did it have to be her?”

  “I don’t have any complaints,” Rex said, grinning.

  “Stop thinking with your dick for five minutes.”

  Rex affected surprise. “What, me? When do I ever?”

  Josh finally cracked a grin. “Only all the time.”

  “Well, you have to admit, she’s one cool babe.”

  “Yeah, but she’s Annabel’s closest friend. Can we trust her to do her best for us, or will she try to screw it up out of loyalty, spite, or whatever the hell motivates women when they think they’ve been wronged?”

  “What I don’t understand,” Rex said, answering Josh’s question with one of his own, “is why you insisted that she see the contract out? If you have doubts about her priorities, you should have just let her go.”