by Stacy Finz
“What’s that?” she asked.
“Seat warmer.” A few seconds later, she wiggled her butt and he asked, “Too much?”
“Are you kidding? It’s amazing.” Except now she was on fire.
But that was TJ for you. Everything had to be top of the line. She considered herself fortunate when the defroster in her Honda worked.
He grinned, the corners of his mouth creasing into almost dimples and, again, she felt a streak of heat rush through her and it sure as hell wasn’t the seat warmers.
Working for him was going to be a constant temptation. And an extra dose of humility.
“You read your employee handbook?” he asked.
“Yep.” She didn’t know why she did it, but she recited the section on the office-romance policy. Sex with a coworker wasn’t forbidden, but there were rules.
He slowly nodded. “We’ve had a lot of drama with guides dating and fighting on the job.”
“I remember how it was when I worked for you guys the summer after high school.” Every day had been like a soap opera, with guides hopping from one bed to another. She and Win had been as guilty as the others. TJ had spent that summer in San Francisco, working for a financial institution. She suspected he wouldn’t have tolerated all the histrionics. He was too mature and professional.
His smile faded. “While we’re on the topic, don’t let whatever is going on between you and Win get in the way of work, okay?”
“TJ, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there’s nothing going on with me and your brother.”
“Hey, it’s not my business,” he said, then, a little while later, contradicted himself by adding, “But you want something to be going on, right?”
She didn’t say anything at first because it was weird talking about her love life with him. “I don’t think so.” She left it at that. For a while now, she’d come to the realization that Win had become a convenient excuse for not moving on romantically when the real reason might be fear of failure. But she wasn’t about to share that with TJ, who never failed at anything.
“I suspect he’ll come around.”
She shifted in her chair. “Why do you say that?” The statement bothered her. It was as if TJ had suddenly become attentive to her for Win’s sake.
He cleared his throat. “I don’t know. Isn’t that what you guys do?”
She shook her head. It was what Win did, not her. The minute she showed an iota of disinterest in him, he came sniffing around. It was beyond old. “Let’s not talk about it.” No need parading her rejection in front of TJ.
She turned and took in his profile. His square jaw, his sharp cheekbones, his blue eyes. He could have any woman he wanted.
“What? Do I have something on me?”
She could feel her cheeks burn. “Nope, you’re good.”
He slanted her a look from the corner of his eye. “Then what are you staring at?”
“Nothing. How do you know this web designer?”
“I met her a few months ago, had her look at our existing site, and she came up with a bunch of ways to improve it, including adding an online store. Until now, we haven’t had one. I just stuck a few of Delaney’s pieces on the homepage. You know anything about SEO?” When she shook her head, he continued. “It stands for search engine optimization. Basically, it’s creating a big presence on the internet so that when someone plugs specific words—adventure, climbing, skiing, mountain biking, stuff like that—into a search engine, Garner Adventure is one of the first websites to pop up.”
“Do you have to pay for it?”
“Nope. That’s the beauty of it. By using certain techniques and strategies, you can get a load of free marketing on the World Wide Web.”
It sounded interesting to Deb, like something that would not only help the online store but could get GA more business in general.
“Do you shop online?” he asked her.
“Doesn’t everyone in Glory Junction?” They didn’t have a big shopping center with a lot of department and chain stores. The closest ones were in Reno.
“Say you’re searching for shoes.” He glanced down at her pumps. “What are the first sites that come up?”
“Zappos and Amazon.”
“Yep. That’s what we want to do with Garner Adventure. Someone is looking for rock climbing pants, bam, they get GA.”
She poked him in the shoulder with her finger. “You’re kind of a genius, aren’t you?”
He laughed. “Not even close. What did Felix say about you quitting?”
“He was mixed. Happy for me but sad for him. I’m a good waitress.”
“And you’ll be good at this, too.” He reached over and brushed her leg, leaving a warm imprint on her thigh, then slid her a look. “Did you tell Boden you’re not taking his bartending job?”
She was actually considering taking a few shifts a week to get a jump on paying off her debt but didn’t want TJ to think she was spreading herself too thin. “I just assumed he knew when I told him about getting the job at Garner Adventure.”
“I’m sure there are no shortage of people who’ll bartend.” He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.
“Probably not.”
TJ exited when he got to downtown Reno and navigated the city streets like he knew where he was going. He pulled into a pay lot.
“We’re across the street.” He pointed at a modern four-story building.
Deb had met a few web designers in her time. They’d worked from their homes, making her think this person must be a big deal.
The office had that ultramodern loft-thing going. Exposed brick and railroad tie beams. A guy in black skinny jeans and a hipster beard asked them if they wanted coffee and proceeded to make them espressos in a sleek machine, nicer than anything at the diner or even Tart Me Up. A few minutes later, a dead ringer for Amanda Seyfried floated into the room. She had on a mesh top and a black bra and a teeny, tiny black skirt.
“TJ,” she trilled and pushed her boobs against him for a hug while he held his minuscule espresso cup above her head, careful not to spill it.
“Good to see you, Jillian. This is Deborah Bennett, our new retail manager.”
“Hi, Deborah.” Jillian extended her hand but kept her eyes on TJ. It could’ve been Deb’s imagination, but she would’ve sworn Jillian licked her lips. “Come inside my office.”
They followed her into a room equally as modern as the rest of the space. TJ picked up a framed picture of Jillian in a bikini with her dog at the beach.
“Nice Lab.”
It was all Deb could do not to roll her eyes. Nice Lab, my ass.
“Thanks,” she said and flashed her Amanda Seyfried smile.
This must’ve been the reason for the jacket and tie, because from the look of the staff, TJ could’ve worn jeans and a sweatshirt. Or his underwear, like Jillian.
“I’ve got all kinds of good ideas for the site I want to show you,” she continued.
“Great.” TJ pulled out a chair for Deb and waited for Jillian to sit down before taking his own seat. “Show us what you got.”
She hit a remote control and a screen inched up from a metal console that looked like it came from one of those modern furniture stores like Design Within Reach. Then she tapped on her keyboard until GA’s homepage appeared on the screen. Deb attempted to pay attention, but she was distracted by trying to figure out if there was something going on between Jillian and TJ.
She assumed Jillian was exactly the kind of woman TJ was attracted to. From the looks of this place, Jillian was supersuccessful. Not to mention gorgeous, self-assured, and outgoing.
“I thought something like this,” Jillian said, showing GA’s homepage on the big screen. It looked amazing, with a video montage of the Garners in action. Gray parasailing, Win bombing down a slope on a snowboard, Colt riding white-water rapids with a boat full of people, and Josh conducting a cave tour at night.
Where was TJ? she wanted to ask. She’d seen him ski, mountain bik
e, and kayak and had always admired his skills. Athletically speaking, he was the most well-rounded of the Garner brothers. Pretty much outstanding at whatever he did.
“I like it,” TJ said, and turned to Deb.
“It’s fantastic.”
Jillian clicked on the About page. “I had one of our writers tune up your story a bit. People love family-owned businesses and I didn’t think your old site played that up enough. I do it here on the bio page, too.” She clicked over, and there were headshots of the whole Garner family with blurbs about each one of them. It didn’t hurt that they were an extremely good-looking family. “We’ll add Deb as soon as you get her photo taken.”
She continued to navigate through the site. Deb tried to remember what the old site looked like and couldn’t, which meant it wasn’t memorable. This one, however, she’d be loath to forget. It was one of the slickest, prettiest websites she’d ever seen. Jillian had used a lot of shots of the Sierra Nevada, including the ski resorts, Lake Paiute, and the Glory Junction River. You couldn’t get more picturesque than that.
“I thought we’d have a ‘fun stuff’ page where you could post pictures of your clients during their tours,” Jillian said. “You could change them out every month, which would keep customers and their friends and family returning to your site. Somewhere on the page we could post a list of upcoming deals or promotions.”
It was smart. Deb didn’t have to be a marketing genius to see how a crop of pictures of people having a wonderful time would act as an incentive.
“Yep, I like it.” TJ said.
“I’m so glad.” Jillian practically vaulted herself over the glass desk to touch TJ’s shoulder.
“Let’s see the retail store.” He seemed to be blind to her obvious crush. Either that or he was maintaining his professionalism for Deb’s sake. Or he wasn’t the ho his brother was.
“I think you’re going to love it.” Jillian went back to the homepage and clicked on the Store button.
The page looked like a vintage J. Peterman catalog, which was cool for J. Peterman but not for an athletic wear store. At least in Deb’s humble opinion. Instead of saying anything, she waited to hear TJ’s feedback.
“Isn’t it great?” Jillian said, her voice orgasmic.
“I like it.” TJ turned around and smiled at her.
“Uh, I don’t know,” Deb said, not able to curb her concern. To her, it looked incredibly dated and didn’t fit the image of Garner Adventure, which was . . . well, in your face. Extreme sports for the bold and adventurous. The sketches of Delaney’s clothes didn’t do them justice and looked kind of wimpy. “It doesn’t seem like GA’s image.”
“Why not?” TJ asked.
“You’re selling performance wear. GA’s consumers will want to see the gear in action.” She felt presumptuous saying it, but TJ was listening, looking at her intently, so she pushed on. “Maybe more videos or at least pictures of the guides wearing the clothes, instead of sketches. It just doesn’t work for the brand.”
“It absolutely does,” Jillian cut in. “Each garment, each piece of equipment tells a story. Put together, it’s an entire narrative.”
Deb started to disagree, but Jillian was adamant. “I’ve been doing this a long time and wouldn’t steer you wrong if I thought it wasn’t the best possible way to sell your merchandise.”
Deb couldn’t be certain, but TJ looked torn. She knew he wouldn’t have been if they were talking about ice climbing or parasailing or freestyle skiing. He was one of the best athletes in the extreme sports world . . . or at least he used to be.
“It’s different than anything else out there, that’s for sure,” he said, examining the page closer. “Hopefully, it’ll set Garner Adventure apart.”
Deb didn’t know diddley about marketing or selling adventure wear, so maybe she was wrong. Yet the little blurbs about each garment and the funny drawings weren’t anything that would suck her in and make her want to buy. But there was no sense arguing about it, especially in front of Jillian.
After two hours of her brazen flirting with TJ—she must’ve brushed up against him five times by Deb’s count—they finally left.
As they walked to his truck, she couldn’t help saying, “Jillian likes you.”
“Of course she does. Garner Adventure is paying her shitloads of money.”
Was the man that dense or was he delicately telling her to mind her own business? “Uh-uh. She wants to do you.”
He stopped short. “Where the hell did you come up with that?”
“Seriously? Are you joking? ‘Oh, TJ, I’m soooooo glad you liked the website.’ ‘Oh, TJ, can I have your babies?’”
He laughed, shook his head, and resumed walking.
Any man with a pulse could’ve seen through Jillian’s gushing and not-so-subtle touches. “You don’t think she was flirting with you?”
“I think she was being nice and accommodating because she wants our business.”
“Well, I think she was going to accommodate you right into the bedroom. You’re not interested?”
“No, and if I was, I wouldn’t share it with my employee.” He shot her a pointed look and opened the passenger door.
Okay, her cue to stop. “Fine, TJ, we won’t talk about it anymore. But she wants you.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” He opened her door and got in on his own side. “Did Jillian make you feel better about the online store?”
“You mean about the narrative?” She made finger-quote marks around narrative. Probably not smart to be sarcastic on her first day, yet she couldn’t help herself. “I don’t get it. but I’m probably not as sophisticated as the two of you.”
He gave her a steely glare. “I saw your point.”
Then why didn’t you have her change it? she wanted to ask. But from his body language—he’d gone all alpha, don’t-question-my-authority, which was oddly hot—she could tell he was done talking about the online store. Fine. He and Jillian had a lot more experience than she did. In fact, she’d felt like a fraud the entire time she was there.
“I want one of our freelance photographers to take you and Darcy’s pictures next week for the bio page,” he said and started the engine.
“Really? You don’t think it should just be family?”
He shook his head. “I want you in the picture.”
She knew he meant literally, not figuratively, but something in the way he said it made her heart leap . . . and her head remind her she was a fool.
* * *
The whole drive back, TJ kept sneaking looks at Deb. She was beautiful. Not glamorous like Jillian or porcelain perfect like Mandy, but she did it for him. Always had.
“You eat at the diner?” he asked.
“No, why? You hungry?”
“Starved. You mind if we stop on the way?”
“Not at all. I could eat, too.” She started digging through her purse.
“What are you doing?”
“Looking to see if I have any money. You cut up all my credit cards, remember?”
He tugged her purse away and put it on the floor by her feet. “It’s on the company, Deb. I don’t expect you to pay for your own food when you travel for GA.”
“We went to Reno. I hardly call that traveling.”
“Fine, pay for your own meal, then.” Jeez, it was a freaking dinner.
“Okay, if GA wants to buy my dinner, far be it from me to stop you,” she relented.
“Damned straight.” TJ pulled into the parking lot of a steak house. “This okay with you?”
She scanned the front of the restaurant. It was old school, with double glass doors and a neon sign with a big cowboy boot that said, “The Golden Spur.” “Looks great.”
They went inside and were seated at a booth. He checked his phone to make sure nothing had blown up at the office while he was gone.
“This place has a huge menu,” she said, perusing the sandwich page.
The server came and she got a bacon cheeseburger, s
hoestring potatoes, and iced tea. He went with the bleu cheeseburger, steak fries, and a vanilla shake.
“Let me ask you something,” she said when the waiter left. “Why wasn’t there any video of you on GA’s new website?”
He shrugged. “There probably wasn’t any good footage of me for Jillian to choose from.”
“Because Lord knows if there had been, she would’ve splattered it across the top of the page.” Deb’s lips curved up.
“We back to that?” He didn’t understand what her obsession with Jillian was. If he didn’t know better, he’d think she was jealous.
She put her elbows on the table, laced her hands together, and propped her chin on the top. “I think you should have some video shot of you extreme skiing and include it with the other clips.”
“Why’s that?” He took a drink of water.
“Because I’ve seen you shred a sheer line and it’s a thing of poetry. It’ll make excellent video.”
He felt a surge of pride at the compliment. “Thanks, but it’s not a vanity project. We’ve got footage of Win, and he’s the king of the mountain.”
“No, he’s not.” She shook her head. “Don’t get me wrong; Win is good. One of the best. But you’re better.”
He wasn’t; otherwise, he would’ve made it onto the U.S. Olympic team for freestyle skiing, not Win. It was a sore subject for him but nice of her to say just the same. “I think we’re good without it.”
“Just saying.”
Their food and drinks came and he picked up his burger and took a big bite. “Big plans for the weekend?” It wasn’t a particularly artful way to find out if she was seeing anyone besides waiting for Win to come around. By now, Boden could’ve asked her out.
“I’m working breakfast shifts at the Morning Glory Saturday and Sunday. Afterward, I’m going skiing. How about you?”
“I’ll probably ski, too. It should be good with all the fresh powder.” Usually, he spent his weekends working.
“You miss guiding tours?”
“Yep.” More than anyone knew.
She pointed one of her fries at him and popped it in her mouth. “I thought you loved being Mr. CEO.”
“Who said I didn’t? I’m just feeling a little restless these days.” She had a drop of ketchup at the corner of her mouth and he itched to wipe it off with his thumb. Or with his lips. Instead, he took another bite of his burger.
