“There’s going to be more dining options for the locals at the bottom of the tower, did you see that?” Mr. Filterton said. “That’s got to count for something. There’s no place in this town to get sushi,” he chuckled and leaned back in his chair.

  Lauren shook her head. Mr. Filterton had assured Baxter that the improvements to the plan would be appealing to their opponents. He was starting to realize that they had missed the mark. By a mile.

  Lauren stood up and leaned on her desk. “If this is your final version, you can be sure that the town and the conservancy will fight you every step of the way.”

  “Are you sure they want to do that?” Thomas crossed his ankle over his knee and draped his arms wide across the back of his chair. “That’s going to be an expensive process. I can see to that.” He added a cocky fingerpoint.

  “Are you saying that you are going to draw this out so whoever has the deepest pockets crosses the finish line first?”

  “I didn’t say that,” Thomas brushed some invisible lint off his lapel. “You did,” he smirked.

  Baxter noticed that when Lauren smiled, her eyes glinted. “If this is your final plan, it looks like the next time I’ll be seeing any of you, will be in court.”

  She had an air of confidence about her, a certainty that both unnerved, and turned him on at the same time. This lawyer had the potential to ruin his project, and the idea of facing her in court terrified him, but as he left the office that day, he found himself hoping that this fight ended up in the courtroom. Especially, if that meant he got to be in the same room with her again.

  Eight

  “Nice sweater,” Charlotte raised her eyebrows at Lauren as she stepped into the mezzanine of her house.

  “Thanks.” But Lauren couldn’t wait to get the damn thing off. The luxurious fabric felt dirty against her skin. She couldn’t accept a gift from the CEO of the company she was fighting against. “It’s actually really itchy. Do you mind if I change into one of yours?”

  Charlotte tilted her head quizzically but smiled. “Go ahead.” Even though they were grown women, Lauren did her fair share of raiding Charlotte’s closet.

  “Hi, Mom,” Tabitha yelled from the sofa, her nose buried in a book, as Lauren took the stairs two at a time.

  “Hi, sweetie.” The urge to get the sweater off her skin had grown in intensity. She had lied to Charlotte. It wasn’t itchy, but she swore that she could feel her skin starting to burn. By the time she reached her sister’s massive walk-in closet, the neckline felt like it had shrunk three sizes and was choking the life out of her. She ripped the sweater off over her head and threw it as far away from her as she could. It hit the wall and silently slipped into an emerald pile on the floor. Lauren opened a drawer and selected a t-shirt from her sister’s collection. She wanted something simple and plain against her skin. She pulled on the shirt and ran her hands over the cotton, smoothing the fabric down over her abs. She looked in the mirror and saw that her face was flushed as red as a tomato. She took a deep breath and then headed back down the sweeping staircase to the main floor.

  “You okay?” Charlotte asked.

  “Rough day,” Lauren replied.

  “Can you stay for dinner?” Charlotte asked. “Logan is bringing home pizza.”

  Lauren’s stomach growled and she realized that the only thing that she’d ingested all day was coffee.

  “Please…” Tabitha chimed in.

  “Okay,” Lauren said. Thankful that she didn’t have to go home and try to figure out what she could scrounge up from the cupboards.

  Lauren sat down on the sofa beside her daughter.

  “Wine?” Charlotte called out from the kitchen.

  “Sure,” Lauren replied and then turned her attention to her daughter. She rested her hand on her foot. “How was skiing?”

  “Good,” Tabitha said without looking up from her book. Lauren sighed; her feelings were slightly hurt that her daughter was more into her book than having a conversation with her mother. But Lauren knew that behavior was learned, and Lauren was guilty of spending a good portion of her daughter’s childhood with her own nose buried in her legal textbooks.

  Charlotte flicked on the gas fireplace and handed Lauren a glass of wine.

  “How did the meeting go?” Charlotte asked.

  “I knew that I was going to be disappointed, but I still held out some hope that those corporate jerks would come back with a proposal that fits within our parameters.”

  “That tower is ridiculous, isn’t it,” Charlotte said.

  “How pompous can you get?” Lauren said. She took a sip of her wine; Charlotte’s wine was always good, and tonight was no exception. “They took off a few stories, but that phallic symbol is still about ten stories too high.”

  Charlotte laughed. “Do you think that they will modify it again? You know, to make it less, um, phallic?” She shot her eyes to Tabitha, but she was engrossed in her book.

  “I hope so.” Lauren sipped again. “It would make my life a hell of a lot easier. The way it stands right now I’m going to be facing Caldwell’s lawyers in the courtroom. Their consultant, Thomas is a pompous asshole, and Barry Birkner, their lawyer, is not known for his integrity.”

  “Mom.” Tabitha looked up from over her book.

  “Oh, now I get your attention,” Lauren laughed and squeezed her daughter’s leg. “Pompous…”

  “You can say asshole.” Tabitha’s eyes were wide behind her glasses, a mischievous smirk on her face.

  Lauren raised her eyebrows. “You’ve been spending too much time with your auntie.”

  Tabitha giggled and went back to reading.

  “That Caldwell though, he’s not too hard to look at, is he?” Charlotte said, curling her feet up underneath her.

  Lauren sighed. “I guess not.”

  “You guess not?” Charlotte knit her brows. “He looks like a Calvin Klein model. You really have turned into a nun, haven’t you?”

  “He’s okay,” Lauren couldn’t stop the sides of her mouth from turning up.

  “Ha!” Charlotte pointed. “I knew it. You think he’s hot.”

  “It doesn’t matter if I think he’s hot or not. He’s the CEO of the company that I’m going to be in a battle royale with if they don’t smarten up.”

  “I haven’t seen your cheeks this pink – ever,” Charlotte teased. “Don’t let those blue eyes knock you off your game, Sis.”

  “Have you ever seen eyes that color?” Lauren asked.

  “What color?” Tabitha looked up from her book.

  “Ice blue,” Charlotte said.

  “Like mine?” Tabitha said.

  “Actually, just like yours,” Charlotte said. Lauren realized she was right and wondered if that’s why he seemed so familiar. His eyes weren’t those of someone she knew, they just resembled someone’s she already knew.

  “Was he arrogant to you?” Charlotte asked. “I thought that he was the most civil of the bunch.”

  “Me too,” Lauren agreed. “Actually, the weirdest thing happened. And before I tell you the story, I need to ask you a favor.”

  “What’s that?”

  They both turned their heads as the huge front door opened. “Pizza man!” Logan shouted.

  Tabitha jumped up and ran to greet her Uncle Logan with her book still in her hand.

  “Can I borrow four hundred dollars?” Lauren hated asking her sister for money, and it was something that she rarely had to do. Her sister had helped her through the lean times and had even let Tabitha and Lauren crash at her place until they got on their feet in Chance Rapids. “It’s only until my next check. I had an unexpected expense today.”

  “Of course,” Charlotte whispered. “I’ll grab some cash for you.”

  Charlotte was the kind of person who always had a stash of cash hidden somewhere in her house. “What was the sudden expense?”

  “That stupid sweater,” Lauren replied, her face burning.

  “You spent four hundred dollars on a sweater? That’s not like you,” she whispered.

  They met Logan and Tabitha in the kitchen. Logan had pulled some plates out of the cupboard and had already doled out slices of the thin crust Margherita pizza. Charlotte had a huge formal dining room, but like most nights, they pulled out the barstools and sat around the kitchen island laughing and eating their pizza.

  “Lauren,” Logan smiled. “I hear you took a little spill today.”

  All three of them turned to look at her. “Where did you hear that?” She had fallen down on Main Street in a small town. The gossip train was alive and well in Chance Rapids.

  Lauren wasn’t planning to tell the story about how she first met the Caldwell executives, but it seemed like that was no longer an option. She launched into the story about the girl grabbing her arm and the coffee flying. She didn’t know why, but she decided to leave out the impromptu shopping spree.

  “Are you alright?” Logan asked. “They need to put some more gravel down on those sidewalks if you ask me.”

  “Or people need to stop wearing their heels.” Charlotte grinned; her lips stained purple with wine.

  “It wasn’t too long ago that you were the one stomping around town in your Jimmy Choo’s,” Logan laughed. Lauren caught the glance between her sister and boyfriend; Logan had picked Charlotte up from the middle of the street after her own baby deer on ice heels moment.

  Lauren helped Charlotte rinse off the dishes. “Would you like another glass?” Charlotte raised the bottle. Lauren could’ve easily drunk another full bottle, but she shook her head no. “It’s a school day tomorrow.” She checked her watch. “We should actually get going.” She yelled to Tabitha, “Honey, gather up your things.”

  Logan had disappeared to watch hockey and while Tabitha packed her backpack, Charlotte charged upstairs and returned with an envelope in her hand. “Here you go,” she whispered.

  “Thanks.” Lauren tucked the envelope into her purse and pulled on her mittens. “I’ll get it back to you soon.”

  Tabitha headed out the front door and Lauren followed. When they were halfway down the pathway, Charlotte peeked her head out of the door. “Lala?” she whispered.

  Lauren stopped and turned. “Yeah?”

  “He bought you that sweater, didn’t he?”

  Lauren didn’t have to say anything, the itching and burning from earlier returned and she could feel her face blushing two shades darker than her sister’s lipstick.

  Charlotte laughed. “Scandalous. I love it,” she grinned and then winked before shutting the door.

  Lauren shook her head. She hated that her sister could read her like a book. She hopped into the car and started it up.

  “You’ve got a message.” Tabitha held up the phone.

  “Shoot, I guess I forgot my phone in the car.”

  She pulled off her glove and blew on her fingertips, the phone a cold brick in her hand. She swiped to read the message; it was the city area code from a number she didn’t recognize.

  It just said:

  “Dinner tomorrow?”

  The message was sent at 6:10, and another message had followed at 6:14, “Business dinner.”

  She smiled in spite of herself. With the fingertip of her glove between her teeth, she typed back, “Who is this?” She dropped the phone back into the cup holder and tried not to smirk.

  “What was that all about?” Tabitha asked, her eyebrows raised at her mom.

  “Business,” Lauren said and put the car in gear.

  Nine

  The light from the phone screen blasted him in the face: 5:10 a.m. Baxter sat up in bed and stretched. His body had become programmed to wake up before the sun, a habit that he had started years earlier and was convinced was the secret to his success. He dressed in his workout clothes and headed to the home gym on the first floor. He hadn’t slept well, he kept replaying the meetings in his mind, wishing that he had reined Thomas in a little better. His executive’s big city bulldozer attitude wasn’t going to fly in this small town.

  He stepped on the treadmill and checked his text messages. When there was nothing from Lauren Bunkman, he clicked on his workout playlist and turned the treadmill up faster. Inviting her to dinner had been a mistake, and Baxter wished that he could go back in time and stop his foolish self from pressing the send button. He turned the treadmill up even faster and as he scrolled through his workout playlist his phone chimed with an incoming text message.

  I am free for a coffee meeting at either 9 a.m. or 1 p.m.

  Very curt and to the point, he thought to himself, slightly relieved that she had replied, but disappointed by the coldness of her response. His heart rate monitor beeped, notifying him that his beats per minute were higher than it should be, but he chalked it up to the altitude, not the fact that Lauren had agreed to meet with him. He resisted the urge to message her back immediately, instead he cranked up his favorite Metallica song and ran a mile in a personal best time.

  After he showered and dressed, he found his team exactly where he knew they’d be, at the coffee machine. “Good morning,” he said. He set his briefcase down on the kitchen island and pulled a mug down from the cupboard.

  “Morning, sir,” Nicole smiled as she filled his mug with coffee.

  “Did you see the snow?” Thomas asked.

  Baxter glanced out the window. In the darkness of the early morning, he hadn’t noticed the quarter-sized flakes slowly falling from the sky. “Beautiful,” he murmured.

  “Ugh,” Barry said. “Can our next project be in the Caribbean? Or somewhere hot?”

  Baxter laughed. “I’ll see what I can do, but if this all goes through, you’re going to have to learn how to ski. We’re going to be here for a long time.”

  “About that,” Thomas said. “Do we need to talk about how we’re going to deal with the conservation authority and that lawyer?”

  “Yes.” Baxter sidled up the island and perched on one of the leather barstools. “I’m going to meet with her today actually.”

  “Good. That woman could singlehandedly derail this whole project,” Barry said.

  The fact wasn’t lost on Baxter. He knew the importance of getting somebody, anybody on their side. If they could get the Conservation Authority on board it could turn around the whole project.

  “I still think we can out lawyer them.” Thomas slurped his coffee. “Easily.”

  “That might be so,” Baxter said. “But, before we go in with guns a-blazing, let’s try to win them over.”

  “Fine,” Thomas shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

  Baxter knew that Thomas was right. This town wasn’t going to let them move forward without a fight.

  “Would you like me to attend the meeting and take notes?” Nicole asked. She was picking away at the top of a cranberry muffin.

  “Not today,” Baxter said quickly, then added. “I want to keep this casual, informal.” He pulled out his phone and responded to Lauren’s message. Nine a.m. works for me. Almost instantly his phone chimed back. See you at 9. Sugar Peaks Café.

  Was the woman a robot? No pleasantries at all. Baxter mirrored her tone. Affirmative.

  With the team ready and assembled for the day, Baxter paced across the living room. He had an hour until his meeting with Lauren and couldn’t focus on anything else. He pulled on his wool coat, a pair of rugged winter boots, and a wool hat. “I’m going for a walk,” he shouted into the dining room.

  “A walk?” Barry peeked his head out the door.

  “You guys take the SUV into town for the meeting with the townspeople. I need to get some air. I’ll walk.”

  Barry shook his head and laughed. “You crazy snow-loving bastard. You’re going to be a snowball by the time you get there.”

  Baxter laughed and waved Barry off with the back of his hand. “Report back this afternoon.”

  “Will do, boss.” Barry saluted and disappeared back into the room.

  The snow crunched under Baxter’s sturdy boots as he made his way past the other million-dollar homes. All of the roads had cutesy names, clearly selected by a developer’s marketing team. He chuckled as he passed Powder Puff Trail, and then Sugar Peaks Way. As he strode down the switchbacks of the mountain road, the snow continued to accumulate, and soon it was over the ankles of his boots. As the red covered bridge that separated the swanky subdivision from the main part of town appeared, he heard a car pull up behind him. He turned, expecting to see Barry’s crooked grin from behind the wheel, but the smile in the luxury vehicle belonged to the realtor that they had met with a few days earlier.

  She crept up beside him and rolled down the window. “Need a ride?” she smiled.

  “Thank you, but no, I’m enjoying the walk.” He smiled and kept walking.

  “Are you sure?” she asked. “It’s starting to snow pretty hard; I almost didn’t see you.”

  Baxter looked down and saw that his jacket was coated in snow.

  “The first thing you should add to your plan is a designated walking trail,” she shouted as she matched the SUV to his walking pace. “Hop in.” She stopped and Baxter realized she wasn’t going to let it go. He jogged around the front of the car and hopped in the passenger side. “Thanks,” he said. He brushed the snow off the arms of his jacket.

  “Look at your hat,” she laughed. He pulled off the green hat to find it crusted in an inch of snow. “If you’re trying to fit in with the locals, it’s not working. Nobody would walk into town in a blizzard like this.” She put the car in drive and flicked on the wipers.

  “You look like a snowman,” a voice said from the back.

  Baxter turned to see a young girl buckled into the back seat. She was wearing a hat with the biggest pompom he had ever seen and was holding a book in her hands.

  “That’s Tabitha,” Charlotte said. “And yes, you do resemble a snowman.”

  “Hi, Tabitha.” He turned to smile at the young girl. “My name is Baxter.”