More Than One Night. Heatherly Bell

stared at her.

      “Okay, never...never mind.”

      “That’s probably best.” He grinned.

      Oh boy.

      After she’d paid for the purchase of three different kinds of rope with her business card, Sam offered her the keys. “Sorry. I get a little pushy sometimes.”

      “That’s okay,” she said reflexively even though it hadn’t been. “At least you apologized.”

      “You’re not used to apologies?”

      “Let’s say it’s not the norm.” She started up the car. “I dated men who weren’t into apologizing. Because mainly, according to them, they were never wrong.”

      He snorted. “Sounds like you dated the wrong kind of men.”

      She was close to asking him if there was a right kind of man, but decided it was a subject best not approached by a boss with her employee and one-night stand. She’d started to redefine her perfect man recently, and while Sam had the looks going for him, and he excelled at the physical part, he didn’t have much else on her list. Sure, it was an evolving list and as Carly continually reminded her, she’d likely never get everything on it.

      “Gotta ask you,” Sam said. “The guys and I were all wondering. Why an extreme adventures park?”

      “Well, it was either that or a B and B.”

      While that wasn’t exactly true, it was the simplest answer to give him. The real answer was far more complicated. It partly involved her desire to help veterans find work and feel needed again, and Sam might take that the wrong way. She drove toward the ridge, taking it much slower than Sam had to make a point. Or maybe to spend a little more time with him and possibly get in another nugget about him. Either way.

      “Those two things are nothing alike.”

      “Yes, thanks for noticing. I’d have had a much easier time with a B and B.”

      “Again. Why?”

      “Have you ever watched the Olympics?”

      “Yep. Downhill skiing.”

      “For me it was the ice-skating. The amazing control. Not just all the balance and strength but incredible grace. I’m in awe of someone who has mastered control over their physical body to that extent.” She glanced at him. “In some small way, I wanted to be a part of that. Challenging the body to much more than you ever believed possible.”

      He seemed satisfied with that answer because he nodded.

      “And also, it was a really good idea by the way. It was one of the easiest pitches to investors that I’ve ever done. There’s nothing like it in our area. We expect that we can be fully profitable in a year.”

      “One more thing,” he said, turning to her with a half smile. “Ever heard of delegating?”

      Oh snap. “Delegating? Of course.”

      “You’re the CEO of this company and you didn’t have to run this errand.”

      He was right, wasn’t he? But she was not exactly a typical CEO, either. “I like to have my hands in everything.”

      While that sounded a little sexual, surely he could see she didn’t mean it that way.

      “I like to have control. I want to know what’s happening at all times,” she said.

      “Got it.”

      She turned onto Hill Road, the road that would take them all the way to the top of the ridge. “Is that bad?”

      Of course it wasn’t. She knew that and she didn’t need his vote of confidence. It’s just that lately she did feel a tad overwhelmed. She was one person and couldn’t do everything. Not forever. But eventually this would get easier, right?

      “Not at all.” He braced his elbow on the frame of the window. “Where I come from, it’s vitally important that someone always be in charge. Got frequently reminded of this by my CO in my early days. Otherwise you have a bunch of soldiers making different decisions and the mission isn’t achieved.”

      “Right.”

      She breathed a sigh of relief. This was simply confirmation that she wasn’t anal or too controlling. She just cared about her mission.

      “But here’s the thing. Delegating is still done if you’re a CO. Or, you know, a CEO.”

      “I see where you’re going with this.”

      It wasn’t like her friends hadn’t been after her for some time that she shouldn’t make the job everything. But often, running this company didn’t feel like work. When it came to spreadsheets, yeah, that was work. Seeing everything come together the way it had recently had become thrilling and addictive. Sometimes she couldn’t shut off the ideas in her head, coming to her late at night when she should be sleeping.

      Also, she didn’t have a boyfriend to help occupy her time. There was that.

      “Sam? Can I ask whether you’d take a leadership role here?”

      He snorted. “Hey, I’m getting promoted already?”

      “No. It’s sort of off-the-books right now.”

      Besides, she’d noticed he was already leading. It seemed easy for him. Might as well let him know she appreciated it.

      “Might want to ask one of the other guys, too. Not sure how long I’ll be sticking around.”

      She hadn’t thought of this being a temporary stop for Sam, but what did she really know about him?

      “But for now,” Sam said. “I’ll keep these bozos in line. You can count on me.”