Page 61 of Stuck on the Slopes

“What is this, some junk tabloid?”

“Yeah, but it’s all over Instagram and TikTok, too.”

“Huh. What’s a ski bunny?”

Mia winced. “It’s pretty sexist. I don’t like it.”

I raised a brow at her. “Just say it, Mia. I asked, so I won’t shoot the messenger.”

“It’s kind of like a hot chick who dresses like she’s ready to ski, but she actually would rather hang around the lodge and try to pick up guys. I’ve never heard someone say that in any context other than slut-shaming.”

I blew a raspberry and tucked some of my hair behind my ear. “Aw, man. And here I thought it was cute.”

“It’s a big part of why the old management had to sell the place. People stopped coming because you only ever came here if you were a serious skier or if you were looking to sleep with the instructors. One of them ended up sleeping with someone he shouldn’t, and it caused a huge scandal.”

Subconsciously, I fidgeted with my ring. “Why did no one tell me this before?”

“I think Juniper was hoping it could be left in the past. Also, I have no idea if he even paid attention to that.”

I sighed. “Yeah, that sounds like him.”

“You’re not gonna let the press talk about you like this, right?”

“What do you mean?”

Mia placed her hands on her hips. “Come on! You’re so much more than this, Rachel. You’re your own woman! Use those corporate politics you learned!”

“Ah, yeah. You’re right. Luckily, I have a media contact at Action 6. Let me shoot her an email and see if we can do some damage control here.”

“Can I help?” Before I could reply, Mia backed herself up. “You’re fantastic. I’m sure of it. But if you want someone to look over it who knows the local climate, I got your back.”

When she said local climate, I knew she didn’t just mean the weather.

The only downside to starting a new life was the feeling of not belonging. While it had taken a while to get Juniper to come around, he ultimately welcomed me with open arms. Even though it had been a bit of a feat in and of itself, earning his acceptance was the easy part compared to an entire community.

The folks in the village knew me by name. Sure, Nora knew whenever I’d swing by for fresh challah, but it wasn’t the same as living and breathing their culture—in this case, ski culture. I wasn’t one of them, a feeling I knew all too well growing up Jewish and being a woman who worked in corporate. I was an outsider. A Floridian in a snowstorm and the last time it snowed in Florida was a freak incident decades before I was ever born.

I couldn’t help but fidget with my ring, twisting it around my finger. “A second set of eyes couldn’t hurt. Come on, let’s go to my room and get something written up before it explodes in our faces.” I tucked the magazine under my arm as I led the way. “Do you think Juniper’s already seen?”

“How do you think I found out? My dad is talking him off a metaphorical ledge as we speak. Apparently, someone slid this under the front door this morning, and he saw it when he took Sasquatch out.”

That would be why he didn’t mention what “business” he needed help with. Juniper was trying to protect me.

“Fuck.”

“I swiped it off the table and bolted for you before they could notice. Juniper isn’t sure how to tell you or if he even should. He’s freaking out. Said something about not wanting you to have to suffer like he did.”

I frowned. “Poor guy’s been through so much that he always assumes the worst.”

“You don’t think you’re gonna get fired or anything, do you?”

“No, he wouldn’t.” As I unlocked the door to my suite, I remembered what Nora had said. “Guys like him are fiercely loyal. Even if the tabloids pull some shit, he wouldn’t.”

“Jesus, how are you not shitting a brick right now? I practically am for you!”

“This is business, baby.”

As I unplugged my laptop from its charger and grabbed it from the coffee table, Mia sat on the couch. I took the spot next to her and wasted no time opening up Google Docs, using an old press release template I’d saved from my old job as my knee bounced beneath my computer.

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