Page 19 of Practically Perfect Together

The drive to the lodge gives me time to gather my composure, to remind myself of the reality. Jameson is charming, spontaneous, rooted in this mountain community. I'm structured, career-focused, with opportunities that could take me away from here. We're from different worlds. What feels magical in this mountain setting would wither under the fluorescent lights of corporate reality.

The main office is quiet when I arrive, most of the staff busy with afternoon activities. I expect to drop off the final Bennett retreat files and leave, but voices drift from Liam's office. They are tense, controlled, but unmistakably heated.

"The numbers don't lie, Liam." Lauren's voice is steady but strained. "If we reallocate some of the marketing budget toward the east wing renovations?—"

"My marketing budget is already bare bones," Liam interrupts. "We've been over this. Find another solution."

I hesitate in the doorway, not wanting to intrude on what's clearly a private discussion. But Lauren spots me over Liam's shoulder and offers a tight smile.

"Savannah. Sorry, I didn't see you there."

Liam turns, running a hand through his hair. It’s a gesture so similar to Jameson's it startles me. "Savannah. Did you need something?"

"I’m dropping off the finalized Bennett files." I hold up the folder, feeling awkward. "I can come back later."

"No need." Lauren steps toward me, putting professional distance between herself and Liam. "We were just discussing budget allocations."

"Arguing about them, you mean," Liam mutters.

Lauren's jaw tightens. "I'm making recommendations based on financial data, which is literally my job."

"And I'm telling you it won't work," Liam counters. "Cutting marketing when we're trying to expand our corporate retreat business makes no sense."

"There are other options?—"

"Which you keep dismissing."

Their back-and-forth has the rhythmic quality of an argument that's been rehearsed many times, with undercurrents I can't quite decipher.

"I know how to do my job, Liam," Lauren says, her voice low but resolute.

"Yeah, well, I know how you leave things unfinished." The words cut through the room, sharp and clearly loaded with meaning beyond budget spreadsheets.

I watch a flicker of hurt cross Lauren's face before her expression smooths into professional blankness. The transformation is so quick, so practiced, that I recognize it instantly. It's the same mask I've perfected for difficult clients, for moments when showing vulnerability isn't an option.

"I'll email you the revised projections," she says, her voice carefully neutral as she gathers papers from Liam's desk. She hands him a folder with precise movements, maintaining inches of careful space between them. "The quarterly summary is on top."

She turns to me with a polite smile that doesn't reach her eyes. "Congratulations on finalizing the Bennett retreat. It's a big win for the lodge."

"Thank you," I reply, unsure what else to say in the crackling tension of the room.

Lauren slips past me with a nod, her shoulders straight, her steps measured until she disappears down the hallway.

I'm left standing awkwardly in the doorway, looking at Liam, who seems to have momentarily forgotten my presence. He stares down at the folder Lauren handed him, not opening it.

"Okay, what was that?" The question escapes before I can think better of it.

Liam's head snaps up, as if surprised to find me still there. "Budget disagreement," he says curtly, though we both know it was much more.

"Seemed personal." I step into the office, setting my files on his desk.

"Everything's personal when you've known someone half your life," he mutters, shoving the folder into a drawer without looking at it.

I think of my own half-finished relationships, connections I'd abandoned when they threatened to interfere with my career trajectory. The potential Denver move hovers in my mind—another opportunity to leave before things get too real.

"History has a way of complicating things," I say, more to myself than to him.

"History should stay in the past where it belongs." He stands abruptly. "Was there anything else you needed? I have a supplier meeting in town."

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