Page 28 of Camping with the Boss

“Sure.” I shrug. “Why wouldn’t I be?” His frown tells me he doesn’t believe me. How much did he hear? He doesn’t call me on my obvious lie. Instead, he squeezes my arm right above my elbow and lets go. I expect him to move away. He’ll be starting the meeting soon. But his gray eyes remain on my face. Intense.Not angry or accusative. Concerned. The tightness in my chest eases and I can breathe. “I’m fine.”

A slight smile touches his lips. He doesn’t say anything, and I catalog his features even while actively trying not to. A strong jaw, clean shaven. The stubble I remember from last night is gone. My eyes dart to his lips and back up, and his breath catches. I blink and turn away. What am I doing? His employees are all here. In this room. Keep it together, Canyon.

“It’s time to get started.” But his fingers brush the back of my arm like a promise, igniting sparks that make me feel alive.

I return to my seat with Ander and Jared. Both of them speak to me but not to each other. I can’t focus on the tension at our table because Al’s words are replaying over and over in my head. I realize I missed part of Wade’s introductory speech when I hear my name.

“Canyon is going to tell us how this week will go.”

I’m as prepared as I can be, considering I didn’t plan any of this. I explain the schedule to them. “After breakfast, Wade—” I cough. “Mr. Darian will start the morning activities, breaking you into groups based on current projects you’re working on so you can brainstorm ideas to work through issues. Then, I will have morning team-building activities. Then lunch and afternoon activities. These will focus on diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Late afternoon will be free time, and then dinner. In the evenings, we have some fun activities planned. For those interested, you can get up early and fish before breakfast. The camp has all the equipment you’ll need and we have bait available.”

“Are you going to teach us how to fish?” Al asks.

I really am not a fan of this guy. “I’ll be available. I’ll even bait your hook if you want.”

“Uh…no thanks. I think I can handle it.”

I’m definitely going to remember that when he can’t get a worm to stay on. Sure, he might have fished before, but he doesn’t look like someone who wants to put effort into anything.

“What about canoeing?”

My mouth goes dry and I struggle to draw in a breath. I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. I give Wade a helpless look. He’s by my side in an instant.

“You can canoe if you’d like and life jackets are available to use. You can also swim, but be aware that we don’t have a lifeguard. Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Are we going to roast marshmallows?” Jet asks.

“Oh, s’mores!” Dillian and Jet fist bump.

“We’ll see,” Wade says.

“Come on, Dad.” Everyone laughs at Owen’s joke.

“This retreat will be a lot of work, but it can also be a lot of fun. So let’s all be respectful and do our best.”

I don’t laugh at his cheesy closing remarks, but breathing is easier. As everyone mills around, grabbing one last cup of coffee or a cheese Danish, Jet hands out bags for everyone who doesn’t already have one. I thought Jet was in IT, but now I’m not sure. Is he one of Wade’s assistants?

“Did you get a bag?” Wade asks, shuffling his feet in a very unWade-like way.

“You gave one to me yesterday.” I hold the bright-yellow bag up.

“Right.” He shakes his head. “Are you ready for all this?”

“Are you?”

“Not like we have much of a choice.”

Tuesday, June 10th, 10:30 a.m.

River had put goal-setting at the beginning of the retreat, but I didn’t feel comfortable doing that since I just found out that Darian Enterprises is a digital consulting firm. I still don’t know exactly what that is. Wade agreed it would work better for him to take over that part. Wade separates his managers into three groups to set goals and then work on brainstorming issues. Legal and HR. Finance and Marketing. IT and the managers over the support staff.

I use my free time wisely, not staring at Wade and remembering how his body felt against mine. No, I’m productive as I review the materials River put together for the retreat. There are a few activities I’m not a fan of.

Nobody likes trust falls. I might push that one to later in the week.

The first activity involves notecards, and it’s clever. If I’d focused more on the activity and less on how well Wade fills out his cargo shorts and short-sleeve button-down—seriously, the man makes camping look hot—maybe I’d have realized why this activity is a bad idea. Or at least I would’ve moved it indoors. My only excuse is the patch of hair peeking out from the collar on Wade’s shirt.

But I forge ahead with my activity. After introducing myself, again, I hand out notecards and Sharpies and have each person write the letters of their names. One letter for each card. “This is like a giant crossword puzzle,” I say, “or Scrabble. Do we have any Scrabble players?” Carol from HR raises her hand and so does Sheila from marketing.

---