Page 7 of Camping with the Boss

“Seriously?”

He glares at me like he knows what I’m thinking. He probably does. “What?”

Is he really going to make me say it? “Canyon and River? Do your parents hate you?”

His expression flattens out. “My parents are dead.”

Right. Fuck. I knew that—or I did at one time. It sounds vaguely familiar. “Listen, Canyon. I need your brother back here, now. I can’t do this retreat without him.” I’m not used to people challenging me, and that spurs me on. “So, get his happy ass on the phone and tell him if he’s not at the campsite by five p.m. tonight, he’s fired. Got it?” I wait for his nod so I can get the fuck out of this house.

But the nod never comes.

He’s back on his feet. “No. I don’t ‘got it,’” he says, using air quotes. Jesus. “You’re the reason he’s not coming back—” He stops as if just now realizing what he said. “I mean, he’ll be back. Just not by five o’clock.”

I’m the reason? What does that mean? Did River say something? I press my thumb into my palm. Focus on one thing at a time. Finding River. “That’s not good enough.”

“He turned off his phone. What do you want me to do? In a couple of days?—”

“I don’t have a couple of days! I need someonenow.”

“Not my problem.” He flings his arms out. “Get someone else.”

“There is no one else. That’s what I’m telling you,” I say between gritted teeth, trying to hold it together.

He scoffs. “That can’t be true. Your company is huge.”

At this point, I should leave. But Canyon is my only link to River.Jesus fucking Christ.“Your brother planned everything.”

“Then it’s planned. Problem solved.”

He’s so annoying. I don’t need to explain myself to him, but I can’t seem to stop. “I still need him.”

Canyon narrows his eyes as if realizing I’m holding something back. He’s quick. Quicker than his brother. He catches my gaze and holds it. “Are you sleeping with him?”

“What?” I let out a harsh laugh. “No. Definitely not.” I force myself to remain calm. “He’s…” I don’t even know how to finish that sentence. Canyon raises a brow. A perfectly shaped brow. My thumb itches to trace it.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

I shake my hands out. “I’m not sleeping with River. He’s my employee. And his name is River. And,” I say, holding my head high and avoiding his too-perceptive gaze, “I’m not gay.”

He narrows his eyes like he’s trying to find the lie in my words. “What’s this about then? Why is he so important?”

I press my lips together. Seriously, fuck River Drake for putting me in this position. “This retreat is to celebrate diversity in our company.”

“I’m sure there are other ways to do that. Other employees that show your company is inclusive.”

“Yes, of course. But none I can trust.”

He laughs. “I don’t know where to start. You don’t trust your employees?”

Meredith and my brother aren’t acting alone. Someone on my team is involved. But I’m not telling him that. I barely know this guy. “I’m being cautious.”

“And you trust my brother?”

“Ididtrust your brother,” I snap and regret it when his eyes go sad. What the fuck is wrong with me? I bring the attitude down a notch. “He’s new on my team. And I needed someone not part of the status quo. Your brother has always been trustworthy, and since he’s—it just worked out. For both of us.” Ialmost slipped up. “But now he’s left me with no one to take his place.”

“So you need an outsider?” He cocks his head. “That’s literally anyone not on your team. It shouldn’t be hard to find someone.”

His derision registers, but his words repeat over and over in my brain. I need an outsider. Someone not on my team. “Like a consultant?” The idea isn’t a bad one. It could work.

---