Page 77 of Camping with the Boss

“Canyon!” Carol rushes over to him. “I’m so sorry about this morning.”

“It’s fine, hon. You’re good.” He greets everyone without once looking at me. “Sorry, all. I just had some things I needed to take care of. But I’m back now.”

“Thank God,” Al says. “I thought the boss man was going to lose it on us.”

“Hey. That’s not?—”

Canyon’s laugh stops my words. He waves a hand. “When is he not losing it? Am I right?”

Everyone cheers in agreement, and Canyon turns toward me, the smile still on his face as if I’m included. Even though I’m not.

Everything is easier after that. Each team shares, and while some clearly worked harder than others, overall, they did well. The last team is Jared and Owen. Owen seems especially cranky—almost worse than Al—as he tells us Jared’s goals for the week. “He says he met his goals, but I think he had other ‘goals’ he was working on.” He even used finger quotes.

What the hell?

Jared glares at him. “Owen had no real goals. Just random meandering about something unimportant.”

“At least my goal wasn’t getting laid.”

River steps between them before any swinging starts. “Cool off. Both of you.”

We take a short break after that. Others walk around or make a quick trip to the cabins. I don’t go anywhere. Maybe Canyon will talk to me. Not that I know what to say. I almost go up to him several times, but he’s always been busy. Talking to River. Ander. Jared. He doesn’t even look my way.

Once everyone returns, River directs them to sit in a circle. “You’ll need to be closer than that, but you can always get up if needed.”

Everyone shuffles closer together and Canyon starts the exercise. “This game might be familiar to you. Either River or I will give you a short phrase. You tell it to your neighbor. And they tell it to their neighbor. We’ll see if you can get it right. Or if the phrase is changed.”

What are they doing? This isn’t on the list of activities River prepared or even the ones that Canyon made on his own. But he’s good at that. Always thinking on his feet.

As the game progresses, I notice several things. River and Canyon take turns giving the clues and encouraging members while the other watches intently and makes notes in a notebook. Ander is right in the middle. Jared is closer to the end.

They laugh through the first one. God, Canyon’s so good at that. Getting people to relax. The next round, they’re still laughing, but it’s more of a nervous laugh. The last round has most of them glancing around in confusion.

Canyon discusses communication and how easily things get twisted around.

“It’s important to be clear when communicating with someone and to check that they understand. Do not assume. That’s how misinformation spreads. It’s not only bad for business, but it can also start harmful rumors.”

Carol raises her hand. “Like the rumor that you quit?”

“Exactly. Everyone assumed they had the right information.” Canyon’s eyes find mine for a brief second. I can’t read his expression, but it gives me hope. Granted, I’m desperate to grab onto anything slightly resembling hope at this point, and he’s not glaring at me with murderous intent, so that’s a win.

Once they finish the debrief, I dismiss everyone. There’s an hour before lunch, and most are packing up their stuff. I’m making my way to the activity room to meet with Ander when I realize Canyon never said what the phrases were. That’s the most important part of the debriefing. Showing people how far off they were. Canyon forgetting to reveal one phrase would be understandable. But all three? That’s intentional. And now, I have to know.

The door to the activities room is open when I arrive. Ander paces the length of the room and touches his fingers together as he walks. I suck in a breath. That was something he used to do as a kid all the time. I close the door, and his head jerks up.

“Are you okay?” I’d organized my discussion points in order of importance, but now they all drop to the bottom of the list. My number one concern is taking care of my brother. But Ander’s an adult. He can take care of himself.

“Fine. Just…” He chuckles and shakes his head. “I don’t know why I’m so nervous.” He points to one of the round tables. “Let’s sit. Then you can ask your questions.”

Smart. We both agreed to meet. We both have questions. But having me go first gives him insight into what I already know and, more importantly, what I don’t know. Fuck that. I’m here to burn it all down. Every barrier between us. I’m so fucking tired of secrets. Of all the lies.

Once we’re both seated, I start with the question at the forefront of my mind. “What were the phrases Canyon and River used for the telephone game?”

He laughs. “That’s your first question?” His shoulders relax a little, and he stares at the pattern on the colorful tables. “The point of the game is that the information is distorted by the time it gets to you. And I had Al whispering in my ear. He sucks at communication, by the way, and I’m a little worried he’s a bit of a conspiracy theorist.”

I tap my fingers on the table. “So you only heard Al’s version?”

He hesitates briefly and nods. “Yes.”

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