Page 80 of Camping with the Boss

“And now our retreat is at an end. Wade, dear,” she asks in a sickeningly sweet voice, “do you want to make your announcement?”

Ander, Jade, and I exchange startled looks. The group murmurs as Wade stands. His body is stiff, and he walks slowly to the podium like a man walking to his death.

“Fuck,” Ander says. “He’s going to resign.”

“What? No. He can’t. Not yet.”

“Good luck stopping him. My aunt always gets what she wants.”

“Not this time,” I say before jumping to my feet. “Excuse me, Mr. Darian?”

He blinks and stares at me like he’s been in a trance. “Um, yes, Ca—Mr. Drake?”

“My brother and I have something we’d like to share.”

Meredith stands and glares at me. “The retreat is over, Mr. Drake, and your services are no longer needed.”

I nod and smile. It isn’t easy. “Sure, I understand.” I turn to the group. “It’s just some awards we wanted to give out. You’ve all worked really hard this week.” I focus back on Meredith. She smiles, but I can see the fury in her eyes. “But it’s your decision.”

Returning to my seat, I wait to see if she’ll take the bait.

“Fuck, you’re good,” Ander mutters.

“Agreed.” Jared nods with an assessing look in his eyes. “That was impressive.”

Meredith presses her lips together like she’s trying not to agree to this when Wade clears his throat. “I agree, Mr. Drake. Everyone deserves recognition for all their hard work. I think Ispeak for all of us when I say this is a nice surprise.” His eyes are on me. Trusting.

I jump back up before I can chicken out or Meredith can intervene. “River?” He joins me at the front with the box of certificates.

“I’m so glad I got to be a part of this retreat. Thank you—” I stop and swallow the emotion clogging my throat. “Thank you, Mr. Darian, for the opportunity.”

Most of the awards are silly. Fun reminders of the week we shared printed on copy paper and wrapped in a document protector.

River hands me the first award, and I clear my throat. “The first award goes to Wade Darian.” His brow furrows and I give him an encouraging smile. “TheBraveheart Awardfor ‘standing up to the killer squirrel.’”

He laughs and joins me at the front as everyone—almost everyone—applauds. His fingers brush mine as he takes the award and my eyes jump to his. My heart leaps in confusion at his warm gaze, and I push it all away to contemplate later.

I present Ander with theGaga Ball Awardfor “being fast on his feet” and Carol with theDori Awardfor “not giving up until she got her fish.” Dillian earns theQWERTY Awardfor “knowing his way around a keyboard.”

The room buzzes with laughter and excitement. I soak it in for a moment. It was a good week, and I’ll miss almost everyone here.

But the mood is about to change. “We also had our share of mysteries this week. TheBakeoff-Detective Awardgoes to Vivian for ‘never giving up on finding the dessert thief.’”

She accepts her award and takes a bow. Then, there’s an uncomfortable shift in the group as some dart glances at Sheila.

“Next, theLifesaver Awardgoes to Sheila for ‘saving the lives of Darian Enterprises employees one carrot at a time.’”

The laughter sounds relieved and Sheila accepts her award with a smile and a wave to the crowd.

“Lydia earns theSweet Tooth Advocate Awardfor ‘making sure everyone has access to cherry pie.’”

River hands me the next set of awards with a nod of encouragement. I don’t dare look at Wade. After giving Jared theLegal Eagle Awardfor keeping us all in line during the retreat—or at least trying to—I turn to Al.

“TheBluster Awardgoes to Al for ‘using his loud personality to stand up for what’s right.’”

Al accepts the award and darts a look at Owen before turning back to me. His eye is a sickly green now. “Thanks, I guess,” he says. “At least I get something besides a black eye out of this retreat.”

The group gets restless, whispering to each other. They don’t know what we know, but they will soon.

---