Page 22 of Love in the Details

Something had changed between them, and he wondered if he could be strong enough to make it through the next few weeks before the gala. He wasn’t ready for another broken heart for Christmas. Even if she was interested, his life was in LA.

After the sun was high in the sky and the snow wasn’t as compact as before, they decided to be done. Dustin hadn’t felt excitement like this in quite a while, having wrapped himself up in business deals and management for way too long. Taking time to play like he was a kid again had helped immensely with the things that had been hanging over his head.

“Thanks for the invitation,” he said to the group. He’d already stripped the clothes he’d borrowed and folded them up on the tailgate as the rest of them stood around drinking hot chocolate from a thermos.

“Here you go,” said an older man with graying sideburns. “I’m David McBride. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

Dustin made sure to look him in the eye when they shook hands. Every time he met anyone, his grandfather’s words to make sure people saw him and recognized him from there on out echoed in his head each time. The thought of missing his grandfather hit home, and all he could do was nod.

“Mom said she’s working on supper, so we’re on our own for lunch. Should we hit up the sandwich shop?” one of the twins asked.

“I’m game for that,” the other one responded. The rest seemed to nod in assent. When a bunch of eyes turned in his direction, Dustin shook his head and waved to them.

“I’m good. Thank you for letting me hang out with your family, but I really need to get back home and get some work done.”

“On a Saturday?” Mr. McBride asked, grinning like he knew it was possible to get out of.

“Even on a Saturday. There’s a lot going on and a new shift in the company. A lot of moving parts that need more direction and order, and I’m the one to make sure all the cogs fit into place.” He smiled and waved, walking back to his car parked down the hill from the truck.

He caught Kassidy’s eye for a second before getting into the car and was surprised to see her standing there when he closed the door.He turned the car on and rolled down the windows.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come get some food with us? Do you even have food at the mansion?” Kassidy asked, looking past him as if she’d be able to look into his refrigerator from here.

He laughed a bit and nodded. “I have plenty of food at the house, and I have some cooking skills, so I’ll be fine. Thanks again for the diversion, and I’ll see you Monday.”

The concern on her face was pulling at the wall he’d erected to keep things like this out, and he rolled up the window and took off, his wheels skidding along the snow. Not the best choice of vehicle to bring to the mountains in December.

He glanced in the rearview mirror and saw her watching the car pull away, an expression he couldn’t read on her face. There were so many emotions running through him right now that spending time with her and her family would only have cemented the fact that he would have a harder time leaving Coldwater Creek after the holiday.

He needed to keep his eye on the prize. Finish off the gala for his grandmother and then get back to LA where he wasn’t tempted by a girl with spunk and a gorgeous smile.

Chapter 14

The next few days passed quickly, with the frequency of Dustin’s virtual meeting schedule only increasing. It was nice to have that form of communication, but it also left him more drained than just having to answer a hundred emails.

“Hello, Stockton,” he said to the computer screen, rubbing his forehead again.

The issues that had come up in the overall business had been extreme in the last few days. He thought on more than one occasion that the people beneath him should have figured things out. Instead, they all kept coming to him with problems instead of solutions.

“The big machine went down at the factory in Fort Collins this morning. They’ve had people there to fix it, but some of the parts are so badly damaged that they don’t think they can be repaired.”

Dustin pulled up the folder for all the information on the Fort Collins branch, searching for the document for when the machine had been purchased. It was over twenty years old and probably due for an upgrade.

Instead of giving the VP of Operations that information, he paused and then asked, “How long have we had that machine?”

“Uh, I’m not sure.” Hesitation and panic were written all over the man’s face as Dustin watched him search through files on his desk.

“Go to the shared folder in the company files. This is why we need to get everything digital and in the correct spot.” He paused, hearing the chiding tone in his voice. Calming down a bit, he said, “It’s in the Fort Collins folder, and it looks like the purchase date was over twenty years ago.”

Again he waited, staring at the screen. This had been the problem, and Dustin was just now realizing it. He’d been the one to make things easier on everyone, basically doing parts of their jobs. No wonder he felt like he was chained to the computer at all times.

“Do you think we should upgrade that machine?” Stockton asked, looking more unsure of things than Dustin was comfortable with. The man had been with the company for over ten years and in his current position for three.

“I think that would be a good idea,” Dustin said, rubbing at his forehead again. “I’ll let you handle all the paperwork for that. I’ve got a million other things to take care of.”

“Okay, sounds good.” The man looked as though he was ready to hang up, when Dustin held out his hand to gesture to wait.

“Stockton, you’re in the position you’re in because you’ve proven yourself in other ways throughout the years. Show me that leadership potential. Not every decision needs to go through me.”

---