Gold Fire (2 page)

“What does the exalted Alpine Sky want with my saloon?”

“We would like to expand our business.”

His gaze took a slow trip up and down her suit. “A honky-tonk doesn’t seem like your style, Miss Larkin.”

“Thank you, it isn’t. But the Alpine Sky doesn’t actually want your saloon, Mr. Garrett. We want your land. As you know, our resort is a popular winter destination for skiers. We would like to offer summer
activities, too, which means building a golf course. For that we need more land. A semiflat piece, like the one your saloon sits on.”

The stillness at the bar behind her was palpable, as if all three people were holding their breath. Jase’s shadowed eyes gave nothing away. “You want to tear down the Rusty Wire?”

“I imagine if the building is in good condition, it might be used for something else.” She gave the room a quick glance, deciding not to tell him the chances of that were next to zero. “The town’s records show that the lot size, including parking, is two acres. You also own the fifty behind it. Those acres adjoin the Alpine Sky, and they would be ideal for an eighteen-hole course.”

“That land is untouched wilderness.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Mr. Garrett, the Rocky Mountains are full of untouched wilderness. You can buy as much as you want. The only thing special about
your
piece of wilderness is that it adjoins our resort.”

“And it’s flat.”

“Yes, relatively.”

His expressionless gaze held hers for a long time. A bar stool squeaked behind her, but she didn’t turn.

“The Rusty Wire’s not for sale.”

She smiled. “You haven’t heard our offer yet, Mr. Garrett. It’s more than generous.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Two point five million.”

Zoe heard the woman suck in her breath. She tried not to look smug as she waited for Jase Garrett’s eyes to widen and his mouth to drop open in shock. It didn’t happen. Nothing happened.

“No thanks.” He all but yawned.

No thanks, that was it? It wasn’t a deal breaker, but she would have bet everything she had that he’d snap it up, and probably order a beer to celebrate. Irritation prickled just under her skin, making it hard to keep up an appearance of calm. “Mr. Garrett, perhaps you should take some time to explore the price of real estate around Barringer’s Pass. Two and a half million is an incredibly high price for fifty-two acres of mostly undeveloped land.”

Finally, his expression changed. His eyebrows drew together and a muscle clenched along his firm jaw. “I said no, Miss Larkin. That’s my answer. Go make your pitch to whoever owns the land on the other side of the Alpine Sky.”

It was wordier than his other responses, but just as negative. It also revealed their weakest bargaining point. She pressed her mouth together, reluctant to admit what she had to say. “The other side is federal land. They aren’t open to an offer.”

“Neither am I.”

She closed her eyes and sighed, making a big deal out of her reluctance to give in. Let him think he’d made a crafty bargain. She dropped her voice. “I’m not authorized to offer more money, Mr. Garrett, but just between the two of us, if you gave me a counteroffer of three million, I might be able to convince Mrs. Flemming to pay it.”

He actually scowled. “Miss Larkin, I appreciate your dedication to your job, but I’ve given my answer. Now run along.” Tugging a chair closer, he propped his feet up, slouched down, and dropped the hat back over his eyes.

She stared. A show of resistance wouldn’t have surprised her, but she hadn’t been prepared for a flat rejection. Who turned down three million dollars for a crappy saloon and a few acres of trees? She was missing something here, and she wasn’t leaving until she figured out what it was.

•  •  •

Jase waited for the click of heels across the dance floor, interested enough to take one more look at the resort lady’s legs as she left. For one of the infamous Larkin girls, she wasn’t what he’d expected. But then, rumors were often wrong.

He didn’t hear retreating footsteps. He poked a cautious finger at his hat brim and lifted it an inch. She was still standing there, her pretty lips pulled into a tight line and her irritated gaze boring into him. A no-nonsense look that went well with her severe hairstyle.

Her body language intrigued him, but he had no interest in her offer. He pushed the hat up a couple more inches. “Miss Larkin, I can’t help but notice you’re still here.”

“Nothing gets past you, does it, Mr. Garrett?”

“What else do you want?”

“I want an explanation. I offered you far more than this old place and that undeveloped land are worth. In fact, my guess is that the Rusty Wire is aptly named, and that rust isn’t even the worst of your problems in a building this old.” She looked around the saloon, taking in the century-old bar along with the new light fixtures and new windows. “You’ve probably had to dump a ton of cash into plumbing and electrical updates, just to mention the obvious. I think it’s safe to
assume it takes most of your profits to keep this place up to code.”

That was accurate enough to raise her a notch in his estimation; she wasn’t just some corporate lackey delivering a message. Assistant manager, she’d said. She probably knew a lot about running an establishment that served the public. Not that it would help her argument any. “What’s your point?”

“My point is that I just offered you the equivalent of a winning lottery ticket, and you turned it down without a thought.”

“I thought about it. Maybe I just think faster than you.”

She ignored the jab. “Why would you turn down a small fortune when keeping the Rusty Wire open will eventually
cost
you a small fortune?”

He flashed a cocky smile to go with his bluff so she wouldn’t guess how little he knew about his own saloon’s finances.

“Keeping the Rusty Wire open
doesn’t
cost me a small fortune, Miss Larkin. If you work up the hill, I’m sure you’ve seen how busy this place is on a Friday or Saturday night. We turn a nice profit. But thanks for your concern.”

Her frown said she wasn’t buying it, and he didn’t want to argue the details, since he didn’t know them. He kicked the chair aside again and got to his feet, walking around the table to place a guiding hand on her elbow. It would have been a nice bonus if his six-foot-three height intimidated her, but she looked to be at least five six, and her high heels narrowed the difference even more. Besides, he doubted assistant manager Zoe Larkin was easily intimidated, even in bare feet.

“Not that it’s any of your business, Miss Larkin, but you might say I’ve already won the lottery. I don’t need your three million.”

Her gaze narrowed as she tried to figure it out. While she thought, he opened the door and escorted her through the small entry space and out the second door.

She stopped dead in the parking lot as soon as he took his hand off her elbow. “What does that mean? Are you saying you have so much money you can afford to throw some away on a run-down saloon?”

“I’m saying you can’t buy me, Miss Larkin. You run back up to that fancy palace on the hill and tell that to the lady who sent you here. Have a nice day now, you hear?” Before she could argue that with him, too, he turned and walked back inside, locking the door behind him.

They were all watching him. Russ and Jennifer had swiveled their stools toward the door, and Billy seemed to have forgotten the scrub brush in his hand. They waited for him to say something.

“Leave it locked until we open.” He walked back to his chair and settled in again. With luck, he’d get a couple hours’ sleep before they opened at three.

“Jase!”

Billy’s yell would have knocked him off his chair if he hadn’t been half expecting it. With a sigh, he sat up and faced the three people at the bar. “What?”

“Didn’t you hear what she said? Three million dollars!” His eyes nearly popped out.

“Yeah, I heard.”

“Are you crazy? Who turns down three million dollars?”

“Someone who doesn’t want to sell.”

Billy’s mouth opened, but he simply stared. Russ took up the slack. “You think this place is really worth that much?”

“Nah, not even with the land.”

“Might be worth more than you think,” he insisted.

“Trust me, it’s not. They must be in a hurry to turn it into a golf course and pull in more business. They’d make up the cost in no time.”

“So why’d you say no?”

“Because I don’t want to sell, simple as that. I like it here. And I prefer looking at the trees on Two Bears Mountain instead of a golf course. The resorts have already swallowed up enough of B-Pass.” He looked at Jennifer. As usual, he couldn’t read her calm gaze. “You think I’m crazy, too?”

“No. I think owning the Rusty Wire suits you. What else would you do?”

“Exactly. Thank you. Now, if you all don’t mind, I’m going to take a nap.”

No one said anything, so he settled back, propped his boots on a chair, and put the hat over his face. Sleep wasn’t going to be possible—he could still feel their stares on him. But as long as he faked it, he wouldn’t have to answer more questions.

Dodging the truth wasn’t easy. Telling it would have been even harder, requiring him to face the unsettling suspicion that the Rusty Wire was the only thing that held him together these days. If he didn’t say it aloud, he could pretend it wasn’t true.

Maybe Jennifer knew him better than he’d thought.

•  •  •

Zoe fumed as she drove the half mile up the mountain to the Alpine Sky Village. She was a professional, presenting a major business deal. Or trying to. He might as well have patted her on the head and told her to run along. He
had
told her to run along, the patronizing jerk.

He was a lazy slob, too, if he could sit there and nap while his saloon needed cleaning. She’d spent some time hanging out with people like him and recognized the type. Party all night, sleep all day, and never do a bit of work you don’t have to. She’d narrowly escaped getting sucked into that mire herself, and would prefer to stay away from it. People in Barringer’s Pass had long memories.

Jase Garrett obviously didn’t know her—she wasn’t a quitter. She was going to do some homework on him, and hope like hell he was too lazy to do any on her. Next time she went to the Rusty Wire, she’d know everything there was to know about both Jase and his saloon, including what might tempt him to sell.

Reaching the landscaped streets of the luxury resort community eased her irritation. In contrast to the Rusty Wire, everything about the Alpine Sky screamed class and dignity—the stone-and-timber theme of the main lodge and its related condos, the cute gift shops and ski stores across from the lodge, even the quaint stone bridge over the rushing gorge of Elkhorn Creek. Their narrow valley didn’t allow them to spread out like Aspen or Vail, but they had the best ski slopes around, and their little community was charming as all get-out.

For service, accommodations, and grandeur, the
place was perfection. All except for the manager, her boss. If she was lucky, she could slip inside without encountering him.

It wasn’t going to happen. Crossing the marble floor of the lobby, she saw David behind the admissions desk. Their new clerk appeared to be hanging on his every instruction, already captivated by her boss’s handsome face and air of authority. It didn’t matter that David was twenty years older than the desk clerk, with hair gone prematurely silver-gray. It never did. They always fell for his sophisticated look and charm, and the cool way he passed all the problems on to Zoe, as if they were no more than minor blips on his radar screen. If James Bond had gone into hotel management and been merely passably good at his job, he would have been David Brand.

Zoe seemed to be the only one who found him condescending and arrogant. His feelings for her weren’t any warmer.

They both knew she’d be a better manager than David. Buck Flemming, the original owner of the Alpine Sky, preferred keeping women where he insisted they belonged—beneath men—so David had skated by while she did all the work. Then Buck had died. Ruth Ann took a couple of minutes to play the grieving widow before freeing up her social calendar by making her son, Matt, the new general manager. Zoe hadn’t met him, but David had. He didn’t give her the details of the meeting, but his irritation made it obvious; finally, someone else had not been charmed by David Brand.

Matt had given her the golf course deal without even meeting her. She and David both knew her
success might result in a shake-up in management.

Gloves off, game on. David wanted nothing more than for her to fail. Hearing him gloat had zero appeal, so she tried to sneak past the front desk. He looked up and caught her eye with a cool smile. “Excuse me, Victoria,” he told the starry-eyed clerk. “I need to talk to Zoe, but I’m confident you can handle things on your own. You’re doing beautifully.” She beamed, but he didn’t see it as he intercepted Zoe at the back hallway.

“I’m just here to pick up my laptop,” she told him.

His smile almost looked sincere. “Let’s take a minute to chat in my office, shall we?”

She tried not to roll her eyes. “Let’s chat” meant
Let me find something to criticize about the way you handled things so I can enjoy how bad you’ll look when Mrs. Flemming hears about it
. It killed her that she was about to make his day.

He closed his office door and sat behind the desk before giving her an expectant look. “I heard your car was at the Rusty Wire.”

Crap, he had snitches. “I stopped by to meet the owner.”

“Oh, let’s not be coy. We both know why you were there. So how good are you at high-level negotiations? Did he go for your lowball price?”

She felt her whole body tighten, and told herself he’d find out soon, anyway, being her supervisor. “No.”

“That’s too bad.” He clicked his tongue in mock disappointment. “It would have looked good if you could have brought this deal in under budget. But I suppose Ruth Ann and Matt won’t be
too
disappointed with three.”

They wouldn’t have had she managed it. She clenched her teeth and made herself say it. “He didn’t go for three, either.”