Page 57 of Off-Limits Bosses
“If you’ll follow me, our transport is already outside,” Landon announced, and the guests, Bryant, and I walked after him.
Nobody else seemed to notice the sheer tension building between the three of us. Maybe neither Bryant nor Landon realized it, either. But for me, it was overwhelming. I had to use every ounce of my strength just to keep moving. I couldn’t mess up this trip. I needed to get my head in the game. I could do that.
As we got in the car, I took the front seat beside the driver. All I had to do was keep space between myself and them.
I checked the glove compartment for hiking shoes, which I’d arranged in case of a shoe emergency similar to the one that had happened that morning. Swiftly, I swapped my heels for them, wondering if I would need to arrange a second and third pair for Landon and Bryant. I couldn’t imagine Landon wearing them, and Bryant was wearing loafers, which could work if we chose an easier path.
When we reached the parking lot near the trail entrance, Landon was the one who did most of the talking.
“Redwoods are the world’s tallest trees,” he started explaining, and some of the guests began taking pictures while he spoke.
Jonathan seemed interested only in talking to Bryant about finances, while another of the guests looked completely bored.
Landon ignored all of that, keeping up his speech about the grove and its hiking trails as if he had an audience of millions. Given that another of the guests was now filming him, that made sense.
I stayed at the back of the group, pretending that I was making sure nobody lagged behind. The real goal was to create distance between Bryant, Landon, and I. If there was an entire group of people between us, there was no chance that we’d end up alone together.
“Here we have the perfect spot for a break,” Landon announced when we came across a set of particularly tall trees with a small patch of open space between them.
Some of the guests immediately took the opportunity to take photos with the trees, while others sat down as if they’d had enough exercise for the year.
I stood close to one of the trees, watching as Bryant’s Wall Street buddy roped him into talking about crypto.
“Adriana,” Landon’s voice beside me made me jump. For some reason, I hadn’t seen him walking up to me. “Please come with me.”
This was exactly what I had been afraid of. I wanted to pretend that someone had called me over, but instead I found myself following Landon a few trees away into the grove. Even though the others were still close, it felt as if we were completely alone in the world.
“Landon, I… I can’t do this,” I said, holding one arm with the other, still trying to keep a distance between us even though my heart was pulling me toward him.
“I’ve been miserable,” Landon answered, capturing my eyes with his. “Without you, every day is just… It sucks.”
“Eloquent,” I joked as I let out a dry laugh, and he lifted one corner of his mouth in a small smile. “But… I feel the same way. The trouble is, I don’t only feel that way about you. I feel that way about Nolan and Bryant, too. And that’s the problem. I can’t do this. I have to focus on my work. I can’t afford to lose my career over this.”
“You were never going to lose your job,” Landon replied, sounding surprised that I would even think that. “You’re excellent at what you do, and The Pacific would lose a lot without you.”
“I’m sorry,” I insisted. “I can’t force myself to choose.”
Before Landon could answer, one of the guests appeared from behind a tree.
“Uh, they said there aren’t any bathrooms here,” she said, seeming disgusted. “I can’t deal with that. Why wouldn’t you build a bathroom in a tourist area?”
“I can arrange for the driver to meet you on the way back up the trail,” Landon answered, as he began walking back to where the group had been. “He will take you to the nearest acceptable restrooms.”
“So I have to walk all the way back?” she complained with a sigh. “This really is roughing it, huh?”
“The full experience,” Landon said as he started typing on his phone.
Soon enough, the hike started up again. The bathroom guest was left behind, though Landon had me check my phone to make sure the driver knew where she was. Bryant stole a few glances in my direction as we walked, and gave Landon several suspicious looks.
Once again, I pretended that I didn’t notice anything, and that I hadn’t done anything. Avoiding it all probably wasn’t the best plan, but it was the only way to keep my head on straight.
I barely listened to Landon’s descriptions of the redwoods and all of the little interesting things about the grove. I spent most of the hike staring straight ahead and wondering why I didn’t stay behind at the hotel. I could tell that Bryant was looking for his own opportunity to pull me to the side, and I didn’t think I could handle that.
Unfortunately, when we reached the last lookout point before turning back, where the planned lunch was to occur, Bryant found a way. He lagged back to where I was, and grabbed me by my arm, pulling me away into the silence. The biggest problem was that I didn’t argue or rip my arm loose or insist that I couldn’t go with him. I simply let him lead me away, unable to resist the desire and curiosity that was quickly grabbing hold of my soul.
“Right, so,” Bryant said once we were well and truly on our own, surrounded by magnificent trees and the sounds of nature. “Why won’t you talk to me? Honestly, I’ve been in hell waiting to get the chance to reach you again.”
It was a bit more dramatic than Landon’s description of the past few days, but I could see that he was being sincere.
