And then turned and walked directly into him.
He wasn’t used to not being seen. Nathan was usually the center of attention everywhere he went. She looked up at him, her green eyes going wide.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” she said quickly, stepping back and just barely avoiding running into her friend.
“No harm,” he replied, chuckling to himself. She was pretty, with freckles across her nose and dotting her cheeks. They were nearly obscured by the blush quickly filling her cheeks, but they were still there. He found he rather liked them.
The woman quickly hurried off, following her friend to the elevators. Nathan chuckled to himself. Although the woman was embarrassed, she didn’t know who he was or she didn’t care. If she had cared, she would have said something. Or grabbed her friend and at least giggled.
The truth was, he was the CEO of Paradigm Technologies and a billionaire.
Another perk of Blue Aspen was that his celebrity status didn’t matter. Everyone was a celebrity here, even if they weren’t. He wondered if maybe she was an actress or a model, but not a traditional one. She was on the shorter side and definitely nowhere near Hollywood skinny. She was definitely pretty enough, though.
“Good evening. I’m here to check in,” Nathan said, walking up to the counter.
“Of course, Mr. Reed. We have your usual suite prepared to your specifications. There’s a bottle of Dom Perignon chilling in the foyer as our gift to you.” The receptionist smiled and slid a card across the desk for him. “Is there anything I can send up for you?”
Nathan pocketed the card. “No, thank you.”
The woman smiled as Nathan turned around. His security team was already bringing in his things. They would have the smaller rooms adjacent to his. The warmth of the lodge finally permeated the wool of his coat and he took it off, carefully folding it over his arm.
“You left your phone in the car.” Gregory handed him the phone. Six new calls.
“You know you could have just thrown it in a snowbank,” Nathan told him. “I’m not talking to them.”
Gregory chuckled. “I know. But it’s fun to watch the veins on your neck pop out every time it rings.”
“I thought you were supposed to be watching out for me,” Nathan replied. “That’s not watching out for me.”
“No, that’s just watching you,” Gregory replied. “I've got to get my kicks somehow.”
“You’re a terrible bodyguard,” Nathan said, putting the phone in the pocket of his jacket.
“Yeah, but you’d be dead and bored without me.”
Nathan shook his head slowly as they walked to the elevators together. “Remind me to fire you later. Or at least dock your pay.”
“I’ll get right on that.” Gregory checked the elevator before Nathan got on.
Nathan had no intention of firing Gregory. If anything, he’d give the man a raise. Gregory was more friend than employee at this point.
The phone buzzed and danced in Nathan’s pocket. He reached in, hit the button and put it to his ear. It was Lucy, his secretary.
“What?” It came out a little harsher than he intended.
“RentTech,” Lucy said without preamble. “Nathan, I have news on RentTech.”
RentTech was Paradigm Technologies latest acquisition. As CEO, it was Nathan's idea to purchase the small company, but unfortunately, RentTech was turning into a money pit. Nothing seemed to go right. The board of directors for Paradigm was not pleased with their CEO or RentTech.
“I can fix it,” he told her. “They just need a little more time-”
“Nathan.” Lucy's voice was firm as she cut him off. “The board sold it this morning. RentTech's gone.”
Nathan staggered slightly, his hand going to the wall to support him. “What?”
“That's why I've been calling you,” Lucy explained. “I know you're on vacation this week, but you deserved to know. RentTech is gone.”
“Damn it.” He slammed his hand hard on the wall. All the work these past few months. He'd put everything into fixing RentTech and making it a successful part of Paradigm Technologies. Granted, there had been precious little success. RentTech was a disaster.