Millionaire Romance: In Love With My Boss - A Contemporary Romance (Millionaire Romance, Contemporary Romance, Comedy Romance Book 1) (7 page)

“Do you hear that?” Andrew asked after a moment. Sweat had begun to dot his brow. He took slow, steady breaths, not in the least bit panting, or out of shape, apparently.

“Hear what?” Jennifer looked around, annoyed. “I don’t hear anything. Just the wind and—”

“It’s rushing water,” Andrew said quickly. She heard the excitement in his voice.

“Do you think we’re near?” Jennifer unscrewed the top of her water and swallowed another gulp. She noticed that Andrew had barely touched his.

“Maybe another twenty minutes.” Andrew’s back was to Jennifer. There were several large boulders they stood on. “It’s under the rocks,” he bent down, lowering himself to the stone with his hands.

Jennifer took the time to sculpt out his backside. He had an excellent figure. He definitely kept in shape. Perhaps he even did martial arts.

“So, do you want to keep going?” Andrew pushed himself off the ground and faced Jennifer, clapping his hands together to get rid of the dust. He eyed the bottle of water in her hand. “You look like you’re drinking enough water. That’s good.”

Jennifer forced herself to a smile. “I’m thirsty.”

Looking her way, Andrew nodded. “Ready?” He climbed onto a higher ledge before turning to help Jennifer up. He was strong. Able to pull her weight mostly with one hand, and that was saying something. She was a bit on the taller side of most females but wasn’t exactly the lollipop size either. She had a healthy set of curves she nourished without shame. Andrew didn’t seem fazed.

Once he had helped Jennifer to the next leverage they could find, she looked down. They were on a fallen old tree. Moss covered it, and ants marched between their feet. She jumped, nearly losing her balance. Andrew grabbed her quickly, pulling her back into him as he braced himself to keep both of them steady. His chest seemed to hold just as much strength as his arms.

Once they steadied, Andrew released Jennifer slowly so she could pull away. Her face had been pressed against him. She chuckled and avoided his eyes.

“That thing’s pretty hard,” she commented. “You work out or something?” She pushed a free strand of hair behind her ear and tucked it beneath the ball cap.

Andrew nodded. “Every day.”

“Oh.” Jennifer exhaled and eyed the ants again. Her heart was still racing. Her fingertips seemed to itch at the idea of turning back. They had long been off the trail, and Andrew had already told her the route wasn’t official. It was something he had stumbled upon years ago and made a point to frequent anytime he was near the Springs. “So how much further?”

Andrew laughed, turning back to her. “We can turn around.”

“But I want to see the waterfall,” she said in a breath. Andrew eyed her carefully. His gaze seemed to drift down her body.

“It only gets rougher,” he said after a long pause. “Fallen trees, loose gravel,” he motioned around himself. “This isn’t a trail people use. The Cog Railway passes through. When we get high enough, you’ll see them on the left,” he pointed through the dense trees towards more rock facing.

Jennifer swallowed. “Loose gravel?” She eyed the ants and smashed one with the tip of her right foot.

“Let’s turn back.”

“No!” She nearly shouted, but her tone lacked the anger it held while they were in the car. Andrew froze at her insistence. “I can do this,” she said again with a nod. “I don’t want to turn back.”

Taking a deep breath, Andrew half turned to look over the trail. He looked back to Jennifer. “Are you sure? I won’t judge you if we turn back,” a chortle seemed to get lodged in his throat. She wasn’t sure if it was out of pity for the pathetic sight she was sure she must have been.

Jennifer half smiled back. She didn’t hike much. She remembered taking a field trip once to a place with a steep incline and loose gravel. The guides had instructed the children not to run, but she skipped a bit to test the rocks and found that once she started, she couldn’t stop. That was quite a scare, but she had never climbed boulders, dead trees—pure earth—before. It seemed to give her a rush. Even if she was wearing a romper.

“Yeah, let’s keep going. I want to see the waterfall.”

“Okay.” Andrew turned to lead the way. He stayed close to Jennifer, not even an arm’s length away. They passed over more rocks and trees and loose earth. Jennifer was sure she had never seen a place quite like where they were.

At one point, she decided to jump to a log instead of crossing after Andrew and landed in a shady spot that housed hundreds of flying insects. They sprang to life and swarmed her face before making it out to safety from her flailing hands.

Andrew was at her side in an instant to calm her down. She needed a moment to recover from that one, but less than ten minutes later she slipped trying to climb a patch of loose gravel. The ground swallowed her hands towards mystery insects hiding in the sand.

She screaming and tried to push away from the sand, but only slid further down the slope, which frightened her even more. Andrew held onto a nearby truck clinging firmly to the ground with thick roots and moved down the slope. The gravel swallowed his shoes and ankles. Jennifer cringed at the sight. When he was close enough, he grabbed her arm and helped her scale the slope. He pulled her up was probably more accurate. Jennifer couldn’t stand the idea of the dirt getting into her shoes and barely placed pressure on the ground.

At the top of the short slope, Andrew pulled Jennifer to her feet. Her entire body shook, almost near tears. He helped her to some water, and then looked squarely at her face.

“You’re okay,” he urged, wiping at the side of her face. Jennifer was certain he could see the fear within her. She felt like she could have almost died, although she knew the worst that would have happened was that she simply wouldn’t have slipped to the previous platform of rock. Still, it didn’t take away her fear from not being strong enough to pull herself up.

Andrew cooed to her and told her that she was going to be okay. After a moment, he pulled her into a hug and held her until she calmed down. Jenifer wasn’t sure how long that was. After a while, she realized that her breathing was no longer scared gasps for air. She pulled her head back from Andrew’s chest and met his gaze. He smiled at her, and then chuckled.

“That scared you a little bit, didn’t it?”

She nervously nodded, but then allowed herself to chuckle with him. It turned into a genuine laugh. She still clung to his arm, unwilling to let go. There was no way she would have ever come this far on her own, or with Melone.

“Oh shoot,” Jennifer looked down at herself, searching for her phone.

“What is it?” Andrew was still holding her around her waist. They stood at the top of a flat surface of loose earth wearing a layer of grime from the surrounding elements.

“My phone,” Jennifer met Andrew’s eyes, finally letting her fingers loose from his bare arms. “I think I left it in my purse in your car.”

Andrew took a step back and looked around briefly. “Are you worried about Melone?” His tone was a forced calm. Jennifer eyed him cautiously.

“No, not worried,” she dusted off her romper. Her heart was still thumping in her chest, and she breathed heavily, but she was noticeably less calm than just minutes before. Her water bottle was attached to a bottle carrier around her chest. She took it and began to take the top off.

“Guess I’ve just been having too much fun with you.”

He smirked. “I didn’t realize you were having fun.”

“I’m not.”

Andrew laughed this time and nodded. “Fair enough.”

“He just said he’d get back to me once we landed. With the meeting tomorrow everything needs to be perfect.”

Jennifer looked towards the shield of trees blocking the sunlight. Part of what she said was true. She hadn’t thought about Melone for close to an hour. Her skin teemed with her sweat and grime from the climb. In a moment, she felt awkward, following behind clumsily after Andrew, a man apparently used to this type of backwoods hiking.

She should have been in her room waiting for Melone’s call for anything—an update or orders—something. Instead, she was less than a quarter up the base of a mountain, jumping at every insect and bug that flew through the air like a high school teen. She felt disgusted. Maybe it was time they headed back.

“I’ve got my phone,” Andrew offered.

Jennifer wet her lips and looked around to avoid his eyes. “That’s not going to work. I’m his assistant. I should have kept my phone on me.”

“Why don’t I just call him and let him know you’re with me?”

Even that idea unnerved Jennifer. She didn’t want James thinking they were getting cozy in his absence, although it appeared that that was
exactly
what they were doing.

“Maybe we should head back,” Jennifer said in a small voice.

Andrew’s mouth fell open. He faced her squarely, stooping slightly to meet her eyes. “Are you serious? It might be ten minutes more. I can carry you!”

His enthusiasm transferred to Jennifer. “Really? You’ll carry me? Like on your back?”

After a moment, he stifled a grin. “Okay. Maybe not, but we’re so close. If this is about Melone, I can talk to him.”

Jennifer straightened. Her breathing had begun to calm. She didn’t want Andrew talking to Melone for her. “I just think he might be worried,” her voice was thin.

Andrew’s face morphed to confusion. “Worried about what?”

Jennifer shook the question off. She knew James wasn’t likely to be worried about anything other than himself. Would he be up in arms if she missed a couple of his calls? The plan had always been for her to secure the hotel rooms a day earlier. Even if Andrew hadn’t been here, which would have been the case if James had showed to his interview Monday night, she still would have been in Denver by herself, and she would have never had the chance to see the waterfall.

Chapter Eight

Renewed Determination

JENNIFER MET ANDREW’S gaze again and took a deep breath. “Okay, maybe I’m just being ridiculous.” She looked past Andrew, only seeing more rocks, short shrubs, trees, and logs. “Let’s keep going.”

Andrew hesitated. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” she nodded firmly. “I just thought for a moment that I should hurry back to my phone but,” she paused, dropping her gaze, “it’ll probably be fine.” She didn’t think she would enjoy her time with Andrew, but with each step they climbed, she found herself enjoying his company.

He didn’t seem to be in a rush at all and pointed out various trees and surrounding shrubs. He knew a lot about the vegetation in the area. She even saw a glimpse of a deer. Andrew informed her that it was a doe. She was strong, with a broad chest and powerful hindquarters. The sight was simply breathtaking.

“There are big horn sheep higher up the mountain face,” he told her, showing Jennifer the picture of the deer he caught with his phone. Her lips cracked into a smile as she held Andrew’s phone in her hands. After a moment, she noticed he had several missed messages and even two missed calls from the notifications lining the top of his screen. She didn’t recall hearing any sound other than their breathing, leaves rustling, and the cog railway that passed every half hour.

Jennifer pressed the home button to close out of the application and held the phone towards Andrew. She took note of the background wallpaper, an image she was sure was Andrew taking a selfie with a young woman with strawberry-blonde hair. The woman was beautiful.

Andrew stood with his back to her. He took in the scenery in front of her. As he felt the phone pushing into his side, Andrew took it blindly and slipped it into his pocket.

“I’ll send it to you in an email later if you want,” Andrew said absently. “I know I said probably another ten minutes about ten minutes ago, but,” he turned to her, grinning sheepishly, “I think my timing was off.”

Jennifer shrugged and smiled. “That’s okay. I’m enjoying this.” The truth slipped a bit too easily off her tongue.

Andrew looked her over. He said nothing and put his back to her again. “I can hear the water.”

“Me too.” The sound of rushing water had grown considering louder. They had even been able to catch a glimpse of it through large boulders about five minutes ago. Andrew had dipped his hand into the cold mountain water stream and flicked her with it. It was refreshingly bitter-cold.

More than anything, Jennifer wanted to see the water shooting over the edge of a cliff and falling straight down, like in the movies. Andrew explained it wouldn’t look like that though. The water didn’t pool where he was taking her. He told her that they wouldn’t see the water coming over a ledge, that part was still higher than they would be able to climb. They would see the falling water from the spout. It would fall beneath them and run down the side of the mountain through moss, brush, vines and beneath rocks. Although that last part didn’t seem too appealing; but, it was a waterfall and Jennifer was beyond excited.

“So, how much further?” Jennifer ran her arm along the length of her forehead and balanced herself as she crossed another log.

Andrew only chuckled. After rising several more feet through the dense forest, the air turned chill. The sound of the rushing water became sharper and clearer. They reached flat ground, another rock with the beginnings of tree sprouts all around. Jennifer was still aware of the ants moving across the surface of the mountainside. Before them was a fallen tree, much larger in circumference than before. It seemed to be about five feet over their heads. She couldn’t even fathom how they would climb around it. Jennifer could hear Andrew’s breathing ahead of her. He was finally out of breath.

He turned towards her, wiping his brow. “I’m pretty sure it’s over this tree.”

“What’s over this tree? The waterfall?”

Jennifer looked at him, concerned. She could see the water rushing beneath the tree and through the bramble that had fallen underneath. The top was wedged in between a tree and another, larger boulder, but that was several feet in front of them. Its truck was still attached at the base, across the gorge that a rushing stream ran down. The only way to see the waterfall was over the fallen tree that was lodged several feet in the air.