Colorado Game - 2. Chapter 2

Crap, this wasn't the best way to meet the big boss! As he left me standing there with my hand still half raised in the air, it sank in that I had made a bit of a fool of myself. Then, when Eric hit me on the shoulders, laughing his ass off, I didn't exactly feel much better.

"Way to go, dude... ‘who the hell is Ross?' and he's right behind you. Man, that was classic." I gave him a sour smile and punched his arm.

"Couldn't you have said something, anything?" I hissed, as the whole group went for their luggage when three busses arrived at the parking lot. I bent down to pick up my backpack and swung it over my shoulder, almost keeling back because of the weight. We'd been told to pack for snowy surroundings, so I had pretty much emptied my closet and dumped it all in the backpack, with some ski-boots and other heavy garments.
As Eric picked up his luggage as well, he grinned, shaking his head.

"I hadn't even seen him. Don't worry about it, man; this weekend, you're home free. He always insists on us calling him Ross on these trips. He's cool, don't worry. He likes to be one-of-the-guys. Besides, you have a contract. You don't have to suck up to the boss, or he'll be without a score."

But I was a bit worried; I hadn't even known who the big boss was. My negotiations had been with the legal department, so I'd never met the big boss, or his brother, who was the company's vice president. No one I knew talked to Mr. Forester directly, aside from Janice. I didn't even know to whom Will reported, and he was the head of the sound department. I decided to find out during this trip.

It turned out that this ‘trip' was going to Aspen, a 220 mile drive from Denver; about three-and-a-half to four hours by luxury bus. Eric made sure that we got the seats all the way in the back so we could stretch our legs while being served on by an on-board stewardess. About an hour into the trip we received coffee and sandwiches and I gladly took seconds when offered; I hadn't eaten yet because I'd been on the late side of things. Aside from that, I just enjoyed the view. It was a little after noon when we arrived in Aspen itself. The surprise wasn't so much that we would be skiing during the week; it was where we would be staying.

Four luxury chalets, close to each other, and each would have enough room to house the fifty plus people on this trip, even though it might mean that some would have to sleep on the floor; but even for those there had been made arrangements; airbeds. One of the chalets had been reserved for couples who worked for the company. The rest was to be divided between men and women, with the men taking two and the women taking one chalet, them being a minority. We could pick for ourselves which one we wanted to stay in. I chose the furthest one, mainly because most people were clamoring for the other, closer, two. Also, this one, I guessed, had the best view of the valley below, since it was built higher up than the other three. So I hauled my backpack out of the luggage compartment underneath the bus and started up the slope. Joey and Eric were right with me and together we ran for it, goofing around as we went. Joey, being the one who worked out the most and had the best stamina among the three of us, arrived first, followed closely by me and then Eric, who panted like a bull. He didn't get much time to rest though; we'd been spotted by the others and at least eight figures were approaching fast. So once we got inside, it was a mad dash to get the best room.

Since I wanted the best view I could find, I went up to the first floor, hauling the heavy backpack behind me on the stairs. I got up there not a moment too soon; as I stepped onto the landing, the front door was practically overrun. Up here, there were three rooms; a twin, a single and a master bedroom (and you get one guess as to which one had the best view). I had to choose quickly because footsteps were on the stairs, so I doubled back to the master, touching the handle a second before...

"I'm taking this room," Ross Forester said.

"No way!" I said, grinning up at him.

"Yes way," he answered, equally grinning, trying to pull my hand off the handle. When it became apparent to him that I wasn't about to give way, the door on the right side slammed shut; a second or two later the one on the left.

"Interesting," I said, looking back and forth, "this is the last room. And since I got here first, it looks like you're sleeping downstairs."
I sent him the sweetest smile I could muster, as well as sending him a warning with my eyes. His eyes flickered as he narrowed them.

"I'll flip you for it; I don't wanna sleep on one of those air mattresses."

"Neither do I," I replied. "But as you can see, my hand is on the handle. Yours is on my hand, so I was first. No flipping; this one's mine."

"I'm the boss," he said, quasi menacingly, "So I get to stay in the master."

"That doesn't work on me; you're not my boss," I shot back, "so this master is mine!" This was fun, even though I did feel a bit uncertainty coming on; what if he actually did fire me? Stranger things have happened in this world.

"Okay, we're not getting anywhere. I could just physically move you," he said, sizing me up with a little disdain in his expression.

"You could try." The hand on mine started to squeeze. Jesus, he was strong in his hands. The door creaked, but it could also have been the bones in my hand; it sure hurt enough to be the bones. I had to let go or start this weekend off with an injured hand. I let go and he smiled triumphantly.

"Hah! Loser." I didn't know what surprised me more; the fact that he called me a loser or that I had given up; I never give up.

"Fuck," I spat, chiding myself. Damn, my hand hurt. I flapped it a bit, to get some blood flowing again and when I looked up, he frowned and bit his lower lip. "Boss or not, you don't have to physically hurt someone to get your way, jerk," I mumbled, turning away.
I heard a sigh behind me and then he called after to me to wait.

"Alright, that was wrong of me. So here's the deal; how about we share the room. I really can't stand those air things. And you were right; you were here first but by now, there isn't any place to go except here; what do you
say. Deal?"

"Sure," I replied quickly. I wasn't too keen on an air mattress either. "But no more manhandling me. You've done enough damage for one day."
He looked guiltily at my hand.

"I'm sorry; I didn't actually mean to hurt you. But we settled on sharing the room, then?"

I nodded, opened the door and walked inside, only to halt abruptly, causing Ross to walk straight into me. I barely stayed on my feet. We both remained silent as we stared at the king-sized bed that dominated the room. Slowly, with a creak that went on for way too long, the door softly fell into the lock behind us. Aside from the bed, there was a seating area with a small sofa, a TV and a chair. Other than the bathroom, off to the side, there wasn't anything else.

"Ooookay... Ehm... where would you sleep?" I asked. Ross sighed and let his luggage fall to the floor. Then he looked at me, then to the bed and back to me.

"We could share the bed."