Chapter 1
June 2016
Thane Walker’s tires squealed as he rounded the corner, barely touching the brakes before pressing the gas again. The small digital clock on the dash flipped a single digit, making him officially late for his two o’clock meeting.
“Are you listening?” Erin asked, drawing his attention back to the phone conversation just as the impressive sight of the newest Escape property in Coronado, California, came into view.
“No, I wasn’t. Say it again.” Thane held back the growl as a red light forced him to stop at the intersection. So close, yet so far from his destination.
“When are you gonna be home? Brock’s best friend from high school’s coming to stay for a few days. He’s six-one, blond hair, nice body, good job. He’s interviewing for a position in the State Department…” Erin trailed off as if she were dangling a carrot, but he could only half listen to her as he nervously drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, willing the light to change. “He’s twenty-nine, your age, and I want you to go out with him.”
That caught his full attention.
“I’m not interested,” he said and took off when the light turned green, following way too close to the car in front of him.
“Thane! I’ve told him all about you and he’s interested and his name is Noel. I love that name. It fits him so well.”
“I’ve told you this before: no blind dates, no friendly dates, no Erin insisting upon dates.”
Erin and her husband, Corey, were his neighbors…and some of the best friends he had. Erin watered his plant while he traveled—yes, a plant she gave him for his last birthday, but Erin had a way with keeping plants alive, a trait he didn’t share. But Erin insisted on trying to set him up with all available bachelors in hopes he’d fall in love.
Since Erin was as close a friend as he’d ever had, Thane was comfortable saying, “You need to build that bridge and get over it. Like I’ve told you over and over, it’s never gonna happen.”
Though the Escape resort hadn’t been far from the traffic light, it took a veritable eternity to turn onto the short drive leading to the front entrance.
“You’re frustrating. What am I gonna say to him now?” Erin’s eager anticipation had changed to crestfallen in a matter of seconds. Her pout at being shot down came through the car speakers loud and clear, even if she should be used to his turning down her setups by now.
“Crochet him a scarf. One like you made me last year. It’d be a better deal for him anyway,” he said, giving a grin at her frustrated sigh. “I gotta go. I’m here.”
“Good luck on whatever you’re meeting about!”
Thane grinned at her encouragement and reached over to end the call as he swiftly pressed the brakes, coming to an abrupt stop in the middle of the covered drive. He threw the vehicle in park then grabbed his laptop bag from the passenger seat before sliding out of the rented SUV. He slung the packed leather case over his shoulder and began patting his front suit coat pockets to find the keyless remote key fob. About halfway between the valet stand and SUV, the vehicle brought him to a forced stop as it began going nuts with all its alarms warning him he might be walking too far out of range to keep the engine running.
“Mr. Walker, you’re back,” a valet said, vaulting away from the stand, jogging the few steps toward him with a big toothy grin. “How was your flight, sir?”
Even being late for this meeting with Arik Layne and Tristan Wilder, and with an anxiety level of about a nine point five, Thane returned the grin. He stuck his hands in his slacks pockets when his initial search for the key fob came up empty. “Be honest, how do you always know who’s getting out of these cars? You can’t possibly remember all these people,” Thane asked, finally locating the device and handing it over.
“Well, sir, I do remember you. You own the best restaurant here and our employee discount extends there. That makes me realhappy, so I’ll let you in on the secret.” The kid lifted both his forefingers uptothe awning as he started moving around Thanetoward the driver’s side of the vehicle, which immediately silenced the alarm as the valet got closer to his still open door. “That Wilder dude, he’s going nuts here. We have cameras and all this artificial intelligence that feeds information to the monitors at the different valet stands. If you’ve stayed here before and pull under this canopy, we know who you are and the front desk is notified of your arrival.”
Thane shook his head in amusement. Of course an Escape property would have the best of the best technology. Arik Layne and Tristan Wilder concepts were the hottest things to hit the hospitality industry in years. That dynamic duo had made some explosive accomplishments. Luckily for Thane, those two men had taken a liking to him, and he wasn’t going to mess up the opportunities that afforded.