Brother to the Boss (Managing the Bosses 8)

“You live here, then?” Jason asked, turning to look at him.

“What better place to live?” Mark answered. It was something he’d already planned to say, and was pleased to have an opening for. “I’ve got peace and quiet, beautiful views, and easy access to a well-staffed restaurant and bar. All the amenities a man could want.”

Jason laughed, though Mark wasn’t entirely sure that he was sincere about it. Then they started out toward the patio.

“You weren’t kidding about that view,” the newscaster said when they were standing on the edge of the flagstones, looking down the slope at the green stretching below and the trees that framed it.

“There are walking trails through those woods,” Mark said. “All well-lit and maintained, of course, and we have our own small vineyard on the south side of the building.”

“What can you tell us about the course itself?” Jason asked, starting down the path toward the driving range and the first hole.

“Some of the course was already as is when we purchased the property,” Mark said. “I did have a fairly large portion of it reworked to give our guests something a little more interesting than the original run, and we gave the rest of it a bit of a face-lift so that it matched the newer areas.”

They were down closer to the start of the course now, and could more clearly see the people out on the parts of it that were visible from their angle. It was a big course, and there were sections of trees and little hills and dips that hid some of the players. To their left was the driving range, where Erica and a couple of the other pro golfers were giving lessons. Mark led the news crew in that direction.

“This, of course, is the driving range. I have several trainers on staff, all of them excellent.”

Erica broke away from the man she was teaching and approached them, smiling at Mark.

“Erica,” Mark said. “My most senior trainer.”

She turned her smile on the camera, and Mark watched it work its magic. He hid a smile of his own. Looking smug before the interview had even ended would probably annoy people. But he did have kind of a lot to look smug about; he knew how nice a place he had. And how fantastic an employee.

“How do you like working at Little Lake, Erica?” Jason was asking when Mark pulled his attention back to them.

He was smiling almost too wide at her. She smiled sweetly back, ignoring his all too obvious interest.

“It’s my dream job,” she said, standing in front of the camera in her perfectly fitted pastel top and black skirt, her long blond hair tied back from her face in a tail. She looked like every rich golfer’s fantasy. “I’ve worked as a trainer at plenty of golf clubs, but Little Lake is absolutely the best.”

“You sound pretty emphatic about that,” Jason laughed. “What do you say to people who say that you’re biased? Are you saying that for a paycheck, or because you mean it?”

“I never say anything I don’t mean,” Erica said, and this time she wasn’t smiling. “Not for a paycheck or anything else. If I didn’t like Little Lake, I wouldn’t have stayed. But I have a fantastic boss here, and a beautiful workplace.” Her mouth turned up at the corners again. “Not to mention some really good food. What’s not to like?”

From out of the camera’s view, Mark gave her a smile that he hoped didn’t look as dopey as it felt on his face. He also hoped the news crew didn’t see, because he was pretty sure it made his attraction to her painfully obvious.

“Why, indeed?” Jason asked, and the camera panned away from her.

Mark straightened as it returned to him, and gave it a more professional smile.

“Anything else that you’d like to see, Jason?”

The newscaster shook his head. “Not if you have other places to be, Mr. Reid. We’ll shoot some B-roll, but you’re welcome to head back to your duties if that’s better for you.”

“You ought to stay and have dinner, if you have the time,” Mark said. “On me.”

He saw them exchanging glances, and Jason looked down at his watch. When he looked up, his smile was more genuine than the cheesy thing he’d worn for the camera.

“That actually sounds great, Mr. Reid. I definitely have to try this food I’ve been hearing all about. We’ll do the rest of our shoot while the light is still good, and then we’ll come up to the clubhouse.”

“See you then,” Mark said.

They turned and wandered away, obviously going to find a good backdrop for Jason’s opening and closing statements about the club, and as soon as they were out of earshot Mark slumped with relief.

“Glad it’s over?” Erica asked, her voice amused.

“So glad,” Mark said. “I get that it’s good for the club, but I’m not sure how Alex deals with the press on a regular basis. Keeping up the mask of perfection for that long is exhausting.”

She reached out and rested a hand on his bicep. “You did great, Mark. Trust me. This is going to bring in a lot of people.”