“Tell him it’s stuffed with my soul,” Alexander joked. “Or mozzarella, whichever sounds more appropriate.”
Poor Alexander had been stuck working at Paradise Peak for the last six months. He was an internationally-acclaimed chef who had run his own restaurant in Paris for two years before he got caught with drug paraphernalia on a trip to Miami. Luckily, his lawyer had brokered a plea agreement and found him a position at Paradise Peak for his year of probation.
I knew he hated it with us, but he was the best chef we had ever had, and despite Brad’s pickiness, Alexander delivered top-tier food. Probably better than any other rehab facility in the country.
“I’ll tell him it’s mozzarella,” I replied.
After serving Brad his mozzarella-filled chicken, I finished getting everyone started on their meals before leaning against the nurses’ counter to talk with Kaitlin. It
was our normal afternoon routine and a short bit of semi-solitude while the patients enjoyed their meals.
“That new guy seems like a giant asshole,” I said.
“A hot one.”
“Well, I don’t think looks have a bearing on someone’s asshole rating. Mr. March told me to take my tongue piercing out again; what is the probability I can get him to forget about that damn rule?”
“Cassidy, just take it out. It’s not like you’re giving blowjobs here and need to impress your boyfriend with it. Oh, wait, you haven’t had a boyfriend in two years.” She dramatically laughed.
It was the truth, and I hated when Kaitlin brought it up. I had purposely been avoiding men since getting sober myself. I could have dated any number of guys if I wanted to, but I didn’t. I was single and very happy. But she just drove me nuts when she teased me about it.
Most guys my age drank, and it was impossible to find a guy who didn’t want to go out to the clubs or drink at a restaurant, and I just didn’t think I could handle that kind of pressure. I hadn’t even gone out with my friends lately because I wasn’t confident enough in my own ability to stay sober yet.
“You’re just jealous because I could have any man I wanted, down on his knees begging to have me,” I said to try and get her riled up and then I turned toward the room to go back to work.
Sure as hell, when I turned around, there was Mr. March and that damn new patient Erik standing right there. They had both heard everything I had just said. Mr. March stood there with a disastrous grimace on his face.
“Do I have to get on my knees?” Erik said and winked at me.
My eyes got big, my face turned one hundred shades of red, and I looked to Kaitlin to rescue me, but she just turned around as she started to laugh. There was no way of avoiding the fact that both Mr. March and this new patient had just heard me and I stood frozen as I tried to figure out what the heck to do.
Erik had a smirk on his face and looked like he was devouring my body with his eyes. He was obviously one of those confident guys who could get any woman he wanted, no matter how crude he was. But that wasn’t going to work around here. He was at Paradise Peak for treatment, not to get laid.
But as I looked at him, I felt my body warming. His tongue darted out and gently licked his lips as his eyes moved up every inch of my body. He was taking in my curves and mentally saving the pictures so he could think about me later: I just knew it. The pure embarrassment of the moment was too much for me, and I finally gathered myself enough to mumble something and then storm away from the two men.
Damn him and that sexy-ass smile and winking! Damn that guy!
Chapter Two
Erik
Maybe coming to a rehab center wasn’t going to be as bad as I had originally thought it would be. This girl was hot as hell. It was a shame she had herself hidden away in the middle-of-nowhere Colorado. I could see making the most out of my stay if I could get the hot redhead naked and in my bed. Otherwise, the entire trip to Colorado was shaping up to be a real downer.
Women were my weakness, there was no use denying it or even trying to pretend like I could control myself around them. When a woman pressed up against me and told me she wanted me, that was all it took to have her naked in my bed. I hadn’t had to chase after a woman for years because they were happy to throw themselves at me whenever I needed some company for a few hours.
I never let women spend the night unless my level of intoxication was so high that I fell asleep and totally forgot they were in my bed. Otherwise, I either went home or they did. There was no need to actually fall asleep with them if our fun was over, after all.
Doing things that I didn’t want to do certainly wasn’t in my normal repertoire. So, I had to make this trip out to be something that I could make useful on some level. If that meant I was spending time with a hot, young redhead, then that might just be motivation enough for me.
I didn’t really know why I let my business partner, Spencer, talk me into coming to a drug rehab center. I didn’t feel I had an issue with drugs. I liked to party. What red-blooded man with my kind of money didn’t like to throw some parties? I might have gotten a little out of hand at times, but certainly nothing that required a treatment facility.
My only purpose for going to that Godforsaken place was to get away from the media for a few weeks and clean up my act so we could invest in a new movie studio. The financial backers had expressed concerns about my constant partying, and despite me adamantly refusing that I had a problem, they weren’t interested in letting us in on the deal unless I was more stable.
So, after a little research, Spencer came up with Paradise Peak. It was far enough away from my world in San Francisco, but at the same time, it was a very well put together facility. The grounds were immaculate, even though it was the middle of winter. I loved that I would have access to everything I needed right at my fingertips.
Sure, I wanted to get better. Or whatever it was my friends thought I needed. But I didn’t need some hole-in-the-wall treatment center that didn’t even have a pool. This place had a pool, fitness center, yoga, and tons of other exercises and activities.
“It’s more like a resort than a rehab center, Erik. Trust me, it’s going to be so relaxing. You can sleep all day, swim in the afternoons, get massages, and just totally relax.”