Mythe: A Fairy Tale (31 page)

“I thought you’d like that,” Curt said dryly. “I also haven’t forgotten that I promised I would make it up to you if the job went south. I don’t think any of us anticipated exactly how far south it would end up going…”

“Antarctica,” David muttered under his breath, but Curt pretended not to hear him and continued without a pause.

“…and I’d like to thank you all for not coming directly to my office and saying ‘I told you so.’”

Manda suppressed a grin. She’d intended to tell him much more than that—quite clearly and forcefully—but circumstances with Richard at the time had pushed all thoughts of it from her mind, and so Curt had been spared her tirade.

“So, to make it up to you,” Curt continued, “I’m giving each of you two extra weeks of paid vacation while you avail yourself of Jerry’s gift. Unless you have a personal conflict, I would suggest next week and the week after. I’ve cleared your schedule for those two weeks, with a little help from Jen. It’s probably best if you both go at the same time so that one doesn’t feel like they have to make up the workload for the one who’s gone. Both of you just go away and don’t think about work.”

Manda looked questioningly toward Richard. Two weeks in Vail with Richard would be fun. She hoped he was free. If not, she would reschedule it for a time when he was, regardless of Curt’s suggestion.

Curt cleared his throat to regain her attention. “I already checked with Richard, on Jen’s suggestion, to see if he knew of any prior commitments you might have for those two weeks. He was under the impression that they would work out fine.”

“I’ve already made reservations and given Mikey those two weeks off,” Richard informed her with a wink, “so I really hope you don’t have other plans.”

Manda beamed happily, already looking forward to this impromptu vacation. David was right; she really was turning into a slacker! Well, she deserved it. She’d been working hard since she was 16, first in school and then her career. It was about time she enjoyed herself a little.

“I’d better call Stacey and see if she can get the time off,” David said, jumping up from his chair. He was halfway to his office before he remembered to stop and ask Curt if he was finished.

“With you, yes. Go call.” Curt dismissed him with a wave.

“I especially wanted to apologize to you, Manda, for not trusting your judgment more. I made your life very miserable and I’m a big enough man to admit that I screwed up. You, on the other hand, showed extraordinary grace and professionalism when you had every right to just walk away from the whole fiasco. I want you to know that it didn’t go unnoticed.”

This was as emotive as she’d ever seen Curt and it made her uncomfortable. “Thank you,” she replied self-consciously.

Curt just nodded brusquely and turned his attention to Richard. “Just for the record, it wasn’t the threat of losing your business that moved me to action before. It was concern for an irreplaceable and valued team member. Though I fully understand and appreciate your motives, I want you to understand where you rank in this equation. I just fired one of my best and oldest clients—and a good friend—because of my high regard for this young lady. Don’t for one minute imagine that you would fare any better.

“Now, I’ve got work to do. You kids have a nice vacation. I’ll e-mail you the details from Jerry.” Curt left without another word.

Manda stared after him in open-mouthed shock. What had that last bit to Richard been?

As if answer to her unspoken question, Josh spoke for the first time since they had returned to find Curt waiting. “That, big brother, was a warning…in case you missed it,” he said, sounding decidedly impressed.

“It most certainly was,” Richard responded in surprised amusement. “My respect for that man just rose considerably.” He placed a finger under Manda’s chin and closed her mouth. “Don’t look so surprised, sweetie. You
have a way of inspiring loyalty in the people around you.” He punctuated his words with a quick kiss. “I hope you don’t mind me inviting myself to Vail. I was sort of hoping you’d invite me along, but if there’s someone else you’d like to invite instead....” He trailed off with a martyred look for Manda’s benefit and a poorly hidden wink toward Josh.

“Do you mind if I come up for the two weeks too?” Josh asked Manda uncertainly. “I won’t get into you guys’ way. I love to ski though.”

“Of course you can come! I would have suggested it anyway. It’ll be fun!” She hugged the younger man affectionately. She’d almost come to think of Josh as a younger brother, and she enjoyed his youthful enthusiasm. “I know David and Stacey will enjoy having you along too. And since I guess it would be rude to invite you and leave your brother here all alone, I suppose he can come along too.”

“Just as I thought,” Richard lamented, doing a fairly good imitation of Josh’s forlorn puppy look. “She only lets me hang around because I’m related to you.”

David, returning from his office just in time to hear Richard’s remark, guffawed. “I was pretty sure she didn’t even realize you had a brother, Richard—or that anyone else existed either for that matter.”

Manda made a face at David, but was too excited to throw anything at him, or to continue teasing Richard. “Are you free for the entire two weeks then?” Manda asked the latter hopefully.

“Yes, and I’m looking forward to it.” Richard’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.

“Is Stacey free?” Josh asked David, who had flopped back down into his chair.

“She’ll call me back later and let me know for sure, but she doesn’t think it’ll be a problem.”

When Stacey called back a little later the news was good. She had been able to schedule the time off and they arranged to leave on Saturday morning, just a few days away. Though Richard had offered to charter a plane, David had protested, citing the many instances of rock stars and their entourages being killed in small plane crashes. Stacey and Manda had both shushed him but agreed that driving would be more scenic, and the decision was unanimous. David and Stacey drove up together in David’s car, while Manda and Josh rode with Richard in his, though Josh spent the majority of the drive napping in the backseat.

On Sunday, they were up early and spent all day on the slopes. Manda hadn’t skied in years, but it all came back to her quickly. She had no trouble at all keeping up with Richard and David and was, in fact, a little better than Stacey and Josh. Her return to skis wasn’t without consequences though. Her muscles were stiff and sore the next morning, but with the help of a hot bath and an over-the-counter analgesic she was able to hide that fact. Everyone had been so surprised and impressed by her skiing prowess that she didn’t want to tarnish her new-found image.

Luckily for her, she didn’t have to try and hide her body’s rebellion while subjecting it to further abuse. They skipped any sort of physical exertion on Monday, instead spending the day enjoying the local jazz festival. By the time they donned their skis again the following morning, Manda thought she was over the worst of it. After another full day on the mountain, however, she realized she’d just been kidding herself. Her muscles tightened up painfully during dinner and she knew she was going to pay a price in the morning. When she rose from the table she managed to hide her wince from everyone but Richard. He didn’t mention it until he was walking her back to her room alone though.

“Are you hurt?” he asked with a worried frown.

“Not really,” she assured him. “Just sore. I guess I’m a little out of practice.”

Richard smiled sympathetically. “You do work muscles that don’t get used every day. How about we avoid skis tomorrow and go for a drive instead? Just you and me. There’s a waterfall nearby that’s supposed to be beautiful in the winter. Then, after lunch, maybe you’d like to spend the afternoon at the spa.”

“You’re a genius,” Manda said appreciatively. “You come up with the best ideas!”

“Well, they’re not always great, but I do have my moments. When I picked Aronson to work on the Foundation, for example.”

“That was a good one,” Manda agreed with a smile.

“One of my best.”

The next morning Richard and Manda lingered over breakfast long after the others had headed off for another day of skiing. She’d been sore again, as she’d expected, but another hot bath and some more pain relievers left her feeling almost human. She bundled up thoroughly for their excursion, taking to heart Richard’s warning that they would have to walk a short distance to get to their final destination.

Although Richard had said the falls were nearby—and Manda supposed they were, as the crow flies—it was a considerable drive on the winding and circuitous mountain roads required to get there. By the time they arrived at the small, nondescript roadside pull-off, Manda was glad to get out and stretch her stiffening legs. The short, gentle hike to the frozen waterfall loosened her muscles nicely.

The waterfall actually turned out to be a series of modest cascades at the foot of a slightly larger, though still moderate, fall. In the summer they would provide a picturesque but not particularly impressive display, but winter transformed them into an abstract and spectacular ice sculpture. A slight trickle of water still seeped through in places, slicking the otherworldly formation and making the irregular columns of ice sparkle like diamonds in the sun.

“Oh! It’s lovely!” Manda exclaimed. Her gloved hand fumbled clumsily for the camera she’d stashed in a zippered pocket in her coat. Unsuccessful, she finally removed the glove. The temperature was hovering near zero and she was reluctant to expose her warm fingers to the frigid air, but the pocket was small and awkwardly placed, and the glove made it impossible to extricate her small camera. Finally managing to retrieve it, she handed it to Richard so she could put her glove back on. He immediately snapped several pictures of her.

“Stop that! I don’t need any pictures of myself.”

“No, but I do,” Richard replied, ignoring her laughing protest. Grinning challengingly he took a few more shots.

Manda put one hand up between her face and the camera lens and extended the other hand out for the camera. “Wouldn’t you rather have a good one though, instead of one where I’m dressed like a snowman and have a red nose?”

Richard placed the camera in her extended hand, but then captured her wrist and pulled her closer. He kissed the end of her cold nose.

“You look gorgeous. You put the scenery to shame…even with a pink nose.” Manda stuck her tongue out at him and he chuckled. “You’re nose is cold though. Take your pictures and we’ll head back to the car and warm up.”

Manda took a few dozen pictures from various vantage points. In the spirit of turnabout being fair play, she took a few of Richard as well before handing the camera back to him.

“Could you please put this in your pocket? I’ll never get it back into mine, and I’m not taking off my glove again.”

He stashed it in one of his much roomier pockets, zipping it in securely. “Ready to go back to the car?”

“I suppose,” Manda sighed. It was very cold, but she was dressed warmly and the sun was bright. The day was beautiful. She wanted to enjoy it. Besides, it was nice to be alone with Richard—really alone, with no family or friends or fans around. “Maybe we could take the long way back and explore a little?”

“As you wish, my snow angel,” Richard agreed with a flourishing bow that made Manda laugh. He reached out his hand for hers and they strolled off into the trees at a tangent to the path they had taken from the car.

Although the mountains around them were blanketed under many feet of snow, here under an unusually thick canopy of evergreens, where the geography of the mountain had created a protected valley, the snow was only ankle deep in most places. Meandering through the trees, avoiding the deep drifts, they made a contest out of who could find and identify the most animal tracks in the snow. It was a game Manda was particularly good at, having spent countless hours in the mountains with her father as he pointed out the various animal
signs. Richard was better though, pointing out and identifying the smallest and most obscure marks before she could even discern them.

“You cheat!” she accused playfully after he pointed out the almost invisible disturbance of snow created by an owls wingtips.

“How could I possibly cheat?” he laughed, spreading his arms wide as if to demonstrate that he had nothing to hide.

“I don’t know, but you go over there,” she instructed with a shooing gesture, “and I’ll go over here, so at least I’ll have a chance.”

They proceeded in this fashion for a short distance, with several yards between them. Richard found a few more animal tracks while Manda couldn’t find anything. She casually scooped up a large handful of snow as they walked, idly forming it into a ball. The snow was too dry to pack well, but she worked on it until she had something roughly round that held its shape fairly well.

Manda threw the fluffy snowball at Richard when he wasn’t looking. It hit him on the shoulder, exploding into a shower of sparkling crystals in the sunlight and leaving a snowy spot on his coat.

“Hey!” he protested, laughing, “you said you only threw things at David!”

“I guess I lied,” she confessed, unrepentant.

“Well, there are consequences for lying where I come from, young lady,” he growled playfully. He scooped up a large handful of snow and packed it into a loose snowball of his own, advancing on her slowly and deliberately.