The Rule Maker (Rule Breakers) Read online

  “They’ve agreed that for the sake of the company, it is a better business decision to sell the property,” he said.

  Traitors. My grandparents didn’t have a loyal bone in their bodies, not even when it came to blood. “They’re selling it to you to make an extra buck?” I said. Un-fucking-believable. “I won’t let this happen.”

  “Last time I checked, your name wasn’t in the contract,” Jake shot back.

  True. But my ownership of the property was down to the marrow of the wood in this place. My sweat, my blood, it went into revamping this resort into something spectacular.

  “What do you plan on doing with Divinity?” Jason asked, doing a better job at keeping composed.

  I couldn’t say I wasn’t two seconds from connecting my fist with this guy’s face. His arrogance unleashed every bit of pent-up anger I’d harbored for my grandparents. They couldn’t keep their damn hands out of Jason’s business for one minute. And now something that he loved was being taken away from him.

  “Besides knocking it to the ground and adding four new lifts? Really, you guys missed the mark on capitalizing on the trails. Maybe I can get that hot designer to help me out with new plans. Did you see the tits on that woman?”

  Within an instant, red blurred my vision, and I was ready to jump over the table. “You’d better shut the fuck up before I knock your teeth down your throat.”

  “Ryder.” Jason gripped my arm. He turned back to Jake. “What my brother is trying to say is that your misogynistic attitude will not be tolerated here. My designer is not a piece of ass.” Jason leveled him with a gaze. “And I think there’s been a mistake. We’ll be opening for guests in a few weeks, and we have a design show taking a tour through the place this weekend.”

  Jake smiled. “No. It won’t.”

  He pulled a few folded pieces of paper from the inside pocket of his jacket and placed them in front of us. “This place is mine, and I have a demo crew coming Saturday morning to start the process. We need to be ready in time for ski season.”

  Jason and I both leaned over to take a look at the piece of paper, which was the deed to the property. With Jake’s name on there.

  Fuck.

  …

  Zoey

  After Ryder and his brother disappeared into the lodge’s main office, I turned to his grandparents and said, “Well, would you like to see the guest rooms?”

  Ryder’s grandfather seemed much more down to earth than the grandmother. I was used to dealing with those of the upper echelon since my start at Bass and Goldstein, so I wasn’t too worried about handling Ryder’s grandparents with tact.

  “So you and my grandson are close?”

  “Yes.” I didn’t really know how else to answer that. He hadn’t introduced me as his girlfriend, and I didn’t know if he wanted to keep that under wraps for now. Now that the job was done, we didn’t have to hide our relationship anymore.

  “Well, that’s lovely,” she said, disdain clear in her voice.

  Brr, was it cold in here?

  Yep. Not awkward whatsoever. Note to self: never offer to show people around the resort anymore.

  “Here is one of the honeymoon suites,” I said, walking into the room where I’d been stuck with Ryder a few months back. Gone was the hideous carpet, paintings, and faux wainscoting. In was a beautiful four-poster bed, rich blues, and creams that I wanted to bury myself in. A room that I’d want to be stuck in with Ryder. Heck, I’d take the horrid seventies version if it meant he was here right this second. Anything to make his grandmother ease up on giving me the stink eye.

  “The designs seem a bit simplistic, but tolerable.” Ryder’s grandmother sniffed. Actually put her nose in the air and sniffed.

  Wow. Now that was a new one, and I’d had some pretty difficult clientele.

  What was I even supposed to say to that? My first instinct was to go for the good ol’ throat-punch, though I doubted Ryder would appreciate that.

  She didn’t have a design degree. The people who mattered loved it, most importantly my boss. I decided to ignore her jab and moved on with the tour. “And here is the master bath. It even has heated tiles for those cold nights in the wintertime.”

  I looked around the room and sighed. Never thought I’d say this, but I’d miss this place.

  I led them through the other guest rooms and toured the outside complex with the lifts, pointing out the area across the expanse.

  “And those are the trails. Ryder is setting up new lift chairs to be installed in June.”

  His grandmother bristled. Seriously, I needed a sweater for all the shade this woman was throwing my way. Forget her blatant hate for my work—she should be proud that her grandsons had taken on such a big project and succeeded.

  “I don’t know why he spent so much time on this place,” his grandmother started in.

  Was this woman on crack? How could she not understand? “I’m not sure what you mean,” I said. Ryder spent time on the place because he loved it. Sure, he wanted to burn it to the ground in the beginning, we all did. But he’d changed his mind once he gave it a fair shot.

  “Beatrice, this isn’t your place,” his grandfather said.

  “Really, George. Look around. All this time spent on this”—she looked around and grimaced—“redesign, just for it to be torn down. It’s a shame, really.” She casually studied her manicured nails, like she was talking about the weather.

  Now I knew I must have suffered from a brain aneurism, because I sure as hell did not hear those words come out of her mouth. “Torn down?”

  “He didn’t tell you?” She shot me a pitying look, but I didn’t fail to notice the gleam in her eyes. She was happy to dish out some gossip at my expense—a shark that smelled blood.

  “The person Jason and Ryder are meeting with is buying the resort. He plans to demo the place within the week.”

  No. “Excuse me?” What the hell? I was in the loop for everything on this project, I think I’d know if the damn building was going to be torn down. No way would Ryder do that after the time we spent on this place. Months upon months.

  “He’s selling the resort to Jake. That’s what the meeting is about this afternoon. Just finalizing everything. It was actually Ryder’s idea to begin with. He knew this resort was a lost cause.” She trailed her hand down one of the curtains. “Such a waste.”

  No way. I could not even begin to process this. There was no way this was happening. But those were Ryder’s exact words. That it was a waste of time, that there was no point in even completing the project. Had he really been the reason the resort had sold? And if so, what did that mean for my meeting on Saturday?

  Ryder returned to the main room where I stood with his grandparents, ready to throw down. His cheeks were devoid of color, his gaze hollow. I wasn’t about to lay into him completely without getting the details first. I was giving him the benefit of the doubt that maybe his grandmother was mistaken. This Jake guy could have been anyone. A vendor, a patron, anything. He didn’t have to be a person looking to tear down months of hard work. My work.

  “Zoey, I have to tell you something.” He paled even more, and the sadness in his eyes drop-kicked me straight in the stomach.

  “It’s true then? You’re selling the lodge?”

  He looked at me then back at his grandparents. “Yeah, how did you know that?”

  “Your grandmother told me.” My throat tightened, and the hot sting of tears pricked at my vision. What did this mean for all the hard work we’d done? “Told me that you’re the reason it sold.”

  He shook his head and turned to his grandmother, his lips curling in disgust. “You told her what?”

  “You’re the one that told me it’d be better off sold for scraps. I just went ahead and followed through,” his grandmother said. She looked particularly satisfied with herself. It made me want to do and say very unprofessional things.

  “Are you insane? Like actually insane?” He practically spat the words. “You’ve just
ruined months of work with your sick game.”

  She waved him off. “Your little girlfriend will get paid. Not to worry.”

  My eye twitched. Little girlfriend. The words rankled me.

  I stared at her, with her crisp white pantsuit and that blood red lipstick. A devil incarnate that just turned my world upside down.

  My resort. My designs were null and void. Ryder instigated the entire thing. It was just too much.

  “The cleanup crew will be here on Saturday to dispose of these little knickknacks,” she said, her lip curling as she fingered an antique clock in the main room.

  My designs. Mine. And she was looking at them like they were trash to be discarded. I didn’t care who she was, she was walking into my job site and not bothering with a modicum of respect. A hot flash of anger ripped through me. This was my job. She just screwed over my job because my boyfriend told her the place needed to be sold. “You’re a real piece of work, you know that? Take your head out of your ass for one minute and notice how amazing this place looks. Because of your grandson.” And me, but that was beside the point.

  “Excuse me?” She put her hand to her chest, flabbergasted.

  “And I’m not just his little girlfriend.” After that I may have thrown around the terms misogynistic and entitled. I didn’t really know what I was saying because all I saw was red. Hell, I saw the whole light spectrum as I lit into her. Because the one thing that had solidified my job was being bulldozed. Literally.

  “Zoey,” Ryder warned. “I can handle this.”

  “Yeah, I can see you’re handling it real well. Thanks for getting the place sold. Glad I just spent three months of my life on this. I’m sure HGTV will be thrilled to hear there’s no resort to showcase.” Screw this noise. I was done with the whole damn family.

  He reached for my arm, but I shrugged him away. “Don’t touch me.” Hell, I couldn’t even look at him. This was my job, my chance to move up in the firm, and he’d just ruined it.

  “Your supervisor will be hearing from me,” his grandmother called as I walked off.

  “Good. You can tell him I said the whole Covington family can rot in hell for all I care.”

  That may have taken it a tad bit far. Like, about ten steps. But I was so beyond caring. The pesky part of my conscience said I should have gone back and apologized, kissed her ass, and begged for her forgiveness. But what was the point? When Lance found out about this, my job was as good as gone. I might as well pack up my office tonight.

  As soon as I made it to the parking lot, Ryder raced out behind me, gravel crunching under his feet.

  “Zoey, please listen. I really had no clue.”

  “You wanted to get rid of this place from the beginning. I should have known.” I laughed. How could I not see it before? I was so stupid. “I should have known that this was all too good to be true.” My arms flailed out to the sides as my temper raged.

  “You have to believe me. I would never ask her to sell the place.”

  “Well, it’s done. God.” My breaths came out in jagged huffs. “I can’t even look at you. It just makes me sick. Please, just go. Do your snowboarding thing. That’s all you ever wanted. We never need to speak again.”

  “Zoey.” His voice was desperate this time. “Please.”

  I didn’t listen, though. This was my fault. If only I’d passed him off to another designer to begin with. Jesus, men made me so damn stupid.

  I got in my car and didn’t bother to look back, just tore out of the parking lot and made my way down the mountain. I ignored the seven calls from my office and the fourteen calls from Ryder.

  The tears didn’t start until I made it to my apartment and parked the car. This was it—I’d really screwed up everything.

  My fingers trembled as I clutched my phone. In my inbox was an email from my boss labeled: We need to talk. Had Mrs. Covington already yelled at my boss? I knew my fate before I opened the message. Because really, when it rained…

  I blew out a breath and banged my head against the headrest. Might as well rip off the Band-Aid that was my crumbling career.

  Zoey

  I just got a very disturbing call from Mrs. Covington. I would like to talk to you about your relationship in regard to Mr. Covington and your treatment of that whole family. For the sake of the company, I’d like you to take some time off, and we will meet next Wednesday to discuss the ramifications of this incident.

  Best,

  Lance Bass

  This was it. Everything that I’d worked so hard for slipped through my fingers like water.

  …

  Lainey was waiting for me as soon as I walked in the door. God bless her, she had a bowl of ice cream in one hand and a spoon in the other, ready for my taking.

  “What the hell happened?” She pushed the bowl into my hands and wrapped me in a hug. How had I gone so wrong? I knew better than to trust men like that. I thought he was one of the good ones. Guess the joke was on me.

  I shoved a chunk of Chocolate Mudslide in my mouth. “He sold the resort.” I still couldn’t believe it. The Hulk-smash haze had faded from my vision, and I was left weary to my bones.

  She led me over to the couch, and I numbly followed, sitting down next to her. “What do you mean? I thought you had your interview this weekend. The new owner seriously didn’t want to keep anything you did?”

  “Nope.” How was I supposed to explain this one to the TV producers?

  Um, hi. Yes, I’m calling about my design on Divinity Resort. Oh, yeah, the one you wanted to film for your resort special. Yeah, I’m sorry, it’s actually going to be flattened to the ground before you get here. I’ll just go eat my feelings now.

  Good thing my leggings were one-size fits all. I’d be needing the extra fabric for the coming weeks.

  Screw Ryder’s family. I couldn’t believe I ever put my trust in him.

  I laid my head in Lainey’s lap, and she took a piece of my hair, braiding it as tears rolled down my face. “Oh, Zoey. I’m so sorry. I wish there was something I could do.”

  “There’s nothing. Except for maybe come with me to stand in front of the wrecking ball and throw a protest.”

  She laughed softly, my head moving with the flex of her stomach. “I don’t think that works anymore. Plus, you don’t need a criminal record on top of all this.”

  “True.” I snuggled deeper into her lap. At least I could always trust her. I’d hoped I could say the same about Ryder, but he’d proved me wrong time and time again.

  My phone lit up on the table. I grabbed for it, and as soon as Ryder’s name scrolled across the screen, I chucked it to the other side of the room. I was done with him.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Ryder

  “Come on, Flash. Answer your phone,” I pleaded.

  I hung up and dialed again. Two hours of complete shut out from Zoey was driving me past the brink of insanity.

  A call came through my Bluetooth and I answered it immediately. “Flash?” The desperation in my voice bordered on pathetic.

  “Uh, hey, man,” said Andy.

  Not my girlfriend. Of course.

  “What do you want?” The words came out harsh, but I wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone that wasn’t Zoey. I needed her to hear me out, to know I had nothing to do with this.

  “I’m going to need you a couple days early,” he said.

  “Why? Training doesn’t start until Saturday.” I fisted my hand through my hair. Horrible timing. I couldn’t imagine a worse time to leave than right now. Zoey wouldn’t return my calls as I continued to field ones from my grandparents. As far as I was concerned, they were no longer my family. Not with the way they manipulated Jason and Zoey.

  “I could use your help with setting up. You’re usually available for these things.”

  Yeah, back in the day when I’d jump at the chance to avoid conflict when it came to women. Now, I’d throw myself into the pit of hell if it meant Zoey would hear me out for one damn second. I laughed,
bitter that I was in the same place where I’d started in terms of my career, my relationships—or lack thereof. Everything gone.

  “Can you give me a few minutes to think about it? I am kind of going through some shit right now.”

  “Take your time, man.” And with that, the line went dead. I clicked off my Bluetooth and continued to drive around. Somehow I ended up parked in front of Zoey’s apartment. Her car was sandwiched between two cars on the other side of the street.

  I tried her phone one more time, but when it went straight to voicemail, I got out of my car and made my way to her apartment door.

  After I knocked, Lainey opened the door. Her ice-cold glare cut straight through me. “What are you doing here?”

  “I want to talk to Zoey. I want to straighten everything out.”

  “That’s not happening.”

  “Just five minutes. That’s all I ask.” I wasn’t above begging. I’d grovel at Lainey’s feet if it meant I could see Zoey.

  “There is no way you’re coming through this door. You’ve already done enough damage. Aren’t you supposed to be going back to your snowboarding training? Now would be a great time to leave.” She crossed her arms, not budging from her post at the door.

  “But—”

  “Now. Leave now before I find something to stab in your stupid meat-head neck.” Her voice was a vicious whisper.

  “Fine. Will you just tell her I’m sorry?”

  She laughed. “You’re delusional if you think a simple apology will fix things, Ryder.”

  And with that, she shut the door in my face.

  Shit.

  I walked down the hall and hit the button to the elevator. She was less than thirty feet away. So close, but she’d shut me out. I glanced at her apartment door one more time before entering the elevator. Lainey was right—I was delusional to think she’d ever believe me.

  After an hour of wandering downtown and blowing off steam, I entered my apartment. I stared at the space, the complete silence deafening. It could be classified as barren compared to Zoey’s place. Hers was warm and inviting and had the most important element of all…her.