sure there is a lot to do here in the winter.”
“Oh yeah,” she agreed with amusement. “Ski, snowmobile, or huddle inside by a warm fire until the cold passes. I tend to prefer the latter.”
“You don’t like to ski?” he asked, wondering what she did for fun, or if she even took the time to do anything fun. He suspected Alex was a workaholic. Successful people usually were.
“I’ve never been,” Alex admitted with a shrug. “I’ve always wanted to try, but never really had the opportunity or time … Snowmobiling sounds like it might be fun too, but I’ve never tried that either.”
Cale was thinking that perhaps he should arrange an outing for her to try both activities, when she said, “I’m sorry about roping you into work tonight when you’re here to visit family.”
“Not at all,” he said at once. “I merely would have been sitting in my hotel tonight anyway.” It wasn’t true of course. Cale probably would have been having a powwow with Marguerite and Lucian, and most likely Sam and Mortimer, trying to figure out a different way to get close to Alex. In fact, her bad luck had actually been his good fortune … even if he couldn’t cook.
“I doubt you would have been sitting in a hotel,” Alex said at once. “Your family is probably eager to see you and …” She paused and quit painting to frown down at him. “Working for me would prevent your seeing them.”
“They all have jobs,” he said quickly. “Working would fill my time while they were unavailable.”
“Oh, yes, I hadn’t thought of that,” she said, but her hand had slowed and she glanced down to ask, “You’re staying in a hotel rather than with your relatives?”
Cale chuckled at the question. “I had several offers to stay with relatives, but since most of them just got married, I thought they might not really appreciate my intruding.”
“Most of them just got married?” Alex glanced down at him sharply. “You aren’t related to that family Sam is always talking about, are you? The Argeneaus? Theyjust had some big multicouple wedding in New York last weekend.”
Cale nodded. “I flew to New York for the wedding, stayed in the city for several days to do some business and see a Broadway show or two, and then flew up here.”
“When are you flying home?” she asked.
Cale paused. He hadn’t actually set a date. He’d left his return date open because he hadn’t been sure how long he’d wish to stay. He’d wanted to look into business opportunities here while visiting. Mind you, he hadn’t expected to be taking on a job in such short order but was happy to go with what fate was presently offering if it allowed him a chance to win Alex. The question was, how long would that take?
Frowning, he rubbed his stomach absently as he tried to figure it out. He knew mortals expected a courtship. But how long would that take? A week? Two weeks? Months?
“Two months,” he answered, just to be on the safe side.
“You can take that much time away from your businesses?” Alex asked with surprise.
“Good bosses understand that working themselves to exhaustion does no one any good,” he said meaningfully, glancing at his watch. When Alex grimaced at the gentle reprimand, he added, “I have good employees working for me, ones I trust to handle the day-today issues. They will call if anything important comes up, but otherwise, probably won’t even miss me.”
“Huh,” Alex muttered. “It must be nice.”
“You have good people working for you,” Cale said quietly. “I suspect Peter wasn’t, but Bev is a jewel, and Bobby and Rebecca seem quite competent.”
“They are,” she agreed. “Bev has been a surprise. She held Bobby’s job before, and I’ve always known she was good, but she’s slid into the sous-chef position as smoothly as if she’s always been doing it. I actually considered promoting her to head chef and looking for her replacement.”
“Why didn’t you?” Cale
“Oh yeah,” she agreed with amusement. “Ski, snowmobile, or huddle inside by a warm fire until the cold passes. I tend to prefer the latter.”
“You don’t like to ski?” he asked, wondering what she did for fun, or if she even took the time to do anything fun. He suspected Alex was a workaholic. Successful people usually were.
“I’ve never been,” Alex admitted with a shrug. “I’ve always wanted to try, but never really had the opportunity or time … Snowmobiling sounds like it might be fun too, but I’ve never tried that either.”
Cale was thinking that perhaps he should arrange an outing for her to try both activities, when she said, “I’m sorry about roping you into work tonight when you’re here to visit family.”
“Not at all,” he said at once. “I merely would have been sitting in my hotel tonight anyway.” It wasn’t true of course. Cale probably would have been having a powwow with Marguerite and Lucian, and most likely Sam and Mortimer, trying to figure out a different way to get close to Alex. In fact, her bad luck had actually been his good fortune … even if he couldn’t cook.
“I doubt you would have been sitting in a hotel,” Alex said at once. “Your family is probably eager to see you and …” She paused and quit painting to frown down at him. “Working for me would prevent your seeing them.”
“They all have jobs,” he said quickly. “Working would fill my time while they were unavailable.”
“Oh, yes, I hadn’t thought of that,” she said, but her hand had slowed and she glanced down to ask, “You’re staying in a hotel rather than with your relatives?”
Cale chuckled at the question. “I had several offers to stay with relatives, but since most of them just got married, I thought they might not really appreciate my intruding.”
“Most of them just got married?” Alex glanced down at him sharply. “You aren’t related to that family Sam is always talking about, are you? The Argeneaus? Theyjust had some big multicouple wedding in New York last weekend.”
Cale nodded. “I flew to New York for the wedding, stayed in the city for several days to do some business and see a Broadway show or two, and then flew up here.”
“When are you flying home?” she asked.
Cale paused. He hadn’t actually set a date. He’d left his return date open because he hadn’t been sure how long he’d wish to stay. He’d wanted to look into business opportunities here while visiting. Mind you, he hadn’t expected to be taking on a job in such short order but was happy to go with what fate was presently offering if it allowed him a chance to win Alex. The question was, how long would that take?
Frowning, he rubbed his stomach absently as he tried to figure it out. He knew mortals expected a courtship. But how long would that take? A week? Two weeks? Months?
“Two months,” he answered, just to be on the safe side.
“You can take that much time away from your businesses?” Alex asked with surprise.
“Good bosses understand that working themselves to exhaustion does no one any good,” he said meaningfully, glancing at his watch. When Alex grimaced at the gentle reprimand, he added, “I have good employees working for me, ones I trust to handle the day-today issues. They will call if anything important comes up, but otherwise, probably won’t even miss me.”
“Huh,” Alex muttered. “It must be nice.”
“You have good people working for you,” Cale said quietly. “I suspect Peter wasn’t, but Bev is a jewel, and Bobby and Rebecca seem quite competent.”
“They are,” she agreed. “Bev has been a surprise. She held Bobby’s job before, and I’ve always known she was good, but she’s slid into the sous-chef position as smoothly as if she’s always been doing it. I actually considered promoting her to head chef and looking for her replacement.”
“Why didn’t you?” Cale
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