Page 13 of Boarding Pass (Hearts Without Borders #1)

The Flirt Alert – Chapter One

What the actual fuck?

It’s scarcely November and it’s snowing in Seattle. From my corner office, I watch thousands of fluffy flakes drift in lazy spirals to the pavement fifteen stories below. We rarely get winter weather in the city. Never this early in the year.

Though it’s nearing eight a.m., the sidewalks and streets are practically empty.

The city shuts down at the slightest hint of snow and today is no different, leaving downtown almost quiet and peaceful.

Unfortunately, the turmoil in my mind churns like the froth on my extra-hot, double tall vanilla latte, which is cooling on my desk.

I’m about to get my day started when I notice a woman wearing a bright-pink coat and matching beanie with ridiculously high heels stop at the entrance to the building. She looks up at the sky, sticks out her tongue and whirls around in a circle with her arms outstretched like a little kid.

God, to be so carefree. Too bad she’s going to break an ankle in this weather.

“Austin, bro, you're gonna love this!” Miles Stojanovi?, aka Stodge, my best friend and business partner in our multimillion-dollar casual gaming company, Hungry Llama, barrels into my office like a tornado. He holds a snowboard in one hand and shoves a brochure at me with the other. “Executive retreat booked at Crystal Mountain. Look at this place. There are rooms to hold meetings and team building exercises. Lodging is onsite. Good food. Solitude so we can focus. I’ve even reserved the Summit House at the top of the mountain for a send-off dinner. Plus, if people want to ski or snowboard, it will be perfect.”

Stodge’s enthusiasm always puts me in a fantastic mood.

It's infectious; exactly like his passion for the business we started in college. He’s a creative genius, friend to all and the heart of Hungry Llama.

I’m the numbers and operations guy who largely stays behind the scenes.

Our opposite strengths have made us unstoppable in the gaming world.

The past eight years have been an incredible ride.

“Yeah, it checks all the basic boxes.” I lean against my desk and study the brochure. The thought of being trapped on a mountain isn’t appealing at all. “How much is it going to cost? We’re there for business, not to have fun.”

Miles drops the snowboard and makes himself at home in my DXRacer Master gaming chair.

“Dude. You’ve got to lighten up. We’re gonna gross close to a billion dollars this year.

Puzzle Pet Paradise is crushing.” He leans forward.

“The team is exhausted. Showing them how much we appreciate them is equally as important as the day-to-day shit.”

“Day to day shit , eh?” I flip through the glossy pictures of the resort’s proposed schedule and menu while my business partner spins around in my chair, full of childlike joy that always seems to bubble up no matter what the situation.

It kinda reminds me of pink-coat girl on the street from earlier.

He shakes his head slowly like I’m killing his vibe. “Dude, seriously. Loosen the fuck up. We all need a little AFK time.”

“I’m not saying no. I’m reminding you we have bigger issues to solve.” The truth is, Miles and I have a key role to fill at the company. “We need to hire a Marketing and Events executive like…yesterday.”

“Already done.” Stodge comes to a full stop and drums his knuckles on the armrest. Looks me in the eye, then averts his gaze.

Jesus. His impulsiveness. “What. Did. You. Do?”

“You can’t get mad.” He holds up his hands defensively. “Let me explain…”

I bridge my fingers across my nose. “ Stodge …”

“Fine. I’ll rip off the bandage. I…I offered the job to Shay.” Miles cowers like I’m about to lob my keyboard at him.

The room grows as cold as the winter storm outside my window. Shay Stojanovi? . His twin sister. A she-devil. My chest tightens as memories from my past bubble up like acid. The mere mention of her name gives me hives. Being around her every day? Fuck no.

“Your sister?” I choke out, my voice rising. “VP of Marketing and Events? Has she ever held a job , Stodge?”

Miles shifts uncomfortably, still avoiding my eyes. “She's got the appropriate experience and gave me the idea for the retreat. More importantly, she's my family and needs a break. ”

“Not at the company you and I have built together. No way. Not a fucking chance,” I snap. This is the ultimate betrayal. “You know how I feel about her, Miles.”

“I do. But I don't quite understand why something that happened nearly a decade ago needs to define you.” He’s quiet now as he rubs his chin thoughtfully. “I mean, it was high school. Can't you let it go?”

Easy for him to say. I get up and stare out the window again. The snowstorm is all but over, save one or two straggler flakes. Thinking about that fateful day makes it hard for me to breathe. What Shay did still haunts me.

I don’t see any reason to let it go. “You weren’t there.”

“Thank fucking God I wasn’t or I’d have killed you both. I told you she was going through some, eh…stuff. We were kids . Do you truly still hate her?” Miles doesn’t understand. He doesn’t have a mean bone in his body. He’s a live-and-let-live kind of guy. Things roll off his back.

For me? Not so much.

I squeeze my eyes shut and try to push the memories away. “Yeah, I do. I can't explain it except to say, with all due respect, she’s the complete opposite of you and there’s no way I’m entrusting her with such a big role at my company.”

“Uh… our company. And sorry, that's not good enough.” There's a note of stubborn determination in his voice that I recognize. He rarely plays the card, but when he does…yeah. Stodge isn’t letting this go.

I try another tactic. “Marketing isn’t a remote job. We need someone who’s in Seattle—who can come into the office every day.”

“I’m well aware.” He leans so far back in the chair I’m afraid it’s going to fall over.

“Trust me on this. I know Shay is my twin but after things ended with Devon, she was forced to move back to Seattle. I promise you, she’s a great fit for the company.

She needs this job and I’m asking you to get on board.

If it doesn’t work out, I’ll take full responsibility. "

The raw sincerity in his eyes makes me feel trapped. Hires of this magnitude are ordinarily unanimous decisions. We’ve worked too hard to build Hungry Llama into a gaming juggernaut to fuck things up for a favor to his sister. It sucks balls that I don’t have a choice but to see how this plays out.

“Look. Since you already offered her the job without even mentioning it to me, my condition is simple. I can't—won’t—work with her directly. She’ll report to you.” I cross my arms defiantly.

He runs his fingers through his hair. “Austin, no . I supervise hundreds of remote employees on the development and creative teams. You manage the entire executive team. Besides, having my twin sister report to me? That’s weird .”

“Do you seriously think Shay’s going to respect my position? She’s a spoiled princess. The ultimate mean girl. Someone who chases status not substance. If she weren’t your twin, there’s an excellent chance I’d fire her before she logs into her computer.” I stand and pound my fist on the desk.

Miles leaps from the chair and squares up to me. “For fuck’s sake. We're grown-ass adults. Shay has never said a bad word about you. Do you think you may have blown things out of proportion? We’ve all changed dramatically since high school. Can't you give her a chance?”

I shake my head, a cold certainty settles in my stomach. I never told Miles the whole story. " No ."

There's a long silence where Stodge and I stare at each other with eyes narrowed. Even at our most competitive, the two of us don’t fight. Ever. If he pushes this any further I’m afraid our record won’t remain intact.

Eventually he speaks, his voice heavy with resignation. “Fuck it. If you run into issues, I promise you won’t have to interact with her.”

“Thanks.” I feel a hollow ache in my chest, knowing that I may have won this battle but in all likelihood, I’ll lose the war.

Stodge is deflated. “Uh…yeah. Sure.” He picks up his snowboard and stands at the door, presumably waiting for me to say something else.

When I remain stoic and silent, he slips out without waving.

The door clicks shut behind him, leaving me alone to stew about the situation at hand.

I was a kid with a load of brains, a shitty home life, and zero social skills.

I was also hopelessly smitten with my best friend’s sister, who happened to be the most popular girl at school.

She ruthlessly chewed me up and spit me out without a second thought.

Miles wasn’t there to witness it because he was otherwise…

occupied. The aftermath could have ended our friendship, but Shay moved away so…

Anyway, seeing Shay again is going to suck but I can’t let the situation fuck things up with Miles.

I’m smar t enough to know if it comes down to it, he’ll always choose his twin sister.

You can’t change who your family is. I live with this sad truth every fucking day.

Goddammit .

Oh, I know it’s been years and I should forgive and forget and all that.

Revenge sounds better, though.

Yeah . Much better.

I should be a bigger person. I’m no longer a scrawny, insecure geek.

I’ve built Hungry Llama into one of the hottest companies in the world.

I’m not hurting for cash. I own several properties.

I have no problem getting laid. I’d like to think I’m a decent boss.

I support a ton of philanthropic causes.

So why can’t I let it go?

Because I want to bring her down a notch.

Yep. That’s it. I want to give her a taste of her own medicine.

I’ll let Miles know I’ve changed my mind and Shay can report to me. Then I’ll be an asshole. Not any asshole, a subtle asshole. Take great pleasure in making her life miserable until she quits on her own accord. That way I’ll get rid of her and keep my friendship with Miles intact.

I stand at the window.

It’s snowing again. Everything is quiet.

The world might look peaceful from up here, but I know better.

A storm is beginning, and I'm standing directly in its path.

She ruined him once. Now she works for him. Read The Flirt Alert