Page 25 of Camping with the Boss (Pride Camp 2025 #9)

Chapter Fourteen

Wade

I stare at the green door, too stunned to move. The hurt on Canyon’s face plays on repeat. Pressing my thumb against my hand, I take a breath. He wouldn’t leave, right? I can still fix this.

But can I? The green door reminds me of his emerald eyes, full of trust as he submits to me. That first moment when he realizes what he wants. Yes, Daddy.

And River fucked it all up.

“Wade, listen?—”

“Don’t fucking talk to me.” I need to get as far away from River as I can. In his need to destroy me, he hurt Canyon. Yanking open the door, I storm into the dining room. It’s mostly empty. But not empty enough.

Jared moves to stop me, and I shove past him. “Hold on,” he says, grabbing my arm.

I glare at him. “Let me go.”

He releases my arm but steps in front of me. “Wade, stop. Canyon needs some time, okay?”

Jared glances behind me, a warning in his eyes. River.

But I don’t care about him. “Did Canyon go outside?”

He nods. “Ander went to check on him.”

I breathe a sigh of relief. “Okay. Good.” He knows what to do if Canyon needs someone. If he struggles…because of me. I should have told him about Tim. Not that I could, but—none of that matters now. “Did you hear—everything?”

“The highlights. It was hard not to. At least everyone else was outside.”

I nod and flex my fingers. Every cell in my body screams at me to find Canyon and fix this. A few days ago, I would have done that. Not given him a choice. But Canyon deserves more. I need to do this the right way. And that means asking for help.

But first, River needs to go away.

“We need to talk.”

I spin around, my need to destroy something focused solely on River. “Fuck you.”

“This isn’t my fault. You did this.”

Fuck holding back for Canyon’s sake. I reach for River, but Jared slides between us. “Sorry, guys. We’ve reached our quota for fist fights this week.”

“Move, Jared.”

“No.” His gaze bounces from me to River and back. “Everyone needs to calm down.”

“Yeah, dude. You’re not helping yourself.”

Jared digs his fingers in my chest. A warning not to react. He turns to River. “You’re the one not helping yourself. Dude.”

“I didn’t come here to cause trouble. Or fight.”

I move Jared’s hand off my chest and cross my arms. His shoulders relax. “Why are you here, River?” I ask, and I try to stop there, but I can’t. “I needed you here three days ago. And you fucking bailed on me.”

“That’s— It’s complicated. Right or wrong, I made my choice. But what’s important right now is that things are about to get worse.”

“Canyon will be fine—” Jared says, but River shakes his head.

“This isn’t about Canyon.” He presses his palms into his eyes, and it reminds me of how young he is.

I keep my expression blank. “You could’ve fooled me.”

“Hold on. If this isn’t about Canyon,” Jared asks, tilting his head, “then what’s it about?”

“I came to warn Mr. Darian.” He finally looks at me. “There’s so much you don’t know. But then I saw the way Can looked at you, and I lost it.”

“Okay—”

Fuck this. “It’s none of your business, River.” I jab my finger at him. “This is between your brother and me.”

“You can’t bully your way out of this, Wade.” He shakes his head. “You’re fucking unbelievable.”

I can’t believe this guy. I clench my hands to keep from grabbing him. “I’m still your boss. You remember that, right?”

“Not. For. Long.”

A cold chill runs down my spine. “What does that mean?”

“Meredith is coming for you, Wade. She put all of this in motion.” He lets out a harsh laugh. “Well, not all of it. But I suspect you sleeping with another employee will fit right into her plans.”

Thursday, June 12 th , 10:00 a.m.

“You can’t kill him,” Jared says softly. Casually.

I snort at that.

River strides out of the dining hall as if he doesn’t have a care in the world. I know it’s an act. Doesn’t make it easier. “Even if it looks like an accident?”

He rubs his jaw as if he’s considering my question. Then he shakes his head. “Canyon would find out. And…you fucked up the Tim thing pretty good.”

“I should have just killed him.”

He glances around. We’re alone. “Not funny.”

“You told me not to tell Canyon.”

“Yes. But I didn’t tell you to sleep with Tim.”

I rub my eyes. I’m so fucking tired. “The Tim thing wasn’t my fault.”

“It wasn’t…and it was.”

I glare at my friend. “What the hell, Jared?”

He holds up both hands. “I get that you can’t possibly know all four hundred of your employees. And that your first question when hooking up with a random guy in a bar might not be ‘Do you work for me?’ but, man, I’ve harped on NDAs until I’m fucking blue in the face.”

“He wasn’t a hookup. I told you that. He was a guy in a bar with a sad story. Needing—” I stop there. Jared knows the truth up to a point.

“Needing what?”

I shrug, not looking at my friend. “A shoulder to cry on.” Which is as close to the truth as I wanted to get. I’m not telling him Tim was sad and needy and wanted a Daddy to help him forget.

“The guy used your protective instinct against you. He’s a manipulative dirtbag, but—” Jared’s eyes dart to mine and his mouth drops open. “He knew exactly what to do to lure you in.”

“Thanks. Rub it in my face. Very helpful.”

Jared grabs my arms. “He knew?—”

“Stop saying that.”

“Wade, you were set up.”

“By Tim. I know.”

He shakes his head. “How did he know?”

“My vibes?”

Jared snorts at that. “Think about it, Wade. Who would know enough to pull this off? And more importantly, why?”

“The lawsuit—” But no. The thing with Tim happened before the lawsuit. Before Tim got fired. Before I even knew he was an employee.

The paperwork had proved Tim was constantly messing up at work. We had no choice. We had to let him go. But then he sued for discrimination. He claimed he was fired for being gay. And when George couldn’t produce any of his documentation, we had to settle.

My stomach twists at the memory. Tim’s satisfied smirk as he collects his check and signs the papers. But at least it’s done.

Or so I thought.

That damn smirk—I’d seen it months before when I first realized he was employed at my company. “He tried to blackmail me.”

“What?” His grip tightens on my arms. “Why wouldn’t you mention that? We didn’t need to settle at all.”

I don’t want to discuss this anymore. “I should get back to my team.”

His understanding look almost does me in. “You weren’t out.”

I laugh. “I’m still not out.”

“Uh-huh,” he says with a grin. “I hate to break it to you, darlin’, but that ship has sailed.”

I knock his hands away. “It isn’t about being gay. Tim was an employee. I didn’t want that on the record.”

“The records are sealed, Wade. That’s why there’s an NDA.”

“And if it leaked?”

“Fine. But you’re still missing the point, Wade. How many people at the time knew you were gay. And protective …”

His emphasis on the word tells me he might know more than he’s letting on.

I’m not ashamed of being a Daddy, but I’m not ready to have it shared with the world.

Or my best friend. And then I focus on his actual words.

And the realization makes my breakfast churn in my stomach.

“Only one person knew.” I watch his eyes because I need to see his reaction. “My brother, Ander.”

“Not Meredith?”

“Fuck no.”

“River said she set this all up. What if she set up everything? From the beginning?”

I don’t know what to believe anymore. “It brings us to the same place. Only one person could have told Meredith.”

Jared shakes his head. “There has to be another explanation. Ander wouldn’t do that.”

“Because you know him so well?”

The door to the main hall opens and Jet runs in. “Hey, um…Ander says you guys need to get your asses out here.”

“We’ll be right there,” Jared says with a nod.

I’m glad he took care of it because I’m having a hard time focusing. I can’t believe it was Ander, but who else could it be? And it’s not even my top concern at this point. “Any suggestions on fixing this thing with Canyon?”

“Tell him everything.”

I snort. “As my lawyer, you’re advocating I violate my NDA?”

“How do you think River found out? If Tim violated his NDA first, you’re free to talk about it. Do you ever read the NDAs?”

“That’s what I pay you for.”

Jared gives me his lawyer look. “Then maybe you should start listening.”

When we join the group outside, Ander is working on goal setting. After that, River starts them on the activity. And honestly, it’s almost as if he never left. He’s always done well at engaging the staff.

Canyon sits at the picnic table, staring at his hands. I want to comfort him. Take care of him. But he doesn’t look at me. Even when someone asks me a question and everyone else is staring at me, Canyon doesn’t move. Is he pretending I don’t exist?

River finishes debriefing the activity and turns to Canyon. “You want to take this next one, bro?”

His eyes look wary. “Are you sure?”

“You’re the one who’s been here…in the trenches.” He leads everyone into chants of “Canyon, Canyon” and then takes a spot next to Jet.

Canyon takes a deep breath and stands. His eyes are red and puffy, and his face is splotchy.

But he smiles at everyone—except for me—then lifts his chin and starts.

Jet asks a question and then says something to get everyone laughing, including Canyon.

I’d appreciate Jet’s actions more, but I suspect he’s the one who told River about us.

During the activity, River and Jet whisper to each other like school kids. When Canyon separates everyone into groups and they’re no longer near each other, they communicate using sign language.

Canyon laughs—distracting me from my scrutiny of River and Jet—and it tugs at my heart.

I know I’m staring as he talks to Sheila and Carol, but I can’t help it.

He’s so strong and beautiful. He catches me watching and stumbles mid-sentence.

Color blooms on his cheeks, and he moves on to the next group.

What if he never forgives me? Despair slams into me, paralyzing me for a moment. And the next thought is even worse.

What if I’ve already lost him?