Chapter 2
Slade
Slade walked into his manager's office and sat down to wait for him to finish his phone call. He was dreading this meeting. Andrew, his manager finished his call and looked up at Slade. “Well, that was the radio station confirming the contest winner.” He looked pleased. Andrew thought this was a great way to redeem Slade's reputation after that nasty press scandal last spring.
The press had gotten a lead that Slade was seeing a married actress, but it was a case of mistaken identity. It’d been a publicity night mare.
“I don't know if I want to hear this. It’s probably some groupie with nose hair down to her lip and floppy earlobes.” He shuddered just imagining a weekend with some woman chasing him around the bed. At least he was in good shape. Maybe he could stay ahead. He groaned inwardly.
“They’re emailing her profile to me as we speak. Let me check to see if it’s here.” He punched a couple of keys and smiled. “It’s here. Are you ready to see your roommate for the weekend?”
“I don’t know if I’ve had enough coffee yet.” Slade walked around to stand behind his manager for a good view of whom or what he would spend three long days with. It seemed to take forever for the profile to come up. When it did, it came up first with her written profile.
Andrew read the profile. “Okay, here we go. Her name is Stacy Cauthen from Atlanta, Georgia. She owns an accounting firm in downtown, 32 and single, never been married. Her hobbies are reading, music, and quiet walks in the park.”
Slade groaned, “Sounds like a real barrel of fun. I bet she’s a know-it-all. Where's the picture?”
“Hold your horses, here it comes.” They both stared at the screen in shock. “Wow, I think I’m jealous. Man, you hit the jackpot!”
“I can’t believe it, she’s gorgeous. She’s got to have a flaw, probably a royal pain in the butt, control freak.” He walked back to his chair and fell into it.
“She’ll arrive in Aspen next Friday morning. You’ll be there to greet her.” He looked up from the computer screen and grinned, knowing Slade wasn’t happy with this trip.
“I still figure there has to be some flaw. She’s 32 and has never been married.” He raised his eye brows and frowned.
“Look on the bright side she could have nose hairs and floppy earlobes.” He laughed, repeating Slade's earlier description.
“Funny, real funny. So, there’ll be a car there to pick us up at the airport and take us to the cabin, right?” He was still unsure about this whole thing. What if she was a psychopath? He’d see what he could find out about her on the internet.
“There will be a car there to pick you up, but first you’ve got to do an interview for the waiting reporters.”
“How convenient, I guess you arranged for a full paparazzi scene.”
“Well, that’s the main reason for this whole contest, to get you back in the good graces of your fans. What better way for you to spend a romantic weekend with one of your adoring fans?” He grinned with innocence.
Slade rolled his eyes and stood up, “Okay, well this had better work and I hope I come back alive or all of this will be for nothing.”
Andrew walked him to the door and put his arm on his shoulder. “Yeah, I feel real bad for you. You have to spend a whole weekend with a gorgeous woman in a cozy snow covered cabin. Man, you’ve got it rough.”
“Well, if I call you in a panic, you better have somebody on standby to come get me.” He gave Andrew a look of fear.
“I will be in Denver the whole weekend. I can be at the cabin in twenty minutes.”
Slade looked a little relieved. He walked to his car thinking about Stacy Cauthen. She was definitely easy on the eyes. He got in his sports car and started out of the parking deck. He’d see what he could find out about her when he got home.