Hard Work Read online

  HARD

  Work

  K.M. SCOTT

  Hard Work

  Zane Gilford has lived a blessed life. The only son of the owner of The Gilford House Inn, he’s benefitted from his mother’s extraordinary success. But Vermont was never where he wanted to be, and the day after graduation, he put the quaint country inn and everything about it behind him and never looked back.

  Until now.

  The death of his mother left Zane a very wealthy man, but in her will she also left him a surprise. For an entire year, he must run that Vermont inn he’s hated all his life if he wants to get one red cent of his inheritance.

  Becca Fox has worked her way to the top of the advertising business and has the personal and professional scars to prove it. In her rare time off, she loves visiting her favorite bed and breakfast in the mountains of Vermont. When she finds a new owner running The Gilford House Inn, she wonders if her favorite getaway place has been ruined for her. He’s sexy as all hell and incredibly good looking, but he’s so cocky and arrogant.

  From the first moment he sees her, Zane knows he wants Becca, but to get a woman like her, he’s going to have to learn to be a better man than he’s ever been. He’s got an inn to run and a woman to win. Neither is going to be easy. And time isn’t in his favor.

  Hard Work is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are the products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to events, locations, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  2017 Copper Key Media, LLC

  Google Play Edition

  Copyright © 2017 Copper Key Media, LLC

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

  Published in the United States

  ISBN: 978-1-941594-79-7

  Book Cover design by Patricia Maia at Maya’s Teasers & Design

  Image by FuriousFotog

  Model: Joshua Gawrysiak

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  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  About the Book

  Copyright Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Excerpt from If I Dream

  About the Author

  Books by K.M. Scott

  Books by Gabrielle Bisset

  CHAPTER ONE

  Zane

  Every guy knows when he meets The One. Even guys like me, who don’t believe anything like that exists, have to admit when the girl of their dreams walks into their life.

  The moment I saw Becca Fox I knew she was that for me. She was beautiful, smart, and sexy.

  And she wanted me.

  Like every day that summer, I waited for her to get out of work at the diner where she waitressed to take her home so she could get a shower before we headed out for another night together. What had started as complete lust between two people at a party in late May had grown into a relationship I didn’t want to ever end.

  I knew she’d go back to college in a couple weeks, but until then, I planned on spending every moment I could with her. In just a few months, she’d became as important to me as the air I breathed.

  And even more, she loved me.

  Go figure. A beautiful and intelligent woman wanting me, Zane Gilford.

  She bounded out the front door of Dante’s Diner and walked toward me so full of life and as excited to see me as I was to see her. “Hey, you! When are you going to finally come inside one day and wait for me at the counter? I make a mean root beer float, you know.”

  The cute way she smiled when she said that made me want to take her in my arms and never let her go. Leaning down to kiss her hello, I said, “Maybe tomorrow. It’s a nice day out, so I thought I’d hang out here and wait for you.”

  Becca tilted her head back and closed her eyes to feel the hot August sun on her face for the first time that day. “This whole working from six in the morning to noon is for the birds.”

  I pulled her close to me and inhaled the sickeningly greasy smell of her uniform. But even that couldn’t make me want to let her go. “At least it lets us spend a lot of time together. What do you want to do today?”

  She lowered her head and beamed one of her beautiful smiles up at me. “After I get a shower so I don’t stink like fried food, I’d love to just go to your apartment and lay in your arms while we sit on your balcony.”

  “Are you sure? We can go anywhere you want,” I said, tucking her dark hair back behind her left ear.

  “I’m sure. I just want to spend the day in your arms listening to the ocean below.”

  That sounded like heaven to me, even though I would have taken her anywhere she wanted. All she had to do was ask.

  I kissed her softly and smiled. “Whatever you want. As long as we’re together, that’s all that matters.”

  As we walked toward my car parked a block away, she told me about the customers she’d encountered that day and I listened, hanging on every word. I’d never thought this kind of everyday stuff could make me so happy, but I knew the real reason I’d never been happier in my life was because I had Becca with me.

  So while she chatted about customers and their bizarre requests that made her way too little money in tips, I swore to myself that I’d never let her go. If I did, I’d be the most miserable man alive.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Zane

  I sat alone in the cramped law office of Mitchell Worthington, a name that sounded far more impressive than the man who bore it was. The place reminded me of everything I hated about that Podunk town in Vermont. It was musty, old, and much like the ancient and yellowed computer on the lawyer’s desk, useless. Other than maple syrup and leaves, it didn’t offer anything to the average American, and I was well beyond average.

  My mother’s lawyer walked in and gingerly sat down in his office chair. An old man with white hair and eyebrows a horned owl might balk at, it took him a full minute to get settled and finally look across the desk at me.

  “Mr. Gilford, I’d like to start by extending my sympathies. Your mother was a good woman, and I’m sorry she’s passed. It seems like just yesterday that she came here looking for an attorney to represent her business interests. She was a glowing woman who brought joy to those around her. She will be sorely missed.”

  I nodded because I had to. He and I both knew I wasn’t there for some therapy session.

  Not getting the reaction he wanted, he continued. “Right, okay, let me see. Yes, let me look at some of the paperwork here.” Thumbing through the stack of papers, he said, “Yes…okay, that’s what I need.”

  Instead of actually telling me what I wanted to hear, he sat silentl
y reading over the document for nearly a minute before looking up at me. “Well, Mr. Gilford, you’ll be pleased to know she’s left you everything. However, there is one caveat, and I feel I must prepare you by saying that you are not going to like it.”

  I sighed and rolled my eyes. There was always something else when it came to my mother. Even in death, she had a way of making things annoying, like requiring me to meet her lawyer in person for this crap when I should have been back enjoying my life in California, not in Vermont where I could already smell the stench of old people and hipsters all over me.

  “Fine. What’s the caveat?” I asked after her lawyer sat quietly waiting for me to respond.

  “Mr. Gilford, your mother has stipulated that if you are to receive a penny of her substantial fortune, you’ll be required to run The Gilford House Inn successfully for one year. That means at the end of that year, it cannot be in a worse state financially than it was when you inherited it, which is today. After a year, you will receive her fortune in full and may do what you please. She’s left a letter explaining it all here for you.”

  The old man pushed the envelope toward me. Even that mannerism was painfully slow, and I wanted to just snatch it out of his hands. Then the full effect of what the officious bastard had just said hit me. I sat there in shock, unable to speak as my new reality sunk into my brain.

  “The Gilford House Inn has indeed taken off in these past years, Mr. Gilford. Your mother ran a darned good business, and coupled with her ability to invest wisely, led a productive life. You’ll be well taken care of for it. In fact, my wife and I stayed at The Gilford House Inn a few years ago, and I can tell you it was the best vacation we’ve had in ages. We try to go back every year now, in fact, and it gets better and better each time. I think you’ll especially enjoy the…”

  I slammed the palm of my hand hard on the desk, startling the man as his ridiculous collection of folksy knickknacks and pictures of his grandchildren rattled between us.

  “Is this for real? I don’t give a damn about her little hole-in-the-wall motel! Can she actually put this in her will? Will this bullshit hold up in court? This has got to be some kind of sick joke. I can’t just take over some fleabag motel that I know nothing about. There has to be a way out of this!” I said, practically growling with anger.

  I couldn’t believe this shit. My mother had known since I was a kid just how much I had hated that damned place. Sure, I had played there and enjoyed games of hide and seek in the hallways and the stairways as a child, but I’d loathed and despised that money pit since I was old enough to know better.

  Though apparently, it hadn’t been as bad an investment as I’d thought. I didn’t begrudge her any success she may have had with the place. Good for her that she’d found success with it. Still, the notion of me running the place was nothing less than ridiculous.

  Old man Worthington nodded, his eyebrows moving with his head as he said, “Yes, I put together the will with her, and it all checks out legally, so you better settle in, Mr. Gilford. You’ve got a year to do what she wanted. Otherwise, you aren’t getting a dime. Now I know this might seem overwhelming, but she left very detailed instructions so you can slide into the role of owner very easily. We worked together for weeks to ensure your easy transition.”

  I shook my head and balled my fists at my sides. “She can’t do that. I’m her only child. That money has to go somewhere.”

  I was grasping at straws, but I hoped if I confronted him that would make him cave and give me the money. “It’s not like you have any loyalty to her wishes, so what do you care? You’re just some lawyer.”

  Worthington nodded again and answered after pausing for an insufferable amount of time. “Well, she did set aside a quarter of a million to be given to various charities. If you cannot fulfill the requirements outlined in her will, the money will automatically go to them. As for my caring, not only is this my job, Mr. Gilford, but ensuring your mother’s final wishes come to pass is also a privilege. She was a wonderful woman who worked hard for those she knew and deserved that in return.”

  My mother and her charities. Over my dead body would strangers get what was rightfully mine.

  He pointed at the envelope on the desk in front of me. “It’s all in there. She made sure to be quite explicit with her wishes. If you have any more questions, I can help you or I can put you in contact with…”

  I didn’t feel like hearing anything else from the old man. I knew he wasn’t going to help me anyway, so I walked out on him, slamming the door behind me and startling the tacky twenty-something with a bad dye job behind the receptionist’s desk.

  As I stepped outside and off the curb, I nearly got run over by some teal antique car and scowled angrily at the idiot driving it. An old man with a hat, like eighty percent of the population in Burlington, Vermont. They must have been importing them from the West coast because I’d already seen more old men in hats in Vermont than I had in all the years I’d spent in California.

  I threw him a nasty look and slid into the driver’s seat of my Mercedes to read my mother’s letter to me.

  My Dearest Zane,

  If you are reading this, we never got the chance to talk before my death. For that, I am truly sorry. I leave this world with a host of regrets, but none more than what I did to you. My only child, you were blessed with everything good, and I believed it was my duty as your mother to give you everything I could. I know now that was a mistake.

  I hope in death I will be able to give you what I did not in life. To that end, I am leaving you the inn. You will have to learn to work with the staff to ensure its success. You’ve never been very adept at tolerating others, but you will have to accept that people aren’t all like you if you ever want to inherit my money. Be good to them, Zane, and they will be good to you in return. I know you never believed me, but they are family. I hope you come to see that as I did.

  Zane, I loved you, but I made mistakes giving you everything as you were growing up. I’m doing this in the hopes that I can compensate for all I didn’t do to teach you right. I hope you succeed. I believe with all my heart you will.

  Love,

  Mom

  She had to be kidding.

  I crumpled up the letter into a tight ball and whipped it at the passenger side window before tossing the packet Worthington had given me onto the floor behind me. It contained the relevant documents and information for running that rat hole of an inn, but it wasn’t anything I cared about at that moment.

  Leave it to my mother to make her death worse than it already was.

  I closed my eyes and thought of the time when I was sixteen and came home from boarding school on Christmas break to that crappy inn. It was already buried under too much snow, and I spent much of my so-called vacation in my room playing video games and pretending I was somewhere else. I’d avoided my mother for the most part, and it had been working out just fine until I heard her call my name from outside in the hall.

  “Zane, sweetheart, will you come out, please? I’d love to see you downstairs in the dining room.”

  I’d already figured out by that age that running the place kept her busy enough that if I ignored her the first or second time she called, she’d go away. Inevitably, some issue would crop up or some guest would want to thank her for something she’d done and she would leave me alone and more than likely forget whatever it was she had initially wanted me for.

  Still, for whatever reason, I was curious, so I walked out of my room and into the hall to find out what she wanted.

  “Honey, please come downstairs,” she called from the dining room as I stood stubbornly in the hallway above. “We have a few new additions to our team this Christmas, and I thought we could all decorate the big Christmas tree together! You’re going to love Bill here. He’s a Warriors fan just like you!”

  I listened to a man mutter something, and I rolled my eyes and stayed silent.

  “Zane Gilford, I know you can hear me. Come down here and
meet Bill. It would be nice for you to talk to someone while you’re here. Maybe you’ll have a nice story to take back and tell the boys at school.”

  I’d always hated it when she used that sickly sweet tone with me. She could have a real attitude when she wanted to, but she wanted to save face for the strangers she called our family. Uninterested in her attempt at creating some quaint holiday tradition, I remained where I stood and waited for the situation to pass so I could go back to doing what I wanted.

  “Zane, get down here now, please.”

  I’d stormed down the stairs and looked her dead in the eye as I snapped, “I don’t care about Bill or anyone else in this crappy excuse for a motel, Mom. I could be spending my vacation at school or with Justin and his family in Aspen, but instead, you drag me back to this place every year. I hate it!”

  She’d shaken her head and smiled like always. “Honey, your family is here in Vermont. Not just me but everyone who works here. We’re all a team. Besides, it’s Christmas. Come on. We can all exchange presents after we finish the tree. I think our new chef even made some cookies for everyone. Isn’t that nice of him?”

  I saw the employees behind her, nervous about any confrontation as they edged their way to the back of the room. It was smart of them. That’s where they belonged. At sixteen, I had more education than half of them and had already decided what kind of people I was going to surround myself with, and they weren’t it.

  “Yeah, you want to give me the best gift of all? Send me back so I don’t have to hang out with you and these losers on Christmas!”

  I stormed back upstairs and spent the rest of the vacation waiting to go back to boarding school where people who I liked existed.

  She’d never understood that those people weren’t our family. Hell, they weren’t even friends. You didn’t pay friends and family to come by every day and clean up the sheets. Those people weren’t like us, and she could never get that through her skull. They were employees, the literal help, not our family.