Free COLD INNOCENCE (snowed in with the billionaire #1) (billionaire erotic romance) by Karolyn James

 
    (1)
     
    Attempting to beat the record snow storm,
Stephanie Miledon sighed in relief when she saw Wolf Top Lodge
appear from the white horizon. She reached for her cell phone and
checked the time. Almost an hour early. Plenty of time to prepare
for a long weekend of meetings. Meetings that would be her way of
showing the executives at HanAn that she didn’t just belong within
the company, she belonged at the top of the company. The first
change would be to secure an actual position with the company. Her
temp contract was set to expire in a week, leaving Stephanie
secretly job hunting at night in between doing the extra work she
continued to volunteer to handle.
    She needed the job to keep her sane.
    The eight hours spent at HanAn during the
day and the other four to six hours spent at home, thinking or
working, were the most productive hours of her life. It kept the
rest of the world at bay. It kept her mind focused so she didn’t
think about her mounting college and credit card debt, and growing
frequency of shut off notices from the utility company.
    It came as a surprise when she received the
notice to appear this weekend at Wolf Top Lodge. These meetings
were for actual employees, those who were given a chance to see the
inner workings of a complex company that dealt in anything from
software to investments and everything in between. With offices in
New York, Los Angeles, London, China, and a variety of sub offices
across the country and globe, the company was massive. A
multi-billion dollar machine that Stephanie wanted to be a part of.
There were so many different paths within the company, she knew her
time spent learning accounting and finance would come in handy.
    It had to.
    The cab halted and the driver looked in the
mirror, smiling. He was a sweet looking old man and Stephanie paid
him with the last twenty dollar bill she had to her name. The man
clutched the bill like it was his ticket out of life and waited for
Stephanie to exit. She took her bag of clothes and her laptop
bag.
    She stood outside the lodge, staring up at
it.
    It looked more of a bed and breakfast than
somewhere to house executives. Unless the company rented the entire
place for the weekend.
    Wouldn’t that be a nice treat?
    The cab started to drive, kicking up a small
cloud of black smoke followed by the rotten smell of exhaust.
Stephanie looked over her shoulder and watched the vehicle
disappear.
    “Bye,” she whispered and took a deep
breath.
    This was the biggest weekend of her
life.
    She knew that before stepping into Wolf Top
Lodge.
    If that weren’t enough to make Stephanie
smile, she felt a wet tap on her hand. She looked down and saw it.
She let go of her suitcase and put her hand out. In a matter of
seconds, it began to flurry. It was the first snow of the season
and she let it collect and melt in the palm of her warm hand for a
few seconds before walking to the lodge.
    By the time she reached the door and opened
it, the small flurry had turned into real snow.
    The speed increasing, the flakes getting
larger.
    Stephanie wondered just how much snow it
would take to trap her in the lodge.

(2)
     
    The warmth of the lodge felt great compared
to the snowy chill outside. The main lobby was a large open area,
with a small desk to the right and a set of wide steps to the left.
Beyond the desk was what would be used a living room if it were a
personal property. There rest four couches, tables, and a large
stone fireplace with a roaring fire.
    Stephanie looked around all the corners she
could, admiring the beautiful wood, the perfect lighting, and the
overall fresh smell of home, comfort, and heat. She couldn’t
imagine a better place to be in with snow falling outside.
    Against the front of the lodge was a large
window separated into seven panes of glass. Three on top of the
three with a half circle at the top. Being able to look out to the
remaining green trees was as beautiful as catching the sight of
snowflakes falling in front of