Jill waved goodbye to Rick as he dropped her off at the pool house entrance after work Monday. Blake had texted her the night before to say he’d decided to take an extra day off and that he wouldn’t be back till Monday night, so she’d had a solitary ride to and from work. Even though the car had seemed empty without Blake’s electric presence, it had been a bit of a relief to just relax in her seat and have a quiet moment to think. She’d found some troubling numbers today and wasn’t yet sure what they meant.
She walked into the pool house, kicking off her heels and dropping her bag as she went. She took one look at the white, sumptuous bed that had been made by some unseen ghost of a maid, and flopped face-first into its comforting embrace. As the scent of clean linen filled her senses and her body relaxed into the pillowy heaven, she decided she was never moving again. But then her phone rang. In her purse. On the other side of the room.
“No!” she moaned, though her voice was muffled by luxury fabric.
It rang once more then stopped. She relaxed until it rang again. “Ugh.” She pushed herself up and walked over to get it. It was her dad. She so didn’t feel up to this conversation right now, but there was no way she was getting out of it.
She called him back, saying, “Sorry I didn’t get to the phone right away.”
“That’s okay. I’m sure you were busy.”
Jill didn’t correct him. Her dad didn’t believe in resting. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
“This new account of course. I just heard about it. Why didn’t you call me directly so I could send our best people?”
“Because the only reason we got the account is because Nate Haverton wanted me specifically.”
“Well, that’s because of your connection to his wife. I’m not saying that isn’t great—it’s exactly the way to get these deals—but now that we have it, I’m going to send someone with more experience to help.”
Jill had to control herself before she started yelling. “Dad, just last month you were telling the board how qualified I am and that you had total confidence in my abilities.”
“Of course I told them that. How else would I get my daughter’s promotion approved? And it’s true. But like I said, you could still use someone with more experience to help you out.”
There was no way Jill was giving into this without a fight. “Sorry, Dad, but this isn’t the kind of situation where you can just ram someone else in. Nate and Blake have worked it out between themselves to put me on this project. They wouldn’t appreciate it if our company sent someone else in without their authorization. I’m sorry you’re anxious about my performance, but you’re just going to have to let me do my job. I’ve got this.”
There was nothing but silence on the other end of the line. “Okay, but I want you to give me a personal report every few days and if anything starts to go sideways, I’ll personally call Mr. McDaniel about sending someone in to help you. Now, tell me what you’re thinking.”
Figuring that he was going to question her until he got everything he wanted anyway, she filled him in on the situation. After a moment’s consideration, she ended with, “There is something about Gourmand’s that doesn’t look right to me. Their profit margin has gone down over the last six months despite an increase in sales. I’ve looked at the numbers though and can’t put my finger on why exactly. I’m going to have to look into it more.”
“It could be a simple matter of costs going up in production or transportation. Have you checked?”
“I have, but nothing has jumped out at me. I’ll have to spend more time on it.”
“Call me if you can’t figure it out. When does McDaniel want his first report?”
“Friday. But it’s not just Blake I’m reporting to.” Just saying his name sent shivers down her spine. “Nate expects a report too. It’s going to be fun trying to satisfy two demanding billionaires who both have different interests invested here.”
“I’m sure it will be, but try to remember that getting McDaniel good numbers looks as good for us as it does for him. Don’t let sentiment dull your business instincts.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” she said with a sharp twist in her tone. Even if her dad didn’t catch her sarcasm. “Hey, Dad. I’ve got to get out of here. I’ve got so much to do.”
“Sure, sweetheart. I’ll look forward to hearing from you in a few days.”
Jill sighed as she put her phone down. He didn’t have to beat her with a hint that he wanted to keep tabs on her. It had nothing to do with missing her.
When she put her phone down, she quickly changed into her swimsuit and grabbed a towel and ice-cold soda from the small, stocked fridge in the kitchenette. This was nothing a hot tub with lots of powerful jets couldn’t solve.
She walked out the French doors toward the raised, white stucco wall of the hot tub, taking a deep breath of the sweet-scented evening breeze. The hot tub was built against one wall of the pool house, and it sparkled under the overhanging lights. But what really caught her attention was the fact that Hayden, wearing an aqua blue monokini was walking toward the hot tub as well. They looked at each other for a moment, all the awkwardness of their last meeting hanging between them. Then Jill smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll come back later.”
“Uh, it’s okay if you want to stay.”
“Really?”
Hayden slipped into the hot tub. “Yeah. I’m supposed to apologize anyway.”
Jill raised an eyebrow and couldn’t help but chuckle at Hayden’s resentful tone. She sat down on the wall of the built-in hot tub and swung her legs around. As she slipped into the frothing water, the heat soothed her tense muscles. She leaned back and sighed. “This feels good. I’ve had a rough day.”
Hayden sat with her head against the smooth tiles at the back of the hot tub, clearly as relaxed as Jill. “You think you had a long day? You weren’t hauling hay around.”
“You were hauling hay?” Jill asked, completely perplexed.
“Yeah. We’ve been out at the ranch for three days. It’s my favorite place in the world, but the chores are killer.”
Jill had known where they were, but hadn’t thought she and Blake would actually be working while they were there. Although…that would explain how Blake was so fit and rugged. She had been surprised when she’d seen him swimming on Saturday morning to see that he was deeply tanned and had several scars on his arms and chest. She’d love to know the story behind the long scar that ran in a curving line down his ribs.
She sat pondering the contrast between the luxury of Blake’s mansion in the city and a working ranch in the humid Texas heat with bugs and manure and stinky animals. Spending the weekend there must have been good for Hayden. The girl was actually being somewhat friendly. Yes, she definitely wanted to know more. “How long has your brother owned his ranch?”
“Since he was about twenty, from back in his rodeo days.”
Startled, Jill sat up. She stared at Hayden, whose complacent expression was getting difficult to read in the dimming light. “His rodeo days? Okay, spill. I haven’t heard anything about this.”
Hayden shrugged. “He used a fake name because he wanted to build his own reputation. I don’t blame him. People judge you a lot when they know your parents are rich. But yeah, he was a champion bronc rider. He traveled all over the country. Broke some bones and won a lot of belt buckles.”
Jill had never been to a rodeo but had seen a few videos of crazy men being bucked around on wild, angry horses. No wonder the man looked like he was made of steel. “Why’d he stop?”
Hayden looked down and skimmed her hand across the bubbling water, sending up a small spray across the surface. “He came home to take care of me when Mom was arrested, and after her trial, he stepped up to take over as CEO of the family business.”
It was incredible that he’d not only been able to take over competently but also save the company’s reputation and grow it into the multi-billion-dollar enterprise it was. The man kept surprising her. She wanted to know more but doubted Hayden had much more information and probably even less interest.
Hayden flashed a small smile. “You know, maybe you aren’t a complete witch. I didn’t really believe Blake.”
Jill clenched her teeth but responded pleasantly as she held her aching feet in front of one of the jets. “Why not? You didn’t even know me.”
“Because you’re so pretty. Usually, girls who look like you are real witches.”
“That’ll teach you not to judge based on appearances.”
“Whatever. Everyone does it. Plus, I saw the way Blake looks at you, and he promised he’d never marry a career woman. I was worried he’d go back on his word.”
Feeling a yank of resentment as she remembered what being a career woman had cost her in her relationships, Jill’s smile slipped away. Not, she told herself, because he would never want her, but because it was true her lifestyle wouldn’t work with a serious relationship.
“Does he expect to find someone sitting at home, knitting and waiting for him to put a ring on her finger?”
Hayden giggled. “Maybe. As long as she was hot.”
“Then your brother is a cretin.”
“Quite possibly,” a deep voice said from behind her.
Jill gasped when she saw Blake standing there, the landscaping lights casting an otherworldly glow over his bare chest and stern face.
“Now scoot over and let me in.”
As she moved to make room for him, Jill went over her conversation with Hayden, wondering if she had said anything she shouldn't while he was walking up behind them in the dark. Trying to act casual, she found her eyes drawn to the sight of his bare chest sculpted by the light and shadows in the growing twilight.
Struggling to breathe normally, she said, "Hayden's been telling me some interesting things about you.”
"Oh yeah?" His smile glinted at her across the frothing water. "You shouldn’t believe everything you hear from my little sister. Especially when I've been making her do physical labor all weekend."
"Really?" Jill looked across to where Hayden eyed Blake with a smirk on her face. "She actually said quite a few complimentary things, so how much should I believe?"
"Well, then, all of it, of course."
"Does that mean that you really were a rodeo star?"
Blake shot a but sharp glance toward his sister and scowled. "Why are you revealing all my secrets?”
“I didn’t know it was a secret,” Hayden said, defending herself.
Blake sighed. “I guess it’s not.” Then he turned back to Jill and said, “I wouldn’t say I was a star, but I won some titles.”
"I’d love to see you get bucked off a horse sometime." Jill grinned, knowing that he would appreciate her teasing him.
He chuckled and splashed water on her. As she gasped and wiped her face, he leaned back against the edge of the hot tub propping an arm up on either side. “The reason I won so many buckles was that I don’t get bucked off often. Sorry to disappoint you. But maybe you should come out to the ranch sometime.”
"Oh, so you keep a lot of bucking broncs at your ranch, do you?"
Hayden laughed. "Well, we do have one. His name is Tornado because he spins when anyone tries to ride him."
"He’s a magnificent animal though. I bought him when he was sold off and now I’m working to break him to saddle work. I’m trying to break Hayden here too, but they’re both stubborn cusses.”
“Stop teasing your sister. I like her spirit. She's a strong woman, and that is something to be respected."
"Oh? Is that why she defies me at every turn?" Blake asked.
"I do not," Hayden exclaimed, standing in the hot tub.
When she did so, Blake caught sight of her revealing bathing suit for the first time. His eyebrows went up. "I seem to remember asking you to dress more modestly."
"We’re at home. You said I couldn’t go out wearing skimpy clothes any more. Besides, this covers as much as Jill's bathing suit does, but you don’t mind that, do you?”
"She’s not my little sister."
"I hate this. I wish we could live at the ranch all the time. You're nicer to me there."
"I wish that too, but I have a business to run and you have school. Speaking of which, didn't you tell me that you had a lot of homework to do before school tomorrow?"
Hayden made a growling sound in the back of her throat as she sloshed through the steaming water and got out of the hot tub. "You're not fooling me any. You just want Jill to yourself. Good luck with that—she's too good for you."
And on those words, she stormed off into the house. Her fiery exit made the silence in the courtyard that much more palpable. Jill leaned her head back against the tiles and looked up at the stars which she could only barely see through the lights around the pool area. They were just starting to glow against the darkening night sky.
"Well, that was relaxing." Blake ran his wet hand through his hair, spiking it up in crazy directions. Jill watched with interest as he rubbed his forehead. His jaw and shoulders looked tense. "It almost makes me look forward to going in to work tomorrow. It can't be much more stressful than this."
"Maybe not for you," Jill said. "I, on the other hand, have to figure out why one of your companies is struggling so I can save them from the ax."
"Oh yeah? Which one?"
"Gourmand's."
Blake looked at her with a steady expression for several moments before saying, "Is that why you’re spending so much time with Trevor Walton?"
“Yes, and I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that.” But suddenly this whole conversation felt really awkward. “My instincts tell me something isn’t quite right there.”
“Okay. I’ll fire him.”
Alarmed, Jill shook her head. “No. I might be completely wrong. I’ll figure it out before I make my recommendation about what you should do with the business.”
“I don’t like to have people working for me that I can’t trust.”
Jill folded her arms across her chest. “You’d prefer to fire someone with no more than vague concerns to go by? That’s not right.”
Blake’s jaw clenched as they stared each other down. “Are you sure you just don’t want to lose your favorite lunch date? Not that you’d have a hard time finding someone else to flirt with.”
Jill wanted to slug him. Every time she started to think that they were getting on a good footing, he said something to rile her up. Deciding to teach him a lesson, she drifted closer to him so that her leg brushed his under the water. She leaned close and rested her hand on his chest. He turned his head down to meet her eyes and she saw them darken with exactly the kind of reaction she'd hoped for.
Moving even closer, her legs gliding against his, she whispered, "When I flirt, and I admit I do, it always has a purpose."
Jill pushed off of his chest lightly and stood staring down at him as the water ran down her body. With one last sultry look, she got out of the hot tub and wrapped a towel around her.
"So why do you flirt with me?" Blake's voice was deep and rough, full of annoyance and authority and something else Jill couldn't label.
She shrugged. "To put you in your place."