Jeanie had just opened the door to her room when her phone rang. It was George, her boss and he was angry.
“Do not piss Calvin Jenkins off, Jeanie! I’m warning you!”
“George, you know it’s almost impossible for a living organism to not piss that man off!”
She closed the door with her foot and began pacing her room.
“Still, Jeanie. Just get this thing approved and through. It’s not worth the trouble that will come with not doing what they want. Trust me!” George said over the line.
“There’s more at stake here,” Jeanie said hotly gesticulating even though he couldn’t see her. “George I can’t just sign the report and kick an entire community out of their homes.”
“I know,” George said sounding a little deflated. “Look, what do you need to make this nightmare project go away?”
“I could do with a look at the latest mineral survey. Also can you pull the permits? Has anyone bought the mining rights?” she asked. A plan was forming in her head but she wasn’t sure if it would work or if they would have the time to get it all done.
“I’ll check for you,” George said. “Jeanie, be careful. These people make and break careers, yours and mine. More than careers sometimes too.”
“Cool,” she said and hung up. Throwing the phone on her bed didn’t make her feel any better. Why were people so mean and greedy all the time? Petersen-Snow recorded billions of dollars profit each year with their network of subsidiary companies. Why did Mr. Petersen have to be such an a-hole about it all?
Because of his son. It was all about revenge and the only way to stop this was to either kill him or--kill him. Jeanie didn’t like that idea at all. Now that she had met the people who lived there, saving Sun Valley was becoming more of a personal crusade than a mere job. Perhaps there was a way that Mr. Petersen’s personal vendetta could be ruled out, made null and void.
If only the Bears could afford to buy their land. But Marcus had assured her that they couldn’t. They were handy men, cow hands and casual laborers. Not one had pockets deep enough. They treasured the land, the creatures in the forest and the mountains, not heaps of glittery metal that in the greater scheme of life meant nothing.
Jeanie was surprised to realize that she had found kindred spirits in the Bear Clan. Especially Ryan. If she was honest then she would admit that him stripping naked was stored in her memory for replay later. A lot of replay. And he was a nice guy.
Suddenly there was a knock on her door. Jeanie opened it and found Ryan standing in the hallway.
“Hi,” she said surprised and feeling a blush start deep in her toes as she thought about what she’d been thinking about him just seconds ago.
“I hope I’m not interrupting,” he said.
“Not really. You want to come in?”
“Um, no,” Ryan said. “I was wondering if you’d like to come to dinner with me? Two of my friends got engaged yesterday and they’re having a little thing at her dad’s ranch tonight. I thought it might help you if you could speak to more of the locals, you know for your report.”
Jeanie felt the smile begin in her belly and rise to her face. Like she was going to say no to the cutest, nicest guy she’d ever met. “So this is purely to help me get a sense of the local environment? Find out how the people feel about things?”
Ryan smiled at her. “Exactly.”
“So not a date at all?”
“It could be,” Ryan told her leaning on the door frame and making Jeanie’s heart jump into her throat. “Would you like it to be one?”
She just smiled. “So what time?”
“I’ll pick you up at six.”
“See you then.”
Ryan walked down the hallway. He looked fabulous in his jeans. Jeanie sighed. Was this really the time for her to go all hormonal and get entangled with a local? If not now, then when? She closed her door and tried to focus on her work.