The Grumpy Boss Cowboy Billionaire

Chapter 9

Emma

I exhaled and dropped the fourth letter from a construction company declining our request to work on our project due to a conflict of interest. I took a long pull from my cup of coffee, staring down at the letter. We were approaching crunch time–if construction wasn’t underway in the next two weeks, we may as well kiss the park goodbye and sell out to Hastings.

Hastings.

“Son of a…” I murmured, cutting myself off as Victor descended the steps two at a time into the kitchen.

“Good morning.” He pulled open the fridge and emerged with his protein shake.

I turned towards him, resting my hip against the island, waiting for him to be in a spot mentally where he could listen. After a long drink, he strode up to me, blue eyes bright with enthusiasm. After having my fifth restless night in a row, I was feeling less than enthusiastic, and far less personable.

“You look pissed.” He observed, taking another drink from his shake.

“I am pissed.”

He bobbed his head, undeterred. “Whatever it is, we will handle it. What’s up?”

I pushed the letters towards him. “See for yourself.”

I watched his face as he read letter after letter, brows sinking lower with each word, until his face had shifted into a mask of distaste.

He looked up to meet my eyes. “Hastings.”

“Yeah.” I chewed my lip. “I guess he's making good on his promise.”

He glanced away, mind obviously working through our current problem, then turned back to me. “It's alright. I've got a plan."

"Care to share with the rest of the class, because I'm at a complete loss." I leaned on the counter, bracing my elbows on the marble surface as I massaged my temples.

I'd anticipated him being upset, but he didn't seem fazed and I was a little worried that he might not grasp the pickle we found ourselves in. Delusional thinking wasn't what we needed. Positivity and team spirit would only get us so far. He smiled and despite my reservations, I dared to hope that he actually had something up his sleeve.

"We're going to host a meeting with local business owners and workers, to discuss what they want for the community.”

I raised an eyebrow. “How are we going to guarantee they attend?”

He plucked a pen from inside his suit jacket and wrote down a phone number. “This is the number for the mayor’s office here in Cactus Creek, who happens to be an old golf buddy of my grandfather…” He glanced up at me. “That’s how I found out about the Frontier Park property coming up for sale in the first place.”

He finished scribing the number and slid the letter back towards me. “Call him. Have him put out a citywide invitation.”

I widened my eyes. “I can’t just tell the Mayor of Cactus Creek to demand a citywide bulletin to appear at a meeting.”

Newsflash: that’s exactly what I did.

Alice, the mayor’s assistant, was only too happy to help me arrange a mandate to appear, especially after mentioning Hastings. “Fred Hastings is a nuisance and a cad.” She shook her gunmetal gray curls. “His family has been trying to get a foothold here in Cactus Creek for years. His father tried in the 70’s, before Emil bought that ranch and converted it to the Frontier Park, and he tried at the estate sale after Emil’s death five years ago. If the park goes, the rest of the town will follow right after. Then so will Carefree and Cave Creek.”

Glancing around the office, I let my feet wander so I could admire the dozens of photos on the walls. I smiled at a picture of a younger version of the mayor, dressed in full rodeo gear, his arm around the shoulder of an enormous bull. I recognized the bull from a series of posters around the lobby and the front of the park. I looked back at her sad purple petunia in a painted terra cotta pot, and ancient computer and wondered how much of this towns history had been decided right where I was standing.

“How long have you worked for the mayor’s office?”

She paused her ceaseless activity to think. “My family moved here to Cactus Creek in 1967. I’ve been in the mayor’s office since 1984, I believe.”

I blinked. She’d been in the mayor’s office for longer than I’d been alive. “You must’ve seen a lot of changes.”

She laughed, nodding in agreement. “I remember when this was just a tiny farming community. Then Emil built that silly park and brought in tourism. 1987 was when Cactus Creek got its first paved road.”

I fingered the edge of my pages as she set them in the printer to xerox. “Do you think this will work?”

She looked up at me, considering. “I think everyone will show up. I don’t know if they will all agree with your perspective, the opening of your park, and your plight…but I don’t know that any of them can afford to not stand with you, either.”

Her brown eyes twinkled at me from behind her wire-framed lenses. “All for one and all that.”

Collecting my flyers, I thanked her and made my way over to the meeting hall. The folks working there had opened up the largest room and were setting places at the table with pitchers of water and glasses. Clearly, they had a handle on it, so I jumped into the Jeep and raced back to the mansion to shower, change, and work on my notes.

I was in my room, applying lotion to my legs when there was a knock at the door.

"One second," I should have said it louder because the door opened slightly and he looked away as I hugged the towel to my damp body.

"Oh, sorry. I...misheard."

"It's fine." I shrugged. "I'm covered. What's up?"

The man was smooth, altogether too smooth, and could charm the skin off a snake’s back, but seemed to get flustered at the sight of me—a response I found downright addictively amusing. Seeing him unravel, lose his train of thought, and reveal his true face, even for a moment, was worth every second of embarrassment.

Victor reddened, cleared his throat, and stepped inside, pulling it mostly closed behind him. “I had the family lawyer draw up some information regarding the protections and bylaws afforded to private citizens and small businesses in a town like Cactus Creek.”

I pulled my pencil skirt up over my hips under the towel before stepping out of sight and into the bathroom, listening as he continued catching me up on the logistics of the contracts. Zipping the back, and pulling the blue satin dress shirt I’d laid out over the top. I buttoned the neck and slid my khaki blazer onto my shoulders, completing my look with a pair of butter-soft brown flats that I’d worn to dozens of meetings before.

"That all sounds good." I stepped back into the room and he gave me an approving once over.

“That’s a beautiful color on you.”

He stepped in close, close enough for me to smell his cologne—something expensive, musky, spicy, and masculine–and reached up, sliding the towel from my hair, allowing a cascade of dark curls fall down my back as I looked up at him. A hungry look crossed his face, a creature starving, gone in a flash. “We should get moving. Are you ready?”

I swallowed hard, scarcely able to breathe as I looked up at him. “Almost.”

His eyes grazed over my throat and I felt the barest shiver of fear, or arousal, wash through me. Victor stepped back, allowing me space to regain my brain and senses. “I’ll meet you down at the truck.”

I nodded, trying to remember how to breathe.

We made it to the city meeting hall twenty-three minutes before our meeting started. All the city business owners were there, making noise, catching up with old friends, and striking handshake deals. Victor and I took to the stage, shaking hands with the mayor before Victor stepped up to the podium. I could tell he felt completely at home.

I, on the other hand, felt like I was about to throw up. Like I was defending my thesis all over again. Only this time, it would be to a room full of angry rednecks. Victor smiled at the crowd, softening them up before he even said a word. He was such a natural, and looked so devilishly handsome.

“Ladies and gentlemen.” He nodded, looking satisfied with himself. “What a great turnout we have tonight.”

I pressed my lips together, thinking about how he hadn't doubted for a second that the whole town would turn up. He gestured to Alice and the mayor. “I wanted to extend a special thanks to our Mayor and his office staff—particularly Alice— for getting this meeting set up so quickly. Our one and only topic for the night is addressing the issue of Hastings Homes, Incorporated.”

A disheartened and disenchanted ripple ran through the crowd–it was obvious that Hastings would find no friends in this room, but possibly fewer enemies than we’d initially suspected.

“Young man,” an older voice resonated from the middle of the room. “We all admire your heart, and your courage. Hasting is a menace, yes, and a tyrant. He wants Cactus Creek for himself. But fighting against him, like you're proposing? That’s like fighting the tide.”

Victor pointed toward the man in the crowd. “You’re right... but just like levies can be built to redirect floods, lighthouses can withstand the sea's fury for hundreds of years, and ships can be sailed, no matter how violent the ocean, this community can survive Fred Hastings. But we need the tools, the people, and the guts to make that happen.”

“So what is it you expect us all to do?” Another voice in the crowd piped in.

Victor straightened. “I propose we form a Cactus Creek coalition, a group dedicated to the protection and dissemination of information and business here in Cactus Creek, keeping local money local, and preventing huge corporations like Hastings from buying us all out.” A murmur ran through the crowd. “Together, we could bring about a class-action lawsuit against Hastings, Hastings Housing, and all its subsidiaries.”

What? My head snapped towards Victor, who surveyed the crowd with quiet confidence. Another murmur sounded, this one more hopeful than the last.

The original voice spoke back up. “We would love to stand behind you, son, but it just seems like it would be poking the bear. There are too few of us here in town to be able to make a dent against them.”

Victor smiled and removed the mic from its stand as he withdrew a business card from his jacket pocket, rounding the podium to extend it to the man who approached the edge of the stage.

“Actually, I’ve made over a dozen phone calls today to different former business owners who are also interested in joining us against Hastings, and are willing to attest to his methods of beg, borrow, threaten, and steal in order to push them off their properties for him to build his condominiums.”

The room seemed to come to live with hushed conversations.

"This town and the people in it are special." Victor paced the length of the stage. "It has a heart, soul, and history that I'm willing to fight to protect. I'm willing to risk everything I have to stand up to Hastings, but the only sure way to win, is if we all do it together. I won't lie and say it's going to be easy, but it's the only choice we have unless we want Cactus Creek to turn into another Phoenix."

He was met with a mixture of applause and skepticism, but no one seemed outright against him. The mayor stepped forward, giving a nod to Victor before taking the podium.

"Well, now that you all know the stakes, I'll make sure to email you all Victor Sullivan's contact information. Thank you for coming."

Swallowing hard, I dug my hands into my palms and descended the steps of the stage, heading straight out through the lobby and into the parking lot. I could hear the familiar sound of Victor's footsteps behind me as the door stayed open a little longer with him on my heels.

"Emma." He jogged up and put a hand on my arm.

I pulled away, spinning to face him.

“I can’t believe you, that you would do that, that you would suggest that, without letting me know what the plan was!” I shook my head and headed to the car, ears hot with fury.

Victor nodded and opened the passenger door, holding out his hand to help me step up into my seat. Getting into the driver's seat, he buckled up and turned on the engine.

“I had very little time to prepare, and I caught you up on everything I could."

"I'd say you left out some pretty key details, Victor."

He frowned. "I didn't know for sure the other business owners would be onboard until the phone call with the family attorney right before we left for the meeting.”

"You could have told me in the car... Surely with all your superior business training, you learned how important it is to communicate with your team. I guess there are things even fancy socialites can't afford, like common courtesy." I huffed. “And that’s another thing! Do you have any idea how much that kind of case costs? Who is going to pay for all of this?”

“Emma.”

I stopped short, turning to stare out the window.

He flicked on his turn signal and sighed. “I can afford this. I have to do this, it’s the park’s only shot at even getting off the ground.”

"You don't get it, do you?" My throat clenched, the words cracking as they left my lips. “If this goes badly, you can just walk away—fly off in your private jet with all your money and all your influence, leaving behind a trail of disaster. You have no idea what it is to risk everything, like you are asking these people to do!”

His blue eyes were stormy as he glared at me.

I shut up, chill creeping down my collar at his tone and I hung my head. When we got back to the mansion, he gave me another cold look and walked toward his room, disappearing up the stairs.

I sank into a chair in the living room, thoughts racing as a cold, clammy numbness rippled through me. I needed this job but was it really worth this much risk? This much stress? Grabbing my padfolio from the coffee table, I jotted down a few notes. If I were to stay, what did I need from him to make it worthwhile? How would he respond to my list of demands?

My heart raced and my stomach churned as I thought about the heartless look he gave me before he left the room. Would he fire me for yelling at him?

I padded up the stairs, making my way down the hall to his room. I knocked softly, touching it as it was unlatched and it swung open easily.

“Victor?”

The room was dark, and I stepped in further, wondering if he was somewhere else. I was halfway into his space before I caught sight of him silhouetted against the twilight sky, cigarette captured between two fingers.

"Never mind." I turned to leave, chickening out, and not wanting to push him.

“Emma.” The warmth in his tone gave me pause.

I stood and looked at him. He raised his tumbler to his lips and downed the amber liquid. Flicking the cigarette off the balcony, he stepped inside and walked over to his desk, littered with contracts, designs, and construction notes, all related to the renovation. He turned to the book bureau, setting his glass down and grabbing another, before grabbing the decanter and unstoppering it, pouring two fingers’ worth in each glass. He turned and set them both on the desktop.

“Have a drink with me.”

I opened my mouth to argue, then caught the edge in his gaze, saw the clenched line of his jaw, and sank down into the chair beside the desk, accepting the glass.

He lifted his own.“May we be in heaven half an hour before the devil even knows we’re dead.” He emptied the glass, then poured another.

I took a sip, inwardly cringing, bracing for the burning. It was smooth, hardly any bite at all, slipping down my throat easily, with a smoky, oaky finish on it. I took another drink of the liquor, then hazarded a glance at Victor. His blue eyes were trained somewhere far away, staring through the desk. I could tell his mask was gone, his emotions raw and painted plainly across his face.

My ultimatum died in my hands, and I dropped my notebook to my lap. The sound seemed to bring him back to his body and he met my gaze.

“Just so you know, I have more riding on this project than you could even fathom." He nodded, staring down at his feet. "Having a rich family does not mean I have nothing to lose, that my actions and failures don't carry weight.” He swallowed down the rest of his drink.

I glanced at the volume in the decanter, wondering how full it was when he came up here, as this was his fourth drink since I'd come in. I studied him.

“Are you okay?” I asked quietly.

He swirled what was left in his glass. “I bet everything on this project. Everything I have.”

I sat up straighter.

He took a deep breath, exhaling as he spoke. “I told my father that I would make this park succeed, or I would forfeit my trust. Leaving me with nothing but useless double Bachelor’s degrees in history and philosophy.”

I took a shuddering breath, the weight of his words crushing down on me. “And you still refused to take Hastings up on his offer? Why?”

He shrugged. “I want to make give something meaningful to the world. And because I believe in this place.” He gave me a half-smile. “I believe in you, and us. The team that we’re building.”

His words sent a tingle through my belly. Slowly, I rose to my feet, crossing the room to face him. His face was earnest, hopeful. I rested my hand on his arm and his eyes drifted down to watch my fingertips glide over his jacket sleeve.

"I...I'm sorry for what I said." I shook my head. "I didn't know."

"Don't be." He shrugged. "I can't exactly blame you. Everyone gets put into a box based on one stereotype or another. Safe to say that mine are easier to live with than most, so it would be a little pathetic to complain."

I put my arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug. At first his hands hung limply at his sides, then they curled around my back, squeezing me into him.

We stayed like that for several moments, embracing each other. Finally, I drew back and stared into his eyes. “I’m with you, Victor. Anyone who is willing to put in the work and not take the easy way out is someone worth fighting for. But if I go all in on this, I need you to trust me. No more springing lawsuits without giving me a heads up first, alright?”

He raised his eyebrows. “Seriously? I...kind of thought you were going to quit.”

I shrugged one shoulder. “What can I say? I guess you just can't get rid of me."

His mouth curled up in a smile. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

I felt a warm flush creep over my cheeks, and the heat in my face only intensified as he reached up, cupping the side of my face in his hand, rubbing the pad of his thumb across my cheek.

"I am glad you're here, Emma."

He leaned in, his warm lips caressed mine, and my heart leapt in my chest. I slid my hand up around his neck, playing with his hair as his arms tightened around my waist. This is wrong... I can't do this, he's my boss, not to mention, he's probably more than a little tipsy. But when his mouth moved to the column of my neck, I couldn't remember a single reason why this was a bad idea.

Just a kiss, my chest inflated like a hot air balloon as he trailed kisses along my jaw toward my mouth. That's all. Just a kiss.

His lips found mine again, and my breath hitched.

"I..."

He silenced me with another kiss, this one more passionate than the last. My stomach fluttered, a delicious chill running through my core. His tongue traced the seam of my lips, and I opened my mouth, allowing him to explore as I tangled my fingers in his hair. He kissed me harder, lifting me and setting me on his desk, our empty glasses clinking together as he moved his mouth back to the tender spot beneath my ear.

He pulled back, his blue eyes searching my face as I opened my thighs, allowing him to stand closer. Slowly, his hand rose to brush my hair back behind my shoulder, before moving up to cup my cheek. His fingers felt so good on my skin, I leaned my face into his hand. He sat up straighter in the chair and drew his face close to mine, the whiskey hanging heavy and sweet on his breath. He paused right before meeting my mouth again and held, waiting for my acquiescence.

I closed the distance and pressed my lips on his, they were to the touch, yet firm in their command of my mouth. His arms wrapped around my middle as he sat in the office chair, pulling me into his lap, his tongue brushing along the border of my bottom lip. I obliged, opening to him, our tongues dancing together, sending heat pouring to my core. I kissed him again, biting his lip, drawing a growl from him as he broke the kiss. He squeezed me tight against him, nuzzling his nose against my neck, as I brushed my cheek across his temple, savoring his spicy, masculine scent.

“We have to stop.” He let out a groan, then nodded.

His hands slid down my back, coming to rest on my rear, giving my cheeks an appreciative squeeze before relinquishing his hold on me. I reluctantly stood, sliding out of his lap, his eyes meeting mine, fingers still clasped.

“That was even better than I’d been imagining.” He chuckled dreamily.

I felt a blush creep into my cheeks. “But you're right. We uh... we can’t get involvedr—we work together.”

He nodded, a small smile playing about his lips. “Of course not, that would be ludicrous.”

“It would make things overly complicated.”

He nodded. “Absolutely. It was a fun thought, though.”

I grinned and touched a small peck to his lips before stepping around the desk. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Goodnight, Emma.”