The Grumpy Boss Cowboy Billionaire

Chapter 10

Victor

What was I thinking? With everything on the line, I was stupid enough to jeopardize the entire park by getting involved with the one woman who could make or break my dream. Speaking of which, I couldn't get rest even when I slept. Ever since I kissed her, it was almost impossible to fall asleep thinking about anything else.

My dreams of Emma were becoming increasingly vivid. In the past, the woman in my dreams had always been faceless, a nameless phantom, a fantasy. Not now. Now it was her, and it wasn't easy to push the images from my mind when we worked together during the day. I woke with a hard-on and a throbbing headache, both of which were equally persistent.

The good news was that the ads worked like a charm. We had a long list of applicants lining up for all positions and roles. After checking in with the construction crew breaking ground this morning, Emma and I sat at the breakfast bar, sifting through resumes, organizing them into piles based on applied roles.

Despite all of her chaos, Emma was sensational at her job and knew exactly where anything was once she had put her hands on it. She handled the people-stress incredibly well, sorting out staffing issues, which pleased the heck out of me, because that was what had derailed my projects in the past.

We scheduled interviews in batches–set designers, prop directors, and costume designers one day, with engineering leads, graphic artists, and social media gurus on another. We interspersed our days with different chef interviews, in the hopes of covering our bases: guaranteeing we ate during the day and that our palates didn’t go blind—also Emma’s idea.

On the third day, we interviewed several food and beverage managers, a sommelier, and several bartenders for specialty mixed drinks.

Now that construction was underway, I realized that Emma was a believer in getting her hands dirty; she wanted to be involved in every part of the project, touching every piece of the puzzle. Watching her talk to the architect, compare linen samples with the costume designer, discussing brokers for bison meat with the food and beverage manager…it all made me realize how uninvolved I’d been with my previous endeavors. Rather than delegating, I found myself being roped into participation—with blistered hands to show for it.

Two weeks after we had our town hall meeting, the park was well underway. The ride renovations were in full swing, our artists and designers working tirelessly to build our decorations and scenery, while our chefs worked endlessly on perfecting our menus.

We were seated in front of our Navajo chef, who offered us a sampling of his newest ideas, focused on desert fare fused with ethnic dishes. Her knee bumped mine under the table as she reached for another bite of nopale sushi and it was like a shot of electricity directly to my groin. Since our kiss that night, the urge to touch her and embrace her had increased tenfold, leaving me fixated and sleepless. I bumped her knee back, grinning as she stole a glance at me through her lashes.

I took another bite. “So.”

“So?” She raised her eyebrows.

“I feel like I owe you an apology...about the other night."

She shrugged and cracked a smile. "You had a lot to drink. If anyone should apologize, it should be me. I was dead sober, I just...got swept up in the moment, I think. But I won't apologize, since it didn't happen."

I chuckled, shaking my head. "Don't get me wrong, under different circumstances, I wouldn't regret it. Still, given the nature of our professional relationship, I don't want you to feel uncomfortable. So, for that I'm sorry."

She paused her bite and looked across the table at me. “I don't feel uncomfortable around you, Victor. We have a job to get done, and I know that's where our focus needs to be. But, even though it didn't happen, under those different circumstances, I wouldn't mind at all if it happened again.”

My mouth went dry and a pleasant heat spread through my chest as my hands and feet started tingling.

I nodded. “Maybe...after this is all over, and I'm not your boss anymore, maybe we can revisit that.”

"Maybe." She dabbed her mouth with her napkin. “Until then, we're strictly professional.”

“Strictly professionally, of course.”

She snickered. “Of course.”

We finished up our meal and thanked the chef for the preparation. As we walked through the front gate into the park proper, our hands bumped as they swung next to our sides and I had to stop myself from reaching for her hand. She glanced over at me and I looked away as we went to check out the games.

Our chief game designer, Brian, was a former MIT student turned PC game designer, who dropped out of structural engineering school to pursue his true passion. His application said he was obsessed with the Old West and I was excited to see if that was true. He approached us excitedly, two power packs and pistols in hand for the cowboy laser tag.

“I finally solved the programming error with the packs, so not only do they show with light where they were ‘hit’, but they also vibrate against the wearer’s chest when it happens.”

Emma’s dark eyes shone with excitement as he handed her the chunk of plastic. He jibbered at her in nerd-speak for several minutes. She nodded intermittantly, making small sounds of encouragement.

“Can we try them out?”

He gave pause, considering.

“They haven’t been tested yet, but I guess if you’re okay with being the program testers?” He offered me the other pack.

“I’d love to!.” She grinned at him, and his eyes lit up at her reaction.

His cheeks instantly reddened, and he bobbed his head before hurrying back into the control room. I turned to her as she slipped the harness over her head. “And you accuse me of dazzling people.”

She threw me a soft smile and furrowed her eyebrows. “I don't know what you’re talking about.”

I stepped closer to her and brushed her curls back off her shoulder, fingers slow as I adjusted the buckle. Her breathing quickened, and her neck flushed red at my closeness. I moved to the other side, savoring the way her ample chest heaved beneath the electronic pack.

“There,” I murmured, my lips just inches away, burning to touch them to hers. “Now it won’t slide off while I kick your butt.”

Her amber eyes raced up to meet mine, bouncing down to rest briefly on my lips, before meeting them again. “I believe we have an audience.”

I glanced up at the control booth, where Brian, the engineer, quickly looked away. I cleared my throat to cover my embarrassed laugh and stepped back from Emma. She giggled and poked my chest.

“I hope you're ready for this Sherrif Sullivan." She put on her best southern accent. "'Cause this outlaw's about to show you what a real gunfighter can do."

"Bring it, sweetheart." I smiled and winked at her. "You know how much I love a challenge."

She bit her lip and fastened her gun into its holster.

I pulled my own powerpack over my head and adjusted the straps, clicking the clasps shut. Brian emerged from the control booth to lead us both to the entrance of the game space. On the door, it read ‘Sundown in Cactus Creek’.

“I’ll power you guys on as you walk through the door, but inside, you’ll have to wait for the story and the start. If you shoot before that, it won’t register.”

I smirked. “Has that programming been tested?”

Brian looked at me, eyes bored. “Yes ma'am. But feel free to test the theory anyways.”

He finished checking our gear and pulled the door open, ushering us inside, and smacking a button on each of our backs that powered on our electronics. He shut the door behind us, leaving us in the darkness.

She chuckled. “I’ve told him to program two different kinds of play sequences–one that’s versus, which we are going to do, and one–presumably for groups to work together–that’s ‘Life in the Old West’, fighting off bandits and rustlers on the projection screens.”

I opened my mouth to speak but was interrupted by the announcer’s voice. “Welcome to Cactus Creek, home to some of Arizona’s most preeminent copper and silver mines.” The male voice narrating was smooth and even, with a rich timbre.

“How much did that cost?” I nodded toward the speaker.

She grinned. “Oh, that’s Ted, from hair and makeup. He trained as a voice actor for ten years before moving to aesthetics.”

I wrapped one arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. “You never cease to amaze me.”

She smiled up at me. “You haven’t seen the half of it.”

While we’d been talking, the narration had wound to a close on the historical lesson and suddenly the lights came up on the display screens around us, depicting an old western town at dawn. People emerged from the shops and saloons going about their days, traversing from screen to screen. I felt my jaw drop open in shock, when my chest pack lit up, a yellow sheriff’s badge appeared above my heart. “The new sheriff in town has their work cut out for them in getting the crime under control in this town! On your mark, get set, GO!”

A bang, sounding suspiciously like gunfire, sounded and Emma tore away from me, ducking behind one of the building panels. I grabbed my pistol and ran after her, impressed by the realism and weight of the electronic firearm. Several of the virtual citizens gasped and jumped out of my way as I raced past them, skirting around one of the screen walls, and lifting my weapon. I scooted over to the edge of the wall and a ricochet sounded on my chest pack.

“Damn!” She laughed.

I rolled, firing back at her. I was rewarded with a grunt and the sound of her pack vibrating. I swung around the other side of the wall and fired. A loud crack sounded and I could perceive a glowing red light as she came around.

“Not fair.” She whined, bright red splat visible on her power pack.

“It was a lucky shot.” I held my arms out to my sides.

She approached, the corner of her mouth turning up, and she raised her weapon to pull the trigger. A gunfire sounded from her chest pack and the red splat lit up on the side of mine.

“Gotcha.”

I wrapped an arm around her middle and my fingers found her ribs, giving her a light tickle.

“Cheater,” I murmured in her ear.

She giggled and wriggled out of my grasp. “I’m a rustler. Your rules don't apply to me, lawman.”

I sank to my knees, clutching the lit spot on my chest.

“Ya got me.” I fell back to the floor and gurgled, then lay still.

She kicked my boot, laughing. “Oscar-worthy performance, truly, bravo!”

She offered me a hand and I took it, pulling her down to the floor with me, flipping her onto her back and landing on top of her. Our chest packs clattered as they knocked together, our mouths mere inches from each other. Her breathing quickened as she stared into my eyes. What would it be like, in that hypothetical set of circumstances, where this wasn't against the rules? What would it be like to wake up next to her every morning?

“We should get moving." She breathed. "We have other things to check on.”

“Definitely.” I got up, helping her to her feet.

We were bathed in blinding light as Brian shut off the simulation, turning on the overhead lights. I gave a silent laugh, standing up a little straighter. Emma brushed off her shirt and fixed her hair as I rearranged myself. Brian came through the door and walked over to us wearing a dubious expression.

“How did it go?”

I tipped my head towards Emma. “I got her.”

Emma scowled at me before turning back to the engineer.

“The sound and light correlation is great and the projections are fantastic! Also, let Ted know that his performance was incredible. Keep up the good work." She put a hand on his shoulder. “I look forward to the group coordination simulation.”

He nodded diligently. “I'll get it done!”

After we finished up with the laser tag, we moved on to check out the carousel animals, who were all getting a facelift, in addition to the new animals. The shining new paintjob glistened in the afternoon sun, and the wood had been polished until it gleamed. This was going to be one of the highlights of the park and seeing it restored to this degree was more than I could have hoped for.

We moved further, finally coming to the mining cart expedition ride. Bruce, a friend of mine from Harvard who was also an engineer, had revamped the existing cart tracks up to safety standards and created self-propelled carts.

He came out to greet us as we entered the ride. Bruce clapped me on the back heartily as we shook hands. “Victor!” He turned to address Emma, and gave her a wink as he shook her hand. “And Dr. Pierce, good to see you as always.”

She ignored the wink, much to my delight, and nodded toward the carts lined up in front of the bank of windows looking out on the track. “How's it going?”

He stepped over to the controls. “Almost done, still working out the kinks. We’ve had about ten successful trips without any errors.” He jerked his thumb toward it. “Why don’t the two of you take a ride and you can see for yourselves? We just had the last of the animatronics installed yesterday.”

She nodded eagerly and Bruce raised his eyebrows at me over the top of her head. I frowned, wondering what he was up to as he led us through the station door and into the dimly lit tunnel. We climbed up into the cart, which was fairly spacious, and equipped to seat up to four people, two on each side. I sat on the left and Emma sat beside me.

“I like to see where I’m going,” she said when I gave her a questioning look.

Bruce closed the door. “Have a good ride. We’ll see you on the other side.”

He stepped back and stuck out his thumb. I opened my mouth to say something when the cart shot off into darkness. I gasped, the speed stealing my breath as Emma squealed in delight beside me.

We weren’t in the dark for long, the cart slowing as it moved into a section of light where animatronic miners were hammering on the walls and loading carts with gold, silver, and copper. The overhead soundtrack played the pinging and clanging of their pickaxes striking the stone wall.

“The movements are really well coordinated." Her brow furrowed as she leaned forward. "Bruce did a good job. They’re pretty believable.”

I nodded, opening my mouth to respond again, but snapping it shut as we sped back off into the darkness. She squeaked and grabbed my hand on the bench. Her small hand fit perfectly into mine, fingers lacing together. Heat sank low, and I rearranged my zipper so it wasn’t digging in. We moved into another spot of light, where the miners were smelting, their furnace pouring out heat and belching out smoke from the fog machines, making the track disappear into a mist as we rolled through it. Emma let out a laugh, scrunching up her face and waving her free hand in front of her face.

We accelerated into more darkness when the cart let out a lurch in the black, groaning to a slow stop. Her fingers tightened on mine as she gave a shuddering breath. The speaker on the center post of the cart crackled to life. “Sorry folks, we’re having technical difficulties. We’ll get you moving here in just a few moments. Thank you for your patience.” Bruce’s voice came through an overhead speaker.

“Crap,” I whispered. Emma gave another ragged breath, and I turned to her. “You okay?”

I couldn’t see her in the blackness, but her fingers trembled in mine. “Full disclosure, I’m kind of afraid of the dark.”

"Don't worry." I reached for her, drawing her into my chest. “It's not a real mine shaft, so it's probably not haunted.”

She shivered against me. “Not helping.”

I laughed, resting my chin on her head. “You’re good, I’m here.”

Her rapid breathing steadied, her body quaking in my arms. “I wish it would start moving again.”

“Do you want to get out and walk?”

She stilled, then nodded against me. I rose from the seat, arms still wrapped around her, and pulled her to the side of the cart. Gently, I released her, then put both hands on the side and vaulted my legs over. My feet clattered as they hit the gravel, and I quickly turned around.

“Can you put your legs over the side? I’ll catch you.”

I grabbed the edge of the cart and reached for her hips, stabilizing her as she slid her legs over. She trembled as I eased her down to her feet, her body grazing down mine as she touched the ground. I couldn’t see her, but felt her breath on my face, my groin growing turgid pressed between us.

Reluctantly, I released my grip on her and stepped back, but her hand caught mine. “Don't leave me in here.”

"No chance of that," I whispered.

We moved cautiously down the tunnel, my hand grazing the wall as we moved forward. It was much slower than riding in the high-speed cart, and yet I found myself enjoying it more with Emma’s hand clasped in mine. We moved in silence for a while, before finally catching a glimpse of glowing golden light just ahead.

“I can see light.” I pointed. "That must be the exit."

"Thank God." She tightened her grip on my hand, and we both sped up. We reached the gold aura, which turned out to be illuminated veins of gold running through the rocks around us. Emma’s eyes were wide as she looked up, smile gracing her beautiful mouth. “This is gorgeous.”

I couldn’t look away as her eyes met mine. “Yes, you are.”

Suddenly there was a screech, and Emma leapt into my arms. I spun, putting my back to the noise, bracing for impact. Something poked my ribs, and I held still. When it didn’t move, I stood up and glanced behind me, letting out a laugh. “Look.” I turned her around, my arms wrapped around her middle.

She barked out a laugh, touching the skeleton who stood there, his pickaxe extended out to where the side of the cart would be. “Why is this even here?”

I chuckled with her, touching a kiss to her temple. “Not exactly historically accurate, is it.”

She stilled in my arms, and it took all my willpower not to kiss her. She turned slowly, tipping her face up towards me. I tipped my face down toward hers to meet her eyes. Her gaze slipped down to my lips and she stood on her tiptoes, briefly touching her mouth to mine in a chaste kiss. It felt as though she’d ignited a fire in my chest, and I leaned down, returning the gesture.

Her lips parted slightly and I inhaled the smell of her perfume as the kiss deepened. I brushed my tongue along the edge of her lip and she moaned against me, pressing her body against the length of mine, my arousal surging to life against the front of my jeans.

I backed up, pushing my back to the wall, sliding my hands down to cup her butt, and pulling her pelvis flush to mine. Her hands rested on my chest, drifting down to my groin, tracing the line of my hardness. I drew my mouth from hers and hissed, grinding myself against her fingers. She groaned before recapturing my mouth.

My hand found the hem of her t-shirt, and I brushed my thumb over the soft skin of her belly, drawing up under her bra, to curl my hand around her breast. She whimpered, my fingers closing on her nipple. A hydraulic hiss sounded behind her, making us both jump and separate before turning to look at the cart, which had resumed working, and had pulled to a stop behind us. She glanced back at me, grinning, straightening her shirt, then stepped in. I took a moment to tuck myself up into my waistband, trying to alleviate the throbbing hardness that was now dominating my pants. Finally, I stepped in, closing the door behind us.

“Let’s get out of here, Bruce.”

The cart shot into the darkness ahead.

After innumerable apologies from Bruce, we finally broke away, leaving the station house and stepping out into dusk. Wordlessly, we walked to the mansion, our fingers brushing against each other with each step. Once inside, we both padded up the stairs, my heart hammering in my chest. I knew I needed to take a cold shower and to give her some distance.

We almost went too far again, and I could have kicked myself for my lack of control. Her door came first and I paused behind her. She opened the door, then turned back to me. She opened her mouth, then paused, considering. Was she going to invite me in? Kiss me? Ask me to have a drink?

“Thanks for walking through with me today.”

My thoughts deflated, though my logical brain was grateful.

“Of course. See you tomorrow, Emma.”

She leaned out the door and touched a kiss to my cheek, lips lingering. I turned my head slightly and her mouth found mine again, tongue dipping inside. I groaned, then pulled back, straightening, fighting hard with my control. “Good night, Emma.”

She was breathing hard, too. “Good night, Victor.”

She shut the door, and I rested my forehead against it, my entire body pulsing with need.