Corporate Cowboy

“You’re assigned to group two, Mr. Bennett. That’s the one doing the sheep shearing,” she told him.

“Do I look like I want to even get near a sheep, Ms. Judd?” he asked and Kacy’s blood pressure again soared.

“Then I guess you’re going to be one hungry man.”

“What does sheep shearing have to do with eating? Don’t tell me hunt and kill is part of the lesson,” he said with a chuckle of disbelief.

“No, it isn’t,” she denied vigorously. “What I meant is that if you’re not with us you’ll miss dinner because it’s served at the chuckwagon out on the range. That’s why you need to come along this afternoon. We won’t be returning to the lodge until after we’ve eaten.”

His look was guarded. “I’ll think about it.”

“You have about forty-five minutes. That’s when we meet outside.”

As she expected, he was nowhere around when they met at the corral. Kacy pursed her lips and looked back at the lodge. He wasn’t outside at the pool. She figured he was probably sitting inside the air-conditioned room talking to Daphne on the phone.

Kacy didn’t understand why it should bother her at all. Whether or not he took part in the activities was no reflection on her skills as a facilitator, yet she felt as if he were affronting her by not showing up. The less she saw of him, the more he seemed to irritate her. Yet when she did see him, he irritated her, too. The only way she was ever going to get any peace of mind was for him to be gone. Four more days and she would never have to see Austin Bennett again. It was a thought she kept foremost in her mind.

“WE’RE SORRY, but all circuits are busy.”

Austin slammed down the receiver of the telephone and sighed. He was beginning to wonder how many long distance circuits they had in North Dakota. Every time he tried to make a long-distance call he got the same recorded message. Or was it simply a gimmick orchestrated by the Triple J to keep guests from using the phone? After all, he was supposed to be “unplugged” at the ranch.

Austin paced about his luxurious room. With the exception of the phone service, the accommodations were on par with any five-star hotel. The problem was, he was hungry. He should have gone with the group today just to get dinner. Irritation also gnawed his insides at the memory of how Kacy Judd had returned wearing that smug look on her face, boasting of the two-inch-thick steaks they had enjoyed. His mouth watered at the thought of a slice of beef right now.

It was barely nine o’clock, yet the Bennett employees had turned in for the night. Austin didn’t blame them. They had looked dog-tired when they had returned and he had felt a twinge of guilt. He probably should have gone with them, but he had a stack of reports needing his attention—reports that would make a difference for the future of Bennett Industries.

Again pangs of hunger rumbled in his stomach. There was only one thing to do. Invade the twenty-four-hour kitchen. He grabbed his room key and headed for the cafeteria.

One fluorescent bulb beamed a welcome sign at the entrance to the dining room. Austin walked through the vacant room until he reached the swing doors separating the kitchen from the dining room. As he stepped inside, he flipped a switch that created a glow overhead illuminating chrome appliances and working tables. He opened the refrigerator and practically salivated at the plate of sliced roast beef sitting on the top shelf. In a matter of minutes he had made himself a sandwich stuffed with meat and cheese. He was just about to turn off the lights and return to his room when a set of footsteps echoed on the floor.

Coming toward him was Kacy Judd. She wore a tiny white shirt made of lacy cotton and a pair of cut off jeans showing off long, slender legs. But it wasn’t the legs or the top that caught Austin’s eye. It was her hair.

It was bright red but Austin was quite certain the color didn’t come out of a bottle. It fell to her shoulders in long springy curls that bounced when she walked. When that hair was tucked up beneath a hat it was easy to assume she was a tomboy. But when it hung loose, it made her look all woman. When she saw Austin, she smiled, looking like a cat ready to pounce on a canary.

“Well, lookee who’s here. Hungry?” she asked with an arch of one brow.

He felt as guilty as a kid who was caught skipping school by the teacher…which irritated him. This woman wasn’t his mother or his teacher or anything to him. And he had a perfect right to get something to eat. After all, the ranch advertised its twenty-four-hour kitchen as a selling point.

“There’s nothing like a sandwich at midnight, is there?” she said saucily, then quickly added, “Unless it’s a thick juicy steak at dinner.” Her grin was devilish.

“All right. You’ve made your point,” he said dryly and started to leave.

“You don’t need to eat in your room. I’ve already seen you.”

That comment really annoyed him. “I’m not a man who hides from anything, Ms. Judd.”

“No?” She turned her back to him and walked over to the refrigerator. Austin watched her pull out the same plate of beef. “You could have fooled me.”

She sat on a stool at the island counter and began to make herself a sandwich. Instead of leaving—which he knew she would interpret as him feeling guilty—he took a stool across from her and plunked his plate down with a thud.

“Just because I don’t want to play cowboys with you doesn’t mean I’m a coward,” he stated in no uncertain terms.

She didn’t answer, but gave him a quick glance then continued smearing salad dressing on her bread.

Silence stretched between them until he said, “If this is how you treat your guests I’m surprised you have any sort of reputation left.”

This time she was the one who slapped something down on the counter. A knife. It clanged and he saw a spark in her eye that made his heartbeat increase.

“This is not a hotel, Mr. Bennett. It’s a ranch. A working ranch and guests who come here do so because they want to be a part of that work. Our job is to provide them with that opportunity, not to cater to self-indulgent, egotistical suits who have little respect for anybody else’s property but their own.”

By the time she had finished her eyes were flashing, her cheeks red, her chest heaving. It was the heaving chest part that held Austin’s attention. There was stress on the buttons of her shirt. And it wasn’t only caused by her posture, which was one of agitation. No, that skimpy little shirt of hers was a bit too tight across the bosom. He suspected that it was a deliberate maneuver on her part. He had yet to meet a woman who didn’t use her physical attributes to get her own way.

Yup, Ms. Kacy Judd knew exactly what she was doing when she got dressed every morning. If any of the guests were a bit reluctant to get on one of her horses, she could just mosey on over to him, press that knockout of a body next to his, stretch her arms so that those buttons were strained to the max and that little gap would allow the ever-so-tiniest of peeks at the lacy undergarment.

He felt himself growing hard. Damn. She was so good it was working on him. He forced his eyes to her face, but it didn’t help. The curve of those cherry lips was just as tantalizing as the peek at her breasts. Maybe he should have gone for the riding lesson after all.

The direction his thoughts were taking made him stop short. What was he thinking letting a cowgirl distract him from the issue—which was his right not to participate in the experiential learning program. For a minute he had almost been ready to concede that she had a point. He reminded himself that he was a paying guest, not a prisoner on the ranch, and he was not a man to endure insults.

He leaned across the counter until his face was only inches from her. “You think I’m self-absorbed because I care about the success of a firm which employs thousands of people? Is that what hard work is to you, Ms. Judd? Self-absorption?”

To his surprise, she didn’t back away, but held his gaze and even moved a bit closer to him. “Hard work? You call pencil pushing hard work, Mr. Bennett?” She chuckled sarcastically. “I doubt you’d be able to do a hard day’s physical labor if your life depended on it.”

He knew she was baiting him. She was trying to get him to prove to her that he could handle the work at the ranch. Against his willpower, every macho nerve screamed for him to prove he could. He was ready to flex his muscles and show her that he was not an office potato but a well-conditioned, athletic, tough guy. Only he knew he wasn’t. It had been years since he had been to the gym. With the schedule he worked, there was no time for health clubs.

“I don’t need to do your ranch work, Ms. Judd. I make money everyday using this.” He tapped his finger on his forehead.

“You think money’s the answer to everything, don’t you?”

“It’s the reason why you’re running this ranch as a corporate retreat center,” he shot back at her.

He knew he had hit home with that barb. She lowered her eyes as if to compose herself.

“We’re just trying to keep doing what we love to do,” she answered quietly.

“You can call it anything you want, but you have the same goal as we do in Chicago. To make money. You’re entrepreneurs.”

“We’re ranchers,” she stated firmly.

He shrugged. “Whatever.”

“We are,” she insisted vehemently. “This isn’t the city. We’re not conjuring up ways to make a fast buck. We want people to understand the connection between the land and life, to show them that what they do in the office has its roots back here on the prairie.”

He rolled his eyes. “Spare me the altruism.”

She could only shake her head. “How did you become so jaded, Mr. Bennett?”

“I’m not jaded, Ms. Judd. I’m a realist.”

“If that’s the case then you might want to think about the reality of what you’re doing here. Put a little more thought to the morale of your colleagues and a little less about your girlfriend back in Chicago, who by the way has been making a nuisance of herself by leaving countless messages at the switchboard.”

Daphne’s persistence annoyed Austin, too, but he wasn’t about to let this woman know that. His frustration at not being able to make long-distance phone calls surfaced.

“She wouldn’t have to pester your switchboard operator if your local phone company had more than one line for long distance. Do you realize how long I’ve been trying to get a connection to Chicago?”

“Just can’t stand being away from your girlfriend, can you?” she said snidely. “What I can’t figure out is why you just didn’t bring her with you? You two lovebirds could have cuddled poolside while the rest of your employees worked their butts off building fences.”

Gosh, he hated her tone of voice. She had to be the most irritating woman he had ever met. He was just about to retaliate with a rude comment when he realized what was happening. This woman was getting to him. Why was he even standing here arguing with her?

He picked up his sandwich and started to walk toward the door saying, “There’s no point in discussing this subject with you. I’ll have a word with your superior.”

“You mean my dad?”

It was said with such a smugness Austin knew that she was thinking, Go ahead. It won’t do you any good. He turned around to look at her. “Why should it matter to you whether or not I take part in the activities?”

She shrugged. “I told you. It doesn’t mean a thing to me. But your employees…well, maybe you should ask them how they feel. You might be surprised by what you hear.”

He chucked sardonically. “I’ve no doubt they want me to be as miserable as they are.”

She looked as if he had dealt her a personal blow. “Riding is not misery, Mr. Bennett. It’s the most glorious, wonderful….” she trailed off, looking a bit embarrassed by her enthusiasm.

“I’ll tell you what. You know the way you feel about riding? That’s how I feel about the work I do.”

“I don’t think so.”

“And how would you know? Have you ever experienced the rush of excitement you get from finalizing a deal you know will allow your employees to enjoy the profits of their labor?”

“No, but…”

“Well, until you do, Ms. Judd, I suggest you not try to get me on a horse and I won’t ask you to speak at our stockholders’ meeting.” He thought he had put her in her place but good.

As he walked out of the kitchen he heard her call out to him, “We’re rounding up cattle tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. Be there.”

KACY SHOULD HAVE known that her talk with Austin Bennett wouldn’t produce any results. The following morning he was not with his team members when they went out on the range to round up the cattle. By late afternoon, everyone was tired, dusty and in need of a shower…everyone but Austin, that is.

Dinner was served in the dining room. The atmosphere was a bit subdued, but in a good way. Kacy sat with several members of her team, but noticed that her sister chose to sit next to Austin.

The younger woman flirted shamelessly with the CEO. As hard as Kacy tried not to notice their light-hearted banter, she couldn’t keep her eyes off the two of them. It irked Kacy that Suzy was being so friendly to the guy when he was completely ignoring the efforts of everyone involved with the program. She wanted everyone at the ranch to shun the man.

Although there was no planned activity for that evening, one of the assignments was to fill out a questionnaire which was a leadership pretest. Kacy didn’t expect Austin to answer any questions. While everyone else sat with pencil and paper in hand, he disappeared. She guessed he had gone back to his room, since it was where he spent most of his time. Kacy sat in the lounge watching as one by the one the guests finished with the test and handed her their papers. When she had collected everyone’s but Austin’s, she decided to pay him a visit.

At first she thought he wasn’t in his room, for no one answered her knock. However, as she was about to leave, the door opened. Standing with only a towel around his waist, his hair dripping with water, he looked as surprised as she felt.

The sight of his bare chest had her shifting from one foot to the other. Of their own volition, her eyes traveled down the length of torso, following the fuzzy light trail of hair extending from his belly button down to…She jerked her eyes upward. What was she thinking? Looking down as if she were curious about what was beneath the towel.

She must have stood there speechless for several seconds because he said a bit impatiently, “Well?”

She waved the stack of papers in the air. “I need yours.”

“My what? I take it it’s not an evaluation form otherwise you wouldn’t be asking me for it,” he drawled.

“It’s called a pretest. You fill it out this evening and we go over the answers tomorrow. It’s a way for you to assess what you know about leadership.” He stood there giving her a blank look. “I don’t have yours.”

“Because I didn’t do it.” His voice was flat and disinterested.

“I know.” He smelled like soap and something else…maybe a designer shaving cream. It was a combination that had the awareness hairs prickling on Kacy’s skin.

“So?”

“So would you please get yours done?”

He sighed. “I really don’t have the time.”

“It’s a simple little exercise that we’ll be using tomorrow at the meeting. It’ll take you fifteen minutes max.”

He shoved his hands to his hips. “What’s the point?”

“The point is we’re going to use them tomorrow. You can at least attend a meeting that’s held by the pool, can’t you?”

Again he sighed. “Where is this paper?”

“They were passed out at dinner.”

“I must have left it in the dining room.”

“No problem. I have an extra.” She flipped through the stack only to discover she didn’t have an extra. “I guess I don’t have one. I’ll tell you what. I’ll read you the questions and you can give me your answers. I’ll mark them on a blank sheet of paper and transfer them to a form when I get back to the office.”

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