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“Fine,” Haywood finally gritted out. “Thirty-two.”
I smiled, all charm, all shark. “Pleasure doing business with you.”
The call ended, and Fiona let out a low whistle. “We got him.”
“We almost didn’t.” I pounced on her. “Next time you have doubts about what I’m doin’, you wait until it’s just us before you express your doubts, got it?”
I should tone it down, I thought. Fiona was only trying to help. And I was only trying to see her flaws now because I’d seen Elena and…fuck me. I was being unfair to Fiona, but right now, I was her boss, not her boyfriend, and she needed to understand she needed to read the room beyond who was interested in her cleavage.
“I know.” She raised both her hands, palms up. “I…I just thought he was going to bolt.”
“Then he bolts. I’m not going to pay more for something that ain’t worth it, Fiona.”
She sighed. “I know. I didn’t want to lose the deal.Piper Novak is watching us, and I have a good feeling about their involvement with the Wilder Ranch project.”
I took a deep breath and tried to soften my demeanor. I must’ve succeeded because she put her hand on mine. “Hey, we got Tom in the bag, and that’s a big fucking achievement. You get that, right?”
I shrugged. It should’ve felt like a win. A few days ago, it would have. But as I sat in myfather’schair in his office, it all felt…hollow.
I’d spent my whole life making sure I wasn’t like him.
Nash didn’t have a killer instinct. He made deals on handshakes and trusted the wrong people. He wanted to build things the right way, while I only cared about making money, period. And I’d done it. I’d made it. And yet….
Fiona moved to slide over and went on her knees in front of me. “Come on, boss. Don’t tell me you’re getting sentimental.”
I tangled my hand in her hair.
“Let me suck you off,” she crooned.
She worked my belt and zipper and pulled me out. I was at half-mast. But I knew all I had to do was think of a certain cowgirl, and I’d be hard as steel.
“Wow! Look at that. You do like to win, don’t you? It makes you hard, doesn’t it, baby?” She stroked my erection. I tilted my head back and closed my eyes.
I let Fiona work me, and when she swallowed my cum, I felt like I was cheating on the woman with chocolate-brown eyes who’d stolen my heart a decade ago.
CHAPTER 9
elena
The funeral was the following day.
I hadn’t seen Duke for three days now.
I was relieved.
Yes, I was.
Seeing him brought up memories and emotions that I didn’t have the energy to deal with. Even when he wasn’t there, I couldn’t pretend I didn’t care about him, so when hewashere, it was all but impossible.
People died. So, why the hell didn’t love? And how could I still love him? I didn’t know the man Duke had become. I’d known a boy for a short time; how could I love this man who was cold and cruel enough to demand the person who held his father’s hand when he died not even to attend his funeral?
But then, everyone had always put someone else before me. For Mama, it was Nash. For Nash, Duke had been more important than even my mother. And for Duke, it was all about taking care of Gloria.
My laptop beeped to let me know I had a meeting in fifteen minutes. I was in the office in the stables. It was a small room off the main aisle with an old desk, a filing cabinet that was only half-closed, and a window that let in the scent of horses and hay. I didn’t care about the niceties, just that it had a Wi-Fi router and wall sockets so I could charge my laptop.
It was quiet this time of the evening when the day’s work had all but wrapped up outside, and all that I heard was the occasional nicker of a horse or the distant sound of boots on dirt. I liked the peace and quiet of the Wilder Ranch, and I wondered where I’d go once the horses were sold. Maybe I could ask the people I was talking to from California if they had any recommendations.
I knew Maverick would hire me in a heartbeat, but I didn’t think I could stay in Wildflower Canyon to see the ranch lose its glory and become something vulgar, something that I knew would kill Nash if he were alive. He’d fought long and hard to keep the land away from the vultures as so many others in Wildflower Canyon were doing—but Wilder Ranch was the biggest prize, and when it fell, it would change the face of this small town with big ranches.