Page 16 of Take My Love

“Don’t wear your favorite boots to work next time,” I demand. “You’ll need waterproof rubber boots. Somethin’ easy to rinse off and walk through mud.”

“I didn’t know you’d?—”

I raise a brow that dares him to argue with me.

“Noted. I’ll be more prepared tomorrow.”

Looks like he’s a fast learner, after all.

After introducing Silas to the staff, I give him a pitchfork and shovel, then put him on mucking duty.

“Hey Ian,” I call him over from where he’s watching Silas.

He’s my right-hand man who’s been with me since day one. When I got the approval from Dad to open a goat farm, I hired Ian to help me get things started. He supervises most of the staff while I run the goat soap business, Langston Soapworks.

“Yeah, boss?”

“Remember how Sheila broke your heart when she started sleepin’ with your stepbrother?”

He deadpans. “Yeah?”

“And how you wanted revenge on ’em?”

He crosses his arms, studying me. “Where you goin’ with this?”

“I want you to give Silas the revenge treatment. He should be cryin’ and wantin’ to quit by the end of the week, got it?”

A smirk forms across his tan face. “Do I get to know why I’m torturin’ this poor man?”

“Let’s just say, he deserves it.” I pat him on the shoulder. “And you get to pretend he’s Kyle. Or Sheila. Hell, both if you want.”

Ian’s stepbrother not only stole his fiancée from him but then knocked her up while they were still engaged. He’s worked through it, mostly, but there’s still some resentment left inside him and he’s dying to take it out on someone.

His grin widens. “You’re evil, Posey.”

“Trust me, it’ll be good for him.” I wink, and he walks away shaking his head, but I know he’s gonna enjoy it.

Silas thinks working on a goat farm is easy peasy and we’re about to show him exactly what it takes.

I should take the highroad or at the very least be professional.

But if he wants to make it up to me, then he can start by getting dirty and sweaty.

Walking down to my office at the end of the barn, I grab a cold water bottle from the mini fridge and a work shirt from the cupboard. Even if he’s here for a week, I don’t need him passing out on my watch. Then I find some spare boots that may or may not fit him before finding Silas knee-deep in straw.

“Here,” I say, grabbing his attention. “You’ll wanna bring a tumbler or jug of water with you from now on. That way you can refill it throughout the day, but for now, I brought you this.” I hand him the plastic bottle.

And that’s as professional as he’s getting from me.

“Thanks.” He opens it and chugs half of it down.

“I guessed your sizes, so hopefully the shirt and boots fit. If not, well, too bad since it’s all I had.”

The corner of his mouth tilts up slightly. “I’ll make it work, boss.”

“Don’t call me that,” I snap.

“Oh, I thought I was supposed to.” His gaze shifts to Ian, which means he overheard him calling me that.