Strictly Business (4 page)

Before he even hung up the phone Jess knew the answer.
Crap!

“Fine, I’ll stay in the area. That being the case, I’ll need
to find a room to rent instead of a hotel. Would it be possible for someone
here to help me with that?” She knew she sounded exactly like she felt.
Resigned and frustrated all at the same time. This was not her job, but with
the money on the line, along with the potential to expand into this area, there
was no way she was getting out of this without losing her job.
Ah, hell...
who was she kidding?
She probably sounded like a petulant child.

“Ms. Wythe, I don’t believe you have ever been on a working
ranch before, have you? No? Okay, then let me explain something. My days are
not my own. I cannot schedule an appointment with any expectation of actually
being there. Especially as we go into late spring with all our animals
birthing. If you need to see me, you need to work around my schedule. You can’t
do that if you’re an hour away, more if there’s a storm. So, you’ll be staying
here. This house is old and small, but there are still several guest rooms. The
only people in residence here are Marsha and me. I’ll have her show you to your
room.”

This had been issued again as an order, not a request. He
walked past her and opened the office door, a clear indication that she was to
exit. She walked out as he grabbed the larger of the two suitcases.

As she passed him, she finally got a hint of his size. She’d
known he was tall, but he was huge! She suddenly felt very aware of her small
five foot four frame, and, not for the first time, wished for a few more
inches.
Have I brought any of my higher heels, or only the sensible ones?
She might need to go shopping. As that thought raced through her head, she
rolled her eyes. She’d only packed for a week or so. She would definitely need
to get someone to ship her more clothes. Maybe she could call Cindy and have
her go over and send some stuff to her. She would need more jeans and work
clothes for sure. And she needed to arrange for her neighbor to come and water
her plants. She sighed. She hadn’t really planned to be gone long, especially
not for five months. She had a lot of phone calls to make.

“Mr. Morgenstern, I think I need to change our schedule a
bit, if possible. It’s just occurring to me that I have many phone calls I need
to make to arrange to be gone for an extended period. Would it be possible to
meet with you tomorrow morning to go and look around the property?”

“That’s fine, get settled and we’ll start tomorrow right
after morning chores. Say, around seven?”

Seven a.m. was
after
morning chores? “Sure, that
would be fine. I’ll see you then.” This would give her a chance to calm herself
down a little before she had to deal with him again.

He led her into the kitchen, where Marsha was just taking
her rolls out of the oven.

“Marsha, please show Ms. Wythe to the blue room. She’ll be
staying here with us.”

“Thank you Mr. Morgenstern. I’ll meet you in your office at
seven a.m. tomorrow? And please, call me Jessica.”

“Fine, I’ll see you then.” He stomped away. He literally
stomped away.

Jess watched him storm out of the kitchen. “What an
ass," she muttered under her breath. The soft chuckle behind her informed
her she hadn't been quiet enough.

She quickly spun on her heel, facing Marsha with a little
grimace. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. It’s just been a very long day, and
Mr. Morgenstern did not take well to my being here. Please don’t tell him I
said that.”

Marsha laughed outright this time. “Not to worry, child,
I’ve heard him called worse things. Let’s go get you settled, huh? Then you can
change out of that suit, and into something more comfortable. I sure hope you
brought some jeans. That outfit will get destroyed around here.”

Marsha continued to chatter while she led Jess upstairs and
through another hall to the bedroom at the back. “Now, here you go. I’ll be in
the kitchen, so just let me know if you need anything, anything at all. Supper
will be served at six, although after your trip if you want something sooner,
just ask.”

“No, that’s okay. I brought snacks with me on the flight.
You don’t need to wait on me. I just need to make some phone calls today, get
things taken care of back home. I’ll be fine in here, if that’s okay, until
dinner time.”

“Sure, sure child. We’ll see you then. Oh, and the bathroom
is right down the hall.”

As soon as Marsha closed the door behind her Jess breathed
an enormous sigh of relief. She was exhausted. Just being around that man was
an endurance test. She could only hope that once the design was in place she
wouldn’t see too much of him. He’d said he would be very busy over the next few
months. She certainly hoped that was true. He was obviously displeased with
her. He seemed almost to hate her, although she didn’t know why. She didn’t
respond well to him either. He seemed to bring out the worst in her, making her
angry almost on sight. Then why did she find him so incredibly attractive?

Jess clicked her cell phone closed, grateful that she had
decent reception out here. He must have put a tower somewhere on the ranch.
Cindy was going to go to her house tonight, and ship out more clothes and a few
other essentials she needed tomorrow morning. She would have to make sure
Marsha knew to look for a package in the next few days. She had arranged to
have Mrs. Jannell pick up her mail, and forward any bills out to this address.
She had called all her utility companies and told them she was out of town, so
nothing would be shut off if a bill got missed. And she’d called Mike and told
him she would need him out here soon, and asked if he could make arrangements
to stay here. For five months! Unbelievable! She would have to go home for her
sister’s baby shower and of course for the birth. She had also called Dana and
told her what was going on. Dana was less worried about Jess getting to
Virginia for the shower and more worried about her being alone on a ranch with
a cowboy. It’d taken Jess more than fifteen minutes to convince her that she
was nowhere near
alone
with anyone.

She flopped backwards on the bed, grateful to have things
arranged, and she glanced over at the clock on the nightstand. It was already
five forty-five! She didn’t even have time to change before dinner. She took a
minute to look around the room. It really was a blue room. The furniture was
old fashioned, although attractive in a shabby chic kind of way, but everything
else was blue. The walls were light blue, the bedding was a white and blue
floral pattern, and there was even a light blue lampshade on the bedside lamps.
Fortunately, it had hard wood floors, not blue carpeting, which was probably
the only saving grace. She could imagine that twenty years ago, this had been
the height of fashion. And no one had been in here since. Small changes could
make such a difference in this house, except of course the kitchen. It needed a
massive overhaul. But still, there was so much charm here. She hoped that Mr.
Morgenstern would let her carry that same homey feel over to the new house.

She got up, slipped her shoes back on, and headed to the door.
As she glanced in the mirror, she realized she had to pull her hair back up.
She had taken it down while she was on the phone, to give her head a rest. She
stood in front of the mirror and threw it up into the quickest twist she could
manage. Not as neat as she would’ve liked, but it would have to do. As she
headed down the hall to the kitchen, she resolved to be much more polite, and
more professional, to her new client. Her behavior had been unacceptable, and
she needed to apologize. She really didn’t understand why she’d been so angry,
but it couldn’t continue. She would be courteous, even if it killed her. And
with this man, it just might.

She came into the kitchen and saw lines of people walking
through, grabbing plates, dishing up food. There was laughter, noise, organized
chaos. She loved it on sight. This was how a family should be, how a kitchen
should be. Crowded and noisy and wonderful. All the ranch hands were in here,
some boys barely over eighteen, and some of the older men who were divorced or
never married. And over it all Marsha reigned supreme. She was slapping hands,
giving orders and directing traffic. And they all listened to her, no matter
the age. Jess couldn’t help but smile. Until she saw
him
sitting at the
table in the corner. Glaring at her. She sighed.
What had she done now?

As he looked her over, his eyes moving from her head to her
feet, his scowl got even deeper. Obviously he disapproved of her clothing
choice. Well, since she had been busy meeting his demands, that was just too
damn bad.

“Good evening Ms. Wythe, I see you have yet to unpack. I
should mention now, that your clothes won’t work out here. I certainly hope you
brought something more appropriate to wear.”

Be polite, Jess, be polite.
“Well, yes Mr.
Morgenstern, I did bring some jeans and work clothes, although only a couple of
sets. I wasn’t planning on being here for more than a week. I haven’t changed
because I was busy making arrangements for my elongated stay.”
Okay, so
there was a little sarcasm there, but I really am trying
. “I’m having my
things sent to me tomorrow morning. So, don’t fear that I’ll be dressed
inappropriately. And please, call me Jess. Ms. Wythe is my mother.”

After a long pause, during which several expressions ran
across his face, he finally replied.

“Jess, then. Please call me Jake, no one around here calls
me Mr. Morgenstern.”

Oh, thank God. He was going to go along with her polite
distance. “Thank you. And I need to apologize. For my behavior earlier? It
was….inappropriate for me to raise my voice to you. I’m sincerely sorry.”

“Whatever, it’s done. Tomorrow morning we’ll go take a look
at the site and the land around here. Then we can talk about some of the
details and things I want specifically in the new house. As you can see, we’ll
need a larger kitchen, among other things.”

“Yes, I can see that, although, this one’s kind of perfect.”

She finally found an honest smile to give this man and it
simply made him scowl harder. Obviously there was just no pleasing him. She
decided then and there to keep as much distance from him as possible. Avoidance
was clearly the best policy in this situation. Jess sat down with her food,
watching everyone while she ate. Just sitting here in this room, watching
people she didn’t even know, she could still feel home and family. She could
see the practicality in updating this kitchen, the appliances, the sink, maybe
even the counter tops. But she would have to be very careful not to lose the
feel. And practically speaking, it should be bigger, but it would lose something
in the process. She found herself smiling, without thought, watching the way
everyone interacted. Maybe her time here wouldn’t be so bad. She could grow to
like this place.

The next morning Jess got up, hopped through the shower, and
dressed in another suit. She pulled her hair back, put in her contacts, and
headed down to the kitchen hoping for some coffee. It was too early to
contemplate eating, but she wanted a little time to look around some more
before she met with Jake. She wasn’t due to meet with him until seven and it
was just after six. That should give her plenty of time. She would look around
a bit and then go throw on some quick makeup. When she walked into the kitchen,
she saw him standing there, alone, drinking coffee and looking out the window.
He turned when he heard her come in. Then he glared at her.

“What the devil are you wearing?” he growled.

“Business attire. We have a meeting this morning.” Again,
she had that very cool tone.

“I told you yesterday, we wear jeans around here. I’m
assuming you know what those are. Being from Texas and all. Besides, I just
don’t see you getting on a horse in that getup.”

She glared at him. The calm and cool was already running
thin, and she’d been with him for less than two minutes. She took a deep
breath. “You didn’t mention a horse. Are we riding out to the site then?”

“Where are you from, really? It’s not Texas. Wrong accent,
especially when you get annoyed.”

“I am not annoyed and where I’m from is none of your
concern. I’ll be changed and dressed appropriately before our meeting. Now,
will you please direct me to the coffee mugs?”

He smiled, but it wasn't a kind smile. Sarcastic laughter
rung through every word as he said, “Sitting right by the coffee. I’ll meet you
out at the stables at seven thirty.”

She turned around and sure enough, there were the mugs. Oh,
Lord. That man just ticked her off. She rolled her eyes, poured some coffee and
headed to her room to change.

As she stood there looking at her limited clothing
selection, she realized that she hadn’t brought any of her lighter weight
over-shirts. She ordinarily wore jeans, a fitted T-shirt or tank top and a
loose long-sleeve of some sort. The only thing she had with her right now was a
heavier weight flannel. She’d been expecting to need it in the evening, not
daytime. Oh well, it would have to work. She was not going to meet him in just
her T-shirt. She also didn’t have her riding boots with her. After a quick
phone call to Cindy asking her to please grab those as well, she threw on her
work boots. They would have to suffice. Knowing she’d be out on a horse and
probably getting dirty, she decided to forego the makeup in favor of sunscreen.
Okay, not very professional, but it made more sense.

Now, where were the stables?

When she finally found them, she was a few minutes late, but
not too bad. She found him waiting for her by a beautiful Appaloosa, already
saddled, and a much bigger horse. He looked to be possibly Appaloosa, but much
too large.