The Rider's Dangerous Embrace (An Interracial Bad Boy Romance Story) (16 page)

“Are you one of my employees, Mark?” she asked, trying to regain her composure.

“What? No. I grew up around the rodeo, though. Had a parent in the business. He was a bull rider.”

“Really, I never knew that about you. I mean, I knew you grew up around it, but you never said you had a dad in it.” Luke admitted, his arm wrapping around the small of Jayda’s back. She was too angry to want him to touch her. She hated when people condescended to her, talked about her like she wasn’t there. Her mother was famous for that.

She pushed him away and sidestepped to give herself a little more room, taking note of his expression.

“Yeah, not much of a parent, don’t talk about him much, but he tried now and again. So I hung around the rodeo, with this son of a bitch, and with your dad. You know how it is, the daughter of a rider yourself.”

“I do. A lot of time spent just me and my mom.”

“I know the feeling.” She believed he did, there was a sadness in his eyes that she recognized. The kind that plagued her. All those birthdays, and holidays missed. Either for the rodeo, or his business. The kind that left her a little bit hollow inside.

“So what do you do now?” she asked, changing the subject.

“I’m work for a consulting firm, working with business minded people who want to motivate and train employees.”

“Oh? What do you do?”

“Honestly? A whole lot of rushing back and forth. I am a junior level consultant, which really just means paid intern, it seems.” Mark grinned and then pointed at Luke. “Not like this guy, now there is a real job. Bull riding with all the perks, huh? Finally getting a sponsorship from Fields and Rivers. Congrats, man.”

“Thanks. I was on the fence for a long time, until Jayda came along. Wouldn’t let me take no for an answer.”

“You are a good rider, it would be a shame not to hire you, even if your actions out of the ring are less than perfect.” She let that little comment slide right in, especially after hearing about his less than faithful ways.

“What is that supposed to mean?” He frowned.

Funny, she almost felt like she won something by pushing him to become unhinged.

“What do you think it means?”

“I think it means you’ve been listening to Tammy Lynn. That woman don’t know me.”

“I dunno about that, man. If I recall, you took her for a rodeo or two of your own.” Mark’s voice brought Jayda back to reality. They were arguing at a party. In front of everyone.

“That shit was years ago.”

“Don’t matter, when it comes to a woman. They do not forget.” Mark passed an open bottle of something strong over to

“Tell me about it. Half the fucking town hates my guts, and they are all female.”

“Maybe you deserve it.” She eyed him differently, the information that Tammy related registering a bit of resentment in her.

“Probably, but I wouldn’t be the only one. Hell, if anyone deserves that kind of anger, it’s your dad. He was knockin’ boots with most of the fucking county.”

Ice flooded her veins. He did not just insult her father right in front of her. That man did nothing but support him, he admitted it himself.

She bit her cheek so hard she could taste the tangy sweetness of blood. When she finally got control of her anger, she turned to face Mark.

“Mark, would you mind giving me a ride home? I think I am tired, and want to get an early night’s rest.” Jayda was suddenly very tired, and all she wanted to do was go home. She needed time away from everyone just to think. Especially away from Luke.

“Of course, I was getting a bit tired of hanging around this joint, and anyway it looks like it is going to rain.”

She saw the massive amount of clouds obscuring the moon and the stars, he was right.

“My chariot is this way, my lady.”

She followed him over to a small truck, giving Luke a smug wave before she hopped in.

***

“Jayda, open the damn door.” Luke pounded on her door, each strong punch to the wood shaking the entire house. And that was saying something, because the brick home was in sturdy condition.

“What the hell took you so long? I’ve been home for at least two hours.”

“Just let me in, dammit.”

“Why, so you can insult me and my father some more, and talk about me like I’m not there?” She shouted through that wooden door. It was the only thing shielding him from a strong slap, and the last thing she wanted to do was remove the barrier between the two of them.

“Shit, I didn’t mean to say that stuff about your dad, I thought you knew.” Luke didn’t even come close to an apology, the way he ground out the words let her know that he was getting irritated. “It was a joke, I was bullshitting with my friend.”

“It wasn’t fucking funny, Luke.” “You going to let me in, or am I going to stand out here all night?” The knocking stopped, she had to strain to hear him, but she knew that he was serious. He never said anything he didn’t mean.

“I’m not sure. Would you really stand outside all night?” She was so tempted to make him stay out there, but it pulled at her heart strings. This man drove all the way here to appeal to her, he wanted in, and to be honest, she could stand to touch him again.

“All damn night, and I would ensure that you didn’t get any sleep,” he threatened. “You know I am not lying, Jayda. Let me in. Let me make this right.”

“I emailed the board about a meeting. I need to sleep for it.” She hesitated. Letting him in meant that she would have to forgive him, and wasn’t ready for that.

“Well, then you better let me in.”

She huffed and then stomped over to the door, turning the dead bolt, and then the switch on the door. Jayda opened it, to see him standing there, the rain pouring down on him, hitting the brim of his hat and soaking all of his clothing. Normally she would have felt bad, but not tonight. Tonight he deserved it.

“Are you going to invite me in?” he asked, waiting for her to let him in off the stoop, a small stream of water hitting the bill of his hat from the roof. It was almost comical.

Almost.

Moving aside, Jayda gave him room to walk in to the home. His large frame took up all the space in her hallway, soaking wet from the the night rain which left his skin shining. She bit her lip, and tried to hold back the feelings that bumbled inside her. Her heart bucked at the thought of him. It didn't matter how angry she wasn't him, he was just so damn sexy that it made it hard to resist. But he got about himself, and he used that to his advantage. She had learned that much tonight.

“Jayda, I'm not sure what they told you, but I'm gonna guess it wasn't good. I tried to explain that that was me along time ago. Things’ve been different since you've come around. I'm not the same man that I was even months ago. I shouldn't have to explain this to you. You should just trust me.”

“It isn't just that, Luke. I don't know you, I'd like to think I do, especially after all the time we’ve been spending together, but I don’t. Look, I'm in deep in this business, I need a man I can trust. How do I know that it’s you?”

“Have I ever lied to you? Jayda, I've been there from the beginning trying to help you. It ain't like I've been running around doing shit behind your back. I'm not the kind of man, I think you know the kind man I am. Apparently I'm the kind that shows up at your house at two o'clock in the morning begging for your forgiveness for something I didn't even do on purpose.” He worked his fingers through his dark brown locks, look on his face saying he was more frustrated than anything else. She wondered who he was frustrated with: her or himself.

“No, you haven't lied to me. In fact you've never been anything but genuine with me. I don't know what's wrong with me, Luke. I just, I'm having trouble trusting you. I know that's my issue I know that I'm the one who needs to work on that. Do you think you can forgive me?”

“I don't know, are you going to keep going off with men that you barely even know asking him for a ride home?” His voice edged hard. He tried to stay calm, but Jayda new the fire boiling under his surface. Luke was possessive of her.

Apart of her liked it.

The rest of her rebelled against it.

“Mark was the perfect gentleman, He was quiet and polite and he didn't even ask me anything untoward.”

Luke chuckled, “You know you're probably the only person I ever met that would use the word untoward in the sentence?”

“Well apparently you don't meet a lot of people." She wasn't finished with him, He had to know that the way that he treated her was out of line. “Else you wouldn’t be in the habit of talking about a woman when she is standing right next to you. Or insulting their dead parents.”

“I don't meet a lot like you, that's for sure.” The look in his eyes turned predatory. She knew exactly what was going to happen next, and it would be a lie to say that she was looking forward to it. “I’m sorry, Jayda.”

“If you did meet a lot of girls like me, would you have been the kind of guy who treats them to false promises and a one night stand?”

“If it was a woman like you, I would of grabbed on to her and never let her go.”

“Is that what you intend to do now?”

“Are you ready for that answer?”

“I… no. No. Don’t tell me.”

“Well then, you better just help me out of these clothing before I ‘catch my death’ as my Nana used to say.”

She snorted and reached for his hat, grabbing it and throwing away from them, but before she could move on to his clothing he grabbed her and pulled her to him, his wet, cold body pressed tightly against her dry form. It was its own kind of punishment. She hated wet clothing, but she supposed it was one she deserved.

“I’ll be honest. I expected more from John’s daughter. I’m not all that happy with the state of the company.” A face she never saw before glared at her as she sat down before the group of board members.

Jayda had called the meeting, but she felt like she sentenced herself to something more. She planned to explain exactly what was happening with company money, and how she thought it was being funneled, but that plan quickly changed as she started getting railroaded from the two members she didn’t even know.

There were five of them, in all, including her. After learning about the silent partners, she researched them. Tried to pull up everything she could about them, but there was little more than a name and an address. Now, at least, she could do what her father always said was most important, look them in the eye.

Muriel, and Thomas she knew, but Sarah, and Edward were completely foreign to her. She didn’t know them or even know that they were involved with the company until Thomas explained exactly how the partnership worked.

They had very minimal say in the company, and got minimal profit, but they supplied some of the start up cost, either financially, or in ways that demanded a partnership.

Edward supplied a large investment at the startup of the company, and Muriel’s came in the form of labor, but she already knew that. This other woman, Sarah, she never knew. Hell, her father never said anything about her at all. So when she asked Thomas about him, he just said that she was “invaluable in our time of need”. Whatever the hell that meant.

Now she was staring at her, accusing her of mismanaging the company.

“We aren’t getting the amount of advertisements we need to run the business, moral in the ranks is low, and the place is in shambles.”

“It is hardly in…” Thomas started, but Sarah quickly interrupted.

“Shambles!”

“Ms. Harris,” Jayda interjected, using her last name, rather than her first. “I can assure you that, while assuming control of the company hasn’t been easy, especially in the wake of my father’s death, I have done the absolute best that I can. I may have been dealing with a large amount of grief, but any child would be.”

She let that sink in, and then continued, “Especially when she lost her father, her rock. Now that I am through one of the stages of grieving, I am working to correct any errors that may have happened while he was indisposed, or while I was absent.”

“There is no excuse for the amount of decline that this company has gone through, I have been speaking with Edward, and we have both decided that you simply do not have our confidence. No offense, Ms. Rivers, but I just don’t think a woman of your stature can handle such a bit company.”

“My stature? What in the hell does that even mean?” Jayda knew what she meant, by the look in her eyes, she could tell.

“Why, your unexperienced. Of course.” The smug look on her face said it all. She didn’t just mean that. She meant a whole lot more. But Jayda refused to acknowledge it.

“What a minute,” Thomas said, standing. “Since she has stepped up, Kathryn has come to the table with an open mind. She has listened to the riders, all of them. Gotten input from her managers. She knows what she is doing, and she went to college for this very thing. So what, if she hasn’t had experience before this? She is the acting CEO, and she is doing a damn good job. We ain’t wall street, we are a small business. And you need to give her time.”

“He has a point, Sarah. Look, I know you care about this business. But there is no need to try and force a vote of no confidence, besides, it wouldn’t pass right now, anyways.” Muriel chimed in, her voice soft, but very direct. “I know she is doing the best that she can, I have heard it right from the ears of the workers. Since she has become more active, they are pleased with her. Do not try to divide us, not yet, not so soon after John’s death.”

Sarah only huffed and crossed her arms. “Fine, but I want the situation monitored.”

“I think that is more than reasonable,” Thomas admitted, nodding as he looked over them.

“Is this all you brought us here for? This it?” Edward smoothed over his greasy hair, the snide tone in his voice accentuated by the face he made. The way he looked at her made her want to cover up.

“Anything else we need to discuss?” Thomas asked, finally. “What was the business that you wanted to go over, Jayda?”

“I thought it important to meet the faces behind the company. That is all I was hoping to accomplish today,” she lied. There was no way she trusted Edward or Sarah. They both seemed to eager to grasp at power, and it left her with a bad taste in her mouth.

She hadn’t expected the people that her father did business with to be this untrustworthy.

“Well, if that is all, I really need to be going. I have a lot of things to do, and this is not the only business that I manage.” Sarah stood, pushing her chair in. With all the airs about her, you would think her an aristocrat from the Victorian area, rather than a lady from rural Indiana with too much arrogance.

“My dear, you will be joining us at the dinner party next week? I sent an invitation by Luke, but he can barely remember those things.” Muriel patted her on the shoulder, joining in the glaring of Ms. Harris as she walked away, unaware.

“Party?”

“Just a small get together, dressy casual. Nothing too fancy. Put a pretty summer dress on, and you will be good to go.”

“Oh, okay. Sure.”

“Great.” Muriel departed, along with Edward too, leaving her there with Thomas.

Jayda just nodded and blew out a sigh. She could really use a day at the lake.

***

“What did you think you were going to accomplish, Jayda? Really.” Thomas asked when they were finally alone.

“I wanted to tell them…”

“What, about the smuggling? You think they want to know now? Do you have evidence that it isn’t you doing it?”

“No, but…”

“But what? Those two would be happy to see you gone. Voted out, your shares divided. They trusted your father, but just barely. Just barely. What do you think would happen if you didn’t go to them without evidence?”

“I didn’t think…”

“No. No you didn’t.” It was a lot harsher of a response than she expected, especially coming from him. The man was as close to a father as she had not, her mother certainly wasn’t any help.

“They could really vote me out?” she asked.

“Did you even read your contract?” Thomas admonished. “You can get a vote of no confidence, which would mean that you would be forced to sell your shares, or at the very least, give up temporary control of the company. It was the stipulation your father put into place, if things didn’t work out. Why don’t you know this?”

“I had my lawyers look over the contract, you know, separately from Daddy’s. They said it was fine. I am sure they told me all this, but after his death, everything… everything was a whirlwind.”

“Look, I know that this isn’t a huge business, but it is a really big one for the area. One of the largest employers in the area. It is important that you keep your wits about you. I know you lived with your mom off and on all these years, but surely your daddy taught you something?” Thomas sighed and rubbed his hand over the back of his neck.

She felt like crying, right there in his office.
Why did I think I could do this?

“Look, I’m sorry, Jayda. I really am. I just… oh honey, don’t get upset. It isn’t going to help. Like chewing bubble gum to solve a math problem, right? Doesn’t get you anywhere. We need to take a sophisticated approach to this.” Thomas’s voice was suddenly fatherly as he leaned over and put his arm around her.

“Why would anyone want to do this to me?” She asked.

“For any number of reasons, really. Anger at your father, anger at his death, anger at you, spite at your success. It isn’t like you have a lot of enemies, but you don’t have a lot of friends either.”

He had a point. Other than Mary and Luke, Thomas was her only real confidant, here. She didn’t know that many people, and even though she lived with her father a good bit, she never made any real friends in the rural area. Not really. How could anyone identify her, especially when they barely knew her.”

“What do I do?”

“You work with the people you do trust. You find out who is doing it, you confront them. Don’t let them steal your company from you, Jayda. Your father worked so hard to have something to give to you, are you just going to let that all fall away?”

She shook her head. There had to be a break. Somewhere. Something.

Thomas was using Dustin and Luke to try and find out what was gong on. Maybe Dustin had some information, she needed to call him.

“Thank you, Thomas. I really needed the pep talk.”

“Anytime, darlin’. Anytime.”

She pulled herself out of the chair after giving him a final hug and walked out of the meeting room, her head held high.

She faced them. She knew who her board members were. There was nothing to be ashamed of, it was just one of many steps to finding out who was trying to harm her.

Harm her company.

***

“Mary, could you get Dustin on the phone?” she asked as she slunk into her desk, kicking her boots off and sinking into the chair. Mary’s pumpkin coffee was getting to be a guilty pleasure, and she sipped it, willing the entire world away.

“No problem, boss. He called earlier anyway, while you were in your board meeting.” Mary’s voice trailed off through the door of the two offices. It didn’t take long to get him on the phone.

“Jayda, returning my call?”

“Something like that, I wanted to call anyway, see how things were over there, if you have heard anything about what Thomas has asked you to look into.”

“I have, actually. I tried to call you this morning, did you get my text?”

“I was in a board meeting, couldn’t look at my phone.”

“Well, I found a copy of some construction reports sent to me, with your name in the signature line. Except they were never done.”

“Could you fax those over?”

“I already did, but I think you might want to come out to the facility to see the work they were ‘supposed’ to do.”

“Who is the company?” she asked, grabbing a pen and paper.

“R&J Construction.”

“Have you heard of them?”

“Yeah, I mean, around here. They did a few jobs for your father, when he was alive, but the work, it wasn’t great. Had to get them to come out and fix it a couple of times. Still, he kept hiring them.”

“Why?”

“Because he made a deal for the labor, and he was too sick to go looking somewhere else. The price was right, and the work was good enough.”

“That doesn’t sound like him.”

“I know your old man, and you are right, but at the time, you should’ve seen him. He just startin’ to go through chemo, Jayda. Things were weighing him down.” Dustin pressed on, “normally I would just fax it to you, but I want you to come down, take a look for yourself. Take pictures. I want to catch these bastards in the shit they’ve done. You know?”

She had to blink back the tears. The thought of her father struggling to run the business, and fighting of a cancer that would not quit, it was too much. Especially when she factored in that someone is going out of their way to destroy the business.

Destroying it in a slow, methodical fashion. The kind job that had to of being conducted out of malice because it left her holding the bag.

“So, you comin’?” He asked.

“Yeah, just give me a few, I’ll be there when I get there.”

“Heard that before.”

It was her dad’s infamous saying.

She pulled her boots back and and pushed away from the desk, standing and walking out of her office.

“Mary?” she asked, as soon as she got out there. The perky blond swiveled in her chair. “I need to go over the bull riding center. If anyone calls, and it is urgent, let them know I am there, okay?”

“What if your mother calls?” she asked. It was a good question.

“Tell her I will call her when I get a chance, then just text me.” Jayda started to walk away, “Oh, and Mary, could you do me a favor?”

“Sure!”

“Get me everything you have on Sarah Harris and Edward Kristobeck. I have some research to do.”