I don’t know how Penny does it with her grumpy frowns and eye rolls, but she makes every other woman disappear. Their perfectly styled hair has nothing on Penny’s messy mane, and her oversized glasses are more charming than any trendy eyeliner.
Penny will be mine. She just doesn’t know it yet.
“Hey, boss!” Axel calls, pulling me from my Penny-filled fantasies.
“What do you want?”
“Randy wanted to talk to you about an idea he had.”
“An idea?”
“He says subscription boxes are a thing because everyone wants both high quality and convenience. He hoped maybe he could partner with us to get it off the ground.”
“And what do you think?”
“I think there’s a lot of opportunity, but we’re all busy, so he’d have to take on the brunt of the labor.”
I breathe out a sigh of relief because Axel’s come a long way in his ability to assess a situation.
“You’re right, so why don’t you work with Randy to come up with a plan to pitch to me?”
“You mean you actually think it’s a good idea?”
“Oh, it’s a great idea, and it’s been on my radar, but, as you said, we’re all busy. If he can make it easy on us, I’m more than happy to partner with him.”
“All right. I’ll get together with him later in the week to plan.”
“Great, now if you don’t mind, I have work to get to.”
I do some repairs on the hay baler, check on the animals, and head to my office. Not a minute after I’m seated, Duke storms into my office, a look of fury on his typically stoic face.
“What has your knickers in a twist?”
“What the hell are you doing with Penny Green?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Because just a few months ago, I walked in on you and her in your damn office—something you would have torn us a new asshole for—and now you’re driving back with her alone, staying the night at only God knows where.”
I sigh, gesturing to the chair on the opposite side of my desk. “Sit.”
“Whatever you have to say can be said while I’m standing.”
“She’s pregnant.”
His jaw drops.
“I’m trying to do the right thing.”
“And what’s that?”
“She’s moving in with me, and I’m fixing to marry her.”
“Would have been nice to be let in on the happy news.”
“I didn’t know about the baby until yesterday, and so far, I’ve only succeeded in half my plan.”
“What do you mean?”
