“I—”
“Promise us,” Topper pleads.
“I promise,” I reply. “Listen, one of you can lead the tour. I’ll hang in the back.”
“Or.” Topper shrugs. “You could ride into town … for the summer.”
“Both of you relax, okay.” I take a step back from them and straighten my sleeves. “I solemnly swear that I’ll be on my best behavior.”
“If you aren’t, you’re on stall duty for a week,” Rusty warns.
I follow Topper and Rusty out into the lobby where Allie, Leo, and Roxanne are waiting. As soon as I see Roxanne, I bite my lip to keep from shouting. Allie and Leo are dressed in jeans andrespectable shirts with sturdy shoes. Roxanne, on the other hand, is still dressed in her yoga pants, cropped sweatshirt, and flip-flops.
Fucking flip-flops.
“Wow, that yoga was something else,” Allie says, turning to me. “Thanks for a great class.”
“My pleasure, ma’am,” I say, tipping the bill of my cap.
Roxanne remains seated, bobbing her crossed leg up and down, the damn flip-flop dangling off her toes taunting me. Her face is buried in her notebook.
I can’t stop staring at her. Rusty and Topper’s words echo in my brain, so I decide to ask Roxanne about her poor choice of footwear as nicely as I possibly can.
I clear my throat. “You may want something other than those flip-flops when we walk through the animal areas. There’s a lot of uneven terrain, mud and manure out there.”
“I’ll be fine,” she says without meeting my eyes.
I sit beside her hoping that might get her attention. “So you’re going to wear those through active pastures, horse paddocks, and barns. You know what that tells me?”
She rolls her eyes before glancing up and pinning me with that fiery gaze.
My chest tightens.
“What? What does it tell you?” she asks.
“That you don’t give a damn about what you’re doing here.”
“Excuse me?”
“You show up underdressed and unprepared, like this is some vacation, not a project that could change lives. If you don’t even care enough to put on the right shoes, why should I believe you care about making a pitch that will help us win the money?”
She shoots up from the leather sofa. “I can do my job no matter what shoes I’m wearing.”
Roxanne’s elevated voice gets Rusty’s attention. “What did I just say to you, Duke?”
I stand slowly and close the gap between us. I know she doesn’t need a lecture and truth is, I’m more worried than mad. The last thing I want is her getting hurt. Still, I can’t shake the feeling she’d rather be anywhere but here and for some reason, that bothers me more than it should.
“Who makes the final decision on whether we get the money or not?” I ask, ignoring the flicker of warning in Rusty’s eyes.
Leo and Allie exchange glances before Leo answers. “Sullivan Rhodes, the owner of Uncharted TV.”
“But one of you decides first and then you pitch it to him?”
“Stand down, Faraday,” Topper warns.
“Who decides?” I insist.
“I do,” Roxanne says, folding her arms across her chest. “It’s ultimately up to me, which is why I suggest you adjust your attitude.”
