Raven switched her attention to the project she was working on. This time it was a logo for a local bakery. Her stomach rumbled. She pushed on, there was no time to stop and eat, adjusting some of the lines in the design that Jax had made. This wasn’t what she wanted to be doing at all. If all had gone well with Clive, then Sarina would’ve given her a new client portfolio to start on. But, of course, things hadn’t, and so there were no new client designs to start on. An uncomfortable feeling stirred inside of her. Was there something else going on here? Raven didn’t like it, but she chickened away from such thoughts not wanting to be paranoid.
A quick glance up from her computer screen, and she saw Sarina and Jax in conversation. They’d been chatting for a while. She wished they’d hurry it up. Then she was hoping that Sarina would leave, she could wait ten minutes, then get the hell out of here herself. As it was, the time was getting away. There was no way she was leaving here to go straight to the Goody. She needed a shower and clean clothes.
Her boss went back to her office, and Raven held her breath. Disappointment rose inside of her as Sarina typed away at her computer. She wasn’t about to go yet.Soon?At least that’s what Raven hoped.
“How are the changes going?” Jax asked as he sat down at his desk near hers.
“Good. Want to look?” She bought up the changes on her screen as Jax came around.
“They look fine. I think they’re done. Save them and then save them in the shared file.”
Bloody great. That meant she wasn’t about to get any credit for the work she’d done today.
“There’s the local council images for you to work on now. They need to be punchier. And there’re a few profiles from members that need a bit of airbrushing. Due tomorrow.”
Raven clamped her mouth shut to stop herself from responding negatively. She couldn’t help thinking that this was a set-up. Her mind muddled. She wasn’t sure what to do about this. Nothing, right now. Except to work on these images. Or I could walk out of here? Not yet. This was her dream job, her dream plan, and she was going to hang on to it a little longer.
Raven went to the shared folder on the desktop of her computer and brought up the files. She could see immediately what needed to be changed. This was going to take a while. Hours. She pursed her lips together tightly and looked over her screens at Jax. He looked a bit smug. She didn’t like it. It was going to be a miracle if she could make it to see Ben at eight at the Goody. That irritated her just as much as the way she was being treated.
If only I had his phone number. That had been part of the deliberate agreement between them. It was an affair, after all. It was not the first time that it felt uneasy with her, like a heaviness in her gut after a big meal that wasn’t sitting right. I’ll know if it’s more when I see him tonight, she decided. That settled her stomach a little. After all, she still wanted some adult fun with him. So, by seeing him, she wasn’t about to lose out, it was what she wanted. But it was the feeling that this might, by changing into something more which was unsettling her. Was the ‘more’ part with him something she wanted or not?
Ben resisted the urge to rub his eyes. He was with some of the other farmers having a few drinks, exchanging notes, and simply talking shit. He was sure his eyes were bloodshot with the lack of sleep, the long day, and now the few beers that’d he’d drunk over the last few hours. He’d lost count which wasn’t what he was intending, and he didn’t want to be too tired and not up for another session with Raven tonight. But fuck, it was going to be a push. Maybe just a quickie tonight then.
“Another?” Jason held up his empty glass.
To hell with it. “Yep.” Ben put down his empty glass on the small, round table they’d been crowding around. They’d talked about his dad, that he’d be having a ball, and would’ve quietly accosted the judge even though they had won a major ribbon. Grand Champion was a great result for them and their stud, but his dad was ever competitive and always wanted more. That was a trait he’d passed to his son for sure. Ben had taken all his self-control not to challenge the decision where his alpaca missed out on a broad ribbon, even the reserve. At least it had got a first. Ben didn’t like to miss out, and definitely not leave the judging ring with the only animal not getting a big prize out of the three being judged. The thing with the alpacas was that there weren’t too many breeders here at the show, so the classes were small, the chance of winning high, and yet not a guarantee.
“You’ll be back next year, then?” Jason asked as he handed him a fresh glass of cold beer.
“Yeah, have to. It’s like an addiction coming down to the show. I wouldn’t get to see your ugly mug.”
And I wouldn’t want to miss seeing Raven. That was something that was becoming clearer. He wanted to see her again—not just tonight, not just for this week but longer. He wasn’t sure how he was going to convince a city girl like Raven to come to live with him on his farm, especially when this was just a fling.
“Ha, ha, very funny, mate.” Jason raised his glass. “Cheers.”
“Cheers.”
“Miss having your dad around. He was a great man, you know, the old sort that lived through a lot and wore it on his sleeve quietly but wouldn’t take no shit from anyone.”
Ben swallowed hard, the motion going against the rising emotions that threatened to burst out at his mate’s comment. “Thanks.”
Another part which was hard about all this was that he was close to his dad, though there were times they had butted heads like two bulls fighting over territory which they sort of were. The farm was going to be his, his sister had been paid out, and Ben had ideas of where to take the farm which had been very different from his dad’s perspective. Now, he could do just that, except he wasn’t. The confidence he had that he was right, that this had to be the way forward for the breeding of the alpacas and the wheat crops they planted each year had died when his father passed. So far, he hadn’t been able to manage to implement the changes. It had been a struggle enough just to keep on going with the way things were. Plus, there was his mom whose health had gone downhill. Then there was the estate settlement, the debt, the tax that had to be paid to transfer the farm into his name. It was meant to have been done before his dad had passed. They’d thought that there was going to be plenty of time. Then he had an accident with the tractor. And well, there was plenty to keep him worrying at night. Meeting up with Raven had been something that had kept him going during the worst nights, even the worst days as he battled on.
“I reckon it must be time for something to eat,” one of the blokes, Dan, said after putting down his empty beer glass.
At the thought of food, Ben’s stomach grumbled. He glanced at his watch. It was getting close to eight. He wanted to hang around here. Even though he was exhausted, he still wanted to meet up with Raven.
“How about ordering something here at the bar,” he suggested quickly before someone mentioned going to the bistro out the back part of the hotel. “Will be cheaper.”
“Of course, you’d be wanting to keep it cheap,” said Jason with a laugh.
The comment stung a little more than his mate would’ve been aware of. The farm’s finances were tumbling close to crisis. The current drought situation wasn’t helping at all. “Well, I’m not going to splash out with you blokes, now am I?” Ben retorted quickly, surprised his mind was still working since it was distracted with thoughts of Raven. His body was starting to respond knowing that he’d see her in less than thirty minutes. Ben was counting down now.
“You telling me I don’t look as good as that chick you were with last night?” Dan had a very big grin as he spoke. “Though, I didn’t see you taking her out for food.”
Fuck. It was starting. Ben figured he should be grateful he’d escaped the teasing from the blokes for this long. “You don’t look even close to being as hot as Raven.”
“Oh, Raven, is it? First name basis.” Dan’s eyebrows raised.
