“Great, now who’s going to contact him to arrange the meeting?”
Sitting in my office later that night, I scrolled through everything that I could find about Jenkins Industries. The only light was that of my screen and the dying embers of the wood burner. Everyone had finished up about an hour ago, all the horses were in their stables and Charlie had gone up to her apartment, probably packing the last of her things. She was leaving in a couple of days, and I still didn’t have a replacement for her, although I had made a mental note to speak to Tally, the girl with the horse, when she came to check on him tomorrow.
As for Charlie, I could have made her stay on, see out the month her contract said. However, because she’d delayed in telling me about the job she only had two weeks before she needed to start. Being the nice, kind boss that I was, I'd given her an early leaving date so she could have time to settle into her new apartment and spend some time with her family.
Pushing my problems with an assistant to one side, I continued reading the screen. It appeared that Nate Jenkins was a self-made millionaire and was still only thirty-four. Seemingly, he’d made his first million by the age of twenty-seven whenhe bought an old run down warehouse, three years before, and turned it into apartments. They were sold for millions because of where they were. Every single picture there was of him he was dressed in a suit; I hadn’t found one with him in anything casual. Even those of him doing his grocery shopping he was wearing one.
With all the charity work he did and sponsorship he seemed like an okay sort of guy, but then anyone could throw money around and come across as decent. I guess we’d soon find out seeing as we had a meeting with him in a week’s time.
Sitting back in my chair, I stretched out my arms and groaned as each of my muscles ached. The deep ache you got after a long day at work. I was ready for my bed, but I needed a long soak first. A shower just wouldn’t cut it.
I had turned off my computer when my phone rang. It was almost nine, so I wasn’t sure who’d be calling but when I turned it over and saw it was Cassidy, the ache in my muscles immediately disappeared.
I stared at her name on the screen for a beat longer than I should’ve. Not long ago, I wouldn’t have answered. Would’ve let it ring out just to prove a point I didn’t even believe in anymore. But now? Now it was different. Cassidy wasn’t just someone I worked with. Or argued with. Or tried not to think about every damn night. She was becoming the person I wanted to tell when things went wrong. The voice I wanted to hear when the day finally stopped spinning. She was steady in a way that caught me off guard, not quiet, not soft, but unshakable. And somewhere along the line, I’d stopped resisting it. Maybe I never really had.
“Hey, sweetheart, you okay?” My smile made my cheeks ache as I got myself comfortable in my chair.
“I’m good. What about you?” I knew from her voice that she was smiling, too, and was surprised how much damn joy that gave me.
“Better now.” I liked how my stomach flipped.
“That’s good.” It was said on a breathy exhale and instantly I wondered whether she was on her bed. Whether she was naked or wearing those cute silky PJ shorts I’d seen her wearing in our kitchen.
“Where are you?” I asked.
“Home, on the sofa under a blanket.”
I sat up straight, concerned. “Do you not have heating, sweetheart?”
“I do, but I like to be cozy. And that’s new, I like it.”
I frowned. “What is?”
“Sweetheart,” she replied softly. “I like it very much.”
“Good.” Swallowing, I rubbed my chest. Mom used to have cute names for each of us. Nash was honey, Wilder baby and I was sweetheart. ‘You’ll always be my number one sweetheart’ she’d say as she ran a hand down my hair. “Sweetheart it is. So, what can I do for you? Or did you just want to hear my voice?”
“As lovely as your voice is, I was wondering what the guys and Lily said about Jenkins Industry.”
“We’re all on the same page. Everyone agrees we meet and then discuss his offer further. We’ve set one up for next week. Friday afternoon at four. Think you can make it?”
“Me?” She sounded shocked.
“Yes, you. It’s your camp, too. It was your idea and you’re going to be a big part of it.” My heart stalled. “You are, aren’t you?”
“I-I guess. I suppose I thought maybe I’d help to set it up but hadn’t thought much after that.”
Her hesitation made me feel disappointed in myself. Had I not made it clear to her that she should be involved?
“Cassidy, if this becomes as big as we want it to be we’re going to need as much help as possible. I know you love teaching but maybe one day you could teach here.” Blood rushed to myhead, and I realized I’d probably jumped the gun. Who knew what would happen with the camp. Who knew what would happen between us. Maybe we’d last, maybe we wouldn't, it was far too soon to know. Far too soon to be suggesting she come and work on the ranch with us. We’d only just started dating for pity’s sake. “Listen, I’m moving too far ahead, I know, but the main thing is you’re a part of this, so yeah, we’d like you to come to the meeting.” In the spirit of honesty, I continued. “I like you Cassidy, more than I ever thought possible. Quicker than I thought possible, so I know this could turn to shit quite easily but in the meantime let’s just go with it, work together on this and see what happens. Okay, sweetheart?”
There was no sound except for soft breathing on the other end of the line and I wondered if I’d scared her off.
“Cassidy?”
“I’m here. Thank you, Gunner,” she whispered, softly. “For wanting to involve me, for believing in this and…” she paused and cleared her throat. “For believing in me and I’m glad that we made friends.”
I got a weird sensation in my chest, wondering when hate turned to like and like turned to…fuck I wasn’t going there, not after a handful of kisses, a date and a lunch in a classroom that smelled of ten year old boys.
