“Well?” I tipped my head for him to move.
“Ladies first.” He stayed in place.
I heard a snicker and looked to see a smile on Carl’s face. With a bit of an eye roll, I walked out of the office with the two of them behind me. Ten bucks said Junior was checking out my butt the whole way. I didn’t bother turning around to make sure.
We walked down the stairs and out the front door before Carl separated from us and headed back home to finish his lunch.
“You’re in good hands, Junior.” He patted him on the back. “I’ll see you tomorrow for breakfast up at the house.”
“Your house?” Junior’s brows pulled together, and I bit my lip. I normally had breakfast with Carl and Lucinda, and I wasn’t interested in having an additional person join us.
“Absolutely. Lucinda wouldn’t have it any other way. Not on your first full day here, at least.” Carl was right about that.
“Then I’ll see you then.” He nodded, and we both watched Carl walk away. “Looks like I’m all yours.” He turned back to me with that same smile from my office.
“This way.” I headed toward the guest cabins. I suddenly questioned if having him so close to our paying customers was a good idea. It had been the easiest solution when Carl first told me about this added class. Pretty much all of our employee housing was filled. I’d thought taking an empty cabin would fill the space. Now I was thinking it might be best to put some sort of barrier between him and the other women.
“So, how long have you worked here?” He surprised me by asking.
“Six years.” I told him.
“Do you like it?”
“Yes.”
“Did you always want to work on a ranch?”
“It’s the only life I’ve known.”
“Me too.” He chuckled. “Do you only handle the staff?”
“No, I also coordinate some of the activities for our guests.” What was with all the questions? Thank goodness we were almost to the cabins.
“Which part do you like more?”
“I like them both.” I could see the first cabin a few feet away.
“My cousin’s girlfriend is starting an event planning business back home.” He shared. “She loves it, but it’s hard work.”
“It can be.” I replied.
“Have you ever thought about going out on your own?”
I stopped and faced him. “What are you doing?”
“Excuse me?”
“What is with the third degree?” I asked. “Are you poaching?” Was that what was going on here? Was he trying to get me to leave Wild Vista to work at his ranch?
“What?” he genuinely looked surprised. “No, I’m not poaching. I was just trying to get to know you.”
“Why?” I tilted my head.
“Because that is what people do.”
“Let me save you some time.” I put one of my hands on my waist and stared right at him. “I’m not interested in some sort of two week fling. We don’t run that kind of ranch. We have strict policies about fraternization between employees and guests. As such, I would advise you to curb your normal tendencies and act accordingly.”
“My normal tendencies?” He raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.
