Authors: Robyn Neeley
“Noted,” was all he could say, feeling like an ass. This was the second time she’d shut down when he brought up her family.
Just then, Macy belted out one last note and asked for the crowd’s attention. Grayson was extremely grateful to stop this uncomfortable conversation.
“Okay, everyone,” Macy began, as she smoothed her long blond hair. “I need to let ya’ll in on a little secret.” She grinned down at him and Becca.
“Earlier tonight I got engaged!” She flashed her hand to the crowd, showing off her huge diamond ring.
Macy motioned for Gavin to join her onstage, which he did in no time. She gave him a sweet kiss before putting the microphone up to her lips, speaking directly to Gavin. “Your father willing to me his house gave me the home I never believed I could ever have. He knew before either of us did how much we belonged together. I love you, baby.”
The crowd erupted with cheers and applause as the happy couple embraced again. Grayson stopped clapping and looked over at Becca, who stood stoic, staring at Macy and Gavin. Had the color drained from her face? “Hey, are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m feeling a migraine coming on.” She rubbed her temple and turned to face him. “Grayson, why did your dad think we should be together?”
That blunt question caught him off guard. “I don’t think he did,” was all he could say.
She started to leave, and he grabbed her arm. She wasn’t going to storm away from him again. “Don’t go. I don’t know why my dad left you in his will, but let’s talk this through. You’re right, your family is none of my business, but I know we can come to a mutual agreement on the shar—”
“Dude, take your hand off her before I punch your lights out.”
Grayson removed his hand and looked over at the angry cowboy. Chuck had returned, apparently ready to rumble.
“Are you okay, Becca?” Chuck asked, eyeing Grayson.
“I’m fine,” she said. “It’s only a headache.”
“You sure this dickhead didn’t do anything?”
His muscles tensed. Did an employee of his just call him a “dickhead”? He could tell from the guy’s bloodshot eyes he’d had one too many beers tonight. He really didn’t want to cause a scene, overshadowing Macy and Gavin’s special moment.
“Hey, buddy, why don’t you take a hike and call it a night,” Grayson said, unable to resist adding, “before you call me another name and regret not having a job in the morning.”
“Is that a threat?” Chuck stepped into his space, his hands fisted. “Do you even know that we all think your being CEO is a crock? You’ll never be able to lead Guac Olé like your dad did. That man understood the value of hard work. It’s only a matter of time before you run the company into the ground, and your dad rolls over in his grave.”
“Chuck, let’s go,” Becca demanded and grabbed his arm, dragging him a couple of steps forward into the crowd.
“Wait a minute. Hold up.” Never mind the nerve Chuck struck because Grayson wondered daily if he’d be able to fill his dad’s metaphorically big shoes, he was not going to let one of his employees speak to him like that in public. “Mr. McAllister, you can stop by Monday morning to pick up your things. You’re fired.”
“Grayson, no.” Becca shook her head. “I’ll deal with him on Monday. He’s had a lot to dr—”
“Don’t defend me to this asshole.” Chuck turned around and laughed. “You know what, I’m
glad
you fired me, because now I can do what I’ve always wanted to do.” He took a step toward Grayson.
“Which is?” were the last words Grayson remembered uttering before his body hit the ground.
Grayson groaned and flung his hand onto the nightstand, searching for his Advil and water bottle. After fifteen more minutes of feeling like complete hell, the pain reliever kicked in, making it easier to drag himself out of bed.
His overall body pain was courtesy of the punch to his gut that had knocked the wind out of him. While event officials had raced over to deal with Chuck, he had laid on the ground, seeing stars. With the help of Gavin and Gage, he’d stood and scanned the crowd for Becca, but she was nowhere to be found.
He’d wanted to go searching for her, make sure she wasn’t with that drunk, but Gavin insisted on driving him home. He finally agreed to leave, but kept his eyes peeled for Becca, to no avail.
Once in his condo, he popped a couple of pills, crawled upstairs into bed, and told Gavin to take a hike. He’d sleep off the pain, but Gavin should go back and celebrate with his new fiancée. Before leaving, his brother had promised to check on him in the morning. Grayson twisted toward his nightstand and reached for his cell phone. It was nearly noon, and judging by the three messages waiting on his voice mail, Gavin had made good on that promise. His finger tapped the tiny screen, sending Gavin a quick text that he was fine.
A few minutes later, Grayson slowly made his way downstairs to his kitchen. Damn, this was worse than a really bad hangover. He wasn’t used to sleeping his day away, especially not in the summer. Most Sundays he’d go for a long, early morning run before it got too hot, followed by an afternoon in the office. Starting his Keurig machine, he reached for an apple in a fruit bowl on his kitchen island.
What a freakin’ disaster. Once again he’d managed to upset Becca. How could that dumb-ass employee have had the balls to punch the CEO? Make that
ex
-employee—because after that assault, he was making good on his promise to fire the jerk.
Grabbing his coffee, he pulled out a stool and added some sugar to his mug. His time with Becca before the blowup hadn’t been all that bad. She, once again, had rejected his offer to buy her shares, but he’d learned a few things: She loved working for his company, she was loyal to her friends, like Betty Lou, and she was extremely protective of her family. Not to mention, she’d created a dip that was out of this freakin’ world.
Those facts made her more interesting to him than the simple country girl he’d pegged her to be, but did that make her qualified to own 50 percent of the company? “No,” he said out loud and sank his teeth into the apple. It did not. There had to be a way to entice her to take the deal.
Her reaction to Gavin and Macy’s big engagement news was puzzling. To say she looked mortified was an understatement. Gavin had mentioned Becca might not be handling well the possibility that his dad had selected her to marry a Cooper boy.
He rolled his neck until it cracked, and finished his apple, tossing the core in the trash. Well, she could do a whole lot worse than a wealthy businessman, leading a multimillion-dollar company. If anyone should be mortified, shouldn’t it be him? He chuckled at the memory of how she had stepped on him with her cowboy boot. Somehow, that act in those boots had turned him on more than it had annoyed him.
He wouldn’t deny it. Becca was attractive, and he wouldn’t have minded them dancing for a little longer. She’d said Chuck wasn’t her boyfriend, but the big goon must have been watching them, ready to step in if needed.
And what about what that douchebag had said before he’d delivered the blow? Did the factory employees really think he was a colossal joke? See him as a complete failure who would run the company into the ground?
He drained his coffee. Since when did he give a flying fuck what people thought? Being the CEO meant you were inevitably going to do things that made you unpopular with your employees for the good of the company. He tried to think of one unfavorable thing his dad had done, but came up short. “Whatever,” he said out loud. “Dad was good at hiding his dirty laundry.”
Though Grayson had accused Becca days ago of blackmailing his dad, he didn’t really believe that was the case. His dad wasn’t the type of guy to have any enemies or secrets. To accuse her of holding something scandalous over his pop’s head to get those shares, he’d admit, had been ludicrous.
Grabbing his coffee mug, he refilled it and headed back upstairs into his bathroom. Since a run in the hot sun was out of the question, he’d shower and head in to the office. He had a report on all Tex-Mex restaurants in the Southwest to pore over that he’d asked his research team to put together and leave on his desk by close of business on Friday. When they’d asked for more time, he gave them until Sunday at noon.
Did that make him a prick because his staff would have to give up their weekend to finish it? Probably. It didn’t matter. Sundays were always productive for him. He’d study the research and pinpoint which restaurants made the most sense to push Guac Olé into. Besides, the additional profit would surely lead to smiling faces in December when all of his employees received holiday bonuses.
His brothers would, no doubt, give him shit for moving forward with the plans after they’d voted no, but if they were going to be jerks and demand Becca be part of the conversation, well then he would quietly put his plan into motion without them. In September, he’d share his progress, and if either Gavin or Gage opposed, he’d tell them to shove it. Same went for Becca if she sided with his brothers.
He turned on the shower, yanked off his white T-shirt, and removed his gray sweats. He stepped in and his hands flattened on his face as he let the steaming hot water relax his sore muscles. He’d hit the ground pretty hard last night.
If he hadn’t been clocked by the cowboy, would he have finished his conversation with Becca? Maybe they would have danced again and he could have convinced her that accepting his offer to buy her shares was not only a good deal for her but the best move for the company.
He squeezed out some shampoo, massaging his scalp. He could dream up an ending where she accepted his offer, but it probably wasn’t in the cards. For whatever reason, she was content on staying in the factory and peeling avocados.
She said the plant was her home. He might have laughed at her, but in that moment, he’d experienced a twinge of envy. Yeah, he’d worked his butt off over the years, carving out his place in the company, but the pride in her eyes was real, raw emotion.
He should have never laughed in her face. He didn’t know what her life was like outside of work. Maybe the factory was like a home to her. Just like Macy had told him recently that the open road used to be hers.
He stepped out of the shower and grabbed a crisp white towel, tying it around his waist. Wiping the condensation off his mirror, he stared hard. “You’re really losing your charm,” he warned his reflection. Time to move on to Plan B—which he didn’t have at the moment. If only he could get closer to Becca and learn why his dad had selected her for his inheritance and why she was so insistent on keeping those shares.
Maybe he should take Gavin’s advice and chill out for the next three weeks. Stop pressing the issue of buying her out. Spend some time around her and discover what his dad saw in a factory employee to single-handedly make her the most powerful person in the company.
Perhaps then he would be able to come up with a more appealing offer. If not money, there had to be something else she wanted.
There. He had his Plan B. Satisfied, he grabbed his toothbrush, pumped out some toothpaste, and began to brush. He’d get to know her. In three weeks, he’d have all his answers and he could then formulate a new strategy that aligned with Becca’s motivations. That’s how he’d get her shares.
He spit out the paste and rinsed. There was only one problem. He was pretty sure the only way she’d let down her guard and let him in was if he were someone else … anyone else.
If I were someone else …
He studied his reflection. All of a sudden an idea popped into his head. Albeit, a totally crazy one. One that would help him get closer to Becca.
He raced into his adjoining bedroom and threw on a pair of khakis and one of his many polo T-shirts before reaching for his phone and asking Siri for the number to the Silver Spurs.
In no time, he had the one person on the other end who could help him make his zany idea a reality.
• • •
Becca sipped her soda, glancing out the window of Betty Lou’s. Had it really only been last night that she was in Grayson’s arms?
She’d really thought hell had frozen over when he extended his hand.
Then of all things, she’d stepped into his embrace. What was she thinking? What she should have done was politely decline and hightail it back to the security of the diner.
If she had done exactly that, Chuck would still have his job.
Becca placed her head in her hands. Last night was all her fault. She should have realized Chuck was keeping an eye on her. Tangie had told him to. She also wasn’t surprised that he’d come to her rescue when Grayson grabbed her arm. It was no secret around the plant that Chuck didn’t think much of Grayson and his flashy convertible. He would relish the opportunity to knock the CEO out.
After the punch, she’d dropped down to make sure Grayson was okay. Gage and Gavin immediately rushed to their brother’s side, so she’d moved out of the way. Grayson appeared shaken but fine. She took off and weaved through the crowd until she’d caught up with Chuck. She wanted to make sure he didn’t do anything else stupid like getting behind the wheel and driving home.
She found him on the street corner with Tangie. Her friend was inspecting his hand while trying to calm him down.
They’d convinced Chuck that the best thing to do at that moment was let them take him home. Once there, she and Tangie spent the rest of the evening supplying him with a few rounds of coffee until he sobered up. “I have no regrets, boss,” was what he’d said to Becca as she was leaving his apartment. He did, however, apologize for letting her down.
Grabbing her phone, Becca sent Chuck a quick text to check on him. Not only as his friend but as his boss, it was her responsibility to make sure he was okay. Well, technically the latter relationship would end tomorrow. She was pretty sure punching the CEO was grounds for dismissal, and there wasn’t going to be anything she could do about it.
Maybe she should try to talk to Grayson. Explain that Chuck really needed this job and couldn’t lose his health insurance or tuition reimbursement benefits. Whatever happened, she’d give her employee an excellent reference and help him land on his feet. He’d always been a solid line worker. Maybe she could float him a loan for living expenses until he was able to collect unemployment. He was part of her Guac Olé plant family, and family took care of family.