The Tycoon's Tender Triumph (9 page)

“Then why haven’t you been over to ride those guys this past week?  I know you ride occasionally, but they like you and you’re very good with them.  Let me send some guys over to do the repairs for you.”  He stopped her from interrupting him by raising his hands.  “I’ll make sure that the repairs are all finished before he’s able to get
out and
about and he will never know that I arrange
d for the work to be done
.  In the meantime, you start exercising those animals, think about what you want to do besides return to that job that you hate so much,” he ignored her attempt to argue with him on that point, “then come back to me and let me help you set up your business the way your dad helped me set up mine.”

Chloe looked at him warily.  “How do you know wha
t kind of business I want
to begin?”

Sam smiled.  “
It doesn’t matter what you want to do.  I know your father and I know he didn’t raise an idiot daughter.  So once you
figure out where your passion lies
, I’d like to help.
”

She considered his words carefully.  There was no way she would let him help her with getting started in photography.  Sam was a hard driving businessman and probably hated art, only bought it for investment purposes so she’d never tell him her dream.  But she could let him pay back her father by doing those awful repairs.  His guys would probably do a much better job than she could ever do so it would make sense.  Anything she did would probably have to be redone at some point anyway so she might not keep her father off that roof
after all
. 

“You can do the repairs.  And I’m grateful for the offer but I’ll pay you back.”

“We’ll see about the payback, but we won’t argue about it at the moment.”  He turned and punched something into his computer.  “We have a good breeding program.  I could definitely use your help selecting the couples.”

She tried to hide the shudder of horror at that idea.  “I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I don’t think I’d be very good in that area.”

“Why not?  You’re an excellent rider which means that you’re in tune with the animals.  You really connect with them.”

“Yes
…
”

He smiled slightly as understanding of her hesitation dawned on him. 
“But your ladies would have to accept their mates, am I correct?”

“Absolutely.”

Sam laughed.  “You’re a romantic, Chloe.” 

She bristled at that statement
, which came across as patronizing, and his amusement
.  “Just because I don’t want
lady horses
raped by
a male
horse
doesn’t make me a romantic.”

He tried to smother his
amusement
at her commentary on breeding horses, knowing it might hurt her feelings. 
“It generally isn’t rape, you know.  The females run, but that’s all part of the game.  It’s
all about
the chase and a filly doesn’t like it when a stallion isn’t willing to chase her.”

“That sounds animalistic.”

He threw back his head and laughed.  “They’re animals, Chloe.”

She didn’t like that anyway
, even though his laughter made her tingle with awareness
.  “It just seems barbaric.”

He acknowledged her feelings with another nod.  “Okay,
I suspect
you’ve made up your mind about the business you want to be in
but you’re not completely sure that you’re ready.  So what can I do to help you?”

“
Ideally, I’d just
like to be content.”

He looked at her with his dark, intelligent eyes and Chloe knew that she’d revealed too much in that one statement. 

“And are you content with your life in New York and your boyfriend?”

She looked out the window and thought back to what she’d been only a week ago.  “No.  I know that’s not the
future
I want.”

“And do you know what you want?”

Chloe shrugged.  “Despite the cold in the winter, I always loved it here.  The air is so much cleaner, I can see the stars at night and I love horses.”

“Especially Nutmeg?”

She  laughed softly.  “No, not especially but Nutmeg has a different personality.
  A bit more demanding that the others, but they’re all wonderful.
”

“He’s a bit of an autocrat, isn’t he?”

She smiled at him cheekily. “Takes one to know one.”

“
Touché
,” he came back.  “So, you want a small business that keeps you…content.”  He watched her face.  “And happiness is out of the question?”

She looked away
again
, all laughter gone from her face.
  Just thinking about moving here to Texas where she would watch Sam, see him fall for some other woman and marry her, most likely have children with him was a painful thought.  But she hadn’t had much success
getting over him
in Boston, New York and the other few places she’d briefly lived over the past few years
.  Besides, none had
been a
really
good “fit” for her.  Texas seemed to be more of a home to her than any other area she’d ever tried to settle.
  “Let’s stick to what’s achievable,” she replied, not wanting to go any further down that road. 

“Fine.  You’ll need dresses and suits
if you’re going into any kind of business
.  Can you afford them?  And you’ll need to keep the five beauties in my
stable
.  Forget about building your own, you’re going to be too busy here.”

She didn’t like the sound of that.  “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’re going to have to be here with me, learning
about making contacts, getting an office or supply chain, asking me questions about taxes and benefits
,
exercising the horses
and coming to social events with me.  I have the contacts you’ll need to get the word out about
whatever you’re going to start but make the contacts first so you have a pipeline of
re
sources to rely upon once you’re confident enough to market you’re idea
.”

“I don’t want to take up your time,” she started to argue, not wanting to be in his company at all, much less in a social situation. 

“It’s not a waste of my time.  I’m going to be at these events anyway, and having a beautiful woman on my arm won’t hurt.  Besides,” he interrupted when she was about to
say
something, “You’ll be doing me a favor, too.”

“How’s that?” she asked, her voice dripping with wariness.

“These people are le
e
ches.  Each time I go, the women lean against me and slip room keys in my pockets…”

“Poor dear.  And I’m sure you give them all back, don’t you?” Chloe hated the jealousy that ripped through her at his words.

His only acknowledgement of her comment was a sarcastically raised eyebrow
, which only made her jealousy intensify.  She would have been happier if he’d told her he actually did give the keys back, even if he was lying. 

“And the men are trying to
snare
insider information on whatever business I’m
currently investing in.  It becomes
pretty irritating.  So if you’re on my arm, the women will stay away and anytime someone approaches me about business,
I’ll rely on you to change the subject
. 
Start gushing on about their business which will definitely turn them around and you can get tips on how they do business
. 
Most of those men love talking about themselves
.”

She thought about that for a long moment, contemplating the pros and cons that came to mind.  If she took him up on
his
offer, she’d get instant access to her target demographics, which were people who could afford
what she hoped to be able to offer. 

But she’d also have to be around him more often
, an aspect of his suggestion that definitely had severe drawbacks in her mind
.

She was just about to reject his offer, preferring to figure out another way when he stopped her with a painfully accurate statement. 

“You’re afraid of being alone with me, aren’t you?” he said as he leaned back in his chair, his dark eyes halfway closed as he watched her. 

Chloe’s heart stopped for a long moment.  “Of course not,” she lied.  “I don’t know why you think that.”

“I think you’re too afraid to be around me for any
extended
period of time because you’re not sure what will happen between us.”

She scoffed.  “That’s ridiculous.”

“Is it?” he came back quietly.

“Of course.”
  She scooted around uncomfortably on her chair and was unable to look him in the eye. 

“Good, then if you’re not afraid of me, or what might happen between us
if we’re alone
, then you need to get yourself a dress.”  He leaned forward and sifted through some papers as if he were looking for something. 

Chloe blinked, wondering what had just happened.  “Excuse me?” her back ramrod straight as she watched him pick up a thick piece of paper.

“A dress. 
The event is
formal,” he said as he handed her the
invitation
he’d just unearthed.  “You have a dress, don’t you?  Or do you need to head into town to get one?”

“A dress?  I don’t think…”

“You’re not allowed to think
, not yet anyway.  You’re going to have to trust me.”  His eyes traveled up and down her figure as she sat in the chair.  “Something red.  And sexy.” 

Chloe’s face blushed once again and she glared at him.  “No, I don’t have anything red
except for that one dress you threw into my suitcase.  Which definitely doesn’t count as formal
. 
Other than that dress, I have
nothing sexy.”
  Chloe didn’t know how to do sexy and red was way too blatant for her to wear with any confidence. 

“Why not?”

She struggled to come up with a viable excuse but nothing good came to mind. 
“B
ecause I don’t look good in red,
”
and knew it sounded pretty lame, but it was all she could think of. 

“When was the last time you tried on anything red?”

That got her, she thought.  She never wore red because it was too bright, too intense.  “Trust me, I don’t look good in red.”

He smiled, a sexy, personal smile that made her heart speed up a bit.  “Oh, darlin’, you really need to try on something red.  And definitely something sexy.”

“No.”

“Yes. 
Do it just to see how much it can turn heads and get a reaction from other men and women in the room. 
It will irritate the hell out of me so that should give you enough incentive, won’t it? 
And we’re going now.  Come on,” he said and stood up, walking around to the other side of his desk, picking up a set of keys as he passed. 

Chloe was dumbfounded, but refused to be railroaded.  “Sam, I’m not going shopping with you,” she replied, crossing her arms over her chest and standing still despite the fact that he was almost to the doorway. 

With one eyebrow, he turned to watch her.  “Are you sure you have the money for a dress?”