Corporate Cowboy

“No.”

“Then what are you planning to wear for riding? You’ll ruin those expensive Italian leather shoes if you wear them.”

“I’m not getting on a horse, Ms. Judd.”

“Riding is part of the program, Mr. Bennett,” she explained calmly.

“That may be, but I am not riding. Now if you’ll excuse me.” Before she could say another word, he had turned and was walking down the corridor leading to the guest rooms.

She had been dismissed! Kacy could feel her blood pressure rising and she was tempted to go after him and let him know just who was running the show. But she didn’t. She simply smiled to herself.

Let him think what he wanted. There was no way some city guy in a suit was going to get the upper hand on her. He’d learn that soon enough.

BENNETT INDUSTRIES HAD enrolled fifteen employees in the program. That meant Kacy and her brothers each worked with a team of five. When it was time for the first scheduled activity—the riding lessons—Kacy only counted four people in her group.

“Who’s missing?” a man named Ed asked, shading his eyes as he glanced to the opposite corners of the corral where the rest of the participants sat on bales of hay awaiting instructions.

“It’s Mr. Bennett,” Kacy answered, looking at the slip of paper Dusty had handed her only minutes before.

“I didn’t think he’d be out here with the rest of us,” another man chipped in.

Kacy looked toward the lodge and felt a twinge of irritation which quickly escalated into a knot of anger when she saw a man walk out of the lodge and head for the pool. She didn’t need a pair of binoculars to know that it was Austin Bennett. Why had the man even bothered to come to the ranch?

Determined to stay cool with the situation, she said, “Maybe Mr. Bennett doesn’t need a riding lesson.”

“It’s more likely he doesn’t want one,” someone supplied.

Ed grinned. “Rumor has it that he wasn’t too gung ho about coming here.”

“Really?” Kacy stated innocently, knowing perfectly well Austin Bennett didn’t want to be anywhere near the ranch. “But we’re going to have so much fun.” She wiggled her eyebrows as she grinned.

“Some of us are a little shy around horses,” another guest admitted.

“There’s no need to be,” Kacy assured everyone. “Riding is an essential component of the work you will do here. And it’s fun. So, I’ll go have a little chat with Mr. Bennett. In the meantime, you can admire Harriet.” She walked over to the fence and lovingly stroked a chestnut mare tied to fence. “She’s a real sweetie. Wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

“Is everyone going to get a horse to ride?” Ed asked as she started for the pool area.

“Oh, yes. We’ve enough horses for everyone. Even Mr. Bennett,” she said with confidence before heading toward the lodge.

Chapter Three

Most guests at the ranch used the pool area for relaxation. Not Austin Bennett. In the time it had taken Kacy to walk back from the corral he had set up a portable office on one of the round glass-topped tables in the shade of an umbrella and appeared to be hard at work.

“Mr. Bennett, what are you doing?”

He lifted his head to glance at her briefly, a pair of dark sunglasses masking his penetrating blue eyes. “I’m working, Ms. Judd.”

“You’re supposed to be part of a group riding lesson. Your team members are waiting for you.”

“I believe I already told you I’m not getting on a horse.” He kept his eyes on the computer screen, continuing to punch keys while they talked.

She felt like snatching that laptop from his hands and tossing it into the pool. Instead she took a deep breath and counted to ten. “Then you’re going to have trouble keeping up with your employees. Nearly every activity at the ranch involves riding.”

The gentle breeze sent a whiff of his aftershave in her direction, teasing her nostrils, increasing her awareness of him as a man. Not that she needed the heady scent to remind her of how masculine he was. He was one of the sexiest men she had ever encountered. It was a good thing he was a suit. Otherwise she could find herself easily distracted from the job at hand.

He stopped typing and glanced up at her. “Looks like I’ll get more work done than I expected,” he said evenly, then he smiled at her.

The smile caused her heart to skip a beat and Kacy knew she was wrong about not being distracted. “The program’s been designed for fifteen people.”

“Surely you can make it fifteen minus one.”

“No, everything’s already set up.”

“Then you’ll have to adjust to one less.”

She had heard that tone of voice often when dealing with difficult customers at the art gallery. It said, “I’m the customer and I’m always right.” Kacy could feel her patience blowing away with the wind.

“Why did you choose the Triple J for your team-building sessions if you had no intention of taking part in the program?” she asked, her hands on her hips.

“I didn’t choose it.”

So he had been strongarmed by bigger brass to attend. He didn’t want to be at the ranch and was only there because he had no other choice. Kacy should have realized that last night when he had shown so little interest in anything she said.

Well, it wasn’t the first time she had a reluctant guest at the ranch. Usually with a bit of cajoling and patience, she could get even the crankiest to join in the group activities. However, Austin Bennett didn’t appear to want to have his mind changed. He looked as if he had already decided what his morning was going to involve and it wasn’t horses.

“I know this isn’t a typical business conference setting, but experience has shown us that often the most skeptical of guests leaves as the biggest proponents of the program,” she said cheerfully.

“You’re telling me that everyone leaves here a happy cowboy?”

“Yes. I know a trip to North Dakota doesn’t sound like much of a perk, but if you’ll just give us a chance, we’ll see that you leave with a sense of accomplishment you never expected you’d find on the prairie,” she promised.

“That’s fine. You do your job with my employees and I’ll take back a group of contented employees,” he said smoothly.

She struggled to stay positive and not let him upset her. “But we want you to be content, too.”

That remark brought him to his feet. He pulled off his sunglasses and pinned her with his blue eyes. “And you think you know what makes me content, Ms. Judd?”

This time Kacy’s heart didn’t just skip a beat, it darn near turned over in her chest. There was no mistaking the look in those eyes. It was a challenge, and not just a professional one. Ever since she had met him at the airport last night there had been a tension between them. And she’d have to be as dumb as dirt not to recognize that it wasn’t solely based on his reluctance to come to the Triple J.

The fact that he could produce an wanted physical reaction in her made her lose a bit of the self-control she had always took great pride in maintaining. “I know my job, Mr. Bennett, and I know the results we achieve at the ranch. Now if you’d rather not join the rest of your employees, that’s your choice. But I do think you should remember the agreement you signed.”

That caused his brow to crease. “What agreement?”

“The one that says by enrolling in the program you agree to be a willing participant in all activities unless for medical reasons you are forced to abstain. Is there a medical reason why you can’t get on a horse, Mr. Bennett?”

He chuckled. “I never signed such an agreement.”

“You wouldn’t be here right now if you hadn’t. Want me to get your registration form from the office?” she asked, giving him a smile that said “I got you on this one.”