Page 32 of My Cowboy Valentine

“Is everyone else on their way?” I ask gruffly.

She shrugs. “Have a seat. We should give them a few minutes.”

I begrudgingly sit down, drumming my fingers on the conference table and surfing the internet on my phone. Good God. Every other story is about Lesley and our impending engagement and partnership. It’s insane. Fifteen minutes in, and I look across the table at her. “Well, where is everyone?”

Shelley smiles coyly. “I guess it’s just you and me, Ronald.”

I frown, my eyes narrowing.

“I mean, Rowdy.”

I shake my head, my eyes drilling into her. She stammers, “I mean, Mr. Jameson.”That’s more like it.

“You alluded to the fact other employees would be here. What’s their ETA?”

She smiles seductively, and now I’m ready to leave. “You could say I speak on their behalf.”

“On whose authority?” I counter, standing up to go.

She follows me to her feet. “Yesterday, when you didn’t come to work, I called a meeting with everyone. After a tense discussion, we agreed that either Ms. Cash goes or we all walk.”

“What?” I ask with a grimace. “This is fucking outlandish.”

She holds up a hand. “I thought you’d be upset, considering you’re engaged to her. But she’s terrible, Mr. Jameson! Youshould have heard how she yelled at me and what she said the other day. Ask any of the other employees. They heard her, too.”

I cross my arms, hardening my face. “I admit Red’s a little rough around the edges, and her speech can be colorful at times. But I expect you to show her the same respect you show me.”

Shelly bites her lower lip, shaking her head. “Don’t let her fool you, sir.”

“Fool me? What do you mean?”

“She plans on taking Jameson & Cash from you. I overheard her on the phone in her car, talking with someone about how they’re going to push you to take the company public before buying out the majority shares, leaving you high and dry. I think technically it’s called a hostile takeover.”

I shake my head, unable to process her words. Lesley may be many things, but she’s no traitor or liar. As for Shelley, this manipulative new side of her is unbecoming and maybe even unemployable.

She shuffles closer, angling her body to show off her cleavage better, and I step back, annoyed the woman can’t take a hint. “The person she spoke to in the car asked her to take photos of the new line and send them to him along with the tech pack. You know, corporate espionage.”

“What in the world?”

“And she made me walk her through the clothing line, snapping countless pictures. She also demanded I send her a copy of the tech pack and the changes we made during the first fit testing.”

I stand up, ready to leave. “I don’t know what you think you heard, but Lesley would never do that to me. There’s no way.”

“Sir, she’s using you.”

“No, it’s time to go,” I say, motioning towards the door.

“Will you at least make her show you her phone? See if she’s texted any photos of the line to a third party?”

I grab her by the elbow, steering her out and into an onslaught of strangers with cameras. “What in the fuck is this?”

“The paparazzi I warned you about,” Shelley answers with a giggle. Flipping around to face me, she stops me in my tracks. Before I can step back, Shelley throws her arms around my neck in a stranglehold, planting a big kiss on my lips. She does it with such force that it knocks my cowboy hat off with a splash onto the slushy, wet parking lot pavement.

Click, click, click, click. A thousand shutters sound as I wrestle to free myself from her arms, looped tightly around my neck. I take a couple of large strides backward. “Have you lost your mind, Shelley? What in the world’s gotten into you?“

“You deserve better than Red, sir. Please promise me you’ll check her phone. And please consider someone else.”

I side-step her, grabbing my hat and shooting her a venomous look. “Don’t ever kiss me again. Don’t ever use my private phone line. And know that you owe Ms. Cash more than an apology on Monday morning.”The last Monday morning for Shelley…

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