Corporate Cowboy. Pamela Bauer

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СКАЧАТЬ a vacation. You would have never gone had you not been able to close the deal with the fabric suppliers.”

      “I went to Jamaica last month.”

      “Business.”

      “London last April.”

      “Business. Austin, you need to give your mind a rest. You know what you should do? Take a few extra days when this retreat is over and visit those cousins in Montana. Forget about work. Forget about people. Just be free.”

      Austin rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I’m not sure I know how not to work, Jean.”

      “Then maybe it’s time you learned. Wouldn’t it be nice to retrace that car trip you took as a child—go visit those cousins, see how they’ve changed? I bet they’d love to hear from you.”

      “I haven’t seen them in over twenty years,” he said wistfully. “I’m not sure they’re even in Montana anymore.”

      “Want me to do some checking?”

      “No, I shouldn’t even be gone for the week at the ranch.”

      Then, as she had done so often since his mother had died, Jean sat down across from him and leaned her arms on his desk, her voice taking on a familiar maternal tone. “You’re working too hard the way it is, Austin. I’m afraid one of these days I’m going to get a call saying you’ve worked yourself to exhaustion. Why don’t I look up the names of those cousins? At least you’ll have it with you and after the visit to the ranch if you find you want to take some extra time, you can do it.”

      He reached across the desk to gently squeeze her arm. “All right. Get me their phone numbers.” He gave her a smile, then flipped open his daily planner. “About my plane reservation…”

      “Jan in travel said everyone’s leaving at one-thirty on Sunday afternoon.”

      “I don’t want to go that early in the day.”

      “You’re supposed to arrive as a group.” There was admonition in her voice.

      “A few hours shouldn’t make a difference.”

      “But the idea is to begin this training as a team. That’s the key to success.”

      “And when has anything I touched not been a success?” he retorted with a devilish grin. “Book me on the last available flight that day.”

      Before Jean could protest, the door flew open. Austin knew there was only one person who would be brave enough to enter without knocking. He glanced up to see Daphne Delattre sweep into the room in her usual dramatic way. She moved with the grace expected of a runway model, not a hair out of place, not a smudge in her perfectly made-up face. She ignored Jean and went straight to Austin, brushing her lips across his cheek.

      Austin didn’t miss the way his secretary cringed at the action. After a polite greeting, Jean exited, leaving Austin alone with the high fashion model, but not before casting him a disapproving look. Ever since the day his father had introduced him to Daphne, Jean had felt it was her duty to warn Austin of the dangers of a woman like Daphne Delattre.

      Austin had told his secretary on several different occasions that the model was his father’s choice of companions for him, not his. Judging by her attitude, she didn’t believe him.

      Daphne perched herself on the corner of his desk, deliberately exposing the slender thigh of one leg. “Why are you scowling? Aren’t you happy to see me?”

      “I’m not scowling,” Austin answered. “I always look like this when I’m working.”

      “Then you should stop working and take me to lunch.”

      Austin ignored the flirtatious pose and glanced at his daily planner. “Can’t do that. Schedule’s full.”

      “You must be able to get free for at least an hour?”

      “As long as I’m in the building I’m never free,” he answered, grimacing as he ran a hand around the back of his neck in an attempt to work free a kink that was cramping a muscle.

      She immediately hopped down off the desk and pushed away his hand, replacing it with hers. “Here. Let me.”

      Austin didn’t protest. If there was one quality he appreciated in Daphne it was her therapeutic touch. “You know you went into the wrong profession. You should have been a masseuse.”

      She harrumphed in disagreement. “So are you going to tell me what has these muscles as hard as a rock?”

      “No.”

      She made a sound of disgust. “What you need is some time away from this place.”

      “You sound just like Jean today.”

      “Well, for once I agree with her. You need a break.”

      “Well, you’ll be happy to hear that’s exactly what I’m going to get.”

      Her fingers stopped massaging and she turned to face him. “You’re taking a vacation?” Hope danced in her eyes.

      He chuckled. “No, a business trip.”

      “When is it? I have some time coming up. Maybe I could arrange my schedule and come with you.”

      Austin never mixed business and pleasure. “No, that won’t work.”

      She stopped her kneading. “You don’t want me there?”

      There was a little catch in her voice, a ploy that was becoming very familiar to Austin. Daphne was not above using every feminine wile she possessed to get her way. At first Austin had found it amusing, but lately it had begun to annoy him. She played games, which was the kiss of death for any relationship with a woman as far as Austin was concerned.

      About the only good thing he could say about a trip to this ranch in North Dakota was that it would put a little distance between him and Daphne. Lately she had started assuming their relationship was more serious than it was. It didn’t help that his father encouraged her.

      Neither one of them wanted to accept the fact that Austin wasn’t ready to settle down with any woman. His father and Daphne had become a tag team whose goal was to get him to the altar.

      Austin sighed. Maybe getting out of Chicago for a week wasn’t such a bad idea.

      KATHLEEN CHARLOTTE JUDD was not a stubborn person, although she had every right to be. It was in the Judd genes. Her grandfather, her father and both of her brothers had stubborn streaks that could try the patience of a saint. Fortunately, Kacy took after her mother’s side of the family and although she could be a bit headstrong at times, the folks around Cavalier, ND, knew she had a sweet disposition which was difficult to undermine. She was also good under pressure and enjoyed working with people, which is why the Judds had put her in charge of public relations for the Triple J.

      Only today she was not feeling very sweet. It had rained six of the last seven days. If the sun didn’t shine soon, she would get downright cranky and not just because she needed its rays to boost her endorphins. The creeks were swollen, the ground СКАЧАТЬ