8. Lottie
Three days. It had been three days since I'd last seen Hunter, three days since he'd talked me into six months by his side. Three days since he'd managed to get under my skin once again, three days since he'd made me come on his goddamned hand.
Three days since I'd had a thought without him in it.
I was wearing my loose-fitting painting jeans and an old, long-sleeved black top I didn't care about. I wasn't sure if my training today would take me into the stables or require getting my hands dirty, so I'd dressed for it just in case. Even brought my rain boots just to make sure that I had something for my feet if I had to scoop manure.
Hank, the man I was taking over for, had decided it would be mostly office work, though.
We'd spent the last two days going over my duties and which stables would be under my command. The Harris' kept twelve stables on their property—six for breeding, three for racing, and three for auctioning. I would be in charge of the breeding ones and the staff that came along with them.
Learning names had been the tricky part. Hank was easy, and I was with him the most. Dana, of course, I already knew. But the rest were fresh faces, people I'd never met and people who weren't exactly happy that someone so young would be taking over for their manager. Some were likely annoyed that Hunter hadn't promoted from within the business, and I couldn't blame them.
"I'm taking lunch," Hank said, his half-eaten sandwich in one hand and a newspaper in the other. His feet were up on what was soon to be my desk, his body leaning back in the chair that was meant for me.
I assumed his announcement about lunch was a request for me to get lost.
Making my way out to stable number four, my boots squished into the wet grass, a result from the night of rain we had. If Hank wanted time alone, then I might as well use my own lunch break to catch up with Dana and see how she was getting along. Hunter had promised me that although she'd be starting in the stable, he'd have her by my side once Hank was gone in two weeks. Don't want him throwing a fit for not giving him an assistant, he'd said.
Dana sat on an upside-down bucket, brush in hand as she worked at de-shedding the lower half of a horse I'd yet to learn the name of. She was beautiful—a strong thoroughbred that stood tall, young by the looks of it though very much an adult. Although I didn't agree with them as a breed, I was still able to appreciate their beauty and strength.
Dana's smile when she saw me was enough to tell me that she was at least enjoying herself.
"Hey," she said. "How goes training?"
I huffed out a sigh and leaned against the wall beside her, crossing my arms over my chest. "Hank is weird. Everyone hates me. Haven't gotten the hang of dressing appropriately. So yeah, it's going great."
"Aw, Lots," Dana jutted her lower lip out, breaking out into a grin after a moment. "I'm sure it'll calm down."
"Yeah. I hope."
"How's the thing with Hunter?"
"Annoying," I snorted. I still hadn't told her about the more intimate details, and as far as she knew, I'd accepted his job offer with no strings attached. But there was no one else in the stable as far as I could tell, and I didn't feel like holding it all back anymore. I needed to speak to someone. "He's giving me forty-nine percent of the business, though, so I guess it's a good deal."
"He's what?" she said, coughing as a tuft of hair flew from the horse.
"Yeah. We got into an argument over what to do about breeds moving forward, and when it got heated, he offered me forty-nine percent. But there's a catch." I laughed. The absurdity of it was amusing to me, even if I found him to be one of the most irritating men I'd ever met. "I have to pretend to be his girlfriend and involved in a serious relationship with him for the next six months."
Dana turned on her bucket to face me, her eyes wide. The horse beside her huffed out a sigh. "Holy shit."
"I know."
"Does he know?" she asked, her voice a little quieter. "About your ex, I mean."
I shook my head, dread filling my stomach with angry butterflies. "No. Not yet."
"You should tell him."
"And get fired?" I scoffed, pushing off the wall and taking a step toward her. "Hunter can still find a replacement for me right now. If I wait until Hank's gone, it'll make it harder for that to fuck everything up."
The door to the stable opened, silencing us within a second. Hank heaved in a breath, his old age catching up to him, and looked me dead in the eye. "Hunter called. He wants you in his office."
"The office here?"
"No. The office in town."
————
I swear, Hunter took great joy in making me feel out of place because of what I wore. For once, a warning would have been nice.
The office he kept in Boulder was nicer than I had expected—clean, modern architecture without a scent of manure. People flitted about in suits, skirts and blouses, and there I was in jeans spattered with dried paint, an old, worn-out shirt and muck-covered boots, sitting alone in a pristine waiting room that I was making dirty by just being there.
And not to mention his summoning. I had my damned phone on me back in the stables. He could have just called. But no, he demanded my presence through Hank and then blanked when I tried to call him. He was testing my goddamned patience.
"Mr. Harris will see you now," the woman behind the desk called, a forced smile on her face as she looked me up and down. "His office is just through that door."
"Great. Thank you."
Pushing my way through the door and down the hallway, I scanned each of the doors that branched from it. Fred Harris. Edward Harris. Holly Harris. Brody Hammersmith. Hunter Harris.
Not bothering to knock, I shoved Hunter's door open.
He sat back in his office chair, an air of confidence from him that was becoming almost permanently irritating. He wore a suit, and by the looks of it, he'd shaved since I saw him three days ago. I preferred the stubble, personally. You don't prefer anything, Lottie. He's an asshole.
Oh, shit. Right.
"Nice of you to come appropriately dressed."
I was going to kill him.
"Have a seat, Charlotte." He motioned toward the chair opposite his desk, all smooth and shiny leather. I plopped myself down in it with enough force to show my annoyance. "How are things going at the ranch?"
"Please tell me you didn't bring me here just to ask me that. You could have called me."
"I wanted to see you." His lips lifted into a smirk as he leaned forward, his black suit tugging at every little bit of muscle in his arms. "So?"
"It's fine. Hank is annoying but I'm learning. Everyone thinks I'm a bitch since you didn't promote from within. I met a nice horse." I rattled off short sentences, hoping to appease him so I could leave sooner. "I'm hungry because I forgot to take a lunch break. I've dressed incorrectly again, so that's great. All in all, ten out of ten experience."
"Glad to hear you're settling well."
"Why am I here, Hunter?" I pressed. I knew there was something else. I could sense it from the way he looked at me like I was a piece of meat. "What's the point of this?"
"So pushy," he said, clicking his tongue in a way that threatened to make me see red. "We have plans tonight. That's why I brought you here."
Okay, no, that was what would make me see red. "Excuse me?"
"You're clear to go home whenever you need to in order to be ready to go by six this evening." The way he spoke was as if he didn't care whether or not I was okay with the plan. "We'll be going to Denver. There's a bag by the door with your outfit inside," he waved one hand toward a large shopping bag. I'll pick you up from your house."
"No," I scoffed.
"Please don't argue with me, Lottie. I've had a long day."
"You've had a long day? I've had a long day, you ass! I told you I didn't want to do this so soon. I told you this was a bad fucking idea," I snapped. "We agreed to do this my way."
"I'll have you know that I didn't agree to shit," he said, that horrible, angering smirk getting wider. "Were you too turned on to remember what happened clearly? I never agreed to wait. I gave you three days, be grateful."
"I hate you." I stood from the chair, the leather squeaking as my body left it. Turning to the door in a huff, I stomped my way over to it, hoping at least a spec of manure ended up on his clean white floor.
"I'll see you at six," he said. "And don't forget your bag."
With one last angry look at him, I snatched the bag from the floor and stormed out of his stupid office. I didn't know why I agreed to this, why I thought it would be a good idea. Sure, I was getting something out of it and so was Dana, but goddamn, was it worth dealing with him? Was it worth putting up with his shenanigans?
If I was going to get through this with my sanity intact, I needed to stand my ground and stop letting him give me orgasms.