The Cowboy One

by Samantha Drake

  The Cowboy One

  The past comes rushing back to knock him off his feet.

  A sexy cowboy romance by Samantha Drake of BWWM Club.

  Billionaire Ethan Hunter had no idea his ex-girlfriend would be his new COO…

  So when she arrives for her first day at work, all his painful memories come along with her!

  Leila left Ethan Hunter heart-broken, bitter, and angry…

  But after finding herself in London, she’s ready to prove to him that she is ready to heal old wounds.

  And maybe even rekindle their romance!

  But can they start again from where they left off?

  Or is Ethan done with her for good?

  Find out in this emotional yet sexy romance by Samantha Drake of BWWM Club.

  Suitable for over 18s only due to jaw-droppingly hot sex scenes!

  Tip: Search BWWM Club on Amazon to see more of our great books.

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  Copyright © 2019 to Samantha Drake and AfroRomanceBooks.com. No part of this book can be copied or distributed without written permission from the above copyright holders.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

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  Chapter 1

  Ethan played with the pen in hand, his finger constantly sliding over the small red button on top. The glasses he wore slid on the bridge of his nose. Hi hair was a mess, although he had desperately tried to keep it nice and tidy for the meeting he was soon to have. Sighing, he flipped the page of the file he was reading, his eyes closed for a second as he tried to see if the data he had just read had actually been processed by his brain. Most of it had been there, which was a good thing. He was about to have one of the most important meetings of his life. He needed to be prepared.

  Slowly, he reached for the nearly empty mug of cold coffee while his eyes diverted to look at the clock. The conference was supposed to start soon, but his secretary was still to announce that the other party had arrived. He hoped they wouldn’t be late. If there was one thing Ethan hated, it was waiting. He was known for firing people just because of their poor punctuality.

  He was about to reach for his phone and call the driver he sent to the airport when the door to his office suddenly opened. His secretary came rushing inside. She was holding tightly the tablet; his schedule was brightly displayed on the screen. As she approached his desk, Ethan dropped the papers he had been holding, and proceeded to take off his glasses, already annoyed by the feeling it left behind.

  “The driver just called, our English partners are coming up. The conference room is already prepared.” Susan said, without even the slightest bit of introduction. “Oh, and I prepared those articles you requested.”

  “Wow. If you keep working this hard, I fear you will threaten my position soon.” Ethan chuckled.

  Susan smiled, but regained her stiff posture again. She was indeed the best secretary anyone could ask for. In fact, she was a bit too good for his business. She deserved to be in higher places, in a company as big as the Hunter Corporation. Truth be told, he had thought about sending her off to his nephew a few times. But then refrained from it. He was a bit selfish. He wasn’t always present at the office, and she was the only person who could take his place.

  “I heard the COO is actually from around here.” Susan said as they walked down the hallway.

  “That can be in our advantage. Maybe his knowledge of the place will make this merge easier.”

  “Her.” Susan corrected.

  The conference room was just around the corner, not far from his office. It was a spacious room, with windows all around. The view was mesmerizing too, a clear image of Pierre. It was summer, so the city was alive. The trees and green areas were blooming with vivid colors. The tall dusty buildings constantly bathing in the bright sun. All of it was visible from the conference room, located on the fifteenth floor of one of the highest buildings in the city.

  “You know, I keep thinking,” he heard Susan say, “do we really need this merge? I heard it can be dangerous.”

  Ethan sighed and nodded. He had asked that question many times before. He didn’t like the idea much either. He had had his own concept, his own vision when he opened the large chain of restaurants. Back then, he believed it was all brilliant, that his empire will survive for many, many years. But people are sometimes wrong.

  “We do. Jerry’s restaurants are killing the business.” He sighed, “We need a new concept to attract the customers.” Ethan said, “Merging with a European restaurant will give our business a breath of fresh air.”

  He said everything with confidence. But in reality, he was not so sure. He knew that the plan was good. Theoretically, he was bound to save his decreasing sales, and once again dominate the field. But there is always a variable in the plan. Things don’t always go as planned. And that fact scared him. He knew that he was standing on shaky grounds, that one small mistake could cost him his sponsors and clients. All his hard work could vanish with the blink of an eye.

  “Anyway, let’s just wait and see what the English have to offer before we talk about it further.”

  “Speak of the devil.”

  He didn’t need to look behind him to know what his secretary meant. It was obvious that his new partners had arrived. Slowly, he took in a deep breath, and stood up. He ran a hand through his hair, but from Susan’s gaze he could tell there was no way he could fix the mess on top of his head. He had no idea why he was so nervous. He had done it before. He had attended more meetings than he could remember. Was his anxiousness due to the merge, or was it due to the weird feeling in the pit of his gut?

  The sound of heels was the most prominent; it matched the pattern of the other sound of steps. The sound echoed, it approached them swiftly and definitely. By the time he turned the three people he had been expecting had reached the door. He heard Susan greet them, he heard the two men speak, and their heavy accents lingering in the air even after the words had been spoken. He felt them shake his hand and mention how much they loved the building. He was aware of everything going on around him, but he couldn’t react to any of them.

  Ethan remained motionless, his eyes glued to the woman in front of him. His lips may have been parted, silence and years of unspoken thoughts lingering on them. For a second, he wondered if he was dreaming, or if he had finally gone mad. It all seemed far more plausible than what was actually happening.

  The pair of blue eyes were like a dagger through his heart, reopening painful wounds that he had worked so hard to close. Years’ worth of memories played at the back of his head, making seconds feel like hours. Images of sleepless nights and restless days washed over him, like a chorus of whispers and voices.

  His mind was split into half. Half of him wanted nothing more than to grab that woman, to pull her aside and utter all those unspoken words he had had to swallow. That part still yearned for her, still wished to feel her lips on his. The other half of him so
ught revenge for the betrayal that had been inflicted on him. It urged him to hurt her, to show her how worthless she was.

  He chose to listen to the last voice.

  He regained his posture in a couple of moments, a welcoming smile now tugging at the corners of his lips. He extended his hand without even realizing, his eyes now indifferent, lacking the intense emotions that had previously tainted them.

  “I’m Ethan Hunter, a pleasure to meet you all!” He greeted, as he shook Leila’s hand. “Please, have a seat. Suzan will order us all some coffee.”

  Despite the churning feeling in his stomach, and the pounding in his heart, he was acting all cool. There was no trace of those emotions on his face. No one could ever guess the storm that was ravishing him from inside. Leila seemed to be taken aback by his reaction. He was more than sure that from all the reactions she had envisioned this was not one of them.

  “I hope the accommodations suited you.”

  “Yes, the hotel is truly splendid. Right in the middle of the city.” It was the redhead that spoke.

  While everyone sat down, Suzan left to get the coffees. From the corner of his eyes he saw Leila sit beside the two men. The more he saw her, the more he couldn’t believe in his eyes. Years had passed since he last saw her, since he even heard her name, and now, there she was. She did not only return, she was there as a COO, and as a future business partner.

  Ethan wandered if life was simply willing to play with him.

  “Is anyone else going to join us?” Her voice was just as he remembered, familiar and soothing. But while her voice once brought calmness to his soul, it now gave birth to a hurricane.

  “Not really. We can proceed. The CEO and I have talked a lot about the project, I am curious to see what the final terms are.”

  Indeed, emails had been going to and forth for months now. The CEO had even asked him a few times if it was okay for him to continue discussing with the COO. Ethan had rejected the idea. If only he had agreed. He didn’t know how things would be, but surely, he wouldn’t be as confused as he was now.

  For the next couple of minutes, he saw another side of Leila. He saw her in the position of a business woman. He presented all the ideas, spoke without even sparing the papers a single glance. As she introduced their proposal, she spoke with a confidence that exceeded any expectation. She was beyond the level of the other two men she had brought along. Her knowledge and skills were by far among the best he had ever seen.

  At some point, Ethan forgot about all the hurt and hate and mixed emotions. But that had only lasted for a few seconds. Although he admired her; although deep inside he was proud to see the person Leila had become, he couldn’t step on his pride and fury that easily.

  Indeed, the proposal was incredibly good. They fit his vision, and the restaurant’s perspective. He should have accepted it right there and then. There was not even the slightest of reasons for him to reject it or even take his time to think about it. Still, there was no place for logic in his head now. Anger was far louder than his will to reinvent his restaurant.

  “Well, I don’t know what to say.” He finally said, “I think I’ll have to think about it. How about we call you in a few days?”

  Shock, that would be the right way to describe the emotion on everyone’s face. From beside him, Suzan nudged him gently, probably wondering if he had lost his mind. Leila and the other two men, who had been quiet for half the meeting, stared at him with wide eyes and parted lips.

  “Mr. Hunter, we practically agreed to all your terms and conditions. Our team came up with a plan that compliments your restaurant’s plan perfectly.” Ethan saw fire in her eyes. It was the same fire he had once loved dearly.

  “La-Ms. Daniels, I don’t know how you do things in England, but here, we like to think about things before we take a major step. I talked to your CEO and he doesn’t expect an answer immediately.” Ethan wondered if everyone could feel the bitterness in his tone. They probably just thought it was all a part of a snobby rich character.

  “What my boss means, is that he needs to talk to our investors too. We will meet with them first thing in the morning, and I will communicate the result with you.”

  Suzan was uttering pure lies by now. There was no meeting with the investors, he had already presented the plan to them and had agreed to things if the terms remained that way. She was only trying to save his butt.

  Suzan was already on her feet, her heel digging on the tip of his shoe, urging him to get out now, before he made a major mistake. As he stood up, Ethan made sure to make eye contact with Leila. Half of him wanted her to know he was taking revenge on her. He wanted her to know that if she lost the deal it would all be because of her. Of course, it would have been much wiser to go with the initial plan and act indifferent towards her.

  “It was a pleasure to finally meeting you,” he said, before he rushed towards the door.

  He could hear the wave of whispers that he left behind, the chorus of disapprovals directed towards his character. He wondered if she was looking after him, he itched to turn back and look. His pride had been louder than that will.

  “What the hell was that?” Suzan said once they were in his office.

  It was in moments like that that he hated how close he was with his secretary. The friendship they had left room for questions, and in that moment, he didn’t exactly feel like sharing old stories with a friend. Sighing, he lounged on the little couch by the coffee table, covering his eyes with his hand.

  “It’s a long story.”

  “What would any story have to do with the deal? Ethan, I’ve known you for five years now, you never acted so snobby and impulsive” he felt Suzan’s voice like a hammer against his skull.

  His blood was boiling beneath the thin layer of his skin, he knew if he stuck around Suzan will finally push the right button and he would say something he would probably regret. Picking a fight was the least thing he wanted. So, before he could do anything stupid, he stood up and walked past Suzan, his hands tugging at the tie around his neck.

  “Cancel my other appointments. I’m leaving for the day.”

  *****

  The taste of the alcohol was bitter. It burnt down his throat, luring his thoughts deeper into darkness. The smell of hay and horse filled his nostrils, calming him down. It was dark, and the horses had been locked in the barn a long time ago, but the smell still persisted.

  The sky was clear, a few stars twinkling against the blank canvas. The sound of crickets was loud too, thanks to the excluded location of his ranch. It was in moments like that that he thanked himself even more for living in such a place. His ranch was at a considerable distance from the city, away from the loudness of the traffic and the blinding lights of compacted buildings. He was surrounded by nature, and the calmness of the scenario helped him to gather his messed-up thoughts.

  He sighed, tilted the bottle of rum and took another sip from it. His high alcohol tolerance was giving him a headache. He wanted to be drunk already, to succumb to darkness and forget the bright blue eyes that had turned his life upside down. But no matter how many sips he took, his mind remained wide awake, still playing images of an unforgotten past.

  “Someone isn’t in a good mood.” Alec said from beside him.

  Ethan didn’t bother to turn and look at the man; instead he sighed and nodded, doubting he even saw it. From the corner of his eyes, he saw him sit down on one of the hay bales beside him. Alec didn’t bother to ask for the bottle, instead he grabbed it from Ethan’s hand, ignoring the sound of protests.

  “What’s going on? You look like you’re about to die” he said as he swung the bottle, taking a big gulp of the bitter liquid.

  If Ethan had been completely sober, he would have ignored the question. There was no point in sharing information with a man he had just got to know weeks before. But, given the circumstances, there was a fair amount of alcohol running in his bloodstream, and while the quantity had been less than enough to get him drunk, it could st
ill make him tipsy and out of control.

  There was a long moment of silence that stretched between the two men. During this time, Ethan pondered on where he should start. His thoughts were all over the place, random memories calling out his name. Of course, the loudest of them was his last and final memory of Leila. It was probably the most important one too.

  “About ten years ago, when I opened the second restaurant, a girl came looking for a job. She was an orphan, going through her first year of college.” Ethan knew he was giving unnecessary details, but he couldn’t stop himself from spilling them out. “Of course, she got the job. Back then, I used to spend a lot of time there, making sure everything was going according to plan. One thing led to another and we started dating. Of course, everyone was against it. Every single family member and friend opposed our relationship. People called her names, accused her of seducing the young billionaire heir. But for a while, we went through it.”

  The memories were dancing through his heart. They pierced through it, making him ache. Many were the nights where he had cried to them, many were the nights where he had wished them all gone. They were all an agony even after so many years had passed by. Ethan had never been a sentimental man, he didn’t get attached easily, nor did he care when people walked away. But Leila was a whole different matter.

  No matter how much he tried to convince himself, no matter how much he forced his heart and mind, he could never truly forget her. He had tried replacing her, hating her, blaming her. Nothing had worked. Of course, at some point the heartache became only an echo, it was there but it didn’t have such an impact on him. But seeing her again, it brought it all back.

  “And?”

  “It turned out our love wasn’t enough for her. One day I just simply woke up to a note from her saying she couldn’t take it anymore, that she couldn’t have people think of her so lowly.”

  “But why bring it up all of a sudden?”

  Ethan snorted at the question. He reached for the bottle of rum and took a big gulp out of it while he stared back into the distance.