Of course, Sonja couldn’t resist trying to coax details about her sexy encounter with Harper last night, but she refused to give out any naughty specifics.
“All she can tell you is that it was intense and I’m going to have a tough time concentrating on work when he’s nearby.”
“You won’t be able to concentrate. How do you think I feel?” came a voice from behind her.
It was playful, but Claire suddenly felt her heart fall into her feet. She turned to see Harper standing behind her on the sidewalk, smiling at her with that same smile that continued to melt her. Once again, she told Sonja she had to go and ended the call.
“Are you stalking me?”
Claire tried to recover from her obvious mortification with a playful accusation. How much had he overheard and why was he behind her? How long had he been following her?
“No. Are you stalking me? I mean, you are on the same sidewalk that I’m on,” he replied.
His smirk was widening and Claire couldn’t decide if she wanted to wipe it from his face with the backside of her hand or cover it with her lips.
“I didn’t realize you were leaving right after I did.” It was all she could think of to say. It was a public sidewalk and Claire had no way of knowing he would be headed in the same direction right behind her.
Had it been purposeful or was it coincidence? Hadn’t he made it clear he intended to maintain a professional relationship and forget last night ever happened? It wasn’t as if Claire had any choice but to maintain a business relationship with him at this point.
“I tell you what. You had a great first day. How about I buy you a drink to celebrate?”
“No.”
“No? Turning down the boss for a mere congratulatory drink?”
“I just don’t think we should put ourselves in awkward situations. Today was awkward enough.”
“Granted it was quite a surprise, but we are both adults. We’re going to have to get past it and being social is a very big part of the advertising business. You’ll be called upon to socialize with clients often. Most people think your job operates sort of on the back end, but I prefer that you be involved, hear what the clients want first hand.”
“That is all well and good, but there are no clients to be out with tonight.”
“That is correct. There is only a boss asking his new employee out for an innocent drink to show his thanks for her arduous work today. Nothing more, nothing less.”
“I just think it best that we don’t, not so soon after last night.”
“Playing hard to get. I get it. Okay. We’ll maintain our distance so you can concentrate on work.”
The disappointment wasn’t hard to discern in his voice and the way he was looking at her was enough to make any woman putty in his hands, but she wasn’t going to let him diminish her resolve with those baby blues. Why was he doing this, anyway? He’d already been clear about not mixing business with pleasure.
“Very good. I’m going to get back to my hotel then. It’s a bit of a hike.”
“Let me at least walk with you. I have my mind on a drink and I rather liked that little rooftop bar of your hotel.” He didn’t seem to be implying anything other than what he was saying.
“That would be nice of you, but I’m going to be blunt and admit that the last thing I need to do is be alone with you, even on a public sidewalk, or tempted to invite you to my room again.”
There, Claire had said it. Round two was too big a risk for her to take and if she were given the opportunity, she might forget that.
“Understood and I’ll respect that. I told you that I don’t mix business with pleasure, so you are perfectly safe from me. So, let’s be on our way, shall we?”
“That would be very nice of you. Thanks,” she said, resigned to letting him walk with her and parting ways once they arrived on her floor, where he continued on up toward the bar.
Later, back in her room and taking a nap on the bed, Claire dreamed about how he had felt the night before, awakening with a fine bead of perspiration all over her body and an ache that wouldn’t go away until she took matters into her own hands, relieving the built-up longing with her trembling fingers.
Chapter 11
The following week seemed to roll around quickly, too quickly. Harper had to go out of town on business, so it gave her a nice break from the way he made her hormones surge. The closest to him Claire had to be was our daily meetings to discuss ad placement ideas and the ads themselves over Skype.
Claire couldn’t help but notice how gorgeous he looked in a soft blue shirt that only enhanced his beautiful eyes further in our latest meeting where she was giving him an idea for the graphics on his latest campaign.
“So, what do you think, Harper?”
“It’s brilliant work, Claire, but I don’t think it is really what I’m looking for. I know you are great at what you do, but it just seems too flashy for the kind of customers we’ll be addressing. We need something that says these products are just as organic as sticking these animals out in a healthy pasture and that the systems are so simple that anyone can use them.”
Claire noted that his brow was furrowed, as if he was thinking maybe he had made a mistake in choosing her, after all.
“I approached them as a more intricate system to show what brilliance went into their design. If you look at the schematics you gave me for them, they are complex machinery designed to make a task simpler and I wanted to relay that in the ads. The feed itself is prime, not exactly kudzu.”
Claire realized she was defending her ideas instead of listening to what he wanted, but she couldn’t help herself. He might be a high-powered CEO ad exec, but she was the graphics expert. That was why she had been hired.
“Do you even know what kudzu is?”
There was a little laugh as he said it that made her feel a bit like he was mocking her lack of knowledge about such things, but she quickly realized she had just been doing the same to him when it came to advertising.
“Okay. You got me. I wouldn’t know kudzu from sage. Perhaps I do need to go back to the drawing board.”
It was exasperating to think about that after all the long hours Claire had put into this the past week to show him that she was more than just a roll in the hay.
“It’s not that they are bad ideas and they might even work in some places, but the primary message we need to get across from these products is simplicity. Farmers and ranchers don’t have time to deal with a bunch of parts that might break. The emphasis should be not on what is inside of these gadgets, but how they improve feeding time for them. When they see an ad for premium ingredients, they see dollar signs and chemicals, so we have to offset that with getting across how inexpensive and natural they are.”
“Okay. I get it. Keep it simple stupid.”
Claire didn’t feel as offended as she had a moment ago because she was beginning to see the brilliance of what he was trying to impart. He was right and she wasn’t sure how she could have missed the boat with the ad graphics she had outlined.
Additionally, she could see just how clever he really was. This was no ordinary simpleton on the other side of her webcam. He was attractive, smart and shrewd…not to mention an utterly fantastic kisser and fantastic in the sack, something she kept trying to forget, but didn’t quite seem to be able to do.
“Exactly.”
Claire wasn’t sure if he was responding to what she had said or reading her mind, but it was applicable in both cases.
“I think it would really help me to see these things in action. Can you maybe rig up a cam to let me watch one next time they are feeding or perhaps videotape it and send it to me?”
“I could, but I have a better idea. How about you take a little field trip up here and watch one first hand? It’s only a couple of hours away. I can send a car service for you.”
“Oh, no. I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
The last thing Claire needed was a trip to the country where she
would be alone with him in some rinky dink motel. Even in separate quarters, it might be too close for comfort.
“Come on. I don’t bite…hard. It’s strictly a working trip. They have guest cottages here and I am sure I can wrangle you one. Some fresh air will do you good. It will be just like being back at home or have you already become such a city girl that you can’t handle visiting a farm upstate?”
“Never.”
“Exactly. So, live a little. You can see the products first hand. I think it will give you a whole new idea of how to approach this from an advertising standpoint.”
Claire thought about it for a moment. It wasn’t something she wouldn’t do if her boss were anyone else, so why punish him because she couldn’t control her hormones around him?
“Okay. When is an appropriate time for me to come?”
“I’ll call the car service now and you can be on your way first thing in the morning.”
“Sounds good. How long should I plan on staying?”
“Pack for a week. Once we are done here, I have somewhere else I want you to go with me, another client. Also, I’m looking forward to seeing you.”
Claire couldn’t help but think his words carried more meaning than what they seemed, but she left it at that. Despite any reservations she might have, this would be an interesting trip in more ways than one. She closed her computer and went home to pack.
Her thoughts were so conflicted between what she wanted, what was best and whether he was having the same issue as her when it came to keeping his distance. No doubt a week traveling together would answer that question. Her thoughts were disrupted as she heard a commotion from his administrative assistant’s desk and walked out to see what was going on.
“Where is he?” the woman at the desk demanded.
“As I told you, he’s out of town on business.”
“Business? What’s her name?”
“Sandra, I’m going to have to ask you to leave. Please don’t make me call security again this time.”
“Call them! I don’t care.”
The woman turned toward Claire, seeming to suddenly realize her presence.
“And who are you? My replacement? How long did it take him to get in your skirt?”
Claire looked at her wordlessly as the assistant picked up the phone and called security. By the time they arrived only minutes later, she was screeching at Claire about how he would use and discard her just as he had her. The woman was much like a deer in the headlights as they carted her away.
Finally, Claire made her way back to her office and retrieved her things. It seemed there were things about her boss she didn’t know, but she might have just gotten a first-hand account of why he didn’t mix business with pleasure. Claire wondered what other secrets Harper Tanger held close to the vest.
Chapter 12
“Samuel, I don’t know why you are calling me. You and I have nothing to say to one another.”
Claire couldn’t believe that he had the audacity to contact her after all this time, after what he had done. It was like sitting in salt water only to feel the sting in a wound that had been forgotten, but is not quite healed. The last person she had expected to hear on the other end when she answered her cell phone had been him.
“Claire, please just listen to me…”
His voice sounded urgent and she was tempted to hear what he had to say. The memory of how we had left things wouldn’t allow her to give him even that. Claire wasn’t falling for any sympathy ploys from him.
“No. I stopped listening to you the moment I walked into your apartment and found you balls deep in your bimbo neighbor. Don’t call me anymore.”
Claire ended the call on her cell and then blocked his number so he couldn’t call again. Her heart was pounding from just the sound of his voice. She had loved him and he had betrayed her. It was something she would let him do twice. The phone rang again. A different number. Was he calling from another phone?
“Hello?” Claire wondered if her voice sounded as annoyed as she felt right now.
“Miss Ronson? This is your driver. I’m downstairs. Do you need assistance with your luggage?”
“No, no. I’ll be right down.”
Claire looked around the apartment one last time and tried to shake the phone call from Samuel. No way was she going to let it hang over her like a dark cloud while she was away. She fully intended to wow the new client with an ad campaign he could be proud of and she needed her wits about her to impress someone like him.
“Miss Ronson?”
It was the driver again as she stepped out the front doors of the apartment building with her bags.
“Yes.”
Claire eyed the sleek Mercedes sitting at the curb. Harper was certainly not lacking in class. He had sent only the best to transport her the two hours or so it would take to get to the farm in upstate New York.
“Steve Burkett. I’ll be driving you today.”
Claire accepted the man’s hand that was offered, shaking it briefly as he stepped back to open the door for her to enter the vehicle.
“I’ll put your bags in the trunk,” he told her.
“Thank you.”
Claire slipped into the rear door and onto the cool black leather seats. She had not come from money, so this was an extravagance to her. Her father was a master plumber and her mother was a history teacher. They were average middle-class parents who did okay for themselves where they still lived in Tennessee. No one in her home town owned a car like this, much less could afford having a driver chauffeur them for several hours to another town in one.
The ride to Poughkeepsie was peaceful enough with the tranquil music being piped in from the front of the car. Her thoughts ran the gamut from wondering why Samuel had called her out of the blue to what she should expect when she arrived at Taylor’s ranch. Looking at her phone, she could see where the auto block had kicked several more calls from Samuel to the curb. She was feeling very anxious By the time the car arrived at its destination, her hands all but shook and she felt ill.
“Miss Ronson?”
Claire was pretty sure her last name had not been used this formally, this much, in a long time. More likely, it had never been used so much at all.
“Yes, I’m Claire Ronson.”
Claire looked the woman speaking up and down. If there was a model for the stereotypical farmer’s daughter, this girl was it. Her blonde hair was separated into two braids and she wore a cowboy hat on top of her head. Her skin-tight jeans were tucked into a pair of well-worn cowboy boots and the buttons that ran up her denim shirt seemed hard pressed to hold in the contents of her ample chest. She had to wonder what exactly this woman did for Taylor on the ranch.
“Hi, I’m Alexandria Turner, Taylor’s sister. He asked me to fetch you if he and Mr. Tanger were still at the barn when you arrived. Let’s get you settled into the guest house.”
“Oh, great. Thank you.”
Claire felt embarrassed about her previous assumptions as Alexandria helped her with her bags and led the way toward a small rustic looking cabin that sat to one side of the immense house. It was hard not to be taken in by the large white columns and balconies of the massive home designed in a plantation style more often found in the south than a New York ranch.
“I’ll let you get settled in,” Alexandria said, after showing her where everything was in the guest house and departing.
Claire made quick work of it and stepped out onto the small patio out back. The view was breathtaking. Everything was all green and there was a faint smell of roses in the air. Looking to one side, she saw the trailing roses that climbed up one side of the cabin. She had seen them elsewhere as she had followed Alexandria in.
“Well, hello there, Claire. Don’t you look lovely in your boots and jeans? Did you get those at Niemen Marcus?” she heard a voice say from behind her and turned to find herself greeted by the gorgeous smile of Taylor Turner.
He was quite a sight in his faded jeans, boots and w
ork shirt that read “Tea Rose Ranch.” Claire had thought it an odd name for a ranch until she had arrived, met Alexandria and seen the beautiful tea roses that seemed to grow everywhere. It was now her guess that the sister named the ranch.
“No, I’ve had them for a while,” she replied. “I’m not exactly a Niemen Marcus sort of girl. I am from Tennessee, after all.”
“I see. Well, I thought we could start with a tour of the ranch and then grab some lunch in town. Your associate will be here in a moment. He seems to have stepped in something he found unpleasant. Do you like sushi?”
“Yes.” Claire found herself laughing a little at the thought of Harper having accidentally planted one of his expensive Italian loafers in a pile of cow manure. It was all she managed to say, caught off guard a bit at the suggestion of going out for sushi. It was hardly the sort of meal she would have thought would appeal to someone like Taylor.
“All right, let’s get going then,” Harper interjected from a nearby doorway. Claire skirted past him, her stomach aflutter again just from being near him. He reached for her hand and stopped her, sending a familiar jolt of excitement down her spine. His fingers brushed the collar of her shirt as he leaned in toward her, a soft smile on his face, reaching behind her neck.
He was going to kiss her again. Oh, God! she couldn’t move. It was a bad idea. Claire knew it, but now that she was here, she didn’t know if she could resist the temptation. She heard a soft pop and he pulled away.
“You forgot to take the tag from your old shirt,” he whispered as he handed it to her with a familiar smirk.
Her anticipation of the kiss was quickly replaced by the hot flush that spread up her face. How could she have forgotten something as simple as removing the tags?
“Th-thanks.” It was all she could manage. Thankfully, he didn’t plan on prolonging her embarrassment, instead letting Taylor know he was ready to get going.
“All right, let’s get this tour started. We’ll start with the house and living quarters for guests. They are cleaner than the barn…won’t get your new boots as dirty,” Taylor said from nearby.
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