Home on the Ranch: Colorado. Julie Benson

rushed back. They’d met at Harvard, and he, young idealistic fool that he’d been, had fallen madly in love. They’d made plans for a future together, or least he thought they had.

      He’d believed Melissa loved him enough to follow him to Colorado. When she accepted his proposal she’d agreed to live with him on the ranch, but the closer the wedding date loomed on the calendar, the more she waffled, until she finally admitted she’d changed her mind. She wanted him to move to Boston instead, and if he wouldn’t the engagement was off.

      Now here he sat across the table from another bossy city woman, and apparently Lizzie thought him a complete idiot. What did she expect him to say when she announced the client wanted to throw their deal out the window and renegotiate?

      Sure, you can screw me over. I’ll let you.

      No way would he roll over and play dead. He wouldn’t go down without one helluva fight. Not when his mom’s life was at stake.

      Rory carefully folded his napkin and placed it on the table. A deal was a deal. “I specifically asked you what this job would pay, and you told me thirty thousand. If there was a chance the job would pay less, that was the time to tell me.”

      Elizabeth paled.

      Good. No way would he make this comfortable or easy for her.

      “In my own defense, I discussed the issue with Devlin, and thought we were clear on this.” She shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “Yesterday was the first time he mentioned not wanting to pay you that amount.”

      “He needs to honor our agreement, and so do you.”

      Rory prided himself on conducting his business honestly and above reproach. Obviously, Devlin possessed fewer scruples.

      “While you and I had discussed your monetary compensation, until a contract is signed there isn’t a formal agreement in place with the client, and renegotiation is possible.”

      “Is this how he does business?”

      “I’ve never had a problem like this with him before.”

      “I’m just lucky then.”

      “I don’t blame you for being upset.”

      He couldn’t let her know how important this job was to him, but he couldn’t let her and Devlin screw him on the deal, either. “I’m past upset. I’m about ready to tell the guy to go to hell.”

      “Then we’ll both be out of a job.”

      “And Devlin will be out of a spokesperson.” Rory leaned back in his chair. “He’ll have to start his search all over.”

      “Everybody loses then. What good does that do?”

      “It’ll make me feel damn good. I won’t play the fool.”

      “No one is doing that. This is a business decision. You have to prove to Devlin that you’ll increase sales enough to justify what he’s paying you. If you had modeling experience, you could point to previous campaigns, and what they’d done for the company.”

      “Just because I don’t have the numbers to prove it doesn’t mean I won’t bring in money.”

      “I agree. In fact, I’m banking on that very fact, but Micah Devlin is a numbers man. If he can’t see it on paper, it doesn’t exist.”

      “Is this a deal breaker for Devlin?”

      “I honestly don’t know, but it very well could be. He mentioned that cowboys had to be a dime a dozen.”

      “I don’t see a whole lot of them in New York City.” Rory waved his arm around the room. “You see a lot of cowboys here?”

      “I tried all these arguments with Devlin. Between you and me, and if you mention this to anyone I’ll deny it, I don’t agree with what he’s doing.”

      “But here you are, asking me to work for less.”

      “Devlin Designs is my client. I have to respect the CEO’s wishes.” Her finger drew lines in the condensation on her water glass. “If you want to keep your job, the best thing to do is agree to Devlin’s demands.”

      “I’ve met this kind of businessman before. He doesn’t care who he plows over as long as the deal works out well for him.”

      “Help me out here.” Elizabeth leaned forward and placed her small hand on his forearm.

      Her simple touch sent off shock waves through his system stronger than a kick from an unbroken horse, momentarily sending him into a giant fog.

      “I sense we both want to find a solution to this problem,” she continued. “I don’t want to see you get screwed, but Devlin’s met with other agencies. He could go with someone else.”

      “I can’t take less money.” If Rory gave in now, Devlin would try to screw him again somewhere down the road. “I do more than give tours. I breed horses. Sometimes on paper a foal doesn’t look like he’ll be anything out of the ordinary. Then when I work with him I see something special, something I can’t put a finger on. You know those intangibles you were talking about.”

      She nodded.

      “When I come across a horse like that, I’m going to drive a hard bargain when I sell him. What I’m saying is I’m an experienced horse trader. No one’s going to take advantage of me.”

      * * *

      AT NINE-FIFTY the next morning, Elizabeth met Rory in the agency reception area and ushered him to her office, closing the door behind them. A night of worry and anger threatened to choke her. “Please tell me you’ve changed your mind about your salary demands.”

      Rory shook his head. “The man told you he’d pay me thirty. That’s what you told me. A deal’s a deal.”

      She hated stubborn men. She ought to put Rory and Devlin in a room and let them fight it out, because she’d had enough of both of them.

      “There’s nothing I can do to talk you out of this?”

      “Nope.”

      She reminded herself to breathe. Maybe when faced with Rory’s defiance, Devlin would back down.

      Sure, and as Chloe often said, pigs would fly.

      At least Rory was dressed like the cowboy spokesman Devlin wanted. He wore the same navy shirt he’d worn when they’d met, plus his boots and his royal flush belt buckle. “I’m glad you had the common sense to wear the client’s jeans.”

      “Don’t give up, Lizzie.” He reached out to her, but at the last minute pulled back and shoved his hand in his pocket. “You might be surprised how this meeting turns out.”

      His smooth, cool voice wrapped around her, and the confidence in his eyes almost had her believing him. Wait a minute. How could he remain this calm and collected unless he was up to something?

      “Tell me you don’t have some harebrained scheme planned.”

      “Would I do that?”

      “I don’t know you well enough to answer that question.” Elizabeth shook her head. “No, that’s not true. I suspect you’d try just about anything to get your way.”

      “Harebrained ideas aren’t my style.”

      These two men were going to kill her. Either that or drive her completely insane if she didn’t rein them in. But before she could respond, her office phone buzzed. She reached around Rory, grabbed her phone and answered the inside line.

      After ending the call, she picked up her Netbook off her desk. “Devlin’s waiting. Don’t try anything we’ll both regret. He’s a very astute businessman and doesn’t like to be questioned.”

      “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

      “I recognize sarcasm