Wild Ride: BBW Western Romance (Under Open Skies Saga Book 2) (19 page)

“
Shit, I did
n’
t mean to say that stuff about your dad, I thought you knew
.”
Hunter did
n’
t even come close to an apology, the way he ground out the words let her know that he was getting irritated
.“
It was a joke, I was bullshitting with my friend
.
”

“
It was
n’
t fucking funny, Hunter
.
”

“
You going to let me in, or am I going to stand out here all night
?”
The knocking stopped, she had to strain to hear him, but she knew that he was serious. He never said anything he did
n’
t mean.

“I’
m not sure. Would you really stand outside all night
?”
She was so tempted to make him stay out there, but it pulled at her heart strings. This man drove all the way here to appeal to her, he wanted in, and to be honest, she could stand to touch him again.

“
All damn night, and I would ensure that you did
n’
t get any sleep
,”
he threatened
.“
You know I am not lying, Kat. Let me in. Let me make this right
.
”

“
I emailed the board about a meeting. I need to sleep for it
.”
She hesitated. Letting him in meant that she would have to forgive him, and was
n’
t ready for that.

“
Well, then you better let me in
.
”

She huffed and then stomped over to the door, turning the dead bolt, and then the switch on the door. Kat opened it, to see him standing there, the rain pouring down on him, hitting the brim of his hat and soaking all of his clothing. Normally she would have felt bad, but not tonight. Tonight he deserved it.

“
Are you going to invite me in
?”
he asked, waiting for her to let him in off the stoop, a small stream of water hitting the bill of his hat from the roof. It was almost comical.

Almost.

Moving aside, Kat gave him room to walk in to the home. His large frame took up all the space in her hallway, soaking wet from the  night rain which left  his skin shining. She bit her lip, and tried to hold back the feelings that bumbled inside her. Her heart bucked at the thought of him. It didn't matter how angry she was with him, he was just so damn sexy that it made it hard to resist. But he got about himself, and he used that to his advantage. She had learned that much tonight.

“
Kat, I'm not sure what they told you, but I'm gonna guess it wasn't good. I tried to explain that that was me a long time ago. Thing
s’
ve been different since you've come around. I'm not the same man that I was even months ago. I shouldn't have to explain this to you. You should just trust me
.
”

“
It isn't just that, Hunter. I don't know you, I'd like to think I do, especially after all the time w
e’
ve been spending together, but I do
n’
t. Look, I'm in deep in this business, I need a man I can trust. How do I know that i
t’
s you
?
”

“
Have I ever lied to you? Kat, I've been there from the beginning trying to help you. It ain't like I've been running around doing shit behind your back. I'm not that kind of man, I think you know the kind man I am. Apparently I'm the kind that shows up at your house at two o'clock in the morning begging for your forgiveness for something I didn't even do on purpose
.”
He worked his fingers through his dark brown locks, look on his face saying he was more frustrated than anything else. She wondered who he was frustrated with: her or himself.

“
No, you haven't lied to me. In fact you've never been anything but genuine with me. I don't know what's wrong with me, Hunter. I just, I'm having trouble trusting you. I know that's my issue. I know that I'm the one who needs to work on that. Do you think you can forgive me
?
”

“
I don't know, are you going to keep going off with men that you barely even know asking them for a ride home
?”
His voice edged hard. He tried to stay calm, but Kat knew the fire boiling under his surface. Hunter was possessive of her.

Apart of her liked it.

The rest of her rebelled against it.

“
Cody was the perfect gentleman, He was quiet and polite and he didn't even ask me anything untoward
.
”

Hunter chuckled
,“
You know you're probably the only person I ever met that would use the word untoward in the sentence
?
”

“
Well apparently you don't meet a lot of people." She wasn't finished with him, He had to know that the way that he treated her was out of line
.“
Else you would
n’
t be in the habit of talking about a woman when she is standing right next to you. Or insulting her dead parents
.
”

“
I don't meet a lot like you, that's for sure
.”
The look in his eyes turned predatory. She knew exactly what was going to happen next, and it would be a lie to say that she was looking forward to it
.“I’
m sorry, Kat
.
”

“
If you did meet a lot of girls like me, would you have been the kind of guy who treats them to false promises and a one night stand
?
”

“
If it was a woman like you, I woul
d’
ve  grabbed on to her and never let her go
.
”

“
Is that what you intend to do now
?
”

“
Are you ready for that answer
?
”

“I…
no. No. Do
n’
t tell me
.
”

“
Well then, you better just help me out of these clothing before
I‘
catch my deat
h’
as my Nana used to say
.
”

She snorted and reached for his hat, grabbing it and throwing away from them, but before she could move on to his clothing he grabbed her and pulled her to him, his wet, cold body pressed tightly against her dry form. It was its own kind of punishment. She hated wet clothing, but she supposed it was one she deserved.

“I’
ll be honest. I expected more from Joh
n’
s daughter.
I’
m not all that happy with the state of the company
.”
A   face she never saw before glared at her as she sat down before the group of board members.

Kat had called the meeting, but she felt like she sentenced herself to something more. She planned to explain exactly what was happening with company money, and how she thought it was being funneled, but that plan quickly changed as she started getting railroaded from the two members she did
n’
t even know.

There were five of them, in all, including her. After learning about the silent partners, she researched them. Tried to pull up everything she could about them, but there was little more than a name and an address. Now, at least, she could do what her father always said was most important, look them in the eye.

Muriel, and Hank she knew, but Sarah, and Edward were completely foreign to her. She did
n’
t know them or even know that they were involved with the company until Hank explained exactly how the partnership worked.

They had very minimal say in the company, and got minimal profit, but they supplied some of the start up cost, either financially, or in ways that demanded a partnership.

Edward supplied a large investment at the startup of the company, and Murie
l’
s came in the form of labor, but she already knew that. This other woman, Sarah,  she never knew. Hell, her father never said anything about her at all. So when she asked Hank about her, he just said that she wa
s“
invaluable in our time of nee
d”
. Whatever the hell that meant.

Now she was staring at her, accusing her of mismanaging the company.

“
We are
n’
t getting the amount of advertisements we need to run the business, moral in the ranks is low, and the place is in shambles
.
”

“
It is hardly i
n
…
”
Hank started, but Sarah quickly interrupted.

“
Shambles
!
”

“
Ms. Harris
,”
Kat interjected, using her last name, rather than her first
.“
I can assure you that, while assuming control of the company has
n’
t been easy, especially in the wake of my fathe
r’
s death, I have done the absolute best that I can. I may have been dealing with a large amount of grief, but any child would be
.
”

She let that sink in, and then continued
,“
Especially when she lost her father, her rock. Now that I am through one of the stages of grieving, I am working to correct any errors that may have happened while he was indisposed, or while I was absent
.
”

“
There is no excuse for the amount of decline that this company has gone through, I have been speaking with Edward, and we have both decided that you simply do not have our confidence
.
”

“
What a minute
,”
Hank said, standing
.“
Since she has stepped up, Kathryn has come to the table with an open mind. She has listened to the riders, all of them. Gotten input from her managers. She knows what she is doing, and she went to college for this very thing. So what, if she has
n’
t had experience before this? She is the acting CEO, and she is doing a damn good job. We ai
n’
t wall street, we are a small business. And you need to give her time
.
”

“
He has a point, Sarah. Look, I know you care about this business. But there is no need to try and force a vote of no confidence, besides, it would
n’
t pass right now, anyways
.”
Muriel chimed in, her voice soft, but very direct
.“
I know she is doing the best that she can, I have heard it right from the ears of the workers. Since she has become more active, they are pleased with her. Do not try to divide us, not yet, not so soon after Joh
n’
s death
.
”

Sarah only huffed and crossed her arms
.“
Fine, but I want the situation monitored
.
”

“
I think that is more than reasonable
,”
Hank admitted, nodding as he looked over them.

“
Is this all you brought us here for? This it
?”
Edward smoothed over his greasy hair, the snide tone in his voice accentuated by the face he made. The way he looked at her made her want to cover up.

“
Anything else we need to discuss
?”
Hank asked, finally
.“
What was the business that you wanted to go over, Kat
?
”

“
I thought it important to meet the faces behind the company. That is all I was hoping to accomplish today
,”
she lied. There was no way she trusted Edward or Sarah. They both seemed too eager to grasp at power, and it left her with a bad taste in her mouth.

She had
n’
t expected the people that her father did business with to be this untrustworthy.

“
Well, if that is all, I really need to be going. I have a lot of things to do, and this is not the only business that I manage
.”
Sarah stood, pushing her chair in. With all the airs about her, you would think her an aristocrat from the Victorian area, rather than a lady from rural Ohio with too much arrogance.

“
My dear, you will be joining us at the dinner party next week? I sent an invitation by Hunter, but he can barely remember those things
.”
Muriel patted her on the shoulder, joining in the glaring of Ms. Harris as she walked away, unaware.

“
Party
?
”

“
Just a small get together, dressy casual. Nothing too fancy. Put a pretty summer dress on, and you will be good to go
.
”

“
Oh, okay. Sure
.
”

“
Great
.”
Muriel departed, along with Edward too, leaving her there with Hank.

Kat just nodded and blew out a sigh. She could really use a day at the lake.

“
What did you think you were going to accomplish, Kat? Really
.”
Hank asked when they were finally alone.

“
I wanted to tell the
m
…”

“
What, about the smuggling? You think they want to know now? Do you have evidence that it is
n’
t you doing it
?
”

“
No, bu
t
…”

“
But what? Those two would be happy to see you gone. Voted out, your shares divided. They trusted your father, but just barely. Just barely. What do you think would happen if you did
n’
t go to them without evidence
?
”

“
I did
n’
t thin
k
…”

“
No. No you did
n’
t
.”
It was a lot harsher of a response than she expected, especially coming from him. The man was as close to a father as she had , her mother certainly was
n’
t any help.

“
They could really vote me out
?”
she asked.

“
Did you even read your contract
?”
Hank admonished
.“
You can get a vote of no confidence, which would mean that you would be forced to sell your shares, or at the very least, give up temporary control of the company. It was the stipulation your father put into place, if things did
n’
t work out. Why do
n’
t you know this
?
”

“
I had my lawyers look over the contract, you know, separately from Dadd
y’
s. They said it was fine. I am sure they told me all this, but after his death, everythin
g…
everything was a whirlwind
.
”

“
Look, I know that this is
n’
t a huge business, but it is a really big one for the area. One of the largest employers in the area. It is important that you keep your wits about you. I know you lived with your mom off and on all these years, but surely your daddy taught you something
?”
Hank sighed and rubbed his hand over the back of his neck.