Page 5 of Cream

“You would, would you?” Her eyes flare. Does she know what I’m talking about? She does, doesn’t she?

“I sure would. But not here.”

“Not here?”

“No. We’d have to go out back to the paddock office. It’s just one building over.” My eyes tell the whole tale, and it all sinks in. Luna understands.

There’s a moment’s hesitation. She’s nervous, and she should be. Her father buys from me, and he’s sent her here to handle the purchase orders for his company. If things go wrong and this goes sideways, she could blow up more than just her own job.

Just then, the door behind me opens, and Jacob, my main shipping and processing manger, comes striding in. He does not look happy.

“Problem?” I ask.

“You could sure say that,” he grumbles, flipping through the touchscreen pad in his hands. “Major screwup with our recent order. We were supposed to send twenty pallets over to Fischer and sixty to Jason. But somehow out computer system screwed up–or Dwayne screwed up and I’ll be kicking his ass later–and we sent twenty to Fischer and only forty to Jason and the last twenty to Blue Waters.”

“So Fischer’s gonna be short twenty.”

Jacob nods angrily. “And you know how Fischer gets when he’s shorted–”

“Jacob, take a breath,” I reply. “Call Townsend. Tell them one of our machines broke down and we’re backed up. Tell him we won’t have his order until next week. Take his twenty and send them to Fischer. Townsend won’t mind anyway. He’s a nice guy.”

Jacob looks up from his tablet and smiles. “Nice one, boss. Smart move.”

I pat Jacob on the back to reassure him.

“Hop to. Make sure Fischer knows we’re on it and he’ll be getting his order as usual.”

Jacob grabs his phone from his pocket and races off. When I turn back to Luna, I see her nodding at me, an impressed look on her face.

“I guess you really do know how to run a farm.”

“We wouldn’t still be here if I didn’t.” I smirk.

“I gotta say. It’s a bit of a turn-on watching a man boss other men around.”

Oh, yeah. This is working.

“Is it now? You get that from growing up watching your dad break balls at his company?”

Luna gasps–a legitimate gasp, not a playful, flirtatious gasp. She steps back, and I burst out laughing.

“What!?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Was that too far?”

“Yes!” She practically yelps. “Insinuating I have some kind of Oedipus complex! That I want to sleep with my dad–”

“Whoa, I wasn’t saying that!” I cut her off. “That’s disgusting!” I make an over-the-top grossed-out face just to mess with her. “Now who’s the pervert?”

Luna’s jaw drops even farther, and she takes another step back, taking this all in, processing. I let my smile creep larger and finally give her a reassuring wink. It works, and she lets out a deep breath, and I watch as her body relaxes as the tightness flows out of her.

“Asshole.” She smiles.

I raise my thumb and forefinger in front of my face, a centimeter gap between them, and grin. “Maybe just a little.”

“Well, all right, asshole,” she says, straightening herself. “Was that invitation for your special cream just a joke too? Should I leave now? Because I do have more work to get done today, you know? I can’t just be hanging around your farm until sunset.”

I have to stop myself from jumping her right then and there.

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