Page 16 of Wild Scottish Beauty

Ramsay

Ididn’t have time for this.

Or at least that was what I was telling myself. Somewhere along the way as a business owner, I’d learned that there were times when it was easier if I just cracked on with doing things myself. And this was one of those times. No way in hell was I allowing Willow to work in my shop.

I already had enough distractions as it was.

Checking my watch, I strode to the long table that hugged one wall of the workroom tucked behind my shop and flipped the slim laptop open. Settling onto the stool, I paged through my planner to look at the month ahead and answered the video call that popped on my screen.

“Good afternoon, sir. How are you today?”

I rolled my eyes at my cousin Sheila, who was also my virtual office manager, and a damn good one at that. Razor-sharp wit combined with an excellent eye for details made her the perfect addition to Ramsay Kilts. Even so, she’d been making noises about hiring more help recently, and I knew I’d have to give her the go-ahead to do so. It would have to be under her management though, as I certainly didn’t have the time to train more staff.

Let alone a gorgeous American with the kind of body that was made for a man’s hands.

“You only call me ‘sir’ when you want something. Out with it.”

“It’s Louise’s wedding in May. In Portugal. I was hoping?—”

“How long?”

“One week?”

“Approved.”

“Grand, that’s grand. Mark the dates down.” Sheila nodded to my planner, and I dutifully flipped ahead to cross out the dates that she would be gone. “Next up, we’ve got the financials for the Edinburgh stores. First quarter is looking to shape up for your best yet, profit margins are up, particularly now that you’ve cut the bus ad campaign.”

“I never should have approved that.” My publicist had insisted that an ad campaign for our kilts would be huge on city buses, but it had barely moved the needle on sales.

“It’s a data point. Worth trying out, but now you know it’s not for us. I’d like to try a TikTok campaign though.”

“TikTok?” I glared at her, as though she’d just suggested we sell cocaine in our custom sporrans.

“Bloody hell, Ramsay. Tell me you’ve heard of TikTok.”

“Of course I’ve heard of TikTok. I just don’t know why my kilts need to be on TikTok.”

“Because people love looking at pretty videos of Scotland, even more so if there’s a hot man in a kilt in them.”

“Where are you finding these hot men in kilts?”

Sheila raised an eyebrow at me. I recoiled.

“Absolutely not.”

“Och, come on! Who better to represent the brand than the owner?”

“No. Next item on the list?”

“No to TikTok or no to you being in the campaign?”

I sighed and tapped my pen, looking up as a knock sounded at the front door to the shop. Holding a finger up to Sheila’s pouting image, I walked to the doorway and glanced out to see a group of women peering through the window. Ignoring them, I returned to the video call.

“No to me being in the campaign. But I’ll have final say on the direction you take with TikTok, so don’t start any campaigns until I give you the go-ahead.”

“Aww, and here I was going to sneak the half-naked men coated in honey past you.”

That caught my attention, and I glowered at her.

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