Page 10 of Beauden & Yelena

“D.C.,” I respond without hesitation. This entire conversation has been easy.Comfortable.Usually, I keep to myself and only open up to my family and friends. Yelena is basically a stranger but she has access to something most people don’t—me.I want to tell her about me and find out all I can about her.

“College?”

“Howard. Undergrad then grad. I stayed there until I came back home.”

“You missed this, huh?”

“I did. There’s nothing like ranch living. Being one with the earth and having the freedom to do whatever I want with my land is the best damn feeling,” I respond and she nods as if she understands. “What about you? I don’t keep up with the bookings. Where are you from?”

“Florida. Orlando, to be exact. I went to FAMU but returned back to Orlando after college. This is my first time in real snow, first time on a ranch, first time seeing Black cowboys,” she says, then pauses. She picks up a slice of her bacon and bites it. With a smile, she adds, “And my first time eating beef bacon.” Her pretty smile is contagious as hell. I find myself smiling too. “So, you do smile,” she says with a smirk.

“Barely,” I utter and she grins, forcing my smile to reappear.

“The milking this week is going to be another first. I hope the cow doesn’t try to lick or eat me,” she says and my mind drops to the damn gutter. Being alone with her, getting caught up in her sexy eyes, and watching every move she makes has me wanting to lick her.

Damn.

“Yelena,” a voice calls and we both look toward the entrance. “There you are. I wanted to go over a few things this morning. Join us in the other dining room,” the tall white man says.

“Give me a minute, Steve, and I’ll be over,” she tells him. Her voice sounds tight, not like it has been with me. Without saying more, he walks off. “My boss. I guess I’ll see you around,” she says, then reluctantly stands.

As she reaches for her plate, I stop her. “They’ll take care of that. Go handle your business.” When she walks past me to reach the entrance, I reach out and grab her lightly. I can’t help it. I’ve been dying to touch her since day one. After pulling her into my side, I stand. “I’ll see you in the barn Wednesday, beautiful.”

ChapterFive

Beauden is all man. Everything about him exudes pure masculinity. When his firm arms release me, I instantly have a longing. I want to step right back into his warm and strong embrace. It felt so right being wrapped up in him.So right.Steve is five minutes away from hearing “fuck that job and your quick meeting too!”

The pounding of my heart, longing in my body, and vibration between my legs are collectively motivating me to remain in this dining room withhim.Mr. Beauden Phox has awakened something in me that has been latent for far too long—pure passion. Our chemistry is undeniable; I felt it the moment I laid eyes on him and now, it’s filling the room.

“You better go,” his deep baritone repeats, snatching me out of my thoughts.

“I better,” I mumble disappointedly.But I truly don’t want to.“See you out there with the cows tomorrow.” I make my exit before I change my mind.

As soon as I’m down the hall, I inhale then exhale deeply. I can’t walk into the formal dining room looking as hot and bothered as I feel.

Everyone else on the team is eating when I walk in. Since I’ve already eaten, I simply sit in the empty chair next to Steve’s wife, Teresa. As usual, there’s barely any food on her plate and she’s picking over it. I swear, she never eats and it shows. Not only is she short but she’s extremely thin. The only part of her body with any weight on it is her chest, courtesy of her double D presents she was gifted two years ago from her husband.

“Now that Yelena is here, let’s get started,” Steve begins. “Every year, we take this retreat. It's one of the things I started when I took over and it’s here to stay. Tax season is chaotic and we need to be prepared for it. Especially this year with the new tax laws.

I know we have a detailed itinerary which includes our meetings but I’m switching it up this year. I think yesterday’s meeting was long enough.” We all agree. For day one, we spent eight hours discussing the year, each client, and quarter one projections. It was exhausting and I’m not looking forward to another day like that.

“It was too long,” Monalisa voices.

“I have to agree,” Steve continues. “We have twenty thousand acres of God’s land at our disposal and the ranch has tons of activities. You shouldn’t be trapped inside. I’m going to cancel all remaining meetings so everyone can enjoy themselves. My only request is that you participate in the main team building events: the cow milking and horseback riding. Other than that, just relax, have fun, or do whatever the hell you want to do. Everything is still all-inclusive,” he says. “Take it as an early Christmas present.”

A collective of smiles and small cheers erupt in the room, especially among the men. I heard Steve and Todd talking about axe throwing and fishing last night at dinner.

“Looks like I’m going to have time to shop,” Teresa says, then nudges me with her arm. I simply respond with a smile. As Steve’s wife, she never attends the meetings anyway; she only participates in the group activities.

“I’m going to relax. I haven’t been this chill in a long time and I want to enjoy it. I’ll shop online today.”

We all leave the dining room and I trek back to my room, taking the long way to look for Beauden. Unfortunately, he’s no longer in the other dining room or the kitchen. So, I go to my room, get dressed for the day, and grab my iPad. With a free day, I can catch up on my reading and shop online. I also make another stop in the kitchen for more of that delicious cocoa.

With my third cup of white hot chocolate in hand, I walk to the great room to sit by the beautiful Christmas tree and roaring fire. While I understand the need for all accountants to decompress before tax season, I hate that our retreats are always so close to Christmas. It’s my favorite holiday and I love to decorate, shop, enjoy warm drinks, eat rich foods, and buy gifts for others. For me, it’s the season of giving.

Although I already bought gifts for Eddie and my parents, I can’t resist a sale. My first stop on my online shopping tour is Nordstrom. I’m giving myself a new workbag. I can never have too many.

“Are you finished with your meeting?” A deep baritone sounds behind me and I beam.It’s Mr. Beauden Phox.

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