Page 5 of Caden's Situationship

“Wild Valley,” I repeated, taking the file. “In Cranberry Heights, Arkansas? Sounds so …hillbilly.”

“Hmm, just like someone I know.”

I frowned. “I’m sorry, but being a classy southern belle is the exact opposite of an unsophisticated redneck.”

“Do you hear yourself when you speak? You talk about some southerners as if they’re less than you. I don’t know if that’s your mom and our grandmother who instilled all those elite Texas socialite qualities in you or if you truly believe them.”

“You’re one to talk,” I told him, placing my free hand on my hip. “You had the same upbringing that I did. I don’t mean any disrespect when I talk about other southerners. I’m just not one to mingle with cowboys and spend my pastime milking cows.”

Lance laughed. “God forbid you attend a barnyard barbecue rather than a tea and macrons party."

“Tea parties are the best,” I defended.

His eyes widened before he shook his head. “Anyway, we’re way off topic. The point is, I need you to go to Cranberry Heights with an open mind. I really think we need to invest in Wild Valley Ranch and the owner has some great ideas. Listen to him. Get your feel for the property. See where Red Rose can step in to make the ranch even better. Is that a deal?”

I nodded my head. “Yes, I’ll do my job and get the analytics on the ranch. I can probably have this handled in a couple days.” Turning around, I started heading to the door until my cousin’s words stopped me in my tracks.

“You’ll be gone a few weeks,” Lance corrected. “Not a couple days.”

I slowly turned back to face him, brushing a couple large curls from my face. “Come again?”

“You’ll be staying in Cranberry Height’s for three weeks,” he repeated. “I talked it over with your father and we agree that it will do you some good to spend some time there. You’ve always done well with our clients in the city, but it’s the small-town country folk that you seem to have an issue connecting with. This vacation will do you good.”

“Vacation?” I almost choked on the word because there was no way in heaven any part of this work trip would feel like a vacation.

“And you’ll be staying at the bed and breakfast in town.”

“A bed and breakfast!” I exclaimed. “Like one of those places where strangers are forced to eat breakfast together every morning? Correct me if I’m mistaken, but it sounds like you really want me to rough it.” I couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth. I didn’t stay in anything less than a four-star hotel, so a B&B was far from luxury. “They don’t have a hotel or resort in the area? What about a Gaylord? Is there a Gaylord Resort there?”

“Afraid not, Cordelia,” he said. “The main hotel in town is the B&B, and from what I’ve heard, it’s very welcoming. A great introduction into Cranberry Heights.” Lance twisted his mouth to the side, which usually meant he was bracing himself for my wrath because he wasn’t done telling me something that he knew would piss me off.

“And you may want to think about changing your wardrobe for this trip,” he suggested. “You want to fit in with the townsfolk, not give them a reason to tell the owner of Wild Valley Ranch that he doesn’t want to do business with us.”

I glanced down at my coral organza dress with ruffled tiers trimmed in white lace. “What’s wrong with my outfit?”

“Uhh.” Lance opened and closed his mouth, then opened it again. “I know you have a tendency to wear large hats and big, fluffy dresses, but maybe you want to tone it down a bit so that the people of Cranberry Heights don’t think you walk around all day wearing a costume.”

I gasped. “You take that back. I’ve dressed like this most of my life and I draw the line at changing the person I am for a client meeting.”

“I’m not asking you to change your personality. Just your clothes.”

I clenched my jaw, trying my best not to feel offended. “Clothes are an extension of one’s personality, and therefore, my clothes are a representation of me inside and out. So with all due respect, I won’t be changing anything, Lance.”

He sighed, still looking like he had more to say, but settled on, “Fair enough, but you weren’t always like this, Cordelia. Neither of us were before we started with the company.”

My heart broke a little at my cousin’s face. It had been a while since I’d seen him look so defeated, and I wasn’t sure what my face appeared like, but I was pretty sure I matched his expression. Putting on a tight-lipped smile, I thanked Lance for the assignment and escorted myself out of his office. It wasn’t until I was in the comfort of my own office that I grabbed an orange pillow from my vintage beige chair in the corner and screamed into the soft cotton the way I’d been waiting to do since the start of my meeting with Lance.

After a good thirty seconds of releasing my frustration, I sat down at my desk and gathered my composure. It wasn’t like me to throw a hissy fit like this. I usually handled situations much better.

I slid lower in my seat as I felt a shiver travel down my spine, taunting me to ’fess up to the truth.Seriously, Cordelia, are you joking right now? Is cool, calm, and collected even in your vocabulary?Okay, so maybe I was known to throw a tantrum or two over issues that others didn’t seem to understand, but, I was allowed to have a reaction. It was my human right to express emotion however I deemed fit, and right now, I was sure this assignment was way below my pay grade. A meeting with a client was one thing, but an entire three weeks was absurd.

Even so, I could bet my last silver dollar that my father and the rest of my family expected me to fail. They’d underestimated me my entire life. Which meant, not only was I going to do my homework and secure this client, but I was also going to prove to my family that I could adapt to any environment.

An incoming text from Lance interrupted my thoughts. “You can’t be serious,” I yelled. “I’m leaving on a plane tomorrow morning?” I wanted to walk right back to his office and give him another piece of my mind because that was hardly enough time to gather my notes, but with my luck, Lance would move my ticket up to tonight instead.

So I called my cousin, Harper, the only other girl cousin I really talked to since Abigail and I weren’t close. Harper had never entered the family business because her dad hadn’t wanted to share the same career as his siblings. I used to think it was unfortunate for Harper not to have associations with Red Rose. Now, I was beginning to realize I may be the unlucky one.

“What’s wrong?” she said before I’d even heard the phone fully ring. I briefed her on what had happened, not surprised when she told me, “Fuck them, Cordelia. You already know how our family is, and ever since Auntie passed, you’re the only woman in the family trying to work their way up since Abigail is fine being an assistant. Blood or not, the family is hardly ever on your side.”

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