Page 11 of Shared on the Ranch

“Well, what do you think about that, Miss Saunders?” Nate steepled his fingers and regarded her with a no-nonsense expression.

What do I think? I think this is fucking ridiculous! I think… I think you should both go screw yourselves!

But the uncomfortable tingle encased in her jeans kept her silent. She simply continued to clench and unclench her fingers.

I need the money. Like,reallyneed it.Goliath said he’d take me home, but even so, I’m flat broke with no hope of changing that anytime soon.I needthisjob. Riding is the only thing I’ve ever loved…

Damn, she’d heard the expression ‘stuck between a rock and a hard place’ but that didn’t even come close to doing justice to what she was feeling now.

“What’sinthecontract?” she mumbled, pushing the words together so much that she wasn’t sure he’d understand her.

Without a word to her, he pressed a button on his phone.

“Yes, sir?” a girlish voice chirped.

“Ashley, can you bring in an employee contract for me, please?”

“Of course, sir. Anything else?”

“No, that will be it for now, thank you.”

With a click, the room fell silent once more. Chyanne dropped her gaze to the floor, but she could feel the eyes of both men on her. Their gazes burned and made her even more uncomfortable—how was that evenpossible?—but she forced herself to remain perfectly still, even though the silence chafed her as much as their scrutiny.

She heard the sound of a door open, and the sound of footsteps, but she kept her eyes firmly on the carpet until the door closed.

“As you requested,” Nate said, and she finally raised her gaze.

“This… this is it?” The words on the page in front of her blurred and her throat felt suddenly tight.

“Yes,” Nate replied, his tone kind. “Listen, I meant what I said. There’s no hard feelings if this isn’t for you. We can find someone else.”

She wanted them to find someone else, she really did. She wanted to be able to shove that contract back at him, tell them both to fuck off, and storm out of there with her head held high. She would have, too, if she didn’t know this was her last chance to try to salvage the career she loved.

So she forced herself to read. The words blurred together.Respect… eye rolling… punish… lines… corner time… mouth soaping…

This is insane. In-fucking-sane.Her eyes began to burn and her throat tightened.I also don’t have a choice. Not really. So Goliath’ll take me home. Then what? They’ve probably already shut off my lights, and the landlord has probably changed the locks. What do I have to go back to?

So she reached across his desk and snatched a pen out of the cup.

“Just so we’re clear,” Nate said, halting her hand in midair. “If you sign that, you already have one heck of a sore bottom coming.”

Frozen, Chyanne considered his words. She shifted uncomfortably. “From… Chandler?” she asked at last.

“Chandler, what do you think?” He was looking beyond her now, to the giant who’d hardly said a word since he’d brought her here.

She was more than frozen now. She could hardly breathe at the suggestion, and yet, she was pressing her thighs together to try to ignore the heat down below while the knots in her tummy tightened to nearly unbearable levels.

“If you need this hellcat tamed for a few days, then I think I’m just the man you’re looking for.”

She wanted to jump out of her seat. She wanted to protest, to slap his arrogant face… but her muscles had seized up at his reply.

“All right then. Miss Saunders, if you choose to stay, if you choose to sign that contract, you’ll answer to him.”

* * *

Chandler

Chandler waited for her decision, careful not to let any of his thoughts show on his face. But he certainly had them. For one, as a man who was a natural lover of righting wrongs and restoring order, he would be more than happy to bring Chyanne to heel for a few days. But two, he sensed a deep sadness in the fiery redhead, and he couldn’t help but wonder if he could help with that, too.

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