Page 24 of Virgin's Stolen Nights with the Boss

And there was something about Elias that made Carmenfeelotherwise...

She pondered that as she watched him walk away.

CHAPTER FIVE

‘PAELLA!’CARMENSAIDconfidently that evening, when asked what she would cook for them all next Monday.

She even wrote it by her name on the chalkboard.

For tonight, though, it was pizza for all and getting to know the new girl—and, of course, talking about the yard.

Actually, it was mainly talking about the yard.

Carmen was more than used to that, and very happy to eat pizza and glean what she could.

‘What did the vet say about Dom?’ asked John, one of the ten or so grooms who lived in the lodge. ‘Did anyone hear?’

‘Gelding...’ Laura responded.

‘The sooner the better.’

‘Even if it’s done tomorrow it will still take months for him to calm down,’ Laura sighed. ‘Elias wants to put some more work in on him first. He’s still hoping to sire him.’

‘Well,I’mnot going near him again.’ John shook his head. ‘That leaves you feeding him, and Blake and Elias riding him. What the hell’s Elias going to do with him if it doesn’t work out? He can hardly join the Misfits.’

‘Misfits?’ Carmen checked.

‘The horses that end up on Elias’s property,’ Laura said, laughing. ‘They’re not exactly the elite.’

‘That’s putting it mildly.’ John rolled his eyes. ‘Dom would finish them off in five minutes. I know Blake’s had enough of him.’

‘WhereisBlake?’ Carmen asked.

‘He’s got a cottage in the grounds.’

‘Well, hopefully it’s nicer than here...’

‘You’ve surely seen worse,’ Laura said, and Carmen quickly remembered that perhaps, as a young stable hand, sheshouldhave seen worse.

‘Maybe...’ Carmen shrugged, but then thought of her own yard.Herstaff would walk out in protest if she offered them this accommodation. ‘Elias doesn’t seem to mind spending money on his horses or himself...’

Carmen had glimpsed his sprawling ranch house from the tiny attic, and after six weeks of dreadful bosses she refused to be a slavish devotee—as Laura clearly was.

‘The wages are good, and there’s no set budget for food like there was with the last owner...’ She took another slice of pizza, as if making a point. ‘Elias is great.’

‘Only because he didn’t kick you out when he found you sleeping rough in the barn!’ John threw in.

‘True...’ Laura shrugged and then explained things to Carmen. ‘I’d lost my job at the riding school. Well, I had a go at the owner about his training methods.’

It was nice being amongst people who spoke her language again, Carmen thought. To talk about horses and not much else. Although her ears did pick up when Elias was mentioned again.

‘Anyway,’ Laura continued, still defending her boss, ‘Elias doesn’t ask us to do anything he wouldn’t do himself. He lived here while the ranch was being renovated.’

‘For five minutes,’ John retorted. ‘He took one look at the place and moved to a luxury hotel!’

‘No, that was only when Seraphina—’ Laura bit down on whatever she’d been about to say. ‘He only moved because they were about to start ripping out the bathrooms.’

‘Well, the renovations never happened.’

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