Western Promise Read online

  “Of course.” She sounded a bit flustered as she opened one of the desk drawers, pulling out what he’d asked for. “There’s plenty, so if you need more, just let me know.”

  When she finally met his eyes, he smiled warmly. “Thank you.”

  She jerked her head up and down once then fixed her eyes on her work. After a few moments, she picked up a pencil and scribbled down notes.

  Satisfied she’d accepted the arrangement, Chase picked up his own pencil and scratched down notes for the day. Truly, it wasn’t necessary, he’d remember everything he wanted to speak with the foreman and engineer about, but it gave him something to do.

  Lily cleared her throat and shifted in her chair, snagging his attention. He didn’t look up, but he was aware of her, the way she moved and worked. She continued writing, shifting every so often. Was her chair uncomfortable?

  Her leg moved forward, brushing up against his. “Oh!” She jerked her leg back. “Forgive me.” She looked horrified at the accidental contact.

  “It’s fine. Are you uncomfortable?”

  She blushed prettily, looking guilty. “I’m used to stretching my legs out. I think it’s more of a habit than anything else.”

  “Well, don’t let me stop you.”

  “But you’re sitting there.”

  He shrugged. “So? I’d rather have you comfortable. We’re both going to be working here for a while, so you might as well be.”

  She shifted in her chair again, looking uncertain as to whether she should take him up on his offer. “I really shouldn’t.”

  He sighed dramatically. “Don’t make me move your legs for you.”

  Her spine straightened. “You wouldn’t.”

  “We could always wait and see.” He smiled slowly.

  Reading him correctly, she tentatively stretched her legs, placing them next to the desk so they wouldn’t touch his. He rewarded her with a grin. “See? That wasn’t so difficult, was it?”

  She grumbled something then went back to her work.

  “What was that?” he teased.

  “I said thank you.” Her words were still mumbled.

  He leaned forward. “I beg your pardon?”

  She sighed heavily and finally looked at him. “Thank you, all right?” Reluctantly, a chuckle escaped her lips. “It’s much better.”

  Satisfied, he leaned back. “Good. In the future, just tell me what your needs are, and I’ll make sure they’re met.”

  “I don’t think we’re going to be working together that long.”

  “Over the next few weeks, then.”

  “If you insist,” she finally agreed, smiling, and went back to her work. “We’ll have to work together sometimes, and it’ll be nice to be comfortable.”

  “Exactly.” He tried to give his attention to his work, but as he looked down at his paper, he realized something was bothering him. Finally, it hit him. He enjoyed Lily Reed, and the thought of never seeing her after these next few weeks irritated him.

  Or maybe it was the fact that she didn’t seem bothered by it at all. If anything, she appeared happy to be rid of him. But why would that bother him?

  When an answer didn’t immediately come, he shrugged the thought away. He’d have to figure it out later.

  Chapter 5

  After three days of working across the desk from Mr. Eversley, Lily was on edge. He hadn’t done anything to cause it—other than being there. In fact, he’d gone out of his way to make sure she was comfortable and had everything she needed, and then he’d stayed out of her way.

  Well, at least as far as the desk allowed. But that was part of the problem. Her legs were stretched out, but they were far from comfortable, shoved against the desk. She couldn’t fully relax, or else her legs would rest on his, and that was a liberty she couldn’t allow.

  He had fewer meetings today, and they’d been sitting like this for most of the morning. She scratched something down roughly with her pencil, breaking the lead in the process, and growled as she held it up to inspect it.

  Her eyes moved to Chase as he glanced up at her, his eyebrow raised. “Is everything all right?”

  No. It’s not all right. This arrangement might drive me insane. “Of course. Everything is fine,” she said, a bit too brightly.

  He looked at her an extra moment, clearly not believing her. “Hmm.”

  The way his voice rumbled caused goosebumps to rise on her skin, and she jerked her gaze from his. Why was this happening to her? Why was she reacting to him like he was the most desirable man she’d ever met? I don’t even like him, she reminded herself.

  She pushed away from the desk, her stiff legs finally relaxing now that they weren’t in jeopardy of touching him. “I need a break.”

  He lifted his arms, stretched, and nodded. “I agree. We’ve been at this too long. Why don’t we grab a bite to eat at Sally’s?”

  The last thing she needed was to spend more time with him. “No thank you. I’m not hungry—” Then her treacherous stomach growled. She closed her eyes, wishing she were anywhere else.

  “Still not hungry?” He smirked.

  She pressed a hand to her stomach and openly glared at him. Of course she couldn’t say she wasn’t hungry now. “All right. I am. But I can’t leave for that long. There’s still too much to do.”

  He eyed her like he was searching for a weakness, but she held firm. “In that case, I can have her deliver something here.”

  “Sally doesn’t deliver.”

  “Everyone delivers for the right price.”

  She’d been on edge around him, and, even though she didn’t like it, she admitted she was attracted to him. He had a body women drooled over, his hair was a bit too long, but it made him look rakish and exciting, and his smile—it was downright criminal. But attraction was only skin deep, and his comment further proved that. “I know this hasn’t crossed your mind, but sometimes, you can’t have everything you want. Sally is a busy woman. She doesn’t have time to step away from what she’s doing just to deliver your food.”

  He cocked his head. “I understand that. And I would never ask her to do something which would hurt her business. However,” he rocked back on his heels. “I would offer her a substantial amount in exchange for the extra service. Enough to make it worth her while.”

  “Sometimes it’s not about the money.”

  He tapped his chin. “It’s not? I can honestly say I’ve never been in a situation where it wasn’t.”

  She glared at him, about to retort with just such an instance, but paused. Not a single occurrence came to mind, which annoyed her further. Her hands went to her hips. “Well, if I were Sally, I wouldn’t deliver your food. And it wouldn’t matter how much you paid me.”

  He held up his hands and chuckled softly. “I guess there’s a first time for everything.”

  He capitulated so easily, her lips twitched. She’d been riled up, ready to go several rounds, but he’d diffused the situation. “First time where money wasn’t an issue, or the first time you were wrong?”

  A glint entered his eyes, and he grinned. “Touché. Now, shall we stay here and starve? Or should we make a run for it?” Her stomach growled again, and he looked at it meaningfully. “Don’t tell me you’re going to stay.”

  She sighed. “I guess I have to eat sometime.”

  He clapped once. “Exactly. We’ll head over to Sally’s, grab a quick bite to eat, and be back before you know it, up to our eyeballs in paperwork.”

  “All right. But it needs to be fast,” she said, needing to make her point one last time.

  He drew an invisible x over his heart. “Fast as lightning.”

  He walked over to the door and held it open for her. She appreciated the gesture, but part of her struggled with it. She was his employee, after all. “Thank you,” she said. She wanted to be treated as his subordinate, but she couldn’t refuse the courtesy. Although, she was tempted. She had a strange desire to needle him over everything. He was getting under her skin, an
d she worried he might burrow so deep that she wouldn’t be able to get him out.

  But that was ridiculous. He was just one of the owners of the company she worked for. And in a few weeks, he would be gone. She highly doubted they’d ever cross paths again.

  They walked down the boardwalk and crossed the street to Sally’s, where he opened the door for her again. The whole way, he’d made certain she was protected from the road and any horses or carts in the street.

  It was sweet and thoughtful, and she wondered if the habit was so ingrained, he couldn’t even break it when he was with someone like her.

  “Welcome,” Sally called out as she placed several plates on a table for another couple. “Have a seat wherever you like.” She grinned when she looked over and saw who it was. “It’s good to see you, Lily. Glad you’ve decided to break for some food.”

  The woman’s teasing made Lily laugh. “Who has time for food?”

  Sally waggled her finger. “You better watch out, or you’ll waste away. And what a shame that would be for the town to lose a young, beautiful woman.”

  Lily rolled her eyes. Sally had taken the new women under her wing. Lily in particular. “I’ll be sure to take care.”

  Sally’s eyes twinkled. “I’m glad you brought Mr. Eversley with you. We can’t have one of the Copper Kings expiring as well.”

  Chase grinned and tipped his hat. “No, ma’am. Besides, with the incredible food you keep plying me with, it’s more likely I’ll outgrow my waistline and need to order a new wardrobe.”

  Sally’s cheeks pinked, and she waved toward a quiet corner of the café. “Go on now.”

  Chase was still grinning when they took their seats, and Lily shook her head in amusement. “She’s taken with you.”

  “I’m taken with her.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You’re taken with every woman.”

  “Not true.”

  “Really? I find that hard to believe. I see how women watch you.” Her eyes flicked toward the other couple, pointing out the stolen glances the woman took in Chase’s direction.

  He leaned back in his chair. “Ah. Well, I didn’t say women weren’t interested in me. Unfortunately, I seem to have that effect on them. Although, I suspect it has more to do with my money than myself.”

  She felt angry that he’d been treated in such a way. But she quickly brushed the feeling aside. She shouldn’t have anything but a professional attitude toward Chase—Mr. Eversley.

  When Sally came to their table, Chase flashed his dimples and gave her his full attention. After spending several days with him, Lily knew how powerful his attention was, and Sally didn’t stand a chance.

  “What will you two have today?” she asked.

  “Ham sandwich would be lovely,” Lily said.

  He quirked a brow at Sally. “What’s your favorite?”

  “Everything is good,” she said reassuringly.

  He leaned toward her. “You’re right. But I didn’t ask that. I want to know what your favorite is. And whatever it is, I want it.”

  Sally laughed, placing her hands on her hips before looking at Lily. “He’s incorrigible. He could charm the socks off a penny-pinching miser. You better be careful, Lily. He might steal your heart.” She winked before returning to the kitchen to prepare their food.

  That wasn’t something Lily needed to worry about. Even if she allowed his charm to soften her heart, a powerful man like Chase would never be interested in someone like her.

  With so much left to do at the mine, Lily rode out with Chase to the site the next day for her first time.

  They entered the small building just off the main yard. “As you can see, it isn’t much. Onsite offices usually aren’t.” Chase gestured around the tight space.

  He was right, she thought ruefully. It was no more than a shack. Luckily, she didn’t need fancy things to do her job. “It’ll be just fine.”

  The thin walls did little to muffle the deafening sounds outside, but that didn’t bother her. It wasn’t much different than when she’d worked in one of the cotton factories back home for a short time. The work had been hard, the machinery loud, and the air barely breathable with the amount of fluff floating around. All in all, this was a much better situation.

  “Are you certain?” He looked around once more. “I might be in there for a while.”

  It had surprised her that he was willing to head into the mine, but he’d reassured her that it wasn’t his first time in such places. “Yes. I’ll be able to handle some of the correspondence until Mr. Trent arrives.”

  “Right.”

  He had another meeting with one of the section managers, as they hadn’t finished everything the other day.

  If Lily had thought Chase was just a pretty face, she’d since learned otherwise. He worked just as hard, if not harder than Lucas. And because he was better at handling people, he’d been tasked with doing most of the heavy lifting in that department.

  “Go on. Everything will be fine.”

  He seemed to hesitate, and she shooed him toward the door. “I can handle Mr. Trent,” she said confidently. Everyone she’d worked with thus far had been courteous and professional. She expected nothing less.

  He nodded then and headed out the door.

  She waited a moment then smiled, shaking her head. He’d been worried about her. Had she been a man, such a thing would’ve never entered his mind. Again, that should bother her, but, for some reason, his chivalrous behavior was endearing.

  She looked around the room, more specifically she looked at the mess, and decided to tidy up before tackling the rest of her to-do list. The mindless labor didn’t bother her. In fact, it was welcome. She’d had schedules and facts and data crammed into her brain over the last several days, so throwing away scraps of paper was almost peaceful.

  The noise outside remained as loud as ever but began to fade as she focused on her task. She rifled through papers, threw out old or invalid scraps, filed documents, and wrote notes on things which should be brought to either Chase or Lucas’ attention.

  The time passed quickly, and as she focused on writing a rough draft for a letter Chase needed done, the door opened and closed. Before she could glance up, a brusque male voice interrupted her. “Where’s Mr. Eversley?”

  Lily wasn’t ruffled by the rude question. Instead she stood and gave the man a small smile. “Mr. Eversley will be here soon. He had something he needed to finish up in the mine. Are you Mr. Trent?”

  “I am.”

  “Well, Mr. Eversley asked me to start by giving you some information about the mining schedule he wants set in the first week.” She reached for a paper with the information he needed.

  Mr. Trent snorted. “I’ll wait for Mr. Eversley to tell me himself, thank you.” The words were polite, but his sneering tone wasn’t. “I don’t need a woman giving me incorrect information.”

  She bristled but shoved the feelings down. This wasn’t personal, and getting offended would only escalate the situation. “I assure you, the information I have comes directly from Mr. Eversley.”

  The man shook his head and headed back to the door. “Tell Eversley to find me in the yard once he gets back. He can talk to me all he likes about scheduling then.” He didn’t wait for her response before leaving, slamming the door in his wake.

  Lily’s hand balled into fists, but she didn’t give in to the urge to pound them on the desk in front of her. Men like Mr. Trent weren’t uncommon, but that didn’t make them any less abominable. She might be a woman, her body might be weaker than a man’s, but she was just as intelligent, just as fierce, and just as capable of doing her job. She couldn’t help it if men found that difficult to accept. Perhaps it even intimidated some.

  But she didn’t care. She wasn’t doing this job for approval. She was doing it for her own satisfaction, and she needed to keep reminding herself of that. I’m doing this for me.

  Her hand slowly unclenched, and she seated herself back in her chair. She’d just
started reading through the letter again, finding her place, when Chase walked through the door.

  He glanced around the cramped room. “Mr. Trent didn’t show up?”

  She swallowed the knee-jerk, acerbic comment on her tongue and instead shook her head. “He did. He chose to head back to work and asked for you to find him when you were available,” she said in a professional tone.

  But apparently, it wasn’t enough to fool Chase. He took a step toward her, narrowing his eyes. “Did something happen?”

  She knew that tone. It was the same one Lucas had used when he’d defended her and the other women against an amorous mob. “No. It’s fine. Nothing I can’t handle.”

  “I didn’t ask if you can handle it. I asked if something happened.” His tone darkened. “Tell me.”

  She wanted to brush it off again, but when she looked at him and saw the seriousness in his expression, his hardened features, she knew he wouldn’t let it go. She held up her hands, giving in. “Truly, it was nothing more than rudeness. Mr. Trent didn’t take kindly to receiving business information from a woman. He felt as though anything I said would be inaccurate, and he insisted on hearing it directly from you.”

  “Oh, he did?” Chase shifted menacingly.

  “It’s not uncommon behavior. Men don’t like taking orders from a woman. Even if those orders come from a man and are just relayed by the woman.”

  But when he shook his head, his expression still hard, she realized he still wasn’t going to let this go. “I don’t like it either,” she said hastily, “but if you do anything, it’ll only cause more problems.”

  He nodded. “I should hope it would cause him problems. That kind of behavior is unacceptable.”

  At his fierce defense of her, she couldn’t help reaching out and placing her hand briefly over his. “I didn’t mean for him. I meant that it would cause more problems for me. I would really appreciate it if you would forget it happened.”

  His expression softened, and as he looked at her again, her stomach flipped in pleasure. She removed her hand, hoping the distance would put her on firm ground again.