the two had met.
Mark was finding it difficult to rationalize what was happening to him. Never before had a woman consumed his waking moments the way Michelle Coleman kept invading his mind. Most especially a woman he’d not even had an opportunity to take to dinner yet. For crying out loud, he thought to himself, shifting in his seat. The two had only met for five short minutes, the woman barely giving him a second look. He couldn’t begin to believe how love struck he was suddenly acting.
The man shook his head vigorously to dislodge the images of Michelle from his mind. Fighting to refocus, he scanned his to-do list for the umpteenth time. At the rate things were going, he thought, the rest of his day couldn’t get any worse because things were already bad enough.
He turned his attention back to the folders before him, flipping through them casually before finally tossing his hands in the air in frustration. He was glad John was not around to give him hell for slacking off on the job. John was a true tyrant when it came to business. Typically, he was, too, but on this particular day, Mark was lacking that kind of fortitude.
If the truth were to be told, when he wasn’t thinking about Michelle, he was anxious to get down to the new athletic facility that housed Stallion Racing. The ten-bay garage had quickly become his favorite place, his home away from home as he maneuvered his way around the mechanics of the new Kawasaki motorcycles that they had recently acquired. He was anxious to get out to the track to give one a test spin around the blacktop. He was missing the squeal of brakes and the smell of burning rubber and just the thought was making him more antsy with each passing moment. He was past ready to get out of the office and the Armani suit that he swore was cutting off his circulation. But those darn folders and the documents inside would not allow him to leave.
An hour or so later his secretary buzzed for his attention. “Mr. Stallion?”
“Yes, Elena,” Mark replied, depressing the response button on the intercom.
“Vanessa Long is on line two, sir. She’s returning your call.”
“Thank you,” Mark said as Elena disconnected the speaker.
He depressed the button flashing up at him. “Hey, girl! What’s up?” Mark chimed cheerily.
“Not much, my friend. How are things with you?” Vanessa responded.
“Woman, it’s been one of those days,” he answered, chuckling under his breath. “So, how’s that new business venture starting out?” Mark asked, alluding to the new sales opportunities Vanessa had spoken about in Myrtle Beach. “You wheeling and dealing with the big boys yet?”
“Oh, yeah!” Vanessa hummed cheerily. “I’m wheeling all right. You’d be surprised what these fools will buy if they think they can get a little something-something on the side.”
Mark laughed with her. “Did you tell them your something-something is very selective?”
“Oh, I made sure they knew how selective it is, honey. Makes them want me even more, but there is absolutely no testosterone allowed on these premises.”
“Okay, there now,” Mark said, grimacing slightly. “Let’s change the subject. So what can I do for you today?”
“You called me, remember? I just got your message and was returning your call,” Vanessa said. “I think the bigger question is what can I do for you?”
Mark nodded, suddenly remembering why it was he’d called his friend in the first place. “I need an escort Friday night. Are you available?”
“Oh,” Vanessa chimed. “Black tie, I hope? I need a reason to get all dolled up.”
“Hardly, more like business chic,” Mark said, his tone denoting little interest. “It’s for some meet and greet thing my sister-in-law is hosting for her business. You remember Marah’s sister Eden, right? You met her at John and Marah’s wedding,” Mark continued, not bothering to wait for Vanessa to respond. “Well, she and Marah own that new dating service downtown. I promised I’d stop by, but I figured I might need a quick exit. Just in case. You know?”
Vanessa chuckled. “Not interested in greeting and meeting some new women? Sounds like it would be a really good time to me.”
Mark shook his head from side to side, oblivious to the fact that his friend couldn’t see him. He wasn’t interested in meeting any new women. He was only interested in meeting one woman. He was anxious for an opportunity to be in the room with his new favorite female mechanic again. But he couldn’t tell Vanessa that and so he denied having any interest at all. “You would think so. Personally, I’m not in the mood to be stuck in a room with a bunch of desperate women looking for a man.”
“They’re not all desperate for a man now,” Vanessa said with a wry laugh.
Mark groaned. “Spare me, please. Do you want to go or not? You know the routine. I need a back door out just in case.”
Vanessa laughed. “Am I the girlfriend or the wife?”
“Whatever it takes to get me out of any bad situations quick.”
“I guess I can do that. Since we’re such good friends and all.”
“I got your good friend,” Mark laughed.
“Are you buying dinner, too? This really sounds like it would call for a good steak dinner afterward.”
“I swear, Vanessa. For a woman who has never officially dated me, you surely are expensive.”
“I take that as a yes,” Vanessa said sweetly.
Mark groaned. “Just meet me there at seven o’clock on Friday and we’ll go from there. The place is called the Post Club. I’ll keep my eye out for you.”
“I’m sure I’ll have no problems finding it. I’ll talk to you later,” Vanessa said.
“Yeah, later,” Mark said as he disconnected the call. And then, for just a brief moment, he couldn’t help but wonder if inviting Vanessa might have actually been a bad idea after all.
Chapter 4
Matthew Stallion pulled his silver BMW into the driveway of Briscoe Ranch. Mark rode shotgun and baby brother Luke took up the backseat. All three men were excited to be spending their day away from the office and out in the field. Briscoe Ranch had become John and Marah’s homestead, the family acreage bequeathed to them on the day of their wedding by her father, Edward Briscoe. Briscoe Ranch was well over eight hundred acres of working cattle ranch and an equestrian center, and its daily operations now fell under the umbrella of Stallion Enterprises’ responsibilities. It had been the compromise that had eventually sealed the deal on an acquisition that had proved to be a challenge to the four Stallion brothers.
Back in the day, Marah’s father, Edward Briscoe, had been one of the original black cowboys, he and his first wife expanding the Texas longhorn operation to include an entertainment complex that specialized in corporate and private client services. The ranch now housed two twenty-thousand-square-foot event barns, and a country bed-and-breakfast. With the property being central to Austin, Houston, Dallas and Fort Worth, Briscoe Ranch had soon made quite a name for itself.
Just weeks before John and Marah’s wedding,
