into the great room, where the tile floors were softened with colorful Aztec rugs, the reds and burnt oranges repeated in the throw pillows and framed prints on the natural log walls. A small bar held top-shelf liquors under the watchful eye of a stuffed American bison standing near the pool table. Bar stools padded in black-and-white cowhide were all empty save for the one where Marcus was seated.
She allowed her eyes to roam over him for a moment before he saw her. His dark hair was a shade deeper brown than his older brother’s, and he wore it longer, too. Dressed in a blue button-down, he typed fast on his tablet keyboard, a pair of earbuds tuning out the world while he worked. When he turned his brown eyes toward her, she steeled herself for whatever it was that had happened between them yesterday. But the thing that had sparked last time was shuttered now.
Tapping off his screen, Marcus withdrew the earbuds and shoved them in the pocket of his suit jacket resting on the back of the bar stool.
“I didn’t expect you so soon.” He stood and gestured to the bar.
“I’m here to work,” she reminded him, stopping next to a wooden game table and keeping her distance.
“Here to work, or here to gather information for Devon?”
“Any information I gather would benefit you both, since I work for Salazar Media and not exclusively for your brother.” She didn’t enjoy playing word games with him, but she planned to defend herself and her position. Her job was too important to her to get on the wrong side of a man who still owned half of the company.
“Right.” He acknowledged her point with a nod. “But you got your start in the business by being Devon’s right hand. I don’t think that instinct to look out for him is just going to disappear.”
Impatience and indignation squared her shoulders.
“Do you want to work or question my motives?” She set her laptop bag on the game table, unwilling to be cowed. “Just so I’m clear.”
Marcus took a step closer. “I prefer to work, but I don’t think I can relax enough to do that until I understand why Devon would send you to a meeting slated to determine future control of the company.”
His nearness brought trouble with it. She could see the bristled shadow along his jaw. Read the mistrust in his dark eyes. Feel a charge in the air that made her skin tighten. Lily drew a deep breath to set him straight, but she caught the scent of his aftershave, spicy and male.
“Devon wants to be here himself. You know that.” She scavenged for the right words that would make things go back to the way they used to be between them. “But after he found out his passport had been stolen, he asked me to be on-site in case you need help closing the deal with Mesa Falls.”
Her position allowed her to oversee the day-to-day operations in New York but gave her the flexibility to work directly with clients, as well. She’d learned two weeks ago that Marcus had approached Mesa Falls Ranch as a potential client, because he’d requested proposal material from her office. She’d researched the place immediately, liking to stay up-to-date on all their current and potential accounts. So she’d jumped at the chance to visit the ranch herself and escape her grandparents’ growing pressure to set a wedding date.
His eyebrows shot up. “In case I—” he tapped his chest “—need help sealing the deal? I got confirmation we won the account before you even arrived on the property.”
She suppressed a sigh of frustration. Men and their egos. She hesitated, unsure how much to share and wary of stepping on his toes again. “Devon didn’t know the deal was sealed at the time he called me. And quite honestly, he was afraid you would be on the first plane back to Los Angeles unless he showed you some kind of good-faith effort.”
“You’re the good-faith effort?” His voice hummed along her senses, suggesting things at odds with his surly words.
She restrained the urge to lick suddenly dry lips, confused by whatever seemed to be happening between them. “Like it or not, yes.”
He stood there, entirely too close to her. Assessing. Then his gaze shuttered, his expression revealing nothing.
“Unfortunately for both of us, Lily, I work more effectively on my own,” he informed her quietly. Then he turned and retrieved his tablet. “I suggest we divide and conquer the tasks for setting up Mesa Falls Ranch as a new account and leave it at that.”
Blindsided by the abrupt turn in the conversation, she didn’t even know what to say to that as he tapped open his screen.
“Do you care at all about this company?” She’d always had the impression that he didn’t trust her fully. But he’d never come out and admitted he didn’t want to work with her. “Because you’re doing it a grave disservice to cut me out of the loop.”
She could see the muscle in his jaw flex, his mouth flattening into a thin, determined line before he spoke again.
“That’s never been my intention. I can send daily briefs on everything that happens here. But I’d prefer we get the work done so we can fly back to our respective coasts, where we can turn our attention to our own projects.”
Anger simmered, but she locked it down to maintain professionalism.
“And I respectfully decline.” She gathered her things, knowing it would be wisest to retreat until cooler heads prevailed. But first, she leveled her gaze at him. “I plan do to my job right here, where my presence is clearly needed.”
Braking to a stop in one of the ranch’s utility vehicles the next morning, Marcus switched off the ignition and hoisted himself up to lean on the roll bar for a better view. The ranch foreman had offered him the choice of horse or vehicle to tour the property today, and Marcus had opted for the two-seater with no cab and a little wagon in back. He hadn’t informed Lily of the tour, leaving before dawn. He knew that was a mistake. That he was hurting the company because he couldn’t keep his emotions under control. Right now, he needed space to clear his head and figure out his next move.
As the sun rose higher in the sky, he reached for his camera on the passenger seat and withdrew the wide-angle lens from his bag. He had a couple of possibilities for a shot from this vantage point, and he lined up the first one, focusing on some dried wildflowers in the foreground.
Taking photos of the ranch was the best distraction, a pleasure in an otherwise tense trip. Adjusting the settings for shutter speed and aperture, he calculated what images he still needed for the social media campaign before he could head home.
Devon had messaged him during the night, saying the US Embassy was working with him to get his credentials reissued but that no progress would be made over the weekend. Marcus had resisted the urge to fire back a scathing response, unwilling to alienate Devon when he needed to convince him to let Marcus buy him out of the company. Later today, he’d tell Devon they needed to reschedule the Mesa Falls Ranch trip for another time.
Without Lily Carrington.
Just thinking about her spoiled his first shot of the wildflowers. Because he suspected her of spying for Devon? Or because Marcus wanted her for himself? Both options messed with his head.
While he’d always been drawn to Lily—in
