More Than a Cowboy (The Carmody Brothers Book 3) Read online

  “Can I get you a coffee before you get started? Or maybe a juice, or something else, Mr. Tate?”

  Garret snapped out of his reverie and offered Mandy a smile. “Thanks, but I’m good for now. And it’s Garret. I have a feeling we’re going to be spending a lot of time with each other.”

  That won him another small smile and a nod. “All right. If there’s nothing else you need, I’ll leave you to it,” Mandy said, already on her way out the door.

  Garret moved behind the desk. Setting down his brief case, he sank into his father’s chair. Discomfort washed over him. It didn’t feel right, sitting on this side of the desk, in his father’s place.

  Get used to it, buttercup. This is the way it is now.

  When Garret was in his teens, he’d dreamed of working side by side with his father one day. It was something he and his father had talked about a lot. At sixteen, Garret had started to think about what courses he should take at college, and which departments he should intern with during summer break—all with an eye to joining Tate Transport as his father’s heir apparent once he’d graduated.

  Then the accident happened, and everything had changed between them.

  And now it had changed again.

  Flipping open the screen on his father’s laptop, he clicked through to the email inbox. An email had come in since he landed and he narrowed his eyes as he read that Ron was unfortunately going to be absent from the office for the entire day with unavoidable off-site meetings. He apologized to Garret for the inconvenience, but looked forward to talking to him tomorrow.

  Garret sat back in his chair.

  It was impossible to pretend Ron’s absence on Garret’s first day in the office was anything other than a power play. It solidified the feeling Garret had had ever since their first phone call. Apparently Ron was determined to be a douche about him taking over his father’s role.

  Fuck him. Like he said, it’s not his name on the letterhead.

  Ron might be his father’s right-hand man, but Tate Transport was bigger than any one person. And maybe Ron making himself absent could be turned to Garret’s advantage. After all, there was something to be said for finding your own way into a new role, rather than being led into it.

  Pulling up a new email message, he typed up a request to his department heads asking for a brief overview of their current projects, full financials, and any outstanding matters they felt required attention, due by close of business the next day.

  He fired it off with a grim smile on his lips. Ron might not be keen to share his sand pit, but that wasn’t going to stop Garret from digging in.

  *

  Sierra had a number of maintenance inspections to run to keep her busy during the day, but it didn’t stop her thoughts from drifting to Garret.

  The first time she told herself it was because she was curious about him. The second time she told herself it was because she empathized with him, today being his first day at his father’s company, which had to be a daunting prospect. Stepping into his father’s shoes with no notice or hand over would not be easy or pretty, she imagined.

  The third time she caught herself thinking about him, it was hard to come up with an excuse for her own preoccupation—apart from the obvious one, which was that she was attracted to him. It was an unwelcome moment of clarity, given she’d just agreed to work for him for six weeks in Jack’s stead, so she batted it away and promised herself she’d think about it later.

  At four thirty she started her preflight checks so she could be ready for Garret in case he arrived earlier than anticipated. She was glad she had when he pulled into his parking spot just after five. He looked less crisp and a lot more rumpled at this end of the day, his hair standing up in unruly spikes, his jaw shadowed with whiskers.

  It didn’t make him any less hot, she couldn’t help noticing as he walked toward her. In fact, if anything, it made him more approachably sexy, as though he’d just climbed out of someone’s bed after a hard night of doing amazing things to that lucky someone.

  Good lord. Can you hear yourself?

  She could, and it was both embarrassing and confusing. She’d never responded this powerfully to a man in her life. But it seemed that everything about Garret made her aware of the fact that she was a woman and he was a man.

  Not great when the only thing she should be thinking about was the fact that she was a pilot and he her passenger. And her boss.

  “Mr. Tate. Good timing. We’re all ready to go,” she said.

  “Thanks, Sierra.”

  He seemed more distracted than this morning, burying himself in his computer the moment he’d fastened his seat belt. Every time she checked the mirror during the flight home he was either frowning at the screen, typing, or checking something on his phone.

  As she’d recognized earlier, he’d taken on a huge task by jumping into a business the size of Tate Transport on such short notice. And it wasn’t just what he was taking on; it was what he was giving up too. He’d been living in Seattle for years. He must have a whole life there. A house or apartment. A career. A girlfriend. Maybe even a wife?

  She pondered the notion that he might be married for a moment and then discarded it. It seemed unlikely he could have gotten hitched without her hearing some echo of the news, given how small Marietta was and how much people liked to talk. Of course, if she wanted confirmation of his marital status, she could probably tap into the local whisper network to verify what his situation was. Ashley’s mother was good friends with Nancy Tate. She’d probably know all about Garret’s—

  WTF. This man is your BOSS, even if it’s only temporary. Jack is relying on you to cover for him. What the hell is wrong with you?

  It was a good question. A tide of heat rushed into her face and she spent the next few minutes fiddling with the instrument panel unnecessarily, willing the warmth to leave her face. This was a big opportunity for her—six weeks of flying, great experience, a step in the right direction in terms of her career ambitions. And Jack was relying on her to do him proud. There was no place in any of that for her to develop a crush on her employer, which she was well on her way to doing.

  She needed to get a grip. She needed to stop thinking about Garret Tate as anything other than a passenger whose safety she was responsible for. This was not singles’ night at Grey’s Saloon. He was not a hot prospect. And she had a job to do. Period.

  The stern talking-to seemed to help. For the rest of the flight, she successfully kept her eyes front and center, away from the temptation of the mirror. Thanks to a strong crosswind, it took them five minutes longer than usual to touch down at the Tates’ property. Once she’d switched off the engine, she whizzed through her postflight shutdown routine and climbed out to open the door to the passenger cabin.

  “Thanks for today, Sierra.” Garret offered her a distracted smile as he exited, his thoughts obviously elsewhere.

  “See you tomorrow,” she said.

  His phone beeped with a text and he pulled it out as he headed for the house, once again absorbed in work. She refused to allow herself to watch him go—finally, a bit of self-discipline—and concentrated on hangaring the helicopter for the night.

  That was the way it was going to be between them from now on as far as she was concerned—all business all the time, no exceptions. Even if it killed her.

  *

  Sierra Carmody was wiping condensation off the Bell’s windshield when Garret left the house the next morning, her dark, wavy ponytail swinging across her shoulders. The moment she heard his approach she glanced over her shoulder, a friendly smile on her lips.

  Her green gaze was bright and clear, her cheeks a little flushed. “Morning.”

  “Morning.”

  “There’s coffee in the cabin, skies are clear, and we’re ready to take off when you are.”

  “Sounds good to me,” he said. “Let’s do it.”

  She moved ahead of him to open the helicopter door and they were in the air less than five minutes late
r, the engine noise muffled by his headset.

  If he was a different sort of man he would put this time alone with Sierra to good use. He’d talk to her, find out more about her life. About her. He’d make her laugh and lay the groundwork for a dinner invitation down the road. If he played his cards right, it wouldn’t be long before there was more than dinner on the menu.

  At least, that was the way he imagined it must work. He was no expert. He’d simply watched his father operate over the years. Gideon had had affairs with two of his employees that Garret knew of. There was a decent chance there were more, but once Garret had gone away to college, he hadn’t been in a position to notice anymore. But it stood to reason that his father hadn’t changed the habits of a lifetime—he’d always believed the rules didn’t apply to him.

  Garret had different values, which he’d spent the last thirteen years demonstrating to his father via his absence from Marietta, the business, and his parents’ lives.

  Sierra might be gorgeous and sexy. She might intrigue him—but she was utterly, incontrovertibly off-limits now she was an employee of Tate Transport.

  So instead of flirting with Sierra, he spent the trip going over the list of queries he’d compiled for Ron and making more notes for himself on matters to follow up with Mandy.

  When Sierra set them down in Helena with a barely perceptible thud, he thanked her and was on his way with minimal interaction, everything strictly aboveboard and businesslike. As it should be.

  Twenty minutes later he was in town, riding the elevator to the fifth floor.

  Mandy was behind her desk when he arrived, and she passed over his messages and mail when he paused to wish her good morning.

  “Thanks for these. Could you please let Ron know I’d like to see him when he gets in?” he asked.

  “I’ll make sure he knows,” Mandy said, the picture of professionalism in a neat black suit and pale blue shirt.

  It was just after nine when Ron appeared in Garret’s doorway, a welcoming smile on his craggy face, acting for all the world as though he hadn’t pulled a total dick move the previous day.

  “Garret. How are you settling in? Mandy looking after you?” he asked, striding forward to shake Garret’s hand. He’d played college football and had an inch on Garret, along with twenty or so pounds. His grip was firm, his pale blue gaze holding Garret’s intently the whole time they shook hands. A classic alpha-dog move Garret had seen his father pull many times.

  “Mandy’s been great. How were your meetings yesterday?” Garret asked, keeping his tone light and casual.

  “Great, great,” Ron said, his smile broadening. “Mantis want us to take over all their motor vehicle transport. Contract should be signed by the end of the week.”

  “That’s a big score. Congratulations,” Garret said. Mantis was a large car dealer network with locations across the state. The contract would be a good addition to the bottom line.

  “Your dad set the deal up, I just knocked it down,” Ron said modestly. “Listen, I was really sorry I couldn’t be here on your first day, but I really wanted to nail Mantis down.”

  “Have you got time to sit with me now? I’ve been reviewing some files, talking to a few people, and I’ve got a lot of questions,” Garret asked.

  “Sure thing. Just let me grab a coffee.”

  Garret waited until Ron was settled opposite before launching into a series of queries about the company’s current contracts, fleet makeup, and key clients. To his credit, Ron took pains to explain everything thoroughly yet succinctly, and by the end of the session Garret felt as though he’d filled in a lot of blanks.

  And maybe it was his imagination, but he felt as though Ron had relaxed his guard a little, too, when he saw that Garret was willing to take the time to listen and learn from those more experienced than himself.

  With a bit of luck, maybe Ron wasn’t going to be a problem after all. Maybe it was just going to be a case of Ron needing a little time to adjust and digest the fact that his status and authority in the business were not going to change just because Garret was sitting in his father’s chair.

  It was a nice dream, but his sense of optimism didn’t survive the morning. At eleven Mandy entered his office, a frown on her face.

  “I know you’ve got a call in five, but Theo just emailed me,” she said, referencing the head of the sales department. “He wanted to warn me that the report you asked for is going to be incomplete for his department because Ron is sitting on the financials.”

  Garret put down the contract he’d been reading. “Did Ron give any reason for holding them back?”

  “Not that Theo passed on,” Mandy said, her expression diplomatically neutral.

  Garret paused to digest the full import of her news for a second. He’d spent an hour trying to smooth the waters with Ron this morning, and the whole time the other man had known that he’d already countermanded Garret’s first direct order in the business.

  Which made it official: Ron was fucking with him.

  The realization made Garret feel more than a little stupid for his moment of optimism that morning, which in turn made him less inclined to be understanding toward the other man. He understood that his father’s sudden illness and the unexpected management change was a big gearshift for everyone, but Garret was not up for games. He couldn’t afford them, not when he was already running to catch up and get a grip on a multimillion-dollar enterprise with thousands of employees.

  If Ron wasn’t interested in being number two to Garret’s number one, then it was time for him to leave the business.

  The thought made Garret’s gut tighten. He knew without asking that his father would urge him to do everything in his power to keep Ron happy and on deck, but Garret couldn’t afford to have a general manager who didn’t respect him or his authority. An attitude like that would soon seep into every level of the business.

  “Postpone my call and ask Ron to come see me, please,” he said.

  Mandy acknowledged the request with a single nod before exiting the office.

  “You wanted to see me, boss?” Ron asked five minutes later as he breezed in.

  “Grab a seat,” Garret said, indicating the guest chair in front of his desk.

  “Feel like I’ve been called into the school principal’s office,” Ron said, his tone light. “Hope I’m not about to get detention.”

  He smirked and waggled his eyebrows, supremely confident. Garret sat back in his chair and considered the other man, letting the silence stretch, refusing to allow Ron to frame their meeting as a childish role play.

  “What’s up?” Ron finally said, his smirk fading.

  “I’m trying to work out why you’d hold back the financials for the sales department,” Garret said. “Maybe you could fill me in on what your strategy is?”

  What remained of Ron’s casual demeanor slipped away as his eyes grew cold. “What exactly are you insinuating?”

  “I’m not insinuating anything. I’m asking you a direct question. I asked for a comprehensive report from each department head yesterday, and today I learned that even though you managed to be absent from the office on my first day in, you’ve held back the sales department financials I requested. I’d like to know why.”

  “I’m still pulling the numbers together,” Ron said. “Theo’s a good people person but he’s not great on admin. I thought I’d do him the favor of making sure he didn’t look like a moron.”

  “I’m happy to take whatever you currently have, on the understanding that it’s not completely up-to-date,” Garret said immediately, calling the other man’s bluff.

  “I’m not handing over half-assed data. Anyway, I don’t see why you need all this bullshit paperwork, anyway. I can tell you everything you need to know to sit in that chair—namely, trust me. I’ve been making sure this business runs smoothly for years. Your father trusted me to get the job done, and if the way I ran things was good enough for him, it should be good enough for you.”

  The
impatient contempt in the older man’s expression was very revealing. Garret had been hoping it wouldn’t come to this, but Ron had left him with no choice but to play hardball.

  “Here’s what’s going to happen, Ron. You’re going to get me those sales financials. And then we’re going to talk about how things are going to work around here, if you’d like to continue in your role.”

  A tide of red rushed up Ron’s neck and into his face as he leapt to his feet. “You slick little asswipe. You think you can come in here and kick over everything your father and I built over the last thirty years? Who the fuck do you think you are? I was prepared to give you the benefit of the doubt, but you just proved everything your father ever said about you. When he hears what’s been going on, you’re going to get the wake-up call of your life.”

  “Not gonna happen, Ron. You’re not talking to my father. He doesn’t need the stress, and it would be pointless, because I’ve got full legal authority to do whatever I want to do with this business.”

  Ron’s face got even redder as he glared at Garret, his chest lifting and falling rapidly, his hands flexing at his sides. A part of Garret’s brain measured the distance between the other man and himself, just in case Ron really lost his shit.

  “This is bullshit. You’ll be hearing from my lawyer.” Ron stormed to the door, opening it with enough force to send it smashing against the wall. Then he was gone, leaving a vapor trail of anger and resentment behind him.

  Seconds later, Mandy appeared, her face pale with shock. “Is everything all right?”

  “Did he head back to his office or leave?” Garret asked.

  “He took the elevator,” Mandy reported.

  Which meant he was leaving the building. Good. Garret didn’t want him around while he made his next moves.

  “Could you ask his assistant to come see me, please? Then I need you to get me David Hannam on the line for a meeting in half an hour with myself and Sabrina.” Hannam was the company lawyer, while Sabrina headed human resources. Garret needed their twin expertise in order to exit Ron from the business as quickly and cleanly as possible.