Chapter 5

Bree stared out the French doors as the morning light shone through the east side of the Hart ranch. It was her favorite view because she could watch the stable hands work the horses on their morning routine. She’d always had a love of animals. Maybe not as much as her cousin Rylee Hart, a veterinarian, but she could hold her own. Maybe that’s why an affair with Jacob Taylor had appealed to her. He’d offered a simpler, gentler lifestyle than the one her father had planned for her.

Although dust and dirt ran through his veins, Duke Hart didn’t want a man like Jacob for Bree. She suspected he would appreciate a man like Grayson Wells, a self-starter who’d grown a bet with a sheikh into a multimillion-dollar business and lived to tell the tale. Rumor had it that they were best friends or at least that’s what the social blogs said.

But Bree didn’t care about any of that. She never had. She’d always looked deeper inside a person to see what they were really made of. And last night, she’d seen who Grayson really was. He was not only a sharp-as-a-tack businessman, he was a brother and a son who cared about his family, and Bree respected him. More than that, she was attracted to the man. The chemistry between them had been obvious when she’d entered his mansion and had been palpable until the moment he’d walked her to her car.

She was thinking about just how fine Grayson looked in his faded relaxed jeans last night when her father walked into the sunroom. By this point, she had left the French doors and had sat down at the table in the center of the room.

At sixty, Duke barely looked a day over fifty because he got plenty of exercise working on the ranch. His smooth, brown skin looked freshly shaven.

“Morning.” Bree didn’t bother looking up from the newspaper she’d started skimming.

“Where were you last night?” her father asked as he sat at the head of the table. He helped himself to the carafe of coffee in the center of it and poured himself a mug.

Bree’s eyes flickered upward. “Excuse me?”

“No excuses necessary. I asked you where you were,” her father replied. “A decent young lady doesn’t come in at all hours of the night. It’s just not ladylike.”

“And what would you know about that, Daddy?” Bree slammed her paper down on the table. It wasn’t like she’d stayed out that late. She’d gotten in a little after ten. “As I recall, you were quite the rebel rouser in your youth.”

“Don’t sass me, Bree.”

“I’m not trying to sass you, Daddy. I’m just saying it’s the pot calling the kettle black.”

He set his mug on the table with a thud and half of it spilled onto the tablecloth. He didn’t bother cleaning it up. “Now you’re trying to change the subject, and I won’t have it.”

“And I won’t be twenty questioned like I’m an adolescent,” Bree said, using the napkin in her lap to blot up the coffee. “I’m a grown-ass woman who can do what I want, when I want. And if you don’t like it, I can move out and leave you alone in this mausoleum of a house, just like Mama, London, and Jada. And then where will you be?”

“Of all the . . .” Her father rose to his full height and towered over Bree. “How dare you talk to me like that!”

“I’ll talk to you anyway I feel. It’s not like you respect me. Why else would you choose Caleb over me to run Hart Enterprises? And now apparently you have a problem with my comings and goings? What is it that you want, Daddy? For me to live like a nun? Or maybe chained to my desk, never to have a life, a husband, a lover since you ran away the one man I ever loved? What exactly do you want for me?”

Her father stepped back and regarded her. He was as stunned as she was by her impassioned speech. Bree hadn’t realized she’d been holding so much inside until now.

Duke whipped off his cowboy hat and flung it across the room. “Do all my children hate me?” His brown eyes focused intently on her. “First Trent, London, and now you. Have I really been such a bad father?”

Bree rolled her eyes upward as she leaned back in her chair to look at him. “Don’t be so dramatic, Daddy. I’m telling you like it is. I’d think you can appreciate that.”

“I do, but you packed an awful lot of accusations into that last punch. You care to talk about them?”

She shrugged. “Would it really matter? Will it change the outcome? Will you rescind your decision for Caleb to run HE?”

Her father remained silent.

“Or how about going to find Jacob and bring him back here to the ranch so I can have a slew of babies. How about that?”

Again, he was speechless.

“I didn’t think so,” Bree said. She pushed back her chair and stood. “I have to get to the office. I have a long day ahead.” She started toward the doorway, but her father placed a hand on her arm.

“You know this conversation isn’t over.”

“Of course it is, Daddy.”

Once she was in her Audi and on the way to Hart Enterprises, Bree let out a long sigh of relief. What had come over her? She’d never spoken that way to her father. But she’d also kept her feelings bottled up for far too long. She didn’t know if he’d fully heard her, but now he knew that their relationship was a lot shakier than he’d ever dreamed.

Grayson made it to the office later than he’d intended that Friday morning. It had been a long night getting Cameron settled down after Bree’s visit. Cameron couldn’t stop talking about how much he liked her or how beautiful she was. And his brother wasn’t wrong. What wasn’t there to like about Bree Hart? She hadn’t seemed to mind that Cameron had all but taken over the rest of their evening. Instead, she’d embraced having Cameron join them for dessert.

Grayson had to admit it was a helluva turn-on. He’d never met a woman so warm and generous. In fact, he’d never actually introduced a woman to Cameron. He’d kept most of his dates or conquests at arm’s length, but Bree Hart wasn’t one of those women.

She was smart, accomplished, warm, and giving. And he suspected if he wanted their relationship to develop any further, he would have to go deeper with her than he had with any woman before. He thought about that for a moment, and in the next instant decided that Bree could only be a means to an end despite his intense attraction to her. He sighed. Getting closer to Bree could get him valuable intel on Duke Hart—that’s why he had pursued her in the first place, after all, he reasoned. With Bree’s help, he could understand the man’s strengths and weaknesses. Only then could he use them to his full advantage to destroy the man and all he had built.

Later that morning, Levi strolled into Grayson’s office and closed the door. “Hey, boss man. How goes your quest to bring down Hart Enterprises? Have you made any strides with Bree Hart?”

Grayson nodded. “We’ve shared a couple of meals together. Matter of fact, we have lunch scheduled for when I return from my trip.”

“And what trip is that?”

“Just some personal business I need to take care of.” It was actually a lead he’d gotten from a private investigator that may have located his father’s former lawyer in San Antonio. If all leads were correct, he just might get some insight into how in the hell his father, Elijah Williams, had allowed Duke Hart to swindle him out of his land.

One way or another, he’d find out.

“Is everything alright?” Levi inquired. “Anything you need my help on?”

Grayson shook his head. “No, I’ve got it covered. I was just coming in to take a couple of files with me on the plane.”

“You flying commercial?”

Grayson quirked a brow. “I meant jet.” He couldn’t recall the last time he’d flown on a commercial airline. After he’d made his first million, he’d made sure to find a reliable private airline company so he could fly in style.

“Of course you did.”

“I’ll see you when I get back. In the meantime, I need you to find me the hook to get Bree Hart to come work at Wells Oil.”

“You mean her father’s plans to hand the keys to the kingdom to her cousin aren’t enough?”

“I want there to be no reason for Bree to turn me down,” Grayson said. “I have big plans for her.”

Bree was a fiery filly, and Grayson would need to have his wits about him when he convinced her that working for him was the right move.

The next week, Bree was happy to wrap up her workday early on Tuesday so she could go home for a ride to blow off some steam. After changing clothes and packing a duffel bag with water, a flashlight, blankets, and some light snacks, she set off for the stables. However, when she arrived back at the Hart ranch just after four p.m., she found she was not alone. Addison was in the stables brushing down one of her horses.

“Addison, what are you doing here?”

Addison swung her long mane of jet-black hair in Bree’s direction.

“Well hello to you too,” Addison said. She turned back around to continue brushing the spotted coat of the American Quarter Horse that had already been saddled.

“I’m sorry if I sounded short,” Bree said.

“You just hoped for some alone time?” Addison asked.

“How’d you know?”

“Because it’s what you do when you’ve got something on your mind.”

“And how would you know that?”

“I pay attention.”

“And you? Should you even be riding while you’re pregnant?”

“I’m pregnant, not disabled. The doctor said it was fine up until the third trimester. Plus like you, I like the air whipping through my hair.”

“That’s exactly what I need,” Bree responded, taking the saddle off the hook. She walked over to her Palomino and opened the stall. Her horse immediately lifted her head to greet her.

“How’s my Coco?” she cooed as she rubbed the mare’s back. “Miss me?”

The mare snorted as if she intuitively understood Bree’s question. Bree reached into her pocket for a treat, which the horse immediately took out of her hand.

“Rough day?” Addison asked.

Bree shook her head. “Just a lot on my mind.”

Addison hooked her foot in the stirrup and swung herself over the horse. “Then let’s hope a nice long gallop will clear it up.”

“I’m with you.” Bree wasted no time saddling up her mare and hopping on her back.

Soon she and Addison were galloping across the horizon on the hundreds of acres that made up the Hart ranch. Bree didn’t mind the company because Addison was quiet as if she too were lost in her own thoughts. Bree was unsure what to do. Should she consider Grayson’s offer to come work for Wells Oil? It would certainly be a challenge. She’d probably worked at Hart Enterprises for too long, and maybe it was time for her to work for another company to see what she was really made of. It hadn’t taken long for her to climb the ranks at HE, partly because she was family but also because everyone claimed she had the gift for smelling oil.

Bree knew it was less about a gift than it was equal parts luck that she’d been so successful. But would she have the same trajectory at Wells Oil? Was it worth the upheaval to her family, because Bree knew her father wouldn’t take it too kindly that she was working for the competition.

Of course, it didn’t sit well with her to be dishonest. She believed in straight talking. Always had. And always would. It was one of the traits she’d inherited from her old man, and one that had served her well. Despite the fact he’d appointed Caleb as the soon-to-be CEO, Bree knew it would kill her old man if she left the company, his company. But she’d have to tell him the truth.

Eventually Bree and Addison stopped for a break near a retention pond. Bree pulled out a blanket from her duffel bag and laid it across the grass.

She sat down cross-legged, and Addison joined her, stretching out her long legs. Bree pulled out her canteen and took a long swig of water. Addison did the same while Bree searched her bag for her snack. She pulled out some jerky and began munching. She offered some to Addison, but she shook her head no.

“Care to tell me what’s on your mind?” Addison asked.

Bree glanced out over the horizon and seconds ticked by before she finally said, “I’ve been offered an intriguing proposition, one that would take me away from the family business and potentially move me to one of its competitors.”

Addison nodded. “Ah, if anyone can understand wanting to break free from underneath your father’s thumb, it’s me.”

“That’s right,” Bree said. “You used to work for Walker Trucking.” Addison’s father, Benjamin Walker, owned an oil tanker operation in Dallas that included transporting oil for several oil companies except Duke Hart’s. Bree recalled there was some bad blood between Benjamin and her father. Duke had been a ladies’ man back then and had nearly stolen Addison’s mother, Lila, away from Benjamin, which Benjamin had never forgotten.

“Yeah, I did. Because he wouldn’t allow me to be a geologist mucking in the dirt while Duke pretty much made it a requirement for you. I got stuck majoring in marketing and finance at Texas A & M University.”

Bree rolled her eyes. “You didn’t do too bad for yourself, Addison. You’ve got a great job at Hayes & Hayes.”

“That was only after Caleb’s accident paralyzed him and he broke up with me. I’d worked for Walker Trucking with my father’s COO for a number of years before I branched out on my own and went to Paris after our breakup. It was a twist of fate that I landed that gig with Hayes & Hayes and came back to the States.”

“That’s because you and my cousin were meant to be together.”

Addison nodded her agreement. “Even though I’d met Raphael, I don’t think I ever fell out of love with Caleb.”

“You see,” Bree said, pointing her finger, “that’s the kind of love I want. The kind of love that transcends time.”

Addison leaned back on her forearms and regarded her. “Who knew you had such a romantic streak in you, Bree?”

“Just because I’m a tomboy and don’t mind getting my hands dirty doesn’t mean I don’t want love and passion. I just haven’t found the right man.”

“But you have now?”

“Wh-what do you mean?”

“I’m just picking up on a vibe. Have you met someone? Is that what has you so on edge . . . and had us galloping for an hour?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know. Maybe,” Bree finally said. “It’s too soon to say. I just know that, that it felt different when I was with him. Like, well like I couldn’t catch my breath. And I thought I’d felt that way before with Jacob, but that was just puppy love compared to this.”

“And that scares you?”

“I don’t know if it scares me so much as I’ve been down that road before and had my heart trampled on, so I’m not too excited for a repeat. I’m used to keeping things casual in my relationships.”

“But this man makes you want more?”

“More than I should because he could be my boss.”

“Wait a second. The man that has your heart aflutter and you short of breath could become your boss?”

Bree nodded. “Should I choose to accept his offer?”

“Oh this is complicated,” Addison said, rubbing her belly, deep in thought.

“Any advice you care to give me?”

“Be careful, Bree. Your sixth sense is on to something and being cautious wouldn’t be such a bad thing.”

Was Addison right? Should she be cautious as she had been for nearly the last decade, trudging through life and living day to day for work and family? Or maybe, just maybe, she should be the risk-taker she’d been in her youth before Duke had squashed her dreams and take Grayson up on both of his offers.

The job offer.

And the unspoken offer of becoming his lover.

Both were on the table.

The question was, what was she going to do about them?