Julie Benson - Home on the Ranch - Colorado

Chloe pointed to the monitor. “Check these out.”

Elizabeth stared at the photos. Rory had a presence. Incredible, steamy, make-a-woman’s-insides-tingle-with-a-look presence. “The shots are fantastic, but they don’t showcase the jeans.”

“I agree, but do you want to put one of these in a portfolio to show Devlin how well Rory photographs?”

“Couldn’t hurt.”

Chloe clicked computer keys and a second later the printer hummed to life. “Now, about you and Rory, I wasn’t talking about the arguing type of sparks. I was talking about the making-you-all-hot-and-bothered ones.”

Elizabeth stood and retrieved the photo from the printer. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Good comeback. That’ll make her drop the subject .

She laughed. “You never were a good liar.”

“So, I admit it. The guy drives me crazy.”

Chloe flashed her an annoying best-friend, know-it-all smile.

“I didn’t mean that in a good way,” Elizabeth stated. “He’s stubborn, inflexible, and refuses to take directions or criticism well.”

“One person’s fighting is another person’s dancing.”

“That’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard.” After tossing the photo onto the desk blotter, Elizabeth sank back into her chair. “If you’re trying to say I enjoyed arguing with him today, you’re way off base.”

“You may not have had fun, but he was having a blast seeing your temper flare. Think about what it would be like making up with him. Oooh!”

“You think Rory was being difficult on purpose? Why would he do that?”

Chloe shrugged and pulled up more photos on the computer screen. These of Rory holding the saddle.

“If he was, he has a sick sense of humor,” Elizabeth declared. “A man with self-respect and a decent work ethic wouldn’t enjoy making his boss uncomfortable.” She tapped the monitor. “Print out that one.”

Chloe nodded. “Think about it from his point of view. He’s a strong, assertive man, a lone cowboy. I’m guessing Rory doesn’t take orders from too many people.”

“Then he’s going to have to start learning who’s at the top of the food chain.”

“When Devlin signs the contract and you center the jeans campaign on Rory, you’re going to have to find a way to coexist.”

“It’ll be easy. I plan for this campaign to do major things for my career.” That is, if Rory didn’t drive her completely insane first. Elizabeth paced the length of her office, stopping at her credenza to straighten the silver Effie Award she’d received for the Tug-Ups training pants ad she’d created last year.

Courage and self-esteem bolstered, she reasoned she could work with Rory. After all, she worked with Micah Devlin.

“Saving the Devlin account and creating a nationwide campaign can turn management supervisors into vice presidents. When Rory’s driving me insane, I’ll visualize my new, spacious, vice-presidential office.”

“Ah, yes. Your ten-year plan.”

Elizabeth ignored her friend’s sarcasm. Chloe wasn’t a big believer in planning, preferring to remain open to life’s opportunities because goals stifled her. Elizabeth believed that to achieve what she wanted took goal setting, strategic planning and a lot of visualization.

Chloe leaned forward in her chair and whistled. “Look at these photos. Cowboy here just might take both our careers places.”

Elizabeth gazed at the pictures. Rory stared back at her, his boots firmly planted on the ground, the white shirt pulled taut across his pecs, his biceps bulging as he held the saddle. The man would become the stuff women dreamed of. “Print that one.”

Chloe nodded, and scrolled through more photos. A few seconds later, she clicked on an image to enlarge it, then leaned back in her chair and sighed dreamily. “One of the perks of my job, butt shots of gorgeous men.” She tapped the computer screen with her dark purple nail. “And that man has one fine butt.”

Glancing at the photo, Elizabeth kept her lips pinned together for fear she’d start drooling. Once she had her emotions well under control, she said, “Remember the focus of our campaign is the jeans, not on how good the model’s butt is.”

“Are you saying you disagree with my assessment?”

She’d have to be blind to disagree. Not that she’d admit the fact to Chloe, for fear of eternal taunting. “My job is to focus on how the jeans look.”

“Which is pretty damn good on his butt.”

“Print the first one and the shot where he’s looking over his shoulder at us.”

“You mean the one where he looks like he’s ready to carry you off into the sunset?”

“If that’s the third shot, then yes. We’ll add that to the portfolio.” Elizabeth stared at the photo. Rory’s eyes had darkened to a deep walnut color, and he had the slightest smile on his face. “What makes you say he was thinking of me? Maybe he was thinking about you.”

“Don’t I wish.” Chloe sighed again. “But alas, his gaze followed you around the room.”

That information should’ve made Elizabeth warm in all kinds of places, but instead the fact worried her. She couldn’t afford having Rory see her as anything but his boss. “He can’t be interested in me. Can he?”

“Why’s that so unbelievable?”

“We’re ill-suited.”

“Opposites attract.”

“You’re full of clichés today.”

“You’re just ticked because I’m right, and don’t try to change the subject. It’s true. Opposites do attract.”

“They may have instant chemistry, but those relationships don’t last. The ones that do are based on things like similar values and interests.” Needing something to busy her hands and control her nervousness, Elizabeth grabbed a pen and fiddled with it. “Pull up the shots of him shirtless.”

“You’d give a guy up because you worked together? Even if you thought he was your soul mate?”

“There’s no such thing. In a world of over six billion people, there has to be more than one man I could have a lasting relationship with.”

Chloe shook her head. “If I thought a guy was the one, I wouldn’t let anything get in the way.”

The last shots of Rory popped onto the screen. Chloe whistled through her teeth. “Be still my heart. These are the best yet. Look at those six-pack abs.”

Elizabeth stared at the photo, speechless. Rory could make a nun think twice about her vow of chastity. Hell, think three times about it. “Make that one poster-size. I’ll put it on an easel. Put the rest in a portfolio. I’m off to make sure the mock-ups are ready for tomorrow.”

Pointing at the picture displayed on the computer monitor, Chloe said, “That’s all you’ve got to say about this?”

“I think it’s excellent. It should accomplish exactly what we need it to.”

Her friend flopped back in her chair and threw her hands in the air. “And that’s why you don’t date much.”

“Can we stick to the job here, and stay off the topic of my love life?”

“What love life?”

Elizabeth pointedly ignored her jibe, mainly because she lacked a good comeback. Tough to argue with the truth.

Her dating had been a little sparse lately, but that was because she had standards. If she let her friends set her up she could have three dates a week, but what was the point of dating if the candidates fell below par? On top of that, her job’s long hours left little time for a social life. But more importantly, she had no intention of letting dating sidetrack her from what mattered—saving Devlin’s accounts and advancing her career. That required work and sacrifice. Everything worthwhile did.

“How can looking at this gorgeous guy, one you’ll be working in close contact with, not make your body sing?”