Southern Charm : A BWWM Cowboy Romance Read online

  She trudged over to it, wondering how long she might be left waiting in what was probably some dusty, dank makeshift office, if the exterior of the building was any indication of what was housed within. She made her way toward the building, locating the rather rustic looking door. The letters on the front were mostly faded with only “rat” clearly visible amid the outlines of the remaining letters. For some reason, she found that amusing as she stepped inside to take a look around.

  Cecilia was both pleasantly surprised and hesitant as she got a good look at what awaited her. On one hand, the office was surprisingly clean and roomy. It was air conditioned with the walls painted a light mint color, giving it a more modern look than what she had expected.

  The concerning part was that it was completely disorganized. There was paperwork stacked on the file cabinet rather than in it where it belonged. The front desk was scattered with unsorted papers that seemed to not be even loosely organized into stacks of any sort. Worst of all, she saw no signs of a computer. What she did see was an open ledger book, the equivalent to seeing a dinosaur in her line of work.

  Cecilia walked closer, reaching out to lift one corner of the ancient book before letting it fall back with an audible thud on the desk. What was she supposed to do with that?

  The sound of his deep raspy voice had her spinning around.

  “I see you found it,” Mayhew said, as he stepped inside the door to join her.

  “Yes. I found it,” she replied with what could have only been a stricken look.

  “Okay. I know. It’s horrible. I won’t try to sugar coat it,” he laughed, trying to ease the situation. She cast her gaze around the office again. It didn’t.

  “How long have you been without an accountant?” she asked slowly, taking in the clutter and disorganized papers scattered on every available surface, assuming this chaos was a result of him trying to manage his own books.

  “Two days,” he said, watching her eyes widen in disbelief.

  “You’re kidding me, aren’t you?” she said, looking around again, but disbelieving. It looked like an accountant hadn’t stepped foot in the room in over five years.

  “No. I am not. Look, I inherited this place from my grandfather. Maggie, the former accountant, was inherited right along with it. She had been doing my grandfather’s accounting since he bought the ranch. Hell, I’m pretty certain she had been doing accounting since the stone ages. She insisted on doing things the old fashioned way, with ledgers and filing cabinets, but she did a fantastic job. That is, until recently,” he shrugged, “Obviously.”

  “What happened?” she asked, looking around at the chaos once again.

  “Old age. First, she began having some health issues that took her to doctors’ offices more than her desk. Then, a bit of dementia seemed to set in. She would forget things, lose things, or sometimes just stare into space for hours.

  I didn’t have the heart to fire her, but things were getting to be a bit problematic. Her son saved me from having to let her go by insisting that she retire and go back to Maine with him where he could care for her. It was a relief for all of us I think,” he confided softly, looking around the room as if he didn’t see the clutter and disorganization at all.

  “How big of a mess did she leave, other than the obvious?” she asked, as she once again debated whether she really wanted to accept this job. He shrugged abashedly, and the half-smile curling his lips made her heart catch again, her gaze fixating on the slight dimple that formed just to the right of his mouth. Tearing her gaze away, she admonished herself to focus on the job at hand. And boy, was it one hell of a job.

  “Honestly, I don’t know. I haven’t had time to get in here and even attempt to make sense of things with all my other responsibilities,” he shrugged again, and that lopsided grin pulled at her, making her want to ruffle his hair and kiss him. Wait, kiss him? Where did that thought come from? Blushing to the roots of her hair and hoping that her new boss hadn’t noticed, she turned to the desk once more.

  “Listen, Mr. Mayhew. I appreciate you offering me the job, but I can’t work in an office without a computer and full of stacks of paperwork. Do you have any idea how long it will take me to even sort through all this and get it you up to speed?” she asked with an arched eyebrow.

  “No, no, no. I don’t expect you to have me all whipped into shape overnight, and I certainly don’t want to see you tied to some archaic ledger. I’m not an accountant, but even I know those things are difficult to manage. Plus, I miss out on so much of the data I could have been tracking with a more modern system.

  So, just hear me out before you run away screaming, okay?” he replied. He looked horrified for a moment that she might walk out on him. It was obvious he needed someone and needed that someone quickly.

  “Very well,” she replied, willing to at least listen to him.

  “Good. Here is what I am proposing. Look around, decide what you need to get this place up to par while I take care of some things around the ranch. Then, we will go into the city and buy whatever you tell me is required for you to do your job.

  I’ll even treat you to lunch while we are there,” he offered, obviously trying to sweeten the deal for her. He looked at her, pleading with her to give him a chance, and she couldn’t find it within herself to turn him down. He seemed so optimistic, and it was obvious that he needed her. Just as an accountant, she reminded herself as heat flashed through her at the thought.

  “I can do that, but we also need to discuss salary and benefits,” she replied, trying to sound professional, but knowing her voice came out sounding breathier than she had intended.

  “Yes, of course. I was just so exasperated yesterday that I didn’t even think about going over that. Your salary would start at seventy five thousand dollars. Benefits are full health and dental.

  I have a new hire packet to give you that has all the information in it and some forms I’ll need you to fill out for me. Also, you have two weeks’ vacation and five personal days per year. The personal days double as sick days, so you can use them however you need to, or I will pay them out at the end of the year,” he told her, as if he were saying the sky was blue.

  “I’m sorry. Did you say seventy five thousand a year?” she stuttered, thinking she had misunderstood him. That sort of salary for her experience level and what she perceived to be the requirements for a ranch was very high.

  “Yes. Seventy five thousand per year,” he repeated. “Though your primary function is accounting, you will also double as a bit of my assistant in answering the phones, doing new hire paperwork and payroll.

  There isn’t a lot to that and will probably be even less for you based on the computer skills you have listed on your resume. Maggie did everything by hand, so it took more time than if it had been automated. I’m quite certain that a computer will be on your list of needs when I return for the trip into town,” he said with a heart stopping smile.

  “Oh, yes. It will be at the very top of the list,” she laughed, euphoria rushing through her as it repeated in her head. Seventy five thousand. She wouldn’t have to worry about paying her bills on time, or fixing that rattle in her car. She could buy lots of new shoes, she thought with a secret smile. “You have yourself an accountant.”

  “Great. Let me get you a packet,” he replied, a note of relief lacing his voice as he walked over to the desk at the back of the long office and pulling a manila envelope from a drawer.

  He handed it to her, his hand touching hers for a moment. She tried to ignore the involuntary strands of excitement that wound their way along her nerve endings. He was officially her boss and it was a very bad idea to even consider getting involved with him, assuming he would even be interested in that way.

  Flustered, she took the packet, holding it to her chest, surreptitiously rubbing her still tingling fingertips.

  Her boss quickly took a step back, casting his gaze once more around before looking at her, his blue-eyed stare hitting her with a physical fo
rce that she tried desperately to ignore.

  “Um, okay. I, um . . . . I’m going to get to work for a bit. I’ll be back later to check in. Oh, there is a two-way radio on the shelf over there. It should already be on the right channel, which is three. You can use it to talk to me while I’m out if you ever need to and if the phone rings, just take messages and put them on my desk,” and as he left, he smiled a quick goodbye.

  “Okay. I’ll see what I can do with this place while you are out,” she said, smiling back at him.

  “I’m sure whatever it is will be an improvement,” he replied as he walked out the door.

  Cecilia stood there, looking around, feeling lost for a moment before finally deciding where to start. She began sorting through the papers on her new desk, putting them into temporary stacks according to what they were and their dates.

  Once that was done, she took an inventory of the drawers and surrounding cabinets, making a quick list of what she would need to start organizing the mess Maggie had left behind.

  An initial review of the books reflected exactly what Mr. Mayhew had indicated: Maggie was a fierce bookkeeper despite her manual proclivities, until the most recent months. The biggest time stealer was going to be getting her manual records transitioned into an electronic format.

  Cecilia was so lost in her work that she didn’t even notice when the tall shadow fell over her.

  “You’re still here,” Mayhew said, making her jump as he stepped back through the door shortly before twelve.

  “You seem surprised,” she laughed up at him, not realizing the picture she made: sitting in the middle of the office floor, surrounded with the last few stacks of papers, her hair pulled up in a quick bun and stuck through with two or three pens. Small tendrils had fallen out to curl around the side of her neck. He looked at her for a long moment before replying.

  “A little. Not everyone wants to tackle an archaic accounting system,” he replied, looking around, noticing the lack of clutter already. “Of course, it looks like you’ve wasted no time in rolling up your sleeves and sorting it out.”

  “Nothing slack about me,” she told him, smiling. “Just wait until you see the list of demands I’ve acquired though.”

  “Oh, boy. Let’s have it,” he said, his brow furrowed.

  Cecilia handed him the list and watched as he looked over it. Having come from an office where it took a mountain of paperwork just to replace a new pen, she was expecting a negotiation or his merely crossing out of some of the lesser items.

  “I can live with it,” he shrugged easily, no arguments, no questions. “Let’s get going.”

  “Really? That was easy. Now, I feel I should have added some of the items I debated to the list,” she joked.

  “Just toss them in the cart when we get there,” he replied.

  “I will,” she told him elatedly, glad not to have a fight on her hands over basic office supplies the very first day.

  Cecilia followed him out the big truck that sat in the driveway, and was struck by the gentlemanly gesture as he opened the passenger side door for her, helping her in, before shutting and walking around the driver’s side. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had opened the door for her.

  She looked over at him, suddenly feeling nervous, but not sure why. Maybe it was the fact that they were sitting so close, or enclosed in the intimate space of the truck, alone. She struggled for something to say, anything to break the growing tension in the air, but couldn’t think of a single thing. Finally, he broke the silence.

  “Why don’t you tell me something about yourself that isn’t in your resume,” he said, while he pulled out onto the same lane she had gotten turned around on the day before, as they were on their way into town.

  “Not much to tell, really,” she racked her brain, not really knowing what to say.

  “Well, is there a Mr. Barnes? Any children?” he asked.

  She glanced over at him, noting that his eyes were focused on the road. Was he trying to figure out if she was available or just getting to know a new employee? A part of her would like to think it was the former, but she was well aware that was a bad idea. Rather than trying to sort it all out, she elected to just answer his questions.

  “No, there is no Mr. Barnes, and I don’t have any children,” she replied. “How about you?”

  “The same. No time to pursue such things I guess. After my grandfather passed, I pretty much became married to the ranch. Very little time for other things,” he commented.

  “That sounds like all work and no play,” she noted, the words slipping out in a breathy way that she hadn’t intended.

  “It pretty much is. You get used to it,” he replied with a shrug. “Listen, I was thinking about Café Verona for lunch. Do you like Italian?”

  “Really? I figured you for a steak and potato kind of guy,” she quipped, instantly feeling horrified that he might find such a stereotype offensive.

  “I know. Big, fearsome guy like me should be out just grilling up a whole cow and eating it straight off the fire,” he laughed, tossing a sideways smile at her.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. With the ranch and all, I just figure you work up more of an appetite than pasta and salad,” she replied, trying to lessen the damage.

  “One thing you will learn working for me, Cecilia, is that I don’t really fit the mold for a ranch owner. This wasn’t exactly my calling, but it is home and I couldn’t let it go after my grandfather spent his life breaking his back to make his way,” he confided, a hint of sadness to his voice.

  “I’m sorry,” she managed, looking out the window. She wanted to ask about his parents, but perhaps it was best that she just keep her mouth closed, she thought to herself. With one foot in it and the fear that further commentary would just land both wedged in her mouth, maybe she should just maintain her silence at this point.

  “Nothing to be sorry about,” he said finally. “It’s just life.”

  They fell into silence as they drove the last few miles into town, pulling into the office supply parking lot and making their way inside. Conversation picked up again as they focused on what was needed to get the office up to speed, quickly filling a shopping cart with assorted items before venturing into the aisle where the computers were housed. She began looking at the sparse selection of desktop models designed for business.

  “How about we go with one of these hybrid models instead?” he interjected, steering her further down the aisle.

  “They are a bit more expensive and not really necessary for an office space,” she told him, looking at the one he was eyeing, a laptop with a top that flipped over to convert to tablet format.

  “I know, but I like the idea of being able to unplug it and take it with me if I want to work at home, and I can think of several instances that it would come in handy to take out on the ranch,” he replied.

  “I thought we were looking for a computer for my accounting needs,” she told him, raising an eyebrow in his direction.

  “We are, but I would like to get one for my desk, as well. I have an older desktop at the house. I think I’m due an upgrade and I would like for us to be compatible,” he looked away at that, refusing to meet her gaze. Cecilia didn’t miss the slight flush that spread over his face at his choice of words. She couldn’t deny feeling a similar effect.

  “You would, huh?” she said with a little smirk, not missing the way he shifted his weight awkwardly before addressing the salesman once more.

  “So, what do you have for us?” he asked the young man who had joined them and obviously overheard their discussion.

  Thirty minutes later, they were leaving with two of the hybrids, the proper software, and a host of other office supplies. It felt a bit like Christmas, though none of it actually belonged to Cecilia.

  “I think I might have just enough money left to buy you lunch,” he joked as they got back in the truck and headed to the restaurant.

  “Good thing. I’m starving!” she
replied with a laugh.

  Moments later, they were pulling into the parking lot at Café Verona. The place was packed. It was going to take them an hour just to be seated, Cecilia thought to herself. Instead, she found the hostess smiling broadly at her new boss as he approached.

  “Jack!” the woman beamed.

  “Hey, Monica,” he told her as she gave him a half hug. “I need a table for two.”

  “Two?” she responded curiously, looking around him to see who was with him. She raised a single eyebrow at her and smiled, the expression looking out of place on her.

  Cecilia gave her an equally fake smile in return. “Oh, I see. Of course. Let me find you a table. Give me just a minute,” she continued, stepping away from her podium and disappearing into the restaurant.

  Jack smiled awkwardly at her. She could only surmise the girl was someone he knew a little better than just as the hostess at a local restaurant. Though she hated to admit it, she felt a bit jealous, which she had absolutely no business being. The leggy blonde hostess returned in just a moment and was beaming at Jack, once again.

  “Okay, honey, I found a small table. It was reserved, but they are late, so I’m going to cross them off the list,” she whispered, winking at him.

  “Thanks so much, Monica,” he replied.

  “Sure thing,” she giggled, motioning for them to follow her. Jack waited for Cecilia to take the lead and followed the two women to the table. Moments later, a waiter appeared with two glasses of water and asked if they would like anything else to drink instead.

  “This is good for me,” Jack replied. “How about you Cecilia?”

  “Water is fine,” she replied.

  “Great. I’ll give you a moment with the menu and be back to take your order,” the waiter told them before stepping away.

  Cecilia took a nervous sip of the water, although she knew there was no reason to be that way. She just couldn’t shake the feeling of birds fluttering around her stomach as she sat across from the handsome, enigmatic man. She picked up the massive menu.