“Oh sure. Are you here for the meeting? They just went back. They haven’t started yet.”
“Oh yes. I was just running a little behind.”
“Excellent. You’re just going to take aright at the fireplace and head straight down the hall. They are in the Sycamore conference room.”
“Thank you so much.” Lily-Grace smiled, then turned in the direction of the conference room. She had a feeling they might have this out in front of a staff member or two, but she could handle an audience of strangers. Hopefully it was an important vendor that would reconsider giving the ranch their business, thanks to Jesse’s screwup.
She took the right and headed down a brightly lit hallway. Another staff member came out of one of the doors and just smiled at her as she slipped by. Ten steps later she arrived at the closed door to the Sycamore conference room. She could hear voices inside, but she couldn’t make out exactly what was being said. Not that it mattered. She let out a deep breath before she gripped the door handle and whipped it open. Sure enough, she busted in on a meeting. Jesse was seated with two white men and a Black woman. All eyes shot to her, Jesse’s practically bugging out of his head.
“Sorry to interrupt.”
“Lily-Grace,” Jesse said, the shock in his voice clear. He stood, immediately adjusting the front of his suit jacket. The words on the tip of her tongue died in her mouth as she took him in, towering over the far end of the conference table. He’d been tall when they were kids, but now he was enormous, a full head taller than her, which said a lot. He was wide too. Everything about him was wide. His shoulders, his chest, his arms. His thighs. Good Lord, those thighs. She couldn’t imagine how much he paid for that navy blue suit to fit him so well.
“Excuse me. Jonathan, Cynthia, Michael, this is Lily-Grace LeRoux. One of my former classmates.” She’d think about how they hadn’t seen each other in over twenty years and he remembered her instantly.
“Nice to meet you,” Cynthia said.
She swallowed, giving Cynthia a polite nod, while ignoring all the ways Jesse had somehow morphed into her exact type since the last time she’d seen him. There were maybe four men on Earth who could pull off an honest-to-goodness goatee, and Jesse Pleasant was one of them.
“I didn’t come here to take up too much of your time. I just wanted to tell you something.”
“Uh, sure. Please.” He motioned toward an open chair, like she hadn’t just barged in on an important meeting.
“I’m not going to sit. I’m not staying. I just wanted to let you know you will be paying my father’s medical bills and any necessary rehab bills. I’d ask who the hell raised you, but I remember your parents and I know your grandmother, and I know she had nothing to do with the way you acted. If you come near my father again, I will own this whole fucking ranch. You got that?”
Jesse blinked, just staring at her. His guests looked between the two of them, probably wondering how hard it would be to disappear under the conference table.
“Lily, I—”
“It’s Lily-Grace. You know that.”
“Lily-Grace. I—think we should talk. I didn’t—”
“I know exactly what you did, and I know just how badly you overreacted to something that is absolutely none of your business. All of it was a bit too much if you ask me. Get your temper the fuck under control and stay away from my father. And maybe show your grandmother the respect she deserves.” She turned on her heels and quickly left the room, closing the door behind her.
She was hot all over and she felt like she was vibrating as she power walked back down to the lobby.
“Lily-Grace!” she heard Jesse call after her. She didn’t stop though, even with the deep baritone of his voice sending shivers all over her body. She walked a little faster, her heels clicking across the floor as she gave the girl behind the desk a brisk thanks. The valets had her car waiting right where she left it.
“Thanks so much.” She quickly hopped back behind the wheel just as Jesse came rushing through the lodge doors. He called out her name, trying to get her to wait. No chance of that happening. She looked carefully up and down the drive before she pulled back out toward the exit. If things went her way, she’d never see Jesse Pleasant again.
Chapter 3
Jesse sat at his desk, staring at his closed door. His meeting with the team from ANWF had gone surprisingly well. Especially after the unexpected appearance from Lily-Grace LeRoux. He’d given them the brief rundown of why she’d been so upset, and they couldn’t seem to care less. They were worried about real scandals hiding in his closet. Not an argument between him and his grandmother’s lover’s daughter.
They seemed more concerned with the fact that he was single than that fact that a woman had stormed in before they could really get started, and threatened to own his whole ass if he didn’t get it together. Jesse believed her. There was no doubt in his mind that Lily-Grace would find some way to sue the ranch right out from under him, all over a minor fracture.
Okay, maybe it wasn’t fair to downplay Mr. LeRoux’s injury. Jesse had had no intention of actually hurting him. And even though he didn’t actually lay a finger on the man, he loved his own grandmother enough to know that he’d considered choking an old man to death for kissing her. Barging into a meeting would have been a mild response to Miss Leona actually being hurt.
Lily-Grace LeRoux. Jesse couldn’t believe it was actually her. He wasn’t surprised when she’d left town to go to a prestigious boarding school. She’d always been smart, and while Jesse had had his own issues with growth spurts, middle school hadn’t been kind to Lily-Grace in other ways. Jesse’s size had been seen as an asset to coaches across the state. Lily-Grace had also been tall for her age, but she was terrible at sports and her vitiligo made her a target for everyone with something shitty to say. He wasn’t surprised she’d left town at all. He was shocked she was back.
Jesse let out a deep breath and fought the urge to loosen his tie. He had a lot to consider. Cynthia and her team liked what they saw in him, and pending a more intensive vetting process, they really wanted him to consider running for the soon-to-be-vacant seat for the eighth district of California. Jesse had a lot to consider, but ever since he’d sent them on their way, all he could think about was the fiery look in Lily-Grace’s eyes when she came bursting through the conference room door.
He had to see her.
Jesse sprang up from his desk and started gathering his things, including his black Stetson from its hook on the wall. He cut off the light and stepped out into the small reception area between his and Zach’s offices. Erin, their new receptionist, looked up at him with a bright smile as Clementine army-crawled out from under the accent table against the wall.
“More wedding stuff?” Erin asked.
He left at the same time every day, 5:37 p.m. on the dot, but this week he’d told Erin to expect his schedule to be a little irregular.
“Actually, I have to go meet a friend,” Jesse lied. Erin’s smile widened with unease as her eyebrows crept up. Everyone knew Jesse had no friends. Not really.
“Well, have fun with your friend. You have a ten a.m. tomorrow with Dr. Vasquez.”