Page 17 of Buckin' Around

I glance at the clock.

11:54 a.m.

Six minutes, that’s all I had to make it through to avoid this.

Damn, I was so fucking close.

I stand and fold my arms over my chest. “Have a seat.”

She turns to shut the door.

“No, leave it open.”

She stiffens. “I don’t think so, Spencer.”

She shuts the door, and I lose a sigh.

When she closes in on the desk, I nod at the chair on the opposite side.

Reluctantly, after a long pause and careful inspection of the upholstered chair that probably costs more than my almost-completed college degree, she slowly sits.

I drop into my seat and lean back, arms safely across my chest. If she’s picking up on my posture, that should tell her everything.

“As you know, I am a founding member of this establishment.” She leans over, the ruffles on her shirt drooping to expose her cleavage. My focus remains on her face.

“I am aware.”

“And as a founding member, I expect to be able to come here and get my needs met.”

“If your gelding is no longer a good fit, I can arrange for a trial with a more suitable mount.”

She smiles at me, like I’m the little Boy Scout who just told her the price of the crappy popcorn he’s hawking.

“No, my mount is not the problem,Spencer.”

“That is theonlything I can help you with, Mrs. Princeton.”

She tilts her head, her face softening. “Oh, gorgeous boy, you underestimate yourself.”

She fixes her hair as her gaze travels the parts of my body she can see with the desk occluding the lower half. Thank fuck for that.

“I have no idea what my father has told you,” I say, leaning forward. “But I am unable to meet any other needs you may have. Period.”

Her face twists like she’s tasted something sour.

I can relate.

She clears her throat and fixes her shirt. “I see. In that case, my membership here depends on your decision.”

“What decision, Priscilla? I saidno.”

Her face reddens, her neck tenses as the veins roar to the surface. “We will see about that, young man. You have until Tuesday to change your mind, or I will do whatever it takes to ruin this lousy ramshackle backwater dive. And me and my girls will take our business elsewhere.”

I raise a brow.

“You think I’m joking? Son, I have been getting what I want for decades. I’m not about to stop now.”

She rises and flicks her long permed over her shoulder before crossing the threshold. She pays me a heated glance as she disappears.