The Cowboy and The Pencil-pusher

"Oh, I'm going to die!" My LV short boots fell into a pile of horse manure with a snap.

"It's 'to shit'." Benjie snorted.

I quickly raised my legs to shake off the rotten shit. "too disgusting."

"What do you think, wearing these shoes to the ranch?" He shook his head, but the smile on his face didn't calm me down.

"That's all I have is a pair of boots." I said irritably, rubbing the shoes on the gravel, trying to scrape the dirt off them. "Shouldn't you be wearing boots when you come to a place like this?"

"You'd better stay in the car." Benjie rolled his eyes, "I told you I can handle it." He glanced at my calf-length cashmere coat and smiled. "You dress like you just finished a menswear fashion shoot."

"do not talk."

"I'm just saying..."

"You've been here twice, but you haven't made any progress at all. If I want to get some results, I will definitely have to do it myself!" I turned around and said angrily, and continued on my way.Before I could finish my sentence, I bumped into someone solidly.The force of the impact sent me stumbling toward a metal fence that I would have crashed into if someone hadn't caught me.Strong fingers dug into my skin and I ended up sinking into his firm pectoral muscles.

"Wow, are you alright?" A husky, slightly nasal voice rang in my ear.

Wordlessly, I grabbed the man's bulging biceps. If it wasn't for him, I would have fallen directly on the railing.When I looked up, I found myself being watched by a pair of the clearest, bluest eyes I have ever seen.They remind me of the Moreno Glacier I saw on vacation in Argentina last summer.

"Did I hurt you?" He was wearing a black cowboy hat and looking at me like I was a china doll that fell off a bookshelf.His voice was deep and masculine, and it made me shudder.After asking the question, he politely brushed my shoulder and looked at me without blinking.

I pushed him away and stood up, cleared my throat, and said awkwardly, "I'm fine." He continued to stare at me. "Thanks."

"polite."

"I didn't see you just now." I straightened my tie, my cheeks burning. "Stepped on that something, it distracted me."

He looked at my boots and twitched the corners of his mouth. "Ha." He frowned. "Such a good thing comes to ranch to waste."

"Oh, you don't either," I said abruptly. "Relax, these are indeed boots and the catalog says that very clearly."

He raised a straight eyebrow.

Benjie cleared his throat. "See you again, Kurt." He pointed at me as he spoke to the cowboy. "This is Paul Smith. Remember when I said he'd come with me someday?"

"Okay you." Kurt shook Benjie's hand and then reached out to me.

I hesitated, and I could swear I saw him curl his lip.

"I don't bite," he said softly.

"I doubt it very much." I squeezed his big rough hand, and he held it longer than I expected, but finally let go.I ignored the thrill of the touch.

cheer up.God, it's not like you haven't seen a Styler.

"How is it today?" Benjie stood on tiptoe and looked towards the crowded corral. "Are you having a party?"

"We had a little rodeo for our employees and their families, just for fun," Kurt replied to Benji, eyeing me curiously.

"It's not cheap." I met his gaze.

"I don't know, I'm not in charge of finances," Kurt said.

"Is Maddy in the trailer?" Benji asked casually.

Kurt's vision suddenly became sharper. "He's not feeling well today."

Benjie hesitated. "That's it..." He glanced at me. "Maybe we should come back another day."

I scowled. "No way! How sick is this Maddy that he can't even see us for a few minutes?" I met Kurt's gaze, and the lines of his mouth stiffened.

"My grandfather is getting old, what can I do for you?"

"Not if you're not in charge of the finances." I turned to Benjy. "You've talked to Maddy, haven't you? Maddy Callahan?"

"I tried." Benjie glanced at Kurt. "But he's always available."

I sighed and met Kurt's cold gaze. "Look, I know it's not appropriate, but we really need to talk to your grandfather about something important to the business."

"What are you talking about?" Kurt took off his hat, stroked his hair with his fingers, and smiled stiffly. "Things are a bit rough right now, but we're doing our best." He put his hat back on firmly.

"I thought you didn't care about the income and expenditure of money?"

"It doesn't matter, but I'm not stupid. I can see from my grandfather's face that he is under pressure. It's not only a genius who can infer that it's a financial problem based on facts."

A gust of wind swept by and the dust was flying. I coughed and tried to disperse it. "Surely there is a more decent place for our conversation?"

Kurt shrugged and nodded. "Come with me." With that, he turned and strode forward to lead the way, and I had to quicken my pace in order to keep up.We passed a tent where families were wolfing down pink marshmallows and laughing recklessly.I don't want to admit that I envy their spirit of indulging themselves in the moment and forgetting the suffering of life.I mean, for God's sake, they're living in a Colorado ravine after all.What is there to be happy about?

We finally came to an old gray and white trailer.Kurt ushers us up the wobbly steps and into it.The small space smelled of old paint and cigarette smoke.Inside, there was a metal sink, and at the far end, there was an orange-and-yellow striped dining area with a table inside.On the crooked table top are piles of papers and a desktop computer.Kurt motioned to the dirty bench, and I shook my head.

"I'm fine standing." I eyed the trailer cautiously.It looked like the set of a horror movie, and it smelled musty, like rotting corpses stuffed in the upper compartment.

"My grandpa used this as his office." Kurt didn't make as much fuss about the place as we did. "He has his way."

"Old man, huh?" Benjie laughed along, but his face wrinkled at the mess.

Kurt frowned at the paper on the table. "His record is incomplete."

"Do you know how long your grandfather's delay in redeeming the mortgage was?" I interrupted.

Kurt frowned deeply and shook his head. "I knew something was wrong, but he never talked about money."

I cleared my throat. "He's five months in arrears."

Kurt bit his lip and frowned. "To be honest, I didn't lie to you about his illness. I can tell him that you have been here, but he is not suitable for receiving guests."

"Well, then tell him we've been," said Benji cheerfully, and turned toward the door.

"Wait!" I frowned at him and turned to Kurt. "The banks are not going to let it go. It's not the way the industry works."

With a long sigh, Kurt shrugged. "But you can't squeeze blood out of a stone."

"Sure, you can foreclose on that rock and sell it to a higher bidder. At least you get your money back."

Kurt lowered his face and said angrily: "The bastard can say such a thing."

The disgust in his words made my cheeks heat up. "We are a credit company, not a church!"

He inspects my expensive coat, then shakes his head. "Does a city kid like you know how to run a ranch?"

"I don't understand, but I can count money."

Benjie echoed: "He lives to eat and count money."

Kurt was unmoved by this.In fact, I don't want to stay here for a long time. I agree with him on this point, but he hasn't realized our commonality.I caught a glimpse of a young girl reining in a horse in front of a trailer, letting it pull out a pile of shit.

God, let me get out of this damn place!

I take a deep breath and start my regular presentation. "It's in your grandfather's favor that he took out the loan on my house, and it's not exactly a big business. We don't like to steal other people's homes. We'd rather you start paying it back slowly." I don't know if he can hear me absent-minded.

"We hope so too," Kurt said slowly.

I looked at my dirty boots. "I want to get this off ASAP." As long as it's less likely to step on animal waste, that's where I want to be the most.

"You'll have to throw your shoes away when you go back to the hotel," snickered Benjie. "I can smell it from here."

I took my silk handkerchief from my pocket, and put it to my nose. "I just think it's a regular smell here." I headed for the door, being careful not to rub my coat on anything. "Tell your grandfather to call me tonight or tomorrow morning. It's only going to get worse if he keeps playing disappearing."

"I'll tell him, but he's a bigot." Kurt followed me out, and once again I was struck by the unusual color of his eyes as the sun shone on his face.

I felt a rare pang of sympathy for Kurt's situation.My dad was a stubborn jerk most of his life, and I know it's not easy dealing with that kind of guy sometimes. "Convince your grandfather to contact us that our business plan might save his ranch. But if he continues to be a coward, he will lose his land and everything he fought for."

"You really think you can help him?" Kurt raised his eyebrows suspiciously.

"I think so."

"Paul may not have the affinity, but he's great at what he does," Benji said, leaning toward Kurt. "If you can get your grandpa to cooperate, then Paul can work the magic."

"I'll try."

We shook hands again, and the moment I touched his skin and smelled his woody cologne, the familiar throbbing hit me again.I quickly withdrew my hand and stuffed it into my coat pocket.Kurt narrowed his eyes but said nothing.

I had to say something else to distract myself while he was watching. "Times have changed, and it's probably not enough to run a ranch just for income from livestock. If your grandfather was a sensible man, I hope he can turn the deficit around."

"sounds good."

At this time, a boy dressed as a cowboy clown ran over and bumped into me slightly, "What the hell." I shook my head and said irritably.

"Don't worry, he can't hurt you." Kurt sneered.

"What?" I frowned, looking at the clown who had disappeared from sight. "No, I'm not scared. But he hit me," I said angrily.

"Don't worry, a lot of people get scared by cowboy clowns."

My face is a little hot. "You must be kidding, I've skied in the Alps, swam with sharks in Fiji, and of course I can take down a kid dressed as a clown in bloomers and a red nose."

"Ah, ha." He pouted.

"I'm not afraid of clowns," I said aloud.

A mischievous smile flashed in Kurt's eyes. "Of course. You have the final say, city girl."

"Maybe you're afraid he's going to strangle you with a balloon animal." Benji joined in on my teasing, drawing a disapproving glare from me. "Probably not."

I continued talking to Kurt, trying to hide my annoyance. "Ask your grandfather to contact me." And handed him the business card, which he fiddled with for a while before stuffing it into the pocket of his jeans.

"Of course." Kurt pointed at the brim of his hat, and seemed to be holding back a smile before turning away. "You may be more willing to go through the west door than the other end. The previous one will pass by the clown tent."

I tighten my mouth and drag Benji away, ignoring Kurt's hoarse laughter behind me.