A Rancher's Desire Read Free Page A

what?”
 “Female debauchery going on between our bosses. I believe Aiyanna mentioned tickling,” John answered.
    Dastan blew out a breath. “We always miss the good stuff.”
    John faced Aiyanna again, folded his arms across a giant expanse of chest. “Das and I demand that this tickling commence or we quit.”
    “Yeah!” The other idiot co-signed as he came back past with more design layouts.
    “You’re fired,” Aiyanna said.
    Instead of being deterred, John rolled his eyes. “Okay, no tickling. How about a hug, a really friendly hug? Now it’s your choice. You can share said hug with your business partner or me.” He put his hands up in front of himself. “No pressure. I’ll enjoy either one.”
    Aiyanna looked over her shoulder at Lalani. “Why did we hire him again?”
    “Because, I’m adorable.”
    Aiyanna raised a brow as she looked him over. “So are puppies but even those get left shivering in the cold sometimes.”
    He pressed a hand to his chest and affected a wounded look. “Aiyanna, baby, sweetheart, love of my life, why are you so cruel to me?”
    “Because you’re an arrogant jackass with a serious case of narcissism and you don’t like chocolate,” she answered.
    Putting an arm around her shoulders, he pulled her in close. “I don’t like chocolate products. I never said anything about your personal brand.”
    She stared him straight in the eyes. “I never said anything about murder but that doesn’t mean you can’t change my mind.”
    “Burn!” Dastan announced as he walked back again, this time to take a call outside of Lalani’s office.
    John’s blue eyes just twinkled as he kissed her forehead. “I love you anyway my lovely Cheyenne blossom—even though you’re mean to me.”
    Aiyanna’s lips twitched. “Somebody with a vagina has to be mean to you. That’s the only way your pants stay on if she’s not related in some way.”
    Gasping, he widened his eyes. “Are you calling me a...a whore?”
    She nodded once as she made her way past him and back into the hallway outside of her office. “Yup, quite blatantly too. Right in your face.” She could hear Lalani chuckling and telling John something about a scarlet letter. Aiyanna teased him a lot about being whorish but in all honesty, John was a good guy. He was loose but he was a good guy.
    One rock solid arm came out of nowhere and dropped on her shoulders. If Dastan hadn’t caught her with the other one, she would’ve hit the floor. “Dude, I keep telling you that I’m made of glass, not cement. You can’t just go dumping your extreme weight on me.”
    He snorted, squeezed her. “You’d be stronger if you actually got some sleep.”
    Rolling her eyes, she retorted, “I was sleeping and then Lalani ruined it.”
    “With tickling,” he teased. “So I heard. Do I get next?”
    Aiyanna shoved away from him. “You and John need a class on work etiquette.”
    His eyes widened like a little boy’s. “Will you be wearing a school girl’s outfit complete with the midriff top and short skirt? Oh, and the ruler? I’d be the best student ever.”
    Instead of laughing, she bit the inside of her cheek to hold it in and shot him her best ‘boss glare.’ “Get back to work, Das.”
    Grinning, he saluted Aiyanna. “Aye aye Captain King.” Then he was carrying his large frame back towards his office. John and Dastan weren’t the only employees that Lalani and Aiyanna had, but they were the only ones in their staff that they had genuine friendships with.
    Both Lalani and Aiyanna had graduated from Virginia Tech with business masters. In addition to that, they’d both managed to get a Master’s of Science in building construction being that as kids they’d always had a love for constructing and designing. One of their first projects in college was to take the detached garage outside of Aiyanna’s parents’ home and convert it into an apartment that they could share. She was behind the designs they built while