Her Tycoon to Tame Read Free Page B

like a railroad spike when he’d been seventeen and green and working at his stepfather’s stable. Back then he hadn’t been smart enough to know rich daddy’s darlings didn’t marry boys who cleaned stalls for their stepfathers’ stables no matter how intimate the relationship might have become.
    â€œI have worked here since graduating—almost five years. I’m good at what I do.”
    â€œI’ll be the judge of that.”
    She folded her arms and cocked back on one of those long legs. “Tell me, Mr. Jacobs, what exactly are your credentials for determining whether or not staff members are performing well?”
    â€œHannah—” the attorney cautioned, but Wyatt silenced him with a look.
    â€œI’m CEO of Triple Crown Distillery. I employ over six hundred. I recognize incompetents and slackers when I see them.”
    Anger stained her cheeks a fiery red, proving she’d picked up his implication that he considered her one. “As I’ve already stated, the Sutherland team doesn’t have any weak links. We’re a cohesive unit, one of the best in the industry.”
    â€œThat remains to be seen.” Wyatt was beginning to wishhe’d chosen one of the other dozen properties the real estate agent had presented. But as wise as that option now appeared, none of those farms had fit Sam’s descriptions and all would have required Wyatt’s input as a manager. Input he didn’t have the time or inclination to give.
    When Sam reminisced about the Kentucky thoroughbred farm he’d once owned, he sounded so lucid Wyatt could almost forget his stepfather was fading away right before his eyes. Sutherland Farm resembled Sam’s old farm more than any of the other properties, and Sam deserved to be comfortable, happy and, most importantly, safe for however long he had left. He would be here. Wyatt would make damned sure of it.
    And he had no intention of letting Hannah Sutherland prevent him from repaying the debt he owed to the man who’d been a better parent to him than his own flesh and blood.
    â€œJust watch your step, doc. Your father may have indulged you, but I won’t. You’ll earn your keep if you want to remain employed here. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have files to review and you need to get back to work.”
    Â 
    Exhausted, Hannah plodded down the driveway toward her cottage, a hot bubble bath and a glass of wine.
    One of her rescue mares kept pace beside her on the opposite side of the white board fence. Hannah found the horse’s undemanding company soothing. Unlike people, who were easily disappointed, horses never expected too much.
    It had been a tough week. Since her world crashed she’d been juggling her usual duties plus the new ones thrust unexpectedly on her. The staff had turned to her for answers—answers she didn’t have.
    The mood in the barns grew more oppressive, like an impending summer storm, with each day that Wyatt Jacobs failed to make an appearance. Usually affable employees were on edge and snapping at each other. Even the horses had picked up on the bad vibes and been harder to handle thanusual. Hannah wished Jacobs would show up just to break the tension. Not that she wanted to see him again.
    The phone on her hip vibrated. The digital display read private caller. Could be a client or, if she was lucky, a wrong number. She didn’t have the energy to deal with another crisis or panicking coworker.
    She hit the answer button. “Hannah Sutherland.”
    â€œWyatt Jacobs. Come to my office in the house. Now.”
    Click.
    Her feet stuck to the pavement as if she’d stepped in fresh tar. She scowled at the now silent phone then she looked across the lawn toward the main house. A light glowed in her father’s— Wyatt Jacobs’s —study.
    The usurper had arrived. And he’d hung up on her. The rude, inconsiderate jerk. Anger charged through her