Читать книгу Bet on a Cowboy - Julie Benson - Страница 7

Every good deal had a catch, and this show’s was a doozy. But for thirty grand, Griffin would do pretty much anything to help his mom, as long as it was legal.

Times were tight financially. The sagging economy had hit Twin Creeks hard. Tourism was down, causing a dip in their revenue from horseback-riding tours. People had less disposable cash, which meant horse sales were down. Then there was his mom’s experimental cancer treatment, not covered by insurance, which put a huge strain on the family finances, and they’d learned she needed another round.

Rory had done his part, taking a modeling job with Devlin Designs—a huge sacrifice, considering his camera shyness. Griffin tried to find extra work as a hired hand, but every ranch in the area was experiencing similar trouble, and just hoped to keep the hands they had. And ranch work was the only job Griffin was qualified for other than flipping burgers, neither of which would get him the kind of money he needed to pay for his mom’s latest round of treatments.

Now the perfect opportunity had landed at his door. What could be better than getting paid to date pretty women? Talk about a dream job. All he had to do was find a way to avoid proposing at the end of the season, and if he couldn’t, no big deal. No one would be surprised when a reality-show relationship failed.

As he stared at the plain woman in front of him, he mulled over her proposition. She’d pulled her long brown hair away from her face into a big ponytail, which only made her angular features sharper. Why did women wear their hair like that? No female past high school should wear her hair back unless she was working out.

If there was an opposite of his type, Maggie was the shining example. While he liked ’em tall, she damn near looked him in the eye. Given the pants and long, shapeless sweater she wore, who knew what her figure was like? He went for females who possessed great assets, and dressed to show them off.

On top of that, he’d pegged her as a good girl. The kind who expected a ring after dating six months. The kind he crossed the street to avoid.

“Sure. I know the goal is to get the bachelor married.” Just because that was the show’s intention didn’t mean he had to succumb. There were always gray areas. He just had to find one.

Griffin had always loved women. Even as a child he’d run past his grandfather to reach his grandmother first. But that didn’t mean he wanted to walk down the aisle anytime soon. In fact, he wasn’t sure he ever wanted to make that trek.

“I have a contract in the car. Once you’ve signed—”

“Hold on. I have some questions, such as where’s the show filmed?”

Maggie, her eyes shining with enthusiasm, said, “This season we’re filming in Las Vegas. Normally, the first thing we have our bachelor do is fill out a questionnaire and meet with our marriage counselor. Then we select ten bachelorettes ideally suited for him.”

“What do you mean, normally?”

“We’ve already signed contracts with this season’s bachelorettes.”

“Because?” he prodded. The woman had talked his ear off, and now she went quiet?

“Our scheduled bachelor backed out at the last minute.”

“Does he know something I don’t?” Griffin asked as he tossed a hunk of hay in Sugar’s trough.

“He was a retired pro football player who returned to the game. We picked out bachelorettes for him. Of course, there’s a possibility some of the women will leave when they learn we have a new man.”

“You’re saying they’ll think I’m a scrub replacement?”

Maggie gasped. Embarrassment flamed across her cheeks. “I’m not saying that at all. I apologize for my poor choice of words. No woman would see you that way.”

He couldn’t keep from grinning. “I had you worried, didn’t I?”

She laughed, but not one of those dainty, practiced, feminine giggles. Joy rang out in her full, honest laughter, and her face lit up.

“That was a good one. You really had me going.”

“You’d think with three older brothers you wouldn’t be so gullible,” Griffin retorted.

She crossed her arms over her chest again. “In my defense, I’m in work mode right now. Believe it or not, very few people tease me when I’m discussing business. Are you always so vexing?”

“Pretty much.”

Maggie’s melodic laughter reverberated through the barn once more, but Griffin sobered. An athlete. That meant they’d probably picked women who liked sports and the outdoors. Ones who’d be comfortable on a ranch. Not exactly what he wanted.

“You want me to pick a wife from women you selected for another man?” he asked, already slipping into the charade. Wouldn’t that be what a man who really wanted to find a wife would say?

“You’re not going to get me again.”

“This time I’m serious.”

“Sorry. The altitude must be messing up my radar.” Maggie frowned and tucked a stray brown curl that had escaped from her ponytail behind her ear. “I think you’ll be happy with the women we’ve selected, and if for whatever reason any of the bachelorettes choose to not continue with the show, the new candidates will be selected specifically for you.”

“What if I’m not satisfied? After all, my happiness isn’t your main concern. You’ve got to pick candidates who’ll make good TV.” His main concern was avoiding marriage, while getting the thirty grand. He ran his hand along Sugar’s expanding belly, and her foal moved under his palm. The horse swung her head toward him. “I know, girl, you’re ready for this baby to be here, aren’t you?”

“Watching a foal coming into the world must be such a miracle,” Maggie said.

“Changing the subject won’t work. What happens if I’m not happy with who you’ve picked?”

“Out of ten women, you really think you might not like any of them? Come on. No man can be that particular.”

She had no idea how picky he was about to become.

“We’re talking about finding me a wife. I need to be sure I can spend the rest of my life with one of these ladies.” He almost smiled at how easily he played the game, telling Maggie what she wanted to hear without technically lying. He’d find someone to spend his life with about the same time he decided to work a nine-to-five desk job.

“We’ve never had a bachelor unhappy with our choices before.”

“When I’ve studied the bios, if I don’t like what I see, I want veto power.”

She clasped her hands in front of her. “Veto power? Tell me you’re not a control freak.”

“Like I said, I’m pretty laid-back, but I’m not big on trusting someone I just met with something this important.”

Maggie bit her lip, and her leaf-green eyes focused on him. He froze. The intensity in her gaze surprised and intrigued him. Such fire. If it weren’t for her gorgeous eyes, he’d call her plain, but they changed everything.

A woman with that much heat flashing in her eyes, but dressed in pants two sizes too big and a baggy cardigan, made Griffin wonder what she wanted to hide and why.

“If we break the bachelorettes’ contracts we still have to pay them. That would cost the show money. But more importantly, recasting would take time we don’t have. We’re scheduled to start shooting in two weeks.”

“You could always find another bachelor. But if you do, it’s your loss.”

He shot her the smile he’d used with his high school teachers whenever he asked for an assignment extension. It hadn’t failed him yet.

“It seems unreasonable for you to have complete veto power.”

When faced with her resistance, he paused to calculate his next move. He wanted to be able to make changes in case there weren’t enough career-minded types. The last thing he wanted was ten women looking for a man to save them from whatever mess they’d made of their lives, financially or otherwise.

Still smiling, he stepped toward Maggie. Their gazes locked. He lowered his voice and whispered, “I’m not asking for much. Surely you can give me this.”

A smile spread across her face. Her eyes twinkled. He had her.

“Nice try turning on the charm, but this is a business deal, and that’s how I’m treating it.”

Now that was a curve he hadn’t expected. Where had he gone wrong? Women worked hard to please him, and rarely gave him grief.

“Then we’re at a standoff.”

“I’ll give you two vetoes,” Maggie countered.

“Six.”

“Out of ten women? Forget it. Three. That’s my final offer. Take it or leave it.”

He thought about countering with five, but the iron resolve on her face, the confidence in her eyes, along with her braced stance, told him she wouldn’t budge. “Deal. I want it added to the contract.”

He hadn’t won, but on the upside, he hadn’t lost, either.

“I have to run it by my boss and Legal, but I think they’ll go for it. Once they approve the change, I’ll have them email me a new contract. Is there anything else you need to know before you sign?”

How do I avoid proposing on the last show? No, he didn’t need advice. He’d ended enough relationships to have a stockpile of strategies.

“After the women are selected, do I start dating?”

“I’m guessing you don’t watch our show.”

Why would he? Dating and playing pool beat the hell outta watching some poor schmuck who couldn’t find a wife on his own date a bunch of women picked by someone else.

“Nope. The only reality shows I watch are Survivor and The Amazing Race.”

“On our show, the early episodes are mixers,” Maggie explained. “You go to the mansion where the bachelorettes live. You circulate among the women, spending time getting to know them.”

And all of them would want to catch his attention and please him. Now that was his idea of a good time.

“I’ll know where the women are living. Will they know where I’m staying?”

“No. Both your contract and theirs state that your contact is limited to the dating situations. We have cameras positioned all over the bachelorette mansion, and they’re monitored and taping twenty-four/seven. That way we can obtain footage of the women interacting and talking about you. It also allows us to know if anyone leaves the house.”

Cameras? Everywhere? That little tidbit threw a kink into things. He wasn’t keen on being on TV, and even less thrilled about living in a fishbowl, especially considering the game he’d be playing. “Are there cameras where I’ll be staying?”

Maggie shook her head. “Since none of the dates will occur there, we didn’t go to the expense.”

Griffin relaxed, thankful for budget-conscious executives. “I’m staying in a house, with all the hotels in Las Vegas?”

“We like to maintain a low profile, to keep details like who you eliminate each week a secret until the episode airs. That would be difficult to do in a hotel, with other guests and staff around all the time.”

That made sense.

“When you’ve picked the two finalists, we do a getaway weekend,” Maggie continued. “The only segment that’s live is the finale. Taping allows us to edit each week’s footage for the most impact, and we air the show two weeks later. After a break for the Christmas holiday, we shoot the finale where you choose your Mrs. Right.”

Not if he could help it.

“When can you send the contract with the changes to me?” The sooner he signed, the sooner he started working and earning money.

“Legal should be able to deliver it tonight. I’ll bring the paperwork over as soon as it arrives.”

No way would he risk Maggie returning to the ranch and getting anywhere near his mom. The longer Griffin avoided telling his mother what he’d done, the better, because that task would take major planning. “How about you go to your hotel and contact Legal. I’ll finish my chores and clean up. When you have the contract ready, call me. By then I’ll have studied the bios. We can take care of business and go somewhere for dinner.”

She frowned again. The woman sure did that a lot. Life was too short and precarious to worry that much.

“I’m not certain that’s a good idea, since we’ll be working together.”

“That doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.”

She flinched. Damn. Now he’d hurt her feelings. She had the same look on her face that his sister, Avery, had had as a child when he and Rory said she couldn’t tag along with them.

“Come on, I’m fun to be around,” Griffin cajoled, trying to lighten the mood. “Ask any of my friends. You’re not the only one who can be persistent. You might as well give in.”

His words coaxed a smile out of her, easing his guilt over his carelessness.

“All right.” She sighed. “I have your cell number. I’ll call you when I’ve got the contract.”

AS GRIFFIN STOOD OUTSIDE Maggie’s hotel room door at seven-thirty that night, he wondered why he’d suggested they go to dinner. She’d offered to bring the contract to the ranch, and next thing he knew the invitation had jumped out of his mouth before he’d thought things through.

Didn’t matter. He could use tonight to find out more about what he was getting into. Plus, he’d need a friend when he got to Vegas, since he’d have to be on guard with the women he was dating. Saying the wrong thing or picking the wrong one could cost him money, and his mother couldn’t afford that.

Convinced he had valid reasons for seeing Maggie, and confident it wasn’t because she had the most beautiful eyes in the world, he knocked on her door.

A minute later she answered. The first thing he noticed was her hair. Unlike earlier, when she’d had it in a ponytail, long, glossy chestnut waves now flowed around her face, softening her sharp features, making her look almost pretty.

She pointed to the far side of the room. “The contract’s on the desk. You can go over it while I finish getting ready.”

Maggie headed into the bathroom and Griffin sat at the desk, knowing he’d have plenty of time to examine the document. No woman he’d ever met, other than his mother, was ready when she said she’d be.

The agreement seemed fairly straightforward. He chuckled when he read how the producers and “anyone associated with the program are released from liability for any consequences, emotional, medical or otherwise, resulting from any sexual intimacies entered into by participants during the filming of the show.”

From what he’d learned from his sister when he’d questioned her earlier, reality shows played up the sexual tension. They worked hard to create it, pitting people against each other and kept the alcohol flowing. Then they had the nerve to say they weren’t responsible for what happened?

At least Griffin wouldn’t have to worry about those issues, because no way was he getting sexually involved with any of the bachelorettes. That would only complicate things. Nothing changed a relationship like sleeping with a woman.

He kept reading, finding nothing in the contract that bothered him. Right up until he hit the misrepresentation clause.

If the producers determined he “wasn’t sincere in his desire to get married, if he withheld any personal or professional information that would impact his suitability as a husband, or in any other way compromised the integrity of the show,” he forfeited all monies earned and faced possible legal action.

He read the clause twice to make sure he understood. Damn. Getting out of proposing might not be as easy as he thought, but how could he turn down earning some fast cash to help the family? He had to pull this off. His mom needed him to. The clause meant he’d have to do some fancy dancing and watch his every word to avoid proposing without breaking the misrepresentation clause.

A plan. That’s what he needed. If he came up with a good one, remained focused and clearheaded, he could do this.

“Maggie, has the show ever used the misrepresentation clause?”

“No, though we came close last year.”

“What happened?”

She poked her head out of the bathroom door, a frown causing little worry lines on her forehead. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Of course he was, but not for the reason she thought. “I answered that question this afternoon. My concern is that this clause gives you the right to ask for your money back for vague reasons.”

The lines above the bridge of her nose deepened. “As long as you’re up front and honest about everything you’ll be fine.”

A knot formed at the base of his neck at her choice of words. Honesty. He’d be straddling the line with that one, but honesty didn’t mean a man had to share everything. Plus, he was going on the show for a good cause. His mom. That had to more than balance the scales.

“Then there’s no problem,” he said as Maggie stepped out of the bathroom. As far as he could see the only thing she’d done was put her hair in a ponytail, pulling it back so tight she had to have a headache. “Why’d you change your hair?”

“If I don’t put it up it gets in the way.”

“It looked better down.”

She blushed and smoothed her hand over her hair. “You think so?”

“You should wear it down all the time.” He grinned. “I’ll wait while you change it.”

“It’s fine. No sense in taking time to mess with it.” She nodded toward the contract. “Do you have any more questions?”

Instead of answering, he picked up the hotel pen beside the phone, initialed the contract where indicated, and scrawled his signature on the last page. No turning back now.

“We need to talk about the women.”

He’d spent the afternoon scrutinizing the bios. Not wanting to be sidetracked by a pretty face, he’d flipped the photos over and concentrated on the facts.

Reading the bios made his decisions easy. He concentrated on women who’d find ranch life or moving difficult. Since relocating to Colorado would force the lawyer and the dentist to start over with their practices, they went directly into his keep pile. The job prospects for an opera singer in Estes Park were worse than dismal, and wouldn’t she want to live in New York?

He pulled two pictures from the inside pocket of his leather coat and placed them on top of the contract. “I want to use my veto on these two.”

Maggie picked up the first grade teacher’s photo. Griffin figured if the woman faced a class full of ankle biters, what were the chances that he could scare her off?

“You can’t veto her. Every season we need a woman who tugs at viewers’ heartstrings. This year it’s the teacher. She’s sweet, loves the outdoors and has a great sense of humor. Her husband was killed in a plane crash two years ago. Our viewers will go crazy over her.”

“I didn’t agree to my vetoes being conditional.”

Maggie pointed to the contract. “You did when you signed that. It states that you are ‘allowed to veto three of the selected bachelorettes unless removing said bachelorette will detrimentally change the dynamics of the show.’ In our eyes, removing the teacher does.”

He’d read the stipulation, but hadn’t thought anything of it. “There has to be someone else the viewers can root for.”

“This decision comes from higher up.”

He thought about pushing the issue further, but would doing so make Maggie suspicious? When they’d first met, he’d tried to charm her into viewing things his way, but she’d seen through his ploy. If a man were looking for a wife, this teacher would be at the top of the list. He couldn’t risk tipping Maggie off and losing thirty grand before he even started.

“Why don’t you want her on the show? Is it because she was married before?”

“I don’t want to talk about it, and since she’s staying, it doesn’t matter.” That was true enough.

“Finding Mr. Right is in the works. To get the show off to a good start, we want our first bachelorette to be someone the viewers are familiar with. Someone they’ve gotten to know on a previous season. The teacher’s one of the names being talked about, so the producers would like her to stay as long as possible.”

Griffin shoved his fisted hands into his coat pockets. What had he gotten himself into?

Maggie lifted the other photo. “This veto is fine, but may I ask why?”

When he’d first read this bio, he couldn’t believe a single mother would come on the show. How could she leave her son for ten weeks? How could she put her love life or fifteen minutes of fame above her child? Sign her up for mother of the year. “I’d rather not say.”

Maggie picked up the photo and scanned the back. “If you tell me what the problem is I will avoid finding a woman with a similar issue.”

“I can’t respect any woman who leaves her kid for ten weeks to go on TV.”

Maggie’s eyes widened and her brows knit together, as if she couldn’t believe the thought occurred to him. “I agree. There’s no way to explain leaving like that to a four-year-old.”

“Something tells me the boy isn’t going to have a Brady Bunch childhood.”

Maggie nodded. “Once I get back to Los Angeles, I’ll find a replacement.” She placed the bios and contract inside her briefcase beside the desk. “We need you in Las Vegas immediately. Is that a problem?”

The sooner he started working, the sooner he could pay his mom’s medical bills. “I need to find someone to fill in at the ranch, but that shouldn’t be hard.”

“Is there any way I can help? What do you do?”

The innocent question hit Griffin like a hard gut punch, because to tell the truth, he really didn’t know how he fit in at the ranch. He frowned. With the lousy economy a lot of folks needed extra income. Hell, a high school kid could do what he did. Toting hay bales, watering the horses, and fixing busted fences took brawn, not brains. Basically, he was a glorified ranch hand. Jack of all trades, but master of none.

“Let’s get outta here.” He walked across the room to the door. “A friend of mine’s band is playing at Halligan’s tonight. You up for some dancing?”

Maggie tilted her head and studied him, making him wonder if she’d let his sidestepping her question slide.

“I love listening to bands, but dancing isn’t my thing. I tend to step on my partner’s toes more than I do the dance floor.”

“Maybe you need a better partner.”