Hot Westmoreland Nights - Brenda Jackson [49]
“Ram?”
He glanced up, realizing Dillon had caught him daydreaming again. “Yes?”
“You sure you’re okay?”
Ram leaned back in his chair, deciding to be completely honest. “No, I don’t know if I’m okay,” he finally said. He studied Dillon thoughtfully. “I can recall the first time you mentioned to me about meeting Pamela. I could hear something in your voice.”
Dillon chuckled. “Yes, and it was probably the same thing I could hear in yours that day you came over here and mentioned Chloe Burton was your temporary cook.”
Ramsey was taken aback by Dillon’s claim. “No way. I had just met the woman that day.”
Dillon nodded. “And remember, I had just met Pam that day when I spoke to you on the phone as well.”
Ramsey frowned, not sure he liked what Dillon was hinting at. He quickly stood up. “Trust me, Dillon, it’s not that kind of party.”
A smile curved the corners of Dillon’s lips when he said, “I didn’t think it was that kind of party for me either, so I can understand you wanting to be in denial. When you figure out it is that kind of party, make sure I’m one of the first to get an invitation.”
Chloe slipped off her shoes before easing onto the sofa. Breakfast had been crazy and she needed to grab a private and quiet moment before preparing lunch. At times she wondered if she was growing men. There seemed to be more of them showing up for meals every day.
She smiled and inwardly admitted that she was becoming attached to each of them. They were good men, hardworking men, family men who often would talk about their wives and children and their love for them. Working for Ramsey was more than a way to keep food on the table. From the bits of conversations she’d been able to pick up, she knew they considered Ramsey a good employer, the best. He was fair and provided them with a means to provide for their families. She looked forward to seeing them every morning and didn’t mind taking the time to prepare all the foods they liked.
To her surprise, and she was sure to his men as well, Ramsey had spent time with his men this morning. Of course they had teased him mercilessly before settling down to the huge meal she had prepared. And on the invitation and insistence from Ramsey, after everyone had been served, she had sat down with him at the table and had a cup of coffee when he conversed with his men. During that time she felt like a member of Ramsey’s working-crew family. She felt as if she truly belonged. And she was learning more and more about Ramsey from those who knew him the best. It was great information she could use in the article she wanted to write on him.
The article she would not be writing now.
She breathed in deeply. She had come here with only one goal in mind and that was to convince Ramsey to pose on the cover of her magazine and to also obtain information to share with her readers. Considering everything, there was no way she could go through with doing that now. She had crossed over the line of what was professional, of what was right.
She did not want him to think she had gone to the extreme and shared his bed only as a means to an end. Therefore, she needed to tell him the truth and would do so tonight when she had his complete attention, and somehow she would convince him not to send her away, but to let her work through the end of the week because his regular cook would return on Monday.
She didn’t want to think about how he would possibly feel once he learned the truth. It hadn’t been her intent for things to work out this way, but they had and now their time together was about to come to an end and she could feel her heart breaking. Things were beginning to get complicated. She was not only deceiving Ramsey, but she was