Straddling States
A Contemporary Ranch Cowboy Romance
Ruby A. Smith
Bluesource And Friends
This book is brought to you by Bluesource And Friends, a happy book publishing company.
Our motto is “Happiness Within Pages”
We promise to deliver amazing value to readers with our books.
We also appreciate honest book reviews from our readers.
Connect with us on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/bluesourceandfriends and stay tuned to our latest book promotions and free giveaways.
Don’t forget to claim your FREE books!
Brain Teasers:
https://tinyurl.com/karenbrainteasers
Harry Potter Trivia:
https://tinyurl.com/wizardworldtrivia
Sherlock Puzzle Book (Volume 2)
https://tinyurl.com/Sherlockpuzzlebook2
Also check out our other books
“67 Lateral Thinking Puzzles”
https://tinyurl.com/thinkingandriddles
“Rookstorm Online Saga”
https://tinyurl.com/rookstorm
“Korman’s Prayer”
https://tinyurl.com/kormanprayer
“The Convergence”
https://tinyurl.com/bloodcavefiction
“The Hardest Sudokos In Existence (Ranked As The Hardest Sudoku Collection Available In The Western World)”
https://tinyurl.com/MasakiSudoku
Chapter One
As Amber listened to her colleague describing the latest trends in summer fashion and comparing them to the company’s sales figures for June and July, she couldn’t help but stare out of the wall-length glass window and imagine that she was somewhere else. It wasn’t that she disliked her job — in fact, she loved it. But the financial aspects… Well, they left something to be desired. While Amber absolutely adored money, she didn’t exactly have the mindset for calculating profits and margins and budgets. What Amber liked the most about money was spending it.
Her colleague continued to drone on, and Amber reached down with her freshly-manicured fingers that were decorated in a color her nail technician had called “passionate pink”, and gripped her takeout cup of coffee tightly. As she brought it to her lips, Amber noticed her peach lipstick had smudged a little on the rim, and she frowned.
I’ll need to fix that before my meeting with Jane and Simon, she noted as she took a sip of her caramel macchiato and let the warm beverage heat up her pale cheeks. Sun streamed in through the window and shone off her strawberry-blonde hair, making it appear much more golden than usual. Her curls bounced as she nodded a little absentmindedly at a point the speaker had made, which everyone else had seemed to be in agreement with.
Okay, if she were being honest, she was a little more distracted that day than she usually would have been. Why? Well, it was officially her third year anniversary with her boyfriend, Mike, and she was itching to leave work as early as she could in order to go and see him. She had a sneaking suspicion that he had something exciting planned for her since he just so happened to have today off work, but Amber didn’t want to dwell on it too much.
Even though she couldn’t stop humming the tune of “The Wedding March” underneath her breath at every chance she got…
“Shhh,” someone hissed next to her, snapping her momentarily out of her daydream.
“Since there has been a marked decline of our brand’s products being sold in comparison with our competitors, the senior staff will no doubt be putting pressure on us to find out how we can rectify this with our fall line in a few months time,” the speaker, Patrick, stated as he looked around the room and caught Amber’s eye.
Feeling a little sheepish, she nodded and then coughed into her hand as she looked around the room to see if anyone else’s eyes were on her. Thankfully, they weren’t, and the meeting was quickly adjourned.
“Thank you all for coming. I hope I’ve given you a lot to think about,” Patrick summed up as he snapped his laptop shut and everyone began filing out. As Amber pushed up from the table and brushed down her peplum skirt, however, she soon realized all was not over for her just yet.
“Amber, dear,” her boss, Laura McGuinness, called to her with a wave from where she was waiting by the door. “Follow me?” The blonde-haired woman looked over at Amber with her usual wide-eyed and genuine expression.
Her words sounded like a question, but the fierce and determined president of fashion design at Bora Beauty had already turned on her kitten heels and strolled around the corner. What could she possibly want from me now? Amber wondered as she quickly inspected her outfit in the mirror and tried to correct her smudged lipstick. With a sigh of resignation, Amber drew out her compact from her purse and dabbed at her lips to check that her make-up was passable before following her boss.
After a short stride down the hallway, Amber pushed into Laura’s office and stood in the doorway with one hand on her curved hip. “How can I help you, Laura?” she asked with a false, toothy smile, while her emerald eyes peered around the room for hints as to why she was there.
“Oh, Amber, perfect!” the petite blonde exclaimed as though she were surprised by her appearance despite having summoned Amber there. “I’ve noticed the hard work you’ve been putting in lately, especially with those creative and unique designs you’ve been drawing up and sending to my inbox. You are a real go-getter, aren’t you, Amber?”
All of a sudden, Amber’s fake smile dropped into a real look of surprise. “You looked at the designs I sent you?” she asked a little breathlessly. “Even the blue velvet jacket?”
“Of course, I did!” Laura replied with a breezy smile. “I can tell you put a lot of thought and effort into your job, more so than many people who have walked these halls over the years, and that is exactly why I have such a unique and important task for you.”
Amber’s mind began to race with the different projects she could be asked to work on. Oh my God! What if she asks me to design a dress for someone famous? Or something for a red carpet event? Maybe I shouldn’t get ahead of myself. Maybe she just wants something inspirational and creative to show the bosses after the disaster of the summer clothing… Oh my God! Excitement bubbled up inside her until she was shaking with nervous energy. She took another step into the room, her eyes shining bright with hope.
“What’s the task?”
“I’m so glad you asked,” her boss continued as she stood and grabbed a stack of papers off her desk. Amber peered at them curiously as Laura brushed past her desk and walked toward her. “The admin for the marketing team has the flu, so I’m stuck with all of these email addresses for our weekly newsletter, and no one to input them into our system! I know it isn’t really in your job description, but marketing are all tied up trying to find a way to get more sales from the products that are currently underselling. So, would you be a doll and get these all typed up for me by the end of the day?”
Amber’s heart sank in her chest. How could I have been so stupid to think Laura wanted me for something actually important? she chastised herself. It wasn’t like she was very high up in her department, but she had thought she was above basic data entry — especially for another team’s work! Amber had hoped to have some real creative input into an exciting project that she could really sink her teeth into. Now, she’d be spending a glorious, sunny afternoon hunched over her keyboard while her fingers cramped from too much typing.
Noticing her employee’s hesitance, Laura smiled reassuringly. “You�
�d be doing me a big favor, Amber, and I never forget a favor!” She winked in the redhead’s direction and that was all that needed to be said.
Amber reached out and got a good grip on the pieces of paper in Laura’s arms before taking them away. “I won’t let you down, I promise.”
“Great! You’re a lifesaver, Amber.” With a swish of her long blonde hair, Laura had turned and was sat back down at her desk, tapping away on her phone, and Amber knew that she had been dismissed.
So, with a panicky expression, Amber hurried back to her desk and dumped the papers down with a sigh and glanced at the clock. Ten past eleven... I still have time to get this done and get home in time to surprise Mike. I might have to work through lunch, but I can do this! After sending a quick email to decline her attendance to the rest of her meetings for the day, Amber sat down on her plush, comfortable office chair and took a deep breath.
With the help of her own encouragement, Amber opened up the shared spreadsheet to find the right place to input the data and placed her hands on the keyboard. “I can do this.”
***
With one final tap of the keyboard, Amber had finished entering her four-hundred-and-twenty-sixth e-mail address. She let out a relieved sigh and hit the save button multiple times, hoping that luck was on her side and no technical difficulties rendered her work meaningless.
She glanced again at the clock on the wall, and when she saw that it was three thirty, she grinned. Since she had skipped lunch, she figured she could take off an hour early, so that meant all she had to do was make up for the extra half an hour tomorrow. No biggie!
Amber collected up her planner and diary along with her favorite pen, and tucked them away in her Michael Kors purse before heading out the door with a click of her Tom Ford heels. She smiled to the few coworkers that she passed and bounded past security with a spring in her step. Not only would she get home early to spend more time with Mike, but she was sure good things were coming her way!
The Chicago weather was holding up despite the weatherman’s forecast of rain, the sun beaming stronger than ever down on her luscious hair as she strode to the bus stop. Not only that, but her boss was going to be thanking her for completing such a boring and awful task so quickly… And then to top it all off, she was handed a free sample of expensive mascara on her way through the busy streets of the city. It really was the most perfect day.
Everything was going swell for Amber O’Hara, and she was sure that nothing could put a damper on it… Until she returned home.
Nothing seemed strange when Amber turned the corner of the block onto her street. Cars were parked up and down the road just like they always were, and the sidewalk was lined with beech trees planted along the edges. It livened up the dull gray of the urban environment around them and it was one of the things Amber liked most about the street she lived on. Ever since she was a little girl, Amber had always adored flowers and nature, but it was so rare in the city she called home. The most contact she had with nature were the trees on her street and the little cactus on her nightstand at home.
When she entered her apartment building and grabbed the elevator to the tenth floor, still nothing seemed amiss. She jammed the button a few times in excitement, eager to get home and see Mike and her dog, Jellybean. One of her neighbors entered the elevator and she sent them a polite smile that she hoped disguised her impatience. Amber felt relieved when she reached the door for her apartment. I’m coming, Mike!
Except, when she entered the apartment, the lights in the living room were turned off and her boyfriend was nowhere to be seen. It wasn’t like Mike to lie about what he was doing, so Amber shrugged and assumed he’d ventured out to walk Jellybean or to pick up some groceries.
That was until she heard muffled yapping and the scratching of nails against the hallway closet door.
“Jellybean?” she whispered under her breath as she approached the door and turned the knob. Sure enough, the small bundle of fluff sprung out from the dark closet and began bouncing up and down at Amber’s feet.
With a soft giggle, the redhead bent down and lifted Jellybean around her small stomach and held her tightly in her arms. “What were you doing in there, girl? Did Mike accidentally shut you in?” she murmured to her small pomeranian as she pet her fluffy head.
Knowing Jellybean wouldn’t give an answer, Amber placed her back down onto the floor again and shrugged. Before she could move toward the open-plan kitchen and grab herself a drink, however, Jellybean was anxiously careening down the hallway, yipping as she went.
“Jellybean? What’s gotten into you?!” Amber called and stomped off after her naughty dog.
She found the pomeranian scratching at the bedroom door, and she tutted. “You’ll ruin the wood if you keep scratching all the doors, and we’ll never get our security deposit back!” she scolded in a half-hearted voice. “Fine, if you want to go sleep on the bed so much, be my guest!”
That was the moment Amber’s whole world shattered around her. She turned the knob on the door to reveal the modern and minimalist bedroom in her luxury apartment, except it hadn’t been empty like she had expected.
No, Mike was right there in the middle of the bed, snoozing away with a beautiful brunette cuddled close to his side.
Chapter Two
If hearts could be heard breaking, Amber’s would have sounded like an exquisite glass vase crashing to the floor and shattering into a million tiny pieces. Her gaze was unwavering from the scene in front of her where her long-term boyfriend was naked and in the arms of another woman. She stood frozen for a long time, uncertain of what she should do. She had never been in this situation before! Then, the reality caught up with her, and a fire began to blaze inside her. It didn’t take long to become an inferno, and soon, Amber was shaking with anger.
“What the hell do you call this, Mike?!” she screeched, her hand still holding the door knob tightly. She found herself wishing she was holding something heavy or sharp instead.
“Huh, what?” a sleepy Mike replied as he groggily woke up and peered over at Amber with half-lidded eyes before realization seemed to dawn. “Oh, shit, Amber, baby. It’s not what it looks like.” He reached up and tried to flatten down his messy blond hair, while rubbing at his tired brown eyes.
“Of course it’s not. Go to hell, Mike,” she spat and stomped toward him. “I want you out of this bed, I want you out of this apartment, and I want you out of my life!” she screamed as Jellybean pottered over to her and began to yap in unison with her owner.
“Don’t be silly, baby,” Mike began as he crawled out of the bed and pulled his pants back on. “We can talk about this. It was just one time. Just an accident.”
“An accident?!” Amber cried, her eyes blazing hot as they stared at him. “What, did you just trip and somehow fall into bed with a random stranger? I’m not an idiot, Mike. This is over. I’m done.”
At the sound of arguing, the girl in the bed next to him rolled over and opened her dark brown eyes. “What the…?” She noticed the two arguing, and her eyes widened. “I’ll just let you two get on with it…” she mumbled as she grabbed her clothes and locked herself in the en-suite bathroom.
“Baby, please…” Mike begged as he walked over and reached out to touch Amber’s arm, but the redhead bristled before pulling it away with a sharp yank.
“Don’t ‘baby’ me; I want you out. I’m going to go and stay at Jessica’s place for the night, and I expect you to be gone by the time I’m back in the morning.” She turned on her heel and marched away, before swooping down and lifting up Jellybean in her arms once more.
That dick. What was I even thinking when I got with him? She thought, with an angry scowl on her face as she slammed the apartment door behind her and headed to her best friend’s house with tears welling in the corners of her eyes.
***
After two weeks of non-stop calling, it seemed as if Mike had finally given up all hope of reconciling with Amber. That was just fine by her. Sh
e was just happy that her phone had stopped buzzing finally, but it didn’t quell the ache in her heart, or the irritable streak she had gathered after so many sleepless nights in a row. She’d returned to her apartment after one restless night at Jessica’s house, where she drowned her sorrows in wine and ice-cream before calling in sick to work the next day. But even after two weeks, her home still felt tinged with the betrayal and lies she’d experienced.
Her hand shook a little around the takeout cup of coffee she’d just picked up on her way to work. The clouds above her were looming heavy and gray with precipitation, and Amber just hoped she could make it to her building before it unleashed a downpour upon her. That was the last thing she needed right now.
Despite having downed her coffee as soon as it was cold enough, Amber was still yawning as she entered the building of Bora Beauty, and made her way to the elevator. Maybe tonight will be the night I sleep, she told herself while trying to remain positive about her situation. Though she still had feelings for Mike, Amber knew it was for the best that they weren’t together anymore. After all, she didn’t want to waste another moment of her life with a lying cheater.
That didn’t make the cold, lonely nights any easier, though.
“Morning, Amber,” Jessica greeted from behind her desk on the fashion and design floor as Amber walked past. “How are you feeling today?”
The redhead let out an exasperated sigh and draped herself over Jessica’s desk, elbows resting on the wood. “Awful,” she admitted. “It doesn’t feel any easier.”
“Give yourself some time,” her brunette best friend said with a reassuring smile. “Even if he was a lying, cheating dirtbag, that doesn’t mean you’ll get over him with the drop of a hat. Three years is a long time to spend with another person.”
Straddling States: A Contemporary Ranch Cowboy Romance (Western Valley Love Book 1) Page 1
