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risk.”
    â€œYou can’t be serious.”
    â€œDo I look serious?” He brushed an imaginary piece of lint off the sleeve of his shirt while she continued to gape at him.
    â€œThis is blackmail,” she hissed.
    â€œCall it what you want.” He smiled as if his whole world wasn’t riding on this moment.
    â€œYou bastard.” Her voice quivered with fury.
    Her reaction cut deep, but he only smirked. “You think I’ve never been called that before?”
    â€œI’ll just bet you have.”
    â€œI never would have made it this far without a thick skin.”
    â€œJust like every other snake in the world, right?”
    Her eyes were bright with anger, and hot color flared high on her cheekbones. He wanted to reach across the distance between them and kiss away her anger, wanted it so badly his bones ached with it. He clamped down hard on the need for some kind of contact—any kind—between them.
    â€œThink what you want about me—”
    â€œOh, I do. You can bet I do.”
    He went on as if she hadn’t interrupted him. “But as far as I’m concerned, you’re part of the packagedeal.” He paused. “However, I can understand your reluctance, given our unfortunate history.”
    She snorted. “Unfortunate, my eye. The day you ran out on me was the luckiest day of my life.”
    A muscle in his jaw twitched. “I’m trying to be reasonable here, Cassie, but you’re not making it very easy.”
    She remained stubbornly silent.
    â€œAs I was saying,” he said, “I understand why you might want to find a new position. So I’m willing to make a deal with you.”
    â€œWhat kind of deal?” Suspicion coated her voice like a thin sheet of ice on a puddle.
    â€œYou stay the thirty days until the sale is finalized, and Maverick won’t back out. In the meantime you can hire someone as your replacement, someone who can learn your menus and build on your success.”
    â€œAnd what do I get in return, besides the oh-so-appealing pleasure of your company?”
    The Boy Scouts probably would have laughed themselves silly if he’d ever tried to join up, but he certainly believed heartily in their motto about being prepared.
    Through a little casual conversation with Jean during the negotiations for the guest ranch, his lawyer had learned Cassie’s job at the ranch was always considered temporary between the two women, that she was saving for a down payment on the diner in town.
    Why she didn’t use some of the vast Diamond Harte resources was beyond him, but in this case her typical dogged determination worked to his advantage.
    â€œStick it out for thirty days, and I’ll give you a bonus of five thousand dollars.”
    Only the slightest flicker in her gaze betrayed that she had even heard him. “I don’t want your money.”
    He shrugged. “Then stay for Jean’s sake. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you it will probably be a long time before she’ll see another offer as good as the one we’ve made.”
    Not just a long time. Never. Cassie drew in a breath, trying to gather the thoughts he seemed to scatter so easily. Maverick had offered far more than the appraised value for the ranch. And who knew when Jean would even get another offer? The ranch had been on the market for a year already with little to show for it but a few nibbles.
    He had her backed against the wall, and he damn well knew it. Would he be ruthless enough to make good on his threat to renege on the deal, even knowing he would hurt a sweet, feisty woman like Jean Martineau in the process?
    Yes. She didn’t doubt it for a second.
    She wasn’t stupid enough to buy his argument that the ranch’s reputation would suffer without her. She was a good cook but there were plenty of others who could pick up right where she left off. No, he wanted her here for his own sinister reasons.