The Fugitive Cowboy’s Baby (Spurs and Sweethearts #3)

Chapter 1

KAT

There was once a time when the letters T, G, I, and F meant something to Katherine Naylor.

But in this, her twenty-eighth year, they meant next to nothing.

The advertising company she worked for didn’t seem to understand the concept of days off.

She would have assumed it had something to do with the fact that she was the social media manager, but her coworkers in other departments all seemed to have the same problem.

Her work friends still tried to enjoy the start of their respective weekends, though.

They met up every Friday for drinks to bond without the imposition of their boss, who never could talk about anything other than work.

“Are we going to Louie’s this week?” Brandy asked while Kat was busy packing up. “I forgot.”

Brandy grinned, and Kat answered, “That was the plan. See you there.”

“Hey, can we carpool?” Brandy asked. “The taxi’s sucking me dry. We can share, and I’ll pay half.”

“Sounds good to me,” Kat said. “Meet out front in ten?”

Brandy gave her a grateful nod and trotted off to gather her things.

Before long, Aiden found Kat. He poked his head around the door like he was on his way somewhere and couldn’t be bothered to come all the way into the room. “Heard you and Brandy were sharing a cab,” he said. “Care for a third? Cut the price even more?”

Kat shrugged. “Fine. But I’m not taking the middle seat.”

“The pleasure will be all mine,” he said with a wink, and Kat started to dread her upcoming taxi ride. It was going to be too crowded.

“Just like this city,” Kat muttered, realizing that her mood was maybe not right for socializing.

Well, it was too late now. Anyway, their tapas and tequila night always made her feel better.

There were four of them who went out every Friday.

Jessie looked to have missed the cab share this time, but she would be there for sure.

The venues were rotating, but Louie’s was one of Kat’s favorites, so she wasn’t going to miss it, no matter how unsociable her mood happened to be.

The trick was getting out of the office before their boss found one of them. It was always a race between them, and for some reason, Kat was always the loser. Taking one for the team, Aiden had called it one day. Today was no different.

“Naylor,” Kat’s boss said from about six feet behind her. She practically jumped at the sound of his voice. “You got a minute?”

“Not really,” Kat answered, holding up her purse to indicate she was on her way out the door.

“Sure you do,” her boss said. He never did take no for an answer. She wondered why he ever bothered to ask. Seemed like a waste of time, in her opinion.

She fought to keep from rolling her eyes as she answered, “Guess I do then. What’s on your mind?”

“I want to talk about pushing up the kitchen appliance rollout. Our client wants the sale to be underway on March 17th, so we need the ad campaign to run about two weeks ahead of schedule.”

Kat drew a deep breath and counted to ten in her head.

“Impossible,” she said as flatly as she could manage.

It never did any good to lose your temper with superiors, so she never did, no matter how upsetting the situation she found herself in was.

“The designers onboard have already been given their deadlines, and the influencers are already scheduled. We can’t just demand they drop everything for one client. ”

“Sure we can,” her boss said, that needlessly confident smile growing on his face.

Sometimes, Kat got the distinct impression he enjoyed making her squirm.

“We can ask nicely. And if they refuse, we can apply a little pressure. We’re a big enough agency that a little pressure should be enough.

They’ll want to work with us in the future. ”

“Sorry?” She shook her head with a frown. “I think I misunderstood. You want me to threaten them?”

He laughed. “Of course not, of course not! You don’t have to be explicit about it.

Just hint a bit, you know? Give us some plausible deniability, but make sure they understand.

Kind of like… say I wanted you to do something you didn’t want to do.

I might drop a few hints in an unrelated conversation that you’re generally replaceable and that the agency prefers team players.

And you’d probably understand, wouldn’t you? ”

A chill ran up her spine when she realized what he was saying. There was no chance she could afford rent in Houston without this job. It was relatively high-paying, and she was lucky to have it, she knew. “I understand,” she finally said. “Thanks for the tips. I think I can handle it.”

He patted her on the head and said, “Good girl,” in a way that made her cringe.

On some level, Kat knew her boss was terrible, but she also knew that he knew that the agency’s pay rate and the lack of better jobs in the city allowed him to say and do whatever he wanted.

Ever since he’d taken over the company, Kat hadn’t taken a day completely off work.

When she was at home, she was plugged in, online, thinking about upcoming campaigns.

Even in her dreams, she was problem-solving for the agency.

The ride to Louie’s was crowded but cheaper than it would have otherwise been.

Louie’s itself was even more crowded, which unfortunately did not affect the price in the least. Regardless, Kat was happy to support a local business, and this place was still owned by the man it was named after, who always treated Kat and her friends well after they’d given him a good deal on an ad campaign three years ago.

“First round’s on the house,” their server said.

Jessie smiled and thanked him. “Louie must be here today. I thought I saw him when I came in.” She had gotten there before the rest of them and saved a table. “So what took you all so long?” she asked.

“Last-minute weekend assignment,” Kat answered, frowning. “I’ll be spending tomorrow and the next day begging designers and influencers to expedite so we can sell kitchen appliances on St. Patrick’s Day.”

Aiden and Brandy looked confused. They’d been the ones to hold the cab Kat ordered, so they weren’t present when their boss made his demands. “Why St. Patrick’s Day?” Brandy asked. “For kitchen appliances?”

Kat shrugged. “I couldn’t say. Maybe they think they’ll sell more blenders for drinks or something.”

“Anyone spending their St. Patrick’s Day shopping online doesn’t have the social life to throw the kind of party that requires a blender,” Aiden said, following up with several gulps of his drink.

“If he’s charging them extra for the expedited campaign, they’re wasting their money.

This needed to happen way sooner.” Aiden wasn’t wrong, but the chances that either their boss or the client would listen to him were slim to none.

Several platters of shareable food followed shortly after the drinks.

It was always delicious, and everyone at the table went a little quieter to focus on the food.

Though her friends seemed relaxed and ready for the weekend, Kat realized she couldn’t really join them.

Her thoughts kept drifting back to the work she was going to have to do that night and the following day to get a jump on the new deadline.

She was already composing emails to graphic designers and influencers, begging them to do far more than they originally signed up for.

It felt terrible to be the bad guy, but that was her job.

One thing was for sure: she had no intention to send them thinly veiled threats the way her boss had suggested.

That was a great way to lose people permanently, and she knew the one taking the heat for something like that would be her, regardless of whether she was just following directions.

“Whose week is it?” Brandy asked. They took turns paying for their Fridays, and she had apparently lost track. So had Kat, come to think of it. Hopefully, it wasn’t her day. She wasn’t sure she had enough.

Jessie chimed in after refilling her plate. “It’s my week.”

Kat heaved a sigh of relief, and Brandy nudged her when she noticed. “Broke again?”

“Just until I get paid.”

“You need a loan or anything?”

“No.” Kat smiled at her friend. “But thank you.” Brandy had a wealthy family, so she was rarely wanting for cash.

She was always willing to help out where she could, which Kat was grateful for.

But there was also no reason anyone who had a decent, full-time job should ever need to rely on a generous friend with wealthy parents.

It all made Kat wonder whether this lifestyle was even worth it.

She made more money than she did when she was younger, but she also had more and higher bills.

It felt like the universe took stock of what she made in life and planned her obligations to match it.

Before she’d even finished her drink, her boss was texting her. Heard back from anyone yet?

I haven’t even made it home yet, Kat answered.

You live that far from the office? he asked.

No, I’m just in the middle of dinner.

Dinner??? This is an emergency!

She could almost hear his tone of voice from the way he texted her. She ignored his urgency. I still need to eat. I’ll get on it first thing when I get home.

You’re eating out?!

That did it. How was it any of his business where she was eating? And was she not allowed to have a couple hours off when she’d been working all day and would likely be working long into the night?

“I’m not a machine,” she muttered and silenced her phone. But however rebellious she may have been feeling, not even the allure of Louie’s was strong enough to overwhelm her feelings of guilt and obligation. She stood. “I’ve got to get going, guys. Lots of work to do.”

“Aww, really?” Jessie whined. “But we haven’t even had a second round.”