Chapter Forty-Three
You’re gonna crush it today, Ally. Can’t wait to celebrate tonight.
I let out a lovestruck sigh as the elevator shot skyward. Colton’s text sent butterflies cascading through my stomach, even though I had spent the night pressed against his warm body and he had given me sleepy kisses before I left that morning.
It was surreal to have Colton Nash in my Chicago apartment.
We had caught a plane together the morning after his perfect ride and celebratory dinners.
Sponsors were lining up left and right to partner with him. He had three magazines, and two news stations already contacted him about photo shoots and what to wear to his interviews.
Now that he was rodeo-free until December, minus the practices to keep his muscle memory flowing, he decided to visit my arena.
Chicago.
We got into the city late, grabbed some pizza on the way to my apartment, and passed out promptly.
I truly don’t know how the Nashes travelled so much without getting burnt out. I was so tired.
I’m going to crush it thanks to you! You’d better be resting and don’t forget to take your meds!
He responded promptly.
You run a tight ship! Get to work, slacker.
I put my phone in my bag as I stepped off the elevator.
“You’re back!” Martha screamed, making all of our colleagues, who were still trying to wake up, jump. “Finally!” She threw her arms around me, and I dropped my packed lunch and bag to catch her. “You have no idea how boring this place is without you!”
“I think my first week here, you said it was your duty to loosen me up because I was too boring,” I said into her shoulder.
She threw her head back and laughed, her gray curls bouncing. “You guys!” She said as she turned to face the office. “Allegra is home!”
The few people who had made it here already looked up and waved, but there was no fanfare, no celebration, just the usual Tuesday morning vibes.
Martha frowned at them. “Well, I am very glad you’re back. How are you feeling about the presentation?”
I glanced at the clock. It was 7:45, my presentation was at ten, and I only had two hours until my professional life would change forever.
“Ready or not,” I said with a soft smile.
“How’s the cowboy?” She asked with a sly smile, watching me tuck my lunch into the minifridge.
I could feel my cheeks go hot. “He’s crazy sore. That ride was insane, but he’s on cloud nine.”
“He’s rolling in the cash now,” Martha said with raised eyebrows as she slid into her desk chair. “I mean, I don’t know anything about the rodeo, and I saw a story about him on the news.”
I nodded and took my own chair, powering on my computer. “He’s famous now.”
He was an underdog who had dominated this season; it was a great story to follow all the way to the finals. His rides were bound to be reshown on the rodeo channel over and over until December.
Martha coughed loud enough to make me look up. “You’re famous too.”
She was holding a magazine over my computer.
I gasped softly.
It was Cotlon and I on the front page of the biggest rodeo magazine on the market.
His gloved hands were holding my face, mine were on his dirty cheeks, and we were kissing. The stadium lights were behind us, making us look ethereal.
The caption below the photo made me blush harder.
“FROM THE BOARDROOM TO THE BARRIER: Is Chicago executive Allegra Ford the secret weapon behind Colton Nash’s historic 96-point ride?”
“Martha…” I said breathlessly.
Her eyes were as wide as saucers. “I stopped at my newsstand to get my morning candy bar, and I saw that, thinking it was some celebrity scandal or something. So I put on my glasses, and I’m like, ‘That looks so much like Allegra.’ And wouldn’t you believe it, it was!”
I couldn’t stop looking at it.
It was truly the most beautiful picture I’d ever seen in my life. I hadn’t given a thought to the cameras and their endless flashes when Colton had run to me after the ride, but…oh my.
I needed the raw photo so I could print it myself. I needed this photo framed.
Martha leaned over my shoulder and flipped to the first article.
FROM THE BOARDROOM TO THE BARRIER
They say behind every great cowboy is a woman who prays harder than the horse bucks. But for Colton Nash, the rookie sensation who just shattered records in Sioux Falls with a historic 96-point ride, that woman isn’t just praying–she’s calculating.
Meet Allegra Ford. By day, she’s a high-powered marketing executive navigating the steel canyons of Chicago.
But this season, she’s been the constant shadow behind the chutes, a polished contrast to the grit and grime of the bareback draw.
Sources close to the Nash camp suggest that Ford isn’t just a spectator; she’s the anchor that’s kept the young phenom centered through a turbulent, injury-plagued climb to the top of the standings.
When the gate swung open on The Womanizer, the world saw a man defying gravity. But as Nash vaulted the fence to find Ford in the chaos of the victory, it became clear: the King of the Dirt has found his Queen.
My mouth was dry as I looked back up at Martha.
Did she believe it? Did she think I was the one who was pushing him to be better, to practice harder? Or did she look at me and know it was all a lie?
The person who wrote this didn’t know I had wanted to tie Colton to a chair to keep him away from the show.
They looked at our relationship and called me the secret weapon to his best season ever.
~~~
Dozens of eyes were on me.
I was standing at the head of the table. The floor-to-ceiling windows of Chicago ambiance were beside me, the projector ready behind me, and Martha sitting in the back with a big smile; that was all I needed to “crush” this presentation.
I was dressed in a creamy white dress, heels, and a navy blazer, one of the outfits that gave me the most confidence. My makeup was thick, and my hair was lightly curled and sitting on my shoulder.
I was corporate Allegra, but it was okay; this was her element, this was where she needed to thrive.
Mr. Sterling sat in front of me, along with the rest of the stern-looking board members. They were here to determine if I was confident, smart, and had done a good enough job to earn my promotion
No pressure, right?
I took a deep breath and stood up straight.
“Gentlemen, at Agri-Corp, we aren’t just selling tractors and skid-steers. We’re selling a lifestyle. I spent the last few months in the dirt of just about every small town in the nation, and I saw something that our competitors are missing: The Barrier.”
I stepped to the side to click my presentation to the first slide, the Agri-Corp logo on the rodeo banner. “In the rodeo, the barrier is what stands between a cowboy and his prize. For our customers, the barrier is equipment failure. We’ve positioned Agri-Corp as the brand that breaks through.”
I clicked to the next slide, but before I could open my mouth, the door squeaked open, breaking the heavy silence.
Every eye darted to the back, where Colton Nash was doing his best to sneak in.
He was dressed in a sage-green pearl-snap shirt, Wranglers, boots, and a straw cowboy hat on his wild chestnut hair.
He waved with a wide smile to the attention of my entire company and slid into the only empty seat in the room, right next to Martha.
I could barely move, my concentration stuck on his beautiful face.
He nodded toward the screen.
I couldn’t even blink.
Mr. Sterling cleared his throat.
I snapped back into reality. “Ahem, excuse me, as I was saying.” I clicked on the slide, showing the equipment at a grand opening in Utah.
“By pivoting our Q3 marketing budget toward rodeo sponsorships and local dealership ‘Showroom Open Houses,’ like the successful launch at Summit Landscape Equipment, we’ve seen a direct 22% spike in lead generation. ”
The board was nodding along with me now; I was speaking their language.
I clicked on the next slide, the picture of Dennis, Micky, and Thompson in front of their booth in Oklahoma.
“Agri-Corp was founded by retired rodeo cowboys. For years, we treated that like a piece of trivia. I treated it like a Value Proposition. These customers don’t buy from brochures; they buy from people they trust. By putting our brand behind athletes who embody the same ‘raw talent and heart’ as our machinery, we’ve shifted from being a vendor to being a partner. ”
I couldn’t look at Colton as I talked; if I did and saw him smiling or looking at me, my brain would melt.
The next slide was pictures of the cowboys, specifically Jimmy, Alan, Dean, and Colton, in Agri-Corp rodeo equipment.
“When a farmer in Guthrie or a landscaper in Stephenville sees our logo on the back of a bucking chute, they don’t see a corporation.
They see a company that understands the risk they take every day. They see themselves.”
I clicked the remote again. The screen filled with a heat map of our new market penetration, vibrant green pockets spreading across the Midwest and the South.
“Our competitors are fighting for the top ten percent of the urban market,” I said, my voice projecting with a clarity that surprised even me.
“But Agri-Corp is winning the hearts of the other ninety percent. We aren’t just in their sheds; we’re in their stories.
I am recommending a full-scale rollout of the ‘Legacy’ campaign for Q4, centering our narrative on the durability of the American worker. ”
I took a breath, doing my best to steady myself as I closed the presentation. “The numbers prove the strategy. The engagement proves the loyalty. And the results,” I glanced toward Mr. Sterling, clicking the remote one more time, “speak for themselves. Thank you.”
The screen showed Colton standing in the middle of the arena, his back to the camera. His Agri-Corp vest was in the middle of the picture, his fist pumped in the air.
It was way too quiet. Nobody was moving; it felt like nobody was even breathing.
“Whoo!” Colton said, clapping his hands together.
Once again, every pair of eyes shot to him.
Martha put her hands on his, shaking her head with a wild smile on her face. Colton lowered his hands, his face pink.
I looked back at Mr. Sterling.
He looked between Colton and me, and slowly, a smile crept across his face.
“Ms. Ford,” he said, leaning back in his chair, “that was more than a presentation. That was a masterclass.” He glanced at the stoic men around him, who were, to my amazement, nodding with him.
“I believe I speak for the board when I say…we’ve seen enough. ”
My chest swelled. I couldn’t help but smile.
The room erupted into a polite hum of chatter and closing laptops.
Mr. Sterling stood, his hand extended toward me.
“Welcome to the executive level, Director Ford. We’ll get the paperwork finalized by five.”
I shook his hand, probably too aggressively. “Sir, I can’t thank you enough.”
He glanced back up at the screen and back down at me. “Good work, Allegra. We can’t wait to see what you’ll do next.”
I watched him file out of the room behind the rest of the men in suits and felt a thousand pounds fall off my shoulders.
Martha was bouncing toward me. “You did it, boss!”
I laughed. “Oh, I could get used to that!”
She hugged me as tightly as she could. “That was amazing. Seriously, you rocked it.”
I shook my arms as she released me. “I can’t believe that’s over. I’ve been working on that for months, and it’s just over.”
“You better feel good about it, because it was perfect,” she said, shaking my shoulders.
I nodded. “I feel good about it.”
“See you out there,” she said as she glanced back at Colton.
Colton waited until she was out of the room, until we were the only two people left, and ran to me, as quickly as he had after the rodeo.
He threw his arms around me and spun me around.
I was laughing. “Colton, you’re supposed to be resting!”
He set me down and shook his head. “This is your rodeo, Ally. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” He looked back at the empty room. “Tough crowd, though.”
I nodded, gathering my papers and laptop. “You’re telling me.”
“I seriously can’t believe how smart you are,” he went on, making me shake my head and laugh. “I was doing my best to keep up with what you were sayin’, but you were blowin’ my mind.”
“Now you’re just trying to give me a big head!”
“Is it workin’?”
“Almost.”
“Good,” he said, kissing my cheek. “‘Cause you deserve it. Gosh, I am so proud of you!”
I didn’t want to think about what my promotion meant for us. Yes, Colton was done with rodeos until December, but he still had a ranch and the Agri-Corp stores back in Oklahoma.
We lived in two completely different worlds.
But we didn’t need to think about that today.
We had each other; that’s all that mattered.