Bullied Property Read online

  All I knew of her so far is that she was smaller and daintier than expected. It was hard to picture her wrangling horses and whipping them into shape. Marco and I both agreed on that much.

  I rode up on the stables, making sure to keep my distance. I hated the way workers would act their best when they knew we were around, only to slack off again the moment we turned our backs. I wanted to see how she did when she didn’t think anyone was watching.

  The horses were giant next to her as she led them around one by one, checking them carefully. She watched their gait around the field, checked their teeth, coat, eyes, legs, and shoes. She was certainly thorough, and it was hard not to feel a stir of something inside while I watched her work. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

  I watched as she scribbled down notes on each horse and tucked it away into a folder. We had never kept organized records like that on our horses before. I had to admit she knew what she was doing. But my doubts still lingered about just how well she’d hold up around here. I decided to give the senorita a test of sorts – to mess with her a little bit just to see how she fared.

  While her back was turned, I snuck my way up to the stables and called out briskly.

  “Who told you to do that?”

  It was enough to startle both her and the closest horse. He bucked up a little when she jumped, but she quickly grabbed his reins and calmed him down. By the time her eyes shot up to mine she looked angry and confused. I almost felt bad being so mean, but I stood my ground to see what she would do.

  She straightened and replied confidently. “No one, señor. But you did hire me to render veterinarian care to the horses. The first step in doing so is to ensure they are all fit and in good health.”

  It kind of bothered me that I hadn’t got to her more. She was a stubborn one for sure, and I didn’t care for the way she talked down to me.

  “You assume nothing,” I snapped back. “You are here to follow orders. That means you do nothing unless Marco or I tell you to do it.”

  My eyes sparkled as she tightened her lips and sang out to me in the sweetest tone she could muster.

  “Very well then.” With a fake smile, she began to put the horses back in their stalls and brushed her papers aside.

  She was irritating me. I wanted to get a rise out of her, or at least to see what it took to make her fight back. But she did just as she should and kept her mouth shut, obeying my every command. It caused that strange feeling in me to rise again. And worse, now I was left in the awkward position of knowing she was right to start all that paperwork on the horses.

  “Go on and finish what you started,” I sighed finally. “I want a full report for my brother and me to review, including all medications and anything else that needs to be included.”

  She returned to me with the same strained smile. “Yes, of course.”

  “Get it done before dinner,” I added harshly, just to test her again.

  I watched the muscles in her neck twist as she swallowed hard. It would be quite the feat to get all that done by dinnertime.

  “Yes, sir,” she finally answered, almost defiantly.

  I glared back, pretending not to notice the sarcasm in her voice. But she kept her eyes glued to mine with her chin held high and didn’t budge. I wasn’t going to push her anymore. She had enough on her plate with the task at hand.

  Once I walked back over to my horse and climbed on, I looked back to see she had already busied herself with the job. I couldn’t help but ride off out of sight and then watch her a little longer. For as frustrated as she may have been on the inside, she barely showed it. And she didn’t take it out on the animals. She saw to each one with a tenderness and kindness that only stirred that longing in me more.

  Between the gentle way she handled them and the strong but composed way she handled me, it turned out that I was the one who got all riled up out of our little talk, rather than the other way around.

  Her long dark hair was tied up at the back of her neck, but little curls of it would slip down into her face as she worked. She had the most graceful hands with long fingers that gracefully brushed each tendril away with just as much finesse as she handled the horses with. I had to admit, she was intoxicating to watch. And the longer I did, the more excited I got.

  She wore a white blouse tucked into tight-fitting cropped brown trousers, and it all showed off the curves of her body – especially her plump breasts that bulged under the loose-fitting top. It was hard not to imagine what all those curves would look like if they were set free. She was a lot like the horses in a way - skittish but keeping it all contained. You could tell she had been hardened. She had to have been to hold up with Marco and I as well as she had this far. She was broken in to behave just like the animals she cared for, but there was no mistaking the wildness flaring up in her eyes.

  But there was more to it than that…the way she held everything in and acted with such composure. It was the kind of way only certain women moved…ones that had never entirely let go with a man. I was certain she was a virgin, and the thought of it drove me crazy inside. I would have loved to break her in sexually…lure her out of the shyness and uncertainty that comes with something new and teach her how to unleash all those pent-up desires.

  I knew I couldn’t since she was our employee. We made a point not to get sexually involved with any of our workers. But man did she ever make it hard to remember why we had that stupid rule in place.

  The sun shone bright in my eyes, interrupting my dirty thoughts. I realized it was well past noon and I had wasted too much time studying her from afar. With one last look at her still working away, I forced myself to ride off and try to put it out of my mind.

  After a long afternoon of hard work, Marco and I shared a drink around the dining table just as the sun was starting to set. I washed the dirt from under my nails and sat down to join him, relishing in the taste of tequila on my tongue. We drank in silence, as we often did. Usually at times like these, we did our best to drink away the haunting memories of our time in the military, but very rarely did we ever talk about it. It was a nice change of pace to have thoughts about Elaina rolling around in my mind instead of those dark kinds of things for once.

  I watched my brother staring off as he raised his glass to his lips and wondered if he had the same kinds of thoughts about her. If he did, he hadn’t mentioned it. I decided to do the same and keep it to myself for the time being.

  A knock came at the door, prompting Marco to march over and answer with his big boots pounding across the wooden floorboards. None other than Elaina herself stood there, looking as indignant as ever with a big stack of papers in her hands.

  He looked down at her sort of cluelessly, as if to ask what she was doing there. But her eyes cut over his shoulder to me as she handed the papers over.

  “The report you asked for,” she stated plainly.

  Marco looked back at me, still having no idea what was going on. I did my best to hold back a smirk and remain unmoved, checking the clock on the wall instead. She had done just as I asked, wrapping it all up before dinner.

  I nodded to her as Marco plopped the thick stack in front of me on the table, and she was quick to spin on her heels to head for the kitchen.

  “Elaina,” I called out after her. I could see her bracing herself for a moment before she turned around. “Why don’t you come in and join us for dinner?”

  She stared at me defiantly for a few seconds. “No thank you,” she answered in a haughty voice.

  Just like that she whipped around and marched off, looking rather pleased with herself. I chuckled, thinking she was even more stubborn than I gave her credit for.

  “What was that all about?” Marco asked as he shut the door.

  “Oh, nothing,” I smiled, rather enjoying keeping it all to myself for now. “She put together a thorough report on all the horses is all.”

  He raised a brow and thumbed through the papers. “Huh.” He stared me down, not looking entirely con
vinced. But just shrugged it off and returned to his seat.

  5

  Elaina

  The long day left me feeling completely worn down and exhausted. But I tossed and turned in bed anyway, partly out of anger towards Felix. I had been warned and did not expect my bosses to be kind. My introduction to them alone told me that much. I also didn’t expect them to give me a hard time just for fun, and that’s exactly what he seemed to do that day.

  The nerve, I thought to myself as I rolled around under the sheets, unable to get comfortable. To try and tell me how to do the job I was trained to do, taking credit for telling me to do that report when I had already started it before he took it upon himself to scold me. I thought I’d have two or three days to complete it on my own, but of course he had to demand it be finished within a few hours.

  But it was more than just his little test that got to me. There was something in the way his eyes smiled when I didn’t back down from him, and again when I delivered the report on time. I could tell he was impressed with me. I would have taken it as a professional compliment had he not offered that dinner invitation so smugly right after.

  I knew better than to try and figure men like them out – the strong, silent types that seemed to take great pride and joy in putting others in their place. I decided if I couldn’t sleep, my energy was better spent writing another letter home.

  I threw an extra log on the fire and used the light to see. I assured them everything was going well and that I was comfortable, maybe even happy – at least as much as I could be being apart from them. It felt like a lie as I wrote it, but I knew it was what they needed to hear. I begged for them to save as much of the money I sent to them as they could. Eventually, we could travel to the United States where maybe things wouldn’t be so hard, and our dear mother could have better healthcare, which she so desperately needed.

  It was hard not to cry as I wrote to them. I missed them more each day, but I knew tears would do me no good. I had to save my strength as much as I asked them to save the money. And we all had to cling to the hope that better days would come. Until then, I had many long days of hard work ahead and needed the rest. After writing to them, I felt a little more at ease and finally fell fast asleep.

  The following afternoon, I was busy working on a new kind of report for the horses. Now that I knew what shape they were all in, I could better determine the best ones to breed. Certain factors made two horses a better match, meaning their offspring would be more valuable. That was the kind of thing the Perez brothers were especially interested in.

  Both of them had stopped by to check on the progress of things. I gave them a brief update on what I was doing, making sure to look Felix straight in the eyes when I asked for their approval to continue. He seemed to delight in my tense tone as I nodded to his authority, but it was enough to satisfy them for the time being.

  They rode off a short way, leaving me to my work, but they, of course, stopped nearby and continued watching me. They both had made a habit of doing that, and I could only assume it was to ensure I was doing what they hired me to do. I just pretended not to notice and carried on. I couldn’t tell them they were wasting their time. I was not one for lazing about. I intended on earning every penny of my pay just as I promised, and I’d be busy working hard whether they were watching or not.

  But I did make a point to be especially on top of things, just to put their minds at ease. I got so busy with the horses, I barely noticed anyone else around until I heard the brothers begin to raise their voices. I looked up to see a tall, angry-looking man was talking to them.

  “You know I’ve had my eye on your property for some time now,” he griped, sticking his thumbs into his pockets. He had long legs and a big belly that stuck out over his belt. His entire outfit was black with a big cowboy hat and boots to match. You could see he had more money than any of us, or else he just chose to spend what little he did have on frivolous things like expensive clothes.

  “My ranch has always done well for itself, and much easier so than yours,” he continued. “Just do yourselves a favor and sell. You two can run off to the city and have a fresh start.”

  “No offense, Mr. Navarro. But if your ranch is doing so well then why do you need to buy up what we have?” Felix scoffed.

  “Expansion,” he grinned, showing off his yellowish teeth. “For as much as I’m doing now, I could be doing ten times as much with this land. Come on, you know you’re struggling to make ends meet. You don’t have the means to keep this place going at full capacity.”

  “Don’t worry about what we have the means for,” Marco answered sternly. “This is our father’s ranch and we vowed to keep it going. Which is just what we’ll do. We’ve told you before and we’ll tell you as many times as it takes. We’re not selling our land.”

  His voice raised just enough to let the man know they meant business, without losing his cool. But I could see their refusal getting to this Mr. Navarro. His smile faded fast and his eyes darkened as he shifted in frustration.

  “I’ve been very generous in my previous offers, with this one being the highest yet,” he said through clenched teeth. “I assure you…my price will only go down from here. If you boys want to wait until you’re desperate to come begging to me for a fraction of what this land is worth, be my guest. But I had hoped you wouldn’t be so stupid.”

  Marco turned his head and spit on the ground before stepping closer to the man and looking him straight in the eye. “You can come strolling over here with as many offers as you want, high or low. But the answer always has been and always will be no. I’m afraid I do have to draw the line at you implying my brother and I are stupid. That’s when I’m inclined to remind you, you’re trespassing.”

  The two men stood toe to toe, both looking furious and unwilling to back down. It was terribly quiet and tense, with only the sound of the horses penetrating the thick air. But soon Mr. Navarro gave in and started to storm off. I couldn’t help but stare as he stomped away, looking angrier than I had seen anyone in a long time. Marco and Felix watched him as well to make sure he kept going and didn’t try anything. Once he was far enough away, they turned and began talking quietly between themselves.

  But I kept my eyes glued to this neighbor. He may have been away from them, but he was only moving closer to me. Just as I had feared, he stopped when he caught sight of me in the corner of his eye. He did a double-take when he saw me as a wide, creepy grin curled across his lips. I tried to return to my work, hoping he’d leave me alone, but once he saw that Marco and Felix weren’t paying attention, he began walking towards me.

  “Afternoon, señorita,” he tipped his hat. “I haven’t seen you around here before.”

  I kept looking as busy as possible, barely feigning interest in talking to him. Aside from what I overheard; I didn’t like the look in his eye.

  “I arrived recently,” I murmured, not wanting to tell him too much.

  “Is that so?” He stepped closer, eyeing me like a piece of meat. “And just what is it you arrived here for?”

  “I don’t believe it’s any of your business, but I have been hired to administer veterinary care to the horses.”

  I pulled off a saddle from one of the roped horses and didn’t bother saying another word to Mr. Navarro before turning to go back into the barn and put it away. I hoped he would just walk off, but the moment the saddle was secured on its shelf, I whipped around and nearly ran straight into his wide chest. His sudden closeness made me gasp and jump, but I was able to sidestep him fast enough to get out of the barn and back into plain sight.

  He laughed as he followed behind, grabbing me by the arm. “Hold on now, I didn’t mean to scare you! Let me have a look at you.”

  His grip quickly turned forceful as he held me still, taking my cheeks in between his large fingers. He breathed heavily as he looked me over, turning my head side to side. Every muscle in my body clenched up and I felt sick. I wanted to scream, but I didn’t know if the brothers wou
ld be upset for me making a scene. Maybe he would just have his look and go away.

  But soon I felt the side of the barn against my back as he pushed me against the wall. He leaned in close enough to growl into my ear. “Well maybe if the Perez brother won’t give me the land I want, there’s something else around here for the taking to make all of this worth my trouble.”

  My stomach turned as his hand groped its way up my body, moving towards my breasts. I could hear Felix yelling in the distance and noticed him running closer, but I couldn’t stand having this disgusting man fondling me a moment longer. With my one free hand, I reared back and punched him straight in the throat.

  Mr. Navarro buckled over, clenching his throat as he coughed and gasped for air. He straightened before long and looked at me like he could kill me, but by then Felix and Marco had appeared behind him.

  Felix lunged forward, but he was quick to get himself together well enough to take off running back towards his ranch. Felix chased after him, and I shuttered to think what he would do to him if he caught up to him in time.

  My chest heaved as I caught my breath, realizing I had been holding it from the moment he laid his hands on me. My throat was tight, and I could feel tears welling up, but I didn’t want to break down in front of Marco. And rage was still pumping through me from the whole encounter. At least punching him felt good enough to help me feel avenged in some way.

  Marco stood there with a look of surprise. His lips were parted, but nothing came out.

  “What?” I snapped finally. I normally wouldn’t have been so brash, especially not with my boss, but I was running on low patience for the day and was tired of being gawked at.

  “You did good,” he confessed, raising his brows.