Chapter4
Austin
Well, that didn’t go as planned. I’m not used to being turned down. I’m not being arrogant about it, but normally I have women asking me out instead of me asking them, so the fact that Millie flat-out told me no is a little surprising.
And honestly, I thought she was interested. At least until I mentioned her dad. There’s obviously something going on there. I watch as she walks back to her office just as that manager Mike walks beside her. I don’t like him, and I definitely don’t like how he walks so close to Millie.
I take a deep breath. I’m already late for my meeting, and I know that’s not making a very good impression. The fact that I want the man to like me surprises me a little. I normally don’t care about shit or niceties like that. People can take me or leave me. But I know why I care. I’m going to need him on my side I think if I want to get close to his daughter.
I walk to the closed door and knock. A mere second goes by, and I hear him say, “Come in.”
He’s sitting in a chair with an almost empty plate of food in front of him. “Hello, Mr. Ogle. I’m Austin Yates. I’m sorry I’m late.”
He waves me off. “No worries. I just finished my lunch. Have a seat. You can call me Rusty. I’m curious why you wanted to set up this meeting today.”
I take a seat and look at the big man behind the desk. The only similarities between him and his daughter is the color of his hair and shape of his eyes. I clear my throat and try to focus on the business at hand.
“You can call me Austin. As I mentioned on the phone, I own the Yates ranch.”
“Yeah, I know the one. It’s out at the edge of Whiskey Run.”
I nod. “That’s right. And I’ve always done my business at the Jasper Farmers Co-op. I would like to set up an account here.”
He shakes his head. “Jasper must be doing something wrong. You’re the third ranch this week to move their accounts here.”
I shrug, not wanting to dis the company. They’ve changed owners, and the service and product quality has gone way down, but I don’t want to get into all that. “If you have a credit app you need me to fill out, I can do that. I’ll have a foreman and myself that places orders.”
Rusty waves me off. “Austin, I knew everything I needed to know about you when I got off the phone with you the other day. I don’t need a credit app to tell me anything. I’ve already learned you’re honest to a fault, a hard worker and take pride in your ranch. I can’t ask for more than that in a client.”
I sit back in my seat. I was nervous about moving my accounts to Whiskey Run, but already I know it’s the right decision. Rusty Ogle is my kind of people. “Great. I appreciate that. If it’s okay, I would like to see a price list. We have some special orders we make, and I can get you that information.”
Rusty nods his head. “Sure, sure. My daughter, Millie, takes care of all the ordering. She’ll be able to help you.”
At the mention of his daughter, it hits me then what I need to do. I just met her, but already it’s important to me that I take the right step. “Actually, that’s something I would like to talk to you about.”
He squints in confusion.
“I mean, your daughter, sir.”
“Do you know my daughter?”
I nod and shrug at the same time. “Well, I actually just met her. I brought her a piece of cake.”
He sits back in his seat. “You brought her a piece of cake?”
At this point, I know I have to just put it all out there. “Yes, sir. Uh, I actually saw her at the diner. She turned down cake and she really seemed like she wanted it, so I bought a piece and brought it to her. I, uh, asked her out, sir, and she told me no.”
His face has no expression. I don’t know what I’m going to do if he decides not to do business with me, but I’m not even really concerned about that. I’m more concerned about the fact that he may just kick me out of here and tell Millie that I’m some kind of stalker and to stay away from me.
He finally leans forward. “Did she happen to tell you why she wouldn’t go out with you?”
I move to the edge of my seat. “Yeah, she doesn’t want to go out with someone that is doing business with her father or the co-op.”
He throws his hands in the air. “So you gave up... chose the business instead of going out with my daughter.”
I laugh then, because that can’t be further than the truth. “Actually, I told her I would take my business elsewhere then.”
I wait for him to be offended, but he’s not. His eyes spark at me, and I can’t help but feel like I passed some kind of test. “Actually, she seemed worried about me being late for this meeting... that you needed to get home. But no, sir, I’m not giving up on your daughter. I would like to take her out.”