“Of course. Good, simple work. Please, take a seat. I have a lot of admiration for you people.”
You people?
What the hell was he talking about?
Chandler took a seat behind the desk. Typical power move bullshit. But Butch didn’t intimidate easily.
“Hardworking, salt of the earth sort of people. I’m guessing you don’t have any trouble getting women, huh? Most women love a cowboy and you’re a good-looking guy.”
“Sorry, Chandler, I don’t swing that way.”
The other man looked confused before his face turned red. “That . . . that’s not what I meant!”
“Ah, sorry. Sometimes I misunderstand people.”
“Right. Yes. Well, what I’m saying is that I’m sure it won’t be hard for you to find other female companionship.”
This is where he warned him away from Lara, huh?
“Why would I want anyone else when I have Lara?”
Chandler gave him a condescending smile.
Asshole.
“Yes, but I’m sure that you can see that Lara is . . . well, she’s just going through a phase.”
She wasn’t a toddler.
“That so?”
“Yes. I’m sure she doesn’t mean to use you, but it’s likely that she’s with you because she knows that would upset her mother. I’m really doing this for your sake. I’m sure that Devotion isn’t where you want to live.”
“Hell, no.”
His smile dropped for a few seconds at Butch’s swift reply.
“Right. So perhaps it would be best if you broke things off with Lara.”
“Why?”
“Because we just agreed that the two of you aren’t going anywhere.”
“No, we agreed I’d hate living in Devotion. But I’ve got no plans to do that. Neither has Lara. She hates this town. And the people in it.” He gave Chandler a bland smile. “And she’s not going through a phase.”
“Okay, I understand. You want to pay hardball. Here’s the thing, Butch. I have a lot of powerful people in my pocket. People who could make life for a simple cowboy rather difficult. You understand me?”
“I think I do. You’re saying that unless I dump Lara, you’re going to make my life hell.”
“Glad we understand each other. Surely, it’s not that bad. The two of you can hardly be that serious. How long have you even been together?”
“Long enough to know how we feel about each other,” he lied.
“I’ll happily reimburse you for your time and that suit. What would it take? Three hundred dollars? Four? I usually carry at least that much in my wallet.”
Condescending jerk.
“No.”
Chandler’s smile dropped. This guy was demented. But why was he so eager to break them up? Lara hadn’t lived here in years. And she was well past the age of being Chandler’s concern.
“You don’t want to test me.”
“You sound like a villain from a cartoon movie. Not happening. Do your worst. Damn, now I sound like one of the heroes. Can we swap characters? I always fancied myself as the bad guy.”
“What is wrong with you?” Chandler asked. The mask was slipping. “If you’re staying with her because you think she has access to my money, I can assure you that she doesn’t. Lara and her mother are quite broke.”
Fucking asshole.
But he made sure to keep his face free of his anger.
“That’s not why I’m with her.” He stood. “Strange as it might seem to you, I care about Lara. Nothing you could do could make me leave her.”
“I’ll ruin you!” Chandler snapped, jumping to his feet.
Ahh, here was the real Chandler Devout.
“Ruin me? How?”
“I’ll talk to your employer and get you fired. Have you blackballed from every ranch in the state. I can do it.”
“No, you can’t.” He grinned. Time to enlighten this dickhead about who he was dealing with. “You have no idea who I work for, do you?”
“I’m sure I can get them to do what I want.”
“You’re so arrogant. You think you own the world, don’t you, Chandler? You’re probably one of the richest men in the state, huh?”
“I am.”
“Yep, thought so. Thing is, my family’s wealth would make yours look like pennies. Now, I’m gonna go find my girl. We’re leaving. And you will stay far away from her, hear me?”
“Just who do you think you are!” Chandler yelled as he reached the door.
“Oh, didn’t I introduce myself fully? My name is Butch Malone.” He let that sink in for a moment. He noticed the way Chandler blanched.
Yeah, asshole.
I have family connections that you can’t touch.
“Malone?”
“Yep. I’m a Malone. And you might want to know that the only reason you’re still standing with your ugly face intact is because Lara needs me more. And I’m here to give her whatever she requires. You’re not even worth the effort it would take anyway. Oh, and you might want to do some research before you go around threatening people. But I guess that’s what you sort of people do . . . make assumptions.”
He shut the door behind him, hearing a loud smashing noise behind him.