TRACKING TRISHA - A Black Hounds Motorcycle Club Romance (The Fox and the Hounds Book #1) (9 page)

BOOK: TRACKING TRISHA - A Black Hounds Motorcycle Club Romance (The Fox and the Hounds Book #1)
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The farm girl looked at him and processed his words. Dante felt a kindred spirit with Trisha. It was easy to talk to her. There was a kindness in her that reminded him of his late mother. Even if she rejected the offer, he knew he desired her companionship.

 

 

“Dante, I accept.”

 

 

The biker nearly jolted up from his seat. “What?”

 

 

“I’ll be your mail order bride,” Trisha clarified with a blush. “Or girlfriend or fiancé or whatever I’m supposed to be.”

 

 

They were interrupted by a waitress delivering their drinks. Trisha gingerly sipped the capuchin. Dante’s drink, however, went untouched. He didn’t speak until the waitress was out of earshot. “Thank you, Trisha. Lucia had already written the game plan for what to do if you had accepted. Now, we just have to put it into play.”

 

 

“What do I have to do?”

 

 

“You have to sign a formal contract that binds you to our agreement,” Dante explained, writing a phone number and address on a napkin. He had a business card in his pocket but writing a note felt more natural to him. “We’ll make sure you have a lawyer to help you understand all the legalese of the deal. Could you meet us on next Saturday at this address? It’s Lucia’s place. Use this phone number to contact us if you have any questions. We can’t contact you through our regular phone lines.”

 

 

She nodded. “It should give me time to deal with the farm. I can make arrangements so it runs by itself in my absence. I bet the boys back at home will be excited we have a steady form on revenue… one way or the other.”

 

 

Finally, Dante raised his glass and met that of Trisha’s with a soft clink. “I could make an awful ‘you bet the farm on it’ pun but I’ll hold my tongue.”

 

 

Trisha smiled and drank a mouthful of her capuchin. “Just maybe… I’ll amend the contract and forbid bad farm puns. I get enough of that at work.”

 

 

“Talk about a ‘punishing’ amendment.”

 

 

They both had a good laugh at that awful pun.

 

“So how illegal is this exactly on a scale of one to ten?” Trisha asked the lawyer. This arrangement was a lot more complicated than buying insurance for her workers and farm equipment. “With one being fibbing on your tax return and ten being… well, Enron.”

 

 

“Well, it certainly isn’t legal,” the elderly man replied. “It’s the darkest shade of grey that isn’t entirely black. However, your small business is privately owned. It would be immaterial to your debtors. You are the only person who stands to lose if the true nature of this arrangement was to ever come out. It’s a different matter on Mr. Alastair’s end…”

 

 

“Lucia’s done her homework,” Dante replied, looking confident at his plan. “We’re in the clear since we’re still a privately owned company at this point. None of our business partners have a leg to stand on if they want to sue us. Going public won’t change the fact that people are legally investing in our products rather than in my personal life. If you made buying a girlfriend a crime, then you’ll have to lock up all of the CEOs in this state along with their mistresses.”

 

 

Mr. Brown sighed and handed Trisha a thick binder full of papers. “Stubborn as always. Your father gave me grey hairs. You’re making me bald. You Alastair boys know how to make me work for my money.”

 

 

“No one will get hurt, Mr. Brown,” Dante assured him. “It’s not a vehicle hijacking. It’s just a bit of theatre for the media.”

 

 

Trisha flipped to through the binder. In spite of its size, there was a section summarizing the terms of their agreement. It was written in layman’s terms which she could easily understand. “You’ve checked everything, right?”

 

 

“This is Mr. Brown’s magnum opus,” Dante answered. “I promised that you would be protected. I keep my promises. You will be in the clear. I even set up a fund that will be released if the Black Hounds violate their side of the deal. Think of it as a security deposit you can dip into if we start acting like bad tenants.”

 

 

The biker knew how to work his God-given charm. It would be a great skill to have when the company went public. Now, it was only a matter of getting there.

 

 

Trisha digested the magnitude of the decision she had just made. Strangely enough, it felt as mundane as buying a lottery ticket. Except she was guaranteed to receive a payout. She signed, initialed, and dated the contract.

 

 

Mr. Brown take the binder and rotated it so it faced him. He scanned the pages like a hawk. “Everything looks to be in order.”

 

 

Dante smiled. “Are you ready to start working tomorrow?”

 

 

Indeed, Trisha had settled her affairs at Foxtail Farms. It could operate on its own with minimal oversight from her. “Sure thing. What am I supposed to do? Are we going anywhere?”

 

 

“A car show,” Dante answered. “The Black Hounds will be showing off some of their new designs. It’s a pretty big event with some celebrities showing up for the free shrimp cocktails. Honestly, the vehicles are the best part of these events. I really can’t stand talking to some of the people there but it comes with trying to grow the business. It’ll be a good way to make our relationship official. A lot of press outlets attend these events just to follow celebrities.”

 

 

“That sounds like a heavy hitting event for a woman who is supposed to throw her first pitch.”

 

 

“It’s honestly not,” Dante clarified. “These events are big but there is a lot of white noise. We’ll be competing for attention from celebrities and big businesses. It’ll be a good way for us to get media exposure while you’re still on training wheels. From there, we’ll ramp up our campaign.”

 

 

Trisha sucked the lower part of her lip. Now, the magnitude of her decision had hit her. The farm girl would be in front of cameras with. She wasn’t sure what type of fashion was in vogue. Trisha had a hand-me-down dress from her mother that she mothballed in a closet.

 

 

“I can tell you’re worried about what to wear,” Dante smirked. Trisha mouth widened in shock before forming a smile. The man could read all her tells. “I’ve read that expression on Lucia’s face more times than I can count. Speaking of her, she’ll help you doll yourself up for the car show. Unless you already have something in mind. I don’t mind mud-stained overalls but most other people do.”

 

 

“I got my mom’s old gown from the late 80s… if that’s still in style,” Trisha replied. The demands of running a farm had left little time for her to dress up and socialize. Now, she had all the time in the world. In fact, playing the role of a debutante was her job now. “I think I’ll ask Lucia for advice. I can rent a dress from-”

 

 

“We’ll pay for everything,” Dante said adamantly. “It’s part of the deal. We need you to focus on playing your part. We’ll take care of all the incidental expenses. Besides, Lucia has some dresses picked out for you in the other room.”

 

 

“She knows my dress size?”

 

 

“My sister knows everything,” Dante answered with a boyish grin. “I guess this is the end of the meeting.”

 

 

Overwhelmed with her newfound line of credit, Trisha thanked Dante and Mr. Brown. She left the two to discuss further matter about the arrangement in private. Lucia awaited her in a nearby room.

 

 

Lucia’s sizable apartment was as neat and organized as the Black Hounds clubhouse was cluttered and unruly. The room had been made into conference room for impromptu meetings. The woman seemed to work even when she was at home.

 

 

Trisha entered the room and found Dante’s sister talking to someone over the phone. The woman wore a business suit that fit in well with her lithe, athletic body. She wore no makeup or jewelry. However, a string of tattoos could be seen under the cuffs of her blouse.

 

 

Not noticing her presence, Lucia chatted away. “Yes, I need you to check his record and see if anyone-“

 

 

The woman stopped mid-sentence when she saw Trisha. The farm girl raised her hands. “Sorry, Lucia. I didn’t mean to interrupt-”

 

 

“I’ll talk to you later,” she said, ending the conversation on her smartphone. Lucia turned and smiled at her visitor. “No, I should apologize. Dante told me to prepare you for tomorrow. In all honesty, I just didn’t think you’d accept the terms so readily.”

 

 

Trisha laughed. “That makes two of us.”

 

 

“Follow me,” she replied, leading Trisha to a nearby table. It held several garment bags. They were type she had seen used at the dry cleaners. They most likely held designer dresses. “Well, it’s time for us to make you the belle of the ball.”

 

 

“What’s the dress code for a car show?” Trisha probed. “I don’t suppose leather jackets are in vogue.”

 

 

“I wish it was for us ladies,” the businesswoman chuckled, brushing her short tomboyish hair. “I hated wearing dresses. I put on Dante’s spare jeans and leather jacket whenever I could. Mom wanted me to wear a skirt like the other girls. Dad, on the other hand, figured I might as well wear clothes my size instead of borrowing Dante’s stuff. He got a Black Hounds jacket made just for me. Even now, a fancy dress feels like I’m wearing someone else’s skin.”

 

 

“I can relate,” the farm girl replied. “I grew up wearing tattered jeans and overalls. Besides, my family never had much money for fancy clothing.”

 

 

“Since we’re running on a tight schedule,” Lucia began, unzipping one of the garment bags. “I took the pleasure of choosing some dresses for you. One of my business partners is married to a woman who owns her own dress shop. She even seams ever own clothing. These dresses are fresh off the loom.”

 

 

Trisha gasped when a beautiful blue silk dress came into view. “It’s gorgeous…”

 

 

Lucia unzipped the next one. It was a black dress. “You can’t go wrong with this piece when it comes to a ritzy dinner. It covers the arm and back. However, a car show is a little more casual. We don’t want you to come off as snobbish during your debut.”

 

 

Trisha touched the zipper of the final garment bag. “May I?”

 

 

Lucia nodded. “You’re the one who will wear it. In the future, we’ll let plan out your appearance and provide then necessary funds. These will have to do for now.”

 

 

The farm girl gasped when she saw the contents of the garment bag.

 

 

The satiny red dress was almost like a negligee. Silk stitching lined the edges with an intricate pattern. Straddling the line between evening wear and lingerie, the dress left much exposed.

 

 

Trisha held up the soft, luxurious dress. Its low cut and slit would reveal a sizable amount of leg and cleavage. The farm girl thought it looked more appropriate on a Maxim model than the would be girlfriend of a CEO. “This is really sexy… maybe too sexy.”

 

 

“Sexy sells at a car show,” Lucia said with a smile. “I think we’ve found our dress. Now, we just have to find matching shoes.”

BOOK: TRACKING TRISHA - A Black Hounds Motorcycle Club Romance (The Fox and the Hounds Book #1)
11.79Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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