Taming The Cowboy: Taming The Cowboy, #1

By Layla Valentine

I came to this ranch to be safe,
The gorgeous cowboy next door?
He's a whole new bucket of trouble.

It's tough being a woman in business,
So when you get to the top, success tastes all the sweeter—
Even if it comes with threats to your life.
As a female billionaire, danger kind of comes with the territory,
So after my latest near-miss, I figured I'd combine a trip out of town with a taste of a life I've always craved — outdoors, in the sun, on a working Texas ranch.
I needed to get away from it all. No distractions, no danger,
I wasn't counting on meeting the cowboy next door.
In Dallas Dawson it seems I've met my match,
But this cowboy has secrets.
And rather than getting away from it all, I've landed myself in serious trouble.
Can I tame the cowboy before it's too late?
Can he be my protector?

This is the first book in the Taming The Cowboy series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Layla Valentine
• Release date: Jul 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201931148

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

RUTH

As I stood there under the hot stage lights giving my speech, my heart was beating in my ears, and I marveled every time that a sentence came out clearly and sounded competent. My imposter syndrome, a constant plague, was chewing at me, trying to make me too nervous to talk.

It had almost succeeded a few times, forcing me to pause and reach for my water glass. Women in leadership was a hot-button issue in the business world, and I knew that I was risking backlash for it in today’s political climate. But as I stood there looking out over a sea of businesswomen young and old, I knew that I couldn’t let them down. The International Women in Advertising Conference had chosen me to give the keynote address for a reason.

At least I was almost done with my speech. For a long while there, I had gone on in fear of the moment I would stumble over the words, lose my place in my notes, and end up going silent from embarrassment and panic. But somehow, I was getting through it without a single hitch. Maybe some of that practice in the mirror.

The more we as corporate leaders allow women to fall behind in retention and career advancement, the more talent we will lose to companies in open-minded industries. And that’s why I can’t stress enough the importance of making sure that the glass ceiling is a thing of the past in the advertising sphere. Thank you for listening.

The thunderous applause that washed over me nearly startled me out of my business pumps. I stood stock-still, blinking out at my audience for a moment, then smiled, bowed slightly, and waved to them on my way off the stage.

I did it. I actually got through that and most of them even liked it. Score!

I was too exhausted to do much at the conference after that. I did stick around to shake some hands and answer a few questions, but the whole time, I could feel myself fading. I had no idea that giving a speech would wear me out like this. But there was no way I could have passed up the opportunity.

RPW Inspired, my baby, was already a Fortune 500 company. But if I wanted to elevate my business to the next level, it would take more than financial success or market share. It would take a strong public reputation—and that meant giving back. The keynote speech was just one example.

I was giddily happy that it had gone well.

I had to stop in the convention center’s bathroom on my way out just to pull myself together. Gregory—my head of security, who was doubling as my driver tonight—would become concerned if I came out too frazzled. He had wanted to come in with me, but having a gigantic, forbidding-looking bodyguard following me around would have made me stick out ridiculously. Especially at a business conference in the middle of suburban Austin, Texas.

My curly auburn hair had gone wild from the humidity. I straightened it as best as I could while bending forward over the sink. The mirror was set a little high for me—short-people problems. I huffed in frustration but managed to tame my curls down and get them into a vintage hair clip, then smoothed the front of my sea-green suit.

I’ll have to call Mom and Dad and let them know it went well. I don’t know how well yet—only time and internet buzz will tell me that—but I didn’t choke, and I received a lot of applause. I think they’ll be pleased. That made me find my smile again after the fight with my hair, and I grabbed my bag and headed out.

Stepping outside felt like walking into waves of warm ocean spray. The wind blew against me in humid slaps. I gasped and leaned into gusts, clutching my bag in front of me.

A minute later a familiar car drove up beside me, and Gregory jumped out to open the door for me. I slid into the car’s cool interior gratefully. He waited until we were both buckled up before pulling out into the flow of traffic.

How did it go? he asked.

A lot of applause, and I didn’t fall on my face—so excellent, really. I think volunteering to give that speech was a very strategic public relations move.

Gregory wasn’t the kind of man to smile a lot. He was a war vet and very reserved—almost as quiet as he was huge. So I wasn’t surprised when he simply nodded and said, Good. Any further stops tonight?

No, I’m beat. Home it is. I was going to get a nice long nap and then wake up to celebrate when it wasn’t so hot.

I was lucky that the conference had been in town. Last year I had traveled halfway across the state for it.

Having Gregory to drive me made life easier. I trusted him more than almost anyone in the world, but he couldn’t protect me from airsickness or exhaustion. And being as successful as I was meant always being busy.

Sometimes, I longed to take my money, leave the city behind, and spend the rest of my life running a ranch out in the countryside. It would still mean a lot of