The Cowboy and the Princess by Myrna Mackenzie

would never let her do this again. It was one thing to help her act out her fantasy of being an ordinary person. It was another to expose her to jerks like these. He stepped up beside the man. “The lady doesn’t care how much you’re worth, Mr. Baxter. Martin here, now he’s the one you want to tell that stuff to.”
    “Yes, this must just be a misunderstanding, Baxter.” Martin was practically begging. “I’m sure the girl meant well.”
    “She has a smart mouth on her,” the woman who disliked olives said. “I’m surprised you’d allow someone so disrespectful to serve at your functions, Mr. Michaels. Here you have this beautiful place, I’d think you’d want your servers to add to the atmosphere. Part of our decision about whether to bring our business here will depend on the atmosphere. We don’t want to go where we’re not wanted.”
    Anger rose up within Owen. Had other servers at his house been treated as if they were mere appendages of the house? Had he been blind to bad behavior in his guests before?
    “I assure you that Delfyne is a superlative individual with a fine character,” he said. “She’s much more than just a person who takes your glass and hands you food. She’s an important part of our household this summer and I’d appreciate it if you’d treat her as such.”
    He heard Martin hiss behind him, but he ignored the warning.Maybe this company was important to the region, but so was a person’s dignity. A line had to be drawn somewhere.
    “Owen, the town needs this deal,” Martin whispered.
    There was no way Delfyne or anyone else could have heard Martin, but Owen supposed the man’s face would have given away his distress.
    Delfyne looked at Martin and himself and gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head. Then she dipped a slight curtsy and turned toward the couple. “I beg your pardon if I appeared rude. I’m very new at this type of situation, and I’m still learning. You know much more of the proper procedures than I do, I fear. How can I make up for my inexcusable gaffe?”
    Immediately the woman preened as if she had won a contest. “Well, I suppose we don’t want to be the cause of a needy person getting into trouble. Just…go on about your business quietly, bring my husband his drink and we’ll consider it forgotten.”
    She flung out her hand and for a moment Owen thought she was asking Delfyne to kiss it, but she was simply dismissing Delfyne. As if she were some sort of insignificant insect.
    Rage boiled up within him and he started forward. Immediately he felt Martin clenching his arm. Delfyne gave him a look that screamed Halt! Then she headed for the kitchen.
    For the rest of the evening she seemed to be an invisible shadow to everyone but him. She carried food, she took orders, she spoke only when spoken to and then only in a subservient manner.
    “Thank you for allowing us to stay here. I assure you we’re not all such ignorant jerks,” Alex Wade, the CEO of the group said to Owen. “Still, I’m impressed that a man of your apparent stature would stand up for a server when business is at stake. You’re a legend on Wall Street. The rancher who’s made millions but still gets his hands dirty.”
    Owen turned to look at the man. “Having money doesn’tmake a man blind to the needs of others. People deserve to be treated with dignity no matter their station.”
    “Is that a warning?”
    “It might be. People around here expect fairness. Provide it and they’ll go to the ends of the earth for you. Deny it and you’ll fail because they’ll shun you.”
    “Even if we offer them jobs?”
    “No one around here would be allowed to starve for lack of a job.”
    “So you wouldn’t have fired her for insubordination?”
    “She’s not mine to fire.”
    “Whose is she?”
    Now Owen sat up and took notice. “Why?”
    “There’s something about the way she carries herself and the way she stood up to Baxter even though it was a clear risk. She