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“And there won’t be any on this case either,” CC said.
Starting with a mountain of file boxes, apparently. “Fucking hell,” Al cursed. “What’s with all the paper? I thought I saw an e-room invite come through over the weekend.”
“We did set up an e-room for what we have digitally, but that building is from the 1800s.”
Al recalled the bronze plaque at the front entrance of the tasting room and answered her own question. “Old records.”
“We’re digitizing more each day,” Brynn said, “but it takes time.”
“We didn’t want to delay getting started on due diligence,” CC added. “And honest to God, sometimes it’s easier to read 1800s chicken scratch on paper than on screen.”
She wasn’t wrong. “Fair enough.”
“I want to get back to the asset purchase agreement so you have a draft to look at by midweek. Can I leave you with Brynn? She’ll go over how we’ve organized everything in here and in the e-room, including our checklist and workflow.”
“By all means.”
“Excellent.” CC started toward the door. “Deena will have lunch brought in around noon. You can let me know then if anything is missing that you’ll need.”
Al cut a smirk in CC’s direction. “Two things on my list already.”
She rolled her eyes. “Brynn, watch out for this one.”
“Yeah, no,” Brynn said with a knowing smile. “I’m not getting caught between whatever fire you two”—she gestured between them— “got going already.”
“What?” Al gasped in mock offense, hand splayed over her chest. “I was just gonna say what you need is a menorah in that window”—she pointed at one, then the other—“and a Christmas tree in that one. We need some holiday spirit in here.”
“I’ll get right on that.” CC chuckled on the way out of the room, her husky laugh stoking the embers of a fire that still smoldered from a week ago. One Al had to ignore for the time being. All the more reason to get this deal closed sooner rather than later.
She turned to Brynn. “All right, show me what you got.”
Chapter Seven
“We’ve got a problem.”
Minimizing the revised asset purchase agreement Al had revised, CC rotated her chair toward the destroyer of documents herself. At some point between this morning when Al had dropped off a French Truck coffee and now, she had ditched her navy velvet blazer, rolled up her silk dress sleeves, and donned a pair of glasses. It was a look, including the binder clips holding up her sleeves, that worked for CC. She rested back in her chair, rocking slightly as she crossed her legs. “And I’ve got a problem with most of your revisions to the APA.”
“That’s why we negotiate.” Al dropped into the visitor chair. “Not one of our problems.”
“Problems, as in plural.”
She winked. “Was softening you up.”
“I have a question first.” One that had intrigued her for the better part of a week. “How did a real estate lawyer become Dotson’s go-to closer on their whiskey deals?” No one person’s journey in the legal profession was exactly the same, and CC was particularly interested in those that took interesting twists and turns. Perhaps because her own had swerved so unexpectedly too, and she was still trying to find a road that felt right.
Al relaxed in her chair, kicked off her shoes, and drew a knee up, like they were having a casual conversation on the couch instead of in the office. “Bo’s been with me since he started investing in data centers. I do all the joint venture and real estate work for those. That’s been...” She paused, as if mentally counting. “Over fifteen years. Working together that long, he learned about my family’s hospitality and venture capital connections.”
The winding road was making more sense now. “And Dotson wanted to use those connections.”
“They wanted someone who could speak their language across all their investments.”
“Impressive.”
“I could say the same about you. You’re a food and beverage lawyer with her hands in real estate and corporate law.”
Her cheeks heated, but she didn’t lower her chin or divert her gaze, not shunning the spotlight on the rare occasion it was given. “It’s virtually impossible to separate them, especially in New Orleans.”
“Also makes you versatile and keeps your options open.”
