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‘Not in the traditional definition,’ Simon raised an eyebrow. ‘Yer faither would never’ve done somethin’ like that.’
‘Yeah, well. I’m not my dad,’ Ben answered, shortly. ‘I think we should look into it. Okay? We’ll do the four different casks as well. That’s the appeal for most buyers. I just like the idea of each one having a small, important difference. The local herbs and those traditions are important to preserve.’
‘Whatever ye say. Yer the boss.’ Simon shrugged, though he was clearly not in agreement.
‘Yes, I am,’ Ben replied, an aggressive tone in his voice.
There was an uncomfortable silence.
‘Right. Well, I better get back tae it. No rest for the workers.’ Simon smiled at Liz. ‘Liz, always good tae see ye.’
‘Thanks, Simon.’ Liz felt uncomfortable. Mostly, she either talked to Ben or Simon separately, or they were both there in the management meetings with her and the rest of the team. It was quite unusual for the three of them to meet about anything, and now Liz knew why. Clearly, there was some kind of problem between Ben and Simon.
‘Fine.’ Ben looked like he wanted to say more, but instead he took out his phone and frowned at it.
‘I’ve got to take this, sorry. Liz, come up to the office when you’re ready. I want to go through some branding options with you.’
He walked off, slamming the door to the room loudly behind him.
‘What wasthatall about?’ Liz stared at the door that Ben had just stalked out of.
‘Ah, ignore him. Ben and I don’t always see eye to eye.’ Simon adjusted a switch on a control panel and peered into a small glass panel on another.
‘That was obvious,’ Liz retorted. ‘Why don’t you get on?’
‘Dunno. Two stags lockin’ horns, maybe.’ Simon shrugged.
‘You mean, you’re competitive with each other?’ Liz rolled her eyes inwardly.Save me from the battle of the egos,she thought. She thought about what Gretchen had said about working in the male dominated books world, all those years ago, and how hard she’d found it.Fifty years later, and here I am, stuck in the middle of a who-s-bigger-than-who’s testosterone fight, she thought.Time might as well have stood still.
‘Aye. He’s the boss, but I’m the expert. It’s a fine line to tread in a relationship, Master Distiller and boss. My dad and Jim Douglas had a respect for each other, but I wouldnae say they were friends.’
‘And you and Ben aren’t friends?’ Liz probed.
‘I wouldnae say so, no,’ Simon admitted.
‘Do you respect each other, though?’ Liz could see a problem emerging with the new range if Ben and Simon were going to lock horns over every single decision.
‘Hmm. Ask me when I’ve had a dram or two.’ He frowned.
Great.
‘It’s no secret we dinnae always see eye to eye.’ Simon sighed. ‘I tell ye, if I’d had the luck tae inherit this place, I wouldnae be caught dead messin’ anythin’ up. Still, it’s no’ my business.’ He shrugged dismissively, but Liz could see in his eyes that Simon was anything but casual about the distillery.
‘I know you care about this place,’ she said, carefully. ‘You might not own it, but your family are invested in it. There’s history here.’
‘Aye. An’ for lots o’ us,’ he said, seriously. ‘We like Ben. He’s a nice guy. But this place doesnae just belong tae him, ye know? It belongs tae the community. An’ we’ve all got a lot ridin’ on it bein’ a success.’
Liz wondered how much Simon knew about how badly the business was doing. As Master Distiller, he sat on the board, so he would have seen all the reports that she had. She guessed that he understood pretty well that the business was in bad shape. However, he didn’t currently know that Ben had an offer on the table from a large multinational distillery to buy the business.
Buyouts like the one that Ben had been offered were fairly common. Drinks companies based in America or Japan or Europe kept an eye on the smaller, family-run whisky distilleries in particular, because they were always looking for bespoke brands that could add cachet and heritage to their more corporate image. Sometimes, companies like those – and she’d worked for one of the biggest, so she knew how they worked – would buy a distillery and keep everyone on staff. But, often, there would be redundancies following a buyout. There were no guarantees.
‘I understand,’ she replied. ‘All I can say is, now that I’m here, I’ll do my absolute best for you all. You have my word.’
‘I appreciate that.’
‘So. What’s his story?’ Liz asked, nodding in the direction of the door. She might as well utilise Simon’s knowledge for something, at this point.
‘Ben? What d’you want tae know?’ Simon turned on a tap connected to a pipe and released some amber liquid into a glass. He swirled the liquid in the glass and held it up to the light.
