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“Hey bud,” I said, giving him a good face rub.
“Wasn’t expecting to see you today,” Brady said, with his arms braced on the bar. He looked like he could bench press a Volkswagen. He had a couple of inches on me and at least forty-five pounds. He was solid muscle and as intimidating as fuck if you didn’t know him, but to those who knew him, he was the nicest fucking guy who cared more about nature and people than anything else in the world. His hair was pulled into a bun at the back of his head and his thick beard played into his whole mountain man vibe. “Thought you were in Mass.”
“I was. Home now.” I walked to the bar, and Jack followed, sitting beside the stool I sat on. I bent and gave him another pat. Brady turned to the bottles and grabbed my favorite bourbon, aged in Vine Valley’s cabernet sauvignon barrel. He held it up, and I nodded.
He poured a decent amount and pushed the glass of the amber liquid across the bar top. “I’m guessing the trip didn’t go well.”
“It did, then it didn’t, then it did, and then it didn’t.” I held the glass up, cheered the air, and took a swig. I closed my eyes, savoring the burn as it made its way down my throat.
“Your blast from the past wasn’t such a blast, I take it.”
“A blast that turned into a fucking explosion.” I pinched the bridge of my nose then took another swig, smaller this time.
“That’s why I steer clear of women. Nothing but complications. It’s just me and Jack, and that’s all I need.”
“And bourbon.” I held up my glass again.
Brady laughed. “Of course. What’s life without alcohol?”
“I don’t fucking know.” For the both of us, alcohol was our lives. I had the vineyard, and he had this distillery. We both had put blood, sweat, and tears into our livelihood, and I couldn’t imagine either of us doing anything else with our lives.
Jack nudged my leg with his paw, and I reached down to give him another good scruff behind the ears. “Hey, do you mind if I take Jack?”
Brady leaned on the bar, crossing his arms over his massive chest. His biceps bulged out from under his t-shirt. “She must’ve really fucked you up that you need Jack love.”
“I’ve been in the car since seven am. My fucking legs are killing me. I want to go for a walk and figured Jack would prefer that than sitting by the door waiting for you to get home.”
“He’d love that. Wouldn’t you, Jack?”
Jack barked in response.
“I’ll swing by tonight to grab him.”
“Come on, Jack.” I hit my leg, and Jack bolted to my side.
“Behave yourself.”
“He always does,” I said.
“I know. I wasn’t talking to him.”
My eye caught the light of my cell as it flashed Laurent’s name. I told him I’d call him, but I never did. It had only been two days, and I was still processing. Besides, I was in a meeting and needed to stay focused.
Mr. Seeger looked at me from the massive screen at the front of the conference table. He was the CEO of Green Mountain Resorts and top boss. Impressing him had always been my goal, and today was no different. He had chosen me to come to Vine Valley to see why the company wasn’t turning as a big of a profit as the company’s other resorts. Mr. Seeger thought the potential was there, and he was right.
The problem seemed to be that the facilities weren’t being utilized in a way to bring people in. I had been slowly implementing changes and was reviewing my figures with Mr. Seeger when Laurent’s damn name grabbed my attention.
“So, as you can see, sir, we have seen an increase in revenue in just a month from some changes I have put forth. After this week, profits should be up over ten percent compared to this time last year.”
“Excellent,” he said, steepling his big stubby fingers together. “Keep up the good work. I’d like to see if this is sustainable and where we’ll be in six months.”
I swallowed. “Six months?”
I was only supposed to be here for three, and I had already been here a month. I was supposed to be going to Florida next.
“I’m impressed with what you have achieved in such a short time. I’d be crazy to pull you out now.”
“What about Florida?” I asked.
