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ChapterOne
Ethan
“Stop!” I heard Beji shout. “You can’t go up there!”
“This is important,” a lady’s voice snapped. “And it’s either I go up there, or he comes down to me.”
My head snapped up from the pile of invoices on my table, wholly mystified about who my assistant manager was shouting at—when the answer barges into my office unannounced.
What in god’s name was happening down there?
Moving from my desk, I went to the doorway of my loft office that looked right down to the floor of my family’s Meadery. Mia Sullivan, the daughter of my family’s enemies, was staring down Benji with a tight-lipped glare.
What was she doing here?
When had she come back to town?
She pivoted on her boots and looked at me, her golden gaze simply scalding.
And why was she glaring at me as if I’d killed her cat?
I considered telling her to take a hike for a moment, but my curiosity stopped me. “It’s all right, Benji. LetMiss Sullivancome up.”
Everyone knew about our family’s rivalry, so it was not shocking when Benji’s mouth dropped, and so did everyone within ten feet. Mia didn’t seem to care, and she took the stairs up and strode into my office as if she owned the place, her thick caramel hair cascading over her shoulder while her amber eyes zeroed into mine like a heat-seeking missile.
“Give it back,” she said stiffly, her sharp amber eyes as cutting as sapphires. “I won’t let you have it.”
Snapping out of my daze, I sat back in my office chair and gave her a relaxed look. “Please, come inside. Do you want a drink? I have water, coffee, and, oh right,mead.”
Her lips flattened. “Stop playing, Vega.”
This was the first time I was close to the eldest Sullivan child, the family of winemakers, and my family’s sworn enemies, in three years. She was stunningly beautiful—softly rounded cheeks, rosy and full lips, the bottom had an inviting divot at its center, and her voice was like honey. Plus, she was brilliant—a triple threat.
But her eyes got to me, with how razor-sharp they were.
“As flattered as I am that you think I am a genius of unparalleled measure, I must tell you, I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” I replied calmly. “And I find it very off-putting for you to storm into my office without an invitation.”
Her eyes widened a bit just as her lips parted. “Y-you don’t know?”
“What you’re talking about?” I asked, shaking my head while keeping my gaze locked on hers. “Not a goddamn clue. Will you fill me in? But before that—” my eyes traced over her full lips “—when did you get back in town?”
“Two hours ago,” she replied. “I finished my master's last week.”
“Good for you.” I nodded, standing and rounding my table to the small fridge in my office, and took out a bottle of flavored water, handing it to her while I refilled my coffee. Instead of sitting again, I leaned on the wall and crossed my legs. “So, care to fill me in on what you were accusing me of doing ornotdoing, as is the case?”
Her gaze trailed down my body, over the gray Henley and the blue jeans, before her eyes met mine. She looked regretful a little before admitting. “A company from Texas that manages beef is looking around for a new partnership, pairing good drinks with their beef products.”
“And you came here to warn me not to meddle with the holy pairing?” I asked, a touch of scorn in my tone. “Wine and steak, the perfect duo?”
Mia’s face pinked, but she held her chin high. “That’s one way to look at it.”
“No, no.” I peeled myself from the wall and rested the cup on my desk, away from the paperwork. “That’s the only way to look at it, Mia. What? You think my family’s humble Meadery cannot match your prolific winemaking pedigree family?”
Red darkened her face. “Stop making me and my family into a…a—”
“A set of arrogant, conceited, narcissistic, vain, smug, proud—” I started ticking adjectives off my fingers “—egoistic, superior, holier-than-thou, self-important, high-and-mighty—”
“All right, all right, please stop,” she cut in, embarrassed. “Listen, I might not have been in town for the last couple of years, but I still followed up with the development that went on. I know you have got three huge private accounts for your Meadery. I’m asking you to let us have this one.”
