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“So, I’m drinking a bottle of wine by myself?” he asks.
“Looks like it.” Vanessa shoots him an apologetic grin.
That’s my girl, doing her own thing. Making her own choices.My girl.
They’ve consumed their first round of drinks, and the waitress is serving the main course. Vanessa ordered the steak and Lennox ordered a salad. Don’t get me wrong, I love salads as a precursor to my meal or during the summer when it’s hot and don’t want something heavy on my stomach, but on a date, that goes against the code. Never make your date ashamed that she’s eating more than you.
After Vanessa devours half of her steak, she sees Lennox staring at her and she drops her fork and knife onto her plate. She wipes her mouth and takes a drink of her second martini.
“Do you want my steak?” she asks her date. “I’m full.”
She isn’t full. Vanessa could eat that size steak when we were fifteen. It’s an eight ounce filet, for God’s sake.
“No, I’m good,” he says sitting back.
Yeah don’t eat those last three pieces of lettuce and cucumbers.
Jessie chuckles. “If you make each other lose their appetite, it might mean this is going nowhere.”
Jessie has always said what was on her mind and being in love hasn’t changed her.
Vanessa's eyes crease as she swipes her mouth with her napkin. “I’m ready to tell y’all about my idea. It involves Maverick and Lennox.”
What?
“I’m listening.” Maverick cuts his steak and forks a piece into his mouth.
“Well, you know how you own a private jet company?”
Maverick laughs. “I do.”
Disbelief spreads on Rome Lennox’s face, and he’s slack jawed with raised eyebrows. He thought he was the big cheese at this dinner even though Vanessa is worth several hundred million herself now that the bourbon empire has been transferred to her ownership. And if her Dad is dead, then she’ll be worth more than a billion. I pray that’s not the case. We don’t have any information suggesting he’s been kidnapped or dead.
Could Rome Lennox be trying to weasel his way into Vanessa’s bed, hoping to set himself up for life? When did he realize her dad was MIA?
A pimpled face waiter drops a tray, and the crash of glass breaking has me jumping to my feet and shielding Vanessa from stray chards. Something doesn’t feel right. I survey the rooftop, and I hear a motorcycle. That in itself is not cause for worry but just like in the desert, a sense of the unknown makes the hair on my neck stand up.
Vanessa continues, “Maverick, I want Luxury Jet to be the sole airline that serves Barron’s 12, Special Reserve. Lennox has the exclusive rights to clubs.”
She’s so excited about her grand idea that she’s sitting on the edge of her seat.
“Go on,” Maverick urges.
“Well, let’s say we get Beau’s friend, Hayes Dieslich, to fly on your private jets. Picture the commercial. Ruggedly handsome country music star climbs the steps to the Luxury Jet plane where a gorgeous flight attendant asks him what he would like to drink, and he says, Barron’s 12. Not even the whole name of the bourbon. Then it skips to Hayes singing at a sold out concert with girls screaming his name, we fade into him in a suit, leaning back, relaxing in the VIP area at one of Lennox’s private clubs. Can you imagine? Every man will want to be like Hayes, drinking what he drinks, flying the way he’s flying, clubbing the way he’s clubbing. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
Lennox scratches his neck. Jessie concludes, “That’s genius. It’s like that tequila commercial with that sexy older man. Men will order that tequila because the women will be reminded of the guy’s sex appeal.”
Vanessa will triple this company’s net worth. She’s aware that she needs price points for the blue collar man, but Barron’s 12 is for the bourbon connoisseur. And the trickle-down theory will have the usual consumer reaching for anything Barron’s just to say they’re drinking Barron’s. She’s growing into her new role before my eyes.
Maverick stands and extends his hand toward Vanessa. She looks at it for a split second then rises to her feet. “You have a deal, Ms. CEO.”
“What? I do?” She wraps her arms around Maverick.
“I could visualize the commercial, and I’ve always loved Barron’s, so yeah, we have a deal. We can talk about the details later. Jessica and I have a long day tomorrow. But I know a film director that would love to do me a favor, so mark that off your list. And I’ll talk to some of my clients, maybe we can do a series of commercials. Bibi turns twenty-one next year so she might be looking to move into a more mature audience.”
Vanessa’s mouth drops open. “Bibi…as in the pop star, Bibi.”
Jessie laughs and sneaks a peek at Maverick. “Oh, I met her at the derby this year. She went out with Greg, the Kissing Springs UPS driver. But it’s since fizzled out. Surprised it lasted as long as it did.”
