Page 49 of As You Crave It

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

QUINSATDOWN with Reid and Gemma in the conference room once again. He’d messaged both of them earlier that morning to tell them that he’d made a decision, and whether Reid and Gemma agreed with it or not, he didn’t care.

“What’s up?” Gemma asked as she sat across from Quin.

He put the Seacoast contract on the table. “We’re not signing this.”

“Really?” Reid asked.

“Jared Foster is everything that’s wrong with powerful men. And I don’t think it’s worth our souls to get in bed with him.”

Reid looked disappointed, but he never said as much. “All right, I trust you. If you feel this is the right call, then that’s the decision we make.”

“Yeah, I’m with you,” Gemma said. “I don’t even know the stories, but if it’s enough for you to cancel the deal, then I’m in, too. I don’t want us in any way to be connected to anyone like that.”

Quin breathed a sigh of relief. Even though he’d spent months buttering up Jared for his business, it felt like a weight had been lifted from him. There would be more deals for them. They had options. They would find another channel to make sure their luxury rums got in the hands of the rich and powerful. “Thanks for understanding, guys. I really wanted this to work out. But it didn’t.” He sighed and turned to Reid. “Are you okay with this, knowing it’ll probably end up going to Cain?”

“I can’t say I’m okay with John Cain getting the upper hand on us. But the thing we have going for us that the Cains don’t is that we have integrity. I’m okay with this decision. There will be other deals and options for us.”

“Okay. But that’s not all,” Quin said before he could stop himself.

“What is it?” Reid asked.

“I know I’ve let you guys down in the past. I really wanted this to be my, I don’t know...redemption, I guess.”

“Does this have anything to do with the last distribution deal we had?”

Quin sighed. “Yes and no. I know I screwed up. I ruined that deal, so I take responsibility for it. I’m just sorry that I let you down. And that’s why I pursued Seacoast Prestige so heavily. I wanted so badly to be a part of Rexford Rum’s success, like an important part of the company.”

Reid and Gemma looked at each other for several seconds before either of them spoke.

Reid cleared his throat. “Quin, do you feel like you are anything but an integral part of the company, or our family?”

“I feel like I add less than either of you.”

“That’s just not true,” Gemma insisted.

“I thought we were past that,” Reid said. “I apologized for what I said to you.”

A long line of Quin Rexford fuckups. “I know you did. But it doesn’t mean it wasn’t true.”

“This company succeeds because of the three of us,” Reid said. “We all play a role in it, and neither of us could ever hope to do what the others do. You play as big a part here as Gemma and I. Sure, we fight, we disagree, but that’s what family does. We work together, and that’s why we’re successful.”

For the first time in a long time, Quin felt like he belonged at the table with his brother and sister. “Thanks. I guess I have a phone call to make.”

Celia parked her car in her driveway. It had been a long day at work. Throughout the day, Jared had found dozens of reasons to stop and linger at her desk. Having to share the space with him had left her exhausted. She was looking forward to drinking the better part of a bottle of wine and taking a nice, long, hot bubble bath.

Nice, long, hot...There was something else on her mind, too, apparently. She hadn’t seen Quin since the mixer and their conversation on the pier. They’d texted back and forth, but he’d kept his distance. She assumed it was a way for them to reject the physical chemistry between them. If they weren’t in the same room, then they wouldn’t be at risk of sleeping together. But that didn’t stop her from wanting him.

She dug into her purse to find her house keys. A car beeped nearby, but she ignored it as she went through the contents of her purse. The horn beeped again. She looked up and saw a Range Rover parked on the street in front of her house. It was Quin.

She walked across the yard and the window in the Range Rover lowered. She leaned over the door and smiled at Quin—as handsome as ever—behind the wheel.

“How was your day?” he asked with a smile. His eyes hidden by dark aviator sunglasses.

“Tiring. And yours?”

“Mine wasn’t bad. Have you eaten?”

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