Page 39 of The Bourbon Bride

“Payton is the most fun-loving person I know. He knows everyone and everything, so he can ensure we always do something epic no matter where we are. He’s a genius with tech and has a chokehold on the image of the company through amazingly clever marketing plans. I don’t know how he manages those two things simultaneously, but I’m not about to ask him to pick one over the other when he’s obviously doing fine managing both sides of the company. He loves the water the way I love cars. You should see his boats. If we ever get to the ocean, it’ll likely be on his yacht.”

“That was better. Keep going,” I encourage. I sip wine and watch as he runs a hand through his hair, smoothing it away from his face in thought.

“Zander is, well, Zander. We don’t get along well because we’re both so uncompromising and like to be in control.”

He spends a moment in thought, obviously digging hard for something nice to say about his youngest brother.

“He’s beyond protective of the things and people he cares about. He somehow always manages to get his way, so he’s the best negotiator I can bring in on a deal. He’ll know it inside and out and find a way to get what we want while keeping the other party satisfied. Outside of the office, he’s the adrenaline junkie, off climbing mountains, base jumping, or finding a new intense hobby that could easily kill him. You wouldn’t catch me doing any of that, but you can always trust that Zander has done the craziest shit and doesn’t back down when something new is offered. I admire his determination.”

“That took you a bit to find the good in him.”

“Like I said, we don’t get along well, so I’ve focused on the qualities that bother me more than what I can tolerate. Our mother says we’re too much alike, but she’s dead wrong.”

“What are your parents like?” Knowing my own relationship with Mama and Daddy, I wonder if his are even remotely as stifling.

“Dad is happy to be retired. He was a workaholic until he had a heart attack ten years ago and Mom forced him to give control of the company to me. It was just precious metals and mining operations at the time, so it was easier to handle.”

“Mining?”

“Yeah, my grandfather bought out a mining outfit in the sixties that managed to make good during the Georgia Gold Rush back in the early 1800s. Of course, that was mostly exhausted by the time my dad got to it, but they discovered other metals like iron, manganese, and later aluminum, before Dad took the company global, so our operations are still in existence. When it was handed off to me, I figured it wouldn’t last forever and we needed to diversify, so I created Olympus International with my brothers and branched out into other endeavors.”

“That’s amazing,” I say, thinking of my own family’s sordid history of plantation life before the Civil War. It’s not a pretty legacy when you go far enough back, but you can’t undo the past actions of relations, only hope to make better ones and do your part to ensure no one is taken advantage of again.Unless it’s a daughter you want to give in exchange for hush money.

“Your mama must be a tough woman to have three sons like what you’ve described.”

Hayes widens his eyes and nods. “My mama came from nothing. A real ball-buster of a lady my daddy met in the Appalachians of Lumpkin County where some of our mining operations are. She’ll tell anyone she didn’t need no rich man to sweep her off her feet, but he certainly needed to be managed and she was the lady for the job.”

I laugh imagining someone as demanding and successful as the man who sired Hayes needing to be managed.

“She sounds like a hoot.”

“More like scary.” He shakes his head appreciatively.

Our waiter brings a pizza that we didn’t order to our table, and I look up at him in confusion.

“Your usual, sir. Ma’am, would you like anything else to drink?”

“I’m fine, thank you,” I tell him. I look at Hayes. “I can’t even be mad at you for ordering for me, because they didn’t even let you do that. But what if I have an allergy or aversion to something?”

“Do you?” he asks, serving me a piece of steaming pizza with melty strings of cheese that stretch before he pulls them off with his fingers.

“No, I guess not, but you didn’t know that.”

“You would have told me. If you don’t tell me, I’ll never know because I’m not a mind reader. But everyone likes pizza.”

I look at the puffed pockets of crisp crust with longing. Yes, I love pizza. I make a mental note to not assume he’s a mind reader and dig in.

Hayes wipes his hands on a cloth napkin and steeples his fingers in front of him.

“So what are you gonna do?”

I choke on a bite of pizza and take a moment to wash it down with a sip of water.

“As in immediately with my pizza, or some vague time in the future?” I clarify.

“What’s your plan? I know what your parents want for you, but what do you really want?”

I take a bite of pizza and chew thoughtfully.

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