Page 71 of Any Luck at All

His gaze was on the paper for several seconds, and for one brief moment she was terrified he’d get up and walk out of the room, leaving Buchanan Brewery. Leaving her. Not that she could blame him given the way her family was treating him.

Given the wayshewas treating him.

Finally, he released a short laugh and tilted his head, still not meeting her gaze. “That’s good. For a moment there, I was about to take it personally.”

“I didn’t write this up, River,” she said just a little too quickly.

That was what prompted River to raise his eyes to hers, a sad smile lifting the corners of his mouth. There was a novel’s worth of messages in his gaze. Empathy. Regret. Sadness. Respect. “I know. It’s okay, Georgie. You’re right. This is what we agreed to.”

So why did this feel so wrong? So sullied. Like making him sign that paper cheapened what had been hands down the best night of her life, with the kindest, most thoughtful…the sexiest man she’d ever known.

A lump filled her throat and she glanced down at Beau’s desk…her desk now. She was in charge, which meant she had to make the hard decisions and stand by them.

“I don’t need to have anyone look this over,” he said, searching her desk. “The offer is more than generous. Do you have a pen?”

His willingness to sign the offer letter, which he clearly hadn’t read from start to finish, put her in a panic.

“Are you sure?” she asked. “There’s a noncompete clause my brothers insisted on. Youreallyshould seek legal advice.” That had been Lee’s doing as well. Last night, he had emailed her, Jack, and Adalia a draft of River’s contract, drawn up by none other than the lovely Victoria. It was hard not to think it was some form of retaliation, or at least response, for ignoring her father’s request for a business proposal. Jack had responded promptly, wholeheartedly agreeing with the noncompete clause. Georgie had upped the offer significantly over what Lee had proposed, and she’d planned to strike out the noncompete language, but Jack had called her at seven thirty this morning, insisting she leave it in.

“What happens when River finds out he would have gotten it all if we’d failed?” Jack had asked. “What’s to keep him from jumping ship and either starting his own brewery or going to someone else’s with the sole intent of running us into the ground?”

“He’s not going to do that, Jack,” she’d said with a sigh, her heart heavy. “He’s not that kind of a guy.”

“And you know this how?” he’d demanded. “Because he’s obviously interested in you?”

“That’s not fair, Jack,” she’d snapped. “And it’s damned insulting.”

“We need him to sign it, Georgie. After we make it to the one year mark, we can offer him another contract without a noncompete, and he’ll be none the wiser. The one Lee came up with only runs through next April anyway.”

That had been another sticking point for her—the short term of the contract. It was for less than a year, which seemed insulting, but then again, she supposed it wouldn’t matter if they lost the brewery. Still, River didn’t know about the deadline, so she’d figured he was bound to question it. Only he hadn’t. He’d almost signed without even reading it.

Because he trusted her.

She felt like she was going to be sick.

His voice tightened, as though he were being strangled. “A noncompete?”

“Just for Asheville,” she said. “And a two-hundred-mile radius. You could go to the West Coast, though,” she quickly added. “Or you could get an attorney to make a counterproposal.”Please, please get an attorney.

“I take it that’s your brothers’ doing as well?” he asked, staring at her with so much intensity, she wondered if he was trying to read her soul. Did he see the stains of her betrayal?

“Get your attorney to make a counteroffer, River.”

“Are you planning on firing me?” he asked, his gaze holding hers.

Why had she agreed to this? Jack wasn’t even here. He’d run off to do God knew what, because he still hadn’t deigned to tell her. “No. Definitely not.”

“What about your brothers?”

“I’m giving them small concessions so I can fight for the things I really want. And I really want you, River,” she said before she could stop herself. She quickly looked away, frustrated by how unnerved she felt. How she hadn’t just meant she needed him for reviving Buchanan. “I need you.” She glanced up at him. “They won’t fire you. You have my word.”

An emotion flashed in his eyes, one she didn’t know how to interpret, but it wasn’t anything joyful.

“Pick your battles,” he finally said, the words soft but also full of disappointment.

She knew what he wasn’t saying. She might be willing to fight for him, but only halfway. “Take it to an attorney,” she said. “Or to Finn. Let him look it over and give you advice.”

He stared at the document for a good five seconds before he rose slightly and grabbed a pen off her desk. He signed both documents with a flourish, then slid them across the desk. “Now that that’s out of the way, we’ve got work to do. We’ve both agreed we should keep Beau Brown, but another popular beer is…”

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