Page 9 of Some Like It Hops

I roll my eyes. “You’re so dramatic. Considering what?”

“Hold that thought. We need fresh pours for this convo.” She rises and grabs our glasses, then heads over to the row of taps along the wall.

When she returns, she sets the beers down between us and leans forward all conspiratorially.

“That meeting was about buying your warehouse.”

“What?”

She nods. “Mhmm.”

“I mean, we’re not even in escrow yet, are we?”

“Nope. He didn’t seem to care about any details, though. Just walked in here like he owned the place and offered an additional seventy-five thousand dollars.”

I freeze with the glass a few inches from my lips. “I’m sorry?” Surely I didn’t hear her correctly. An additional seventy-fivegrand?

Josie nods.

I glance over my shoulder like he’ll suddenly be standing in the stairwell with an explanation. “And you didn’t think you should run that by me?” I mean, I was righttherethe whole time. Maybe I would have taken that extra cash. Would I have?

“Nope. You wouldn’t have gone for it.”

I squint at her mind reading. “Seventy-five grand is a pretty sweet deal to pass up, Josie.”

“Not when it’s fromhim.”

I tilt my head, confusion knitting my brows. “Who was he?”

“Griffin Lane.”

My eyes widen. “OfFast Lane?”

Becauseof coursethe first hot guy I meet inmonthshas to be the owner of my least favorite brewery. Why wouldn’t he be? Ugh. With their tacky racecar theme and even tackier outfits… the uniform—though I use that term lightly—they make the female employees wear is borderline exploitation.

Griffin Lane has never been in it for the beer, for the craft. If the stories of him are true, this is a man who saw an opportunity to get rich and strolled onto the scene with money to spare and not a scruple in sight. He bought out smaller brewers and slowly made his empire off the hard work of people who actually give a shit about what they create.

People with passion. People with taste.

“I thought he’d be older… and like, less of a sex god.”

Jo snorts. “He was definitely not old.” She leans back, taking a sip of her beer. “And you should have smelled him.” Her eyes roll back in her head.

Oh, I smelled him all right. Might have even considered rubbing up against him like a cat so I could carry that scent with me.

Josie meets my gaze again, all playfulness gone from her expression. “I think he actually said, ‘everyone has a price’.” She shudders dramatically. “How can someone so beautiful be so ugly?”

I shake my head, disappointment churning in my stomach. Not that I got his number, or had plans to see him again, or even knew who he was until Jo told me… but now I can’t even have an un-tainted fantasy of the sexy man in the suit. Because Griffin Lane might be gorgeous, but I refuse to fantasize about him. He gives craft beer a bad name.

“You still should have involved me in the discussion, Jo.”

She dismisses me with a flick of her wrist. “Oh, the discussion’s not over, babe. We definitely haven’t heard the last of Mr. Money Talks. I gave him your card.”

My eyes widen and a spark of excitement flutters in my chest.

“I’m sure he’s already scouring the internet to figure out who you are and how you can bebought.”

I quickly bring the glass to my lips to hide my smile. The thought of being in touch with him again tightens my belly. I know it’s wrong. Griffin Lane is so,sowrong.

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