Page 4 of Whiskey Darling
Chapter Two
Cherrywood Springs, California
Devil’s Gold Whiskey Distillery Offices
Flynn Alexander
“Doyou have any idea how many people want this position?” I glare at my friend of twelve years and business partner for the last eight.
“Yeah, but none like her, Flynn.”
I toss a handful of resumes on my desk, scattering them across the gleaming surface. “Literally dozens of highly—”
Sawyer Rush plants his palms on the opposite side of my desk. “Once you meet her, you’ll understand.”
Collapsing in my chair, I rub my temple. It’s late afternoon, and a massive hangover makes it difficult to concentrate.
Shouldn’t have let Sawyer talk me into such excessive celebrations last night, but it isn’t every day a fairly new distillery is accepted into the Olympics of whiskey competitions. We both overdid it. Flush with success, I took it a bit farther than usual.
The hangover mutes my anger. I guess that’s why Sawyer decided now was a safe time to remind me of our new employee. There’s a dim memory of him telling me last night about a girl he hired without my consent.
And she is just a girl. Barely old enough to drink our whiskey, much less represent it. It’s probably sexist of me, but I wonder how she knows the first thing about what we do.
“Flynn, trust me. She’s gonna tap this corner of the market like you wouldn’t believe. I watched a dozen women in our target group, all between the ages of twenty-five and forty, order at least four different whiskeys in the space of half an hour,” Sawyer claims. “Because of her recommendations. Hell, sheguessedthe whiskey samples. Blind samples. She got every brand right from aroma and taste. It was amazing.”
“You hired her because of a parlor trick?”
“That was no trick. She’s got a gift.” Sawyer pours two fingers of whiskey over ice, waving the tumbler at me. “Or maybe some kind of magic.”
I carry my drink to the windows overlooking the rolling foothills of Cherrywood Springs. The glass of seltzer water is cold when pressed against the skin of my temple. Condensation from the ice soothes the pounding beat inside my head.
Goddamn Sawyer. He knows I don’t have much fight in me today.
“Are you screwing this chick?” My words are harsher than I intend.
Sawyer’s bark of laughter is surprising. “Give me some credit, would ya? I wouldn’t dare. Besides, I’m interested in her friend. Now, you shouldn’t sleep with our new employee either.”
“I’ve no intention of doing so. Or hiring her.”
“Too late, dude. Already done, although technically, you’ve got the final say. She’s flying in from Nashville in two weeks. Already arranged for Frankie to pick her up at the airport. Oh, and I offered the use of your guesthouse since no one’s staying there. Just until she gets her own place.”
“What the fuck,Rush…” I curse. “I never agreed to this.”
Sawyer grins unapologetically. “You know, if I waited on approval, you’d shoot all my best ideas down.” He drapes a casual arm across my shoulder. “Does it help she has Connor Morgan’s endorsement? Should account for something.”
“If anything, it’s a strike,” I growl. “The man’s an asshole, and we both know it.”
“Yeah, he is. But he knows his whiskey. And he doesn’t give out recommendations lightly, not even for former star protégés.”
“You were supposed to secure the contract on that second order of wine barrels, not this bullshit. I don’t have time to babysit some kid just starting out.”
“Well, her family owns the winery, so I killed two birds there. But I’ll admit Allie’s the reason I went in person. Parents aren’t happy she’ll be working for us, though. They had high hopes she’d take over their marketing. We’re lucky her heart is in whiskey. We snatched her up before someone else did.” Sawyer gathers up the abandoned resumes, placing them in the corner basket on my desk.
One of my many lists ends up in his hands. He studies it then sets it down with a bemused shake of his head. “She’s damned good at what she does. Even got a nickname. Wanna know what it is?”
“No.” What do I care about a silly moniker a girl fresh out of college probably gave herself?
Sawyer laughs at my ill mood.
