Page 16 of Her Supermodel Stalker
“Err, let me think about it,” I say.
“Sure, let me know ASAP. They haven’t booked the rooms yet. We’ll leave Friday after work.”
Devin suddenly stands up. “I’ve got to go. I need to make an important phone call. Lexi, could you please give me a ride?”
I’m taken aback. Shouldn’t Susie take him back because she drove him here? I glance at Susie.
Seeing my hesitation, Devin says, “I also need to discuss something with you.”
“Sure,” I say, putting down the beer I’ve only drunk half of.
After paying the tabs for all of us, Devin says goodbye to Susie and Ryan and heads to the door. I follow suit.
“What do you want to talk about?” I ask as soon as we’re in my car.
He clears his throat. “Are you and Ryan dating?”
“What?” I exclaim. “It’s none of your business!”
“It is,” he says with a solemn look. “I’m responsible for my employee’s welfare.”
“What do you mean? We’re talking about my private affairs.”
“Just answer me!” he demands when we stand next to my car.
“I’m not,” I say reluctantly.
“Good,” he says, smiling now. “I don’t want you to get hurt. I happen to know he’s liberal with female employees.”
Is he serious? He’s only known Ryan for two weeks.
But then again, Ryan is an obvious flirt.
“You drag me out of the tavern just to talk about this?”
“Not really. I want to ask you to have dinner with me on Friday.”
“What? Why?”
Chapter 8
Devin
I have no idea what got into me when I pulled Lexi out of the tavern. I simply couldn’t stand Ryan’s proximity with her and his attempt to hit on her. How dare he call her hot stuff? And how dare he put his ugly tattooed arm around her shoulders? She is mine. Goddammit.
“You’ll go to dinner with me on Friday evening. It’s a business dinner,” I say to her when we’re on the road.
“What do you mean? Why can’t we discuss business in your office?”
“Because…” I think quickly for a good reason. “I would like you to sample the wines from other wineries to get inspirations. Fernandes sold the vineyard to me not really because he wanted to retire, but because it wasn’t doing well.”
Surprise flickers in her eyes as she turns to look at me. “Really? Then why did you buy it?”
Because of you,I nearly blurt it out. “I thought I would give it a try and maybe I can make it profitable.”
She pauses as if to process the new information. “Are you saying our wines aren’t good enough?”
“It’s not what I mean. Other aspects of the business might need to change, too. Management, production, and promotion. But it wouldn’t hurt to improve the wines. The wine I had yesterday was pretty good, but you could make something even better. I spoke to Sam already, and he agreed we needed some variety. He’s planning on making some new blends.”
