Page 14 of Let it Breathe
6
Chai
"Yes, well, why don't you take a look at our financials and we'll do dinner next time you're in town and discuss them further." I shook my head at Lori, my assistant. She had to do a better job of fielding these calls. I never knew if they were legit potential investors or just using our cash flow problem as an excuse to hit on me.
I stood near her desk as she googled the guy on the phone.
She nodded and pointed at her screen.
He was handsome. I clicked on the Google images, and halfway down the page, I saw a photo of him, shit-faced drunk with a girl sticking her tits in his face. I tapped the photos and shook my head.
She frowned.
"I look forward to hearing from you." I hung up the phone. "Lori, seriously."
"What? He's rich and cute, and he said his daddy told him to look for a place to put his money."
"I told you. I'm looking for strategic partnerships." My father and brother walked into the offices. "Not someone who wants to buy the place out from under us." That comment was more for my brother's benefit. My father kept walking, but CJ stopped.
"It's a great offer, and it solves all our problems," CJ said as his jaw tensed.
"We aren't for sale," I said to CJ for the hundredth time since he brought the offer to my dad and me.
"But if we were, this would take care of Mom and Dad for the rest of their lives." He sat on the edge of my desk, even though his desk was only a few feet away. "Don't be so selfish, Chai."
He was right. The deal would offer my parents the opportunity to retire with plenty of money to do whatever they wanted. CJ and I each had a percentage of the business, and it would set us up well if we wanted to get into another business, but I didn't want to. I wanted to be in the wine business. It was in my blood. I was made for it. It was the reason I was here.
My mother loved to tell the story of how my father attempted to get her drunk on their wine so she would let him kiss her. It turned out he was the one who got drunk. She did kiss him, but he didn't remember it. I told her the story was a little creepy considering the dubious consent, but she laughed it off. Wine brought my parents together, and my brother wanted to sell it off to the highest bidder.
Lori looked back and forth between CJ and me. She was our cousin and was used to our little fights. As we glared at each other, the phone rang. Lori picked it up.
"Darielle Vineyards, this is Lori. How may I help you?"
Lori's gasp drew my eyes away from my brother and ended our staring contest.
"Oh, you're kidding me." Lori stood up and waved at me. Again, we were like two feet away from each other.
I need my own office.
"Okay. Yeah, she's here. She'll be right down. Tell him to wait." Lori hung up the phone, screamed with her mouth closed, and kicked her feet.
"What?" I asked. She pulled her purse out of her bottom drawer, grabbed her compact, and applied a coat of lip-gloss. "Lori?"
"So don't freak but Donovan Bryant is here."
I clutched my chest and sat on the edge of my desk. My heart skipped and then leaped a few beats.
"Why ..." I attempted to speak, swallowed, and tried again. "Why is he here? Why would I get excited?"
"What?" Lori dropped her hands to the desk. "Donovan Bryant. Hello. Sexy football player and I heard he's super sweet, too."
"Celebrities," CJ said with his hands on his hips. "Typical famous guy thinks he can drop in, and we'll entertain him and his friends."
"He's here with just one other guy. Sam said it was his business manager."
"Did you talk to him at the summit?" my brother asked.
"He was at the conference?" Lori asked. "I knew I should have come."
