Jade
After Zach left, I took a shower and went back to bed, completely exhausted. My phone rings waking me up. Max’s name brightens the display.
“You got any plans for dinner?” he asks.
I roll on my back and wipe the hair from my face. “No.”
“Good. Come to the winery. I’ll have Ward cook us up something. I want to show you the expansion, and before you think about protesting, I’m begging with my lip out.” He chuckles.
I groan with humor. “You’re pulling out all the guns.”
“Is it working? I’m giving you the look.”
“You remember I got sick of you persuading me with that stupid puppy dog face of yours?”
He laughs. “Yeah, but you can’t punch me through the phone.”
“I can when I get there,” I say.
“I see it still works. I’ll see you when you get here.”
I jerk to my elbow. “Hey! You tricked me.”
He’s cackling. “I’ll see you soon,” he sings as he hangs up.
I hate having an older brother…Okay that was said with sarcasm. I love him. He’s my hero, my brother, my best friend, but he’s still annoying, and right now I want to knock that puckered lip right off his face.
Changing out of my pjs and into a pair of jeans with a loose gray shirt and my black ballerina flats, I’m becoming a human again. I put on some makeup, brush my hair into a ponytail, and call it done. When Zach and I first started messing around, I used to take extra measures thinking everyone could tell we were screwing. I was drowning in paranoia. But over the years, I learned to relax. I mean, unless we’re caught in the act then it’s just assumptions, right?
I park in the back and climb the stairs, entering through the employees’ entrance. Max’s office is down a long masonry hallway with windows showing off the vines with the mountains in the background. He’s sitting behind his desk and smiles up to me when I enter.
“Took you long enough,” he teases.
I purse my lips. “I went back to sleep because you were being a butthead.”
He rounds his desks and jerks his head for me to follow. “Let me show you something incredible.”
The room is unfinished, plastic covering the dark wooden shelves. The white ceiling is miles high with dark wood beams, the same color as the shelves, distanced apart. Most of the floor is complete with natural colored stone tiles. A ginormous fireplace dominates the room from the back. The wooden mantle surrounding it is as large as a tree trunk. Several tall shelves with silver hooks line the side walls.
“The original tasting room is too small and cramped. It needed a serious overhaul. Zach got a crew out here and they tore down the walls and expanded it.” He points to the middle of the room. “There will be six tasting bars individually placed, each able to seat twelve people. And they will all have a smaller wine shelf like the one there.” He nods toward the large shelving lining the back wall. “They will be stocked full of wine. Each bar will have a fridge tucked underneath and out of view so we can keep unopened bottles cool and ready. And sitting on top of each bar will be an open wine cooler so we can keep everything to perfect tasting temperature.”
I spin around taking the entire room in. “Max. This is…This is beautiful. And it’s not even complete yet. I can’t wait to see it when it is. Who came up with the design?”
“Mostly Zach. He took my ideas and made them into reality. But I had to do something. Ever since Kathie Lee Gifford came last year and tweeted about experiencing superb wine here, we started busting out of the seams.”
“I remember that. You were so starstruck.” I snicker at the memory.
He chuckles too and holds his fingers apart slightly. “Just a little. But I never would have thought we’d blow up like we did. The tasting room got so busy it held an hour long wait and the private party rooms were booked out two weeks.”
“Are you going to expand those too?”
“In due time.”
“I’m so proud of you.” I give his shoulder a gentle nudge. “What’s Dad say about it?”
“He’s proud to see it growing and he’s excited to come visit.”
Marcy, Max’s best waitress, sticks her head in and informs us our food is ready. As Max ushers us through the main dining room, he wears a polished and professional smile. I watched him grow from a clumsy kid into my hero, and right into the man he is now. And that makes me smile.
Outside on the balcony, Max slides my chair out and then takes a seat across from me. A glass of blush wine already sits on the table. “I’d like to have a Sprite today, please,” I tell Marcy. “I wasn’t feeling the best yesterday,” I add because paranoia and all.
Quickly, she takes the wine away from the table.
“Are you still not feeling well?” Max asks looking concerned.
“I feel much better today. I just don’t want to take any chances. That’s all.”
Marcy comes back with my drink and Isabella, Max’s dining room manager, is right behind her with our food. Isabella has worked with Max for five years or more, and I absolutely adore her. She’s the sweetest and most caring human being on the face of the planet. We need more Isabellas in the world.
She sets Max’s plate, loaded with steak covered with sautéed mushrooms with mashed potatoes and a steaming pile of broccoli on the side. My plate on the other hand, is polar opposite.
“Umm…I think my plate is broken,” I jest “Or you’re insinuating I’m fat.” I nod toward the chicken wrap.
Isabella warms me with a smile as she pats my shoulder. “I told him he did a shoddy job at ordering for you. But you know how stubborn he is.”
“Wait. You’ve ordered that the past three times you’ve been here,” he proclaims.
“But what if I didn’t want it this time? What if I was hungry?”
He narrows his eyes. “Then order something different, but I’m not waiting on you to eat. I’m starving.”
Isabella snickers under her breath. “I’ll be sure to tell your father you said that.”
Max’s grin falters and his mouth falls open. “How is it you have my employees on your side?”
I grin and shrug. “Guess that just shows you who the better Lauder is.”
It causes us all to laugh. After assuring Marcy and Isabella the wrap is fine, Max and I eat over small talk. Every bite I take, I thank my lucky stars I’m able to eat without feeling the queasy truck backing over me. I don’t feel well, but I don’t feel as horrible as I did last night.
Max takes his last bite and tosses his napkin on his plate. He takes a swallow of his wine and rests back into his seat with curiosity flaring in his gaze. Oh, god. This only means one thing—he wants to talk about something important.
“I need a manager for the new tasting room and I want you to take it. Your hours would be flexible except the weekends. Your pay would be more than enough. You’d be in charge of everything.”
I frown dolefully. “Max, I’m not working for you. I’m a wine-ron. I don’t know the first thing about wine and I’d end up embarrassing us both.”
His eyes squint slightly, indicating the squeaky wheels in his mind are turning. “You could stay with me for as long as you want. You’ll be making more money than you’ve ever made. I’ll teach you everything you need to know. You’re a Lauder. It’s in your blood. You’ll catch on fast.”
“You’re bargaining a good deal, but the answer is still no.”
“You’re infuriating. You know that?”
“You’ve only told me that a time or two throughout my life,” I quip with a cheesy, toothy grin.
Frustrated, he exhales. “At least promise you’ll give it some thought. The expansion won’t be complete for a while. You have some time to ponder it.”
I taste my Sprite with his intense stare, full of hope, on me. It sucks that I really can’t do the job. Wine is completely foreign to me. I don’t have a palate like he does. I have no idea how to tell if its tinny, smoky, balanced, and whatever else I’ve heard him describe wine. I wouldn’t know good wine even if the label told me so.
“Please, Jade. Just think about it,” he says with inflection.
“Fine.” I give in just so he’ll lay off me. “I’ll think about it. But I’m not going to promise you anything. None of this appeals to me.”
He nods, pleased, and I’m thankful he drops the damn subject. I’m over it. Every time I’m around, he brings it up and it’s starting to exasperate me.