Temptation (Billionaire Venture Capitalist #4): A Second Chance Billionaire Romance

by Ainsley St Claire

  “It would be incredibly hard. The vineyard is in Andy’s name, as are all the loan papers, but it rolls up underneath Bellissima Holdings. Plus, they’d have to figure out how to get the immigration status to come and work here.”

  “I hope it works out for you. I’d hate to see you both leave.”

  She gives me a strange smile, then picks up a walkie-talkie and alerts Andy of my arrival. Excusing herself, she leaves me to wait.

  A young couple arrives and asks me, “Are you open?”

  I’m not really sure what to do, so I gesture to a nearby table. “Please have a seat. Someone just walked to the back and should return momentarily.”

  They sit, and we all wait. Andy comes flying in and greets me with a hug and kisses on each cheek. “Where is Sophia?”

  “I’m not sure. She called you and stepped out back.”

  He looks annoyed and walks over to the couple. “Benvenuti a Bellissima Valle.”

  I watch as he introduces them to his wines, and then several others come in. I put on an apron and help him. After what seems like forever, Sophia eventually returns. Now we’re going to be late to meet Genevieve.

  I see Andy give her a dirty look, and together we leave. When we’re out of earshot, I can tell he’s upset. “Please don’t be angry with Sophia. When I arrived, she was arguing with someone, I think from your family.” He looks shocked by my comment. “She told me they want one of your brothers to take over the vineyard.”

  “She told you that?”

  “Yes. I know it bothers her.”

  “I’ll talk to her about it later. Genevieve is waiting for us. She’s going to be upset that we’re running behind.”

  “How about I drive? I can drop you so she isn’t waiting as long, and I can find parking and catch up with you.”

  “Don’t be absurd. She can wait for us.”

  “Really, Andy. I’ve been where she is. No matter what you tell her, she’ll blame me. Please go to her.”

  “It isn’t very gentlemanly.”

  “I’m okay. Really. She needs you, and we need today to go well.”

  We climb in my car, and I drive us to where the festival is being held. I drop Andy at the gate, and it doesn’t take me long to catch up with them. Genevieve doesn’t look at me, and Andy keeps trying to bring her into our conversation, but all I get is a cold shoulder.

  This is going to take some work, but I can be patient. I just hope Andy can be patient with her.

  I did get a smile from her at one point, but once she realized she’d smiled at me, I received an equally daunting look of disdain.

  After hours in the sun, lots of junk food, some great music, and about six words said to me by Genevieve, I return them both to the vineyard and head back into The City. I think about the fun music, all the crazy people, but mostly I think about how Genevieve is so vulnerable right now. I know she wouldn’t believe me, but I want her to adjust and be happy.

  Andy and I are hoping to develop a nice routine—alternate weekends of coming into San Francisco and staying with Genevieve in Napa. Until then, we escape our work when we can. The office has been crazy, and I’m barely able to keep up.

  My cell phone rings and I pick it up without even looking at the caller ID. “Greer Ford.”

  “Hello, Greer. This is Melanie Giordano, Genevieve’s mother.”

  Please don’t chastise me for dating your ex-husband. I swear I don’t want to be Genevieve’s mother. “Oh, hello. Umm, how are you?”

  “I’m good. Genny tells me you all had a great time at the music festival.”

  “We did.” I’m sitting up straight in my seat, waiting for the shoe to drop. “We tried to avoid the pot smell and drunks and enjoy ourselves.”

  “That’s what she shared.”

  There’s an awkward pause, and I’m still not sure why she’s calling. “Congratulations on your impending marriage. The governor of California is going to marry you? That’s pretty impressive.”

  “My fiancé grew up with him in Central California.”

  “He seems like a nice guy.”

  “He is. Look, the reason I’m calling… this is so awkward, but I really am supportive of you and Andy. I only know what Genny’s told me. I know she’s really difficult right now, but I promise she’s a wonderful girl. She admitted to Andy that she really wants us—Andy and me—to get back together, even though we’ve assured her a thousand times that it isn’t going to happen. And she’s worried about younger brothers and sisters—”

  “I’ve been where she is. My father left my mother in less than ideal circumstances. He remarried several more times, and this last one seems to have stuck. I never knew he was dating anyone until he came home with a new wife who never liked me. I understand how it all feels to hope your parents get back together and they don’t. I assure you, I’m not pushing. I’ve told Andy that I don’t think I want children of my own, so I’m in no hurry to marry, and babies are not in my future. We’ve agreed to take it super slow, and I do see Andy and Genevieve as a package deal—it’s all or nothing.”

  “I think Genevieve is very lucky to have someone so in tune with her situation. Is that why you didn’t spend the night?”

  “Partially. I know Genevieve is still sensitive to me, but I’ve also been in her shoes with my own parents following their divorce.”

  “Driving up from San Francisco is a long trip for only a few hours.”

  “My mom has a condo in St. Helena, so I sometimes stay there.”

  “She doesn’t mind?” Melanie asks.

  “She’s not using it right now.”

  “I’ll be in San Francisco in a few weeks. Would you be willing to join me for lunch?”

  “I think that would be lovely.”

  “I’ll let you know when I have the date figured out.”

  “Thank you for your call. Genevieve is a very passionate young girl.”

  She chuckles. “That’s one way to put it. But thank you for understanding. I’m not sure why you don’t want children, but I think you’d make a wonderful mother. Goodbye, Greer.”

  “Goodbye.”

  I sit back in my seat and can’t help but think I may have passed the test. That was surprising. I’m still not 100 percent sure why she called, other than to check to make sure I’m on the up-and-up, but I’ll tell Andy about it when I talk to him.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Andy

  Michael arrives a few minutes early. He’s dressed for field work—jeans, T-shirt, sun hat, and work boots—but he’s clean and seems prepared to meet with me. “Andy, how are you feeling?”

  It’s been a few weeks since I got out of the hospital, and I’m finally getting into my regular routine. Genevieve stayed and nursed me back to life for a few days before I sent her back to her mother’s to go to school. I thought I’d be able to go right back to the same rigorous schedule I had prior to the break-in, but if I push too hard, the headaches become paralyzing. Right now I try to work about three-quarters of a day before I can’t take it anymore.

  “I’m feeling better. I’m sorry I missed our last meeting.”

  “Well, I’m guessing you would’ve preferred to meet with me than be in the hospital.” His confidence is shining through. He’s just returned from a four-day training with the stacking system. I’d like to have joined him, but we sent Jose; I’ll go after I’m feeling better. Walking me through the training and how it’ll apply to Bellissima, I learn he really has stepped up and has done an outstanding job while I was in Italy and the hospital.

  “When will we be ready to use the new stacking system?”

  “Jose and I learned a lot in Fresno. We’re both certified to run the new forklift, and we understand how to do the stacking. This system will stack up to eight rows high in our warehouse. This is going to make a huge difference in our storage space and make it more difficult for theft.”

  I really hope so. This thievery is really beginning to put a pinch on our bottom line. If this doesn
’t stop it, I can go the old-fashioned way and put in a ton of cameras and guard dogs. That’s far from foolproof, but if we can make it hard for the thief, they’ll move on to someone else.

  “That’s what we’re hoping. How have things been going from your perspective?”

  “Not bad. We’re on track for the crush, though we had a problem with irrigation out in fields twelve through twenty-eight.”

  We walk through how he and his team fixed it, and I’m impressed. In my absence, he really stepped up. No one asked, he just saw a missing link and filled it. This has never been Sophia’s area of interest, so I’m glad it’s working so well.

  “I never asked, how did it go with the trackers?”

  “Surprisingly well. I did ask Jose to help because I wanted to get them attached as quickly as possible since you were gone, and I didn’t want to risk losing any additional barrels.”

  “Sounds like you have an idea of who’s taking them.”

  “I do, and I’m working on confirming my suspicions. I’ll come to you before doing anything.”

  “You don’t want to tell me now?”

  “Not yet. I have a few people in mind, and I’d hate to falsely accuse someone.”

  I suppose that’s fair. I can’t think straight with these headaches, and I wish I could figure out who could be the thief. Empty, the barrels weigh close to one hundred and ten pounds, and full they’re over six hundred pounds. It isn’t as if you can tuck one under each arm and walk out with them.

  “When do the new forklift and stacking system arrive?”

  “The stacking system is here already, and the guys have set up the base for the first two dozen rows. Once the forklift arrives, we’ll get it all stacked. It should take roughly a week of three guys working ten-hour days to get it done. You’re going to be impressed.”

  “Michael, I’m already impressed.” Sophia and I have been running this winery for over a decade by ourselves. We’ve hired interns as we’ve prepared for the crush, pickers to augment our interns for the harvest, a small staff to help out in the tasting room, and I have two full-time laborers who help with the irrigation and other issues around the vineyard. We may have grown to the point that I’ll need a real vineyard manager to oversee several parts of the organization. After we make it through this year's harvest and crush, then I can really think about it and position it for my family to approve.

  Michael leaves, and I look out the window and watch him go. I wonder who he thinks could be behind the theft and why won’t he at least tell me his suspicions.

  I hear the beeping of a truck backing up before I see them. The new forklift has arrived.

  I’m in my own world, going through invoices and thinking about my conversation with Michael, when my phone rings. I see it’s Melanie calling. She usually only calls in the middle of the day if there’s an issue or Genevieve is sick, so I’m a little nervous to answer. “Pronto.”

  “Andy, it’s me.”

  “Is everything okay with Genevieve?” I hold my breath, waiting for her to tell me how to feel.

  “Yes, Genny’s in school and she’s fine. I got her report card, and she did really well. She got perfect grades in math. Can you believe it?”

  I breathe a sigh of relief. Perfect grades? She’s just like my mother. She’s so smart. “That’s great. I’ll take her out to celebrate.”

  Melanie begins to stammer and does some hemming and hawing. There’s clearly something else she wants to tell me. “I, uh… I, um, also wanted you to know that I, um, called Greer.”

  “Why?” Why would she want to talk to Greer? Great. Now I’m going to be fighting Genevieve and Melanie about my relationship with Greer. If there’s a problem, she needs to discuss it with me first, not go directly to Greer. My blood pressure is rising, and I’m getting upset.

  She rushes out, “I know you really like her, and I know Genny is being difficult. I wanted to assure her that Tomas and I support the two of you.” My blood pressure drops significantly. Wow, Melanie is supportive of Greer and me.

  Holding the bridge of my nose, I push the throbbing in my head away and take a few deep breaths. “What did she say?”

  “She shared her history with her parents’ divorce and how she’s being incredibly patient. I think she’s great for Genny. And believe it or not, I think Genny likes her—she won’t admit it, but she’s said some good things about her. I didn’t want to undermine anything you have going on with her. My plan was to begin to include her so Genny knows she has the four of us.”

  Leave it to Melanie to think of that. “Thank you, Melanie. Greer is very special, and Genevieve would be lucky if she wants to stay in our lives.”

  “I know you’re supposed to have Genny this weekend, but with her helping to nurse you back to health, she hasn’t been around much. I’m behind on my wedding planning and could use some help. Would you like a weekend with Greer?”

  “If she wants to help, I’m good with that. We don’t have anything planned.”

  “She’s been helping me with the wedding prep, and I think I can keep her busy with some dress shopping.”

  It would be wonderful to spend some time with Greer this weekend. She’s been so patient with Genevieve and my schedule. I’d like to treat her for a change. “Let me check with her. Maybe I can spend one day with each of them.”

  “Whatever you need.”

  We end our call, and I know why I married Melanie. We may have grown apart, but deep down we still care about one another, and together we put our daughter first.

  I spend my afternoon paying bills and working through various marketing and sales plans for the next wines. Sophia and I both agree that we’re ready to release the first half of the 2015 barrels for bottling. Now the fun with that will begin.

  Bellissima Grande has always used real corks. When we started Bellissima Valle, I planted four dozen cork trees along the driveway our first year, but they aren’t mature enough, and there’s always the spoilage factor with cork. Bellissima Falco Baia in New Zealand has gone to twist top bottles, and they’ve reduced their spoilage to almost nothing. More of my brothers are considering the twist tops, and I think it’s a good idea. I need to make a recommendation to my family; I fear that the loss of barrels and the possibility of spoilage demands we go with twist tops.

  My head is beginning to hurt. I want to lie down, but before I do, I place a quick call to Greer. “Ciao, bella.”

  “Hello yourself. How was your day?”

  “It went well. The forklift arrived, and the guys will start the new stacking and storage system soon.”

  “Are you excited?”

  “Actually, I am. Melanie called to tell me she reached out to you today.”

  “I think she was checking to make sure I’m on the up-and-up.”

  “Actually she wasn’t. She knows Genevieve is beginning to warm up, and she wanted to make sure you were good with being patient with her.”

  She laughs a soft melodious sound, and it makes my cock stir. “Genevieve is warming up to me? That’s news.”

  “It was news to me, too. It’s good news, actually. I think what we’re doing is working.”

  “My evil plan to win her over is working. Bwahahaha.”

  I laugh. “I miss you.”

  “I miss you, too. Hopefully we can have some alone time soon.”

  “It may be sooner than you think. Melanie offered to take Genevieve this weekend.”

  “I love that idea, but maybe not all weekend, so you can still see her?”

  How did I get so lucky to have another woman in my life who’s so understanding? “You read my mind. I was thinking I’d come to you this weekend on Friday and leave early Sunday morning to drive up to Sacramento and spend the afternoon with her there.”

  “I love that idea. Anything special you want to do while you’re here?”

  “Lots of naked time. I’m worried my favorite friend is going to shrivel up and fall off, it’s been so long.”

  “�
��Your favorite friend?’ Your arm?” She stifles a giggle.

  Oh, she wants to play that game. “Well, it’s the size of a child’s arm, anyway.”

  “In your dreams.” She laughs out loud.

  “You’re right. In my dreams.”

  She becomes serious and, in a low and very seductive voice, says, “I think it’s perfect. And I can’t wait to worship it this weekend.”

  “It’s you I worship. I can’t wait to see you in less than seventy hours.”

  “I can’t wait. Sweet dreams, Andreas.”

  “Good night, cuore mio.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  Greer

  We barely last until the doors of the elevator shut, turning to each other at the same time. He drops his bag on the floor and tangles his hands in my hair, our kiss urgent, intense, profound, my body responding instinctively to his. It’s clear that he’s missed me as much as I’ve missed him. His hands move up my skirt and pull at the elastic of my panties.

  The elevator opens and I break the kiss, disoriented as I fumble for my keys and open the door to my apartment while he picks up his bag.

  He drops it once we’re inside and shuts the door, pulling me flush to him. Our kisses become more urgent as our tongues aggressively explore one another. His hands tease my breasts before working their way to my center, his fingers rubbing at my core. He pulls at my soaked panties and thrusts his thick fingers deep, my slit wet and welcoming.

  I moan softly into his ear, only breaking our embrace to undo his belt and pants, quickly releasing his hard cock. I hold him and stroke it before lowering to my knees, but he stops me. “I’ll come too fast if you suck me off.”

  He pulls a condom from his pocket and quickly rolls it on. Bending me over the side of the sofa, he enters me from behind in one quick move. God, I’ve missed him. He starts slow so I can adjust to his size, reaching around me to find my sensitive nub, applying pressure to my clit with his fingertip. I tense, my breathing already labored. He works viciously, rubbing my hard and swollen nub until I can’t take it any longer. I reach for his arm and dig my fingernails in, my legs straight and stiff as my world spins.