by Natalie Ann
Jessica had a little silver sedan, plain and nondescript. Like the kind of car he expected her to drive, though he wasn’t thinking of her that way anymore. The more he was around her, the less plain she seemed.
He waited until she was parked at Fierce and then walked in with her. “We’ll go eat in the kitchen. There’s a table back there,” he said.
“Great.”
They made their way into the bar. “Brody, what are you doing here?” Brody normally had Sundays off with Aimee and her daughter Sidney.
“Short staffed. I’m just here for another hour.”
“Jessica, this is Brody. Brody, Jessica Corning. She’s doing tours at the brewery now.”
Brody lifted his eyebrow and shook hands with Jessica. “Aiden told me you were both coming.”
“Nice to meet you,” Jessica said. “You guys don’t look as much alike as I thought you all would.”
“Cade and Brody look the closest, but not identical,” Mason said, then wondered why he explained that when he never did to anyone before.
Brody smirked at him and Mason just moved on, imagining what was going through Brody’s head but not really wanting to know.
Jessica was being quieter than normal and he was wondering the reason but didn’t want to ask that either.
It’d been a long time since he’d felt unsure of what to say or why and was a little miffed he was feeling this way, in his own business, no less.
They walked through the restaurant and then into the kitchen and off to a room next to Aiden’s office. A room that had a table in it that staff often used for breaks. Right now it was empty with the exception of a couple of plates of food.
“Hope you’re hungry,” Mason asked. “Don’t feel like you need to eat everything. Aiden won’t take offense.”
“That’s a lot of food,” she said, taking her jacket off and placing it over the chair.
“It’s only the appetizers he wants at the brewery, not the two plates of foods he wanted me to try.”
“Oh.”
“Have a seat. Aiden will be in in a minute. I should have asked if you wanted a beer? I’m going to go get one at the bar.”
“I’d love one. Whatever you’re having is great.”
He nodded and walked back out, then behind the bar and grabbed two glasses and helped himself to the Ella brew. She seemed to enjoy that one the most the other day when he put the flight in front of her.
“Since when do you bring an employee here for a taste testing?” Brody asked.
Mason knew there was no way to get out of this. “I know Aiden told you she mentioned about having apps at the bar in the brewery. So that should tell you why she’s here.”
Brody laughed. The laugh that got on his nerves so much as a kid. “He did. Said he was shocked that you caved when you never have before and thought it was odd. Then thought there was more going on.”
“There’s nothing going on,” Mason said, then walked away with two glasses in his hand. Damn Brody for reading more into things when there was no reason for it. There wasn’t, was there? No, not going there.
He walked back into the room and saw Aiden sitting there with Jessica. “I was explaining the three apps I had in mind.”
Mason knew what they were already. He’d had them plenty of times.
Homemade soft fluffy pretzel sticks with a beer cheese dipping sauce. Easy enough to keep warm at the bar, especially with a machine that Aiden wanted to purchase to have there.
Another was hot dogs with meat sauce that was loaded with the Fierce Fire Brew. That beer went into a lot of recipes.
The last was simple nachos with cheese sauce. A different cheese sauce from the pretzels. The tortilla chips were homemade too. Something that could be fried up daily at the restaurant and then brought over. He knew all of this because Aiden had told him numerous times trying to convince him to do what Jessica had suggested.
“I told Jessica all of these could be served warmed up easily by the bartender. She pointed out that it was a no cash bar and asked how that’d work unless it was going to be free.”
“Not free,” Mason said. “That would be taking business from the restaurant. The object is to give them a taste and get them here.”
“I agree,” Aiden said. “I mentioned buying tokens from the hostess and shop, but Jessica had a better idea. Why don’t you tell Mason?”
Mason looked over, saw there was a bit of cheese sauce on Jessica’s lip. If he wanted to reach over and lick it off, he squashed that urge like a hammer hitting a nail with gale force winds behind it. Especially with Aiden staring at him, fighting back a grin. The super cocky grin that told him that Aiden was reading his mind.
Instead, he picked up a napkin and handed it to her.
“Oops. Sorry. Everything was so good. I found I was starving and couldn’t wait to dive in.”
“Thanks,” Aiden said. “Best compliment to any chef.”
Now that the cheese was off of Jessica’s lip, she said, “On campus, they have vending machines that you put money in or swipe your credit card and get tokens. Those tokens are used for all sorts of things on campus, but it makes it easier to buy things faster. If you look into one of those machines, you could do that for the food and not worry about staff having to deal with the transactions.”
“That’s actually a good idea. Probably keep it simple and price the food all the same anyway. Just make the tokens a different color from the ones used for beer,” Mason said.
“We’ll bring it up at the meeting this Wednesday and have Ella look into one of those machines,” Aiden said. “So you’re in agreement then?”
Mason shrugged. “I don’t see why not. I’ll talk to the bartenders, but they were in favor of it before too. Probably because then they could eat as they worked.”
Aiden had brought in the two plates of food he’d wanted Mason to try a few minutes ago. He and Jessica all but devoured every bite of it, not talking once the vendor machine conversation was over. Then she thanked him and Aiden multiple times and left, saying she had some work to do and she’d see him tomorrow.
“So what’s going on there?” Aiden asked him. Mason knew that was coming and was wishing he could escape like Jessica did. But he couldn’t. There was never any escaping his family.
“Nothing. She’s got the hang of the job and you were there when she brought up the food. Why not ask her to come along?”
Aiden smiled. “Only you’ve never done that before.”
“Your point,” Mason said, picking up his beer and draining the rest of it, then set it down. He was going to get up and leave regardless, but Brody walked in. Great. He was going to be double-teamed, just like always.
“Where’s mine?” Brody asked, looking at the empty plates of food.
“You know how to order your own food,” Aiden said. “But I figured you’d have dinner waiting for you when you got home.”
“I will.” Brody turned and looked at him. “So, Mason. Got your eye on the newbie?”
“No. Absolutely not. What is wrong with you two?”
“The better question would be what is wrong with you?” Aiden said. “Her eyes were all over you the entire time like white on rice.”
“Red on our shirts,” Brody said.
“Hops in the beer,” Aiden said, eying Brody. The two of them could go at it like that for hours if he didn’t interrupt them.
“She’s a kid,” Mason argued.
“A kid can’t legally drink beer. Nor do too many her age have an appreciation for beer other than how much they can get for the twenty in their pocket and how fast they can drink it in one sitting,” Brody said. “I mean I know she’s not the usual type you go for, but damn if she isn’t made for you. Sweet on the eyes and a personality to match with the type of book smarts that only you could appreciate.”
Mason stood up. “I’m leaving. You two can talk between each other like I know you will. You’re both nuts.”
“You keep telling yourself that,
” Aiden said, laughing as Mason stormed out.
All in Stride
“So Mason really can be influenced by the opposite sex? There’s hope for you yet,” Cade said when he walked into the weekly meeting three minutes late as always.
Mason lifted his hand and flipped his wise-ass brother the bird, then said, “Sit and rotate.”
“Grow up,” Ella said in her normal ice-in-a-freezer tone, lifting her eyes and shifting them between him and Cade. “This isn’t high school.”
Typical Cade just ignored Ella. “It would probably be the most action that finger has gotten in a long time.”
“Eww,” Ella said, narrowing her eyes at Cade. “That’s disgusting.”
“Watch it,” Aiden said to Cade. “Mason could kick your ass worse than Brody could even consider and you know it.”
Mason shot the evil eye at Aiden. Aiden was the last brother he thought would rat him out.
Sure, everyone knew he’d been going to the gym doing kickboxing for years. Ever since he came back from college that second year.
Did they bust on him about it? Say he was trying to get laid? Yep, they did and he took it all in stride and let them believe that was the reason. He never corrected them, and neither did his mom.
And his mother had been right. He was never bothered again. Not since she told him to go into the school gym and work out after he’d gotten extremely ripped from all those classes he’d taken. Even the boxing class he dreaded. No one liked getting hit in the face, safety gear or not. But again, his mother was right, he was left alone.
He was embarrassed and didn’t want to do it—didn’t want to look like he was showing off in front of classmates—but since his mother had never steered him wrong before, he gave it a shot. “Show your confidence whether you feel it or not,” his mother had told him. So he did, channeling his brothers Cade and Brody as he strutted in and prayed he wasn’t called out on it. Most of the sweat absorbed in his shirt was from nerves, not exertion that day.
Though it wasn’t his intent, he did get a lot of female attention and the guys backed away. Between his build, his height, and his quiet nature, most gave him a wide berth unless it was a woman wanting a challenge.
Brody burst out laughing, ignoring Aiden’s comment about Mason being tougher, and Mason was glad. He’d never dispute it because he never wanted to put it to the test. He wasn’t sure he could throw a punch, whether in self-defense or not.
“You’re the worst of us, Ella, and don’t try to deny it,” Mason said, trying to take the attention off himself right now.
“That’s because it’s always been four to one.”
“You had Mom,” Aiden said, “and we know darn well that gave you the edge.”
Everyone laughed then, even Ella. “Can we start this meeting now that everyone is here?” Ella started because Ella always did and no one ever told her she couldn’t. They knew better. Yeah, she was calm and cool all the time. And yes, they picked on her nonstop. But that’s why she was the way she was.
Under it all, she really did hold them all together. They wouldn’t be the Fierce Five if they didn’t give each other grief all the time and it was always Ella that reined them back in when she thought they’d gotten it out of their system.
Besides, it had been a secret pact the boys had to watch out for her, and if making her tough was part of it, she was just going to have to learn to accept it.
“Let Mason start,” Aiden said, smirking at his brother. “For once he has something to say other than he’s making beer.”
Mason snorted. So he was the quietest of the group, but they made it seem like he never opened his mouth at all. He did. When he wanted to. He just didn’t want to often.
“It seems to me you all know what is going on anyway. What would you like me to add to it?”
“So Mom did a good job with Jessica then?” Ella asked. Her tone changed slightly, but not to one he could put his finger on. Curiosity for sure, but more like thought processing. Ella’s mind was always running a mile a minute.
“What does that mean?” Mason asked her, frowning.
“Just that she interviewed Jessica first and then picked her out. I’m saying she did a good job is all.” But Mason didn’t think that was all that was going through Ella’s mind.
“She didn’t pick her,” Mason argued. “I did. Mom narrowed it down to three and Jessica was by far the best. She knows more about the brewing processes than all of you guys combined. She could probably pick any of the beers out blindfolded better than Brody.”
“Wow,” Cade said, laughing. “I was only joking before about Jessica having an influence on you, but now I’m thinking there is more truth to it. Why are you so defensive? Or maybe it’s sensitive?” Mason started to stand and Cade inched back fast. Words he’d heard way too much in his life about being the soft brother. The gentle one. The sensitive one. “Sorry,” Cade said fast, “my lips got ahead of me again. How many times do I have to tell you guys to cut me some slack?”
“Your lips always get ahead of you. I’m not defensive,” Mason said. Was he? He didn’t think so. Who was he kidding? No guy wanted those words used describing them. That was like telling your buddy a blind date he was trying to set you up with had a good personality. Not something any woman wanted to hear either. “Yes, Mom narrowed it down. Just like she did for Aimee’s and Nic’s positions, but you guys picked them yourself.”
“I had no say in Aimee. You guys did that without me,” Brody reminded him.
Mason had forgotten about that. That Brody and Cade had been sent away to lick their wounds and their mother made the remaining three fill the open position that Brody hadn’t done in six months.
“Not the point,” Mason said, then turned to Aiden. “How many did you interview before Nic?”
“I have no idea, but yeah, it was my choice. Where are you going with this?”
“Nowhere,” Mason said. “Ella is the one who started it.”
“Wow, someone woke up on the wrong side of the brewery this morning,” Ella said calmly, because Ella was always poised and collected when her four brothers weren’t. And it always annoyed the shit out of them that nothing ruffled her feathers. Or very few things did.
“My report is that Aiden made three appetizers that would work well at the brewery. I talked to the bartenders and they were thrilled, said it’d be great because people are always hungry, especially kids, if the tours have a long wait.”
“I think it’s a good move, Mason,” Ella said, reaching her hand over and putting it on his. Showing him she was in his corner with more than words. His brothers would yank their hands back if Ella did it to them, but he secretly liked the support. “I’m glad you decided to do it regardless of the reason. It will add revenue to the brewery and that’s always a good thing. I’ve even looked into different vending machines and have a few calls out. When the time comes, do you want to look at them with me?”
Ella never asked any of them those things. Well, that wasn’t true. She always did in the beginning and then they just decided they didn’t have time for it and left all those details for her to figure out. She was good at it since it seemed details ran through her blood like salmon in an Alaskan river. It was one of her strong points.
He had no idea why she was asking now though. “I don’t need to. Whatever you come up with will work.”
“Do you mind if I pull some of your staff in to test them? Maybe any of the younger ones that are used to using vending machines. I’m not sure the last time I put money into one.”
“You don’t go anywhere near a vending machine,” Cade told her sarcastically.
“More than Aiden does,” she said, winking at the chef of the family.
Aiden laughed. “If you’re desperate enough for chocolate you’d break one open to get inside, so don’t be trying to fool us...or are you trying to fool yourself?”
“She’d get in one if she had to hide from a clown,” Cade said, causing both Ella and Mason to
turn on Cade fast and sharp. Cade slid the chair back fast. “Sorry. Geez, what is wrong with you two today?”
He looked at Ella, saw her fighting the urge to say something, but then backing down. Neither of them ever talked about the clown issue. Not openly to anyone. They both wanted to forget it.
Ella took a deep breath and wrinkled her nose. “If you don’t mind, then please talk to your staff in the brewery. Jessica, maybe?”
“Fine,” Mason said, just wanting the attention off of him.
The rest of them went around the room talking about what was going on so he could just sit back and zone out, plan his day in his head. Friday, two more days until he saw Jessica and could ask her if she was interested in Ella’s suggestion.
***
“This one was easier than I expected it to be,” Jolene Fierce said to her husband, Gavin.
“What’s that?” he asked, lifting his head from the paper he was reading.
She reached forward and put her hand on it and pushed it down so her husband of over thirty-five years could focus on her. “Mason. He all but placed this one in my lap.”
Gavin sighed. “What did you do this time?”
She laughed and reached for his coffee cup and refilled it for him. She didn’t often wait on him but felt like it this morning.
“Don’t you ever listen to me? I told you that I suggested Mason hire a woman to do the brewery tours. Someone that could relate to more of the women and kids that come in. He couldn’t be bothered with it.”
“Of course he couldn’t,” Gavin said.
They knew their kids well. Mason couldn’t be bothered to do much other than what was in front of him most times. Or what he thought was necessary or what his siblings wanted. Those things came first.
Listening to his mother’s suggestions sometimes fell far down on the list.
Maybe she shouldn’t always be in his ear yapping. But then again, it was fun to see Mason get all riled up and take a personal bet on how long it was before he found a way to run away from her. Her kids should have learned by now that there’d never be any outrunning her.