“Divorced, one daughter.” I will let Luke tell Noah about our complicated second attempt at a relationship later. “What about you?”
Noah hesitates before answering. “Married, no kids.”
“Where is Kendall?” Luke asks.
“She couldn’t make it. She sends her condolences.” Noah looks back at the crowd. I could be mistaken, but he looks uncomfortable.
Luke smirks. “Noah here, definitely married up. Kendall is everyone’s favorite Alves.” Luke has always given Noah a hard time about everything, but especially about girls. I remember him teasing him relentlessly before his first date. Poor Noah was so nervous, he didn’t eat all day and almost fainted walking in the restaurant.
“Better not let my mom and sister hear you say that,” he smiles back at Luke, but I sense he’s bothered, either by the joke or something else. Maybe it’s simply because the two of them haven’t seen each other in quite some time, but I feel like there’s more to his reaction.
“It was nice to see you again, Jessica. You heading over to my mom’s?” Noah changes the subject.
“My aunt is hosting a lunch at her house. You’re welcome to come,” Luke clarifies.
“Thanks for the invite, but I have to get back to the winery.” My comment causes Noah to throw his hands in front of him.
“Wait a minute, you work at the winery you own?” Noah points at me and then Luke.
“Well, I actually worked there before Luke owned it, but yes.”
Noah’s eyes grow wide and he laughs as he slaps Luke on the shoulder. “You really are something else, Luke. What did you do? Track her down and buy the place?”
Luke clears his throat. “Something like that.” More details he will undoubtedly fill Noah in on another time.
“After all these years you really never gave up, did you?” Noah shakes his head and steps up and hugs me again. “I’m guessing I’ll be seeing you again soon.”
“Oh…I don’t know.” I don’t want Noah to get the wrong idea about Luke and I, but even if now were the appropriate time, I’m not sure I’d be able to define our current relationship.
“All right, little cousin, if you’re done making things awkward, I’m going to walk Jessica to her car.”
Noah smirks and gives one last wave goodbye.
Luke mutters as he watches him walk away, but the curl of his lip gives away he’s happy to have his cousin back in his life. “You sure you don’t want to come to my Aunt’s?”
“I have to get back to work,” I say, as he walks beside me toward the parking lot. “I have deadlines to meet, my boss is very strict with his deadlines.”
“Your boss sounds like a real jerk,” he says a smile playing on his lips.
“He’s not that bad.” I wink at him. “But seriously, I need to get things ready for Sebastian’s first day tomorrow.”
“Obviously, I didn’t plan on not being there for his first day,” Luke says, turning serious. “Thank you for offering to be there with him.”
“It’s not a problem. What time is the will reading?”
“I need to be downtown by nine. I’ll come to the winery after, but I have no idea how long it will take.”
“Don’t worry. Sebastian will spend most of the morning with Mindy filling out paperwork and then I’ll go over all the things we discussed the other day and make sure he receives an extensive tour of the winery. I’ll have more than enough to fill his first day.”
“Thanks, Jess. That place would fall apart without you.” He clearly says the words without thinking, causing us both to pause uncomfortably. “I didn’t mean…I was simply trying to say thank you.”
“No, I get it.” I stop at the edge of the parking lot and give him another quick hug. “Take care of your family and yourself. I can handle Sebastian and the winery.”
“I know you can.” Luke gives me a small squeeze before letting go.
“Good morning, Sebastian.” I walk across the floor of the tasting room to greet our newest employee.
“Good morning, nice to see you again.” Sebastian’s handshake is strong and his smile warm, reminding me what I liked about him the first time we met.
“I’m going to walk you over to meet with Mindy in human resources. After you’re done there, we’ll get you a tour, have lunch and get you acquainted with some of the logistics of the business. Luke may or may not be in this afternoon.”
“Sorry to hear about his father. Were they close?”
I think about how much I should share. I decide to answer how I think Luke would.
“They hadn’t been for several years, but they were working on it.”
Sebastian nods in understanding. “Say no more, I have a difficult relationship with my own dad, so I totally understand.”
I nod sympathetically, thinking how difficult relationships with our fathers seems to be a common theme between the three of us. “Yes, well everyone is really excited to have you here.” As I say the words, Nicolette walks in the room. Her expression is definitely not one of excitement.
“I need to talk to you later, Jessica,” she says sternly.
I’m taken aback by her tone and her disrespect. I’ve seen her be manipulative, but never downright rude. “Good morning, Nicolette.” She looks annoyed by my simple response. She opens her mouth, but I cut her off. “I’d like you to meet Sebastian.”
Forced to finally acknowledge him, Nicolette only offers a tight smile. “Good morning, Sebastian. Welcome.”
“Good morning, Nicolette,” he replies politely offering her his hand. She takes it and releases it after a quick shake.
Nicolette turns back to me with a huff. “I have meetings with the sales staff all morning, but I’ll be by your office this afternoon.”
I would tell her that would be fine, if she hadn’t already stormed off.
Mindy calls at ten to let me know Sebastian is ready for me. We walk the winery. I introduce him to everyone, but avoid Nicolette’s office and another potential icy interaction with her.
“And finally, this is the finance office.” I punch in my code and open the door. “This is Linda. She handles all the payables, along with other accounting related duties. Linda, this is Sebastian. He’s going to be helping Luke on the operations side.”
“Nice to meet you, Sebastian.” Linda stands and shakes his hand. “Welcome to our little, dysfunctional family.”
“You’ll have to answer to Luke if you scare him off on his first day,” I warn.
“Luke doesn’t scare me.” Linda smiles. “Good luck, Sebastian.”
“Thank you.” Sebastian follows me into my office and I shut the door.
I sit down across from him. “Luke asked me to give you a set of the financials from last month, along with some additional reports we’ve been preparing for Nicolette each month. They should give you some indication of what we’ve got going on. I also included a reference sheet with the names and positions of your direct reports.”
Sebastian presses his lips together as he looks over the list. He sets it down on the desk. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“I’m a big believer in being direct, so I’m just going to ask. How are things going with Nicolette?”
“Fine.” My voice is way higher than normal.
“That good, huh?” Sebastian scoffs.
“No, everything is fine. We have different work styles, that’s all. From what I know she’s been doing a good job so far.” I learned my lesson from Nicolette to be careful what I say to anyone before I understand their motives.
“I respect that you don’t want to say anything to me, but based on her interaction with you this morning and what I know about her, I would assume you’re her current target?”
I don’t say anything, but my face gives me away.
“Listen, I
’m familiar with her tactics. I hate to be a gossip, but I like you and think I can trust you.”
“You can,” I assure him. I have no intention of repeating anything he may share with me, not even with Luke. I told him I would stay out of the Nicolette situation and I plan on keeping my word.
“Besides it’s not a secret, everyone in the valley knew about Nicolette and how she operates.”
I nod indicating he should continue.
“Nicolette plays dirty. She has a history of coming into places, undermining those she works with, usually getting a few people fired and then getting promoted. It’s her normal course of business.”
“How many wineries has she done this at?”
“Three in Napa.”
“I’m not sure you can fault her for getting someone fired. If they were doing something worth being let go for, you can’t place all the blame on her.” I don’t like Nicolette and this information isn’t exactly surprising, but I can still look at Sebastian’s claims neutrally.
“Sure, but when you have someone like her it’s difficult. She leverages her knowledge of others against them and twists it a little where she needs to, not enough to be called a liar but enough to where the other person is misrepresented. I personally know two people she’s done it to and I’ve heard stories of others.”
I must make a face because Sebastian leans back in the chair, a satisfied look on his face. “Ah, I can tell you’ve already been “nicked”.”
“Nicked?”
“Sorry, the term we used when Nicolette went after someone. She goes around leaving little nicks, in people’s psyche, their reputations, their trust. Nobody realizes what she’s done until all the nicks add up and the place is a bloody mess.”
I scrunch up my face. “That’s a very gruesome description.”
“Yes, but not inaccurate.” Sebastian leans forward in his chair. “It’s not surprising if she’s chosen you as her first target. You’re a high-ranking female in the company with a close connection to the owner. You’re a threat to her achieving the status she wants here.”
Nicolette sounds more calculating than I even gave her credit for, but I don’t know Sebastian well enough to accept every word he says as absolute truth yet. “You’re clearly not a fan of hers. Why did you accept the offer to come here?”
“I trust my instincts and could tell in Napa you were the type of people I wanted to work with. Look, I don’t know Nicolette personally, only what I’ve heard. I’ll give her an honest shot and I hope she proves the rumors wrong, but I’m going to be cautious with her.”
“Fair enough.” I look at the time. “We better get to lunch. We have a reservation in our restaurant at noon.”
Sebastian says nothing else about Nicolette during lunch. He shares stories about the De Luca’s, including one about the time Mr. De Luca had too much to drink at a work Christmas party and got a little too handsy with Mrs. De Luca for everyone’s comfort.
After lunch I walk Sebastian over to Ryan’s office. He’ll spend the next couple of hours with him getting acquainted with the tank yard and wine making facilities.
“Sebastian seems nice,” Linda comments when I return to my office.
“He is. I think he’ll be a great addition. I’m going to try to get caught up on emails. Do you have time to meet tomorrow to help me plan out the budget reviews for next month? I want to be able to provide some additional schedules to Luke, Nicolette and Sebastian.”
“Sure. Tomorrow morning?”
“Perfect.”
I retreat to my office and get to work. I’m filling out a credit line request for a new vendor when I hear the office door open.
“Hi, Nicolette,” Linda says loudly as a tip off. Seconds later Nicolette storms into my office.
“Hi, Nicolette,” I echo. Nicolette shuts my office door forcefully and sits across from me.
“Why is Sebastian here?” Her nostrils flare as she stares me down.
I’m always a little startled by her directness, but this is on a whole new level. “I’m not sure I know what you mean?”
“Don’t play innocent with me, Jessica. I’m sure Luke has shared his thoughts on bringing Sebastian onboard.”
“I really don’t know, Nicolette. Luke doesn’t share those types of decisions with me.”
Nicolette lets out a sour laugh. “Please don’t insult my intelligence.”
“Listen, I’m not sure why you think I know anything. I found out about Sebastian’s hiring last week, along with everyone else. I was told he’s taking over the high-level operations, while you were going to remain in charge of the day-to-day operations.”
Nicolette studies me a moment. “You know, I almost believe you’re telling the truth.”
I move my hands to my lap and clinch my fists. “I don’t really care what you think, Nicolette.”
“Of course you don’t.” Nicolette glares at me with such venom, I bite back even though I know I shouldn’t.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Nicolette’s cold stare is unflinching. “It’s easy to be confident when you’re fucking the boss.”
My eyes widen. “Excuse me?”
“It’s very clear you two have an inappropriate relationship.” Nicolette points one of her manicured fingers at me. “Don’t think I don’t see it.”
I regain my sense and realize it would be pointless to defend myself from Nicolette’s assumptions. “It’s none of your business what kind of relationship I have with Luke.”
“It is when he plays favorites.”
“Luke does not play favorites. He does what he thinks is right regardless of who made the suggestion or who he sides with. Do you not remember getting your way with your budget?”
“Yes, and then I got in trouble for inviting his son and girlfriend to the photo shoot. They should’ve been here. We’re a family winery and our owner should have pictures with his family.”
Luke hasn’t been secretive about his co-parenting situation with Claire. I think Nicolette is just trying to get me riled up. “You don’t get to blame that on me. It’s your fault for not asking him. Luke doesn’t like to be surprised.”
“The only reason he didn’t want them here is because of you.” Nicolette’s eyes shoot daggers at me from across the desk. “Can’t you see how unhappy he is? You lead him on just a little bit to keep him from moving on.”
Suddenly the door to the office opens and I stare wide eyed at Luke. He remains calm, but his clenched fists give away how angry he really is.
Nicolette quickly replaces her look of shock with a fake smile “Hi, Luke,” she says brightly. “We were discussing Sebastian and how you see his role working with mine.”
“That’s not what I heard.” The hard lines on Luke’s face partnered with his eerie calmness make him look downright scary. For once I’m glad I’m not the one he’s staring at.
Nicolette startles. “I’m not comfortable discussing this in front of her.” Nicolette shoots me a look of disgust. “Can we discuss this in your office?”
“No. Meet me in Mindy’s office in five minutes.” Luke continues to stare at Nicolette. She takes the cue that it’s time for her to leave. He waits until she’s gone before turning back to me. “What time are you here until today?” His eyes are still blazing, but he’s unclenched his fists.
I look at the time. It’s already three o’clock. I need to pick Amelia up by six, but I could always call my mom or Grant if I need to. “What time do you need me here until?”
“Can you wait for me?” Luke’s stiff shoulders and steady scowl tell me he needs to talk after his showdown with Nicolette.
“Sure.”
“I’ll be back soon.”
Linda leaves at four thirty. I sit at my desk waiting for Luke’s return. An hour later, the wait is over.
I answer my phone. “Hi, Luke.”
“Can you come up to my office?”
“I’ll be right there.” I turn everything off, grab my stuff and lock up, planning to leave straight from Luke’s office.
The sky has taken on a bright orange hue as the sun heads for the horizon. Similarly, activity at the winery flares up right before closing, the last few guests booming laughter echoes from the patio. I catch Sebastian coming out the big double doors of the tasting room.
“Good night, Jessica.”
“Good night, Sebastian. Hope your first day went well.”
“It did, thanks to you. See you tomorrow.”
It’s quiet above the tasting room where Luke’s office is located. Monica’s office is dark, she’s clearly gone for the day. Nicolette’s is vacant as well. Luke’s door is shut so I knock to let him know I’ve arrived.
“Come in,” he calls.
I walk in and I’m startled by Luke’s appearance. He has dark circles under his eyes and is sitting slumped in his chair.
“You look awful,” I say and immediately wish I had chosen better words.
Luke gives a half-smile. Even in this state, there is something about his smile that instantly makes me more comfortable. “Rough day.”
“How was the will reading?” I sit across the desk from him.
“Fine.” Luke runs a hand through his hair. “That’s not true. It was hard.” Luke shakes his head as if he’s trying to come back to the present moment. “I fired Nicolette.”
“You did?” I try to sound surprised, but after what I witnessed, and the information Sebastian shared with me, I’m nothing but relieved.
“I hoped she would take my advice and change her approach at work, but she didn’t. I don’t want to work with someone like that.” Luke shrugs. “She made my decision easy when she tried to implicate Monica in something that wasn’t her fault.”
“I’m sorry you had to come back to that. You didn’t need that today.”
“No, but it seemed inevitable. I’ll have to deal with her later, but for the time being I can focus on getting Sebastian up to speed.”
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