by Moxie North
That crow followed her whenever she had to move her car so she wouldn’t get noticed. It had to have been the same crow, because it was an asshole every morning. It did motivate her to get an apartment that’s for sure.
She had a few smaller tattoos too. One on her ankle that matched one on Cassie’s. It was their initials intertwined with barb wire. A little cheesy but at time it seemed like a solid idea. Effie had been thinking up a new tattoo for a while. But she would need the cash to finance it. Besides rent, she had her priorities.
“How about you go out and have a great time. Get some guy to buy you a whole mess of nachos. Then bring me home a doggie bag?” Effie suggested, not turning from her computer.
“But I don’t wanna go by myself! And don’t tease, you know I don’t have the rack to score free nachos. Only your tits have that super power,” Cassie snorted, then chomped down on a poof.
Cassie looked like a pixie. She was tiny, five-foot-two on a good day, and even though she usually scored a few extra inches wearing crazy platform heels, she was still short. And no matter how much she ate, still looked like a twig. She barely had any boobs to speak of, which allowed her to wear any style of clothing she wanted. This usually consisted of cut-off band shirts, and home-made daisy duke shorts with thigh high socks. Her style was eclectic, kind of a cross between, rockabilly, punk, and goth, with just a dash of homeless chic thrown in.
Her hair was blonde originally, at least that’s what Effie remembered from camp. Now it changed with Cass’s moods. She kept it in a short jaw length bob and today it was orange. Like cheesy poof orange.
“This is true. But I try to only use my powers for good not evil. This Dax Hayes fellow is the real deal. I looked him up as soon as he emailed and he and his family are real life millionaires. Which means this could be our golden ticket to regular employment and regular shopping,” Effie said, looking over her shoulder.
“I need to wow his pants off and get this account, and you should be a supportive friend and help me,” she said, turning back to her computer.
“Fine, fine, is he at least hot?” Cassie whined from the couch.
Without a word, Effie pulled up the minimized screen she’d left at the bottom of the page. It was Dax Hayes on the cover of a wine connoisseur magazine. She pushed herself back from the desk so Cassie could see the Adonis she was trying to land.
“Ephrata Valentina Parks, that man is smokin’!” Cassie squealed. “I’ll totally help you wow his pants off. Then his shirt, then his boxers, I bet he wears boxers.”
God, Effie hated when she used her whole name. Yes, she’d changed her last name, but she’d always liked Effie so she kept her first and middle name. She should have never told Cassie what it was. Now she was doomed to suffer it for eternity.
“Please don’t call me that,” Effie sighed.
“Hah, no way. Your name is hysterical and I’m never going to let you forget it. That’s what best friends are for. Besides, not my fault your crazy-ass mother named you after the town she got knocked up in and that it was sometime around Valentine’s Day. Which is totally whack by the way.”
“Yup, totally whack,” Effie agreed, pulling herself back to her keyboard. She wasn’t really mad at Cassie. Her name was terrible. At least the Buckley part was gone. Effie gave a shudder as she thought about her former full name. Gag.
Chapter 3
Turning back to her computer, she heard Cassie click on their sad little TV that only got a couple of channels off the antenna and start flipping for something to watch. She stared at her computer hoping for inspiration.
Her thought process was easily distracted whenever she eyed the picture of him. When she’d looked him up she found pictures of him on all sorts of California society pages. Fancy galas where he was wearing a tuxedo and had a beautiful model thin woman on his arm. Pictures of him playing polo and posing with horses and trophies.
There were even photos of him inside what looked like a private jet. Not a lifestyle Effie could ever relate to. But his eyes kept drawing her back. Fancy rich guy aside, he was more than handsome. There was something magnetic about him. Handsome yes, rich yes, but it was something else that made Effie’s heart tug oddly when she saw him.
Dax Hayes hadn’t given her much to go on. He said it needed to be hip, modern and local. After looking at his picture for a while she couldn’t believe how golden tan he was. Tan in Washington usually meant spray on. His golden blond hair shone brightly in the picture, giving him a halo effect. He looked like a golden lion to her. Proud, confident and sexy. Realizing that she’d visited Tiger Mountain as a kid on a field trip she felt like she could run with that idea. Tiger Mountain Winery. It was local and he hadn’t given her a company name to work with. Maybe he was open to ideas.
She’d started out with an outline of a lion, then morphed it to look like a mountain range. She kept the colors metallic gold and brown, adding just enough shadowing to enhance the effects. She worked up a website banner, then a bottle label and added a mock-up of stationery and business cards. It wasn’t a finished product, but hopefully it would catch his eye enough that he’d be willing to work with her.
After about an hour, she leaned back to show Cassie what she had.
“That is righteous my sista!” Cassie gave her a thumbs up from the couch.
Luckily, Effie knew that Cassie was the first person to tell her if she thought something was crap.
Typing up a quick, but hopefully professional sounding email she sent the proofs back.
To: [email protected]
Subject: Proofs for potential logo design
Dear Mr. Hayes,
In response to your email request, I have provided a mock-up of a potential logo. Additionally I have incorporated the logo into a website mock-up, letterhead and bottle label. If you are interested in my services please feel free to contact me with any suggestions or changes.
Sincerely,
Effie Parks
Victorygurl Designs
The knot in her stomach was not unusual. She was usually a nervous wreck waiting for someone to hire her. There was also the possibility that people were out there soliciting work to steal. But that was not something she could dwell on too much.
She was a small business. Hell, she was microscopic. She needed to become an established business and have examples to show off her work. This was the only way she knew how to do it.
Leaning her head back against her chair, Effie tried to find her happy place. She’d never really found it, but she was always looking. When she couldn’t find a tranquil mindset, she’d start an evaluation, a kind of pro/con life assessment.
Pros, she was living with her best friend. They had food, even if it was junk food. They had a roof over their heads and electricity. Her car was still functioning considering it was mostly duct tape at this point. And the biggest pro was that she had dumped her loser boyfriend Chris to the curb.
He was an asshole. Hot yes, good in bed, sure, at least when he was sober. But that, of course, wasn’t very often. Plus he was a mooch. She’d met him at the tattoo parlor one night when she was hanging out with Cass keeping her company. He’d been funny, charming even. They’d gone out to a local bar, drank and played darts.
Effie took him home, which she totally blamed on dollar drafts. The first night was fun, but then he didn’t leave. Chris had told her he was a mechanic. Cool job, working on cars Effie figured. Turned out he was a part-time mechanic at best. His main source of income seemed to be begging money off of Effie and eating them out of cheesy poofs and beer.
Cassie had hated him and she really couldn’t fault her for it. She’d never liked him and she should have listened to her best friend. She knew he was bad news about twenty-four hours in. But she didn’t quite know how to boot him out. So he stayed, for two weeks he made a serious dent in her sad couch. He went from charming to smarmy in a hurry.
A few months ago, when Effie had gotten fed up with his general suckyness she’d
lit into him about getting a job. He would work occasionally at a buddy’s repair shop, but never consistently. Usually he ignored her, but this time he’d jumped off the couch and shoved her against the wall. Effie could still feel his hands as they wrapped around her throat.
He’d been calling her every name he could think of, screaming that she didn’t know the shit he had to deal with. Effie couldn’t get any oxygen in and her world was starting to fade when Cassie came home and clocked the dick over the head with their only table lamp. It made Chris let go and Effie dropped to the floor gasping.
“Not worth my fucking time, bitch.” He finished that by spitting on the floor and stomping out her door. She’d left him a voicemail telling him to never come back and dumped his shit in a box on the curb for him to pick up. She hadn’t heard back from him which was a little spooky, but at the same time she was grateful he was gone.
Effie thought of her con list. Her apartment sucked. Her work was inconsistent. She had recently started doing some online work creating logos and even some business cards, but it didn’t pay much and really didn’t stretch her talents either. Money was money and she was never one to turn her nose up at it.
Another con, she could stand to lose a few pounds. She was average height, a little taller than Cass. According to some government website she was overweight, but what the hell did they know? Effie was gifted with a round butt, wide hips and a big rack. Which looked awesome in her usual choice of clothing.
In her late teens Cassie had dragged her to a traveling roller derby event. The women competing looked like 1950’s pin-ups girls, but cooler. Glossy hair, perfectly curled and pinned. Amazing eye makeup and bright lipstick. Their clothes were a mix of retro and modern. Some called it rockabilly, Effie called it perfect.
Deciding it was time for a change, she dyed her mousey brown hair jet black and learned to make the most perfect victory curls in her hair and developed a serious desire to always wear cherries somewhere on her clothes. Of course even if she didn’t, the cherry tattoo on the back of her neck was her permanent trademark.
Effie loved makeup, her ability to draw the perfect cat eye with liquid eyeliner was legendary among their friends. One thing Effie knew, was that even if you were dirt poor you could look like a million dollars with a little effort and some cheap makeup.
Of course she never skimped on her lipstick. That was something she went all out for. Revlon, MAC, and her only for special occasions Chanel red lipstick. The color was called Pirate and it was lush. Cassie had bought it for her last Christmas, it was the bomb.
The perfect shade of red to compliment her naturally pale complexion was like finding the holy grail. Once a woman located that brand you bought it in bulk. And heaven forbid the day they discontinue your color.
Turning to see Cassie zoning out at the TV, she let out a moan. Life wasn’t horrible, but it could be so much better. She was sure of it.
Chapter 4
Dax looked over the designs that were sent by email last night. He’d given up all hope of finding a reason to not sleep for ten hours and crashed out on the couch without checking for a reply to his email.
Waking up without a hangover was a gift from being weaned on wine as a child. Flipping open his laptop he saw the email waiting for him from Victorygurl. Along with three emails from his mother, two from his brother Everett, and various other business requests.
Clicking open the new message he pulled up the designs and started laughing. Tiger Mountain Winery. It was brilliant, local and it would drive his mother insane. His father would totally find the humor in a cougar family having a tiger as a logo. His mother might never speak to him again.
The design was clean, simple, but elegant. The colors needed some tweaking and possibly the font. All in all it was a fantastic start. The website for the winery needed to be up long before they bottled their first batch. The vineyard had a prefab building onsite that held a small tasting room and a banquet area. Dax wanted to at least start renting the space out for weddings and corporate functions to start producing some income.
Shooting off an email he told her he wanted to follow up ASAP and get rolling on the designs
To: [email protected]
Subject: re: Proofs for potential logo design
Good Morning Effie,
Thank you so much for your quick response. Your designs are exactly what I’m looking for. There are a few changes I’d liked to work with you on. If you could please email your contract paperwork, I’ll have them signed and returned to you today.
Regards,
Dax Hayes
Clicking send, Dax made his way to the kitchen and thanked the good lord the housekeeper he’d hired was on top of things and had pre-filled the coffee pot so he just had to turn it on.
Deciding a shower was on the top of his priority list, he headed down the hall to the master bedroom. The lone bed and nightstand looked bleak in the room. But most of his clothes he could hang up and the rest he’d dumped into his suitcase on the floor. If he stayed here any longer he needed a dresser. His mother would be gasping at the idea of her son wearing clothes out of a case on the floor. Wrinkles were not allowed in the Hayes family.
After his shower, Dax dressed in his standard black dress pants, leather dress shoes and a lilac colored long sleeve dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Another thing he could get away with when his mother wasn’t around. She thought it looked slovenly and uncouth. Her words not his.
You would think a man that had been alive over five decades could stand up to his mother, but you’d be wrong. His mother never steered him wrong when it came to proper etiquette and good manners. Her opinion on his other life choices? Well there was a good reason he was seven hundred miles away starting a new life.
Making his way back out to the kitchen he poured himself a cup of coffee into a travel mug and took that first delicious sip, Washingtonians knew coffee. Letting the caffeine seep into his veins, his cat gave him a huff to let him know he was awake too. Dax checked his email, nothing back from Effie yet, such an interesting name, he thought. Not one that he’d heard before. He couldn’t help but wonder if there was a story behind it.
Scooping up his laptop and stuffing it into his leather messenger bag he strode out into the bright sunlight of an almost spring day. The weather on the eastern side of the Cascade mountain range was much warmer than the rainy Seattle weather near the Puget Sound. It was like two different worlds separated by a row of mountains. Seattle could be fogged in and gloomy while the eastern part of the state was baking in the heat. Great for grapes.
Walking into his garage, Dax took a moment to appreciate his car. A Lexus LFA, limited edition, silver metallic paint, and completely impractical for driving through farmland. But it was one of the few little indulgences he allowed himself. Fast cars not only kept him happy but his cat too.
He could hear the appreciative purr of his animal as they both looked over the lines of the car. His cat knew if he couldn’t go out and run, Dax would make sure the wind was in their hair when they drove. That reminded Dax that he really needed to drive into the mountains so his animal could have some time to roam. He was homesick too and missed being able to run with his brothers.
Checking his watch, Dax stopped ogling his car and hopped in. He had a meeting with his staff in an hour and it never looked good for the boss to show up late.
A few hours later, Dax was sitting in his office that was the size of his closet back at home, he checked his email again. Which he’d been doing every ten minutes or so, waiting to hear back from Victorygurl. He was claiming boredom but even his cat was calling bullshit. This was borderline obsession. Finally his computer pinged.
He had a response from Effie. There was something about that name. He liked how it rolled off his tongue.
“Effie…”
Just seeing her email pop up had his heart picking up a bit. That was strange. Work never got him that excited before.
&n
bsp; Hmm, he wondered what she looked like. A name like that had him thinking of high society. One of those ridiculous women who would show up in giant feathered hats to polo matches his family would sponsor. But that seemed like an unlikely persona out in this rural area. Wow, that sounded snobby of him. Shaking off the thought, Dax tried very hard to not be ‘the rich guy’ although it wasn’t something he could deny. But he never considered himself better than anyone else. He worked just as hard as his staff, often right beside them when they needed. But he’d grown up in a mansion, with everything he could ever desire. Life was easy when you didn’t have to think about money.
Dax was aware of the realities of the real world. Not too many years ago, most shifters lived in poverty trying to hide themselves from humans. They didn’t even have access to the usual services in a community since they tended to live far out in the woods or remote areas.
His family sponsored a number of charities, including a summer camp for children. Dax always made an appearance during the camps to teach the kids about wild animals and safety while they were camping. If anyone knew about the dangers in the woods, it was him.
Now, he really was trying to fit in, lay low. Of course his car stood out like a beautiful sore thumb. Other than that, most people hadn’t made the connection between Dax Hayes and Hayes Wineries in California. Washington had its own robust wine world and they liked to keep their competition homegrown.
One of the reasons Dax rented that sad little house was that he didn’t want to look like he was living large and not willing to get his hands dirty to build the business. His mother had tracked down a huge house for him when she’d finally become resigned to the fact he was relocating. It was a farm house she said. Which sounded promising until Dax found out that in this area many farms were family owned but company ran. Meaning the farmers lived in mansions in the middle of wheat fields.