by Sandi Lynn
Chapter 15
Fiona
I poured some coffee in my travel mug, grabbed my purse, hopped into my car, and headed to Paso Robles. My eyes were shielded by my sunglasses as the sun was at full force and shining brightly amongst the thin scattered clouds that graced the blue sky. The warm wind blew across my face and my favorite tunes were on full blast. It was a beautiful California day for a road trip, one that I hoped would be worth it. As I was driving on the 101, singing along to Meghan Trainor’s “No,” my phone rang and Nathan’s name popped up.
“Good morning, Nathan,” I answered.
“Good morning. I’m thinking breakfast. What do you say?”
“No can do.”
“Excuse me?” he spoke with a hint of irritation in his voice.
“I’m on the road and I won’t be back until early evening.”
“Where are you going?”
“To the vineyard in Paso Robles.”
“That’s a three-and-a-half-hour drive.”
“I know that.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this yesterday? You could have taken my plane and been there in an hour.”
“I like the drive. It clears my head. Plus, why would I tell you?”
I heard a long sigh. “Because I’m an investor and I think I have a right to know.”
“You’re not an investor yet. I haven’t seen any proposals.”
“That’s because every time I try to get with you, you’re unavailable!” he shouted.
I smiled.
“Have to go, Nathan. Josh is calling in. Talk to you soon. Have a good day.”
I turned up the radio and leaned back in my seat. Josh didn’t call. I just wasn’t about to sit and listen to Nathan shout at me.
****
Nathan
Damn her! “Kylie,” I shouted.
“Yes, Nathan?”
“Find out which vineyard Winslow Wines uses in Paso Robles and call my pilot and have him get the plane ready.”
“Yes, sir.” She walked out of my office.
When I told Fiona that maybe I needed her last night, I wasn’t lying. I did need her. I needed to have sex with her again. The other night was incredible and she left me wanting more of her. I could still smell her scent. A mixture of lilies and roses. A perfume that I found extremely sexy, and one my cock also enjoyed.
“Excuse me, Nathan?” Kylie popped her head into my office.
“What did you find out?”
“Winslow Wines gets their grapes from Tobias Vineyards. Your pilot is on standby whenever you’re ready.”
“Excellent. Tell him I’ll be there in about an hour. I should arrive about the same time as Fiona.”
“Will do. You have a meeting with Paulie Sands today at three o’clock.”
“Cancel it. I won’t be back in time. In fact, I won’t be back until this evening.”
“Shall I cancel your dinner plans with Michelle?”
“Shit. Was that for tonight? Cancel it.”
After Kylie walked out, I finished looking over some business reports and my phone beeped with a text message from Michelle.
“Thanks for canceling again, Nathan. I’ve only seen you once in the past month. Don’t bother calling me or setting up another date because it isn’t going to happen.”
“That’s fine, Michelle. See you around.”
“Asshole!”
If I had a dollar for every woman that called me an asshole, I’d be a million dollars richer. Oh well, there was only one woman I was interested in at the moment and I wasn’t going to stand for her telling me no anymore.
****
Fiona
I finally arrived at Tobias Vineyards. After driving about a half a mile in, I parked the car outside of the office building and went inside.
“May I help you?” the redhead behind the desk asked.
I sighed as I stared at her. “I’m Fiona Winslow and I’m here to see Ken Raines.”
“He’s in a meeting at the moment. Please have a seat and as soon as he’s finished, I’ll let him know you’re here.” She smiled as she looked at her computer. “I’m sorry, what did you say your name was?”
“Fiona Winslow.”
“I don’t see you on the schedule for today.”
“I didn’t make an appointment. Let’s call it a surprise visit.” I winked.
“Oh. I’ll let him know you’re here, but he’s a very busy man.”
“And I’m a very busy woman. Thank you.” I smiled as I took a seat in one of the uncomfortable bright blue chairs.
As I was texting Lydia to make sure she was okay, the door opened and I caught a whiff of a scent that was all too familiar to me. Looking up from my phone, my jaw dropped when I saw Nathan standing there smirking at me.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I spoke in a low and irritated voice.
“I figured since you couldn’t be in Los Angeles for breakfast or lunch, I’d come to you.” He took a seat next to me.
“You need to leave. I have a business meeting.”
“I can join you since my company will be investing in yours.” He smiled.
“I didn’t agree to that yet, and no, you are not joining me.”
“Why not? I may be able to help you out.”
“I don’t need your help, Nathan,” I grumbled. Taking in a deep calming breath, I spoke, “Okay, if you leave, I promise we can have lunch together.”
“I’m here now, so I might as well stay. And by the way, I will be driving back with you. My pilot had to go back to Los Angeles.”
“You’re kidding, right?” I frowned.
“No.” He smiled.
Damn him and his smile. Once again, his scent was infiltrating my senses and creating that unbearable ache between my legs.
“Excuse me, Miss Winslow?” A tall and handsome older man approached me.
“Yes. Mr. Raines, I presume?” I stood up and held out my hand.
“You can call me Ken.” He looked over at Nathan. “Mr. Carter. It’s nice to meet you.” He held his hand out to him.
“The pleasure is mine, Ken. And please call me Nathan.”
“Do the two of you know each other?” I arched my brow.
“No.” Ken smiled. “I know of Nathan. Please step into my office.”
“You stay!” I spoke through gritted teeth at Nathan as I pointed at him.
The corners of his mouth curved up into a sexy smile. “I’m not a dog, Fiona, and I don’t take commands from others. Let’s not keep Mr. Raines waiting.” He placed his hand on the small of my back.
I stiffened as my heels clanked against the tile in a fury of madness.
“I’m sorry to hear about your father. I know his passing was sudden.”
“Thank you,” I spoke as I took a seat across from Ken’s desk and Nathan took the seat beside me.
“Now what brings you here?” He folded his hands.
“I would like to know what’s going on with the grapes.”
“You know we’re in the middle of a drought and we had to raise our prices in order to maintain the grapes’ qualities, which included hiring additional staff and putting in new systems.”
“I understand that. But I was told that the quality of the grapes had significantly dropped, which in turn was causing delays in the production of our wine.”
His eyebrows furrowed at me as he leaned back in his chair.
“The quality of our grapes is the same if not better since using our new system. The reason there’s been a delay in the production of your wine is because your company is in debt with us for over two million dollars.”
“What?!” I exclaimed.
“You didn’t know that?”
“No. I didn’t.”
“Your father hasn’t paid us in a long time. He would come in here begging for extensions, and after doing business with him for twenty-five years, I gave him what he asked, thinking that he was just going through a dry spell and he’d have the money to pay us
. But he never did, so we had to cut him off. I even put him on a payment plan, but he failed to make those payments. In fact, we’re in the process of suing Winslow Wines, and Christopher was aware of this right before his death. I’ll be honest with you, Fiona, your father was a changed man the past couple of years and not in a good way.”
“If the debt was repaid immediately, would you begin shipping out the grapes to the winery facility?” Nathan asked.
“Of course. We’re a company as well and we just can’t carry our clients. We had no choice.”
“Can you give me a second? I need to make a phone call.” I politely smiled as I walked out of his office.
Pulling my phone from my purse, I dialed Uncle Robbie.
“Hello.”
“It’s me!” I spoke in anger. “I’m in Paso Robles right now meeting with Ken Raines. Why didn’t you tell me that Winslow Wines was in debt with them for over two million dollars?”
“I didn’t know we were.”
“How could you not! You’re the financial manager!” I shouted as the redhead stared at me.
“Fiona, your father told me that he had personally taken care of it and not to record it in the company books.”
“And you believed him?”
“Of course I did. I had no reason not to.”
“Ugh. Well, he lied. We need to pay Tobias if we want our grapes back.”
“We can’t right now. We’re barely making payroll.”
“Then you better find a way! We can’t run a wine business without the grapes to make the wine!” I continued to shout.
“You saw the books, Fiona. What the hell do you want me to do? This is why we need Nathan Carter on board. He can supply us with the funds we need to get this company back on track.”
“Goodbye, Uncle Robbie.” Click.
I stood there for a moment, took in a couple deep breaths, and walked back into Ken’s office.
“Everything okay?” Nathan asked.
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry, but there’s nothing left to discuss. Pay us the money your company owes and we’ll drop the lawsuit and continue doing business with you. Can I make a suggestion?” he asked.
“Sure. Why not?” I pursed my lips together.
“Winslow Wines is a mess and you seem like a nice person. Don’t get caught up in the bad decisions your father made. Maybe it would be in your best interest to get out while you can.”
“Thank you for your suggestion, Mr. Raines, but nobody decides what’s in my best interest except for me, and maybe this vineyard isn’t the one Winslow Wines wants to do business with anymore.”
“No skin off my back. You’re two million in the hole with us and that’s something we don’t take lightly. Good luck finding another vineyard because Winslow Wines has made a name for itself and not a good one.”
“And I’ll be laughing all the way to the bank when Winslow Wines makes a comeback stronger than ever before. Too bad your vineyard won’t be associated with our wines. Think of how much business that would drum up for you with other wine companies. Good day, Mr. Raines.” I turned on my heels and walked out of his office.
Chapter 16
Nathan
And that was one of the reasons why I came to Paso Robles. Not only to see her, but to see her in action; in business mode. To find out exactly whom I was dealing with. She was tough and she was fierce; two qualities in a woman I never experienced before but found myself turned on by it. I could tell she was pissed by the way she stomped out of the building, holding on to the strap of her purse with a tight grip.
“Who the hell does he think he is, telling me to get out while I can?” She spun around and pointed her finger at me. “Like he’s some kind of sexist pig thinking that a woman can’t run a company. I can run my father’s company.” She shook her finger at me. “I can and I will. And when Winslow Wines makes a comeback, I’ll come back here and tell him to kiss my ass!”
I stood there with my hands tucked into my pockets and let her rant. She was just as beautiful when she was angry as she was when she wasn’t.
“Are you finished?” I smirked.
She looked up at the sky and then back at me. “Yes. Now let’s go to lunch.”
I wasn’t too sure that now was a good time to show her my proposal. That would have to wait until later. Much later, after I fucked her and made her forget about Tobias Vineyards.
“I’ll drive.” I smiled as I walked over to the driver’s side of her car.
Her eyebrow raised at me as she held the keys tightly in her hand.
“No. I’ll drive. This is my car and I’m the only one who drives it.”
“I’m not a fan of sitting in the passenger’s seat.”
“Then sit in the back and pretend I’m Jason.” She smirked.
“Seriously, Fiona, hand over the keys.” I held out my hand.
She glared at me for a moment as if she was trying to figure something out.
“You’re a control freak.”
“Maybe.”
“Well, Mr. Carter, this is one situation you can’t control.” She opened the driver’s side door, climbed in, and started the car. “Are you getting in?” she yelled out the window.
“If I can drive.”
“Guess you’ll have to call your pilot to take you back to Los Angeles.” She began to pull away.
“Fiona Winslow!” I yelled as I headed towards her car.
She stopped and I climbed in, slamming the door shut. She let out a light laugh and took off.
****
Fiona
He held on as if I was going kill him or something.
“Where do you want to go to lunch?” I asked.
“There’s this great restaurant called Artisan on 12th and Pine.”
“Okay. Artisan it is. Do you know how to get there?” I asked as I put on my sunglasses.
“Just keep taking this road and I’ll guide you from there.” He sighed.
I could tell he was uncomfortable with me driving, so I slowed down to 20 mph.
“Why are you going so slow?” he asked with an irritated tone.
“Because I’m a scary driver, so I’m trying to ease your fear.” I smiled as I looked over at him.
“You are not a scary driver. It’s just that I like to drive.”
“No. You like to be in control. Admit it.”
“Fine. I like to be in control. Make a left at that light up there.”
“Yes, sir!” I saluted him.
“And also I don’t like to be told ‘no’ to things. You should know that about me by now. I have a problem with that word.”
I rolled my eyes, hit play on my phone, and Meghan Trainor’s song “No” came on.
“My name is no. My sign is no. My number is no. You need to let it go. You need to let it go. Nah to the ah, to the no, no, no,” I sang as I pointed my finger at him.
He reached over, turned the volume off, and shook his head.
“What the fuck, Fiona?”
I couldn’t control the laughter that escaped me. He was pissed and yet so sexy.
“Make a right at the stop sign and the restaurant is on the left.” He scowled.
“Oh, come on, Nathan. Where’s your fun?”
“Do you have a split personality or something?” he asked.
“What? Why would you ask that?”
“Because just a little while ago, you were mad as hell and now you’re singing and laughing.”
I shrugged.
After I pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot, we got out, and I threw him the keys.
“Catch.” I smiled.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m tired. You can drive back to Los Angeles.”
The corners of his mouth curved up into a smile as he put my keys in his pocket.
****
“I still can’t believe you came here,” I spoke as I sipped on my margarita.
“I wanted to see you.”
“Y
ou could have waited until I got back.”
“Perhaps, but I didn’t want to wait.” He smirked as he sipped his scotch.
He was intoxicating as he sat across from me. An intoxicating control freak.
“Tell me about you,” I spoke.
“There’s not much to tell. I pretty much told you everything the other night at dinner.”
“You never mentioned your mom.”
“She died when I was three, so I don’t really remember her.”
“I’m sorry, Nathan.”
“She died during childbirth and so did my sister.”
I swallowed hard, for I didn’t know what to say. Hearing something like that so tragic broke my heart.
“I’m so sorry.” I reached over and placed my hand on his.
“That was a long time ago.”
“So it was just you and your dad or did he re-marry?”
“He never remarried. He just brought home one woman after another. Nothing ever lasted too long. Maybe a couple of weeks, a month. When one woman walked out the door, another walked in.”
“Oh,” I spoke with a twisted face. I didn’t know what to say, so I decided to change the subject. “Now, how about that business proposal?”
He gave a small smile as the waitress set our plates in front of us. “We’ll get to that later.”
As we were eating, my phone rang. Pulling it from my purse, I saw it was Josh.
“Hello, Josh.”
“Fiona, we need to talk, but not over the phone or at the office.”
“About what?”
“When will you be home?”
“Not until later. I’m still in Paso Robles.”
“I’ll stop by your house tomorrow morning around seven.”
“What’s going on?”
“It’s just something I need to discuss with you.”
“Okay. I’ll see you in the morning.”
I ended the call and placed my phone back in my purse.
“Everything okay?” Nathan asked.
“Josh says he needs to talk to me about something. God, I hope he’s not quitting.”
“Why would he quit?”
“Judging by the status of Winslow Wines, would you want to stay?” I grinned.
His brow arched and a small smile graced his face as he sipped on his drink.