by Jan Moran
“Your sister also called,” Courtney stated.
Great. Aiden had no doubts the prodigal child needed money too. “What did Abs want?” he asked with a mouth full of sandwich. Courtney turned up her lip but managed not to roll her eyes. He expected her to call him out on his lack of manners, but she wasn’t dissuaded from the subject at hand.
“Same message I gave you yesterday morning. Big contract. Wants to help. If things are so dire, maybe you should call her back.”
Aiden shook his head. “My sister doesn’t want to help. She wants to take credit when this place succeeds. It’s what she does.”
“Wow. You don’t think much of your family, do you?”
“I love my family, but they can’t rescue this place. That’s my job.”
It’d always been his job despite what his parents thought about his abilities. It was Aiden, after all, who had rescued those ducklings from the sewer drain when he was twelve. Of course, Abby took credit, sitting on the sidewalk with all the little guys in a basket as Aiden crawled out of the drain. Their parents deemed Abby a hero, ignoring their sewage-soaked son until they suggested he hose off and burn his clothes. What business did he have climbing down a sewer drain anyway?
Abby claimed to have signed a big contract in Nashville, but she was too much like their Vegas-dancer mother. A big contract probably meant she’d married someone with money, just like Vanessa had.
“What about you? Do you have family?”
“My brother and I are close. He’s here in Lilac Ridge. Well, he’s gone to Wyoming for a few months with his new wife. My parents, they have their troubles, so I’m not close with them.”
“What kind of troubles?” he asked.
Courtney studied him for a few beats and Aiden thought for sure she’d tell him to mind his own business, so he was surprised when she opened up. “The bad kind. I spent my childhood being the grown-up in the family, even before they sent my brother away. I joined the air force after high school to get away from that situation. Plus, joining the military was the best way to pay for college. I complete my bachelor’s degree in marketing in December.”
Aiden didn’t miss the plug for the marketing position. Maybe when he could afford to fill that position she’d be a good candidate for it, but right now, that position wasn’t anything he couldn’t manage on his own.
“That stinks,” he said. He knew what it was like to have difficult parents. Aiden could never seem to live up to his parents’ expectations. In their eyes, he was a failure even though he’d worked his way from ski patrol to search and rescue. He’d saved dozens of lives in the eight years he was gone, but that didn’t matter to his parents. In their eyes, he was a ski bum and would never be as perfect as Abby.
“I’m not looking for sympathy. I told you so you can understand how important it is for me to find a job that fits what I’ve been working toward for the last few years.”
She hadn’t told him much and he wondered what kind of trouble had forced her to grow up too quickly. “Understood, but like I explained yesterday, I can’t afford to fill the marketing position.”
Her eyes glassed with disappointment as her focus shifted back to the computer. The emotion tugged at Aiden’s heart, but his first priority was to get the winery making money again and pay off the debt his father had incurred. “Thanks for the sandwiches. When the first interview gets here, just send her down to my office.”
“Will do,” she said, not giving him a glance. Ignoring the way her aloofness gutted him, Aiden grabbed the plate and headed for his office.
Chapter 3
Aiden Black was so full of shit his green eyes had probably turned brown. Despite three of the appointments being no-shows, he was still behind schedule. Each interview averaged forty minutes, so right now he had two applicants alternating between pacing in the foyer and taking up residence on one of the posh benches. He’d only been with the current applicant for ten minutes, so there was little hope for these people getting out of here at a reasonable time.
Both had refused to be rescheduled, but Courtney could feel their frustration. Any minute, the man scheduled for three o’clock would walk in. Since the two o’clock and the two-thirty appointments still waited, and Mr. Black refused to let her call the other appointments to let them know he was running late, she would have to appease one more person.
Enough was enough. Courtney pulled up her interview notes on the tablet and copied the questions she’d been asked and the others she’d researched into a new document before saving it to the cloud.
On the receptionist computer, she opened the document and printed two copies. “Laura, come over and I’ll get your interview started. Reese, why don’t you step outside. When we’re done I’ll bring you back in. If Mr. Black isn’t ready for you, I’ll conduct the interview.”
“Thank you,” Laura said as she came around the desk. “I’m going to be late for work.”
“So you already have a job?” Courtney asked, ready to take notes.
“Yes. I’m a breakfast server at the Ridge View Diner, but I’m filling in for someone for dinner.”
“How long have you worked at the diner?” Courtney asked, making note of Laura’s current employment.
“Three years. I also bartend at the Hale during events. I’ve been waitressing since high school. I’m taking management courses at the community college. I’d like to work my way up to manager.”
Courtney worked through the remaining questions, keeping detailed notes about Laura’s responses and her own observations. She seemed capable and enthusiastic and Courtney made a note for Mr. Black, recommending her for a second interview.
The interview with Reese didn’t go so well. He questioned why she was doing the interview and not Mr. Black, whom he referred to by first name as if they were long lost friends. It seemed the man had a chip on his shoulder the size of Lake Winnipesauke.
Reese had applied for the host position, but Courtney couldn’t see him interacting hospitably with customers. He’d be better suited for bus boy, which is where he had experience anyhow.
Mr. Black’s three o’clock appointment was still waiting when Courtney finished with Reese. He had been with his current applicant for almost an hour. While Courtney didn’t usually pull the I-told-you-so card, she wanted to today. The man said he could handle it, but clearly, he’d overstated his abilities.
“I’m just going to check in with Mr. Black,” she said to Mike who had applied for one of the cook positions. “I’ll be right back.”
She knocked on the door, earning a stern, “Come in,” from her boss.
“I’ve been paging you for thirty minutes,” he growled.
“Sorry. I was busy. Your three o’clock interview is waiting.”
Mr. Black turned his attention to the lady who had kept him occupied for the last hour. “See, Mom, I have work to do. Courtney will see you out.”
The woman stood with a huff. “I can’t believe you would just pawn me off on your secretary,” the woman said.
“I have work to do,” Mr. Black responded. “We can talk later.”
“I’ve already talked. I need money, Aiden. I need you to give me some.”
“And I told you, Mom, I don’t have any to give. Unless I get back to these interviews, I won’t be able to reopen next week and if that’s the case, I’ll have to sell your Florida condo.”
“You wouldn’t,” she hissed.
“I love you, Mom,” he said, kissing his mother on the cheek. “I’ll see you later.”
“Mrs. Black, why don’t you come with me?” Courtney cut in. “I have some things I’d like to show you on the terrace. Get your opinion on entertainment.”
Mr. Black mouthed a thank you as the woman took the bait and allowed Courtney to lead her out to the foyer. She sent Mike back without stopping, not wanting to give the woman a chance to accost her son again.
Courtney held out her hand once on the terrace. “I’m Courtney. We spoke on the phone yester
day.”
“Right, you were the one who lied to me about my son being busy. I can’t believe he fired all of Neil’s staff. My husband worked so hard to hire all of those people and my son takes over and just fires everyone. He’s going to destroy everything Neil built.”
“Aiden is working very hard to keep the winery running,” Courtney countered, smiling so the annoyance didn’t come through. “You should be very proud of the son you raised.”
“Proud,” the woman huffed. “He doesn’t know anything about business or wine or what this place needs. He spent the last eight years skiing and chasing snow bunnies. He’s going to spend all of his father’s money on that useless sport and those slutty women.”
Courtney didn’t know how to respond to that. What little time she’d spend with Aiden Black offered very little insight to the man. He was bossy and confident. The sexy smirk he’d graced Courtney with more than once could definitely melt a glacier, if not the panties of desperate snow bunnies.
“We’re trying to come up with a plan for entertainment,” Courtney lied. She’d spent yesterday and the better part of today sifting through files in the large cabinet, trying to clean up the reception area and create electronic records of everything. The files went back years with Vanessa Black’s name on all the contracts. “Since you were involved with the entertainment here, I thought you might have some suggestions.”
“Involved? Oh, please. Neil’s father would have had a stroke if I had booked entertainment here. Neil handled all that. He just had me sign the contracts to appease his father, who thought I was a free loader. He didn’t understand the demands of raising an aspiring musician.”
She assumed that was Abby given she was in Nashville, supposedly with a big contract. “Well, I’m interested to hear your ideas.”
“Are you kidding? Aiden is just like his grandfather. He’d never allow me to do anything meaningful here.”
“Aiden needs help, ma’am. I’m sure he’d be grateful to have you handle the entertainment.”
“Ma’am, please. Call me Vanessa. I was a Vegas dancer, not some old money snob.”
“Vanessa, then,” Courtney smiled. “What do you think we need for entertainment?”
~~~
Aiden did a scan on his computer screen of the security cameras to make sure his mother was gone before he emerged from his office. It was after seven and based on his scans, he knew Courtney was still around. She needed a life if she was showing up early and staying late. Did she not understand he couldn’t afford to pay her for more than 35 hours per week?
Disappointment surged through him when he made it to the grand foyer and she wasn’t at the desk. Yes, he couldn’t afford to pay her, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to see her. The woman was so damn adorable, Aiden couldn’t wait to rile up that feisty side of her again. The lights flickered in the hall that led to the kitchen, so he stepped across the foyer to find her appearing through the swinging doors.
“Another sandwich?” he asked, his voice echoing off the marble tile that encapsulated the hall.
She dropped the plate, glass shattering on the shiny black surface. As he peered down to take in the wreckage, he noticed she wasn’t wearing the sexy shoes she’d left in his office that morning. “Don’t move,” he ordered.
“You scared the shit out of me,” she retorted.
“Are you aware how much you swear?” he chided, throwing her accusation from that morning back at her.
“When someone scares the shit out of you, swearing is allowed.”
“Right, well, don’t move. I’ll find a broom.”
“Or you could grab my shoes from the desk.”
“Why do you wear those things if you spend more time out of them than in them?” Aiden asked, though he didn’t mind the way her legs looked in the heels, or out of them.
“Can we have this discussion after all the glass is cleaned up?”
Right. Broom.
Growing up, Aiden lived at the winery, spending every free moment learning the business from his grandfather. He’d swept the old wood floors, painted the walls, raked the gravel walkway, mowed the fields. This place now, with all its marble tiled floors and walls, was not the place he’d grown up in. He had no idea where to find a broom because he had yet to find the utility closet.
“You don’t know where to find a broom,” she chuckled. “Typical.”
“In my defense, I haven’t been here since my father renovated the place. I have no idea where he put the utility closet.”
“It’s in the women’s room.”
“The women’s room?” As in…
“Restroom, loo, latrine, sailors call it the head.”
“I can’t go in the ladies’ restroom.”
She laughed. Not a chuckle or a giggle, but an outright laugh. “You’re kidding, right? You own this place. You can go anywhere you want.”
Maybe so, but not the ladies’ restroom. “I’ll get your shoes.”
“Wus,” she laughed.
Oh no, no way in hell was he being labeled a wus. “Don’t move,” he ordered and headed for the ladies’ restroom. Aiden knew no one was in there since he hadn’t reopened the winery yet, but he still hesitated. The vivid memories of one of his sister’s epic tantrums surfaced, when she holed up in the ladies’ room and hurled feminine products at him from inside the handicap stall. The memory made him chuckle. He had spent hours cleaning up the wreckage after once again taking the blame for Abby’s destruction.
A boy should never have to spend hours organizing feminine products. Never.
“It’s just a bathroom,” Courtney said from behind him.
He turned to find her smiling. “I told you not to move.”
With a shrug she said, “I’m really good at obstacle courses.” Then she slipped those shoes back on and moved around him into the bathroom. The door swung open again and she reappeared, broom in hand. “See, it’s perfectly safe.”
If she’d had to dodge the rapid fire of feminine products, she’d hesitate to go in there too.
“Let me,” he insisted, grabbing the broom and moving by her. His arm jerked and he swung around, coming right up against Courtney, who still gripped the handle. Her breath caught and when he zeroed in on her lips, her tongue darted out, wetting them enough to make them glisten under the glow of the recessed lighting.
Aiden tilted his head, ready to see if those lips tasted as good as he imagined, she released the broom and stepped back.
“I can make you another sandwich, if you want one, you know if you’re hungry.” When she stopped rambling, she took a deep breath and focused on him with the fierceness that always battled with the flustered woman inside. “Would you like me to make you another sandwich?”
He was starving, but he could do better than a sandwich. “How about I take you to dinner?”
With wide eyes, the adorable, flustered woman returned. “No, um, no I can’t. Thank you, but no.”
“I insist,” Aiden said, leaning on the broom and using a strategy she couldn’t resist. “You can give me a debrief on how you appeased my mother and a summary of all the no-show interviewees today.”
She snatched the broom. Aiden stumbled, regaining his balance while Courtney stepped off. Each harried tap of her heels echoed before she started sweeping the broken glass with a huff. “I have schoolwork to do.”
“You have to eat. Besides, if schoolwork was so important, you would have clocked out at five like you’re supposed to.”
Courtney pinned him with that annoyed expression, warning him she was ready for a fight. “I did clock out at five and I didn’t clock in until ten. Like I’m supposed to.”
Even better. That gave him more reason to insist on dinner. “Like I said, if schoolwork was so important, you wouldn’t have put in an eleven-hour day for only seven hours of wages.”
She continued to sweep, ignoring his proposition, or maybe mulling it over.
“You have to eat. Brain food and all that. I
can’t be responsible for you failing your class.”
“Fine,” she snapped, handing him the broom when all the glass was swept into a pile. “Debrief and brain food. That’s it.”
Aiden accepted the victory, taking the broom and pushing the debris into the dust pan while thinking of the best place to take Courtney to fire up that contentious side he liked so much.
Chapter 4
Dinner at Hale’s Tavern was as much a recon mission as it was an opportunity to get to know the spitfire sitting across from him. Once he glanced at the wine list, though, Aiden abandoned all rogue thoughts about Courtney.
His father always had an ax to grind with the Hales, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise that none of the Black Vines selections were on the menu. Aiden needed to figure out how to change that.
“Why are you scowling?” Courtney asked.
He dropped the menu to find her inquisitive gaze burning right into him. His mouth watered when her tongue darted across her lips and the heat stirring in his chest shot south. Dammit. The last thing he needed was to sport a woody while out to dinner with his employee, but hell if he knew how to deal with it. He’d practically forced her here because his curiosity got the better of him, now his dick seemed to be taking over.
“Why are you scowling at me?” she asked.
Aiden shook off whatever expression marred her pretty face. “I’m not scowling at you. I was scowling at the wine list.”
She picked up the long, laminated sheet and gave it the once over. His dick stiffened, wishing she was giving him that kind of attention. “Nothing on here from Black Vines.”
Smart girl. “Local businesses should work together, support each other.”
“Agreed. Talk to Austin. He’s open to that.”
“You know Austin Hale?” Aiden asked. He shouldn’t be surprised, but she said she hadn’t lived in Lilac Ridge very long. If she’d never eaten at Black Vines’ restaurant, she certainly couldn’t afford to patron the Hale.