by Jan Moran
I reached out with my hand. Chai lay on her side, away from me. Her ass pressed up against my hip. I ran my hand over her curves, and she reached back and squeezed my hand and then pushed it away.
"Make them stop," she said in a sleepy annoyed tone.
She covered her head with the blanket and groaned.
I leaned over and kissed her on the shoulder and crawled over her to get out of bed.
My phone was on the floor near the door. I’m glad I didn't drop it outside the door.
I unlocked it. I had two missed calls from Calvin.
I leaned against the small couch in the suite and called him back.
"Donovan, my man. Did I wake you?" Calvin's well-rested voice sang through the phone. He called to torture me.
"Yes, you woke me. It's early," I whispered. My head hurt.
"No, it's not. What did you do, stay up all night?" He chuckled.
"You know JJ. When you're out with him, he won't let you leave." I grabbed a bottle of water from the mini fridge and downed half of it.
"Bet. Listen, how did your new girl fare? They showed you guys all huddled up looking cozy."
"She's perfect, as a matter of fact."
I grinned as I watched her sleep. Sprawled out on the bed, her thin tank top and boy shorts doing little to hid her gorgeous body. I wasn't that hungover.
"Listen, she there? We can talk about this later."
Calvin's tone dragged my attention away.
"Talk about what? What's wrong?" I asked.
"No, man. Shh," Calvin said. "It can wait until you get back."
I peeked at Chai and then went into the bathroom.
"No. It’s fine. Tell me. I'm alone."
"Looks like vineyard deal isn't going to work out. I found some discrepancies in the books, in the numbers. It looks like they have been losing more money than it appears, and it has some huge debt that would make it difficult to get out of in the short term. The long term, there was some mismanagement, and I would suspect it was CJ. Anyway, some money is unaccounted for and when you invest in a family business with shares owned by estates and ancestors over one hundred years, Donovan, man, it’s not worth it."
"Is this something Chai would have known about?" I asked, knowing the answer.
"No. I doubt it. As of late, he's been trying to put money back into it as quickly as he can, but he hasn't even made a dent yet. Must be why he's so anxious to sell it outright. For the right buyer, he could get it cheap and split it up and make his money back tenfold."
"Shit. She doesn't know anything about this." My heart broke for Chai. This would devastate her. "Fuck."
"If I were their business manager, I would advise them to sell, too," Calvin said. It was a simple business equation except it wasn't. For Chai, this was personal.
"Listen, thanks for looking into it. I'll hit you back when I get home."
"Okay. Safe flight. And Donovan?"
"Yeah."
"I am sorry it didn't work out. Chai doesn't deserve this."
"She doesn't. She deserves the world." I hung up before he could respond.
"Fuck," I said again under my breath.
I rubbed my head and paced in the bathroom. I had to tell her. I didn't want her hearing about it from someone else. I had let her know I would help her through it. But I had no proof, and I couldn't go off and accuse her brother, her family.
Maybe it would be best to wait until we got back to California.
I opened the bathroom door. Chai stood in the middle of the room and pushed her hair out of her face.
God, her beauty blew me away.
"Hey, baby." I rubbed my head.
"Who were you talking to?" she asked.
"It's no one." I pulled my gaze away from her probing eyes.
"Don't lie to me. I heard you say my name. What don't I know about?" She cocked her hip to the side.
I stepped to her and wrapped my arms around her, but she stepped out of my grasp before I could get a good hold of her.
"Donovan, tell me," she pleaded.
I turned my back to her.
"It was Calvin. He wanted to finalize some items on our proposal for the winery, but I told him to hold off." I felt like a dick. "I'm sorry, but I won't be investing on the vineyard. It's just not a wise business decision for me."
"What? Wh ..."
The pain in her voice gutted me. I hated hurting her, but I'd rather her hate me than hate her family.
"But you said you would invest no matter what happened between us."
"I did, but the more I thought about it, the more it didn't feel right." I rubbed my hands together. "We are in such a good place. I don't want to complicate it by mixing business and pleasure."
I turned around.
"What are you talking about?" She blinked back tears. "You told me you only do business with people you like."
"I know, but this is different."
Why didn't you tell me this before?"
"I just decided."
"You just decided between passing out drunk last night and a phone call with Calvin this morning." Tears streamed down her face. "What is wrong with you?"
I pulled her to me, but she pushed me away.
"I'm sorry." I rubbed my face. "Look, I'll help you find more options, but—"
"I can't believe you brought me all the way out here and were going to reject me anyway."
"I didn't reject you, Chai. I'm rejecting the deal. It has nothing to do with us."
"If you really believe that, then you don't know me at all." The hatred in her eyes was too much.
I needed to talk and fast. I needed to explain. I needed to stop her from packing.
She pulled some clothes out of her suitcase and stormed into the bathroom.
I plopped on the bed and waited.
I went over all of it in my mind and tried to come up with a scenario where I wasn't the asshole and where she didn't blame her family, but I couldn't think of anything.
She walked out of the bathroom, fully dressed with her hair pulled back in a ponytail.
"I can't believe I wasted a whole weekend with you." She spit words at me as she frantically stuffed her things in her bag.
"Chai."
She turned and leaned back.
"No, Donovan. I could have spent this weekend getting more investors, working with my parents to not sell. Instead, I've lost everything because of you."
"You haven't lost everything. Chai, the vineyard isn't everything." I stood up and grabbed her. I pulled her into my arms and kissed her. "This. Us. We are everything."
For a second, I thought I had her. She kissed me back. I felt it when she pressed her body against me, when she whimpered, as my tongue tasted her mouth. I held her so close it hurt.
But she pushed me away, slamming her hands into my chest, and stared.
I could feel the confusion tugging her emotions between her brain and her heart. I struggled with the same internal battle.
I took a step toward her, and she held her hand up and took a step back.
"No, Donovan." She placed her hand on her lips. They were red and swollen from our kisses. She shook her head. "This isn't everything. This isn't even real."
She zipped up the suitcase, pulled it off the stand, and headed out the door. I let her go. I couldn't think of anything to say to her to make her stay.
If this wasn't real, then why did my heart hurt ... really, really bad.
Chapter 14
Chai
With all the hellos and goodbyes going on at the airport, you wouldn't think a girl in tears would garner so much attention. The lady at the ticket counter handed me tissues as she tried to get me on an earlier flight.
A little boy in the terminal asked if I needed a hug before his mother pulled him away.
I almost ran after him and said yes.
The flight attendant was the best. She offered me a glass of champagne as soon as I settled in my seat and asked me if I wanted something stronger as so
on as we took off.
I replayed our last conversation in my mind. I regretted the things I had said because it wasn't true.
What we had was real and good. Even when we were arguing, it was fun. Who had fun arguing with someone? People in love, that's who.
I pushed the thought out of my head, shook off the sadness that crept around the edge of my heart, and opened my laptop. It was time to get to work.
I didn't have Donovan to rely on anymore; I needed to save the vineyard on my own.
God, I hope I'm not too late.
When I arrived in Sonoma, it was early, but I was tired. I had found a few other prospects to research, and I sent a few emails to some of the potential investors we met at the conference. I even wrote up a little script to help me explain to my parents and CJ why Donovan was no longer interested in the vineyard—or me, for that matter. I left that part off.
I wanted to go home, crawl into bed, and sleep for the next twenty-four hours or days, but I stopped in at the vineyard instead.
I let myself into the side door to the offices.
"Hey, Lori," I said as I walked in and dropped my bag on my desk.
"Oh, hey." Lori stood up and then sat back down. "What are you doing here?"
"I work here, remember." I laughed and picked up the pile of mail on my desk and flipped through it, but none of it was interesting. When I dropped it back on my desk, I peeked up and found her staring.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing." She shook her head. "I thought you weren't coming back until tonight."
"I caught an earlier flight." I scanned the room. "Where is everyone?"
It was much too quiet in here.
"Oh, nowhere." I heard my mother's laugh from the other room and took a step toward the main lobby. "Hey, Jerry popped open that 2015 Shiraz. You should go and taste it. It's amazing."
She grabbed my arm and turned me toward the back door.
"Lori." I shrugged out of her grip. "What's going on?"
I heard my mom and dad laugh as they opened the office door and walked in.
They weren't alone.
"You take all the time you need to move out. I'm not in any hurry," a stranger's voice said.
"No, Mr. Sanders. We've been putting this off long enough. We are ready to let it go, believe ..." Dad's voice trailed off when he saw me.
"Chai, you're back." Mom gave me a hug. "You're just in time to meet Mr. Sanders."
I forced a smile and shook his hand.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Darielle. I was mighty impressed with the way you handled yourself at the summit. Got me interested in a business I hadn’t thought one lick about before now."
"Mr. Sanders is from Texas," Mom said and grinned. "He recently purchased a vineyard near his hometown and has an amazing concept to keep the vineyard going."
"He's investing?"
"Well, little lady, I would love for your father to stay and run the place, but I don't think his heart is in it anymore." He slapped my dad on the back, and they chuckled like old friends. "Won't make sense for the Darielle label to continue without the Darielle's."
My brother walked in, shuffling papers.
I narrowed my eyes and looked from my father to my brother. They both had the decency to look guilty. Even though I wasn’t exactly sure what they had done, they knew they were doing it behind my back.
"So this is a done deal," I asked. I needed them to say it, but Mr. Sanders answered for them.
"Signed the papers a minute ago." He turned to CJ. "Let's get some of that Shiraz and toast now that the whole family is here."
"It's really not necessary," CJ said.
"Nonsense. I have a daughter a little younger than she is who doesn't even know the name of my company, and it's Sanders," Mr. Sanders said and laughed a deep gutted laugh. My mother joined him. "You're a lucky man to get to work alongside your family for so many years."
"I'm very lucky," Dad said. He walked over and kissed me on each cheek. I fought the urge to run away from my whole family.
They had sold my future out from under me while I wasted my time and my heart on Donovan Bryant.
When Mr. Sanders left, my parents, CJ, and I gathered in the conference room. My mom opened another bottle; she was in the mood to celebrate and oblivious to my pain. All she saw was the opportunity to have her husband back, and I couldn't really fault her for that.
"It's really for the best, Chai," CJ said. He stepped toward me, but I backed away.
"I'm tired," I said to no one. "I'm going home."
"No, stay and celebrate." Mom reached out her hands and motioned for me.
"Dear," Dad said to Mom.
"Celebrate what?" I blinked back tears. "Everything I have ever wanted has been taken away from me. Forgive me, but I'm not in the mood to celebrate that."
"Chai, you knew this was coming. Why are you being so dramatic?" Mom asked.
"I guess CJ was right. I'm the only one who loves this place. I'm the only one who realizes the sacrifices our family made in order for us to have this little piece of land we could call ours."
The tears in my eyes stung. Like they were laced with poison.
"Damn it, Chai. Don't tell me I don't understand sacrifice. I've never had an option when it came to the vineyard, but you do." He looked at CJ. "You both do. You can go on and live your lives and not worry about whether the next harvest is going to wipe you out."
"Charles," Mom said as she grabbed his hand.
"No. I'm not going to feel guilty. This is my choice. I can leave this place by choice and with enough money to take care of my family." He turned and blinked back his own tears. "It's all I ever wanted."
I nodded. I stepped toward the door.
"Sweetheart, where are you going?" Mom asked.
"Home," I said without looking at any of them.
"Where's Donovan? Have him come up and take care of you. I don't want you to be alone."
The sound of his name felt like daggers to my heart.
"Yeah, well"—a strained giggle escaped my throat—"I don't think he'll be coming around anymore."
"Oh honey, why?" My mother reached out for me, but I sidestepped her grasp. "Didn't you have a good time in New Orleans.?"
"We had the best time, but just like this, I managed to screw it up. See, I gave him up because he distracted me from saving my winery." I wiped my face. "How's that for sacrifice?" I said to my dad. He stepped toward me, but I raised a hand to stop him. I lowered my head and left.
I went home and crawled into bed. I couldn't even cry anymore, so I slept.
***
It had been a week since I talked to my family. I snuck into the vineyard offices late one night and collected my stuff. I even swiped a vintage case of a wine I had saved for a special occasion. I didn't see many special occasions in my future, so I might as well drink it now. I drank one bottle that night and placed the rest of the case in my storage before I ended up drinking the whole thing.
Mom and Dad called and texted me daily, but they didn't show up. They were giving me my space.
CJ didn't reach out at all. So when I found him at my doorstep after returning from a run, I didn't bother to hide my surprise.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"I need to talk to you." He had bags under his eyes, and his clothes were wrinkled.
"We don't have anything to say to each other." I opened my door and was ready to close it behind me, but CJ blocked the door. He handed me an envelope.
"Chai, please. I need to talk to you. I want to apologize and give you this."
I opened it, and it was a check for a hundred thousand dollars.
"What is this for?" I held it out.
"Mr. Sanders isn't going to keep the vineyard open. He's going to sell patches of the land off." His head dropped. "I just didn't want you to hear the news from someone else."
"I don't understand." I rubbed my forehead. "What's the check for? I thought I would have to sign somet
hing to get my share of the sell."
"There aren’t any shares to sell. I fucked up." He collapsed on my couch, his hands on his head. "With the sell, I need to pay back some debt first before I can distribute anything, and there will only be enough left for Mom and Dad. I don't want them to worry about money."
"What are you talking about?" I sat on the couch next to him.
"I made some bad decisions, and that's why I pushed for them to sell the place." He looked up at me, his eyes rimmed red. "I needed to make sure I didn't mess up Mom and Dad's future."
"But it was okay to mess up mine?" I asked and bit my lip to keep from crying.
"You will be fine, Chai. You are so talented. You can do anything you want to do," he said.
His praise meant nothing to me.
"All of this was to hide your mistake." I shook my head. "How could you do that?"
"No. Not all of it." He scooted closer and gripped the couch cushion between us. "I really did think it was what was best for the vineyard at the time, and I thought it would give me an opportunity to leave the business better than when I arrived, but I messed up and trusted the wrong people. But I made it right."
"Made it right for who?" I held the check out. "For you?"
"For all of us. No one has to know, Chai. Promise me. You won't tell anyone."
"How can I keep this from Mom and Dad? How can you?"
"Easy." He stood and walked out onto the balcony.
I followed him.
"Mom's got the next year of adventures planned for her and Dad. You should see how happy they are. Don't take that away from them to get back at me."
"I wouldn't do it to get back at you." I hugged myself. "When did the truth become a bad thing? Who knows about this?" I asked.
"It wouldn't be hard to figure out," he said with regret. "It's all done."
My face flushed. I gripped the railing to steady myself. It dawned on me all at once. Donovan had been protecting me, and I shut him out.
"How much are you taking home from this little coup of yours?" I asked.
"Chai, I didn't overthrow a government. I saved our family’s future." His eyes teared up.