"I'll come by this afternoon," I told him with another handshake. "But I'm not bringing a truck yet. I'll still have to get approval from the owner."
"Sounds great, Aubrey. Thanks for your time."
I went back to work practically skipping. Marty was in a meeting with distributors or else I would've told him right then. Oh well. Surprising him would be just as fun.
For the first time since being with Logan, I felt excited and eager to get off work. How strange it was to look forward to something at the end of the day after dreading having free time for weeks.
Still, I tried not to get my hopes up. The odds that these barrels were in great as shape as he claimed and wouldn't cost me a penny were astronomically low.
Nonetheless, I made a beeline out the door the moment I punched out. I didn't even stay for my after-shift beer.
The address Joe gave me was a bit far to walk so I took an Uber to that area of town.
It was in a newer subdivision of town with filled with freshly built office spaces and warehouses. Some already had businesses in them, but many units were empty or still under construction.
The Uber driver dropped me off at the opening of a cul-de-sac with only one large warehouse and companion office space along the curving sidewalk.
I figured the barrels had to be stored in the warehouse and started toward the large building. When I reached the modern glass door, I checked to make sure the number on the building matched the one Joe wrote down for me and proceeded inside.
"Hello?" I said to the empty, front entry room.
Joe must have just moved his business into this space because there was absolutely nothing in the front room. It could have served as reception area or retail storefront, but it was a completely blank slate. Not even coffee cups or cleaning equipment indicating that someone had just moved in.
"Joe? It's Aubrey from the brewery," I called down the hallway in the center of the room, the only thing breaking up the blank white space and windows surrounding me.
Through the hallway I could see the concrete floors and high ceilings indicating a warehouse space, but nothing else. No sign of barrels or people.
I walked slowly, cautiously through the hallway. "Hello, Joe?" I called again, hesitant to wander through someone's business, especially if I was at the wrong place.
When I reached the end of the hallway, I quickly swept my eyes across the vast, empty space and almost turned back around. But something to my right captured my attention. Standing out against the dull concrete floors and walls, a shiny, silver surface caught the reflection of the lights.
Focusing on it, I realized it was stainless steel. Not only that but a stainless steel brewing tank. It stood proudly as one of four, the only one unwrapped from its packaging material and shining brightly like a beacon.
Huh, so another brewery is going in here. I really am in the wrong place then.
But something was odd and I couldn't place my finger on it. This was the address he gave me. Why would Joe want me to come here?
I walked toward the tanks slowly, my heart rate increasing for reasons completely unknown. I wondered if someone would jump out from behind them as a prank.
Only when I came closer did I see rows of beautiful barrels stacked neatly in the corner behind the tanks. I gasped when I saw their beautiful bowed forms. They really were in perfect condition. Subtle smells of wood and wine radiated from them and my mouth watered. These would house beautiful, award-winning beers.
Now to find Joe and make sure they're still free.
I turned around, facing the back of the first tank and noticed something I didn't see earlier. It looked like a name was etched into the metal.
Brewmasters often named their tanks after friends or notable people in the industry, but they usually didn't get inscribed until after being set up.
I approached the tank to read it more clearly and felt my heart drop into my stomach.
It read, as clear as day, my name.
AUBREY.
CHAPTER 31
AUBREY
I didn't know whether to be afraid, flattered, or creeped out. My pupils expanded to take in every detail around me. My heart felt like a jackhammer in my chest. Who was here? Who did this? How close was I to being raped or killed?
"What do you think?"
I had to be dreaming.
Did that voice really speak to me from the other side of the tank? The voice that whispered the hottest, dirtiest things in my ear and also told me we were over?
I peeked from behind the vessel and there he stood.
My brain and body flooded with emotions at seeing Logan in the flesh for the first time in weeks, but I was too stunned to cry.
My heart ached so deeply for him, it felt like it clawed through my ribs. All the pain I felt over the last two weeks rushed back to my consciousness in one fell swoop.
What was he doing here? And why did he ask me that?
He approached me slowly and I knew I couldn't be hallucinating. My dilated eyes saw everything in crystal clear definition. His intense blue eyes. The scar through his eyebrow and the tinge of red in his stubble. He was just as devastatingly handsome as my memories of him that haunted me.
"Before you say anything, I want you to read this."
He held something out to me which I realized was a newspaper article. I accepted it with shaking hands and scanned my eyes over the headline.
LOCAL MEN ARRESTED FOR INVASION OF PRIVACY AND EXPLOITATION OF WOMEN
Pictured below the headline sat Andy's unflattering mugshot, next to another man identified as Charles Seger.
I looked back up at Logan, unsure of what to make of the headline and unable to read his face. I didn't dare hope again, not after what I'd been through.
"Take a look at this, too."
He handed me a long tube of rolled up paper. Still speechless, I accepted it from him and slowly unrolled it in front of me.
Right away I could tell they were blueprints. As my eyes scanned over the layout and details I realized it was the blueprint for the warehouse we stood in. Sketched into the floor plan were various pieces of brewing equipment such as the grain mill, barrels, fermenting tanks, and the brewing system.
I glanced up again at Logan.
"Okay... so my ex got arrested, this place is a brewery, and I thought you never wanted to see me again. What am I supposed to do with all this information?" I asked hesitantly.
Logan swallowed. It was the first time I saw him look even slightly unsure of himself.
"The information in your hands. The place we're standing in. They're my gifts to you."
"Gifts?"
"Andy is in a filthy cell where he belongs. So is my old business partner. This brewery," he spread his arms out to his sides. "Is yours to create whatever your heart desires."
My lips trembled as tears threatened to well up in my eyes.
"But why?" I choked out, my voice a weak whisper.
"Because I'm a fucking fool, Aubrey," he said with a harsh exhale of breath. "There's no apology that's good enough. Because I was foolish enough to leave you without even stopping to hear your side. Because I'll spend the rest of my life making up for that, making sure you are happy every day, even if you don't take me back. Because you deserve to be happy and practicing your art every day. Because I'm a fucking idiot who never stopped loving you for a single second."
Words left me, as did all sense of rationality.
"You want to get back together?" I asked.
"Yes, my love," he replied in a low voice while stepping closer to me. "I want you in my arms and in my bed where you belong. I will never leave you again. Not only that, I swear on my life that I will never, ever hurt you again."
I wanted to run to him and cry into his chest, knowing his arms would support and soothe me. I wanted to hit him and scream in his face for hurting me so badly that I thought I was literally dying. But I felt cemented to the spot where I stood.
"What about Oak Barrel? Ar
e you still selling?"
"No. I was only going to because it would be too painful to see you every day knowing you weren't mine."
He took a few more tentative steps closer to me, filling in my vision with his broad muscles, intoxicating manly smell, and those piercing eyes. I felt too weak to resist him.
"But I bought this place for you because your happiness is the only thing that matters to me." His voice became thick and sultry like syrup.
"Christian and I are pursuing Andy and Charlie to maximum punishment because they were getting in the way of our happiness. And now they won't anymore. Nothing will, babe."
Slowly he took my hands in his and held them together in his palms like he did that first night after our encounter with Dale.
His touch incited longing and need throughout my whole body like he was my first drink of water after a long trek in the desert. He felt so good and I needed him to live.
But fear held me back. The last time I gave myself fully to him, it resulted in the most painful experience of my life. The reason for that pain was gone, but would there ever be another?
That didn't even account for these gifts from him. My own brewery? I didn't think it would be possible until I was Marty's age. Not to mention that starting up such a business was incredibly expensive. Just the space we stood in, plus the tanks had to cost hundreds of thousands.
"I can't accept this," I choked out, not even sure if I was referring to us or his gifts.
"Well, I bought the building and the equipment outright. It'll be a shame to go unused." The corners of his mouth turned up mischievously. "It's yours, Aubrey. To do with as you wish."
He brought our hands up to the center of his chest, where I felt his warm, steady heartbeat. "As am I, if you'll have me."
"I thought you were too good to be true at first," I said, my voice wavering slightly. "Then you cast me away and proved me right. How do I know that won't happen again?"
His jaw ticked with tension and I saw something in his eyes that I never saw before: fear. His hands around mine tightened their grip and squeezed. Before he even spoke, I could read the answer in his face.
He was truly afraid of losing me for good.
"Because out of the two of us, you're the one that's too good to be true," he said with a slight tremor in his voice. "If I can make you smile and shiver with orgasms every single day for the rest of our lives, it still won't be enough to make up for what I did to you."
His words moved me so much, the urge to kiss him nearly overpowered me. But the voice of dissent in my head whispered to me that they were just words. They didn't mean anything.
I raised my eyes skyward, looking at the warehouse ceiling and the four walls surrounding it. I remembered the beautiful barrels behind me and the perfect fermentation tank with my name on it. And I realized these were the actions to back up his words.
He gave me the one thing I wanted most out of life, besides his love. The freedom to create and practice my art. He could have spent money on anything that would have made a woman swoon but he knew me and wanted me to be happy with or without him.
Slowly his hands trailed to my arms, drawing me in closer to him.
"What do you say, babe?" he murmured against my forehead. "Will you give another chance to this guy who's hopelessly in love with you?"
"I have... some conditions," I answered, my voice steadying as I looked up at him.
"Anything." His grip tightened on me.
I took a deep breath. "We take this slow. I need time.... to trust you and make sure you trust me."
He looked at me curiously. "Of course. But I have to ask... does that mean no sex?"
"No!" I shouted and laughed at the resulting grin that broke out on his face. I couldn't remain celibate around him if I was locked in a cage.
"I mean, not constantly seeing each other or spending the night together. Just a bit of space. You know, like normal dating."
"You got it," he said, gliding his hands across my back. I relented and slid my hands up his chest, relishing in his warmth and solidness once again.
"Anything else?"
"Just one question," I said. "Who the hell is Joe? What was up with that?"
Logan laughed as he held me closer, the musical sound bringing joy to my ears.
"He really makes things from barrels and had a lot extra. I paid him for those and offered him a bonus if he could make sure you came out here. Good thing he's a decent actor too."
"Sneaky bastard," I said as I reached up and gave him a light smack on the face. I'd have to think of a proper way to punish him eventually. Maybe another glass of beer on his shirt or a blowjob without being allowed to come.
His expression turned serious as he turned his face and kissed my palm against his cheek. My core gushed with heat as my nipples hardened into stiff, eager buds. I almost forgot how blissful his lips felt, how sensual his kisses were.
"Take the brewery, Aubrey. I want you to have it."
"If this ends," I said, returning his gaze. "If we don't work out, what'll happen?"
"The building and the equipment are already paid in full," he replied. "You owe nothing to me. We can sign some paperwork today and it will yours completely and legally. I'll have no power or influence, no matter what happens to us."
I took a deep breath and looked at him. "Then I'll accept."
His handsome face broke out into a wide, victorious grin that I couldn't help but return. I felt like a phoenix rising as joy and elation from pain and sorrow, ready to start a new life.
He leaned down to kiss me but I stopped him, as difficult as it was, with my fingers gently against his lips.
"Thank you," I breathed softly. "For taking care of Andy." It felt wonderfully freeing to be rid of him forever, now that I knew why his terrible messages stopped. I could stop looking over my shoulder as I walked home. My heart didn't have to race with anxiety every time I looked at my phone again.
And it was all because of this man.
"My love, that was long, long overdue," he said as he brushed his thumb over the apple of my cheekbone and gazed into my eyes, into my soul that he broke, but then healed.
"Thank you for forgiving me."
I replied by opening my lips and my heart to him once again.
CHAPTER 32
LOGAN
Aubrey was smart to take our new relationship slower. I couldn't blame her for being cautious. Instead, it made me respect and care for her even more. She was finally taking care of herself rather than putting herself down. I loved her even more for that.
We broke the two-part news to Marty that day. One, that I would not sell Oak Barrel Brewing and proceed with the same expansion plans and employee benefits as we discussed. And two, that Aubrey would be leaving his crew to start her own brewery.
The poor guy looked like he just recovered from a heart attack and was about to have a new one.
We made it a slow, gradual transition. Months of construction still needed to be done for Aubrey's place to be up and running, and she took that time to meticulously train interns that would replace her at Oak Barrel.
I loved watching from the office as she carefully instructed and explained her methods to two young kids, barely a day over twenty-one but with so much awe and curiosity in their eyes that reminded me of hers.
At twenty-three she was barely older than them herself, but she coached them as gently and encouragingly as a doting mother would to her young children.
My cock stiffened and my heart squeezed at the thought of Aubrey being a mother. Even more intimate, the mother of my children. Her round belly carrying the sweet, curious person we'd create from my seed and her womb. Nothing turned me on more.
When we first got back together, I planned to propose that day. I was ready to commit my entire life to hers the moment her scumbag ex confessed to what he did. But when she expressed wanting to take it slow, I decided to wait.
I kept the ring in my bedroom safe. It seemed to call to me every tim
e Aubrey and I went to bed together. Like a magnet, it pulled me to stare at the safe door while she slept peacefully on my chest. I wanted to slide it on her finger and ask her the question more than anything, but I had to wait until she was ready.
After three months of being blissfully back together, she began unofficially living with me, despite her protests.
"You live here."
I stated the fact to her one morning over breakfast.
"I do not."
"Babe. You spend every night here. All your clothes are here." I spread my hand across the table as if displaying the evidence, like I imagined how Christian did it in the courtroom.
I still have three months on my apartment lease," she huffed, popping a strawberry in her mouth.
"And you're not going to renew it," I said matter-of-factly. "You're going to move out of that shithole and live here with me. Officially."
She tried to look defiant and it was adorable. Her nostrils flared and her eyes flashed dangerously, but a smile crept at the corner of her lips.
"I've been meaning to talk to you about it," she admitted bashfully. "I think...no, I know I want to. I feel ready to take that step. I just wanted to make sure it was okay with you."
"Are you kidding me?"
I reached across her lap to her curvaceous hip and pulled her right up against me, nuzzling her neck as she squealed with giggles. She threw her legs over mine and brushed tantalizingly across my stiffening cock, already eager for her after our sweaty, morning romp an hour earlier.
"I love every minute of being with you," I whispered against her ear. "I love the life we're building together and I want this to be our home. Everything in my life, I want it to be yours too."
She sighed sweetly and melted against me, wrapping her arms around my neck.
"Sometimes I can't believe this is my real life," she said. "Waking up in this gorgeous house next to you, going to work and teaching what I love, creating and building my own place in the world. It's like that shabby little apartment is my only tie to reality. If I give it up, I'll be living completely in a fantasy."
Big Bad Boss: A Bad Boy Billionaire Romance Page 15