6. Chapter Six
Chapter Six
Dallas
“ Y ou’re fucking kidding me.”
“Nope. Enjoy shadowing Blaire for the day, dickhead. You want to moan and complain that she shouldn’t be here? You want to bail on your commitments? You get to follow her around for the entire day and see what a positive influence she’s having on this place. People love her.”
I scoff and run my hand across the rough hair on my jaw. Well, this should be an interesting day after the morning we’ve had.
“I find that hard to believe. She’s a menace.”
“And that’s why you’re going to shadow her. So, get the hell out of my office and get to work.”
“You’re a shithead, Sawyer. This is a real low blow and you know it.”
His face returns to his laptop, ignoring me. The asshole. I stand up and exit his office, walking to the end of the long second-story hallway to Blaire’s office. I give the door two raps with my knuckles and walk right in. Her back is to me, body bent over, adjusting a pair of boots that come to her ankles. The fabric of her dress stretches taut over her perky ass and my dick instantly comes to life. I grind my palm against it, shifting it in my pants to a more comfortable position since the fucker likes to stay rock hard in this terror’s presence. I stand frozen in my spot, leaning against her doorway, watching her, and it’s only a moment before she stands, adjusting her dress.
“Come i- Ohmygod!” Her hand flies to her chest and she stumbles backward. I take a step forward, my hand extended as if to grab her and prevent her from falling. I quickly drop it back at my side, unsure why the fuck I care if I scared her or not.
“Dallas. What the hell?”
“I knocked.”
“But just walking into my office, without permission, negates the knock. Did anyone teach you etiquette?”
“You clearly haven’t met me if you need an answer to that question.”
I walk around her desk and take a seat in her office chair, rocking in it slightly. Yep. Mine is definitely better.
“What are you doing, Dallas?”
“Seems that you’re stuck with me for the day, princess. Sawyer just informed me I’m to shadow you. See all the wondrous and glorious things you do for the distillery,” I tell her as I wave my hands around with a flourish. “He seems to think you’re spreading pixie dust and rainbows around and I plan to inform him that it’s more of a virus, killing us slowly from the inside out.”
Her face pales and she shifts on her feet. My heart rate accelerates as I anticipate her retort but I’m shocked when it doesn’t come.
“Have I . . .” She pauses to clear her throat, emotion clogging her voice. “Have I done something wrong? Could I lose my job?”
I straighten in the chair, my hands gripping the armrests. The girl standing in front of my parents’ bar is back, her confidence faltering, and right now she seems extremely insecure and worried. I shrug my shoulders.
“Depends on who you ask.” I let a beat of silence pass between us and watch Blaire’s unease before continuing. “He wants me to shadow you so I can see what an asset you are.”
The color comes back to her face and her shoulders relax.
“Ahh. Well, that makes more sense. Because you see me and my position as unnecessary and causing more harm than good.”
There she is. Her hands rest on her hips. Fuck if I don’t want to grip them, leave finger bruises on them from how hard I hold her still while I fuck the brat out of her.
“Correct. So, if you don’t mind, let’s get on with proving me right.”
“Happily. Right now, we’re going to meet a small group for a tour, followed by a flight tasting. Try not to scare anyone away with that ogre persona of yours.”
I watch her walk to the door, wide hips swaying, her fiery red hair wavy and draped to her mid-back. My dick throbs, reminding me that it wants attention and only wants it from the spitfire in front of me. I stand, following her to the door before pausing to spit out my gum in the trash can. Her latte is tossed inside, the contents spilling out into the plastic bag. Hmm. So she doesn’t like pumpkin spice. I picked up on her slight wince when she took a sip of it outside, and sick satisfaction fills me, seeing that she threw out Cole’s morning gift. The idiot.
“Are you coming or are you going to ask it out on a date?” Her voice snaps me out of my thoughts.
“Cheeky. Lead the way, princess.”
She gives me a dramatic eye roll before walking ahead of me, leading us to meet her first group of the day. We reach the large bay windows that line the entirety of the front of our office building before she pulls open one of the doors.
Fuck my life, because waiting for us is a group of six people, all in matching obnoxious Christmas sweaters, looking as out of place as a fuckin’ snowman on the beach. Goddamn tourists. Who vacations to Washington State in the middle of December? Besides going to Leavenworth for a Bavarian Christmas, there’s no damn point—unless freezing to death is your personal brand of torture.
“Good morning! Welcome to Aspen Ridge Distillery. My name is Blaire, and lucky for all of you today, I have a special guest accompanying us. This is Dallas Hayes, heir to this incredible company.”
A bunch of oohs and aahs escape our festive guests and I give them a head nod, trying to embrace my inner Sawyer and be somewhat professional.
“Let’s start with your names, who would like to go first?”
A shorter woman in the front raises her hand wildly and Blaire nods to her, motioning for her to go ahead.
“Well, I’m Sharon, this is my husband Aaron, my sister Erin, and her wife Karen. These two here are our friends Robby and Bobby. It’s a delight to be here!”
Of fucking course that’s their goddamn names. What in the hillbilly kind of shit did I just walk into? Blaire simply smiles brightly at them like it’s just another day in the twilight zone and this is the most normal shit ever.
“It’s nice to meet you all, we’re happy to have you here with us this morning. If you’ll all follow me, we’ll head to the rickyard first.”
The crowd walks ahead and I lean into Blaire’s ear to whisper, “What the fuck? Who marries someone who has a rhyming name? And there’s three sets of ’em!”
She elbows me in the stomach and shoots me a glare. “Shh. Be nice!”
Once we survive the freezing walk to the rickyard, Blaire begins to talk about my family’s business. She’s surprisingly knowledgeable about the history of the distillery and the whiskey-making process and seems to have planned her tour around the steps we take to create our product. Everyone smiles and eats up every single word. I have to admit that she’s infectious.
“The distillery was founded in 1925 by Dallas’ great-grandfather, William Colby Hayes. We’re the largest supplier of spirits to Washington and Oregon but have recently expanded to Idaho and the rest of the Pacific Northwest.”
I can’t help but watch and listen to her speak with rapt attention along with the rest of them. Everyone is drawn to her, and I can understand why. There’s this undeniable aura about her, a magnetism that leaves you feeling tethered, hanging on every word she says. It’s not just how breathtakingly beautiful she is, it’s how she holds herself, how she looks at each person like they matter, like she truly cares about the job she’s doing. She’s captivating and makes it look so effortless. The world fades to the background as I lose myself to watching her work.
Which shocks the shit out of me.
“You need to be on your best behavior for what’s next. I mean it, Dallas, don’t fuck with me in this meeting.”
“Oh, princess. What you’re asking is near impossible. Who are we meeting with anyway?”
Like I summoned them, there’s a knock on the office door. Blaire stands from the chair and wipes her palms down the front of her dress before combing her fingers through her hair.
“Quit fidgeting with yourself. You look . . .” I struggle to find words that are workplace appropriate. Fuckable, sexy, and stunning come to mind, but won’t work. “Presentable.”
She arches a brow at me. I study her for a moment before standing and taking two steps to the door and opening it.
“Oh! My boy! What a nice surprise! I was going to stop in and see you before we left,” my mother coos.
“Mom? Always happy to see you but I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Oh, that’s because we’re meeting with Blaire. Ivy made a pit stop to see Sawyer. She’ll be right in.”
“Ahh. Wedding stuff?”
“Of course. My first baby is getting married! I always hoped they would find their way back to each other. Now here we are. Planning their wedding, and a baby on the way. It’s so good to see him happy again, isn’t it?”
Ivy was forced to run away by her very controlling mother after we graduated high school. She hid herself away for ten years before finally returning. My twin was never the same after she left, and since she’s returned? He’s been so wrapped up in her that I don’t see much of him outside of work. Which, if I’m being honest, hasn’t been the easiest adjustment for me. While we’ve always gotten under each other’s skin, he’s my best friend, my twin, and having him occupied with Ivy means that I haven’t had him around. The alternative isn’t something I’d trade though. I don’t know if I believe in the soulmate bullshit, but those two were born for each other.
“Yeah, Mom, it’s great. Don’t tell me it lit a fire under you to start nagging at the rest of us to follow suit . . .”
“Oh heavens no. You five will do whatever you want to do when you want to do it and that’s all your father and I need. No pressure coming from me.”
I believe her. My parents worked hard to provide a good life for the five of us, only having basic rules and requirements—go to college or learn a trade, be smart with your money, and be happy—they’ve never put pressure on us to do anything but what makes us happy. We hit the parent jackpot.
Blaire comes up next to me, putting her hand out to shake my mom’s, but she’s pulled in for a tight hug. Blaire stiffens momentarily before relaxing and returning the embrace.
“It’s so good to see you, sweetie.”
I have to stifle the groan. Blaire is the farthest thing from sweet, no matter how intoxicating she is.
“You just saw her at dinner yesterday, Mom.”
Blaire shoots a glare my way before returning to my mom.
“It’s good to see you, Mrs. Hayes. Please come in, we can chat while we wait for Ivy.”
“She’ll probably be a bit. Sawyer wouldn’t know a quickie if it bit him in the ass,” I joke.
Blaire chokes on her water, coughing and gasping for air. I smile wickedly at her while I watch her struggle to clear her lungs and breathe. Fuck, if only it was from my cock down her throat.
“Dallas Wyatt Hayes! Don’t be so crass! Blaire, honey, are you alright? He’s feral. I apologize. I can’t imagine what it must be like to work with him. I love my boy, but he is a textbook middle child.”
“I’m your firstborn, Mom. Sawyer and I are twins,” I deadpan.
“You still came out second, son. And you’re my wild child. You know it. I know it. Hell, the whole town knows it.”
“You have met Carter, right? Your actual middle child?”
She rolls her eyes at me. Carter is the baby, even though he’s second to last, and Kinsey is the youngest. She’ll make excuses for him until her last breath. He can do no wrong.
“At least he’s quiet and doesn’t give me a hard time about anything. You, my love, have always been hardheaded, stubborn, and destructive.”
I keep my eyes focused on Blaire while my mother lists all of my negative qualities. She’s composed herself and is nodding along with everything my mom says. Fuck. They’re going to bond over how difficult I am.
“But you’re also the most loyal, passionate, and protective of my five.”
I turn to give my mom a halfhearted smile before returning my attention back to the stunner sitting across from me, her red hair falling into her pretty face. I have the strongest urge to reach out and tuck it behind her ear.
“Well, I haven’t seen any of the latter qualities but boy do those first ones sound familiar,” Blaire says.
The two women laugh lightly at my expense and something inside me softens. Ivy arrives, so I give up my chair to her, moving to the back of the room and taking up residence on the chaise lounge. I pull out my phone for a distraction, allowing them the privacy to talk wedding shit.
Me:
Grandpa caught me drinking his whiskey again
Liam:
Location?
Sawyer:
Ignore this idiot. You can’t abuse the code phrase dickhead.
Me:
I’m not abusing it. I need out asap
Liam:
What’s going on?
Sawyer:
I made him shadow Blaire all day and he’s being a whiny little bitch
Liam:
Dude c’mon
Carter:
You did what?
Sawyer:
Yep. Got sick of him bitching about her job being pointless so now he can spend his day learning otherwise
Liam:
Reigning with an iron fist
Me:
Yep. Napoleon Complex at its finest
Sawyer:
Do I look small to you?
Me:
I mean ...
Liam:
You’re playing with fire brother
Carter:
Let him. They’re animals remember?
Kinsey:
I’m trying to enjoy my winter vacation, can you all behave?
Liam:
Seems like Dom’s is needed. Tonight?
Me:
I’ll be there
Sawyer:
Yep. But I’m bringing Ivy
Kinsey:
You four are ridiculous
I snort and the three women look over at me.
“Sorry, something on my phone. Ignore me. Please, continue.”
Me:
Of course you are
Me:
Sooo is anyone gonna come bail me out?
Sawyer:
Liam:
No
Carter:
No
Kinsey:
No
Rolling my eyes, I pocket my phone and recline further into the seat, crossing my legs and resting my ankle on my knee. I’m not sure how much time goes by but just as I start to doze off, I’m jolted awake by someone shoving my foot off my leg. I open one eye to see all three of them hovering over me like a flock of mother hens.
“Which one of you did that?”
“Why do you need to know?” Ivy asks.
“Retaliation.”
“You don’t need to know then. Wake up. I’m sure you have better things to do than nap in Blaire’s office. Why are you here anyway?”
“Why don’t you ask your man, lil’ sis.”
Ivy laughs while my mother rolls her eyes and says something under her breath that I didn’t catch.
“We’re heading out. Don’t fire her. She’s amazing and I like her,” Ivy says as she points to Blaire.
“No promises. I’ll see you tonight.”
“Wait, why? what’s tonight?”
“Dom’s.”
Ivy’s eyes go wide before she’s driving her pointer finger into my chest. “I swear, Dallas, if you leave a mark on him days before our wedding I will ruin you.”
“Settle down, pipsqueak. It’ll be fine,” I reassure her, lightly smacking her finger out of my space.
“What’s Dom’s?” Blaire speaks up and asks.
Ivy turns to face her, and I swear my heart freezes. I need to stop this train in its tracks before shit gets out of hand.
“Alright, time for you to go! Move out!” I start to corral my mother and Ivy toward the door, trying my damndest to circumvent what I know Ivy is about to do.
“Knockout. The guys box there. You should come. Sawyer usually brings me to watch and I just stand there by myself. Come with me!” Ivy practically yells over her shoulder as I push them out the door. The growl that leaves me comes from somewhere deep. Fuck my life.
“Easy there, alpha. We won’t get in the way of you guys burning off your ridiculously inflated male energy.”
Blaire’s reply comes quickly, I’m positive she caught onto my discomfort. “Sure! I’m not doing anything and that sounds interesting.”
And just like that, Blaire is digging deeper into every aspect of my life, leeching into every area.
A virus is right.