5. Only Going To Get Better
ONLY GOING TO GET BETTER
“ W hen are Mason and Ben showing up?” Kyle asked him when he was sitting in his office.
Elias had to run out this morning to sign for mail that was sent to his house.
No one ever sent anything to his house to be signed and he thought it was important.
Then he finds out it’s just some stupid sales pitch. Since when did that shit come certified mail to be signed for?!
Maybe because it was an investment firm, they didn’t care so much if they wasted the money or time on it.
But he sure the hell cared that he wasted time out of his day that he didn’t have.
Not that he was regretting it since he was able to run into Phoebe again.
She was a treat on the eyes in brighter light for sure, without all the misty snow blowing around.
The weather was nicer than it had been days ago.
This time her hair wasn’t flying around her head, but rather a light brown that hung past her shoulders in some layers.
There wasn’t a lot of makeup on her face.
Her brown eyes were light enough to remind him of whiskey, and he knew he could get lost in their depths.
She was someone that was hard to read, but he was positive he caught a sign of embarrassment and attraction in them.
Maybe he was trying for that with the wink.
He had her card. He could reach out to her if he wanted.
He had no need to do it for a professional reason. He had all the lawyers he needed in his life.
Braylon and his team. The only reason he’d need one locally would be if he got a ticket he wanted to take care of. It’d happened a time or two, but around here, they knew him and let that crap go if he got pulled over.
He didn’t make a habit of breaking the law, but maybe he’d been caught speeding a time or two when he wasn’t paying attention because he had other things on his mind.
He wasn’t sure if he got let go now because of who his brother was, or the fact that he owned Fifth Kid Brewing. Not only was his beer growing in popularity, but he also employed close to two hundred people in town, and his customers always brought business to the area too.
All good things.
And it was only going to get better.
He was the local celebrity to many and it was nice to know it was for something he was doing rather than being related to billionaire West Carlisle.
“They should be here by ten,” he said. “The place looks great.”
“I’ve walked around and inspected everything more than once,” Kyle said.
“I knew you would. I want to check on some email and then I’ll be doing the same. Give me five minutes and I’ll be on the floor.”
Kyle laughed. “You had Friday set up on purpose, didn’t you? Knowing how busy the place was going to be with customers.”
Elias grinned. “We are busy every day of the week, but Friday is the most. At ten, when we begin handing out orders, all our to-go slots will be full. It will be good for them to see that. A line of people for tours and beer inside.”
He wasn’t an idiot.
If he was going to promote his business, he wanted it seen at the best possible time.
West hadn’t been a fan of Elias’s business model, but he knew he could make this work.
Supply, demand—and his beer was so damn good that the demand was off the charts. And since you could only buy it off of him, people wanted it even more and were willing to drive hours for it.
Because some were driving a few hours for it, they were spending hundreds of dollars on one order and stocking up.
He had two food trucks here daily that got most of their business from his clients. One owner started the truck solely to just park in his lot.
Much better than opening a cafe to keep food in people while they were in the tasting room.
This was no liability to him at all. He didn’t make a profit and didn’t want to off of them, but they had to have an excellent reputation to be on his property.
“Fierce isn’t the only brewery that knows how to market to their clients,” he said.
“I’m still amazed at how well this place is doing,” Kyle said. “The previous owners never had a shot at doing it like you are.”
West was willing to build a brewery from the ground up. That had been their plan. But this place had been struggling and West gave them an offer they couldn’t refuse even when it wasn’t for sale yet.
Staff that wanted to stay were more than welcome, but they were going to operate his way and his way only.
Half stayed, the rest left.
He was fine with it.
In the past five years, the building had more than tripled in size and Elias still felt he was outgrowing it.
Which of course went back to him wanting to expand to other locations.
After this deal with Fierce, he’d have more backing to make that move.
“They weren’t me,” he said. “Didn’t have my vision nor my brewing ability.”
Kyle laughed. “Not cocky in the least, are you?”
“Nah,” he said, waving his hand. “Nothing like half my siblings.”
Kyle grinned. He rarely talked about his brothers. Least of all West. Though most were aware of who he was related to.
Or they found out at some point.
“You know where to find me when you’re ready to walk around.”
When Kyle left, he scanned his email. Nothing looked pressing, and he got up to find his head brewmaster.
The two of them walked around until he heard his name over the speaker in the building to report up front. It was easier than trying to call or text his cell phone. He ignored it more than answered it. Most times it was because he didn’t hear it.
Others, he didn’t want to be bothered.
He and Kyle reported to the front of the building. There was Mason Fierce and Ben Kelly standing there. It just hit him now that Ben had the same last name as Phoebe. But it was a common last name too.
“Hi,” he said, moving toward Mason with his hand out. “So glad you could come and check the place out.”
“I’ve been looking forward to it,” Mason said. “And this is Ben. He’s my head brewmaster.”
“Kyle Montgomery,” he said, nodding his head to Kyle. “My head brewmaster too. Hope the place is up to your expectations. Not as big as Fierce, but we are getting there.”
He’d been to Fierce before. Did a few tours when he was building his place. Even told Mason who he was and why he kept coming back. Didn’t want the guy to think he was stealing trade secrets.
Mason had been nice enough that they’d talked and met a few times for Elias to ask some questions.
He’d never once offered the collaboration back then. He hadn’t proven himself enough to do it.
When Mason reached out to him with his thoughts, there was no way he was turning it down.
“It’s great,” Mason said. “The line is long out front. Not as long as at my place for tours.”
Elias laughed. “Well, you’ve been in business much longer than me. But I’ll catch you. Location and the time of year play a part in it.”
“I know that,” Mason said. “But I have to admit, your to-go section is phenomenal. Might have to figure that out for us. We have a few slots, but nothing like you’ve got. I don’t even have the room for it and would have to see if I can get some property somewhere else to bring the beer over.”
“I don’t even want to think about that,” Ben said, shaking his head. “That’s on your shoulders.”
“I’ll pass it off to Ella. That’s my sister,” Mason said.
“That’s in her wheelhouse. She and my wife, Jessica.
Anyway, show me around, and let’s get tasting and talking.
You and Kyle can come to check things out next and see where and how this is all going to work.
Logistics and recipes need to be worked out. ”
Which was going to take a lot longer to figure out than anything else, but they were planning on having this beer ready before early summer with a big press release, so they’d have to get moving on the important details soon.
Which also meant he’d be spending some time in Charlotte for it since he was going to have a hand in part of the brewing too.
“I’m positive we are going to come to terms. All the paperwork can go in others’ hands. My brother Braylon is ready to meet with Cade whenever you are.”
“I’m with you on this,” Mason said. “It’s going to work out well. Let’s get down to the things you and I know best and leave the legal bullshit to others.”
He laughed. “That’s my kind of thinking.”
And since he knew how successful Fierce was, he wasn’t worried that anyone would give him the shaft.
Not that he’d ever let that happen.
Elias had too much at stake to not be aware of all the players involved.