Chapter 27 Wyatt
“Well, damn, it was good you were here!” Sage exclaimed as we trudged back up to the cabin.
“You don’t say.”
I was pissed at Sage. I’d only discovered by accident that one of our storage rooms was malfunctioning.
When the plane landed, she called me frantically to tell me that the liquid inside a few bottles of wine had turned darker—a sure sign the bottle was faulty.
But she hadn’t thought of checking the thermostat to make sure the temperature was constant.
It was the first thing I did when I arrived.
We then spent the entirety of yesterday and today sorting out the bottles one by one. By the end, we’d analyzed fifteen hundred bottles by hand to determine which of them were salvageable, then moved them to one of the other storage rooms. It would take two days to replace the thermostat.
The trio had been helping, too, and all five of us were exhausted. We didn’t sleep at all last night. Except for a few breaks, we all worked straight through until morning, and now I wanted to collapse in my bed and sleep for forty-eight hours.
Once I was back in the cabin, I went to the bedroom and sat on the bed, fully clothed.
I checked my emails quickly to see if something stood out.
I had one from Kinley from yesterday, but when I went to click on it, I accidentally deleted it.
I could retrieve it from trash, but whatever.
Right now, I was too exhausted. I lay down, still dressed, and slept like a damn rock.
The next morning, I woke up feeling fresh.
It was nine o’clock. My flight was in the afternoon.
The team and I didn’t even manage to chat about the reason I’d flown here in the first place—to talk about the permits needed for a B&B.
Not happening now, as I’d given them the rest of the week off.
They deserved it after all we’d done, and I wasn’t the nicest guy to be around these past few days.
We’d lost a ton of inventory, and I was pissed.
I glanced at my phone and noticed I had a voice mail from Chase.
I clicked on it and listened, only to hear “Dude, why didn’t you tell me that Kinley resigned?”
I bolted from the bed and immediately called my brother. “What are you talking about?” I asked him as soon as he answered. “You’re joking, right?”
“No, man.”
“Chase, I’ve been knee-deep in sorting and salvaging bottles for the past two days. What happened?”
“That’s just it. Kinley resigned.”
“Why didn’t I know about this?”
“What do you mean, you didn’t know about it?”
“How did you find out?”
Damn it. So far, we were just answering questions with questions.
“I found out from Hannah, who found out from Kinley. She even double-checked with Martha to make sure. The paperwork is being processed as we speak.”
Sitting back down on the bed, I just blinked for a few seconds. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” My pulse was racing. “It has to be a misunderstanding.”
“No misunderstanding. Hannah was with Kinley last night. The two of them had a merry time with a bottle of wine, and Kinley thinks you’re so pissed at her that you might even want to break up.”
I stared into space. What the hell? This conversation felt so off that I didn’t even know what to think about it.
“This is fucked up,” I replied. First of all, how on earth had Martha signed off on a resignation without talking to me first? “I need some coffee to get my thoughts together before I deal with this. Thanks for the heads-up.”
Kinley thought I wanted to break up. What the hell was happening?
I got up from the bed so quickly that I nearly stumbled into the wall. Fucking hell, this cabin was too small. I had to find other lodgings for when I came to Napa.
After hanging up, I went straight to the kitchen. I called Martha while I made my coffee.
“Good morning, Wyatt,” she answered.
“Who approved Kinley’s resignation?”
“I did,” Martha said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“Why? Why didn’t you let me know?”
“She copied you on the email, Wyatt. Since you didn’t respond, I assumed that you had no problem with it. I mean, that’s typically how we’ve handled these things in the past.”
That was true, of course, but none of the other employees had been Kinley. I couldn’t be mad at Martha for this. But why hadn’t I gotten the email from my woman?
“She copied me on it? I didn’t get—” And then I remembered.
Fuck, I deleted her email!
“I figured you discussed this with her and that you were on the same page. That she should go after... well, you know. The meeting with Mr. Morrison.”
I took a sip of coffee and swallowed hard. “What do you know about that?”
“Oh, come on, Wyatt. Everyone heard him making a fuss as you left the building.”
“I hadn’t realized we’d been so loud.”
“You weren’t that bad, but I have very good hearing, and I happened to be on your floor, so I caught it all.”
I laughed. “You always happen to be in the right place.”
“I know. I have a talent for it, right? So, you didn’t speak to Kinley, then?”
“No, I didn’t, but I’m going to rectify that right away. I’m returning to San Diego today.”
“Keep me in the loop. I’ve already posted the job offer.”
“Take it down and tear up any paperwork. She’s not quitting,” I said matter-of-factly.
“You should talk to Kinley first,” she urged. “I know that you think you can convince people to do what you want all the time, but she seemed decisive about it, though regretful.”
“Take it down, Martha!” I didn’t mean to yell, but the more we spoke, the more worried I got.
“Well, all right, Wyatt. Don’t get snippy.”
As soon as I hung up, I changed my flight back to San Diego to leave as soon as possible. I didn’t want to fucking wait until the afternoon.
Kinley wasn’t going anywhere. I was going to make sure of it.
* * *
I touched down in San Diego shortly after lunch. That’s when I decided to text Kinley.
Wyatt: Hey, I got back early. I spoke to Martha just now. Where are you?
She answered right away.
Kinley: Welcome back! I’m home.
Wyatt: I’m coming over to your place. Want me to bring lunch?
She sent a picture with her response.
Kinley: Can I tempt you with some Caesar salad?
I laughed and then replied.
Wyatt: Sure, why not? I’d love it.
As I got into my car, I scrolled through my deleted emails, then realized I had auto-delete on for that so it wouldn’t take up memory.
I called Martha and asked her to resend it. I got it a few minutes later and read it at a red light. It was short and to the point.
What the hell had she been thinking, just handing in her resignation via email? Why wouldn’t she even want to talk to me about it?
This was insane. I needed to understand if it was just about the job or if this was something more. Did she feel that we weren’t working out? That was so fucking out of the question. Kinley and I were meant to be. Look at me, being all cheesy, but it was true.
I arrived in front of Kinley’s house a short while later. I immediately got out of the car, racing up the short sidewalk to her front door. She opened it before I even knocked.
“Hey. Come on in. Caesar salad awaiting.”
Her tone was playful, but I detected a strain in it as well. She was forcing herself to sound cheerful, and her smile seemed off too.
“Fantastic,” I said, stepping inside. I grabbed Kinley, kissing her like she was my lifeline to breathing. Gently setting her back, I said, “Maybe you can explain over lunch why you quit without even telling me.”
I’d intended to ease her into this, but what the hell? I needed her to tell me this straight, and I didn’t want to beat around the bush.
“Wyatt,” she murmured, looking thoroughly ravished, her eyes focused on the floor. “I explained in the email.”
“Babe, seriously? You didn’t explain jack shit.” I was annoyed at her avoiding the subject. “You just said you’re leaving.”
“You didn’t reply,” she countered. Not argumentatively or accusingly, just as a matter of fact.
“I didn’t mean not too. When I got to the winery, shit hit the fan. We’ve had some issues with the thermostat, and Sage, the trio, and I checked hundreds of bottles for spoilage, then had to move the good ones to the other storage room. The waste is huge.”
“What? Why didn’t you tell me anything about that?”
“Kinley, later!” I huffed, then took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. “Why did you quit? Babe, I need to know.”
She licked her lips and glanced up, crossing her arms over her chest. “You know why I did.”
I could presume, but I wanted Kinley to tell me. “No, I don’t. That’s why I’m asking.”
“You were there. You saw Dean Morrison’s reaction.”
“So what?”
Her shoulders slumped, and she looked at the floor again. “I don’t want that happening again. We both thought it was a onetime thing with that other distributor, but clearly it’s not. I don’t want you to lose business because of me. It would put you in a difficult position.”
“What do you mean?”
“Having to fire me later on.”
“What the actual hell?” Walking up to her, I cupped her face with both hands, held her head up, and looked her straight in the eye.
“If you think I’d fire you over some assholes not wanting to go into business with us, that means you don’t know me at all.
I love you, Kinley. You know I love you.
How on earth could you think I’d put business over you? ”
She bit her lower lip and wrinkled her nose. “You’ve worked on your business for far longer than you’ve known me.”
“So fucking what? I don’t define myself by my work, and I certainly don’t let anyone’s opinion influence me. Nothing, I repeat, nothing would make me question my feelings for you.”
She closed her eyes but didn’t say anything.
My throat closed up. “But you are questioning yours.”
Her eyes flew open, and she took a step back. “What? No, I’m not.”
“Then why did you decide all this without even discussing it with me? Without asking if it’s what I want too?”
She laced her hands in front of her, fiddling with her thumbs. “As I said, I just didn’t want to put you in the position to eventually have to fire me.”
My brain felt like it was about to explode. I swear to God, I just told this woman I would never do that. Why wouldn’t she believe me?
“Talk to me, Kinley, because I can’t understand this.”
She seemed to crumble in front of me. I tried to understand that she’d been through a lot over this past year.
She was used to being treated like shit.
She’d been with a guy who used her for his own gain.
He didn’t put her above his career or his plans to lay the blame on her.
Of course she couldn’t trust that I wasn’t going to do something awful at some point.
I closed the distance between us once again, but I didn’t tilt her head up this time. I simply put a hand on the back of her head, then brought my mouth to her ear.
“I love you, Kinley, and I want us to build our life together, okay? Not separate from each other.”
She jerked her head back slightly, enough so she could glance up at me as I straightened. “But wouldn’t it be easier for you if I just found another job? Then we’d be together, but our professional lives would be separate.”
“No, I don’t fucking like that. You and I are like fireworks together in the bedroom and in that meeting room. Anyone who doesn’t want to work with us can go fuck themselves. I want to continue to build and expand the Sterling empire, but I want to do it with you. No one else.”
She smiled from ear to ear. “Really?”
“Yeah. I told you that you’re the best damn thing that’s happened to me and the company.”
The hope in her eyes was killing me. But now it was up to her...
“Babe, you’ve just got to believe it like I do.”