Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Rowan
M y wardrobe had two settings: teacher and not-leaving-the-house.
I wasn’t sure what brewery-appropriate outfits consisted of, but for my first day at my new job, I’d decided on a multicolored knit blouse under a cropped blazer with stone-gray slacks. I paired it all with suede booties with chunky heels. It was comfortable but professional and lent me a little confidence as I embarked on this job I had zero experience doing and almost as few ideas about what to expect.
I liked Chloe though, and I trusted Presley. If she thought I could work with her bestie, then I likely could. I hoped the rest of the brewery employees were easy to work with too.
Oh, who was I kidding? I just needed to do whatever was necessary to earn a paycheck. If I ended up enjoying the job, it would be a bonus.
I arrived twenty minutes early. Chloe was there, and I met her husband, Holden. The two of them were impossible not to like.
My first hour plus was spent filling out paperwork and going over HR stuff with Holden.
“Ready for a tour?” Chloe said when I returned to her office.
“I’d love it.” I didn’t know the first thing about how beer was brewed, but as a science geek at heart, I couldn’t wait to learn more about the process.
Chloe stood and came around her desk. “Everything go okay with paperwork?”
“Easy-peasy, except the part about a permanent address. Holden said to use the inn’s address for now and change it when I figure out where I’m going next.”
“I hope you can find something soon. The inn is cozy and comfortable, but I imagine you’d like to get settled.”
“I’ve been fantasizing about having a full-size fridge,” I joked. “Being able to make my own meals will help cut down on expenses.”
“For sure. Which reminds me, lunch is on us today.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean?—”
“It was already planned,” Chloe insisted. “Holden and I are treating you to Henry’s. Have you eaten there before?”
I shook my head. “I can’t wait though. I’ve heard good things about it.”
“I might be biased, considering it has my married name on the sign, but I think you’ll love it. Cash, my brother-in-law, is a truly talented chef.”
“At the risk of sounding like a grade-schooler, I can’t wait for lunch,” I said.
We headed down the hall, past the closed doors of the other offices, to the stairway. On the main floor, I followed Chloe to what she called the brewhouse—the cavernous two-story room with the silver vats.
I met one of the assistant brewers, Gianna. I listened raptly as Chloe explained the brewing process step by step, with Gianna throwing in details along the way.
“This makes my chemistry-loving heart happy,” I told them.
“If nothing else, you’ll have new material to take to your next teaching job,” Chloe said.
“Do you offer tours to the public?” I asked.
“We do on weekends. Right now we don’t have a dedicated tour guide, so several of us alternate. Someday soon we’ll expand. Our tastings at the end are popular and help us sell beer.”
“Have you tasted any of our brews yet?” Gianna asked.
“Not yet,” I admitted.
“Today at lunch we’ll do a flight so you know what we’re selling. If you like beer?”
I laughed. “I like beer. Shouldn’t that be a prerequisite for being hired?”
“Failure on my part,” Chloe said, grinning as she led me out of the brewhouse.
She showed me through the main-floor public room, with the tasting counter and the minikitchen for events. We stopped at the loading dock and took a brief look into the storage area. Then I followed her up the stairs again as she explained her vision for special events. Both floors would be available, as well as the beer patio, which she pointed out through the second-floor windows, in the summer.
“If we use all three, we have a capacity of three hundred guests,” Chloe explained. “Henry’s adds catering options. You can’t beat the view in the spring, summer, and fall.”
“I can picture some beautiful events, even inside in the winter. The atmosphere is homey but classy.”
“That’s exactly what we were going for. Come this way, and I’ll show you your office.”
“I get an office?” I asked.
“We have one empty one. You might have to share it at times, and you’ll spend a lot of time in mine, but you’re welcome to personalize it however you want, within reason.” She pointed to one of the closed doors. “That’s Mateo’s office. He’s on the road more often than he’s here, but you’ll meet him soon. He’s our director of sales and distribution.”
“So he gets Rusty Anchor into restaurants and bars?”
“That’s right. He’s very good at what he does. We’re lucky to have him.” She took out a key chain and unlocked the office on the inside corner. “This is you.”
There was a desk with a computer on it and a table with four chairs but not much else. No windows, but the overhead lights were warm and daylight bright with a dimmer switch.
“It’s everything I’ll need,” I said. I didn’t imagine I’d do much to decorate it. I didn’t have many photos or posters to put on the walls.
“Sorry it’s so bland.” Chloe frowned at it as if she was seeing it for the first time. “It needs colorful paintings. If you don’t have anything you want to bring, you and I can pick some out, and we’ll order them.”
“That sounds great. I don’t think my high-school science classroom materials would’ve fit in.”
She left the door open and led me back toward her office, but she paused at the open door that had previously been closed. “Come meet our director of marketing,” she said, peering into the office with a smile.
I followed her. When I laid eyes on the man rising behind the desk, it was all I could do to keep moving forward.
No. Fucking. Way.
“Chance Cordova, this is Rowan Andrews, our new assistant.”
I felt like I moved in slow motion toward the desk, taking in the so-damn-handsome face of the man I’d ushered in the New Year with. Meeting his gaze, I watched for a glint of recognition from him, but he gave no hint that we’d ever met.
Holy awkward moment.
My heart thundered in my chest as I tried to figure out how to handle this, deciding in a flash to follow his lead.
“Pleased to meet you,” he said as he shook my hand with a firm grip and a benign smile.
“Hello,” I managed, my mouth going dry. I couldn’t get out any pleasantries about how nice it was to “meet” him.
“Welcome to Rusty Anchor.” His eyes were still on me, telling me he did indeed recognize me—my God, I’d hope he would recognize me—but he’d decided not to reveal our connection.
Okay then.
“Thank you,” I said formally. “I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
I only half listened as Chloe told him this was an experiment for both of us, with me planning to return to teaching in the fall and her getting a better idea of how she could best use an assistant. I was too lost in my head.
I need this job. I can’t do anything to screw it up.
Would it really screw it up if Chloe knew I’d met Chance a few nights ago?
I couldn’t make sense of why he was pretending not to know me unless he was embarrassed or regretful. Maybe he was. He had sneaked out while I was asleep.
I’d been neither…until now.
“Holden and I are taking Rowan to Henry’s for lunch,” Chloe said, apparently not noticing any weirdness between him and me. Which was good. “We’d love to have you join us.”
“I have an errand I have to run over lunch,” Chance said, his eyes on Chloe now. “I’ll have to pass today.”
An errand or he didn’t want to have lunch with me?
Hello, complex. I was suddenly developing one.
“Next time,” Chloe said. “We have lots to cover, so we’ll let you get back to work.”
“Have a good first day,” he said to me with a smile. That dimpled smile.
Flustered, I managed to get out, “Thanks. I hope to,” then walked out after Chloe, internally flipping out.