11. Tanner
11
TANNER
I watch her walk away from me, and again regret is a bitter pill to swallow. Why can’t I get it together around her and stop being a jerk? Yes, I want her property. I am a businessman, after all, and I need to try and go after what I want. But I don’t need to be a total asshole. Instead of making nice conversation tonight, I railroaded her again. So much so, she couldn’t wait to get away from me. Yet another thing about her that is different from every other woman I meet.
She left the glass on the bar. Full of our best release, the one that costs upward of fifty dollars per pour, and she didn’t even do more than sniff it. She also left me sitting here. Alone. I should have known better than to approach her in such a public setting. The two of us will become hot gossip before the weekend is over if the looks I’m getting are any inclination.
I glance back at the door she just walked through and crack my neck. She is as maddening as she is fucking beautiful .
“Seems like she got under your skin, boss,” Lacy says as she wipes down the bar and smirks. Lacy is a nice young girl I hired a few months ago. A local girl who went away for college and had to come home once she graduated because her mom is sick. She needed work to pay for medical bills, so I hired her, made up a job for her, and now she does whatever I need her to do. Tonight, it is tending bar. Next week, I’ll probably have her help out at the distillery. I plan to put her marketing degree to good use once Connor gets back to town to manage her.
Grabbing the glass of whiskey, I throw it down, raising my eyebrows at Lacy before walking back to the table.
“So you managed to run a woman off. That is a first,” Hudson says, smirking.
“She’s my new neighbor.” I maneuver my tired body into the booth, positive he has already worked it out.
“Marie’s niece?” he confirms, and his smile gives him away. I already know he has been speaking to Connor. The two of them are as thick as thieves these days.
“Apparently.” I’m being short because I’m pissed off. Pissed off I can’t get this property and pissed off that I want to see her again even more.
“She doesn’t look anything like Marie,” Hudson remarks.
“That is because Marie was old and gray and knew more swear words than a damn dictionary.” I huff, thinking about my old neighbor. She was a strong, capable, tough woman. Traits I think her niece has inherited.
“She looked pretty hot, actually… Not many women around here would wear bright-pink lipstick like that,” Hu dson says, and my narrowed eyes flick to him. He is here temporarily, and I don’t need him looking at her lips. He and his brother Huxley grew up here, but like most kids, they left for college, and now Hudson is a single dad who resides in LA with his young son.
“Ohhhh, I get it.” His smile widens.
“What?” I bite out.
“A pretty thing like that comes to town, who wouldn’t want to have her. Even Mr. Cold Heart over here might defrost a little?” he pushes me, and my frown deepens.
I don't get involved with local women. For a man like me, who likes to be home here in Whispers rather than anywhere else, that has been challenging. Not only is there no one here who piques my interest, but I also don’t like to be town gossip in that way. But Victoria… she’s getting to me. She makes my heart race.
I watched her all night as she laughed with the girls. The way her hair swished around in a ponytail teased me to grab it. Her pink-coated lips had me swallowing harshly. She is fit, young, and full of spirit. The blond bombshell is the complete opposite of me. My eyes were glued to her, taking in every inch of her body from the moment she walked in, the jeans that fit her ass too well, and the smile that looked like she was having too much of a good time in my town.
“Tanner, are you even listening to a damn word I am saying?” Hudson asks, eyeing me suspiciously.
“Not interested,” I tell him, my scowl firmly in place.
“You’re never interested.” Hudson sighs like I am a lost cause.
“They’re only trouble,” I grumble .
“That one looks like a whole lot of trouble. The kind of trouble that I would like to find.”
I notice his eyes following Lacy’s movements around the bar, and I clear my throat so he looks at me.
“When are you going to move past it all? Connor's mom left over three decades ago, and you still won't commit to anyone else. Please tell me it doesn't hurt for that long?” he asks, and I feel bad. Hudson was married to a nice city girl for before she fell ill with cancer and lost her life to it. Like me, he is now a single dad, although his son is young. I sure hope he finds someone.
“Enough about women. Let’s talk about when you are moving back here. We need you to run the medical clinic and be lead doctor at the hospital.” Hudson regularly visits, but it wasn’t until his wife died that he began to spend more and more time here.
“What do you mean? I am working here for a few weeks already.” It's true. He is staying for a month to get a feel for it. To see if it is what he wants before he commits. Our current doctor is nearing retirement, and Hudson is more than qualified for the job.
“You know me, always trying to bring good people to Whispers,” I say with a small smile, happy to have him back home.
“I have a feeling that your neighbor is good people.” Giving me a nod, he raises his eyebrow, almost challenging me to contest that statement.
“Time will tell.”
I flew out of Whispers a few days ago, and my shoulders feel tight as I sit in our New York office boardroom, talking to Connor. The multimillion-dollar view from our office is of gray clouds today. From so high up, the rush and noise of people and cars don’t infiltrate.
“That meeting went well,” Connor says with a proud smile.
We both just met with Valerie Van Cleef and talked through her proposal to make Whiteman’s the exclusive supplier to all her hospitality venues. The deal is good, one of our best ones to date, and Connor is to thank for that. While he has a good financial mind, my skill set lies in whiskey making and brand building. That is why I am still the president and he is my VP. But he knows Whiteman’s will all be his one day.
“Are you coming home soon?” I ask him, because he has been out here for weeks securing this deal. We both like to be in Whispers as much as we can, and I know he is itching to get home. Our team here handles the day-to-day requirements, and Connor and I both take remote meetings from Whispers as much as possible. For him, he still needs to fly here monthly, but for me, a little less so.
“Yeah, the city is getting to be a bit much for me, and I miss the distillery,” he says, sitting in the chair next to me.
I pull at my tie, feeling too constricted now that we’re able to relax. I suit up whenever I come to the city, but I prefer my jeans and shirt.
“The distillery misses you too,” I tell him, grabbing his shoulder. I am proud of my boy, but I do miss him when he is gone.
“Did you find that timber you were after?” Connor asks me. I have been trying to find the perfect grain for a new project. But no matter what I find, I always come back to the used whiskey barrels. There is something about using recycled wood, giving it another life, and keeping the whiskey barrel alive longer that makes me take great pleasure in my hobby.
“Not yet. Might use the stack of old barrels out back,” I tell him, thinking more about it.
“So… how’s Victoria? Heard she was at the bar the other night,” he says, a small grin coming to his face. Hudson must have spoken to him. Bastards are ganging up on me.
“Seems she is pals with Jasmine and Lacy already,” I tell him with a shrug, acting like I don’t really care.
“She fits right in, then. Have you asked her out yet?” He already knows the answer to that question, yet he likes to rile me up.
“Don’t be stupid,” I scoff, not giving him an inch.
“You should!”
“You haven’t even met her. She is infuriating.” That might be a lie. More like, she’s not what I was expecting.
“Yeah, but you are thinking about her. She moved next door, and I would guess you have seen her nearly every day since.”
I think about his words. It hasn’t been every day… I’ve been here in the city for most of this week.
“That's because I want her property.” Even though I have hardly thought about our expansion since she firmly rejected it at the bar.
“Keep telling yourself that, old man,” he says slyly, and I ignore him. “So I’ve got some info on her. ”
“You waited this long to tell me?” I say, my voice a little raised as I look at him sharply.
“Calm down. I didn’t realize it was that important. My financial background check picked up that she rents an apartment close to the Upper East Side,” he starts, and I nod. It is a nice part of the city.
“She did work in advertising, until recently.”
I assume she left that to move to Whispers. Brave of her.
“Boyfriend?” I ask too quickly, and Connor watches me closely.
“That kind of information doesn’t come up in a finance search… but I did see some deposits for a wedding venue on her credit details.” He eyes me suspiciously, and I frown. “I also looked up Marie as well. She had a brother, so that must be the connection.”
“I had no idea. She never said anything about family, and I never met him over the years.”
“He looks like he has a bit of a sketchy past, been bankrupt a few years ago… but didn’t have the same address as Victoria for the past two decades, at least,” he explains, and my eyebrows shoot to my hairline.
“What else?” I ask. This level of digging we don’t normally do, but I am interested in what he found out.
“He doesn’t sound like an upstanding guy. He has a criminal history too. Nothing too bad, but nothing light either. Armed robbery and shoplifting, mostly.”
“So she is estranged from her father, raised by a single mother. Her father’s family left her their property, and now…” I trail off, my thoughts once again becoming consumed with the blond beauty .
“Now, you need to ask her out,” Connor says, and my eyes shoot to his with an exasperated sigh.
“ Now , I need to get to the car; otherwise, I won't get home until late.” I stand, ending this conversation, not needing any more of his input on the topic of my neighbor. “See you at home in a few days?”
“Hopefully earlier,” he confirms, standing and giving me a hug. It’s only ever been the two of us. We are close. I slap him on the shoulder as I walk away and straight to the lift to get to my waiting town car.
I hate people driving me, but here in the city, it makes more sense. Within the hour, I am in my jet with both my tie and my jacket off. I have my helicopter at the Whispers airport to fly me directly to the distillery today instead of driving. We have some VIPs coming in for the weekend. They usually have a private tour with me, a long lunch in our restaurant, and I like to have my chopper there for them for any day trips or quick getaways after they finish their tour, lunch, and tastings. That is why I need to build accommodations. People would love to stay for the weekend, and I just need to start building.
Looking at my watch, I should land midafternoon. I wonder what my new neighbor is up to.