Chapter 6
“Your wine made it!”Remi punched me in the bicep. “Things are sailing beautifully.” He gestured to the screen, which showed my Bambooze series making it to the next round.
Pride overflowed in me to see my wine on the top tier among other fabulous brands. “Let’s see how they do in the final round.”
My wine would compete with the Piedmont Perilli from Italy and the Tower Estates from Australia. These wealthy families had been in the business long before me. I felt privileged to be among the masters.
Would my mom be proud of me? I wasn’t sure. Her husband was an abusive alcoholic, and her son was a billionaire with a degree in enology, running a successful wine empire.
I’m not my father.
“You’ve now been welcomed into the prestigious wine circle. There’s no doubt someone from The Trogyn will be there.”
In the past, I’d participated with my other brands in the Decanter World Wine Awards, organized by the British magazine Decanter. The Mundus Vini competition in Germany and the AWC Vienna from the European Union were two other prestigious wine awards that had boosted my business.
Though the Medici Medallion Award wasn’t a large competition like the others, it was the most prominent. The competition wasn’t open to anyone. Candidates had to be nominated. So I was surprised when I got a nomination. I was grateful to whoever had submitted my Bambooze series to the award committee. The winning wine would be in the Monte Carlo Hotel and the restaurants around the resort for three months.
This promotion would push my wine empire forward, no doubt. Aside from that, this was an opportunity to network and mingle with the international wealth, where the elite members of The Trogyn dwelled.
“We’re getting close,” I said to Remi.
He nodded. “Which means we need to be extra careful. They’re probably getting too close to us.”
After we’d destroyed several of their moneymaking businesses, they had no choice but to uncover who was behind it all. Remi stopped a sex trafficking ring, while Royce eliminated the human trafficking and drug operations that were linked to the Providence Police Department. Grayson discovered and took over the tunnels that were used to carry out these illegal acts, and Forrest destroyed a large sex-trafficking ring after his girlfriend had fallen victim to it. These operations had been on the news for three days and were never spoken about again.
One clue flared to life: sex trafficking was their biggest moneymaker.
My boys and I had to be careful about our actions. We knew The Trogyn was trying their best to unravel us. We could’ve made unforeseen mistakes along the way. Despite that, we had to keep moving forward.
“Do you know any of them?” I gestured to the group of judges consisting of sommeliers, enologists, wine experts, gastronomes, wine merchants, and journalists.
“No. But I’m sure networking with them would only benefit us.”
We made our way through the crowds toward the judges. I shook hands with them, thanking them for the opportunity. I discovered the next competition would have a new set of judges.
“Remington!” A man in a white suit waved him over to a table with other men. One of them was Prince Allard, the adopted son of Prince Garnier, who was the current ruler of Monaco, the sovereign city-state on the French Riviera.
As I scanned the room, I studied the wealthy and powerful people in attendance. Some gathered at tables, drinking wine and eating fancy appetizers, while others mingled. Were any of these people elite members of the crime organization? What if The Trogyn launched an unexpected attack? Was I prepared for that kind of destruction? My body tensed at the possibility that everything I’d worked hard for could crumble.
A man in a dark suit was also surveying the crowd. He stood in the corner by a tall floral vase. Our eyes connected, and he offered me a slight nod before making his way to the wine display. Two men approached him, and they chatted.
“Congratulations.” Calvin approached me, offering a smile I didn’t trust.
It was hard to trust anyone in this competitive arena, especially your competitor in wine and women. My caution about him increased with his friendliness toward Vivian.I knew little about him, but that would change.
I didn’t like the fact that he appeared close to her. Like he knew her well. Did they have a history? I didn’t like that thought and crushed it.
Something about Vivian made me want to unravel her. The more she pushed me away, the more I was intrigued. Arrow Holt didn’t give up that easily. Persistence and determination were my strategies to success—to survival.
Vivianwas the first woman to fascinate me this much. Most men would have understood and respected her rejection and moved on. But I wasn’t most men.Something about her called to me, and I had to find out what that was.
Maybe Calvin had information for me.
“Congratulations to you as well. The Tai Lok wine is fabulous.”
“Thank you, but it didn’t make the second round this year.” He tucked his hands in his pant pockets. “We’ll try again next year.”
Curiosity thrummed in me, and the words came out before I had time to craft a more diplomatic question.“So, how do you know Vivian?”
Calvin looked at me for a moment. “We have a history that goes way back.” A smirk slid onto his face. “How do you know Vivian?”
I didn’t like the way he said her name. It was too intimate.
What the hell was wrong with me? Since when had I been jealous of a woman like this? We hadn’t been on a date. She wasn’t mine. Hell, I didn’t even know if she was attracted to me.
She declined your date.
That didn’t matter. Maybe she’d been busy. Something was seriously wrong with me for all the excuses I’d been making.
Calvin’s smirk told me he suspected there was something between Vivian and me. Why not let him believe it?
“We have common friends, and we have a history.” It wasn’t a lie. There was a history of me dreaming about her and asking her on dates. A history of me seeing her at my friends’ houses.
History could be defined in many ways, and he hadn’t been specific.
Calvin nodded and changed the subject.“Why bamboo wine? You have success with your other brands. Sacred Sins is an exceptional Merlot, and Sensual Enigma is a delicious Chardonnay.”
“Success comes with exploration.”
“You’re right. Success comes when you venture out to discover new things.”
A man with a dragon tattoo on his neck approached. “Calvin, you need to resolve something.”
Calvin wasn’t just a wine representative. Who was he?
He excused himself as Remi came over to me. “Have you heard about the Reimann family?”
“One of the wealthiest families in Europe. They own most of the banks. But I don’t know what they look like.” I glanced around the crowd to see if I could spot one of them.
“They’re quadrillionaires,” Remi said. “Rex Reimann is CEO of Reimann Corporation. He just left with some wine.”
“What are they doing at a small wine competition?”
“Probably making business deals.” Remi jerked his chin toward a table with city officials. “You missed out on Governor Fenner.”
“His reelection is coming up, and he’s trying to rally his supporters.”
There were too many powerful people at tonight’s event. It was hard to tell who was there for wine and who had a separate agenda.
But then again, Remi and I were there for wine and a separate agenda.
With my wine moving into the next round, I could relax a bit.
“Your demo for Level Five looks good. When do we get to see the rest of it?” Remi asked.
“Soon. Now that round one is over, I’ll have more time to work on it.”
My game took the players to various countries, destroying their leaders to gain control of that territory. Though it had all the components of a compelling game full of intrigue and excitement, there was one missing piece I couldn’t place. My brain needed a rest before I could jump back in.
“Take your time. Rushing it won’t help. It didn’t for me.” Remi grabbed a glass of wine from the host and sipped. “Right now, we’re all focusing on uncovering members of The Trogyn. The game is still a second priority.”
He was right. If that crime organization ended us, there wouldn’t be any game. My thoughts wandered back to Vivian and Calvin.
My evening wasn’t going to end when I got home. I had some investigating to do.