Chapter Ten
Ridley
" R idley." Alexa Warner looks up from her desk as soon as I step into her cramped office, her blue eyes narrowing on me. "Please do not tell me that you're in some kind of trouble. My dad will be pissed."
"No, I'm good."
"Thank God." She grins, leaning back in her seat with a pen still dangling between her fingers. "He says your dad and uncles caused him enough problems when they were younger."
"Why am I not surprised?" I ask, shaking my head. Her dad, Brent, was a cop in Santa Maria for most of my life. He spent a lot of time at the vineyard with my dad and uncles before he retired to the beach a few years ago.
Alexa laughs quietly, motioning at a chair pulled up across from her desk. She seems to realize she's still got the pen in her hand because she grimaces before stuffing it into an overflowing cup of pens beside her monitor. "If you aren't in trouble, what do you need?"
"A job."
She blinks at me, taken aback. "Uh…did you get a law degree I wasn't aware of?"
"I'm not here about me."
"Yeah, I'm not following," Alexa says. "Who needs a job?"
I run a hand through my hair, muttering a curse. "Her name is Paisley Molina."
"Paisley?" The confusion clears from her expression, replaced with a smile. "Lucy's friend from Stanford, right?"
"Yeah. You know her?"
She nods, her blonde hair bouncing around her shoulders. "Of course. We've met a few times. She's looking for a job?"
"She just passed the bar."
"Nice. And she wants to work here?" Alexa quirks a brow. "She knows the pay is shit, the hours are long, and there are no thanks, right?"
"Oh, she knows. Her father is a judge, and her grandfather is on the state's Supreme Court."
"Shit." Alexa's eyes widen. "She's related to Justice Molina?"
"Yep."
"She could be working anywhere. Why the hell does she want to work here?"
"She doesn't…exactly."
Alexa's eyes narrow. "Explain."
I mutter another curse, shifting in my chair. "She was offered a position at Crudup."
"Jesus Christ. That's the biggest criminal defense firm in the state, Ridley."
"I know, but she doesn't want to work for a criminal defense firm. She wants to follow the same path her father and grandfather took, and they both started out in the DA's office." I pause. "And I need her here."
"Ah." Alexa's lips curve. "So it's like that, huh?"
I nod, not denying it. Because, yeah, it is like that. I'll beg, borrow, and steal if that's what I have to do to give Paisley a reason to stay. She doesn't need that job in Los Angeles. She's needed right here. This is where she belongs.
But I can't fucking ask her to stay for me when it's her dreams on the line.
That's a dick move. She's already given up and lost so goddamn much.
I won't let her sacrifice something she's worked so hard for just to be with me.
What kind of man does that shit? So…I'm here, asking Alexa to do me the biggest favor of my life and hire her, instead.
And if Alexa won't hire her? Well, I'll cross that bridge if I come to it.
"As much as I'd love to help you, you know I don't have the authority to hire anyone, Ridley," Alex says softly.
I stare at her for a long, silent moment, not entirely surprised by her answer. Honestly, I expected it. "Rumor has it that the DA isn't running for reelection next year," I murmur. "And rumor also has it that you're the one everyone expects to replace him."
"You hear a lot of rumors out there on the vineyard."
"Are they accurate?"
"Maybe."
"Maybe I'd be interested in seeing you get elected."
A bark of laughter erupts from her lips. "Are you trying to bribe me into helping you get her hired on here?"
"No." Hell yes. But am I dumb enough to admit it?
Fuck no. "I'm just pointing out that you could use someone like Paisley on your team, especially if you're going to be running next year.
She's damn good at what she does, and she's a Molina.
This is Santa Barbara County. How often do you think someone like her comes along, willing to work for a pittance just to be here when a firm like Crudup is offering a king's ransom? "
Alexa eyes me critically for a long moment before sighing. "Not often," she admits. "Most people would kill to work for Crudup. Hell, I would have killed to work for Crudup. But I don't have the pull you think I do. I can make suggestions, but it's not up to me. It's up to Don. He's still the DA."
"Then convince Don that you need her on your team."
"Have you met Don?" She makes a face at me. "Because there is no convincing him of anything he hasn't already decided, Ridley."
"Then try harder. We've been friends for a long time, and I've never asked for anything, Lex. I'm asking now. I need her here. It's where she belongs."
Alexa cocks her head to the side. "She means that much to you, huh?"
"She's my world," I say simply.
Alexa stares at me for a long minute and then sighs. "I'm not making any promises. Don does what Don wants, and he promised our open spot to the intern. But…I'll float her name by him and see what I can do."
"Thank you."
Alexa grimaces. "Don't thank me yet, Ridley. I just said I'm not making any promises. If you've ever met Don, you know damn well that you're asking for a miracle here."
"Maybe a miracle is all I've got." I haul myself to my feet. "And I've recently realized that I'm a hopeful motherfucker."
"Well…that's different. Last time I saw you, you were all woe is me, the world sucks, and fuck you very much."
"Shit changed."
"Clearly." Alexa snorts. "She's good for you."
"Yeah, she is," I say softly. She's the best thing for me.
"What's the plan if she doesn't get hired on?"
"Los Angeles," I say softly.
"You're going to let her go?"
Am I?
"Fuck no. Not without me."
"Didn't you just get back from Italy?"
"I go where she goes," I say, shrugging.
I fucked up and lost her once. I won't make that mistake again.
If her career takes her to Los Angeles, it takes us to Los Angeles.
I hope like hell that doesn't happen because we both know this is where she wants to be.
But I won't ask her to sacrifice everything she's worked so hard for when she's already lost more than she ever should have. I owe her that much.
Hell, I owe her everything.
" W e need a new harvester," Bastian growls, staring balefully at the expensive piece of machinery we just bought two years ago. "This goddamn thing never works."
"You say that every time it breaks down."
"Yeah, because the motherfucker is always breaking down." Bastian nudges it with the toe of his expensive shoe.
"Just move out of the way," Jax grumbles, elbowing him aside. "It's probably the same fucking thing as last time."
"Which cost a fortune to fix."
"It certainly cost us less than a whole new harvester," Jax retorts, fidgeting around with the belts.
"Do they always bitch like this?" I mutter to Oliver.
"Only every damn time something breaks," he snorts. "Shit breaks, and they bicker about it like an old married couple." His lips quirk. "Reminds me of Dad and Uncle Eli when we were kids, honestly."
I chuckle because he's not wrong. They do sound like Dad and Uncle Eli did when we were kids.
Bastian has no patience, a lot like Dad did back then.
If things aren't working, his whole life is off kilter.
And Jax loves to needle him about it just because he can, just like Uncle Eli used to do.
Jax and Bastian are complete fucking opposites, but they've always been thick as thieves.
"How'd your meeting go today?" my little brother asks, looking at me out of the corner of his eye while our cousins continue bickering about the harvester.
"Went okay."
"You going to tell me anything more than that? You didn't even tell anyone where you were going, just that you had a meeting," he says.
"I went to see Alexa Warner."
Bastian hears me and looks up, his brows furrowed. "Why'd you need to see Alexa?"
"Paisley has a job offer in Los Angeles. I tried to convince Alexa to hire her instead."
"How'd it go?" Bastian sounds genuinely curious. He's been weird as fuck lately. He's either cranky as hell or…far less cranky than usual. Almost human, even. I don't know what's up with him and Constance, but whatever it is has him acting all kinds of different.
I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. But…he seems less rigid and uptight. Hell, maybe his crabby ass is finally getting laid.
"She couldn't make any promises."
"Fuck," my cousin grunts, his lips pursing. "You're leaving, aren't you?"
I shrug, not really sure how this is going to play out. I hope like hell that Alexa comes through, and we get to stay right here. But if she doesn't? Then yeah, I'm leaving.
"Does Paisley know what you're planning?" Jax asks, glancing up from the harvester.
"Not yet."
"So…you haven't told her that you're planning to move? That's bold."
I scowl at Jax. "I fully intend to tell her when the time is right. I just don't want to fuck it up and say anything too soon."
"Yeah, well, you better tell her sooner rather than later," Oliver growls at me. "She deserves to know where your head is at in this."
"I know," I say, frowning at him. "I just want to make sure everything is in order first."
"Yeah?" He quirks a brow at me. "And how'd that work out for you last time?"
"I…" Shit. He's got me there. "You think I should tell her now? What if things don't work out here?"
"Then you deal with it together, you idiot," Bastian sighs, shaking his head. "But Oliver is right. Last time you kept her in the dark, you ended up in Italy for three goddamn years. I actually need you here, so can we maybe not do that again, please?"
"I hate to break it to you, but it might be too late," Jax mutters, his eyes locked on something behind us. "Because I'm pretty sure she just heard plenty. She's standing behind you."