Chapter 2
two
. . .
beau
My fingers shake as I move the mouse on the computer screen.
Why is it always so cold in this freaking office?
The whole team looks at me weird because I come in wearing a hoodie despite it being a hundred degrees outside.
Still, there's no reason to have it freezing in here. I think it might be time to invest in some hand warmers. Though, I’m sure I’ll get shit for that, too.
“What are you working on?” Cole, one of the guys in the small business department, leans over my shoulder.
“You should probably get glasses if you have to get this close to see my screen.” I push him away. “It’s a proposal for my friend’s winery. Well, it belongs to the family, but she’s in charge of marketing.”
“Why are there two of them? Unless my vision is really that bad and I’m seeing double.”
This isn’t something I want to get into. But, if I don’t tell him, he won’t leave. I swear, if I had the capital, I would have my own firm and I wouldn’t have to deal with nosy coworkers.
“Because everything hinges on a presentation she’s giving this morning. One is if they agree with her, the other is if they don’t. It’s complicated.”
It’s not. It’s actually quite simple. She has an idea and the rest of her family shoots it down. Or, more precisely, her big brother does. Cole doesn’t need to know all that. Besides, it’s not my story to tell, even if I’ve basically been part of the family since I was thirteen.
“Well.” He claps me on the back. “I’m glad I’m not you. Double the work for the same pay.”
“We do what we have to in order to make the client happy.”
Little does he know that if the rest of the Summers family is on board, Starlit Fields has the possibility of being a major client.
“I guess it helps when it’s someone you know on a personal level.”
“Yep.”
Cole takes the hint and turns away from my desk. “I’ll catch you later.”
I wave dismissively behind me. He’s not a bad guy, just driven.
It doesn’t help that he’s the boss’s nephew.
I’ve even gotten drinks with him after work, but he doesn’t know when it’s time to drop a conversation.
Or personal boundaries, for that matter.
I haven’t even introduced him to Piper. Outside of her, I don’t have a ton of friends I go out with on the regular.
She’s been my rock for as long as I can remember, and I’ve never really needed anyone else.
I glance at the time on my phone. She should be done with her presentation by now. The fact she hasn’t sent me a text is worrisome. I don’t want to assume things didn’t go well, but I have a gut feeling. There’s only one way to find out.
Beau
How did the presentation go? Did you knock their socks off?
I keep my phone in my hand expecting a quick response, but it doesn’t come, and I set it down. I guess I was wrong. Maybe they loved it, and Piper is going over all the details.
My focus shifts to the marketing plan on the right side of my screen.
It has bullet points of everything she’s mentioned in passing.
Piper has some great ideas. Some of them I’ve seen social media influencers do, and I think they’d translate well to the winery.
As long as she can make most of the content personal, she’ll be golden.
I continue listing out a few other things we can do regarding social media, but also some ads I’d love to propose we run.
I know they don’t have a big budget, so I have to keep it at a small scale in the beginning.
The social media campaign would help increase the amount of play money we have exponentially.
Excitement flows through me. Her family is finally listening to her. After all these years they see her as more than the baby sister. She’s always been more than that. They’ve never really given her a chance to make a difference in the business side of the winery, but it’s about time they are.
The screen on my phone lights up, and I finish adding another bullet point before I glance down at it.
Piper
Can you come over tonight?
Beau
Sure. Is everything okay?
Piper
Ugh
That one word is all the answer I need. They didn’t like her presentation.
Hell, Pierce may not have given her time to show anything.
I don’t want to hash all that out over text messages.
Mostly because I’m at work. While they don’t have a strict policy on cell phones; they aren’t fans of long personal calls.
I have a feeling if I called her right now, we would be on the phone for an hour, minimum.
Beau
I’ll head straight to your house when I get off work.
I don’t expect her to respond, and I set the phone back down. After saving all the work I just did for the Piper plan, I switch over to the Summers’ plan. While there are some advertising costs involved, it’s pretty bare bones, and I hope they like the idea.
Maybe I’ll talk to them, since they won’t take Piper seriously. Not that I’d have better luck, but it might be worth a shot.
There’s only one thing guaranteed to cheer up Piper, and it’s food.
Hopefully, I can make it before the restaurant gets busy.
The only thing I hate about the commute to Dallas is the traffic.
It’s like people forget how to drive once the clock hits five.
We all want to go home. Driving like an asshole isn’t going to make things any better.
A horn blasts beside me as the person speeds up to get in front of me.
I don’t give them the satisfaction of a return honk.
There’s no point in road rage. Just a little further down the highway and you’ll be home.
It’s the mantra I repeat to myself daily.
Even if I am going to Piper’s today, it’s still home to me.
I spend as much time there as I do at my house.
I watch the person who got in front of me, and I swear they’ll end up causing a wreck. The car weaves in and out of lanes without regard to how close they’re getting to others. It’s not that serious.
Finally, I’m getting closer to Asheville and the traffic lightens up.
I get over and take the ramp to town. If I was smart, I would have called in the order before I left work, but I didn’t.
It takes me a few moments to get downtown, and I park as close to Cavasos, the Mexican restaurant, as I can.
Which is a few blocks away. Clearly, everyone else in town had the same idea because the line is to the door when I pull it open.
Piper is probably wondering where I am, but I don’t want to text her because it’ll ruin the surprise.
Though, at this point, I don’t know how much of a surprise it is.
She knows good and well I always come with food.
It’s part of the best friend agreement. She does the same when she comes to my house.
I don’t even know how this whole tradition got started, but unless we go out to eat, the person visiting brings food.
We both know it’s supposed to be the other way around, but we don’t care.
There’s a small space available in the corner for me to wait, and I lean against the wall trying not to knock off any of the decor. One of the waitstaff sees me and comes over to me.
“Do you want the usual?”
The fact he knows what I usually order is a sign we come here way too often. When the food is good, it’s hard not to.
“Yep.”
“Piper, too?”
“Yes, please.” I take in the people in line in front of me. “I can wait my turn. It’s not a big deal.”
He shrugs and backs away from me. “You aren’t eating in the restaurant. Why should you have to wait? I’ll get the order in. By the time you make it to the stand, it should be ready for you.”
“Thank you.”
He has no idea how much time he’s saved me. There’s definitely no reason to let Piper know I’m running late now. She knows how traffic is. Next time, I’m definitely ordering ahead no matter where I stop for food.
The line moves forward at a snail’s pace. I guess the folks dining in aren’t in any rush to get out. More people are coming in behind me. I haven’t even made it to the stand when the guy from earlier waves me over. That was quick.
I hand him my card to pay for the meals, and he hands me the bag. After a quick signature, I’m on my way to my car. At least I don’t have to stop for booze. Piper always has wine on hand. There’s no point in buying more.
One thing I love about it being summer is its still daylight as I pull into Piper’s driveway at seven o’clock. The unfortunate thing…it’s still hot as hell out here.
After putting the car into park, I grab the food and hurry to her front door.
All I need is the cold air being inside promises me.
Music is blasting through the house as I knock on the door.
It’s not the usual pop music she listens to either.
Rock is reserved for bad days, and based on her text message earlier, today calls for it.
She doesn’t hear me knocking, and I test the door knob to see if it’s unlocked.
Of course it is. No matter how many times I tell her she needs to lock it, she doesn’t.
In her eyes, she lives close enough to the winery and far enough from town for anyone to break in.
I close the door and lock it behind me. If not, there’s a likelihood any of her siblings will walk right in.
It’s not that I have anything against them, but tonight is about cheering up Piper, not bringing her down again.
I make my way through the foyer and make a short detour to the kitchen to set the food on the counter. When I enter the living room, I find exactly what I expect.
Piper is sprawled on the couch. A bottle of wine is open on the coffee table, but I don’t see a glass. Okay, so she’s taking the rejection harder than normal. Plus, she’s always been a bit dramatic.
I grab the remote from the table and turn down the music before setting it back down.
Piper doesn’t move. She’s not asleep. Instead, she’s zoned out and lost in her thoughts.
I hate the way her family makes her feel.
She’s just as much a part of Starlit Fields as them, and they don’t give her a voice.
At least, not unless it benefits them. And by them, I mean mostly Pierce.
He’ll be the boss when their dad retires.
I could lift her up, so I can sit down and hold her.
It’s probably better that I don’t. Every time I console her, it rips a hole in my heart.
Not just because of her family, but also because she’s the person I’ll never get to have as more than a friend.
There are too many years of friendship to ruin it, and I don’t want to lose her being a part of my life.
“Piper,” I whisper. She doesn’t answer, just continues to stare at the ceiling. “I brought food.”
Those three little words are all it takes for her to acknowledge I’m here. She knows I came in. I just wanted to give her time to collect herself. She’ll speak when she’s ready. It’s not often she doesn’t have something to say over the years I’ve known her.
“What did you bring? Hopefully something that goes well with that.” She points toward the bottle on the table.
“You’ll have to get up and find out.” I stand up and reach for her hand.
“Fine,” she groans, but takes my hand. “Just say you hate me like the rest of my family.”
“First off, I could never hate you.” I lift her from the couch and lead her toward the kitchen. “Second of all, it’s kind of mean to lump me in with your siblings when you’re mad at them.”
“I’m sorry. They are irritating, though. My presentation was amazing, but they wouldn’t even take the chance. They are too scared of change. Parker said he agreed with my ideas after the meeting.”
“Did he speak up with Pierce in the room?”
“No.”
“Then his opinion doesn’t matter.”
She sees the bag on the counter and her face lights up. “You got Mexican food?”
“Yep, and it did exactly what I intended.”
She lets go of my hand and moves to grab plates out of the cabinet. “What’s that?”
“Make you happy.”
She sets the plates down and throws her arms around me. “That is why I love you.”
“I love you, too.” As more than a friend, but I’ll never tell her.