Something in the Wine (44 page)

* * *

Annie closed her car door with more force than necessary, stabbed at the button on her key to lock the car, and marched across the parking lot toward the office building like a soldier about to advance into enemy territory. She swung open the entrance door, mentally repeating the well-rehearsed lines she had practiced every morning on the way to work.

She would knock on Sarah’s door, take a moment to put on her most casual expression, and then she would just ask if she could bring Drew. No big deal.

But as she crossed the lobby and walked toward Sarah’s office, her hands started to shake. She made a detour to the kitchen to fortify herself with a cup of coffee first.

One step into the kitchen, she collided with the object of her mission. She caught herself against the wall with one hand while she helped balance Sarah with the other. “I’m sorry. I didn’t see you.”

“Uff. Don’t worry. No fatalities,” Sarah said.

“What are you doing, standing right in front of the kitchen door?”

“Just trying to put some finishing touches on the decorations for tomorrow.” As this year’s appointed organizer of the office Christmas party, Sarah took her duties much more seriously than Virgil had the year before. The office looked more like Santa’s living room than an accounting business. Sarah leaned up on her tiptoes and tried to fix a sprig of greenery above the door but was too short to reach. “Um ... could you ...?”

Annie took over the task and pinned the branch above the doorway.

“Great.” Sarah smiled up at Annie. “Since you helped me, I’ll let you get away without kissing me.”

“Uh ... what?”

Sarah pointed to the sprig above the door. “Mistletoe.” A large grin spread over her face. “Tradition usually says two people who are beneath it have to kiss.”

Images of the increasingly heated kisses she had shared with Drew flashed through Annie’s mind. Blood rushed to her face.

“Okay, okay, don’t have a stroke. I was just kidding.” Sarah lifted both hands as if Annie were about to shoot her. “And before you start shouting at me again, I’m not implying you’re gay.”

Annie squirmed. She still didn’t like the label, but being with Drew made her gay, didn’t it? “Sarah ...” It was now or never. She sucked in a breath and opened her mouth.

One of their colleagues, Virgil, walked by on his way to the copier. He frowned when he saw the mistletoe. “You’d better take that down, Sarah. That’s a sexual harassment complaint just waiting to happen.”

“It’s just for the party,” Sarah said. “I’ll take it down afterwards.” She directed her attention back at Annie.

Annie paused until Virgil walked away.

“You were saying?” Sarah asked.

The well-rehearsed lines were gone. Annie inhaled deeply and closed her hand around the moonstone pendant. “I know it’s short notice, and I know I said I wouldn’t be bringing anyone to the party, and you might not be able to make last-minute changes, but ...” She sucked a breath into oxygen-starved lungs. “I’d like to bring Drew to the Christmas party.”

There. It was out.

Annie steadied herself with one hand against a wall.

“Drew ... the friend who sent you roses, right?”

Of course Sarah would remember that. Annie nodded. “She owns a vineyard, so she could even bring the wine for the party if you haven’t bought it yet.”

“Sure, bring her.” Sarah gave a casual shrug. “The more, the merrier, and no one said you need to bring your significant other. I guess bringing a friend is okay too, especially one that has good wine.”

Friend.
Sarah was giving her an easy way out. She could bring Drew to the party without having to come out to her bosses and colleagues.

No.
She shook her head at herself.
This isn’t about being gay. It’s about standing up for yourself. And for Drew.
Finally letting go of the moonstone, Annie squared her shoulders. “She’s more than a friend. She’s my ... my girlfriend. My partner.”

Sarah froze. She stared at Annie for so long that Annie started to squirm.

The noises from the copier stopped.

Uh-oh.
Annie realized she had spoken rather loudly.

With a horde of butterflies in her stomach, she turned and discovered that Virgil was staring at her too.

Sarah rushed over and engulfed Annie in a warm hug.

Annie stood stiffly. Slowly, she raised her arms and put her hands on Sarah’s back.

“Wonderful,” Sarah said. “Congratulations.”

Annie pulled back to stare at her.
No teasing? No
“
I told you so”? No questions invading my privacy? Just congratulations?

After a moment, Sarah let go of Annie and studied her. “I take it that’s a rather recent development?”

Not used to discussing her private life—or having one—Annie just nodded.

“Do you want me to keep it quiet for now?” Sarah asked.

With one glance at Virgil, Annie shook her head.
No use. Knowing Virgil and his big mouth, it will be all over the office before lunch anyway.

“Great,” Sarah said. “Then I look forward to meeting Drew at the party tomorrow.”

And so does the rest of the office.
Annie tried to smile but failed miserably.

* * *

“This wasn’t here the last time I met with my tax consultant,” Drew said, pointing to a potted palm tree in the lobby.

A lump formed in Annie’s throat. She had never asked before, but now she needed to know. “Who’s your consultant?”

“Mr. Hargrave.”

Great.
Annie rubbed her forehead.
Virgil.

Drew stopped and turned toward her. “Will dating one of the firm’s clients cause any problems for you?”

“I don’t think so,” Annie said. At least she hoped it wouldn’t be an issue as long as she wasn’t working on Drew’s account. “But please whatever you do,” she lowered her voice to a whisper, “stay away from the mistletoe.”

“Mistletoe?”

Annie pointed upward, to the sprig that dangled over the entrance to the kitchen, where a few of her colleagues were jostling each other to get to the punch bowl.

“Ah.” Drew grinned and shifted the box of wine she was carrying. “Of course. Although the thought of shocking your nerdy colleagues with a hot lesbian kiss is tempting.”

“Oh, you!” Annie pinched Drew’s side but couldn’t help smiling. “Do you want to see my office?” That would give them a minute before they had to face her colleagues, who were mingling in the kitchen, the conference room, and the lobby where a buffet had been set up.

“Sure. Lead the way.”

Annie firmly closed the door behind them and watched Drew look around her office. It was weird to have Drew in her work place. “Nothing spectacular,” Annie said, “but it’s functional.”

Drew trailed her finger over the large computer screen and smiled as she picked up a spaceship-shaped penholder from the desk. “It’s great.” She straightened. “Ready?”

After a deep breath, Annie nodded. “Let’s bring the wine to the kitchen first.” She touched the moonstone pendant around her neck as if it were a good luck charm and led Drew out of her office.

Drew gestured for Annie to go first and then followed her into the kitchen so they wouldn’t be under the mistletoe at the same time.

Virgil looked up from the punch bowl and nudged his wife, who in turn nudged Mrs. Cargill.

Within seconds, everyone in the room was staring at them while pretending to admire the Christmas decorations, ladle the punch into their glasses, or be completely focused on their conversations.

Great.
Annie exchanged a glance with Drew, who seemed entirely unaffected.

“Everyone is staring at us,” Annie whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

“Let them,” Drew said in the same manner. She put down the box of wine and winked at Annie. “At least they’ve got good taste.”

After straightening her shoulders, Annie reached over and took Drew’s hand.

For a moment, Drew’s hand lay frozen within hers; then Drew squeezed her fingers. A bright smile boosted Annie’s confidence and made it easier to greet everyone in the kitchen and then walk to the conference room, where the rest of her colleagues were sitting.

“Hi, Annie.” Jonathan got up from his chair. “I see you’re here alone. Do you want to sit with me?”

Annie’s shoulders tensed.
Is he blind?
She was still holding on to Drew’s hand, but apparently, not bringing a male companion counted as being alone in Jonathan’s book. “No, thank you.”

Before she could say more, Sarah waved from the other end of the long table, almost knocking the food from her boyfriend Gary’s plate.

“Hey! Careful!” Gary pulled his plate out of the way, but Sarah didn’t look in his direction.

She eyed Drew with interest. “And you must be Drew. Why don’t you two sit with us?”

Annie held back a sigh. Sarah would try to wheedle information about their relationship out of Drew.
Well, at least we’ll have an ally sitting with us.

“We’ll get some food first before all the good stuff is gone.” At least that would give them a short reprieve from her colleague’s inquisition. With a nod toward the lobby, she tugged on Drew’s sleeve.

They walked over to the buffet.

Annie handed Drew a plate and took one for herself. She put a mushroom tartlet and a little of the baked feta on her plate. Her mouth watered when she saw the next dish. “Ooh, you have to try these.”

“French fries?”

“Sweet potato fries. We had them at last year’s party too. They’re delicious.” Annie turned and put a generous helping of the fries on Drew’s plate.

Drew sent her a smile. “Thanks, beautiful.” She picked up one of the sweet potato fries and held it out for Annie to eat.

“Um ...” Annie hesitated, aware that her colleagues might be watching her.

“Oh.” Drew looked left and right as if only now remembering where they were. She started to pull her hand back. “Sorry. I know you want to keep a low profile and—”

Quickly, Annie leaned forward and snatched the fry out of Drew’s hand with her teeth.

Drew stared at her.

Annie stared back, surprised at herself. Then she grinned and shrugged.

On the other side of the buffet table, a man cleared his throat.

When Annie looked up, the grin fell off her face.

“Annie.” Virgil nodded at her. His gaze wandered from Annie to the food she had put on Drew’s plate, then up to Drew’s face. A frown carved a deep line between his bushy brows. “Hello, Ms. Corbin. I didn’t know the bosses had invited clients to the party.”

Annie tightened her grip on her plate until she thought the porcelain would shatter. “They didn’t.” She tried to speak clearly even though she still had the sweet potato fry in her mouth. “Drew is here with me.”

“With you?” Virgil’s eyes widened. “Oh. So you’re really ... um ...”

Here we go.
Annie squared her shoulders and stood up straight next to Drew.

“A vegetarian?” Drew said, putting one hand on Annie’s back. “Oh, yes, she has been for years.”

Annie nearly choked on her fry. She started coughing and wheezing until her lungs burned.

“Excuse us, please. Annie needs a glass of water.” Without waiting for a reply, Drew led Annie away from a staring Virgil.

* * *

Two heaping plates of food and two glasses of Drew’s wine later, Annie started to relax.

Drew was entertaining people at their end of the table with a hilarious story about her first grape harvest. She had talked more with some of Annie’s colleagues than Annie had in the six years she had worked with them.

She’s comfortable with people, no matter where she is.
In the past, Annie would have been envious
,
but now she was mainly proud of Drew and how well she got along with others. She reached over and squeezed Drew’s hand under the cover of the table.

Drew looked up from her conversation, smiled, and squeezed back.

Automatically, Annie’s gaze slid down the row of chairs. She froze when she saw Virgil talking to Mr. Cargill.

Virgil pointed to their end of the table and kept gesturing until Mr. Cargill looked over at Annie and Drew too.

Quickly, Annie let go of Drew’s hand.

“What is it?” Drew whispered.

Annie bit her lip. “I think Virgil Hargrave is trying to make trouble for us.”

“Who is he talking to?”

“That’s Mr. Cargill, one of my bosses.” Annie grimaced. “The more conservative one.”

Drew looked at the two men. “Oh, shit, I think he’s coming over.”

The sweet potato fries sat like lead in Annie’s stomach. Every muscle in her body stiffened as she turned to face her approaching boss.