Something in the Wine (45 page)
“Do you want me to—?”
“No,” Annie said. “Let me talk to him.” She couldn’t let Drew fight her battles. If she wanted their relationship to have a chance, she needed to learn to stand up for herself and for Drew—even if her knees were shaking.
“Annie.” Mr. Cargill nodded at Annie, then at Drew. “Ms. ...”
“Corbin,” Drew said.
“Ah. You’re Ben Corbin’s daughter, right?”
Drew nodded.
“We met once when you came into the office with your father, but you probably don’t remember me. It was quite a few years ago. Nice to meet you again, Ms. Corbin.” His voice had that polite tone that Annie had heard a thousand times whenever he talked to clients. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking. “May I talk to you for a moment, Annie?”
Annie exchanged a glance with Drew, trying to find strength in their connection.
Drew looked ready to protest, so Annie forced a smile and nodded. “Of course.”
“Let’s go to the kitchen, where it’s quieter,” Mr. Cargill said.
Annie followed her boss to the punch bowl, where she watched him ladle punch and alcohol-soaked fruit into a glass. With every second, her tension grew. She cleared her throat.
Mr. Cargill looked up. He held out the ladle to her. “Would you like some punch?”
“No, thank you.” She needed to keep a clear head for this conversation.
He replaced the ladle and then looked over his shoulder. “I thought I should tell you without the other associates overhearing.”
A lump formed in Annie’s throat. What was it he couldn’t tell her in front of everyone? Was he about to reprimand her for bringing Drew—a client and a female client at that—to the party? If any of her colleagues were gay, none of them had ever brought his or her partner to an office function.
“Don’t be surprised if you get a little something extra in this month’s paycheck,” Mr. Cargill said.
Annie stared at him.
“Don’t look so surprised.” Mr. Cargill chuckled. “You earned it. You did a really good job on Mr. Dettman’s account.”
That’s it? That’s all he wanted to say?
Annie nearly collapsed as the tension drained from her frame. “Oh, thank you. Thank you so much.” She turned around and wanted to hurry back to Drew.
“Oh, Annie.” Mr. Cargill’s voice made her turn around. “About that friend of yours, Ms. Corbin ...”
Every inch of her braced for an attack, Annie forced herself to look him in the eyes. “She’s my girlfriend,” she said around the lump in her throat.
“I know. Virgil told me.” His gaze ventured to something behind Annie, probably at Virgil who was gloating, happy about the reprimand Annie was about to receive. “For our next party ...”
“Yes?” Annie asked even though she already knew what he was about to say. He would ask her not to bring Drew to an office party again. She gritted her teeth.
Mr. Cargill directed his gaze at Annie. “Do you think she would be interested in supplying the wine on a regular basis? My wife loves the Merlot she brought.”
Supplying the wine? That’s all he wants?
Annie stared at her boss. “Uh. Sure. I’ll ask her.”
“Good.” After a fatherly pat on Annie’s shoulder, he walked away.
Annie stood staring at his retreating back.
Drew is right. I’ve really got to stop making negative assumptions.
Shell-shocked, she stumbled toward the door. She needed a moment to pull herself together and finally convince herself to stop behaving as if lightning would strike her just because she had brought her girlfriend to the office party.
“Annie!” Drew rushed over before Annie could leave the kitchen. She gripped Annie’s shoulders as if she needed to keep her upright. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” Annie smiled. “I’m great, actually.”
Instead of letting go, Drew pulled her closer. “What did he want? He didn’t corner you because you brought me, did he?”
“No. Everyone loves you. And your wine.”
“Everyone?” Drew drawled. “Including you?” She smiled, but the look in her eyes gave the question a deeper meaning.
Annie paused.
Love? It’s much too soon to talk about love. If things don’t work out ...
She shook her head and stopped herself.
No negative assumptions, remember?
Her feelings already ran much deeper than they ever had for Patrick or any other person in her life. She breathed in through her nose and then blew out the breath before she looked into Drew’s eyes. “Well,” she said, a tiny smile curling the corner of her mouth, “you know I love your Cabernet.”
For a moment, Drew just stood and stared at her. Then she grinned. “Just the Cabernet?” Her tone was teasing, but her eyes searched for the true meaning of Annie’s words.
Come on.
Annie gave herself a mental kick.
Trust your gut feeling. Trust Drew.
“No,” she said, “not just the Cabernet.”
“You’re not talking about your fondness for my Merlot, are you?”
Annie shook her head. “I’m talking about my fondness for you.”
A large grin broke out on Drew’s face; then something above them seemed to catch her attention. “Uh-oh.”
“What?”
Drew pointed upward.
Frowning, Annie looked up.
Oh.
Mistletoe dangled from the door frame—and they stood directly beneath it.
Annie’s gaze went from the sprig to Drew’s lips and veered to the buffet, where two of her colleagues stood.
Drew shifted her weight, about to move away from her position under the mistletoe.
Maybe it was the moonstone magic; maybe it was the two glasses of wine, but Annie didn’t care about what her colleagues would think anymore. She grabbed Drew by the lapel of her blazer, pulled her closer, and brushed her lips against Drew’s.
“Wow,” Drew said. She touched her lips. “What’s gotten into you?”
Annie smiled and shrugged. “Must be something in the wine.”
Laughter burst from Drew. She leaned over and kissed Annie’s cheek. “Then let’s hope that, like the wine, whatever it is will get even better with time.”
Not turning to see if her colleagues were watching, Annie reached for Drew’s hand and entwined their fingers.
Hand in hand, they walked back to the table.
About Jae
Jae grew up amidst the vineyards of southern Germany. She spent her childhood with her nose buried in a book, earning her the nickname “professor.” The writing bug bit her at the age of eleven. For the last six years, she has been writing mostly in English.
She works as a psychologist and likes to spend her time reading, playing board games with friends, spending time with her nieces and nephew, and watching way too many crime shows.
Connect with Jae online
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Table of Contents
Coming from Ylva Publishing in spring 2013 - Crossing Bridges
Coming from Ylva Publishing in spring 2013 - Hot Line
Table of Contents