my grandfather’s car and then I married Rhys and I always had a company truck, so this is the first car I’ve owned.”
“Congratulations. Good for you.”
“I know. I had to get insurance and everything.”
“Look at you, with the adulting.”
Mackenzie smiled. “One step down, four thousand ninety-seven to go.”
ten
Mackenzie drove east, past the small airport, then turned into a quiet industrial area. At the end of a dead-end road was a Mexican restaurant that had been at the same location for at least twenty-five years. The food was cheap and plentiful, making the place a favorite of high school kids, but it was far enough out of the way that no one she knew should be there at two o’clock on a Thursday. No one except the man she was meeting.
Nader English ran the biggest winery in the state of Washington. His production was measured in millions of gallons per year and the finished product had a worldwide distribution. She’d known him for years, and nearly every time they ran into each other at an industry event, he offered her a job. The offer was accompanied by a chuckle and a comment that Barbara would skin him alive if Mackenzie accepted, but it was always made. Now she wanted to know if it was real, or just cheap talk.
She parked next to the only other vehicle in the parking lot—a late-model full-size F-150 with the winery logo on the side. At least she hadn’t had her Jeep long enough for people to associate it with her, she thought, turning off the engine and wiping her suddenly sweaty hands on her jeans.
This was a mistake, she thought, her stomach twisting. She didn’t want to go to work for Nader or anyone. She wanted to stay right where she was. She loved Bel Après. Only staying might not be an option, not just because of the divorce, but also because the hope of having more—something she could build herself—had taken root deep inside. Maybe she was wishing for the moon, but right now she needed a little wishing in her life.
“In the meantime, there’s no harm in having the conversation,” she whispered to herself as she slid out of the Jeep.
She walked inside. Battered tables and chairs filled the space. There was a counter at one end and a broken jukebox at the other. Nader, a sunburned man in his late fifties, had already claimed a table by the window. He had a beer in one hand and a chip in the other.
“Mackenzie,” he called, waving her over. “What can I get you to drink?”
She sat down and tried to ignore the continued writhing in her stomach. “Nothing for me.”
He frowned. “We’re not having lunch?”
“I wanted to talk but you go ahead.”
“Damned straight, I will,” he said with a grin. “I’ve been looking forward to eating here since you called. At home, Jody’s practically gone vegan.” He shuddered. “I’m here for carnitas tacos with extra cheese. You sure you don’t want anything?”
Their server, an attractive dark-haired woman, appeared.
“Mackenzie,” she said with a smile. “So nice to see you.”
“Hello, Orla. Could I have a Sprite, please?”
“Of course.” Orla looked at Nader. “I heard what you want. How about a couple of chicken taquitos on the side?”
Nader grinned. “You’re my kind of woman. I’ll take ’em.”
Mackenzie and Nader talked about what was going on in the area until her drink was delivered, then he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his big belly.
“You called this meeting.”
And here it was. She drew in a breath. “I’m thinking of making some changes in my career. I love Bel Après and everything I do there, but I’ll never be more than an employee and I’m considering other options.”
“Holy shit,” he said, then gave her a wry smile. “Excuse my French. Are you serious? You’d leave Bel Après and come to work for me?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. I’m at the exploring stage. You’re always offering me a job and I didn’t know if that was real or not.”
“It’s real. It’s twenty times real.” He glanced around and returned his attention to her before lowering his voice. “Mackenzie, I’d hire you in a hot second. Just tell me what you want. Your own label? Done. Complete control? You got it. I’ll give you a percentage. Ten percent of the net. Hell, twenty. We could do great things together. We have vineyards all over. You could pick and choose the best grapes from Washington and Oregon and