Page 57 of Pour Decisions
I hope my irritation isn’t showing too much. Why the fuck does he do this? Did he come over here because he knew the meeting was happening now? I wouldn’t put it past him.
It almost makes me feel like I’m crazy for believing in June, but I know I’m right. He’s not going to intimidate me into second guessing myself.
“We have to get back to it since Frank and Annie have limited time,” I say.
“Of course.” His jovial smile, which reads fake as fuck to me because I know him, returns. “Lovely meeting y’all.”
Dad disappears again, and I focus on Frank and Annie again.
“Sorry for the interruption,” I say. Bubba senses that I need him and wanders over without me patting my leg.
“It’s fine.” Annie smiles, but it doesn’t fully reach her eyes.
“He was invited but said he couldn’t make it for the whole time,” I say, even though I should shut up.
“I understand,” Frank says, crossing an ankle over his knee. “I worked under my dad for most of my life until I left to start June with Annie. It’s hard, working with family. Not for the faint of heart.”
“Yeah.” I pet Bubba’s side and he curls up on top of my feet. I’d done my research on both Frank and Annie, but I didn’t realize the company that they’d both worked for was his father’s. Maybe his father scrubbed that connection off the internet.
“It got worse when we had a difference of opinion on the future,” Frank adds, giving me a knowing look. In most cases I’d find that familiarity irritating, but I get the sense that he understands me more than I anticipated. “So I left, even though it scared the shit out of me.”
“It looks like it paid off,” I say.
“It did.” He shrugs. “It’s not what I imagined, but ironically, all the time and effort Dad spent on training me is what allowed me to succeed outside of his company. We have a few new ideas that were inspired by my time at my family’s company, if you’d like to hear about them.”
“I’d love to.”
I listen to Frank and Annie talk about their upcoming seasonal gin, but the conversation is tickling the back of my brain the whole time. It starts to take over after they leave, the energy between us completely positive again.
Not once have I considered leaving Stryker Liquors. Ever. My future has been a straight path since the day I learned what our family business even was.
But now that path has a little branch off of it, and I want to know if it’s one I should go down.
CHAPTER TWENTY
KATRINA
Despite the tenseconversation I had with my mom the last time we were together, we’ve smoothed things over text—namely sending each other short videos and things like that. We eat lunch around the same time, so we usually text around now.
Mom: What are your plans for Thanksgiving?
I bite my bottom lip. It’s coming up at the end of next month, and I honestly don’t know. When I lived in Nashville, I usually went to spend it with my dad and stepmom. My ex went along, begrudgingly.
But now that I’m with JD, I don’t know. Running into his mom at Bubba’s birthday was mildly awkward. I met her once before and she was warm and pleasant, though. I don’t think she had any hand in what JD’s dad did, so I could sit through dinner with her.
His dad, though…
I bite the inside of my cheek. Yeah, his dad can get fucked. But we can’t just avoid each other forever. I’d be cutting JD off from a man he sees every day.
I take a deep breath through my nose and let it out. The whole point of us taking it slow means not worrying about this stuff, doesn’t it? But it looks like we’ll have to face this kind of thing sooner rather than later.
Me: I’m not sure. What are your plans?
Mom: Want to come have dinner with me and Dillon? His kids are going to stop by too.
I stab another piece of penne. Dinner with her and her new boyfriend could be a mess, but it might be fine.
Me: I’ll have to double check and let you know
