Page 32 of Off the Charts
I looked between his eyes, not bothering to hide my blush. “Well thank you for thinking of me. I’ll call you after. Ten is around the corner sir. You need to get going too.”
He kissed his teeth. “This small ass town. The gym three stop signs away,” he teased. He reached in, grabbed my tote, then my hand. “Come on.”
When we reached the door, my nerves set in again. I turned toward him. “What if they say no?”
“Then life will continue, and you’ll walk out these doors being the same amazing woman who walked in there,” Vayce leaned down and pressed a sweet kiss on my lips. I had to blink a few times to come back to my senses. “You are capable of anything, J. You got this.”
He opened the door for me, handed over my bag, then nodded his head as if to saygo ahead. I smiled and slipped past him, mumbling a quick thank you. The door closed behind me and I shook off my feelings as I approached the front counter.
“Hi, I ha?—"
“Jerseiiii! Hey girl!” The owner Etta rounded the corner with her arms extended.
“Hey Etta! Thank you for having me.”
“I am so happy to have you. Come on. Let’s go to my office.”
The winery wasn’t crowded yet because most people were at work. Lunch hour was typically the busiest so by the time we finished, it would be a different story. The further we walked toward the back, the more I smelled the ingredients. I inhaled, already feeling at home. Etta led me to her office where we sat at a roundtable. She took a sip of her tea then smiled.
“Thank you for meeting with me today. I won’t lie, girl. I was shocked seeing your name cross my desk. You can let your hairdown. This will be a conversation, not an interrogation,” she chuckled leaning back in her chair. I released a silent breath and stopped rehearsing the questions in my head. “I saw you had experience at Chasers.” I nodded. “Any other guest or customer service experience?”
My mind shifted to Seven Keys. Shit I had customers that I gave an experience. “Not directly, but I am willing to learn. Wait, do PTA meetings count? Because it’s a couple of parents in there that test me, but I let them ho—women slide.”
Etta chuckled. “Girl, be yourself. I have so many moments I want to call these customers hoes. Especially out here in Edgewynne. Niggas get a big house and forget they from The Grove.”
I tapped my index finger against my thumb, and she did the same. We shared a laugh. “And do.”
“Okay, so do you have any wine or distilling experience at all?”
I smirked, reaching in my tote bag and grabbed a red and white wine. Etta’s eyes grew big. “I do. I’ve been making my own wine since I was a preteen. My grandmother taught me everything I know then I added to it. It’s not just a pastime for me, it’s my passion. I have hundreds of gallons stored up. I don’t visit here to judge. I spend, taste, but most importantly I soak in the fact that if you did it, then so can I. I feel inspired every time I step through that door. You haven’t asked yet, but I would be a great addition because you can taste the care, patience, and love in every pour of my wine. Wine is a language I’ve spent years studying and I want to bring my fluency here. In addition to that, I know what the fuck I am doing, Etta. It’s simple. I hit, never miss. Every part of my wine, I grow and produce. I promise to do the same for Hillside.”
Etta nodded. She stood and walked over to grab two glasses from the rack and set them in front of me. My bottles were stillchilled from being stored in the bag. I didn’t hesitate to pour her a taste of each. Leaning back in my chair, I watched her test the wine against the sides of her glass. Clarity,check. Aroma,check. Smell,check. Etta placed the white wine to her lips. She didn’t make a face, but the click of her tongue completed the most important box. Taste,check.
I smirked. She ate a wafer, tasted the red wine then started laughing.
“Damn Jersei! You tryna show me up or what? The white was a ten out of ten, but that red was oh bitch we need that on the shelves immediately!”
I laughed at her excitement. I was confident in my craft and would go up against the world’s finest behind mine, but it still meant so much coming from someone who was established in this industry. “That means so much to me, Etta. Thank you.”
“Girl, no problem,” she looked at her papers again. “You applied to be a testing room associate?”
“That’s right,” I looked down at the paper like I could read her thoughts.
“Well, I think you sold yourself short, Jersei. I wasn’t looking for experience. I was looking for someone with the heart and someone who is knowledgeable in wine and values my brand as much as I do as the master distiller. By the end of the summer, I am looking to hire a head distiller, and I know you’re the person for this.”
I cleared my throat to stop the tears. This was more than I prayed for, and I wanted to scream. “Are you serious?”
She smiled. “Yes, I’m serious.”
“My gosh, I am honored, Etta. That would be so perfect, and I promise to not disappoint you.”
“I know you won’t. I’ll have your paperwork and start date in your email by the end of the week,” she stood, extendingher hand. I met her halfway. “Welcome to Hillside Winery and Distillery.”
For two days,I’d thanked God so many times that I knew He was ready to throw His right sandal across my head. Thankful wasn’t the word to express the joy in my bones. Being brought on at Hillside knocked me off my feet. I went in with low expectations, but God went higher and allowed Etta to make me second in command. Putting money with my passion would become my favorite recipe. I couldn’t wait to walk through those doors again. Everyone in my life was happy for me, but nobody was more ecstatic than myself. It was never too late to start over, and it was starting to feel like I’d finally flipped to the blank page Vayce and I discussed last week.
I tuned in from my thoughts and turned to him. I knew the answer would be yes from the moment he asked me to come to his cabin. Caution was out of the window. I was listening to the butterflies that swarmed in my body at the mere thought of him. I leaned into the safety I felt when he was near. In such a small amount of time, our connection had grown stronger, and I was finding myself growing more attached with every interaction.
Vayce was in his usual position with one hand on the wheel and the other tugging at his beard. I could tell when he felt my eyes on him because he started to smile.
