Page 5 of Taken With You
A pulse jumped in her throat.
“Cedar Ridge will be completely yours to run.” He considered telling her about Dominic. That might persuade her to stay, but Dominic wasn’t an easy topic to discuss with strangers. “I’ll help you get operations off the ground, but I’ll be flying back and forth to New York. Once the winery is launched, except for an occasional visit, I’ll stay in New York, out of your way altogether except for an occasional drop-by.”
He sensed the churning of her thoughts. She couldn’t be more than a few years younger than him, so he doubted her uncertainty sprang purely from youth. He and Dominic had been making investment and partnership deals since they were barely out of college. But by the academic credentials on her résumé, she’d spent those years in a lab rather than in the business world.
How strange this all must be to her.
She gripped the back of the chair, her knuckles whitening. “How would this partnership work, exactly?”
A familiar heat speared through him, like a shot of good brandy. She was thinking about it.
“It’s a standard deal under an LLC. I’ll have my lawyers draw up a draft.”
“I don’t have a lawyer.” Her skin flushed a deeper pink than the sunburn. She was shy about her inexperience but bold enough to admit it. Amanda Karlson grew more and more intriguing by the minute.
He said, “I’m sure you can find a lawyer in San Francisco to vet the document. I can make recommendations for corporate lawyers, if you’d like.”
She nodded shortly.
“As my partner, you’ll get a weekly draw.”
“I assume that means a salary?”
“You’ll be pulling down twice what you’re making at Windsor.”
She swayed on her feet.
“We’ll work out the relative stakes later,” he said. “You’ll vest in the LLC over an eighteen-month period. We both can get out of the agreement after eighteen months, if this partnership doesn’t work out.”
“All this is non-negotiable?”
He grinned. “Everything is negotiable until the contract is signed. You in?”
Say yes.
She nodded to the chalk bag at his hip. “Is there any chalk left in there?”
He planted his hand on it, raising a faint, glittering cloud. “Why?”
“I’m definitely losing my grip.”
Shedidlook dazed. He liked that look, for reasons he shouldn’t be thinking about.
He said, “Didn’t you expect to get the job when you came here?”
“No.”
“You took a risk. I admire that. Shaking things up.”
“In Northern California, we prefer the ground stable beneath our feet.”
“Does that mean you want the partnership?” She was teetering, he could tell. “The harvest is coming, so I need a decision by end of day.”
Something swift and silvery flickered in those eyes. He tightened his jaw and waited, trying not to be distracted by the pulse beating at the base of her throat or the way she nibbled on her lower lip.
She said, “I’d be crazy to leave my position at Windsor without seeing exactly what I’m getting into. Take me around to the winery barn and caves.”
“Unfortunately, I have a video meeting with my New York office in twenty minutes.” He pushed away from the counter and strode to the back door to pull a ring of keys off a hook. “These will let you into every building on the property, including this cabin.” He dropped the clanking ring into her open palm. “You can assess the potential of the place and come back with your answer.”
