Page 131 of Rare Blend
“We’ll be up in a second. And I’ll kick your ass if you breathe one word of this to anyone. Got it?”
“Sheesh, so sensitive.”
“Shane!”
“Alright, alright. Might want to remove that stick up your ass.”
His footsteps fade into the distance and the elevator sounds, but Ethan doesn’t move until he’s absolutely sure we’re alone.
“That little shit is going to tell everyone.”
When we get back up to the party, the ballroom is packed.
We join Ethan’s siblings, parents, and my dad and Jenn for dinner, which is several courses, each with a wine pairing from this season’s release. Shane keeps shooting looks our way, andI try my best to avoid his stare. If he and Ethan didn’t look so alike, I truly would not believe they’re brothers.
“I’m going to go freshen up,” I tell Ethan, rising from my seat.
He nods, mid-conversation with his dad, and gives my hand a light squeeze before I leave. I love that he does that; small little touches to make me feel seen even when his attention is elsewhere.
As I weave through the ballroom, I spot my coworkers, Raquel and Suzy, and give them a wave as I pass. I round the corner toward the ladies’ restroom. The line is so long it’s filtering out the door. Lucky for me, I’ve become quite familiar with the winery and know there’s another set of restrooms downstairs.
The staircase is vacant, and the click of my heels echoes with each step I take. On the first floor, the corporate holiday retreat is in full swing, with loud conversations and laughter mixing with a strange techno sounding jazz song playing in the background. Pieces of conversation come at me, mentions of “AI framework” and “infrastructure strategy.” It’s enough to make my skin crawl. A reminder of my life before coming to Red Mountain.
I notice Elyse standing against the wall, ferociously typing into her phone. She looks up at me, and her eyes shift from stressed to relieved.
“Oh, thank God. A normal person.” She pulls me in for a tight hug. “This crowd is full of pretentious weirdos,” she whispers in my ear, snickering.
“What are you doing down here?”
Her shoulders rise, and she rolls her eyes. “The douchebag president or manager or whatever he is made Bella, my intern, cry, so I came down to smooth things over.”
“Sounds like a sweet guy.” I laugh. “I came down to use the restroom. The one upstairs had a really long line.
She nods. “Good call. This thing is a sausage fest. The ladies’ room should be wide open.”
“Marisa? Marisa Castilla?”
My body freezes.
“It is you,” the man’s voice says. The very familiar man’s voice.
I turn slowly, my chest already sinking, and come face to face with Aaron.
“I thought that was you,” he says with the audacity to smile at me as if we’re old friends.
“Aaron.” My voice rises. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh, you know how Brandon is. He loves a fancy shindig. We’ve had a bunch of turnaround recently, so this is kind of like a get to know each other event.”
My head whips to Elyse. “What’s the name of the company this retreat is for?”
Her eyes stare at me, bulging. “Beaker Innovations.”
This has got to be a joke.
“Is the guy you’ve been dealing with named Brandon Beaker?”
She nods, putting the pieces together.
