Grapes of Wrath (Billionaires' Secrets Book 2) Page 13

  She managed to keep her composure despite the ache of sadness creeping over her. “The buds are forming.”

  Amado took one of the tight furls between his thumb and finger. “Yes, this will be their first year in production.”

  “Soon they’ll be ready to make more liquid gold from Tierra de Oro.” She forced a casual smile.

  Amado shot her a crooked smile. “We should work that into our PR.”

  “I suspect Hardcastle Enterprises can help you with that.” Phew. Back to business. Much better than talking about who Amado did or didn’t love.

  But funny how she just spoke about her employer in the third person. She would normally have said “we” will help you.

  Her stomach tightened at the prospect of Tarrant Hardcastle getting his fingers in Amado’s carefully tended family business. He was Amado’s biological father, but still...

  “How do you feel about selling your wines through Hardcastle?”

  He stroked the horse’s neck. “I like it. I’m ready for change. I think it’s time to take Tierra De Oro to the next level.”

  She nodded. Shoved down the rush of misgivings that rose through her. “Great.”

  Back at the house, she picked up the phone and called New York. Amado was keen to do business with Hardcastle, and it was her job to make it happen, regardless of her personal feelings. She managed to describe her progress in convincing Amado to update the bodega’s image.

  “Marvelous!” Tarrant’s exuberance reverberated down the phone line. “I’ll have Dino come up with some sketches. Perhaps we can have them printed by next week. Make sure none of their old labels go on any more bottles.”

  Susannah winced. All she’d done was sketch the idea verbally, and Tarrant was ready to take it to the presses.

  But that’s how things worked at Hardcastle Enterprises. No doubt why he’d been so successful, too. No time wasted pussyfooting around and trying to make everyone else happy, when only one person counted: Tarrant.

  She cleared her throat. “So, how many cases do you want me to bring over? Last year they produced about four thousand, and this year should be more, as long as the harvest goes well.”

  Silence. “Buy them all.”

  “What?”

  “All. Every case. Every single bottle. And no fussing about consignments and percentages. We’ll buy them outright at the price he agrees to.”

  Susannah’s mouth dropped open. Tarrant wanted Amado to write his own ticket.

  But he also wanted him to be completely in Hardcastle Enterprises’ pocket.

  “He has existing customers. An established distribution network here in South America.”

  And a father—or grandfather—who hates your guts.

  What would happen if this sparked a head-to-head confrontation between Amado and Ignacio over control of the estate?

  A dismissive snort echoed through the earpiece. “We’ll put Tierra de Oro vineyard on the map. Next year he’ll be able to charge double or triple for each bottle. Tierra de Oro will be minting money and I don’t think he’ll have any complaints.”

  Susannah winced. She could see Tarrant’s perspective. No doubt he liked the idea of being the benevolent father he hadn’t bothered to be earlier.

  As a business arrangement though, it was patronizing and she wasn’t even sure Amado would agree. He was clearly proud of the customer base he’d developed over the last decade. He’d traveled around, hand-selling the wine, case by case, to restaurants and hotels, building warm personal relationships with many of his customers. The stories he’d told her had made her fall even more in love with him.

  Her thoughts screeched to a halt.

  She was not in love with him. It was one thing to have that thought during the bedazzlement of lovemaking, quite another to have it in the scorching light of day. Especially since he’d come right out and affirmed that she was just another tourist, to him.

  Her heart squeezed.

  “Susannah? You still there?”

  “Um, okay. I’ll talk to him.”

  “Based on your impressive performance so far, I’m sure you’ll convince him.”

  Susannah felt like a sneak for going behind Amado’s back. She even crept through the vegetable gardens and around the pastures, to avoid being seen on the road.

  Amado might not care about her, but she cared about him. She also cared about Tierra de Oro and the people who worked there. She couldn’t risk encouraging Amado into a deal that might somehow destroy the whole vineyard.

  Ignacio was behind their steel-and-glass house, pruning geraniums in some clay pots on the patio. Clara spotted her through a window and waved.

  A rush of relief rose through Susannah as she saw them together in the same space. Well, almost. Hopefully their relationship was on the road to repair.

  Ignacio was a big man, stocky and well-built. Dressed in a finely checked shirt with khaki pants and leather boots, he looked every bit the gentleman rancher he was.

  She moved as close as she dared and cleared her throat. He swung around and saw her.

  Her heart pounded beneath her dress as she cleared her throat. “I know you don’t want me here. In a lot of ways I wish I could turn the clock back to before my first trip and change everything back to the way it was.”

  She swallowed, aware of a painful truth. She wouldn’t willingly give up her precious time with Amado for anything.

  Ignacio grunted, still snipping away at a plant.

  “But I can’t. I came as an employee, doing a job that I enjoy very much, bringing great wines to people’s tables. I’m here today because I, Susannah Clarke, take personal responsibility in what I do.” Her hands trembled. She wasn’t going to hide behind the shimmering steel barricades of Hardcastle Enterprises anymore. Something in her tone of voice made Ignacio look up.

  She held his gaze. “My employer, Tarrant Hardcastle, would like to buy all of this year’s wine from Tierra de Oro.”

  Ignacio put down his shears and rose to his full height. His mouth tightened into a flat line, but the look in his eyes made her chest constrict.

  “It would be a financial boon for the vineyard, as he has instructed me to let Amado set his own price.” She held her head high, wanting to let him know that she wasn’t trying to cheat them.

  “All the wine? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

  “He has deep pockets.”

  “He wants to control my son.” His jaw stiffened. “His son.”

  She couldn’t argue. Tarrant was not above trying to buy affection, or coerce it, if necessary.

  “If Amado does this...” He shook his head. Strong emotion traversed the weathered planes of his face. He pressed a fist to his heart.

  Susannah inhaled a shaky breath. “I feel strange asking this. Totally out of place, in fact, but does Amado even have the right to do this?”

  He paused. Stared at her, his blue eyes distant. “Do you mean, is it his vineyard, or mine?”

  She nodded.

  He rubbed a hand over his face. “Legally, of course, on paper, the estancia is still mine and has been since my father died and left it to me.” His broad chest rose as he inhaled deeply. “But the bodega and all its wine are truly Amado’s. If not on paper, then here.” He tapped his chest with his fist.

  “He brought the vineyard to life, figured out how to finance the winery, chased down the customers, encouraged the tourists. He grew it from the seed of his imagination into what you see today.”

  Sorrow flickered in his eyes as he looked at her. “I’m proud of him for his accomplishments and I would never try to take that away from him. In that sense, yes, he has every right to do with his wine as he wishes.”

  Susannah heaved a sigh of relief. At least this deal-with-the-devil wouldn’t result in Amado getting kicked off the estate. She couldn’t have lived with herself if she’d been a part of that.

  But that wasn’t the end of it. She also couldn’t live with herself if the deal caused a permanent rift in
the family. She cleared her throat. “Um, how do you feel about the idea?”

  He paused for a moment, eyes wide. Then he let out a coarse burst of laughter that made her take a step back. “How do I feel?” His chest heaved. “What kind of pop psychology question is that? How do I feel that my son chooses to hand over his life’s work to the son-of-a-bitch who gave him life by accident, and turn his back on the man who raised him?”

  Red-faced and still pounding his fist to his chest, the older man looked like he was about to have a heart attack. “But to answer your carefully put question, no, I won’t assert my right to control the vineyard and cast him out. Even if he no longer considers me his father, I will always consider Amado to be my son.”

  The door opened and Clara stepped out onto the patio. Tears shone in Ignacio’s eyes as he stared at Susannah. She had a feeling he’d just arrived at this revelation himself. His anger and resentment at the situation had crystallized down to its core—his deep and enduring love for Amado.

  Clara laid a hand on his sleeve. He took her hand and held it in his. “Amado was a gift to me. He arrived unexpectedly, and as the result of a tragedy, but he brought joy I could never have imagined. And he brought me my beautiful and wonderful wife, Clara.”

  Ignacio bent his head and kissed her hand. Two fat tears rolled down Clara’s cheeks, which flushed pink. He brushed one away with a leathery thumb. “She married an angry widower who’d lost his child. Her demanding boss, no less. What kind of person takes a chance like that?” He shook his head, staring at her in wonder. “Her kind and selfless gift—of her own life—transformed a disaster into the sweetest joy a man can experience in his lifetime.” He pressed his hands to her cheeks and kissed her. Clara blinked, her ample chest heaving with unsteady breaths.

  Susannah’s stomach trembled at the raw display of emotion and affection by these two reserved people. She found herself backing away, unworthy to witness this profound moment in their lives.

  Maybe one day she’d be worthy of such deep affection.

  She cursed herself for her foolish, selfish thought. “Thank you,” she managed. “I’ll be going now.”

  Susannah walked slowly back across the property to the house. Theoretically, everything could work out fine. Amado would make a deal with Tarrant, the value of his wines would rise, he’d make lots of money, Ignacio would be prickly at first but eventually get used to the idea and...

  She couldn’t do it.

  Once Hardcastle Enterprises got their fingers into Tierra de Oro, it would change forever. They wouldn’t even mean to change it, but they would. Demands for increased production, greater efficiency, cost reduction.

  Once Amado kissed-off his old customers, he’d become dependent on Hardcastle. Subject to the whims of a director in a boardroom, just as she was herself.

  Tierra de Oro was more than a vineyard. As Ignacio had acknowledged, it was Amado’s whole life, planned and planted and cherished into lush fruition. This new alliance—even if it was with his own blood—could stunt and warp the growth and change everything.

  And she didn’t want any part of that. Even if it meant quitting the job she loved.

  She turned to look up at the mountains and pulled her phone from her pocket.

  “What do you mean you can’t do it?” Tarrant’s voice rose over the phone. “My son doesn’t want to sell his wines to me?” His voice was tight.

  “He does. But I don’t think he should. I don’t think it’s in the best interests of the estate. They have a diverse client base and deep roots in the community.” Her voice shook.

  “And who are you to have an opinion?” Anger and arrogance colored his voice.

  “I may not be important, but I set this in motion, and I feel responsible. I won’t be a party to it.” She swallowed hard. Here goes nothing. “I’d like to offer my resignation.”

  “Accepted.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Susannah tracked Amado down in one of the vineyards near the house. She saw him first, and she couldn’t help pausing for a moment. He looked so handsome, the tanned skin of his cheeks warmed by the late afternoon sun, hair and shirt collar tossing in the breeze.

  She’d miss him very much. Now she no longer worked for Hardcastle, she’d have no reason to come back here. Ever.

  “Amado.”

  He turned, and a quick smile lit his face.

  Her heart thundered against her ribs as she picked her way along a row of vines and he walked toward her at the same time.

  A romantic image, but there was no romance here. He’d have every reason to hate her for going against his wishes. For angering his newfound father.

  She’d tried to find a smooth path. An easy way out. But sometimes there just wasn’t one, no matter how hard you looked for it. Maybe she’d hoped her former boss would beg her to stay. That he’d ask her to come up with an equitable compromise that would benefit both Hardcastle Enterprises and the vineyard.

  But he hadn’t.

  She stopped a few feet from him and blurted out the truth. “Tarrant wants to buy your entire output.”

  Amado stopped walking. It was late in the day and the sun hung low in the sky, at the high mountain peaks. He narrowed his eyes against the harsh afternoon light. “Why?”

  She looked straight at him. “I suppose he wants to support you, or to own you. Or something in between. Maybe it’s his warped way of showing he cares.”

  His frown deepened. “The price?”

  “He said you should set it.” She straightened her shoulders. “I told him I wouldn’t be any part of it.”

  “Why?” The word exploded from his mouth.

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea, for the estate, or for you.”

  “It’s not a good idea to set our own price for wine that will find its way onto the tables of connoisseurs in the U.S. who will raise the value of our brand?” He blew out an angry breath. “Do you think our wines aren’t ready? That they’re not superior enough?”

  “I think your wines could go anywhere, and I’m confident that they will. But I don’t think you should let Hardcastle Enterprises take over your distribution. It’s a tightly run business, with concrete and aggressive business goals. Soon, they’d make demands that you might not want to meet.”

  “Or that you don’t think we could meet.”

  “I don’t have any investment either way. I quit my job.” The words drifted out of her mouth and hung in the air.

  “You what?”

  “I’ve done enough damage here in my role as a representative of Hardcastle Enterprises. Yes, I loved my work, but I couldn’t look myself in the mirror if I encouraged you to take this offer, and I couldn’t take my paycheck if I didn’t.”

  He stared at her, angry and accusatory. Even then her body responded, chest swelling and nipples tightening.

  It didn’t matter. Soon she’d be gone and her body would return to its normal state.

  Pain pierced her heart at the prospect of leaving for good. But she had no choice. At least she’d leave with her conscience intact, and at the end of the day, she’d found that’s what mattered to her most.

  Amado’s stern gaze had drifted lower over the simple dress she’d chosen for travel.

  She tried to ignore the way her skin heated. She couldn’t control her physical reaction to him. She’d learned to accept that. She was only human.

  The silence between them finally forced words to her tongue. “Selling the estate’s output to Tarrant would hurt your father terribly. I know you’re angry with him now for what he did to Valentina, but do you really want to drive a permanent wedge between you? You all live here and love this place, and it’s better to embrace the future as a family.”

  Amado’s jaw stiffened. “As you forced me to learn, Tarrant Hardcastle is my father.”

  “In a purely technical sense, yes.”

  “And you’ve decided—in your infinite wisdom—that’s how it should remain.”

  “I think it would
be good for you to grow closer to Tarrant, but not at the expense of Tierra de Oro, or your relationship with Ignacio.”

  “You know everything, don’t you?”

  His hard stare threw down a challenge and she shivered under its force. “I thought I knew a lot more than I did. I thought I could do my job and make my boss happy then get back to doing the work I enjoy.”

  She drew in a shaky breath. “I can’t. You can speak to Tarrant directly and make any kind of deal you want, but I won’t be a party to it.”

  He tipped his head. Pale gold sunlight played off the planes of his high cheekbones. “So easy to wash your hands of us, is it? No doubt you’re ready to continue your travels. To visit somewhere with less emotional drama to deal with.”

  He took a step toward her. “Somewhere you have more distance. More control.”

  Her belly, contracted as he stepped into her personal space. His scent assaulted her, brashly male, soap and skin and sweat from a long day.

  She blinked, trying to fight off a rush of feelings. “I don’t want to harm the growing relationship between you and Tarrant. But I don’t want to destroy your relationship with Ignacio either.”

  “It’s always about someone else, isn’t it? It’s never about you.”

  She faltered. “I’ve just been a messenger here. A facilitator. But I can’t play that role anymore, so I’m leaving.”

  “Huh. Like your parents. Bringing the word of God— or Tarrant Hardcastle in this case—to change the lives of everyone around them. Then they pack their bags and move on.”

  Susannah stood speechless. “This has nothing to do with my parents.”

  “No? I think you learned to live as a permanent tourist. Always on the outside, looking in. Offering advice and keeping a scientific distance.”

  He took one step closer. She could feel his body heat, almost hear his pulse in the air. Her own heartbeat raced and thundered.

  “Until you met me.” He seized her around the waist and pressed his lips to hers, hard, hot and unrelenting. She tried to push back, to regain control, but her legs buckled and suddenly her arms were around his strong back, clinging to him.