Page 1 (2/2)
"Sorry," she reeing with rinned and leaned forward "All right, Brenna You’re here, you’re wearing a suit, and you’re carrying what looks like a thick stack of papers Why don’t you tell et right to it She cleared her throat and set her portfolio on his desk At that ical, financially sound sentence she’d practiced flew out of her head
"I’an, then hesitated, wondering if that sounded too arrogant
At least he didn’t break into hysterical laughter "I’ll ado head to head with you in competition," he admitted
The cole in her seat She satisfied herself with a slight srandfather says, aside from him, I’m the only one in the family with a passion for wine I’ve lived it , but she rushed on There was no way she was going to let him remind her of the ten years she’d spent away fro an idiot
"My grandfather has put e of the winery I knohat’s needed to take our success to the next level"
"So you’re not here for a job"
"No" She flipped open the portfolio "I’htened "Why? You don’t have a cash-flow problem"
"Marcelli Wines doesn’t Business has never been better But I’randfather The cos to him"
"You’ll inherit"
If only The truth shouldn’t still hurt, but it did It hurt a lot "My sisters and I inheriting has beco that there was no point in holding back He was going to hear about it eventually
"It seems my parents had a child out of wedlock, as they say A son They were both still in high school Due to faave up the baby for adoption"
Nic was cool as always Instead of letting any emotion show on his face, he leaned back in his chair "That would change things," he ad Fourth of July party It was our version of fireworks, to say the least The point is, the long-lost baby is now a thirty-year-old ht not have spoken in nearly three generations, but they had both grown up with the same traditional Italian values Feminism had yet to arrive at the shores of their respective vineyards Nic got it right away
"Your grandfather is old-fashioned enough to bethe fa-lost brother is interested?"
"It’s a ton of htness she didn’t feel "All of which leaves me on the short end of the inheritance stick" Now cah part "I’ve learned that the wine business is inelse with ht and your brother inherits, ouldn’t he keep you on to run things?"
"Heto wait around and see Besides, I have my own ideas and plans I want to start my own label"
He pointed at the portfolio in front of her "Your proposal?"
She nodded "I’ve detailed everything What grapes I want to buy, the price of the inventory, barrels, storage There’s also so a label doesn’t coaze never left her face "Where else did you go for financing?"
"Everywhere short of a loan shark"
He nodded "Let et the randfather"
"That’s some of it They were also concerned that I don’t have any collateral I’ve explained that the wine is collateral, but that doesn’t seeed "You’re a man who likes to take risks, but only when they pay off I’ to find"
He raised his eyebrows "Really?"
Brenna could have cheerfully thrown herself in front of adelivery truck She could feel the heat on her face, but with her olive coloring, the blush wouldn’t show It was a s to like a life preserver
"You know I can do this," she said, as if she hadn’t caught the e wordplay
"Maybe," he said "But ould I want to add toonto the property, Brenna relaxed "Oh, please If I’m lucky I’ll be able to match ten percent of your production in five years I don’t think you’re going to sweat h Why did you come to me?"
"You’re the only person I knoith extra cash"
"Your parents would have helped you out"
"Possibly But I didn’t want to randfather You’re a neutral party"
"I’m a Giovanni Doesn’t that make me second cousin to the devil?"
Gee, just what she’d been thinking earlier, only in her eyes, the relationship had been a little closer
Co to Nic was her last hope, but also a calculated risk The Marcelli and Giovanni faht find out about the loan if she’d secured it through traditional sources such as a bank, but he would never know if Nic funded her Grandpa Lorenzo would cheerfully rip out his tongue rather than speak to a Giovanni