Chapter 9

Amelia’s POV

Emma arrives a little after 6pm. I texted her to come dressed for the party, since I now had an employee. When she came, I introduced them and got ready for the party in my kitchen. By the time I came out, Emma and Cara were bonding. That’s how it is with Emma, she’s a free and happy soul, once she’s invited she lights up the whole room.

“Ahem. Can we go now?” I ask, startling them but getting their attention.

“This dress is beautiful Ame.” Cara said, smiling.

“Thank you Cara. you can lock up once it’s 7 and please be here on time tomorrow, okay?”

“Yes ma’am.” she replied, taking the stance of a military officer. We all laugh.

We leave the shop, but the road is quite busy with cars and people making their way to Hughs Wine for the party. We go in and immediately see Charlie.

“The chocolate princess and her best friend. Welcome.” She said, and kissed our cheeks.

“Thank you Charlie, you look good.” Emma responds.

I should leave them to talk, “I'll go grab a drink. Anyone need anything?” I ask.

“I’m good.” they say, at the same time.

“Okay. And Charlie, don’t forget to tag my shop’s i*******m with the dessert photos, please.” I tell her, and excuse myself.

I’ve never gone beyond their meeting hall before, and the party is happening at the entrance, so I find a way to go in without being noticed. We must have arrived after the ribbon cutting, because everyone is talking about the speech Stan gave. His parents must be proud. With the way the place is built, the winery itself must be underground. Brilliant, if I say so myself.

I keep walking, hoping to find the stairs or elevator that leads to the wine press. Then I saw a door open from the end of the hall, and Stan walked out of it. Running would mean I was doing something bad which I wasn’t, so I stayed put, then he saw me.

Stan’s POV

I saw her leave without noticing me. Good, I’ll just talk to her during the party then. At exactly 6, we were all outside the entrance door to cut open the ribbon and step in. Whoever thought of this surely has no idea we’ve been working here for two weeks already.

My dad welcomes and thanks everyone for coming to open the new winery with us and officially names me the CEO for the winery and everyone says their hearty congratulations which almost sounded like it was said in unison.

I take over from my dad and start to read my speech before the ribbon is cut, “Thank you all for coming out to celebrate with us and also shop from the New York branch. Just like the Chicago branch, we are open to collaborate with hotels and restaurants. In addition to that, we’ll also be collaborating with wine stores. New York has so many.” Everyone laughs and I continue, “I hope that we keep the good name of Hughs wne forever in the mouth of every New Yorker. Thank you.” Everyone claps and cheers.

Someone from the crowd brings the scissors forward, and I hand it to my mom to cut the ribbon. Once the door opens, I let the guests know where to get food and drinks and head straight to the wine press with dad. I spent about 30 minutes showing him everything we do and all the formulas we use. When he gets satisfied with everything I’ve shown him, he leaves, but I spend 10 more minutes looking around and making sure every employee was at the party too. Once that was confirmed, I headed up and shut the door behind me, looking forward, I saw her. What was she doing all the way out here?

“Looking for the restroom?” I ask.

“Yes please. How did you know?” Does she always answer questions with questions though?

“You’re in the wrong place then. You can use the one in my office if you don’t mind.”

“Where’s your office?”

“Just behind you on the right.”

She heads for my office but stops after attempting to open the door, “It’s locked.”

“Here’s the key card. I’ll be sitting in my office waiting for you.” I tell her after opening the door.

We both go in, and I point her in the direction of my restroom. She enters, and I start thinking of ways to make my suggestions to her so it doesn’t look like I’m imposing as Gerald said.

When she comes out, I notice her dress for the first time. She is beautiful, in a breathtaking way. How did I not notice this before now? 

“Thank you for letting me use your restroom.”

“Anytime.”

She’s about to leave when I ask, “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure, what about?”

“I’ll need you to sit down for this please.”

She comes over to my table and slides into the seat. “Sittin, go on.”

“Uhm, I don’t want to sound like a douche at all. I just really think you should add more variety of pastries to your chocolate cakes and cookies. I know everyone probably already knows you for the chocolate from the business name and all, but I really think variety should be the spice of your shop. Also, if you can add coffee that would be great.”

“Thank you. I’ll think about it. What made you think of it?”

“Let’s say, I don’t want to go too far to get these things when I can easily come out of my office to get them.”

She laughs. “Interesting. Makes a lot of sense. Thank you.”

“Let’s head back down to my party, shall we?”

“Sure.” She stands up and I grab a bag under my table.

“Here’s the wine I promised. Also, sorry if I came off as rude the first time we met, we just have very strict policies at the winery and I didn't know who you were.”

“That’s fine. Thanks for the wine, I’ll leave a review after drinking.”

We both laugh and head back to the party. She escapes into the night, so I look for Gerald to let him know how the discussion went. He’s dancing with a guest.

“Excuse me, can I steal him away for a moment?” I ask the lady with my charming smile.

“Sure.”

He whispers something to her and she giggles.

“What was that?” I ask him.

“My lady for the night.” He smirks.

“Just wanted to let you know, I talked with Amelia and she was cool with it. She said and I quote, ‘I’ll think about it. Thank you.’ I’m glad I talked to her.”

“Oh good for you man. You should probably find someone to warm your bed tonight. How long has it been?”

“Long enough to not be your business. Just go back to your lady.”

He laughs as he leaves, and he was right. I need someone to warm my bed tonight, so I go around looking for someone that is my type. Once I found her, I left the party with her and headed straight for the hotel.