Destiny Of A Donovan (The Donovans Book 15) Page 13

Keep your competition close, Wade. That way you’ll see when they’re about to stab you in the back.

  That was one of W.B. Banks’s favorite warnings to his son.

  “There will be no merger, Evelyn. Not now. Not ever,” he told her, knowing he’d said these words to her before.

  Fourteen years ago, to be exact, when he’d also called off the wedding.

  “That’s a foolish move and you know it,” she continued as she stepped closer to where Wade stood near the mantle.

  Here were pictures of W.B. and Lily. A few of him and of Lily. One of his grandparents standing in front of Villa Donati. Wade had brought the pictures in here himself. After his father’s death, thirteen years ago, when Wade had taken over the company. He’d changed a lot of things at Basset Banks then.

  “I know that I’m tired of having this discussion with you,” he told her. “Now, I should really get back to the auction.”

  He took a step toward the door only to have Evelyn grab his arm to stop him.

  “You made a mistake when you called off the merger. Our wineries could have been huge together. We would dominate the market on the west coast easily and quite possibly internationally, if you’d let me help you.”

  “I don’t need your help, Evelyn. My mother was a vintner as were her parents. I learned everything I know by being in the fields with her and watching everything she did. We have three of the best sommeliers in the business on staff and our sales are increasing every quarter. Don’t you dare come in here and try to insinuate that I don’t know what I’m doing,” Wade said through clenched teeth.

  But Evelyn didn’t back down. “You need more vineyards. We have two grape varieties that you cannot grow here at Basset Banks because of the soil. Our sales are increasing right along with yours. We’re only one slot down from the top three in the Valley. With Mia by your side, with her contacts and her face behind the impeccable brand W.B. built here, we could be unstoppable. Together, Wade. Your father knew that we could only reach number one in the Valley together.”

  Wade yanked his arm from her grip and mentally counted to ten. At his sides he flexed his fingers before bringing a hand up to rub along his jaw. He shook his head and looked over to his father’s picture. They looked alike. From the strong jaw to his dark hair and the broad build of their shoulders, he was definitely W.B. Banks’s son. On the outside. Inside he was a Donati and the wine was in his blood. So this wasn’t just about money and prestige for him, it was about the life of the grape, the taste of the wine, the pleasure of combining everything that went on in this winery with the enjoyment on a person’s face when they took that first sip.

  “My father may have been blinded by your charms, Evelyn, but I’m not,” Wade said finally.

  “Your father was a good man. What he and I had together was—”

  “It was over the day he had that heart attack and died,” Wade said cutting her off quickly. “That meant any agreement he’d made with you about this winery died with him.”

  She knew that, just as she knew W.B. had been having problems with his cholesterol levels and had a history of heart disease in his family. Evelyn was an extremely intelligent woman, but she was not a vintner. She’d married Todd Terrington who had been born and raised in the Valley, because he was a millionaire. Todd had died five years before W.B. and in that time Bonjour Winery had begun to flounder under Evelyn’s management. She’d needed Basset Banks then and to secure she would get it she put her daughter on the job.

  Wade began dating Mia at his father’s urging in his senior year of under grad. She was an attractive girl, they had things in common and it was what W.B. wanted. So Wade had done it, because W.B. always got his way. Immediately after receiving his MBA, Wade and Mia were engaged. They were known as the prince and princess of wine in the Valley. Their wedding was going to be the event of that year. Everyone in the wine community was looking forward to it. Everyone, except Wade. Three months before the big day, he called it off. From that moment on Wade and W.B.’s relationship was never the same. W.B. had seen Wade’s actions as a betrayal to him and the company. He would have fired Wade and probably disowned him if he could have, but Lily Banks had re-written certain terms in her will before her death many years prior. Wade and Lauren shared Lily’s fifty-two percent ownership in the company. So for the remaining year after the ended engagement Wade and W.B. barely spoke. They were in business together, but they were not family. And then his father died and Wade took over.

  “He’s turning over in his grave right this very moment,” Evelyn continued. “To see you wasting time with that silly non-profit company and tossing money at anyone who so much as comes to you with a business venture. W.B. would never have compromised himself or this company in that way,” she said.

  “You’re out of line, Evelyn. I’m trying to show you the respect of a long standing family acquaintance, but you’re pushing it,” Wade told her.

  “No, you’re pushing it, Wade! Hell, you’re sleeping with a woman that’s little more than the help. Her family’s in shambles and I hear they’re frauds as well. You’re going to destroy this place and all that your father built.”

  “My mother built this place!” Wade shot back. “She had the experience. She knew the soil was rich here. She decided what grapes to plant and where. She worked with the sommeliers closely on the development of every one of our signature wines. She, Lily Banks, was and still is the backbone of this company. Not him!”

  He’d raised his voice and the booming timbre had sent Evelyn back a few steps. Her facial expression appeared to be shocked, but Wade knew better. Evelyn was a snake and she didn’t scare or intimidate easily. That was fine with him because he’d been called a lion in the office, acting as king of the winery when it was necessary, protecting his staff and warding off their enemies and competitors with his bravery. Evelyn had no idea who she was up against.

  “She’s trash, you know,” Evelyn said when she decided to drop the wounded look. Her thin lips had turned up at the corners as she came to stand directly in front of Wade. “If you were thinking of getting your hands on any of that Donovan money, you can think again. Her family is crumbling. They’re being disgraced in the press and stock in their flagship company is falling steadily. So I hope that little piece you’re getting is worth losing everything you have.”

  “Get out of my winery,” Wade said in a viciously slow and quiet tone. “Get off my land and don’t you ever come back.”

  He said the words and then opened the door to the office, standing beside it, silently waiting for her to leave.

  Evelyn brushed a hand down the front of her dress. She lifted another hand to fix her hair that was still perfectly coiffed. She squared her shoulders and walked proudly out the door, turning to say, “I’ll be first in line to buy this place when you’re ready to sell because you can’t keep your head above water after the hit you’re going to take because of her.”

  “You’ll be arrested and sued if I hear you make one more slanderous remark about anyone in my family or if you ever come here again,” he said without even looking at her.

  She chuckled as she walked away and Wade resisted every angry urge he possessed to slam that door and curse when she was gone. Instead, he closed the door quietly and turned to stare at the picture of his father, at the man who had opened the door to all the pain and misery Wade had ever felt. Years after his death it seemed W.B. was still trying to control him, now through a patronizing bitch like Evelyn Terrington.

  Brynne was ecstatic.

  She was on her third glass of wine for the night and wasn’t considering the calories at all. The silent auction had been a huge success, with the items they’d secured bringing in over a million dollars. But that wasn’t all, her second conversation with Monica had been the topping on a very delicious cake for Brynne tonight.

  “There’s another reason I came out to the west coast,” she’d said to Brynne just before they’d wrapped up the auction.

  Brynne h
ad been keeping her distance from anywhere she saw Mia Terrington standing. She’d also been trying her hardest not to think about the bombshell Lauren had dropped on her. So Wade had been engaged before and hadn’t bothered to tell her. It didn’t matter. She was working her way up to really believing that.

  Sitting at one of the tables nearest the wall alone had been a good way to convince herself. Until Monica had joined her.

  “Really?” Brynne had asked, not totally paying attention to Monica’s words, but trying to be polite. “Do you have friends out here that you’re going to visit?”

  “No,” Monica said as she sat across from Brynne. “When you contacted me a couple of months ago and explained why you had to turn down the job in Atlanta, I started thinking.”

  “I apologize, Monica. I should have told you that when it first happened. I don’t know why I wasn’t completely honest about my situation.”

  “Nonsense,” Monica had told her with a wave of her hand. “I know exactly why you didn’t tell me at first. We’re trained to be self-conscious and self-doubting, Brynne. There’s a persona that woman are supposed to uphold. It’s archaic, believe me, I know. But we, especially black women, are always supposed to have our stuff together. We’re supposed to be confident and strong and never falter. No matter what the issue we’re supposed to act like it’s not an issue and keep it moving. Believe me when I say, I do enough of that myself.”

  “Our situations are not the same, Monica,” Brynne had told her cautiously.

  “No. They’re not.” Monica had looked at Brynne for a moment and then reached across the table to touch her hand. “I’ve never had to deal with a weight issue, or a diabetes scare. But I’ve been on blood pressure medication for the last two years because I can’t seem to manage my stress. And if I wasn’t so tenacious I’d be seeing a shrink to try and work through some of the stressful issues going on in my life. But I don’t. I have however, taken up yoga and I’m making a conscious effort to delegate more responsibility in the work place. It’s been a test in patience, but I’ve been blessed to have Alex there for support. Nobody else knows about this Brynne. You want to know why? Because I’m too afraid that they’ll look at me differently. That my sisters will no longer look up to me as the one who can always fix things for them. My business contacts will think because I need to cut down on my stress that they can run over me and fleece me on deals.”

  “I would have never imagined,” Brynne admitted. “You are the perfect package, everything about you says confidence and success.”

  “Everything on the outside,” Monica had said. “Just like you thought that everyone was going to judge you for being overweight and then deciding to get the weight loss surgery instead of simply going on a diet. We’re not that different, Brynne.”

  Brynne had felt like an idiot at that point. All this time she’d worried about people judging her and she’d been guilty of judging Monica and whoever else.

  “I’m sorry,” she’d said.

  “No apologies necessary. We’re not even going to talk about any of that anymore. You’re doing wonderful, I can hear it in your voice and see it in your eyes. Especially when you look at that totally scrumptious Wade Banks.”

  As if she weren’t feeling bad enough, the immediate blush that fused her cheeks had added embarrassment to the mix.

  “Wade and I are just…I mean, we’re—”

  “Girl, don’t even try it. You’re in love with that man and he’s falling over his tongue for you, so that’s that,” Monica said with finality. “Now, back to why I’m here. When I heard from you I started thinking about how well the gallery in Atlanta is doing, in conjunction with our New York location. It dawned on me that there was unchartered territory for us here on the west coast. And since you were out here, I began to wonder if it were possible to carry the Lakefield name even further.”

  “Wait a minute,” Brynne had said, afraid to believe for a moment. “Are you saying you’re going to open a gallery out here?”

  Monica nodded, her wide and infectious smile, which she did not display often, spreading quickly across her face.

  “I’m scouting out some places on this trip. Of course, L.A. is a thought or maybe San Diego.”

  Brynne shook her head. “No. San Francisco. That’s where you’ll want to be,” she said.

  Then leaning over the table she continued, “The Valley and Sonoma are wine countries. They’re within a one to two hour proximity from San Francisco. Wine and art go hand in hand. We’re seeing that tonight with the high bids on the portraits. Open a gallery there and work alongside some of the wineries for special events, it’ll increase your visitors and boost sales of high ticket items, I’m certain.”

  Monica continued to smile as she nodded. “I knew I was right about you from the start. You can do this, Brynne. You can blend the art with the wine country. I’ve been watching you tonight, listening to you talk to the people here. You’re in your element here in this beautiful place, just as much as you are in the gallery. That’s how you know it’s a perfect blend.”

  “Are you offering me a job?” Brynne had finally managed to ask.

  “No, Brynne. I’m offering you an opportunity to shine the way you were always meant to,” Monica replied.

  In the moments that followed, Lauren had once again interrupted and Brynne had gone to close out the auction. Now, that was done and Brynne felt like she was floating on a cloud.

  “We need champagne,” Monica said as she stood on the covered deck behind the winery with Brynne and Lauren.

  “That’s fluffy stuff,” Lauren had commented. “Besides, we’ve got more bottles of the Mirage inside. I think it was a hit so we’ll probably go into full production next month. But for now, we still get to be the taste testers.”

  Lauren just happened to have one of those bottles with her and she refreshed everybody’s glass.

  “I should not be drinking this,” Brynne stated.

  “You should and you will. It’s okay to celebrate tonight,” Lauren told her.

  Monica had lifted her glass. “That’s right. A toast to wine and art and all the goodness in between.”

  “Salute!” Lauren added.

  Brynne grinned and joined in by touching her glass to theirs. “Salute!”

  They all drank and sighed at the smooth and sweet taste of the wine.

  “You know what this needs?” Lauren asked. “Cookies.”

  “What?” Monica asked.

  Brynne shook her head. In the years since Lauren had overcome her anorexia she’d developed a love of sweets. Not that it showed in her still very slim body, but there wasn’t one meal that Lauren had without having dessert with it. Brynne recalled a time when she’d happily done the same. Now, however, she wasn’t so inclined.

  “Mrs. Ramsey has dozens of them she baked this morning because she wasn’t totally sold on the tea cakes the caterers were bringing in. I believe she brought them down here with her. So let’s just head on over to the supply room we cleaned out to let the caterers use and see what’s left.”

  Lauren didn’t wait for anyone, she was already heading back inside the building with Monica shrugging and taking a few steps to follow her.

  “Are you coming?” she turned and asked Brynne. “You don’t have to eat the cookies if you don’t want to.”

  “Oh, yeah, I know. Once Lauren gets rolling there’s no stopping her.” Brynne laughed. “I’ll join you in a few. I just want to um…I want to see if I can find Wade.”

  Monica gave a knowing smile. “Uh huh, I understand.”

  Brynne was smiling herself as she walked back into the building and through the main foyer where the party had been held. The last of the guests were leaving and the staff had begun breaking down tables. He wasn’t there. She decided to check the offices and then she would head back to the front of the building. He had to be somewhere. Brynne was certain he wouldn’t have left without her, or at least telling her that he was going.

  She was
just passing the room where the caterers were packing up their supplies, smiling to herself as she thought of Monica and Lauren in there eating cookies and drinking more wine when she heard the voice.

  “He’ll get bored with you when the excitement of doing something taboo is over,” she said in that nasal tone that grated on Brynne’s nerves.

  She looked to her left, in the direction where she’d heard the voice, and saw Mia Terrington leaning against the wall. The woman looked as if she were posing for a magazine ad where the tagline would be “simply gorgeous”. Unfortunately, that would be based totally on the physical appearance. Inside, Brynne was convinced the woman was made of ice.

  “Taboo? What about dating is taboo these days?” Brynne asked in response to her comment.

  “The part where the rich white man cozies up to the wounded black flower. Wade knows better, honey. Of course he wants you and your thick thighs and hot lovin’ in his bed, but he’ll never marry you. You’ll never be more than just his house nig—“

  “It’s a crying shame the newspapers and media folk think the Terrington name defines class and dignity. If they could only be here now to see how vile and despicable you can really be,” Mrs. Ramsey interrupted.

  Brynne had no idea where she’d come from and a part of her was glad she’d appeared because she wasn’t certain how much longer she would be able to remain civilized with this woman.

  “Oh please don’t be offended Ophelia. You and I always got along well. I love you and your wonderful southern cooking. Maybe you could teach this one here the importance of knowing her place and staying there.”

  Brynne stepped in front of Mrs. Ramsey then.

  “Tonight, my place was beside Wade. Later, it will be in his bed. And tomorrow, well, nobody knows what tomorrow will bring. But I’ll tell you what I know for certain won’t happen in the coming hours, you will not be standing in my face spouting your ignorant racist crap.”

  Mia stepped closer to her. “Who the hell do you think you’re talking to?”

  “She’s talking to the foolish immature girl who’s still nursing a broken heart and a wounded ego,” Mrs. Ramsey continued as she easily stepped between Brynne and Mia. “Now, I’d suggest you take your little self on home and stop believing that because of this new political climate we’ve been thrust into that you can say and do whatever you want to good God-fearing people. Because you see, the Lord may have said that ‘vengeance is mine’, but a good ass-whoopin’ can come from anyone. You need to remember that.”