Page 10

ENZO
Wefollowaworried-lookingMicah, and he leads us to a quiet corner outside the ballroom.
“What’s the matter?” I raise an eyebrow when we are out of earshot of any nosy passersby,
Micah has been working as a manager for my company for nearly five years now. I don’t know him to be someone who panics easily. And yet, here he is, looking as though he’s just seen a ghost.
“I’m sorry I had to interrupt you in the middle of the event, but it was urgent.”
“What happened?”
“Quality Control just told me that a batch of our wine that was shipped last week received some complaints.”
Though it was best to minimize them, complaints were a part of any consumer-business relationship. I didn’t see why Micah had gotten so worked up about it. “Was it a bad batch?”
Micah shakes his head. “It’s not just bad wine, Enzo. We suspect that something was added to the batch during preparation.”
“What do you think happened?” Valentino frowns. “If it’s a case of staff negligence, we’re going to have to lay off whoever is responsible.”
“I don’t think so.” Micah hesitates for a moment, his voice low and intense. “I suspect it might be sabotage.”
Valentino and I exchange a worried glance. For a company as established as mine, it’s rare to have incidents like this occur. I make sure to have strict quality controls at every step of the wine-making process.
Valentino’s eyes harden. “Who do you think could be behind this?”
“For now, it’s all speculation. We’re sending a sample sent in for testing. It’ll take a few days for us to get the results back. But I need some help right now working through sales records. We need to identify who else got the bad batch so we can reimburse them before word gets out.”
I glance over at Valentino. “That’s your department.”
Valentino hesitates. “We’re in the middle of the event. I can’t leave halfway. Besides—”
“It’s going to spiral into a PR disaster if we don’t act now.” Micah’s frustration grows more prominent each second.
I put my hand on his shoulder. “You should go. I’ll handle the event. Micah is right, this is far more important.”
Valentino frowns. “I just promised that influencer a private tour of the vineyard. She’ll be waiting for me.”
“Quinn?” My heart does a weird dance. What the heck?
“Dad, you’re going to have to take her on the tour instead of me. I don’t want her giving us a bad review…”
My jaw tightens. I hadn’t planned on spending the night playing host to this woman who has my body wanting things it has no business seeking. But the company always comes first.
“Fine. I’ll take care of it. Just make sure that you solve whatever the hell this new problem is.”
As I make my way inside the ballroom, I spot Quinn standing exactly where we left her.
“Change of plans.” I walk up to her, and her eyes widen slightly. “I’m going to be the one taking you on that tour.”
I don’t wait for her to respond, but she follows me out of the room. Her heels clack against the marble floor as she tries to keep up.
“I thought Valentino was supposed to give me the tour.” She finally catches up to me.
Her breath is coming out in short spurts, and it stirs a strange desire inside me.
I push the thought away.
“Consider it an upgrade. You get to have a chance to be shown around by the CEO himself.”