Page 2 of Damaged Billionaire Daddy (The Lanes Series #1)

Chapter two

Richie

“I’m not happy with this, Andrea,” I snapped into my phone and wrinkled my nose, as I pulled onto a deep road. My secretary had set up this meeting. She usually knew what she was talking about. But she was way off her mark this time.

My brother, Andrew, might have enjoyed it. But he was in Africa, doing a volunteer run with Doctors without Borders. Lonely spaces and ne’er do wells were his specialty.

To be fair, Caleb, my driver, did offer to drive me. But I’d been convinced that I would enjoy the scenery until remembering that I was from Las Vegas and currently resided in New York City.

I was used to the bustling cars and people screaming at each other rather than the absolute silence and seeing a gas station every ten miles.

Nothing about the countryside was comforting to me in the slightest, and it felt like a waste of my time that I was even out here.

“If you couldn’t meet him out there then you wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity to try it,” she reminded me, doing her best to calm me down.

An angry Richie was not one that people wanted to mess with. I winced as my well-sprung Porsche hit a bump even it couldn’t handle.

Yeah, Andy would love it. Rylie would think I was crazy. It would have been Mom’s perfect bag, but Dad would have hated it. Not that their opinion mattered anymore.

Two years ago they’d gone down with their yacht off the coast of Libya after visiting my brother. I still wasn’t over their deaths.

The yacht, which was supposed to be state of the art and unsinkable, had been my birthday present to Mom because she’d always wanted to sail around the world. Dad just wanted to be wherever Mom was.

“If it’s so good, then why isn’t he global?” I snarled, hating the direction my thoughts have gone just as the GPS tells me to get onto a narrow road.

I squinted, doing as it says, skeptically. If another car wanted to drive past, it wouldn’t be able to. There was hardly enough room for my car, let alone two.

“Family owned business. They hardly ever go beyond local.”

She was right, but that didn’t make any of this more pleasant. “And tell me again why a representative couldn’t go?”

“He insisted that he meet the owner of the company out of respect.”

Out of respect, huh? I didn’t believe that for one second. He probably wanted to make a point, and it would do more harm than good for me to be in the room with a man who thought he was the alpha.

No business deal was worth my pride, and I couldn’t stand to let any man be more powerful than me.

But I was already out here and might as well see what all the hype was about. Everyone who tried this place had been giving it rave reviews.

“Now, sir…” The phone started to break up, as I pulled into what I assume was the winery. For a place that, supposedly, did so well, it looked pretty beat up to me.

The stone on the outside was old and reminded me of an antique store. There was a small balcony out in the front and a few cars lined out around it.

There was no driveway, just gravel and a sign in the front of the building.

What century did I just enter?

Since I could hardly understand Andrea anyway, I ended the call and stuffed my phone into my pocket before killing my engine and throwing my door open.

It was clear that I didn’t belong here with my expensive haircut, designer clothes, and foreign car, but that was not going to stop me from going inside even if my expectations weren’t high.

The inside was bubbling with energy the second that I entered. People were laughing and chatting in a way that they don’t do back in the city.

Image is everything in New York, but I don’t think that applies here, considering half the people here looked like they were still in their pajamas from this morning.

“Well, hey there.” A girl stepped in front of me.

She looked straight out of a western movie, and I didn’t necessarily mean that in a good way.

Her hair was long and stringy, pulled into two separate pigtails.

She was wearing a long sleeve flannel shirt with bootcut pants and boots that looked far too big on her.

Her face was round and boyish, so I can’t imagine that she’s too old.

Her teeth were crooked and white, and her gums were visible big time when she smiled.

“I haven’t seen you around here before.” Even her accent was thick.

“Is this going to be for here or to go?”

The atmosphere actually wasn’t horrible, but I could never imagine staying here to eat even if the smell of food and wine was a bit alluring. “I’m here to meet with Charles Quinn,” I told her.

“And your name?”

“Richard Lane.”

Her entire demeanor changed as she looked over me. I’d noticed her briefly checking me out before, but this time she didn’t hold back, eyes scanning my body incredibly hard before she gives me another one of those toothy grins.

“I know who you are. You are that football guy who went into business. I saw you on television.”

“Uh-huh,” I hummed.

“You’re even better looking up close.” I raised an eyebrow at her.

I was used to this kind of reaction from women, but wasn’t she supposed to be professional when she’s working?

Besides, I was not looking to add a woman in my life that lasts longer than a night, and even if I were, it wouldn’t be her.

“Where is Mr. Quinn?”

“I’ll go grab him right now.”

She disappeared to the back of the store, and I glanced down at my phone. I couldn’t wait to be on the plane back home.

I was all about trying new things, but this was the farthest from my scene I was sure I could go. I’ll taste the wine, tell him my thoughts, and then go home.

“You can follow me,” the blonde said and gestured at me. I fixed my suit and followed her down to the cellar. “How long will you be in town?” She looked hopeful, as she stared at me with the biggest eyes I’ve ever seen.

I’m not interested. “Not long enough.”

Her eyebrows furrowed, and her jaw dropped. She seemed like she wanted to say something but stopped as an older man came into view.

He had a cane in one hand and was wearing nearly the exact same clothes as the girl. A blue flannel, tucked into khakis and some boots.

His hair, or what’s left of it, was brushed to the back, and he had a huge smile on his face. His gaze turned to the girl.

“You can go now, Nicole.” Once she was gone, he looked at me again. “You must be Richie?”

The way he said my name made me want to snarl, but I withheld. I only let my friends call me that, and even that was not a long list. He held his hand out, and I shook it. “Richard Lane.”

“No need for formalities here. You can just call me Charlie.”

“I prefer Richard.”

He laughed, and it was deep and hardy. “Well, have it your way. When your people reached out to me, I was shocked. What would some big shot like you have to do wanting to collaborate with us? We must really have something special, huh?”

“Well, that’s what I’m here to find out.”

“You strike me as a man who takes his job seriously.”

“Very much so.”

“Well, come on then.”

Charles had a bit of a hobble as he walks, his entire body swaying side by side. Still, there was a sense of pride to the way he did it. He’d been on this earth a long time and had accomplished a great deal. He should walk proudly.

He tapped on one of the barrels. “Here she is.” He looked around for a few seconds with squinted eyes before finding what he was looking for. Some glasses.

Charles only grabbed one and smirked. “Far too early for me to be drinking, and I have a bad habit of not being able to stop once I start.” He laughed at his own joke before pouring me a glass and handing it to me.

I grabbed it and took a sip. To say that I was shocked was an understatement. My eyes nearly popped out of my head, and I eagerly drank the glass.

I hadn’t expected much from Charles and his wine, but it was safe to say he completely blew my expectations out of the water. This had to be the best glass of wine that I’d ever tasted in my life.

“Good, ain’t it?” he asked, genuinely looking for my opinion. “My granddaughter’s staying with us, had some drama going on in the city, and she said it was just amazing.”

“It is,” I agreed. I’m not walking out until I have a contract with this man. “Would I be able to get another glass?”

“Sure can, Richie.” This time I didn’t have any reservations about him using my name. He took the glass from my hand and quickly filled it up before giving it back to me. I savored it a bit more this time now that I was aware of just how good it was.

He watched me closely. “So, tell me your real opinion.”

“My real opinion?”

He nodded.

I took another sip, letting the rich, velvet taste roll around in my mouth. “You know what you’re doing. This tastes better than the most expensive wine I purchase.”

That seemed to be exactly what Charles wanted to hear. “I’m glad. You see, when I started this business, my wife, Nia, told me it was nothing but a waste of time.

‘There’s already liquor everywhere, no need for you to start making some’.“ He chuckled as he thought about it. “But if I stopped doing everything my wife told me to, I’d hardly have any fun. You got a special woman in your life, Richie?”

The question caught me off guard, and my answer was quick. “No, and I prefer it that way.”

“Well, that’ll change when you start getting old and you’re not bringing in women like fish anymore. Want another refill?” He pointed at my glass.

One more can’t hurt, right? “Sure.”

He filled it back up. “Anyway, back to my wife. She didn’t understand the point until she tried it.

I’ll admit that it took a few years to perfect, but when I did, she couldn’t remember her life without it.

All of that just to say that there’s nothing I’m more passionate about than the wine you’re holding in your hand. ”

I nodded. “It’s definitely something to be proud of. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when coming here today, but this wine…Mr. Quinn, you’re onto something.”

“Please, call me Charles.”

“Have you ever thought about going global with it?” The numbers were already beginning to rack up in my head. “Or at least just country wide?”

“Ah, I’m much too old to be trying to expand, don’t you think?”

“You’re never too old to become rich.”

“I’m not in it for the money. I just enjoy what I do.”

An idea popped into my head. “Then have you considered selling? I have the means to make this a very profitable business. You’d still have access to shares and would be able to do what you enjoy most without all of the boring stuff attached.”

Charles thought about it for a moment, his lips pursed. Then the smile was back on his face, and he shook his head. “I built this company from the ground up, and I’m not letting it go anywhere until I’m deep in my grave.”

I nodded and brought the glass back to my lips. We’re just going to have to see about that. He would learn how persuasive I could be.