Page 44 of Mad Rivals (The Bradley Legacy #1)
Luxury, Grandeur, and Sustainability
I’ve spent every second of my working hours—plus overtime—this week on this bid, and I’m nervous as I get ready on Thursday morning. I haven’t said a word to Madden about it because despite how close we are, when it comes to business, he’s still the competition.
I wouldn’t expect him to say anything to me about it, though in my research, I discovered that there’s a player on his team associated with this particular vineyard.
Apparently the teammate married into it, which is why I worked even harder to keep it quiet.
If he knew about it, he’d have a better shot at winning the bid because of his connections, but I need this project.
For one thing, wine is in my heart. Aside from that, I have a particular passion for winning this project for VBC.
It’s my ticket to credibility, to proving to not just my father but to the entire company exactly what I’m capable of.
That my father didn’t choose me because of nepotism but because of my strengths…
even if nepotism is still the biggest reason that landed me here .
Let’s face it. I’ve worked part-time for this company for the last ten or fifteen years, yet I’m in line to take it over.
That’s nepotism at its core, which is why it’s even more important to prove myself.
I can’t let my life spin out of control again the way I did when I was clamoring for independence.
This time, what I want is right within my reach.
I just have to get my ass out there and win this fucking bid.
I’m charging myself up this morning, obviously.
I stayed at Madden’s, but I left early to go to my own place to get ready for this meeting.
It’s taking place at the winery itself at ten, so I need to get a move on and get out there.
It’s over an hour to Temecula from my place in San Clemente, only slightly longer than from Madden’s place in Carlsbad, but I needed to pump myself up at home without him staring at me wondering what I’m getting pumped up for.
He said he had a busy day at the office, too, so we kissed goodbye, and I headed home.
I recite my speech to myself over and over as I make the drive, and I’m as prepared as I can possibly be as I pull into the parking lot of the vineyard. We’re meeting in the tasting room, and the signs on this gorgeous property point me right toward it.
I feel a rush of excitement as I get out of the car and start walking toward the door.
This could be my project . I could be expanding this beautiful land in the sunshine into an entirely new space complete with luxury tourism amenities, and the ideas I’ve put together are absolute perfection for my own demographic, which is the exact target demographic of this place.
The focus is on luxury accommodations, of course, with an on-site resort offering unparalleled vineyard views, but I also put a big focus on the tourism aspect, offering wellness, dining, and shopping experiences along with the sort of ambiance a woman in her thirties might turn into Instagram-worthy photographs to share this place with the world on social media.
I draw in a deep breath. This is it. This is within my grasp. I deserve this. I am going to win this .
I tell myself that over and over, praying that the power of my mindset is enough to actually attract this win.
I head into the tasting room with a confident bounce in my step, and I find a woman with her head bent close to an older man’s as they look at something on a tablet behind the counter. They both glance up when I walk in.
“You must be Kennedy,” the woman says, and she walks out from behind the counter toward me, extending a hand for me to shake. “I’m Grace Nash, the owner of Newman Vineyards, and this is Theodore Monroe, my uncle, who is currently running production here at Newman.”
“Kennedy Van Buren,” I say as I shake her hand. “It’s so lovely to meet you.”
“And you. We have two other developers who are submitting bids, so we’ll get started in just a few minutes once they arrive. In the meantime, how about a taste?” she asks.
I grin. “How could I possibly say no to that?”
She smiles back. “What’s your preference?”
“White and not too sweet.”
She nods and tips a bottle over a glass, and I can’t help but think that this job really isn’t half bad.
Before she hands it over and I get to drink while I’m on the job, the door opens.
The beam of light from behind the open door blocks my view of whoever’s walking through it, and Grace pushes the glass across the counter to me as she greets the person at the door.
“You must be Jason,” Grace says, and she walks around the counter toward the man who just walked in. “Grace Nash, owner of Newman.”
“Jason Cartwright of Cal-Wright Construction,” he says. “A pleasure.”
I’ve heard of Cal-Wright. It’s some combo of their last name and California, and what I know about them is that they’re incredibly pretentious. I hardly know Grace, but she seems so sweet, and I just don’t see Cal-Wright as a good fit .
“Come on in,” Grace says, shaking his hand. “We’re just waiting for one more, and then we can get started.”
The door opens again, and the light creates another silhouette around the person walking in.
But I don’t need the brightness to dim in order to immediately recognize the figure standing there.
My heart pounds in my chest.
“Madden,” I murmur at the same time Grace says, “Madden, welcome.”
He glances at Jason first and then me, and he tilts his head as we each play dumb—like we didn’t wake up in each other’s arms a few hours ago.
Well, this just got a whole lot more complicated.
I should’ve known he would know about this project. As soon as I spotted the connection between the vineyard and his own career, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise.
All I can do is hold out hope that my bid outshines his and that they choose based on which feel they want for their vineyard rather than who they know personally.
“Everyone’s here, and Theo is happy to get you each a glass of wine,” Grace says. “White or red?”
“Merlot,” Jason says first.
Madden follows with, “Whichever is your favorite.”
Theo gets to pouring while she begins.
“Thank you all for meeting us here today. We’ve kept this project largely under wraps, and we were purposely vague about what we’re looking for. For that reason, I can’t wait to see what sort of visions you’ve each come up with. I’d like to hear from Kennedy first.”
I nod, and I take one more fortifying sip of wine before I present my vision. I pull out a tablet that will complement my speech as I launch into it.
“Thank you, Grace. As a woman in your target demographic, I started this project by thinking about a luxury space that I personally would want to visit, and I didn’t limit the possibilities from there.
” I open my tablet and flip through the first few slides to show Grace some of my ideas.
“In my plans, I have everything from a resort to unparalleled dining and shopping experiences with wellness, relaxation, and luxury at the core of every experience here while keeping the vineyard at the center of everything.”
She raises her brows in approval as she looks at the preliminary renders of some of my ideas.
“I love that,” she says. “Jason, hit me with it.”
“While luxury is, of course, essential, we want our visitors to be hit with the grandeur of the vineyard. To that end, we’re redefining luxury here with amenities not available in the vicinity.
We’re focusing on lavish and exclusive craftsmanship for all buildings to create an icon here in Temecula. ”
He shows some of his renderings, too, all of which don’t really seem to fit with what’s currently here. It’s almost as if he just jumped in with his ideas without having done any market research first, or at all, and if I can tell, then surely Grace can, too.
Once he wraps up his presentation, it’s Madden’s turn.
“Thank you for having me.” He glances over at me, and then he draws in a breath.
“I, uh…” He clears his throat, and then he seems to pull himself together.
“I can understand how important this vineyard is to you and your family, and my plan blends the beauty of what you already have here with an eco-friendly approach to expanding into a luxury resort.” He talks a bit about sustainability, and he keeps the focus on how the vineyard is central to this project and his job will be to add luxury around what they’ve already built.
She asks a series of questions that we each answer, and I’m almost ready to admit defeat by the time we’re nearing the end.
I put too much focus on the luxury of it, and I can see that now.
Madden’s plan isn’t just the most well-rounded, but it’s truly the best for this vineyard as they look toward a future.
His plans don’t take all the new land and just build on it.
Instead, his plans allow for the expansion of the current vineyards along with options for updating the production facilities to be able to handle additional crops.
It feels like I’m going to lose this project.
“Thank you all for coming today,” Grace says at the end. “You’ve certainly given us a lot to consider, and we’re going to take the next few days to discuss what vision we see for the future of our vineyard.”
We all shake hands and exchange goodbyes, and I follow Madden out to the parking lot.
Jason gets into his Porsche and speeds away, kicking up dust in the parking lot as he’s the first one out.
“You did great in there, tiger,” Madden says.
I turn to look at him, and I tilt my head as realization dawns. “You didn’t seem surprised to see me there.”
He shrugs. “Why would I have been? They’re only interested in working with the best.”
“You got it in the bag, Madden. Your focus on the current land was smart.” I tap my temple. “Plus, you know…you’re teammates with her husband.”
“It’s why I didn’t tell you I would be here.”
“You knew I would be?” I ask, and a slice of anger bolts through me.
He nods. “I saw you working on it when we were in Chicago.”
“And you didn’t say anything?” I ask.
“What good would it have done?”
“Oh, uh, I don’t know. Maybe I wouldn’t have been blindsided when you walked in?” I say it like a question as irrational anger that he knew plows into me.
“You held your own just fine.” His phone starts to ring, and he glances at his watch. “Shit, I need to take this. See you tonight?”
I fold my arms across my chest, and I stare at him with pursed lips. “Are you kidding me? ”
He sighs. “Kennedy, I don’t have time for this right now. Just…tell me everything is fine so we can both go on with our days.”
I shake my head as I get into my car. “Take your call.” I don’t tell him everything’s fine. I don’t speed away and kick up dust the way that asshole Jason just did, but I do manage to get out of the parking lot before Madden does.
And then I spend the next hour as I drive toward the Aliso Viejo office positively fuming that he knew and didn’t say a damn word.