I hugged Tina, who grabbed her bags and headed out to the front porch as we waited for her car.
“Same,” she said. “Back to the grind,” Tina smiled, “for one of us, at least.”
“Yeah well, as soon as you leave, I’m off to work too. I cannot believe I have a job. In the Finger Lakes. It’s nuts.”
“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”
“Who said that?”
“I have no idea. But I definitely saw it somewhere. Fits perfectly, no?”
“This is an adventure, alright. I have no place to stay in two days, have enough clothes for one week and a job in a winery with an asshole boss. Here I thought I was done with those.”
“You’re looking at an apartment tonight after work. I am sending your clothes tomorrow, and your asshole boss is going to be your post-breakup hookup.”
“No,” I assured her, “he’s not.”
“Okay. We’ll see.”
Tina only knew the guy from our wine tasting. Hot as hell. Mildly charming in a hands-off way. But I knew the guy whohiredme. Still hot as hell. But a jerkface with some sort of ax to grind. I should have walked out two days ago and never looked back. But instead, I would be jumping into the car as soon as Tina left and heading to Grado Valley Vineyards for the third day in a row.
To be fair, yesterday hadn’t been awful. I didn’t see Clark Kent, and after Neo’s thorough explanation of some of the more popular wines and basic wine tasting etiquette, plus an entire day of shadowing Perry (who did smell like pot), I was pretty convinced I could do this. Thankfully, I’d found a potential apartment available.
“Here we are,” Tina said as her car pulled up.
“Thank you,” I said sincerely. I’d never have stayed here if it weren’t for her. Whether that turned out to be a good thing was anyone’s guess. But no doubt it would be an adventure.
“Don’t thank me yet,” she called back, tossing her bag into the trunk. Then with a wave, my friend was gone.
The house was empty. Quiet. Eerily so. After a few final sips of my coffee, I finished my morning routine and hopped in the car. Trading a morning commute filled with honking horns and crowded sidewalks for swaths of vineyards and wide-open fields wasn’t so bad.
After I parked, I made my way inside the tasting room, and was surprised to see it empty. I headed to the offices, the first of which was a breakroom with a handful of lockers for personal belongings that looked nothing like a breakroom. Decorated in the same wood and hunter green colors as the tasting room, it was homey and warm with hand-carved wood tables and no fluorescent lighting to be found anywhere. That was one of the things I hated about my old job. The office culture and godawful fluorescent lighting throughout the Avec Coeur building. But neither was worse than my boss.
“What are you doing here?”
I hadn’t seen him since Monday, but I knew the voice immediately. Closing the locker, I spun toward the sound. Still somewhat in shock that Clark Kent didn’t just work here but that heownedthe place, I took in his jeans and tee, this time a faded pale green with “Grado Valley Vineyards” embroidered across his wide chest.
“Good morning to you too,” I said sweetly. “I work here.”
His head cocked to the side. “We don’t open until two on Wednesdays.”
Ah, shit.
“Perry didn’t tell you?”
I shook my head. “No, he didn’t.”
He paused for a second, obviously contemplating something. “Did Neo take you on a tour?”
“Nope. We went through all of the wines, and then he left me with Perry for the day.”
I couldn’t help but wonder what he would look like without the glasses. Given my penchant for jerkfaces, aka the kind of guy who might recommend cutting his girlfriend’s position after dating for nearly a year, of course I would find this man attractive.
As if someone had prodded him, he blurted, “Come on.”
Though he made no effort to ensure I was following before he walked away, I started to trail after him but then remembered my phone, still in my locker, and pulled back. Tina was supposed to text when she got home safely. My mother might have partially screwed up my childhood by getting divorced three times (which might have been fine if we hadn’t moved after every one of them)...but she loved me, and in many ways, I’d learned how to love from her. She’d always wanted to be reassured I was safe after I’d taken trip, and it seemed I’d adopted the expectation in my own relationships too.
“Clark,” I called out. “Hold on a sec. Need to grab my phone.”