by Natalie Ann
His brews weren’t just sold in the bar but also bottled and shipped all over the East Coast. With any luck, they’d make their way out West at some point too. But right now he had his hands full just managing it as it was.
When he was done with his shower, he opened his door to the smell of bacon, eggs, and coffee. He didn’t even know he had bacon in his house.
“Where did that come from?” he asked Aiden, as two omelets were slid on plates, next to a huge mound of bacon.
“I brought it with me. You never have anything here. I was shocked you even had eggs. Now you’ve got more since I’ll leave the rest.”
He didn’t spend a lot of time at home, and when he did, he didn’t waste it cooking. Most of the time he grabbed a cup of coffee and a protein bar and ran out the door in the morning. At some point during the day, he’d go around the corner to the restaurant and get a good-sized lunch. His only real meal for the day. Dinner was whatever he found in his house that didn’t require a lot of effort.
“I appreciate it,” he said, sitting down and picking up his coffee. Everything Aiden touched tasted better than he could ever imagine. He’d long since given up asking how it was done.
“So tell me the plans? What are you starting now?”
It was only January, but most beers took weeks to months or even years before they were ready to tap. He was planning spring and summer brews now and would be starting the process soon. “I haven’t officially settled on anything. I’ll definitely bring back a few of the summer brews from last year.”
“Jolene for sure,” Aiden said. “Brody said that was a big hit and I was able to use it in a lot of recipes.”
Fiercely Jolene was a beer named after his mother. Sweet on the first sip, then the tartness just slapped you in the face. He thought it was funny to name it after her, so did his siblings. His mother, not so much...though she wasn’t laughing when she saw the sales.
“First on the list. I’ll make more and have Cade push the marketing on it.”
“You know Mom is going to frown over it. Cade wants to use her as part of the promotion.”
“Really?” Mason asked, laughing. “Serves her right.”
Mason remembered all the times his mother started out all nice and sweet with the five of them and then when they least expected it, she went in for the kill, making them all feel about two inches tall. She had some wicked ways with her punishments too and knowing all the kids’ weaknesses.
“Speaking of Mom, I heard you have her finding staff for you? Why?”
Mason stopped shoveling food into his mouth. “She’s been bugging me lately. Not sure what is going on, but every time I turn around she’s in the brewery just following me around, asking a million questions.”
Aiden burst out laughing. “Has to be getting on your nerves since she knows how much you hate to talk.”
Mason snorted. He swore his mother got bored and just picked a kid to torment. He was wondering what he’d done wrong to be the chosen one now. “I tried being nice and telling her I was busy.”
“Being nice has never worked with her before.”
“It didn’t this time either. She started lecturing me that I needed more women in the brewery. I know that. We try to make it as equal as possible, but I can’t help it if no women apply.”
Aiden rolled his eyes. “I’ve heard it all before.”
“Then she went on and on that the brewery is getting so much attention that the least we could do was get a woman to do the tours. Mix it up a little. I told her she could find that person if she wanted it so bad.”
His mother just wouldn’t stop nagging him about it and he was starting to think he was being punished, only he couldn’t figure out what would have warranted it.
“You’re letting Mom do that? Find someone to give brewery tours when she can’t even remember the name of half the beers, let alone the ingredients to go in it? You think that’s wise?”
“This is Mom we’re talking about. She’d never let anyone set foot in the business that wasn’t qualified or if she didn’t look under every rock to find out what she could about them. I’m not worried and I’m surprised to hear you are.”
“True. Still, this is one part of the business she is really clueless about.”
“It’s just part-time and whoever she hires, I’ll walk through with the person. If they’ve got a good enough memory, it’s easy. It’s more a rehearsed speech than anything.”
“Good luck to you then,” Aiden said. “I’d rather hire my own staff.”
“And we all know how much you love doing that,” Mason said.
Aiden was the worst of them all when it came to interviewing. He ran every potential candidate through the paces as if he were a drill sergeant during basic training. He had high expectations and it was hard for him to find what he was looking for.
“Just the same. Have fun dealing with Mom during this process,” Aiden said.
“How bad could it be?”
Feel So Good
“Mom,” Mason said, ready to pull his hair out two weeks later. “Just pick someone. I don’t care.”
“Don’t get testy with me, Mason, or I’ll chase you around this brewery for hours yapping in your ear. We haven’t spent much time together and maybe we need to bond some more. Wouldn’t that be so much fun?”
She’d do it too. She was mean that way.
He liked peace and quiet and it was her form of entertainment to torment him with nonstop chatter. He’d gotten good at ignoring her, but it was hard to do when he was working, as he’d never want to be disrespectful to her in front of anyone.
At home was another thing, only she very rarely stopped at his house. Said she hated how quiet it was out there. That was the point.
“Fine. How many do I have to choose from?”
“I’ve narrowed it down to three potential candidates. All women.”
“That’s what you wanted. Why can’t you just pick one?”
“Because they’ll be working for you, not me.”
“They’re walking around the brewery talking when they’re here. Mingling with people. That’s your specialty, not mine.”
“But you’re strict like me. You’ll want to make sure they’ll say the right things.”
“Which they can be trained to do,” he pointed out, sighing and walking away from her to go check on how the bottling was going. He’d had maintenance in last night shutting down production for a day. He hated doing that, but scheduled maintenance was better than emergencies. Since the brewery was less than seven years old, the equipment was all in great shape, and he wanted to keep it that way.
“But you’ll be making sure they know what they’re talking about,” she’d said following behind him, her much smaller legs almost in a run. There’d never been any outrunning her either. She could move fast and always did. It probably came from chasing five of them around the house all at once for years.
“Fine,” he repeated. “Set it up and let me know the date and time and I’ll be there.”
She leaned up on her toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek, embarrassing the shit out of him in front of his employees who were all grinning like fools. He wouldn’t push her away though. Never. Nor would he ever admit it still made him feel so good when his mother did it. That she’d always be there for him, like she always was.
“You’ll thank me; I know you will.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he said turning his head and smirking, then walking away. He figured she was smirking just the same since she got her way.
***
Three days later, Mason was doing anything but smirking, laughing or even considering wanting to thank his mother.
The first interview was a total flop and he had no clue what the heck his mother was thinking.
Leslie Fulton had walked in wearing a tight jean skirt, a red shirt that was two sizes too small and bright red heels that could kill someone if she took one off and chucked it at them.
Maybe she got p
oints for wearing red, the signature color of Fierce, and sure, she had a body to pull off what she’d squeezed in to, but he didn’t want that type of an image in his brewery. Not a party girl. Not one more or less projecting his beer as something college kids were using for a round of beer bong.
Hell, most college kids couldn’t even afford his beer at twenty bucks for a four pack.
Nope, Leslie Fulton was out.
So was Micki Person. She’d come in in pants and a nice shirt. Sneakers, not heels, but she was dumber than a box of rocks. Not to mention, she didn’t even like beer. Seriously? He was thinking his mother was just playing a joke on him. Or punishing him, though for the life of him he had no idea why or what he could have done this time.
Jessica Corning. She would get it by default if she was dressed respectfully and could at least list one of his beers. Otherwise his mother would have to start over again and he just wanted this finished so she could move on to one of his siblings.
He walked up front and saw a woman standing at the bar. He liked having a small bar in the brewery where many stayed and drank before or after the tours, then walked into the shop and spent even more money on beer and merchandise.
But the bar was closed, as it was only nine thirty in the morning, so the woman looking at the list of beers on tap was here for the interview. That was promising at least.
“Jessica?”
She turned and he could see she was young, but dressed for an interview. Not one in an office, but she could even be considered for that. Black pants, simple plain black shoes, and a light green sweater. Nothing fancy but respectful just the same. He wasn’t expecting fancy for this position at all.
She walked forward and held her hand out to him. Warm but strong. “Hi. I’m Jessica Corning. And you’re Mason Fierce.”
Her voice was light, but not soft. Firm wasn’t the right word either. He’d have to think about it. “That’s me. Come on back to my office.”
He led her through a door and down a hall, her shoes not making much noise on the concrete floors, not like the soles of his boots that had been wet more often than not. All the floors were concrete, much easier for cleanup, but that also meant their shoes got wet and squeaked at times before the overflow of the brew or water ran down the drainage grates.
“I didn’t realize how big it was in here. This is impressive.”
He looked around to see what she was viewing. The hall they’d walked down was glass on one wall, allowing anyone to see into the brewery itself. To see what was going on. “Thanks. If you like this, then you’ll love my office.”
He walked up a set of stairs and then pushed open the door to his office, which had a wall of windows overlooking the brewery down below. There was a door that let him walk out and move along metal walkways so that he could see everything closer, even at the other end if need be. Seeing the operation from above, like a king from his tower, though he never said those thoughts out loud.
But the brewery was his.
His idea.
His work, sweat, and maybe some tears.
His castle.
Being up here at times was his peace. Where he could walk and pace and think. No one bothered him and no one questioned him. If they thought he was odd moving along the building up so high, they kept it to themselves.
He may not have been confident about some things in life, but when it came to his brewery, he was what he said…the king.
“This is great,” she said. “Do you mind?”
“Not at all.” He didn’t even finish the sentence before she had her nose all but up to the glass looking at everything. She’d see people moving around, cleaning up, checking pressure gauges and dates. Mixing grains. There was some form of the process done daily.
“You do the bottling here, too?” she asked.
“We’ve found it’s more cost efficient.”
Past the brewery, there was another wall of glass showing automated bottling. Just one staff at the moment walking around and monitoring it, managing the controls.
“I had no idea it was this massive of an operation.”
“Why don’t you have a seat and we’ll talk.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. That was completely rude of me.” She hurried over and took a seat facing his desk. “I tend to get lost in how things work and just want to study it as much as I can.”
“Not a bad habit to have. Why are you interested in this job?”
He was glancing at her resume, kind of shocked she’d made it this far. She’d had no experience working in anything remotely related to a brewery, a hostess job, a speaking job or much of a job at all. Looked like she worked on campus on and off. Campus! She was still in college.
“I’m a biology major at Montreat College. I got ahead of my studies and I’m only going part-time for my last semester. Just two classes before I graduate in May. I have a lot of time on my hands and decided to take an Intro to Brewing course at a local community college. This job is different than anything I’ve done before and I really enjoy a good beer. I just thought it’d be fun.”
He’d been a biology major too, so not completely off track, he supposed. If his mother was thinking along those lines, she got points for that.
“Do you want to brew? To learn to brew?”
“I’m not sure yet. This probably sounds horrible, but I’m not sure what I want to do. I just like learning new things. I like seeing how stuff is made up. I really like beer. A nice craft beer. It sort of all fell into place like this. I like when that happens.”
She laughed, almost a snort and then she blushed. She wasn’t wearing any makeup, looking kind of plain, but not in a bad way. Just not in a way that made her stand out. A way that would attract attention. Since he tried to stay out of the limelight, he didn’t think anything of it and could actually appreciate and associate with it.
Only being one of the Fierce Five never kept him too much out of the spotlight. Especially since the four boys were all big, and as many women had said before, “hotter than the gates of hell” though he always got embarrassed if it was said to him. Not his three brothers though, they just ate it up.
“What do you love so much about beer?”
She sure the heck didn’t look like a party girl by any means. Not even someone who drank wine. She looked more like someone who belonged in a coffee house with a laptop in front of her and glasses sliding down her nose.
“A solid IPA is my favorite. I’ll try just about anything once though. There’s something about tilting the glass and waiting for the beer to pour. Will it be light or dark? Amber or golden? Filtered or unfiltered? Then waiting for the head to go down, but bringing it up to my nose and inhaling the scent. Citra hops is my thing right now. I know it’s winter and more of a stout beer is good, but I love the smell of Citra. It’s just fascinating.”
She had a dreamy, yet excited look in her eyes, and it was kind of a turn on. He was shocked to find he was thinking that. There was no doubt she was being hired, but he found he wanted to know more. “Why Citra?”
“That fruity tangy scent. It reminds me of summer. I’m not much of a cold weather gal. And I love to see if I can pick other scents with the Citra. Grapefruit, orange, cherry for fruits. Floral undertones, ginger, chamomile, doubles are awesome. Oh and dry hopped. My mind will start racing and I’m just dying to take that first sip. Will it be sweet or tart? Hoppy or light? I love them all. Like finding the prize in a Cracker Jack box for me. Silly I know, but it’s something new all the time.”
“What’s your class schedule like?” he asked. If he didn’t change the topic he’d never leave this room. He’d be able to sit and talk to her nonstop about beer. Pick her brain, find out what she looked for and why. Not only that, his body was starting to stir. What the heck? He didn’t have the time for that right now.
“I’ve got classes Tuesday and Thursday from nine until one, then Wednesday night from five to eight. Otherwise, I’m free.”
He stood up. “We can work arou
nd that. When can you start?”
Out of This World
Jessica wanted to shake her booty right there in the office but held back. Barely. She’d already snorted when she laughed and desperately tried not to cover her mouth with her hand. Either Mason was too polite to say anything, or he didn’t notice.
And that building? Wow. She loved beer. Adored it. Fantasized about what the Fierce Brewery would look like when she’d walked down the aisles of the beer store trying to figure out which ones to buy. She’d loved it since she bought her first craft beer on her twenty-first birthday. A gift to herself.
Could she have bought a case of something for less than a four pack? Sure, but she’d never been one to do the norm, so why start now?
From that point on she was addicted.
It became a splurge for her. Something she couldn’t afford to indulge in nightly, nor was she that type of a person. But once a week she bought a new beer; then she kept logs of which ones she liked and the reasons why. Nerdy, she knew, but hey, it worked for her.
Did she have an app on her phone of all the beers she’d tried and rated? Yeah, she did. But it wasn’t like she had a lot of friends to share it with. Still, it was another quick reference too.
She made her way to her car and thought about Mason Fierce. She’d read everything she could on the brewery before the interview with his mother, Jolene, a few weeks ago.
Jolene had been a hoot. Open and friendly, but asking serious questions. Almost grilling Jessica on her love for biology and beer. She thought it was odd, but enjoyed talking about those things so much, she just went with it.
A few times she knew she’d lost Jolene in the conversations and had to rein it in, but obviously she made a good enough impression to get the second interview with Mason. And now she was heading over to see Ella to fill out paperwork. She’d be starting on Monday and she couldn’t wait.
She pulled in the parking lot of Fierce, then made her way to the door. Looked like it just opened, but there were plenty of people sitting in the bar at tables looking over menus. The hostess stopped her. “Table for one or are you waiting for someone?”
