Heart Nectar

by Davee Jones

“Yes dear Mindie it’s me. So why don’t you just go out there?”

  “I can’t handle the asshole right here right now. What if he starts badmouthing us and runs every one of the store? I think he’s waiting for an opportunity for me to go out there and have a fight in front of everyone. He’d be happy if we lost every customer we had.”

  “I think you’re paranoid. Maybe he’s here because he realized he was a pompous ass and he wants to apologize, or make amends. Maybe he really does want to help us. You won’t know if you stay hiding in the back.”

  Finally straightening, Mindie slightly stuck out her chin. “I’m not going up front. You can’t make me. I don’t want to see that piece of shit man.”

  “The battle for the angel and the devil on your shoulders still rages within, doesn’t it bestie? Especially now with him all decked out in normal clothes. With his hair a little messed up, he’s looking pretty cute. Have you lost your will to prevail over the good looking bad guy?”

  “He caught me off guard. I’m not on my game today. Any other time, I could take his ass. But not right now. Will you please take over?”

  “So you want me to do the wine tasting and mind the cash register?”

  “You’re tough superwoman. You can do everything. I know you can handle this one thing for me, please?” Pleading, she carefully selected a help me tone, to accentuate her request.

  Maybe it was Nixie’s new love crush, combined with a little unusual generosity, making her weak. “Okay, I’ll take care of it. Where should I say you are? Maybe a vacay to Tuscany, that’d indicate you’d be gone for a while.”

  “Ha ha, very funny, just say I’m not here. He won’t ask for details, he’s too professional to get nosy. Well, at least outright nosy, I’m sure he has someone on staff to dig into everyone’s personal business at his whim.”

  Nixie patted Mindie on the shoulder and headed back out to the front. Nervously, Mindie chewed her fingernails, a habit she hadn’t entertained in years. Strange how some events in life make your personality revert to childhood. Eagerly curious, Mindie strained to listen for any discussion. The din of all the voices rambled together into one pleasantly busy overtone, preventing any specific eavesdropping. “Too bad we don’t have security cameras anywhere.”

  Meanwhile, Nixie sauntered casually to the front. The mystery man, also known as Charles the Asshole, continued poring over the wine choices, intently studying the display. After all the time checking out the goods, he then began looking around at the variety of people happily cluttering the store. Finally, he approached Brent, discussing something with a woman several years his senior. “Good afternoon, do you work here?”

  “Not really, but if I can’t answer your questions, I’ll get the person who can.”

  “This is the store Mindie Larsen owns, correct?”

  “Yeah, she and Nixie Bieber own it. You’ve got the right place.”

  “Is she around?”

  “She was working the cash register just a few minutes ago.” Looking around, Brent found Nixie standing there instead of Mindie. “There’s the other half of things. Her name’s Nixie.” Gesturing for her to come over, Brent smiled broadly and raised his voice to carry over the crowd. “Hey, can you come here for a second?”

  Pursing her lips, Nixie walked in their direction, slowly making her way to them. “What’s up?”

  “This gentleman would like to talk to Mindie. Where is she?”

  “Oh, she’s gone.”

  “Gone? She was just here. She was working over there while we took care of this.” Pointing toward the cash register counter, he wrinkled his eyebrows, matching his puzzled attitude.

  Shrugging her shoulders, Nixie looked into Brent’s eyes. “She took off, had some things to do.” With emphasis on to do, she spoke succinctly.

  “Women…who knows? I thought she was here.” Brent scratched his head. “Try coming back later, we have extended hours tonight. I’m sure she’ll be here then.”

  Nixie stood, not saying a word, not even looking in their visitor’s direction. Turning her back to them, she began walking away. “I’m gonna go take care of the cash register again.”

  Clearly unaccustomed to the mysterious ways of women, Brent laughed awkwardly. “Well, sir, she’s a woman of few words. I bet Mindie will be back soon, they have too much going on these days to disappear. If you really want to speak to someone, Nixie can help you too. She’s partner in this place.”

  Frowning, the man visibly processed frustration. “Nothing against Nixie, but, I’ll be back tonight. I’ll want some wine, but, for the amount I wish to purchase I’d like to talk with Mindie personally. I also would like to talk specifically with Mindie about a few things.” Briskly turning and leaving, he was gone in a few strides winding politely through the jovial tour group.

  Nixie waited until the door chimed, signaling his exit then returned quickly. “Thank you, sorry it was weird.”

  “What’s going on with you girls and this man?”

  “It’s a long story. The cliff notes version is that pompous fool was rude to my best friend. He was going to finance our renovations, but, his attitude sucks.”

  “He backed out then, sorry about that.”

  “Oh, no, he didn’t back out, we told him to take a hike.”

  Bewilderment covered Brent’s face. “You’ve got someone to invest and you flat told him no? I don’t understand.”

  “It’s a pride thing. Plus, you never know what he would do later. We don’t trust him.” Nixie proceeded to fill him in on the dark history. With not much to tell, the account didn’t take very long.

  “He really sounds like a piece of shit. No wonder you don’t want anything to do with him. Although, I still don’t understand women, you don’t make anything easy. Why didn’t she tell him personally to take a flying leap when he was right here in the winery?”

  Ignoring any reference to Mindie, she made lighthearted banter about herself instead. “Oh really, should I be easy?” Giggling, Nixie appeared sheepish. “We’ve only had one date.”

  “I’d wait several dates for you. You’re incredible.” Leaning in her direction, he appeared to head in for a kiss.

  “Oh, crap, hold that thought, I gotta go get Mindie.” The welcomed distraction relieved Nixie of the unexpected intimacy. The war inside waged between craving his lips and hesitation of diving into something physical too quickly. “Be right back, you have a customer.” Nodding her head in the direction of another interested taster, she prompted him back to work. Of all the online connections she’d almost made, the distance of cyberspace made getting to know new guys much easier. No matter how ready she was for a boyfriend, Brent in the flesh scared her. In matters of the heart, emotions ruled, something Nixie wasn’t really used to.

  “I thought you said she left?” Shaking his head, Brent watched Nixie scamper away. “Women are living, breathing puzzles.”

  ****

  “You can’t avoid him forever. He’s coming back for sure.”

  “Oh, be quiet, I know.” Mentally running through options, everything led back to the inevitable- she’d have to see him at least one more time. “Why the hell now? He knows I want nothing to do with him. I thought I made myself perfectly clear.”

  “Men like Charles Stansfield don’t give up. They take every opportunity they can. It’s part of being ruthless.”

  After the earlier rush, the pace of the store returned to a peaceful quiet. The tour bus doubled their usual daily profit, making the girls temporarily happy before they talked about Mindie’s incorrigible stalker. “Are you sure he wants to buy wine?”

  “He told Brent the amount of wine he wanted to buy he wanted to get it from you directly. I think today just might break a sales record.”

  An unpleasant thought occurred to Mindie. “What if he’s trying to push us out of business? You know, since I turned him down, it’s a kind of revenge, a sick and twisted revenge. Damn, he has enough money to buy our store entirely out of stock. The
n, what would we do? A winery with no wine won’t stay open very long.” Her voice raised a few octaves and the words rushed from her mouth. “It’s sabotage! He’s the enemy!”

  “Good grief, take it down a few notches. Stop with all the conspiracy theories. You’re talking crazy.”

  “Am I?”

  “We own the damn store. We reserve the right to refuse his business. We don’t have to sell him a darn thing.”

  Shrieking, Mindie lost it. “That might be worse!”

  “This conversation is going nowhere. You’re ridiculous.”

  Ridiculous was the way her heart raced seeing him decked out so casually, looking just as debonair as he had in a suit. This man could wear anything and make it work. Wear anything, or maybe wear nothing, her brain went straight into porno mode. The X-rated location reserved for her vibrator and vivid imagination opened up in Technicolor. She fantasized what his bare chest and manly nipples looked like before she recalled she wasn’t alone. “Oh hell…”

  “You looked ready to devour something…or someone. What were you thinking about?”

  “Never mind, I was being stupid.” Embarrassed by her lack of resolve when Stansfield was in the picture, she wanted to drop the subject.

  “I know you’ve got a thing for the jerk. It’s a natural female response, we love the rogues, the bad boys, it’s a genetic abnormality.”

  Finding an out, she changed the subject. “Brent isn’t such a bad boy, and I surely wouldn’t call him a rogue.”

  “Clever how you segued right out of your boy drama into mine.”

  “You don’t have drama, you’ve got Brent, huge diff.” The new man in Nixie’s life was far from drama. If anything, he could be a fairy tale hero. “He’s a great guy.”

  “I know that. I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop, as you Americans say.”

  Thinking about it, Mindie wondered the same thing. “You’re absolutely right. We do always look for what’s going to go wrong or ruin a good thing.”

  “Speaking of ruining a good thing, he tried to kiss me today.”

  “Really? Okay, you’ve got to fill me in.”

  “I have no fill in, I diverted my attention and took off to get you.”

  “Why didn’t you want to kiss him?”

  “We had a store full of people, I didn’t want an audience.”

  “That’s not the only reason, I know you.”

  “I wasn’t ready. That’s too much pressure.”

  Kissing was intensely private for both of them. It would single-handedly ignite a downfall if executed appropriately by the opposite sex. “I agree and completely understand. I know Brent really likes you, it’s obvious.”

  “It’s also really fast, don’t you think?”

  “There’s something to be said for love at first sight.” On cue, the door chimed signaling a customer. Both girls looked up into the waiting gaze of Charles Stansfield.

  “Oh shit.” Nixie glanced over to Mindie.

  “Oh shit is right, I’m not ready for this.”

  Reaching them quickly with the long strides of his muscled legs, he smiled widely. “Good, I caught you.”

  “Excellent choice of words, I’m definitely in a trap.” Knowing the building like the back of her hand, she knew she had no escape route. Chardonnay even crept out of hiding long enough to hiss in displeasure.

  “A trap? I don’t understand.”

  “What part of get out of my face don’t you understand?” Unleashing a torrent of disorganized anger, Mindie made fists of both hands in her lap. “I don’t want any of what you’re peddling, and that goes for your money too.”

  “I’m trying to help you. I want to buy some of your wine. I have plans to market the Heart Nectar brand.”

  “You’re the most mentally deranged person I’ve ever met. You go from insulting tyrant to fake-friendly colleague like changing clothes. Which, by the way you didn’t fool me with a new outfit. I’m surprised denim didn’t burn your skin.”

  “I’m confused, I thought my assistant called you? I’m sorry I’m not in business attire, I thought you’d appreciate something more casual.”

  “Just because you dress casual doesn’t mean I’m ready to forget everything you said to me. So, dressing down doesn’t make rudeness any more excusable.”

  “Everything I said to you?” He rubbed his forehead for a few moments before he stopped and began nodding. “Oh, I know what’s going on.”

  “Yeah, you know what’s going on. I don’t, I mean we don’t want anything to do with you. We don’t need your investment. We have too much self-respect.”

  Extending his hand out, he smiled. “I must offer my apologies for Charles, I have to do that often, unfortunately. He forgets his manners more than he uses them. I’m pleased to meet you, I’m his twin brother, George.”

  ****

  “Twin brother? This must be a joke.” Nixie spoke for the both of them since Mindie became tongue-tied.

  “No joke, I promise. I’m George Stansfield and aside from looks, I have little else in common with my dear brother. We jointly own a subsidiary of our company, but, usually work separately. I take it he’s already reached out to you.”

  “That’s putting it mildly, he more like emotionally slapped both sides of my face.” Mindie found her voice.

  “I don’t know what happened between you two, but, I know how much of a jerk he can be.”

  “I have another word or two for him.” This new, strikingly rare development had Mindie’s mind spiraling. How could it be possible that the guy she couldn’t forget had a twin brother? The odds had to be astronomical against the notion. “He was going to help us with the company, but he insulted me so badly we wanted nothing to do with him. Did you know he was going to try to contact us?”

  “He and I discussed a possible venture to invest in your business. He didn’t let me know he had already been in touch with you. Now I know why. You and your partner are very beautiful, he wanted to keep you both to himself.”

  “Let me make something perfectly clear. We aren’t concubines or desire to be part of some deranged harem.” Nixie looked at Mindie before she continued. “Neither one of us are interested in Charles, in either a business or personal sense. He has to be the most deplorable man we’ve ever met, right Mindie?”

  “Agreed, he was so friendly and helpful at first. Then, it seemed like a game to him, and he wanted to see how far he could push me. I don’t need anyone’s help so badly I’ll be a doormat.”

  “Do you have time for me to share my plan with you? I want to do things the right way.”

  “I’ll listen. But, I can’t promise we’ll make a decision right away.”

  “The one business trait my brother and I do share is a belief to invest in small businesses with potential. We both like the fact you’re a local operation, and you’ve remained in Braden. When you draw customers here you help the whole town. The first thing I’d like to do, is stock your wine in a couple of boutique stores in larger cities. We own the stores and control the inventory. When you gain visibility to higher paying customers, they tend to buy in bulk when they like something. I’m positive your wine is one good example of something they’ll stock up on.”

  “Your brother planned to invest money in the expansion of our operation. Were you aware of that?” Nixie’s direct nature cut to the chase.

  “We briefly talked about that, but hadn’t made a decision jointly on that offer. Of course we each have money of our own to invest, so quite possibly he was using his personal funds.”

  “I’ll just ask you then, do you have a problem that we purchase grapes from other growers for our current winemaking process?”

  “Absolutely not, you’re still making the wine yourselves.”

  His warm smile almost dissolved all Mindie’s doubt. All body language expressed how interested he was in talking with them. Even the similar lines of his face he shared with Charles had softer edges. His voice held less arrogance, less charm, and m
ore sincerity. Everything about George Stansfield was more dangerous than Charles, and the risks had nothing to do with business dealings. Mindie’s fingertips tingled, imagining running her fingers through his hair that skimmed the collar of his shirt. “So you’re the real deal?” She was screwed up.

  Nixie spoke, supporting Mindie’s hesitance. “Charles really made a horrible impression on both of us, but Mindie in particular. He toyed with her head, and I’m not okay with anyone who plays despicable games.”

  “So, did my brother come on to you…romantically?” A combination of surprise and annoyance clearly loaded the question.

  “It was more of his sporting nature I’m sure. He enjoys human chess.” Staring at George reminded Mindie how you never really know anyone. The more casual version of Charles sitting in front of her appeared genuine, but so did his asshole brother at first. Did she really want to go down this path again?

  Nixie interjected, attempting to help the situation. “What is your plan? You tell us now, then you leave. We will discuss and think about it. This isn’t simply our business, it’s an extension of ourselves.”

  “I appreciate this venture is personal to you both. Not only will I buy quantities of your wine to stock in our stores, I can pledge money as an investment opportunity. What is it you’re wanting to do here?”

  Nixie continued while Mindie found her voice. “We want to add on to the tasting room. We plan to add a deli menu featuring menu items using our wines. We also have a vineyard with new grapevines. We don’t mind buying our grapes from other growers, especially local farmers. It’s wonderful to help other small business owners. Our goal is a batch of our own start to finish. We need capital for both those projects.”

  “Would you mind if I stayed a while longer, you know looking around the place? I’m enjoying the ambience.” Looking back and forth between the girls, George continued beaming a wide smile.

  “Sure, by all means, enjoy yourself. Would you like a tasting?” Nixie pushed Mindie in his direction from behind. “C’mon, Mindie, the gentleman would like a beverage or two.”