“I just don’t understand why it isn’t 600. Why not 612 or 614 even?”
“I am living for how much this odd number would be killing you.”
We wandered the aisles while I pretended I was a whiskey aficionado, detailing the little knowledge I had on aging times and cask types.
“What are those noises?” He asked with intrigue.
“The hissing is one of the machines, don’t ask me what it does because I can’t remember. That low humming sound is another machine. Don’t ask me what that one does either. I know it’s large and made of steel. I think.”
“I am not even going to pretend to care about the process. Where is your fiancé?” He asked as we turned the corner, the office a few metresaway.
“I don’t actually know, but I-” I paused, smiling when I saw Cooper sitting in my chair. “Speak of the Devil.”
He stood, reaching for my smoothie without asking, like it was the most natural thing in the world. He took a long, languid sip, eyes half-lidded, then handed it back to me without a word.
Okay, then.
“Xavier, right? I’m Cooper,” he reached out and shook Xavi’s hand.
“The one and only.” Xavi seemed more like himself today, no code-switching or editing and that made me smile. There was a quiet pride in seeing him just be, without effort, and knowing he already felt comfort around Cooper was everything.
“I owe you an apology,” Coop said, and from the look on Xav’s face, I wasn’t the only one caught off guard by the sentiment. “Sorry if I made you feel unwelcome last time.” The way he placed his hands in his pockets told me everything, he was trying to look relaxed, even if he wasn’t. But he wasn’t running from the moment either. That honesty, the effort to acknowledge his emotions, was new for him. And it meant something.
“Oh, don’t mention it. I’m sure Ev chewed you out enough. And to be fair, if I thought someone was trying to steal her from me, I’d probably react the same.” I threw a raised brow,really, to Xavier who looked like he was having the time of his life.
“Thanks for coming down here today too. Evy says you’re the only person she knows who gets numbers more than she does.”
“Ummm, I never said such a thing,” I lied, knowing my friend would latch onto that like white on rice.
“Did she now? You've been complimenting me, doll?” Xav asked with a grin.
“Never. Now come over here and get comfortable. We have mountains of paperwork to scour.”
Cooper stepped aside, again thanking Xaiver before excusing himself and I reached for all the folders, piling them onto the desk.
“That man gets hotter each time I see him,” he said, and Ishook my head, handing him the first book and taking a seat beside him ready to begin my umpteenth read through.
Cooper popped his head back through. “Ahhhh, thanks,” he said to Xavi, and I bit back a laugh. “I’ll sort lunch for you guys,” he added, then finally disappeared for good, and that did it. Xavier and I completely lost it, doubling over in a fit of giggles.
“Oh my God,” I said between huffs. “You just hit on my boss/roommate/fiancé.”
“Ahhhh, thanks,” Xavi mocked Cooper’s embarrassed gratitude and we both fell into another bout of laughter. And it hit me then, I didn’t just miss seeing him every single day. I missed this - the laughter, the chaos and the way he made everything funnier just being in the room.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” I confessed, handing him a ledger before we made eye contact and again lost it, dissolving into hysterics.
The office looked more like the day I first started when we decided we were maxed out. Take out containers discarded on chairs, empty cups in various places and piles of paper scattered everywhere.
We’d counted each of the 613 barrels, twice. We’d itemised every label and reviewed each with both the handwritten and electronic registers. And we’d come to the same conclusion. Someone was stealing from Golden Spades Distillery and everything pointed to it being an inside job. An employee. Whether they were pilfering barrels, oversupplying a stockist or mis-recording, there was embezzlement, and according to our calculations, it had been going on for at least two years.
Just thinking about telling Cooper was gut-wrenching. How did you break something like that to someone who barely trusts anyone to begin with? And now, of the few people he let in, one of them had let him down. I was fairly confident I knew who, but I was going to make sure I was 100% before I went aroundpointing fingers.
“I must admit, I agreed to this deal far too quickly,” I whispered, nerves crackling across my skin and not just because of the warmth of Cooper’s hand on the small of my back.
“If we don’t order entrees, we can probably escape in less than two hours.”
“Two hours?” I hissed, through lips even a ventriloquist would envy. “That’s a life sentence under these conditions.”
“Coop,” Preston stood from the table, making a show of shaking his son’s hand and pulling him in for a quick hug which, judging by Cooper’s stiff posture, wasn’t a common occurrence.
