They were always eager to see Reaves, and of course Ollie was too.But there was more to it this morning.He was concerned about Charles's situation.
He found it hard to believe that the distributor had dropped the House of St.James wines.He wished that Jacob was here.He would have called him by now if he were.But then again, Reaves would have called him himself, no doubt.
As the CEO of Jacobs Estate, Jacob was one of the biggest names in Napa, and he was the one who ran Stratton Wines for Ollie.Well, Luigi was in charge of operations here, but when it came to the business, Jacob took care of everything.But considering that he was on his honeymoon, Ollie was just going to have to wait a week before he could talk to him.
He could talk to Bentley — as CEO of DuPont Wineries, Bentley was as well-respected as Jacob.But Ollie felt a little awkward about that.Not because Bentley was his employer, but because he kept thinking more and more lately that he should find a way to run at least part of Stratton Wines through Bentley's company.
He blew out a sigh as he approached the house.Apart from anything else, none of it was his decision to make.It would be up to Reaves if they even suggested looking for help, and most importantly, it was for Charles to decide what he wanted to do.
"Get back here, guys," he called to the dogs when he heard Reaves's truck coming up the driveway.
Peanut and Butter came bounding back to him and sat at attention by his side when he stood still to watch Reaves pass.They hurried over to greet him as he climbed out of his truck.
"Hey, doggies."Reaves greeted them, and they fawned over him for a few minutes before he nodded at Ollie."Hey, how's it going?"
"Yeah, I'm good.How about you?And how's your dad?"
Reaves shook his head."He's...okay.And I think that worries me more than anything.He's kind of accepting his fate."
"That's not like him," said Ollie.
"No.I know.That's what worries me."He met Ollie's gaze."I feel like shit, Ollie.I should have been doing more to help him."
"What could you do, though?"Ollie asked.
"I don't know, but I should have been figuring it out and learning how, shouldn't I?"
"I guess so.Come on inside — do you want coffee?"
"Yeah, I'd love one, thanks."
Ollie led them into the house, but when they had their coffee, they came back outside to sit on the terrace by the pool.It was too nice a day to stay inside.
"So, what do you know about the whole deal?"Ollie asked."What exactly happened?"
"All I know is that he had his regular meeting with the distributor.And when he came back, he didn't say a word.He went into his office, closed the door, and I didn't see him till the next morning."He shrugged."I really don't know much more than you do.He keeps muttering about that word —vibe— and what the distributor said."
"What does that even mean when it comes to wine, though?"asked Ollie.
"Damned if I know," said Reaves."I wanted to talk to Bentley.Or maybe Cameron.But I figured I should wait until we got together."He smiled."We can figure it out between us, can't we?"
"You bet your ass we can.I was thinking the same thing.My first thought was Jacob, but of course—"
"Yeah," Reaves agreed."I don't think he'd appreciate us calling him on his honeymoon."
"Not a lot."
"There's Bentley."
Ollie made a face."I feel kind of bad about the whole Stratton Wines deal, though.And if I ask him about your dad's company when I've never run anything about this place past him...I'd hate for him to think..."
Reaves nodded."I doubt he would, but I can see where you're coming from."He gave Ollie a wry smile."I'll say it even though you don't want to.The House of St.James is small potatoes compared to this place, isn't it?"
"Yeah."Ollie felt bad agreeing, but it was true."But only in terms of size," he said."This place is so much bigger, but when it comes to quality over quantity, the House of St.James is everything."
"Right," said Reaves."That's why I don't understand.I mean, maybe this distributor's just not marketing it right, or not approaching the right kind of retailers, or..."He shook his head."I don't know.I don't know the first damn thing about wine.And I feel so bad about that now.I've been thinking for a while that I should do more to help Dad out, but..."
"Don't beat yourself up about it," said Ollie."We both could have done more, but all that matters is that we do now.So, where do you want to start?"
