Reaves shrugged."Maybe weshouldcall Bentley.If you're okay with it.The thing is, if you feel bad about not letting him deal with Stratton Wines, it's only going to be worse if we don't go to him about my dad's deal either."
"That's true.Okay, Bentley first, then."
Reaves nodded slowly."Yeah, but is he even the right one to talk to about..."He shook his head."I keep going back to that word, the same as my dad did.Vibe.What does that even mean?I mean, that's more like marketing stuff, isn't it?It's not like he's saying the wine isn't good.We all know it's excellent.It's a matter of marketing."
Ollie grinned when a thought struck him."Is it really a question of marketing, or is it branding?"
Reaves made a face."Hell if I know.What's the difference anyway?"
"I'm not sure I know either," said Ollie, "but we both know someone who does."
"We do?"
Ollie nodded."We sure do.Do you remember Willow's friend Delaney?The one who seemed to have caught Elliott's eye."
"Oh, right, yeah.She's Hannah's friend, isn't she?"
"I think she's friends with all of them.And yeah, now that you mention it, I think she and Hannah used to work together when Hannah still lived in LA.The point is, she's a luxury branding specialist."
Reaves's face fell."My dad's place isn't exactly..."
"But that's it, Reaves.The House of St.Jamesshouldbe a high-end luxury boutique..."He searched for more words in the same vein but couldn't find any."You know what I mean?Niche market.The cream of the crop and all that.If it were branded that way, he could probably up his prices ten times over."
Reaves's eyebrows shot up."You really think so?"
"I'd like to."Ollie made a face."It sounds good and it feels right.I mean, think about it.Most of the wines around here are produced on a larger scale.Marketed to the masses.That's not right for the House of St.James, is it?It's boutique.It's legacy.It's all those other words I can't think of.But you know damn well what I mean, don't you?"
Reaves nodded slowly."Yeah, but how would we even—"
"We talk to Delaney, that's how," said Ollie.
Reaves made a face."I'm not sure my dad would get along with her, you know."
Ollie got to his feet."You might be right about that.And I wouldn't blame him.Not saying I don't like her, but Delaney's...a tough cookie.But if your dad's not keen on her, you can act as a buffer between them."
"I will.It's not about who she is.It's about her ideas and her expertise.And from what the rest of them were saying, she's the best at what she does.You think we should talk to her, then?"
"I do."
"Do you have her number?"
"I don't."Ollie took his phone out."But we know lots of people who do.It won't take long to get it.Unless you want to run the idea past your dad first."
"No, let's just call her.Just get an idea first.We're not asking her to do anything.But we can explain the situation and see what she thinks.She might tell us we're wrong and we need to go in a different direction.And then we don't need to bother Dad with it at all.Who are you going to call anyway?"
Ollie pulled up his contact list and smiled when he saw Willow's name.She'd texted him the other day about flight details for the sales team."Let's start with Willow."
~ ~ ~
Callie sat back in her chair and stretched her arms above her head, surprised when she looked up through the skylight to see that not only was it light outside, but the fog seemed to have mostly cleared.She checked her watch — ten thirty in the morning already.She had no idea that she'd been out here for this long.
She should go and check on Alara and Zia, see how they were doing.She hoped that they were settling in well.The move up here had gone fine.She'd been a little worried about Alara driving, but they'd arrived without incident, and Callie had been impressed by the way she maneuvered the camper into the spot behind the trees.
She'd never really given that area a thought after she bought the cottage.The realtor had walked her up there, and there was a concrete slab — which she could now see made sense.The ground was so soft and muddy that a camper would probably sink if it were parked directly on it.
Alara had known what she was doing with the hookups, too.Apparently, it was something standard — the camper had a specific setup in terms of electrical hookup, water pipe, and waste pipe — and Alara had it all set up in just a few minutes.
As Callie had expected, Zia had been absolutely enchanted by the whole property.She loved the cottage and the cabin, although Alara had warned her that she wasn't supposed to go by herself.Callie didn't mind if Zia wanted to come visiting but felt like she should make that clear to Alara without little ears listening.She didn't want to undermine her mom.
