Triple the Love

Work

Jack

“Jack!” Tori yelled, and I groaned as I hung my head. I loved my little sister, but now that she was back from college, she had become the biggest pain in my ass. “Jack Watson!”

“WHAT?!” I yelled back as I looked up. My bartender, Zander, flinched, and I smiled apologetically as I put down the tablet and headed off to the office where I knew my sister was sitting.

“Jack! Oh! There you are!” she said when I entered the office. She was sitting behind my desk, behind my computer, on my chair. “Are you sure this is right?” I didn’t even need to look at the screen to know exactly what she was referring to.

“Tori, what did I tell you?” I moaned as I sat down across from her. “Leave the stuff alone,”

“And I told you, I am here to help,” she argued. The worst part was the way she looked at me.

“Tori, don’t do that. I told you, I’ve been working on that system for over three years. Everything is in place and if you f**k it up, I will kill you,”

“Jack…I want to help,” Tori whispered as she lowered her gaze. I sighed as I leaned forward.

“And I told you, you can help in other ways,”

“Yes, but…” her voice trailed off, and I waited for her to get it off her chest. Tori had come back to Chasea after college to help me at the vineyard. The problem was that she had studied psychology. She had no idea how to run a business, let alone a vineyard. “I want to open up a practice, Jack,” she finally finished, and I nodded as I leaned back in my seat.

“And you will,” I promised. When our parents had died, I had taken the money and placed everything in an investment. When I turned twenty-one, I pulled out my half and bought the vineyard. We were currently waiting for Tori’s half to pay out so that she could open up her practice. In the meantime, she was bored and feeling restless. My phone went off, and I sighed as I stared at her. “I have a job to do, Tori…please leave things alone…I mean, why don’t you meet with Miller and take a look around…get used to what Chasea has to offer and decide where you want to put up your practice, I suggested as I pulled my phone out of my pocket.

“Miller…ok, I can do that,” she said as she turned her attention back to the computer. I had to trust that she was going to do what I had said and that she wasn’t going to bother with my perfectly working system. I left the office and headed back to the bar so that I could finish taking inventory. I paused as I remembered I had a message, and I immediately smiled when I saw it was from Corey.

Corey: Good morning sweetness! I hope you slept well, and I hope you have a fabulous day! Any plans for Friday? I was hoping we could have a night in at your place, and talk?

My smile grew bigger as I read his text. Corey was an absolute dream, and I would have loved for us to be more than friends. But I also respected the hell out of him, and I knew he just wasn’t ready yet. Or was he? I wasn’t sure what he wanted to talk about, but since he had specifically mentioned that he wanted to talk, it made me wonder.

Jack: Hey boy, I am free on Friday, and I look forward to seeing you. I hope you have a good day as well. See you soon.

I hit send before I shoved my phone back into my pocket so that I could get back to work. When I stepped behind the bar, I saw that Zander was busy with the inventory, so I left him to it and decided to check the inventory in the storage room. I got lost in work and by the time I was done, I was exhausted. I hated the job, but I loved it at the same time. I shut and locked the storage room door before I headed to my office. Tori wasn’t inside, so I had to assume she had gone out. I sat down behind my desk, and I was relieved to see that my system still looked the same. Tori hadn’t f****d with it.

“Hey, are you free for dinner tonight?” I looked over to see Tori standing by the door.

“Oh…I thought you were gone,” I remarked as I leaned back in my seat.

“I’m on my way out…dinner…tonight?” she asked again. I sighed as I shook my head and her face fell.

“I’m on duty…but if you don’t mind sitting right here, we can eat together?” I suggested, hopefully. Tori’s face lit up as she nodded, and I relaxed. “But don’t even think about asking me on Friday,” I added.

“If I didn’t have an appointment, I’d ask you to give more details, but if I don’t leave now, I will be late,” before I could respond, she was gone. I hadn’t told her about Corey yet, but I had a feeling the two of them would get along just fine. I closed my eyes for a moment, to catch my breath, as I thought about the man who had stolen my heart from day one. It had been a constant struggle to keep my hands to myself. On top of that, I had done everything I could not to push him. Corey knew exactly how I felt about him, but maybe it was time I did push. The thought didn’t sit well with me, so I opened my eyes and got back to work. That was what was important. Work. Corey could wait until Friday.

“Ah, boss…Corey and Jacob are in the restaurant for lunch and the little one is asking for you,” Oliver said as he stuck his head in my office. I immediately jumped up. Corey was here. He wanted to see me, and who was I to disappoint him?