“Thank you,” Lucy said. She wondered how many more times she was going to have to say that. “Congratulations on the great position here at the winery.”
“Thanks.” Beth smiled proudly. “I wouldn’t be here if Mr. Colfax hadn’t taken a chance on me. He hired me right out of school and gave me everything I asked for in terms of state-of-the-art equipment. He says he always trusts his gut when it comes to hiring talent.”
“Warner was not mistaken in his choice of winemakers,” Ashley said. Impatience edged her words, but she kept her smile in place. “The Reserve is Beth’s finest creation to date. Warner is convinced it will make Colfax famous in the wine world.”
“Try it,” Beth said. She put the bottle down and waited with an expectant air.
Lucy picked up the long-stemmed glass.
“I’m no connoisseur,” she warned.
“Neither am I,” Mason said. “Now, when it comes to beer—”
Beth laughed. “Go on, try the Reserve.”
Lucy dutifully went through wine-tasting protocol. She swirled the Reserve gently in the glass, inhaled the essence and took a tentative sip. The wine was lush and dark on her tongue.
“Very nice,” she said.
“It’s a little young yet,” Beth said. “But it’s got everything. It’s impressive now, but just give it a couple of years.”
“The magic of wine,” Lucy said, smiling.
“It’s not magic,” Beth said. “Modern wine-making is a science. If you like, I would be happy to give you both a tour of the winery sometime.”
“Thanks,” Lucy said. “Sounds interesting.”
Ashley had evidently had enough. “Let’s go out onto the terrace. It’s easier to talk out there. Too much background noise in here.”
Once again Lucy and Mason followed her through the crowd. There were a number of people gathered in small clusters on the spacious, lantern-lit terrace, but Ashley did not pause to make introductions. Like a guided missile locked onto a target, she kept going until she found an unoccupied corner. She halted at last and fixed Lucy with a penetrating look.
“I’m sure you know by now that discovering that you got those shares of Colfax Inc. came as a shock to the whole family,” she said.
“I was more than a little stunned myself,” Lucy said. “But I was a good deal more shocked by Sara’s and Mary’s death.”
Ashley’s elegant jaw tightened. “Such a tragedy. I’m new to the family, as I’m sure you’re aware. I married Warner less than a year ago. I’m sorry that I never got the opportunity to know your aunt. I’m not into antiques. I met Mary, of course, but I only saw her on a couple of occasions.”
A tall man walked out of the shadows. “Which is why no one knew that she left her shares to Sara Sheridan,” he said.
The observation was made in a rich, resonant voice. The newcomer sounded ruefully amused.
“Cecil,” Ashley said. She looked relieved to see him. “Let me introduce you to Lucy Sheridan and her friend Mason Fletcher. Lucy, Mason, this is Cecil Dillon. He’s the CEO of Colfax Inc.”
“A pleasure,” Cecil said.
He could have played the part of a CEO in a film, Lucy decided. He had the height, the dark hair, the chiseled features, the gym-toned body and the savvy, nothing-gets-past-me eyes.
He smiled warmly at Lucy and held her fingers a beat longer than necessary.
When he turned to Mason, his expression switched to a coolly polite, businesslike look. The handshake between the two men was brisk and short. One alpha acknowledging another and also doing some sizing up, Lucy decided.
“Is it common to bring in an outside CEO to run a family business?” she asked, in an attempt to ease the subtle tension that seemed to have infused the atmosphere.
Cecil smiled at her. “A lot of family businesses hire an outsider to run the firm, just like any other corporation. Sometimes it’s because no one in the family is qualified to take on the responsibilities. Sometimes it’s simply because no one in the family wants the job. The personal dynamics can be tricky to navigate. Often it’s easier on everyone if the person making the day-to-day decisions is not a relative.”
“Okay, that makes sense,” Lucy said.
“But now, for the first time, there’s going to be an outsider on the board,” Ashley said. She gave Lucy an appraising look. “That should certainly make for some interesting family dynamics. Are you aware that there’s a merger offer on the table?”
“I heard something about it,” Lucy said.
“I might as well take this opportunity to warn you that the Colfax family is deeply divided on the wisdom of going through with the merger,” Ashley said. “You appear to hold the deciding shares.”
“Whoa.” Cecil held up a hand. “This is a birthday party. No business talk tonight. I can go over the pros and cons of the merger with Lucy some other time.”
“You’re right,” Ashley said. “Wrong place, wrong time. It’s just that the merger has been on everyone’s mind for the past few weeks. It was supposed to be a done deal. And now everything’s in chaos.”
Cecil took charge. He touched Ashley’s arm in a small, telling gesture. He was warning her to calm down, Lucy realized. Ashley’s tension was palpable.
“I think that’s enough for now, Ashley,” Cecil said. “Why don’t you go back to your other guests? You know Warner likes to have you by his side at events like this. I’ll explain the situation to Lucy at some other time.”
“Yes, of course,” Ashley said. She pulled herself together with a visible effort and gave Mason a glowing smile. “I’ll see you both later. Enjoy yourselves.”
She turned quickly and disappeared into the crowd.
“I apologize for Ashley,” Cecil said to Lucy. “There’s a lot of tension in the family—always has been. The merger offer is bringing things to the surface. Mary’s death and finding out that her shares went to someone outside the family has added another level of complexity. She left everything else in her estate to Quinn. Most of it was in the form of property in the area that she bought years ago, when land in wine country was cheap.”
“Any idea how Mary felt about the merger?” Mason asked.
“She never paid much attention to the business,” Cecil said. “But when there was division on the board she always voted with Quinn. For the most part, Quinn backs his father.”