She knew from the manner in which some of the other guests surreptitiously studied him that most of them had gotten the message. You did not want to mess with Mason Fletcher.
Several of the men surveyed him with a calculating air. She suspected that they were busily assuring themselves that in spite of what their instincts were telling them, their money and connections ensured that they held a superior status in the room. The women in the crowd viewed Mason in an entirely different manner. Lucy caught expressions that ranged from curiosity to discreetly veiled sexual interest.
It was a lot easier to analyze the reactions of others to Mason than it was to understand her own disturbing response to him. In the course of her recent whirlwind dating spree, she had met some very nice, very interesting men. A few of those introductions should have worked out for her. At the very least, she ought to have felt some regret when the relationships failed to coalesce into something that could go the distance. But every time she closed the book on another arranged date she experienced a sense of relief, not despair. True, she had cried a few times, but mostly because she knew deep down that it was her fault that the relationships always fell apart.
Commitment issues.
But tonight she was experiencing a revelation. She had been looking for a man like Mason.
Maybe she should contact Dr. Preston and tell her about the breakthrough that had occurred in the middle of a possible murder investigation. On second thought, that was not a good idea, she decided. In Preston’s world a patient who became a conspiracy theorist was probably a lot more worrisome than one who was an ordinary commitment-phobe.
Lucy smiled to herself.
Mason gave her a sharp look. “What?”
“Nothing,” she whispered. “Just a fleeting thought. Forget it.”
Ashley stopped at the long bar and spoke to one of the two women who was not wearing a catering uniform.
“Beth, would you pour two glasses of the Reserve for our very special guests?” she said.
Beth turned around. Her curly brown hair was cut in a short style that framed her strongly etched features. She looked out at the world through a pair of black-framed glasses. Lucy thought she looked familiar.
When Beth saw Mason, her polite smile was transformed into glowing delight.
“Hey, Mason,” she exclaimed. “Remember me? Beth Crosby. It’s been a while. Heard you were back in town.”
Mason smiled. “Good to see you again. Looks like the wine-
making degree you were going for worked out well.”
“It certainly did. I’m the winemaker here at Colfax.” Pride warmed Beth’s voice. She picked up an open bottle and moved to stand across from Mason and Lucy. “I heard you were back in town, Mason. I keep meaning to stop by the hardware store and say hello, but I’ve been insanely busy lately. It’s great to see you again. How are things going?”
“Good,” Mason said. “Do you know Lucy Sheridan?”
“Hi, Lucy,” Beth said. Smiling, she poured two glasses of the red wine. “I wouldn’t have recognized you. We passed each other in town a few times back in the day, but that was about it.”
“I remember,” Lucy said. “It’s nice to see you again.”
“I got to know your aunt fairly well. I collect antique wine-making equipment. Sara found some wonderful pieces for me. Mr. Colfax let me put some of the objects on display in the tank room. Tourists love the old things. I was so sorry to hear about the accident.”
“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. “Tha
t 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.”
“But not this time?” Lucy asked.
“No. Warner is still opposed to the merger for sentimental reasons. Colfax Inc. is his creation. He built it from the ground up. But he no longer takes an active interest in it. His passion now is this winery. I’m afraid that without him at the top it’s only a matter of time before Colfax Inc. loses its edge. It was Warner’s intuition for investments that made the firm so successful. Unfortunately, there’s no one in the family who can replace him. No one has his gut instincts for the market. Everyone involved realizes that.”
“What about you?” Mason said.
“I’m good,” Cecil said. He raised one shoulder in a confident, self-effacing shrug. “I’m very good. That’s why Warner put me in charge. But when it comes to surfing the markets long-term, Colfax is a genius. The problem is he’s just not that interested anymore, and that’s the sad reality. Without him at the helm on a day-to-day basis, the wheels will eventually come off. He’s a stubborn man, but he’s a realist. In the end, I know he’ll do what’s best for the family.”
“Which is to accept the offer?” Lucy asked.
“Right. The merger will allow Warner to get out on top of his career. His legend will remain untarnished. And everyone in the family—and you as well, Lucy—will walk away with a very nice profit. We’re talking multimillion-dollar payouts for each stockholder. But I’m breaking my own rule here, talking business at a party. If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to sit down with you sometime at your convenience and walk you through the spreadsheets. That way you’ll have all the facts before you make up your mind.”
“All right,” Lucy said.
Cecil took out his phone and tapped it a couple of times. “Would ten tomorrow morning work for you?”
Lucy did not bother to take out her own phone. “No, I’m afraid I’m very busy at the moment.” She smiled. “The body in the fireplace has complicated things.”
Cecil winced. “I understand. Maybe later this week? I don’t keep an office here in Summer River. I’m staying in one of the guesthouses on the estate. But that doesn’t matter. All I need is my computer. Ashley mentioned that you are at the Harvest Gold Inn. We can meet there, if that’s convenient.”
“No,” Mason said before Lucy could respond. He looked at Lucy. “You won’t have any privacy there, not unless you use your room.”
He let that hang in midair. There was no need to fill in the blanks, Lucy thought. She did not need a reminder that it would not be a good idea to meet with Cecil alone in her room. She doubted that Cecil needed a lecture on the subject, either.
He cleared his throat. “I was thinking we could have coffee together in the square.”
She stifled her irritation and gave Cecil a bright smile. “That sounds fine. I’ll get in touch when I’ve got some free time to sit down with you and look at the numbers.”
Mason looked even less pleased. Cecil, on the other hand, was clearly satisfied.
“That will be ideal,” he said. He dropped his phone into his pocket. “A pleasure to meet you, Lucy.” He nodded, ever so slightly, to Mason. “And you, Fletcher.”
He turned and waded into the crowd with casual ease, pausing to chat here and there before disappearing into the tasting room.
“Don’t,” Lucy said firmly, “ever do that again.”
“What?” Mason asked. He was watching the doors through which Cecil Dillon had just vanished.
“Do not step in while I’m making a business appointment.”
“He intended that business appointment to take place in your bedroom,” Mason said.
“I doubt that very much. You leaped to a dumbass conclusion, admit it.”
“Dumbass?”
“Oh, for Pete’s sake. He’s the CEO of Colfax Inc. You heard him, there are millions of dollars on the line. He wants to talk me into voting for the merger. That’s all he has on his mind.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because of the money, of course. Trust me, when there’s that much cash involved, money is usually all anyone is thinking about.”
“Usually?”
“What?”
“You said when there’s a lot of cash on the line, money is usually all anyone is thinking about. Are there exceptions to the rule?”
She hesitated and shrugged. “Sometimes people will let emotions overrule their own greed. Doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. Not in this case, though.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“Dillon is not a member of the family. The only thing he has at stake here is money. I’m sure the merger offer includes a very fat bonus for him.”
“So all he cares about is seeing that merger go through?” Mason asked.
“Yes. But I suspect he cares a lot about that.”
“So he’ll lean in hard to convince you to either sell the shares back to Quinn or vote in favor of the merger.”
“I can handle myself. I’ve been in high-pressure situations before. I have testified in court as an expert witness, and I have been confronted with irate heirs who didn’t think they got their fair share of an estate. Trust me, no one gets angrier than an heir who feels he’s been stiffed. I’m not sixteen years old anymore.”
Mason winced. “Sorry.”
“I know, you just can’t help yourself.” She patted his arm. “I realize you mean well.”
He looked down at her fingers on his arm. When he raised his head, his eyes were charged with a dark warning. “In exchange for not setting up the venues for your business appointments, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t pat me like a dog.”
She yanked her fingers off his arm. “Right. Sorry. Does it strike you that we are snapping at each other?”
“I noticed,” Mason said.
“We’re both a little
tense tonight. The last thing we should be doing is quarreling.”
A man’s low, derisive laughter interrupted Mason before he could respond. Quinn Colfax strolled out of the shadows of a vine-draped trellis.
“You call that quarreling?” he said. “That’s nothing compared to what goes on in my family. You haven’t seen a family feud until you’ve witnessed a Colfax family fight.”
The words were ever so slightly slurred. Lucy knew the glass of wine in his hand was not the first or second one he’d had that evening. He’d started early. But Quinn managed to walk a fairly straight line.
He had not changed much in the past thirteen years, she thought. Everyone said he took after his mother, not his father. The first Mrs. Colfax had bequeathed him dark brown hair, brown eyes, and a narrow, fine-boned face that made Lucy think of an early-nineteenth-century portrait of an artist. She remembered something else that people had said about Quinn Colfax—he wasn’t made for the cut-and-thrust of the business world.
Mason glanced at the half-empty glass in Quinn’s hand. “How long have you been eavesdropping?”
Quinn shrugged. “Long enough to hear Cecil and the bitch make their pitch.” He grinned. “Hey, that rhymes, doesn’t it?” He looked at Lucy. “Dillon will try to close the deal with you as soon as possible, you know.”
“Do you have a problem with that?” Lucy asked. “I got the impression from Jillian that you and she were both in favor of taking the offer.”
“Just to clarify—when Jillian speaks, she speaks for herself, not me. Same with Cecil and the bitch. We’ve all got our own agendas.”
“What’s your agenda look like?” Mason asked.
Quinn smirked. “Do you really think I’m going to tell you, Fletcher?” He turned and started to walk away, but he paused and looked back over his shoulder. “Tell you what. For old times’ sake and because you seem to be concerned with Lucy’s well-being, I’ll give her a little free advice.”
“What’s the advice?” Lucy asked.