Page 47 of Flights and Sights

“And are you profitable?”

He chuckled, that professional smile coming back. “Very.”

A moment passed before I spoke again, shifting uncomfortably in my seat. “Do you ever regret it?”

His eyes flashed with something that I couldn’t quite identify. Sadness? Disappointment? I couldn’t tell. But then Joe blinked a couple of times and the look was gone. “Running my little independent brewery? Let me put it this way: we struggled to keep the doors open and the lights on the first year. I did almost everything by myself. We had three staff members, and they were all stretched so thin that we barely had time to breathe. When the Carson Group caught wind of what we were doing here, it was like a breath of fresh air. They changed everything. And this could be you next.”

They changed everything. That was the thought that rolled through my mind for the rest of the afternoon. We had a nice, light lunch in the on-site restaurant, we were given a tour of the grounds, and we exchanged numbers with Joe, as he insisted that we get in touch if we had any other questions or concerns. This could be you. Those parting words were all I could think about.

On the short ride back to the Carson Group’s offices, while we sat in the back seat of a sedan that had been sent to pick us up, Cal turned to me. “How are you feeling?”

I shook my head, my stomach sick. “I don’t know. It’s a lot to take in.”

“What if they want a decision today? What are you going to do?”

I shrugged. “I wish I knew.”

He nodded slowly and placed a warm hand on my thigh just above my knee and squeezed gently. “I get it.” We were quiet for a few minutes. I stared out the window, watching Santa Clara go by, with its lush lawns and clusters of trees. Eventually, Cal cleared his throat and spoke again. “Hey, Pax?”

I turned to look at him. His hazel eyes were sad and his lips were pressed in a tight line. “Yeah?”

“I’m here to support you, whatever you decide.”

“Thanks,” I murmured. “I appreciate that.” I took his hand in my own and threaded our fingers together. Callum gave me a small smile and closed his eyes, exhaling softly through his nose. He seemed to be enjoying the moment, so I tipped my head back against the headrest and let the sounds of the road wash over me as we made our way back to the offices where I’d have to make a choice that would permanently impact my future, no matter what I decided.

Chapter 24 - Callum

The visit to Cinder and Malt had been… illuminating, to say the least. The more we’d seen, the more uneasy I’d felt. Maybe Joe was happy with what he’d helped create, I didn’t know. He didn’t seem unhappy. He just seemed… corporate. And that wasn’t Paxton. Not in the least. The brewery had been so… big. Celestial Cask felt intimate by comparison. But that wasn’t the real issue. It was the authenticity. Cinder and Malt was massive. Impersonal. Bill was raking in profit, sure, but at what cost? The heart of his brewery was gone.

As we headed upstairs to the offices, two distinct possibilities flitted through my mind. The first was the future where Paxton took the offer. Celestial Cask became a corporate powerhouse, the country’s first widely distributed experimental meadery. Big, shiny, wide open. On the other side was the future where Paxton declined the investment opportunity. We might need to spend more time searching for grants, convincing the county planning commission to let us buy the property next door, but it stayed manageable. Paxton kept control. It continued to be small, personal, intimate. Ours.

My stomach ached and roiled when that word went through my mind. Ours. Who was I kidding? This was Paxton’s. I had nothing to do with it. Nothing except writing the article that kicked all of this in motion, of course. And the more I thought about that, the more uneasy and guilty I felt. I was responsible for making his life complicated. Too complicated. All Paxton had wanted was to expand a little. Here he was now, grappling with the decision of a lifetime, and in my daydreams, I kept inserting myself in—permanently.

This is all your fault.

Once we were back in the conference room, Paxton and I sat in the same chairs we’d taken previously. He sat with his hands folded in front of him and waited for Seth and Bill to appear. Jade had assured us they’d be in soon, and we were left sitting quietly to wait.

“Hey,” I whispered. He looked at me, eyebrows raised, and I kept talking, my voice low. “What are you thinking?”

He smirked slightly. “Right now?” When I nodded, his smirk grew. “I’m thinking about last night.”

My stomach fluttered and somersaulted, my cheeks heating. I looked at my hands instead of Paxton’s glittering brown eyes, trying not to get hard while we were in a conference room waiting to make decisions about our future. No. His future. “That’s not what I meant,” I muttered.

He reached under the table, placing a hand on my thigh and giving me a light squeeze. “I know.”

My throat tightened and my mouth went dry. I suddenly desperately hoped this meeting would be quick so we could get back to the hotel room.

Before we could say anything else, the conference room door opened and Bill and Seth entered. We both sat up straighter, placing our hands on the table. I cleared my throat and smiled at the investors.

“Gentlemen,” Bill said in a tone that was meant to be warm but just sounded slimy to me. “How was your visit to Cinder and Malt?”

“Great,” Pax said immediately. “We really want to thank you for taking the time to meet with us and to arrange everything. The visit, the tour of Cinder and Malt, the meeting with Joe. It’s been a really… illuminating experience.”

Seth nodded along. “We’re so glad to hear you enjoyed your time with us.”

The unspoken question hung in the air, a massive elephant in the room. Nobody spoke for a long moment until Bill finally said something. “Do you have any questions for us, or should we have Jade bring in the paperwork for you to sign, so we can get the finalities out of the way?”

Paxton took a long, slow breath and nodded. When he spoke, it was slow, deliberate. and careful. “As I said, we really appreciate everything you’ve done for us. This visit has been incredibly educational and informative. That said, I think…” He glanced at me for reassurance. I nodded, my heart swelling as I suspected I saw where he was going with this. “We’re going to pass at this time.”