Page 21 of Talk Vino To Me
“It’s going to have to wait, Kel,” I announce. “I don’t care what you have to move, but please move it.”
For a brief moment, she looks as if she might push back. But she looks around the room, at the guilt on Raj’s face, the devastation on Daisy’s, and she nods before ducking back out the door, gently closing it behind her.
Daisy takes a deep breath and blinks away the suspicious brightness in her eyes. I don’t think it’s possible to suck tears back in, but if there’s a way, she’ll find it. She is nothing if not determined.
She shouldn’t have to push it all down. I want to hold her, to give her that space to be vulnerable and feel her feelings, but this is not the time.
“You need to get out there, Ian,” she says. Her voice is low and thick with pain. “This is InWard Joy’s debut. You should be enjoying it. Making connections with your customers and colleagues. Not dealing with this domestic drama.”
“Is that what I am to you, Dez? Drama?” Raj looks at her, his expression bleak. “I suppose I’ve earned that.”
“I’m not doing this with you.” Daisy grabs a tissue and dab of corners of her eyes. “Ian is my client. My responsibility is to him and him alone.”
“Darlin’, I’ve been around the block a time or two. And I’m not judging — goodness knows I have never been a saint myself — but what was happening when I came in here was not at all businesslike.”
Shit. Daisy and I stare at each other. I’d hoped he didn’t see the two of us kissing. It’s not about me — I don’t give two shits about my reputation. But Daisy has a job and a career to keep in mind. I don’t want anyone trash talking her because we were careless.
“Nobody’s gonna hear anything about this from me,” Raj hastens to reassure us. “Y’all are adults, and it’s none of my business what you get up to. Just saying: you might wanna lock the door next time.”
Daisy’s cheeks flame despite her father’s very reasonable words. I almost want to laugh; it’s the least tense moment since he entered my office. We’re in our forties, but if it had been my parents, I’m sure my reaction would be the same as hers.
“Noted.” I turn to Raj. “But I’m sure you’re not here to discuss my forgetfulness.”
“No, I didn’t. I came to ask you if we could put the band back together.”
The request stuns me. Courage hasn’t played together in ten years. And Raj’s brief time with us was long before that. I’m not sure what he’s getting at.
“I’m opening a bar over in Northeast in a few months,” he explains. “I need something splashy to bring folks in. When I saw that you were out here opening this place, I thought I’d ask you to invest. Then I heard through the grapevine that you were broke, and I figured I’d —”
“What?” Daisy interjects. “What do you mean Ian’s broke?”
Double fuck me. Raj needs to shut the fuck up, and quickly. But my brain is frozen and I can’t get the words out as he keeps going.
“His accountant ran off with his money,” Raj tells her. Daisy’s open-mouthed stare is laced with pity. My stomach churns at the sight.
“How the fuck did you hear that?” I ask him, finally getting my words back.
“Come on, man. You know how musicians are. We gossip. Especially when a bunch of folks were using the same guy and also got screwed over.”
“Oh, Ian…” Daisy intones. Her voice trails off as if she doesn’t know what to say. I don’t look at her. I can’t. God, I never wanted her to know this.
“Anyway,” Raj steamrolls on, “I figured you can’t invest, but maybe you could give me some time? If we could get back on stage together, I’m sure we’d sell out the place out. You could promote your wine, we’d have specials on it, make cocktails with it, that kind of thing, and it would attract other big names to my place. What do you think?”
“You are unbelievable,” Daisy says. Heat laces every word she speaks. “Get the band back together? That’s a laugh.”
Raj holds up both hands as if he’s surrendering in the face of Daisy’s anger. “Dez, it’s just an expression.”
“It wasn’t your band. They weren’t your fans. You weren’t a fit. They didn’t want you, Roger. Because you weren’t the guy.”
“Daisy —”
“You weren’t the guy people showed up for. It was Shred. Not you. The band knew that. That’s why they let you go.” A tear slips down her face. Again, I want to reach out and pull her into my embrace, but I sense she would resent me for it. Raj just stands there, weathering the blows.
“I know that, Daisy.” His voice is almost a whisper. “I was too much older than them. They had a groove already that I didn’t fit into. But I had to try. I was sure it would be my big break. If not with Courage, with another band.”
“But it wasn’t, was it? You were only with them for six months, Dad. And when they let you go, you didn’t even bother to come back home.”
Fucking hell. Poor Daisy. Her dad runs off to join her favorite band, and then he gets kicked out? Holy shit. No wonder she’s so angry with him.