Wine & Shine

-chapter 1-

~Harvey Fabien Brooks~

I woke up to the sound of my grandma clanging pots and pans in the kitchen, I turned to check my phone... It was 8 am on a Sunday morning.

"Grandma, it's 8 in the morning, what are you doing in the kitchen this early?" I asked as I walked out of my room.

"I'm obviously making breakfast, dear " she answered with a warm smile. I simply just nodded.

I didn't bother arguing with her to go back to bed because she wouldn't back down even if I tried, I just went to the toilet. I brushed my teeth and changed into casual wear as I wasn't doing much today. Then, I went into my sister's room to check on her, she was lying on her stomach and snoring, haha.

Recently, a lot has been going on as I'm a senior in uni and I'm currently discussing a potential collaboration with one of the most famous jewellery companies, Moretti and Co. Yes, I am juggling studies and a business at the same time, the wine company was passed down to me by my late parents when I was 17.

Obviously, I knew nothing about business at that time but my grandma and best friend, Bryon has been supporting me all the way. I'm super grateful to have them in my life. To be given birth into this world with an extra appendage as well certainly made my life a bit more unique I suppose.

As I walked out of the toilet, I smelt the wonderful aroma of food, I heard it sizzling on the pan. My grandma made bacon and eggs and waffles, my favourite. "Eat up, it's getting cold," said my grandma. "Thanks, grandma," I replied.

At around 10 am, Bryon phoned me about the winery. He was my assistant, manager... he was everything that I wasn't , he was probably better at operating the company than I was. Anyways, the phone call was about Moretti which meant it was super important. Apparently, the big boss herself wanted to tour the winery and as the boss, I had to be the tour guide and not only that, she wanted to tour the winery today at 5 pm, as in having a tour of the winery on a Sunday. Well, I have nothing to do anyways.....

After ending the phone call with Bryon, I went into Harper's room. "Hey, sleepyhead, wake up, it's noon," I said. She fell out of bed unwillingly and said "meh" with a cheeky grin on her face. That silly girl. I've been taking care of her along with the help of grandma and Bryon ever since mom and dad died. Sometimes, I always wonder why this world is so cruel to a cute little kid like that but that just meant I had to work harder for the sake of her and everyone else.

At around 4 pm, I started dressing up for the tour. I didn't need to prepare early as the winery was really close to my house (it is an urban winery). When I do business, I usually prefer to wear suits. I wore a navy blue suit that I designed myself, perks of being a fashion design student I guess. I paired the suit with a light grey tie and wore a pair of tan oxford's. I bid my grandma and Harper goodbye before heading to the garage.

"Dear, you look handsome, now go and make us proud!" my grandma shouted.
"I will, see you later," I replied.

I walked to the garage and was greeted by my dad's magnificent Aston Martin Vantage, it was a beauty, to say the least. I got into the car and started the engine. It occasionally reminded me of that one time I rode it with my dad, I miss him and mom too.

About 30 minutes later, I reached the winery. It was already getting packed with people which was always a pleasant sight to see. I greeted the customers and headed to the bar.

"Hey Jimmy, how's today going?" I asked Jimmy, Jimmy Grayson, who was our Winemaker.

"Everything is going well kid, why'd you come in today, I thought you were staying home?" asked Jimmy and yes he calls me kid cuz I basically am one.

"Miss Moretti is coming over, I gotta give her the tour" I replied

"Ooh, I see," Jimmy said while wiggling his eyebrows.

"No, don't look at me like that, come on... this is serious work, you know that" I laughed at his face. I knew what he was thinking because back then, I was an easy target, our company's previous partner, she wouldn't stop flirting with me and we ended up in a relationship, it was fun while it lasted, she wasn't actually serious about us and broke up with me 2 months later along with the partnership... I loved her though...well at least I thought I did.

My phones rings and I picked it up to look at the caller ID
Ah, Miss Moretti was calling me....

"Hi there, Miss Moretti. Have you arrived?" I asked

"I like to hope I am but I think I got a bit lost, this place seems like a maze" she replied. Her voice sounded very angelic and elegant.

"Oh, would you like me to pick you up then?" I replied in an instance.

"Alright then, thank you," she said.

She sent me her location and I drove to her. From the map, I figured that she just took the wrong turn which made her end up in the abandoned section of the shop lots. I sped up because robberies were common in that area, and not wanting Miss Moretti to wait for long as well.

As I turned into the junction, I saw a few men circling her car. I knew a few of them as they tried harassing some of my customers before but they never managed to get anything out of it. They knew who I was and what my car looked like so they quickly walked away when I started flashing my headlights at them. Then, I drove next to Miss Moretti's car and rolled down the window. When we made eye contact, she raised an eyebrow at me. "Miss Brooks?" She asked.

"Hi there Miss Moretti, nice to finally meet you, I'm Harvey Brooks, the owner of The Brook's Winery and Wine Bar" I replied with a warm smile.

"Hailee Moretti. Now, can you bring me to your winery?" she said with a monotone voice. I nodded and directed her to the winery.

Hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter -abs