“No problem. And for you, sir?”
“Scotch. Dewar’s,” Will requested then helped Vectra back into her seat and claimed the one opposite her.
“So?” she prompted when the waiter had gone to fill the orders.
“Vectra, you know about the charity event Sim holds every year for his scholarship kids, right?”
“Sure.” She nodded. “I think it’s great.”
“It really is. We had a meeting about it today and unfortunately it looks like we’re gonna have a few extreme issues.”
“Yuck.” She made a face. “Well, what kind of problems? That event’s pretty popular. I can’t imagine he’d have a problem finding someone to host it.”
Will shook his head. “Lots of great people to host, but the money they want to do it takes dollars out of what we should be giving to charity.”
It was Vectra’s turn to shake her head. “Understood.”
Will grunted a laugh. “Sim would pay all the expenses out of his own pocket, but no one wants him to do that. Besides, the charity brings in enough for everybody to be happy.”
“True, but when it comes to charities, the more money you put in the hands of the people you want to help, the better.”
“You’re right.” Will cradled a hand against his cheek, considering. “Guess it wasn’t such a bad plan after all.” He noticed Vectra’s curious frown and grinned.
“At the meeting, they tossed around the idea of having the event at your vineyard. I know it’s a lot to ask given everything you already do for the community.” Will shook his head, still grinning. “Sim didn’t like the idea at all.”
Vectra stiffened. “He had a problem with using my vineyard?”
“He didn’t seem all that excited about it, but then neither was I when Minka suggested it.” He shrugged. “That was probably just my own agitation thinkin’ Minka was trying to take back her job.”
The idea was actually quite appealing to Vectra. True, she had a lot of pots on the stove in regard to the many obligations, charitable and otherwise, that she was responsible for. Despite that, her family—her mother, especially—had instilled in her from a young age that it was the duty of those with more to assist those with less whenever they could.
As a result, Carro Vineyards was as widely known for producing fantastic wine as it was for seeing to the needs of the less fortunate. Besides, and Vectra could admit it being selfish reasoning on her part, it was a chance to do something Qasim wouldn’t like. The fact that he’d let their personal differences interfere with doing what needed to be done for charity’s sake set her teeth on edge.
The waiter returned with their drinks.
“So how’d the meeting end?” Vectra asked, sipping her wine. It wasn’t a Carro blend, but it was delicious just the same.
“Well, Sim gave the go-ahead to run the idea by you, so...”
“That’s terrific since I’m interested in hearing more. I’m sure this is an event Carro could host successfully.”
Will nursed his drink, looking progressively uncertain. “The idea was really Minka’s. She’s the one who was supposed to discuss this with you, and since I’m the new kid on the block, I don’t want to get on anyone’s bad side. Especially hers.”
Vectra laughed. “I don’t see that being a problem. Especially with Minka. You said the job was yours now, so we’ll keep everyone in the loop. Maybe a dinner meeting with you, Minka and whomever else needs to be in on it.”
“Sounds good.” Will nodded, the satisfaction returning to his gaze.
Vectra took another quick sip of her wine, glimpsed her watch and winced. “I should be going, Will. Listen, if you guys can work out a time and place to meet, call me with the details and it should be fine.”
“Thanks, Vectra. I can see why Sim likes you.”
“Thanks.” She tried to mask a deep inhale over the observation. “You and Qasim go back pretty far, huh?”
“Pretty far, yeah...” Will’s expression betrayed faint signs of something haunted. “I wish it’d been a friendship born out of want instead of necessity.”
“That sounds ominous.”
His smile was somber. “You can’t get more ominous than the thick of battle.”
“Right.” Her eyes widened.
Will toyed with the rim of his glass. “Things got pretty hairy over there, but I got a good friend out of the hell of it.”
“Your hell turned into the blessing of a good friend.”
“That’s truer than you know.” Will’s smile brightened. “My life was always hell. I thought going into the service couldn’t make it any worse.”