Cougar's Victory (3 page)

Dax looked over the designs that were sent by email last night. He’d given up all hope of finding a reason to not sleep for ten hours and crashed out on the couch without checking for a reply to his email.

Waking up without a hangover was a gift from being weaned on wine as a child. Flipping open his laptop he saw the email waiting for him from Victorygurl. Along with three emails from his mother, two from his brother Everett, and various other business requests.

Clicking open the new message he pulled up the designs and started laughing. Tiger Mountain Winery. It was brilliant, local and it would drive his mother insane. His father would totally find the humor in a cougar family having a tiger as a logo. His mother might never speak to him again.

The design was clean, simple, but elegant. The colors needed some tweaking and possibly the font. All in all it was a fantastic start. The website for the winery needed to be up long before they bottled their first batch. The vineyard had a prefab building onsite that held a small tasting room and a banquet area. Dax wanted to at least start renting the space out for weddings and corporate functions to start producing some income.

Shooting off an email he told her he wanted to follow up ASAP and get rolling on the designs

To: [email protected]

Subject: re: Proofs for potential logo design

Good Morning Effie,

Thank you so much for your quick response. Your designs are exactly what I’m looking for. There are a few changes I’d liked to work with you on. If you could please email your contract paperwork, I’ll have them signed and returned to you today.

Regards,

Dax Hayes

Clicking send, Dax made his way to the kitchen and thanked the good lord the housekeeper he’d hired was on top of things and had pre-filled the coffee pot so he just had to turn it on.

Deciding a shower was on the top of his priority list, he headed down the hall to the master bedroom. The lone bed and nightstand looked bleak in the room. But most of his clothes he could hang up and the rest he’d dumped into his suitcase on the floor. If he stayed here any longer he needed a dresser. His mother would be gasping at the idea of her son wearing clothes out of a case on the floor. Wrinkles were not allowed in the Hayes family.

After his shower, Dax dressed in his standard black dress pants, leather dress shoes and a lilac colored long sleeve dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Another thing he could get away with when his mother wasn’t around. She thought it looked slovenly and uncouth. Her words not his.

You would think a man that had been alive over five decades could stand up to his mother, but you’d be wrong. His mother never steered him wrong when it came to proper etiquette and good manners. Her opinion on his other life choices? Well there was a good reason he was seven hundred miles away starting a new life.

Making his way back out to the kitchen he poured himself a cup of coffee into a travel mug and took that first delicious sip, Washingtonians knew coffee. Letting the caffeine seep into his veins, his cat gave him a huff to let him know he was awake too. Dax checked his email, nothing back from Effie yet, such an interesting name, he thought. Not one that he’d heard before. He couldn’t help but wonder if there was a story behind it.

Scooping up his laptop and stuffing it into his leather messenger bag he strode out into the bright sunlight of an almost spring day. The weather on the eastern side of the Cascade mountain range was much warmer than the rainy Seattle weather near the Puget Sound. It was like two different worlds separated by a row of mountains. Seattle could be fogged in and gloomy while the eastern part of the state was baking in the heat. Great for grapes.

Walking into his garage, Dax took a moment to appreciate his car. A Lexus LFA, limited edition, silver metallic paint, and completely impractical for driving through farmland. But it was one of the few little indulgences he allowed himself. Fast cars not only kept him happy but his cat too.

He could hear the appreciative purr of his animal as they both looked over the lines of the car. His cat knew if he couldn’t go out and run, Dax would make sure the wind was in their hair when they drove. That reminded Dax that he really needed to drive into the mountains so his animal could have some time to roam. He was homesick too and missed being able to run with his brothers.

Checking his watch, Dax stopped ogling his car and hopped in. He had a meeting with his staff in an hour and it never looked good for the boss to show up late.

A few hours later, Dax was sitting in his office that was the size of his closet back at home, he checked his email again. Which he’d been doing every ten minutes or so, waiting to hear back from Victorygurl. He was claiming boredom but even his cat was calling bullshit. This was borderline obsession. Finally his computer pinged.

He had a response from Effie. There was something about that name. He liked how it rolled off his tongue.

“Effie…”

Just seeing her email pop up had his heart picking up a bit. That was strange. Work never got him that excited before.

Hmm, he wondered what she looked like. A name like that had him thinking of high society. One of those ridiculous women who would show up in giant feathered hats to polo matches his family would sponsor. But that seemed like an unlikely persona out in this rural area. Wow, that sounded snobby of him. Shaking off the thought, Dax tried very hard to not be ‘the rich guy’ although it wasn’t something he could deny. But he never considered himself better than anyone else. He worked just as hard as his staff, often right beside them when they needed. But he’d grown up in a mansion, with everything he could ever desire. Life was easy when you didn’t have to think about money.

Dax was aware of the realities of the real world. Not too many years ago, most shifters lived in poverty trying to hide themselves from humans. They didn’t even have access to the usual services in a community since they tended to live far out in the woods or remote areas.

His family sponsored a number of charities, including a summer camp for children. Dax always made an appearance during the camps to teach the kids about wild animals and safety while they were camping. If anyone knew about the dangers in the woods, it was him.

Now, he really was trying to fit in, lay low. Of course his car stood out like a beautiful sore thumb. Other than that, most people hadn’t made the connection between Dax Hayes and Hayes Wineries in California. Washington had its own robust wine world and they liked to keep their competition homegrown.

One of the reasons Dax rented that sad little house was that he didn’t want to look like he was living large and not willing to get his hands dirty to build the business. His mother had tracked down a huge house for him when she’d finally become resigned to the fact he was relocating. It was a farm house she said. Which sounded promising until Dax found out that in this area many farms were family owned but company ran. Meaning the farmers lived in mansions in the middle of wheat fields.

The idea of him sitting in six thousand square feet of loneliness was what had him hunting for and finding his tiny beige box. Lonely was one thing, ostentatious and lonely was another.

Clicking open the email, he found a fairly standard contract. Clearly Victorygurl Designs was not used to working with large companies. The fee scale was like she was giving it away. Dax printed out the contract, signed it and handwrote in an additional bonus of ten thousand dollars if the project was finished within the month. He buzzed out to his receptionist/office manager/cashier and all around girl Friday, Margo, and asked her to run to town and drop off the contract.

Responding to the email, Dax assured Effie the contracts were on the way and then before he hit the send button thought about who Effie Parks was again. Deleting the message, he picked up the phone and dialed in the number from the website.

It rang a few times before an angelic voice answered. Shit, did he just think the word angelic?

“Victorygurl Designs, this is Effie.”

Clearing his throat, Dax forgot what he was going to say.

“Hello?” The voice asked.

“Uh, sorry, this is Dax Hayes,” he managed.

“Oh! Mr. Hayes, so good to hear from you. Was there a problem with the contracts?” Effie asked. She really hoped this transaction would go smoothly. If he wanted to negotiate price, she was desperate enough to take what he offered.

“No, they were fine. I did make one adjustment, but I don’t think you will mind. And please, call me Dax. Mr. Hayes makes me feel old,” Dax laughed.

He certainly didn’t sound old, Effie thought. He sounded sexy and his voice purred over the phone. Yummy.

“As long as you call me Effie. I’m glad you liked my ideas. You said there were some changes you’d like to make. Do you want to go over them now?”

“I have a few minutes, sure. I don’t think this will be our only draft. I hope you aren’t one of those uptight artists that don’t like anyone changing your work. This design is going to be on everything as far as our branding goes. Wine bottle labels, T-shirts, and even tote bags. It has to stand the test of time.”

“Of course not, and no I’m too much of a starving artist to be worried about my art,” Effie laughed. “Why don’t you tell me what you’re thinking,” she encouraged.

They spent the next fifteen minutes kicking ideas back and forth to each other. Dax was amazed how easy it was to talk to Effie. She was sweet and bubbly and he enjoyed talking to her even if it was all business. His cat seemed content talking to her too. He was a sucker for the ladies.

“I think we have a great start here, Effie. If I have any other questions, is this the best way to reach you?”

“Actually if you want to just send me a text if something comes up, that would be best. I don’t always hear my phone and if I’m out I’ll have your questions in writing to refer to later,” she explained.

“Makes sense, why don’t you text me when you’ve made the changes we talked about?”

“Will do boss man,” Effie joked. She heard Dax chuckle on the other end. His laugh was nice sounding.

“Not your boss, just your client. And since we are being friendly, I have to ask. What’s up with the name Effie? I’ve never heard of that name before. Is there a story there?”

Dax hoped he sounded teasing and not nosey.

“Oh, there’s a story alright. But every girl has to have a few secrets, don’t you think?”

“Yes, yes they do,” he laughed. “I find women with secrets are often the ones worth the time to puzzle out,” he said, his voice dropping to a husky tone.

Hmm, okay, Effie thought. That took a turn she wasn’t expecting.

“Do you like women with secrets, Dax?”

Effie couldn’t help but ask. There was something about the way his tone changed that made her girly parts give a tingle.

There was silence as Dax thought about what may be on the other end of the line. Effie Parks was more interesting than she should be to him for a simple client relationship. But his cat kept pushing him to keep talking to her.

“I do. I find I run in a circle of women that once you dig a little under the surface you realize they’re empty, nothing but a shell. I prefer a little more substance in a woman. A thinker, a risk taker, someone who is passionate. Whether it’s about what they do or just life in general. Life is too short to waste time on fluff. Besides, I like puzzles, keeps me sharp,” he said, and she could hear the smile in his voice.

“Well call me a Rubik’s cube, cause no one has been able to figure me out,” Effie joked.

“Is that a challenge, Ms. Parks?”

Effie was liking this banter, it wasn’t professional, but damn it was fun.

“I’ll let you take that however you’d like, Mr. Hayes,” she quipped.

Effie swore she heard a rumbling growl over the phone. Weird.

Dax’s cat was up and itching to pounce, a challenge had been issued from a female. His cougar wanted to play. Deciding this conversation was getting a little less business more…something else he figured he’d better end it before he suggested something that really would skew their business relationship.

“I’ll talk to you soon.”

“You too, Dax,” Effie said, then hit the end button. Play time over, she thought.

She gave a little shiver. Man that guy was like silk when he talked. She’d resisted the urge to keep a little window open on her computer so she could see his picture while she talked to him. It felt a little creeper to her, so she kept her eyes on her work.

Dax was staring at his phone in his hand. He wanted to hear her voice again. How weird was that? His cat was urging him to call her back for some reason. But he couldn’t think of a good excuse.

Instead he headed into the warehouse to oversee some installation of new fermentation equipment. The previous owner’s barrel aged their wines, which Dax planned on continuing in small batches. But the majority in the future would be all aged in stainless steel and bottled for the masses. He’d always believed that you could produce an excellent quality of wine without making it unreachable to the average person. Good wine was a gift and Tiger Mountain Winery was going to be a household name.