Educating Gina (6 page)

She wondered if today they would kiss, how his beard-roughened jaw would feel on her skin.

She realized she had sighed out loud when he looked up and met her eyes. Quickly she forced her attention back to the computer.

“I won’t be much longer,” he said. “About another fifteen minutes.”

“Do not hurry. I am fine.” She was in a great mood. Nothing could ruin her day. Zio Antonio had not said anything about her new jeans.

She found the
Sex and the City
Web site she was searching for and helped herself to a tablet of paper and pen lying nearby. She had misplaced the list of nightclubs she had printed off her computer at home. The clubs the four women on the show went to. Mike would probably not want to go to most of them. He would worry about upsetting Zio Antonio, but she would persuade him.

It took more than ten minutes to copy everything she wanted. Although she had learned to speak English at a very young age, she had never read or written the language much, except during high-school English classes. She reviewed the list and realized she had written it half in Italian.

“Just a few more minutes—”

The phone rang and Mike groaned. He snatched it up and gave his last name, instead of a greeting.

She thought about leaving the room, but it was obviously a business call and not a personal one. Besides, she loved listening to him talk about work. He sounded very confident and smart. She liked the way he looked, too, his face so serious and focused as he described the latest merlot they had bottled.

He hung up and gave her an apologetic smile. “Are you ready for the beach?”

She nodded. “But if you still have work to do, I do not mind waiting.”

“I could work until midnight and never get caught up. Let’s go.”

“Maybe I could help you.”

He laughed. “That’s okay. It’ll all still be here when I get back.”

His attitude wounded her. “I know many things about the business.”

He gave her an odd look. “Probably more than me. What made you say that?”

“You are overworked, yet you do not want my help.”

“It’s not that. You’re on vacation. This is probably your last fling before you start work.”

“Me start work?”

“When you get back to Italy.”

She frowned. It was an odd thing for him to say.

“I assume you’ll be working at the home office in Tuscany.” He shrugged, but his eyes were watchful. “Maybe you plan on working at the Paris or Rome office.”

She stared back at him, wondering if he was trying to make a joke. If so, she did not understand. Women in her family did not work in the business. They married and made babies. Just as they all expected her to do.

The phone rang again, and Mike muttered a word she had not heard before. He started to reach for the receiver and then stopped. “I’ll let it go to voice mail.”

“But it may be business.” Guilt cut into her. He was neglecting his work for her. “It might be important.”

He laughed. “Are you sure you’re related to Robert?”

“Scusi?”

“Never mind. It was a bad joke.” He grabbed the phone but was only on for seconds.

“Is something wrong?” Gina asked when he hung up and grunted with impatience.

“One of our distributors is here to see me.” He threw up his hands. “Just a few more minutes, okay?”

“No sweat.” She had heard him use the phrase a couple of times.

The corners of his mouth twitched. “Be careful what you repeat. Do you want to wait in your uncle’s office or maybe in the kitchen area?”

“Oh.” She wanted to listen to him talk some more, but she stood, realizing it would not be proper for her to be present during a business meeting. “I have not spent time with Zio Augie yet. I will find him.”

“I’m sorry about this, Gina.”

“This is business, Mike.” She stopped at his door and gave him a reassuring smile. “I understand.”

“I’d make the guy wait since he doesn’t have an appointment, but he’s thinking about giving up the truck space of our wine for more Mondavi stock.”

She gasped, appalled at the idea. “Our grapes are far superior. Why would—”

Mike cleared his throat and focused on the doorway behind her. “George, good to see you.”

Gina turned around to find a man approaching. Shorter than Mike and maybe a little older, he had a dark bushy mustache and small black eyes.

“Glad I caught you, Mason.” He eyed Gina with curiosity as he shook Mike’s hand. “You going on vacation?”

Mike glanced down at his jeans and red polo shirt. “Nah, I’m headed out for the day. I have an out-of-town guest.” He gestured to Gina. “This is Gina Ferraro, Antonio’s niece. This is George Zacharias.”

The man took Gina’s hand, and the firm shake she gave put surprise in his eyes. “I am pleased to meet you, Mr. Zacharias.”

“It’s George, please. So, you’re from Italy?”

“
Si.
Tuscany, where we have the finest grapes in the country.”

George gave her an amused, rather patronizing look that made her want to scratch something. “Yes, you make some fine wine.”

“Our merlots cannot be surpassed.” She waved a dismissive hand. “Even for a grape that has been overplanted and overproduced. We are very careful about our selections. Our merlots are very reliable grapes.”

Mike watched, fascinated, as Gina described their cabernet sauvignon, and how they had become so well respected that more of their wine was being sold
en primeur,
or as futures, when collectors or merchants agree on a price before it is bottled.

She was a natural at selling. Not just because she looked like a million bucks in her new jeans and clingy T-shirt, but because her passion for wine was genuine. But that Gina looked like sin in jeans did nothing for George, who never hid the fact that he was gay. Still, Mike could tell he was impressed. Oh, man, did she know her stuff.

After holding George’s rapt attention for several minutes, a faint pink tinged her cheeks. “Forgive me. You came to see Mike. I did not mean to intrude.”

“No problem. What you said is very interesting.” George took a seat at Mike’s urging. “Actually I’d like to hear more sometime.” He glanced at Mike. “Assuming we’re still doing business after this meeting.”

“What’s going on, George?” With grim acceptance, Mike sat in his own chair. “What’s making you unhappy?”

Gina started to leave, but Mike waved her back inside. “Stay if you want,” he said. “This is your business, too.”

Surprise flickered in her eyes, and then a pleased smile lifted her lips and she reclaimed the chair in front of the computer.

George snorted. “Need reinforcements to help me change my mind?”

Mike hated being baited. “Tell me what the problem is and I’ll see if I can fix it.”

“Simple.” George shrugged and pursed his mouth in an annoying show of indifference. “Mondavi is willing to give me a larger percentage.”

“That’s hard to believe. You know damn well we pay top commission.”

“I’m telling you straight.” George smiled. “Maybe Mondavi wants my business more than you do.”

Mike drummed his fingers on the desk. The guy had to be bluffing. “Well, like I said, we’re already paying top dollar. I don’t know that there’s anything more I can do.”

“Okay, but you understand…” George shrugged again and started to get to his feet. “I like you, Mike. I’ve enjoyed doing business with you. But that’s the point—this is business. I have to go for the highest profit.”

“
Scusi,
um, excuse me.”

Gina had been so quiet Mike had almost forgotten she was sitting in the corner. Both men looked at her.

Her lips were pursed, her brows drawn together. Confusion never looked so pretty. “May I ask a question?”

Mike figured no harm could be done at this point. It looked as if he was losing an account. “Go ahead.”

George sank back into his seat with a condescending nod toward Gina.

“You are an independent distributor,
si?
You work for yourself?”

George nodded patiently, but Mike narrowed his gaze. She was up to something. Her accent was more pronounced and she looked entirely too innocent—in spite of the shrewd gleam in her eyes Mike had not seen before.

“You sell and distribute the Scarpetti wine to retail stores,
si?
”

George glanced at Mike, the corners of his mouth lifting in amusement, and then nodded at Gina.

“And you do not feel it is profitable enough to continue to sell our wine.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” George said. “It’s just more profitable dealing with Mondavi.”

A pleased smile lit her face. “I understand.”

“If you say so.” George chuckled.

“We’ll talk about it later, Gina,” Mike said.

“Oh, yes.” She sighed. “I was so worried the distributors would be upset with the new catalog. But now I see there is no problem as it has nothing to do with your decision. Everybody will be happy.”

“What catalog?” George looked from Gina to Mike, his eyes growing angry. “I didn’t hear about any catalog.”

Shit. Mike hadn’t, either. Had he been left out of the loop again? What the hell was going on?

Gina’s eyes widened. “Perhaps I should not have said anything. My proposal has not been approved yet.” She shrugged. “But it makes sense to me to ship direct to retailers. We have been established for a long time. Our wine sells itself.”

“What are you guys trying to pull?” George’s eyes blazed at Mike. “You can’t cut out the distributors. We have a contract.”

A contract the idiot was trying to weasel out of, but Mike didn’t point that out. He leaned back in his chair. “I frankly don’t know enough about the plan at this time to discuss it. But considering your reason for being here, it’s a moot point, isn’t it?”

“I said I was
thinking
about going with Mondavi.” George abruptly stood. “I haven’t made up my mind yet. Until I do, I expect you to have my normal shipment ready each week.”

He stormed out of the office before Mike could say another word.

“Mondavi. Ha!” Gina grunted, and then rattled something off in Italian.

He turned to stare at her. She looked awfully pleased with herself. Calling George’s bluff didn’t give Mike the same satisfaction. A catalog business could screw up his West Coast plans. The real bite is that it made sense. “You want to tell me about this catalog proposition?”

Her triumphant look promptly faded. “There is nothing to tell.”

“Right.”

She folded her arms across her chest and he tried not to get distracted by the way her shirt pulled across her breasts. “When I was in school I did a paper on such a plan, and I got a very high grade.”

“But you haven’t presented it to your father or Antonio yet?” he pressed anxiously.

Her eyes got wide. “No. I have not.”

Mike sighed at his own paranoia. Still, when Gina did implement her plan, he would undoubtedly be affected. The crazy thoughts started to spar in his head when he abruptly realized what had happened with George.

“Gina, you could have really pissed the guy off. We can’t afford to chase away business.”

She frowned. “I am sorry, but he made me angry. He comes in here speaking of Mondavi as if—”

“Gina.” Mike waited for her to chill out. She lifted her chin but gave him her attention. “When you do get involved with the business, you’re going to have to hold on to your temper, be a little more tactful. Even if a distributor or a supplier does make you mad, and believe me, there’ll be plenty of times when some of those idiots will drive you up a wall.”

She gave him a funny look. “What do you mean, get involved with the business?”

“When you go back home and take your place at Scarpetti Wines.”

She blinked, looking utterly stunned. “I have no place in the business. No Scarpetti woman does.”

“Of course you do. You studied business in college, right?”

She nodded, her expression grim. “It does not matter.”

Mike shook his head. He knew the family was old-fashioned, but Gina was from a new generation. Surely they wouldn’t hold her back. “What a horrible waste of talent.”

Her eyes lit up. “Me?”

“You obviously know more than enough about wine making and sales. Maybe you’ll be surprised.” He locked his desk, mostly out of habit, and then stood, suddenly anxious to get the hell out of the office. “Maybe you’ll get back to Tuscany and your father will have a job waiting for you.”

The sadness returned to her eyes. “The only thing waiting for me will be a wedding.”