PG 13 for language:
Lori wrestled open the back brewery
door, ears already ringing from the curses that echoed through the large,
brightly lit room. The brewery boys, and three second brewers stood in a line,
like they were in a marine barracks all looking as nervous as mice observed by
a very hungry cat.
“And who the fuck,” boomed a voice,
“might you be? No one told me there was a girl brewer in this place.”
As a reflex, Lori looked around,
seeking out the girl who’d pissed off the faceless angry voice that must belong
to Eli Buchanan their new master brewer. She’d been instrumental in convincing
her father to hire the guy. He was a brewing celebrity, a genius, temperamental
and prone to quit perfectly good breweries if the mood suited him. He was exactly what
Brockton needed. They had to to get past their staid, complacent attitude in a
rapidly changing craft beer environment.
“Yeah, I’m talking to you. The one
who showed up fifteen minutes late for my morning staff meeting.” She flushed,
frowning at the line of men, many of whom had worked for her father for years
as they shuffled their feet and wouldn’t meet her eyes. “Who the hell are you, and why are you on
my brewery floor?”
She cleared her throat, squared her
shoulders and channeled the anger building in her chest. “I’m Lori. Lori
Brockton. This is the first day of my brewery rotation.” She hated how thin her
voice sounded.
“Your brewery rotation eh?” She
stepped back at the vision that emerged from between towering stainless steel
fermentation vessels. “What is this?
Brewing Day Camp? I’m supposed to babysit the Brockton kids?” He glared at her,
making her blink in the glare of his bright, steely blue gaze. Eli Buchanan was
larger than life. At least six foot five, with long blonde hair held back by a
small piece of leather. Clad in light blue jeans and a Brockton Brewing grey t-shirt, the span of
his shoulders and definition of his torso forced an exhale from Lori’s lips. He
kept quiet as her eyes took him in, from rubber boot clad feet to the light red
hair covering his jaw. “Well? See anything you like?”
“Uh, no, I mean, it’s not camp. I
mean, you are…I’m…” she stuttered, then stopped. The man stood stock still,
glaring as if challenging her. She stood up straighter. “I’m here for the next
six months to learn this part of the business. You know, so I can be your boss
someday.” The man frowned at her. She frowned back.
Then he tilted his head back and
laughed, stepped into her personal space and smacked her ass so hard she
yelped. “I look forward to that day girl Brockton. Yes, I do.” A couple of the
men started forward as if to protect her but she waved them back. This asshole
had another thing coming if he thought she’d be intimidated by him. As much as
she might have been at one point, something about him was as non-threatening as
Garrett,
but in a different way—a much more spine-tingling way.
The following ten hours of back
breaking work nearly made her throw in the towel. But after an hour scraping
out the last of a twenty barrel’s worth of wet, heavy spent mash—the leftover
grains from a batch of beer made on their smaller system, she felt sore as
hell, but invigorated. The smells, sounds and sights of this place, the
heartbeat of the entire operation, the reason all three hundred of her father’s
employees came to work every day, this she loved.
“Brockton!” An angry voice behind her
made her jump and turn. Wet, sticky malt grains dripped from her face where
she’d accidently splashed some onto herself as she cleaned out the large
vessel. She swiped at them, smearing even more of the mess across her cheeks.
Without warning, Eli wiped her face with a clean white towel, his touch
surprisingly tender, lingering longer than necessary. But his frown stayed
stuck in place. She stepped away from
him even though her body
reacted, compelling her to move closer.
“Some guy in a tie is looking for
you,” he jerked a thumb over his shoulder but didn’t move. Lori had no
experience with hypnosis, but she’d swear at that moment he’d done it to her.
They locked eyes, then the sound of harder heeled shoes on the concrete floor
forced her look past him. Garrett’s bright smile was familiar, yet strange in
the highly charged environment.
“I’m actually here to see you, Eli.”
Garrett stuck out a hand and the other man looked at it, glancing over to Lori
then back over before gripping it without a smile. “Glad to have you on board.”
Eli took his hand back, and swiped at
it with the towel he’d used on her face. If he noticed the rude gesture, Garrett
didn’t indicate it in the slightest. Impressed, Lori moved a step closer to him
and glared at the tall, blonde man.
Eli shot her an unfathomable look, but spoke to
Garrett. “Sorry, but no suits in the brewery. Wouldn’t want to get you messy.”
He walked away, waving over his shoulder. “Glad to be on board, boss, thanks.”
The sarcasm dripped from his words like venom. Garrett turned to her, his
handsome face calm, as if the odd exchange with the rude employee had never
happened.
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The book is out now so if you liked the excerpt, you can buy the book now!
Liz will be awarding a "swag pack" from her brewery, the Wolverine State Brewing Co including 2 tee shirts, a pint glass, a hat and a certificate for a free growler fill plus $15 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.
