40. Carpe Diem The Fuck Out Of My Life

FORTY

CARPE DIEM THE FUCK OUT OF MY LIFE

Dessa

Garrett pulls the handle and holds the door open for me. With his warm, comforting hand on my lower back, we stroll down a dimly lit hallway until it opens to a large bar area. Behind the floor-to-ceiling glass wall sits large stainless steel fermenter vessels for the vodka. Pipes run back and forth from one distillation system to another. In the middle of the room sits a dark mahogany horseshoe-shaped bar with small chandeliers dangling from the ceiling creating a warm ambiance.

On the far side of the room, a woman with light brown hair spots us from behind a small private bar. She strolls out wearing jeans and a Northwest Distillery t-shirt.

She stops in front of us, and Garrett holds out his hand. "Good to see you again, Rebecca."

Her hand clasps around his. "Likewise. "

My heart hammers in my chest as I try to control my breathing so I don't pass out. It's like meeting Isabella Rossi all over again, except without the notice. Garrett turns his attention to me. "This is my girlfriend, Dessa."

"It's so nice to meet you," Rebecca says.

I blink away my shock. "You too," I stammer, "I'm a huge fan of your vodka. It's one of the smoothest I've ever tasted."

"Thank you. That means so much to me. It's something we strive for here at Northwest." Rebecca waves for us to follow her to the private bar. "Let's get a few drinks and chat."

Garrett pulls out a stool and motions for me to sit as he takes the seat next to me. Rebecca stands behind the bar, grabs a couple of glasses, and proceeds to make us a drink using a bottle of vodka from the private collection. I lean forward for a better view of Rebecca artfully crafting our drinks when I spot the same book Garrett gave me with all my drink recipes. A giant knot sits in the pit of my stomach, and my wide-eyed gaze shoots to Garrett. "Why does she have my book?" I mouth.

All he does is smile smugly. He's up to something, and I don't know what it is.

Rebecca slides the drinks across the bar to us. "So, Garrett tells me you're a mixologist."

My fingers grip the glass. The cocktails sloshes back and forth as my hand shakes with nerves. Garrett's hand brushes over my shoulder, offering a comforting touch, and it helps. Knowing he's here with me, by my side, I know I have nothing to be nervous about.

"I dabble in mixing drinks." I take a sip of the drink she made. Maybe the alcohol will calm me.

"Let me say, I've made some of your drinks, and they are phenomenal." She grabs the book and sets it on the bar.

"Where did you get that?" I ask.

"Garrett passed it along to me and threatened that I needed to try these drinks because I'll never drink anything better."

Garrett laughs. "'Threatened' is a strong word. I advised her that it's in her best interest to try some, as they are some of the best drinks I've ever had."

"And he wasn't lying. I've tried several. The Backseat Smash is one of my favorites."

My cheeks flame red hot. I don't know if it's from the alcohol or because the CEO of a major vodka distillery tried one of my drinks and loved it. "Thank you so much. It's such an honor to receive a compliment from someone with your accolades."

Over the next hour, we chat about the various drinks from my book. Rebecca made a couple of them using Northwest Vodka, and they were incredibly smooth. It was a little dance party for my taste buds.

Rebecca clears our empty glasses and uses a rag to clean off the bar. "I'm glad you could come here today because a great opportunity has come up, and you would be perfect."

My brows pinch together, and I turn to Garrett, hoping his expression gives something away, but all he does is shrug.

Rebecca continues, "We're trying something new at the distillery by creating a line of flavored vodkas, and with that, we would like to launch a series of signature drinks to go with each flavor."

My anxiety spikes. "What does this have to do with me? "

"Garrett was very convincing that you would be perfect for the job."

Oh my god. If I was told this was going to be a job interview, I wouldn't have had all those drinks. My brain is currently doing a leisurely backstroke in vodka and cranberry juice.

"Chatting with you solidified my decision. We would love for you to create those drinks for us."

I blank. I forget all the words in the English language. I possibly forget how to breathe.

"Of course, we'll work out compensation. We can even arrange for a condo for you in the city and moving expenses."

"The condo won't be necessary," Garrett interjects.

Finally, everything she says sinks in. She's offering me a job. Offering me an opportunity to be closer to Garrett. All of this while doing something I love. "This is an amazing opportunity. Do you need an answer right now? I would like to think about it."

"It's a big decision. I'd expect you to take time to think it over. I'll let you two finish your drinks. It was so wonderful to finally meet you in person, Dessa. I hope to talk soon."

"Yes. We will." I shake hands with Rebecca, and before she leaves, she passes me her business card. Once she's out of sight, I turn to Garrett. "I can't believe you blindsided me like that. A heads-up would've been nice." I playfully smack his arm.

He laughs. "If I told you beforehand, you would've gotten in your head, and I just wanted you to be one hundred percent yourself. Remember in high school, you had to give a presentation on molecular biology. You spent an entire week preparing and organizing, and when it came time to give your presentation, it was bland. I was ready to fall asleep."

I spit out a laugh. "Thanks for that. But I got through all my bullet points."

"But what's the point if everyone was sleeping? It made the entire presentation stiff and robotic."

"I didn't want to miss anything."

He swivels in his stool to fully face me, clasping his hands with mine. "Then there was another time at lunch, someone asked about mixing different flavors of soda, and you animatedly talked and talked about it. That was engaging. That was you."

"It's a lot easier when it's something I'm familiar with. But how do you remember that?"

"I remember everything when it comes to you." He lifts our linked hands and places a kiss on my knuckles. "I'm sorry I caught you off guard, but I'm not sorry I did it. I knew you'd thrive."

I blow out a deep breath. "This is an amazing opportunity. This is something I could envision myself doing."

"And it would bring you closer to me." His hopeful green eyes meet mine.

"That is a huge bonus."

"And we could take the next step in our relationship."

Maybe it's time to take a play out of Nora's handbook and carpe diem the fuck out of my life.