5. Luis

CHAPTER 5

LUIS

L uis had spent the rest of the evening wandering in search of somewhere he could go, some dark little corner he could hide in. He was feeling vulnerable, and if there was any feeling he despised more than losing, it was vulnerability. Unfortunately, the two often went hand in hand, and this evening, Luis was feeling like the most vulnerable loser who ever lived. He was second-guessing every decision he'd ever made, which was exceptionally unlike him. On any other day, he was the most decisive person he knew. He would pick a course and never doubt for a second that it was the right one.

He acted on his conscience, always, and he never doubted it. But now he was second-guessing himself. Had doing the right thing for a small business been the wrong thing for his family? Had his priorities been corrupted somehow? He'd followed his father's values and felt good about the choices he'd made. But now… All Luis ever wanted to do was make his father proud. As far as Luis was concerned, the man could do no wrong. But maybe being carelessly devoted to your craft could come back around to bite you and your family later.

Everything in the world suddenly confused and exhausted him, and all he wanted to do was find a place where he could disappear. The likelihood of finding somewhere he would be unrecognized was close to zero, but he chose the seediest dive bar he could find in this particular corner of San Francisco, and sank down at the bar. Everyone there was so focused on not bumping into each other, drowning their sorrows, or competitively hitting on the inadequate pool of women there that they paid Luis no mind.

Then a woman sat beside him, and he couldn't help but notice her. She was gorgeous, with cropped blond hair, big blue eyes, and full lips. But she was clearly miserable. Her eyelids were puffy, like she'd been crying, and she didn't seem to take in the world around her at all. She was robotic and empty, and suddenly all Luis wanted was to see her smile. He'd come to this bar to avoid being noticed, but he oddly wanted this woman to notice him. He wanted her to see him, recognize him, and light up when she realized she was sitting next to someone famous.

He spoke to her, prodded her really, and waited for her recognition. But it never seemed to come. Maybe she was one of those girls who pretended not to know him. It did happen from time to time. Whether they were just trying to be polite or wanted to stand out by not behaving like other woman, he never could tell. He introduced himself, and her eyes never registered him as anyone other than a stranger.

When she said, "Surprise me," about which brand of beer he should order for her, he decided to test her a bit.

"Morales Light, please," he said to the bartender, who gave Luis the look of recognition he'd expected to see from the woman called Clara. Luis quickly put a finger to his lips, and the bartender quirked an eyebrow and turned away. He seemed to get what Luis was trying to do.

The bartender handed Clara her beer and walked away with a quick wink to Luis, who wished he'd be a bit more subtle. But Clara seemed so miserable that she wasn't going to notice anything anyway. As for Luis, he was drinking a vodka tonic. Beer was work, and the last thing he'd wanted to do, at least when he first arrived, was think about work. Now, though, he had someone he wanted to impress.

The bartender poured a pint for Clara and set it in front of her. The glass was chilled — which was for the best, if Luis was honest — and looked refreshing. Clara took a sip and frowned. It did not escape Luis's notice.

"Not to your taste?" he asked. For some unknowable reason, the idea that a woman might hate his company's beer as much as he did excited him. Though, even if she did, she was likely going to lie about it. No one actually told Luis how bad is family's beer had become since he'd taken the reins of the company.

But to his shock, Clara took another gulp and said, "Tastes like chilled piss."

Luis burst out laughing. That kind of crassness coming out of such a sweet, girl-next-door face had him near rolling. He clutched his stomach and turned to the side to double over in his stool. She was looking at him like he was completely nuts, but he couldn't stop laughing. She really, truly did not know who he was. Unbelievable!

"You really hate it?" he asked, still in disbelief.

She scrunched up her face and took another sip like a child choking down foul-tasting medicine. "Yeah, I do. It tastes like every other cheap, mass-marketed beer out there. There's nothing unique about it at all." One more quick sip to seal her opinion. "It's criminally boring, don't you think?"

"Fascinating," Luis said when he managed to stop laughing. "I'm curious. Is there any kind of beer you do like?"

Clara tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ear and thought a moment. "I mean is there anything better than a good chocolate porter? It's like beer but also cake. I can't get enough of it."

He cocked his head. "Your verdict on IPAs?"

"Too hoppy," she said with confidence.

It was the confidence that was drawing him to her, he realized. Maybe some of it was brought on by whatever drinks she'd already had, or maybe it had more to do with her awful evening. Luis himself was feeling rather reckless, like he had nothing to lose really, like he could just throw it all away and be happy for a change. "Ambers?"

"Absolutely?"

"Barrel aged?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "What kind of barrel?"

He laughed again and laid a hand on her shoulder. It was just a casual touch, a test to see how she responded. She responded rather well. The fact that she still had no idea who he was and was clearly attracted to him anyway made her all the hotter to him. "Do you trust me to try again, now that I have a better idea of your taste?"

"Hmm…" She pretended to think about it for a minute. "Okay, why the hell not?"

Luis chose a dark, sweet porter from the brewery his company had just acquired, the same brewery that had gotten him into his current predicament. He'd been impressed with it the first time he tasted it himself. The flavor was complex and surprising. As beers went, it was the opposite of boring.

When the bartender set the drink in front of Clara, she smiled down at it. "That's more like it." It was dark and heady, a Black Forest Cake of a beer that would only disappoint her if she appreciated the mundane, and Luis got the impression that was definitely not the case.

She took a sip, and Luis grinned at the way the head clung to her lips. There was something deeply erotic about the way she moved, he thought, but he told himself to behave. She did not know who he was, and he was determined to win her over the old-fashioned way, the way he used to woo a woman when he didn't have his billions to fall back on.

Clara closed her eyes. "Mmm. Oh my God, that's delicious. What did you say it was called?"

"It was called Chocolate Lab. The brewery is Dog Days Brewery, and they name their brews according to the theme. But the brewery has recently come under new ownership, so they might change it."

"New ownership?" She seemed far more disappointed than Luis had expected her to be. "No! They'll change everything. They'll water it all down to make pennies more in profit. God, no. Why would you let me taste this when I might never get to have it again?"

Luis shook his head and sighed. How was he going to explain this without revealing who he was? "They won't change everything. I promise. I happen to know the owner of the company that bought this brewery. He's a big fan of how they do things and doesn't want them to change. In fact, that's the reason he bought them before anyone else could — so they could keep their company culture as it is."

"If you say so." Clara didn't seem convinced. "Those CEO types can't always be trusted, though. They'll do anything for a profit. Basically sold their souls to the devil already." She was getting a bit tipsy and opening up even more.

"That's harsh," Luis said. "But maybe you're right." He wasn't just agreeing with her to win her over. It truly did feel like he'd sold his heart and soul — maybe not to the devil, but to someone. He'd abandoned his integrity, his passion, and the values of his father in order to make money. He told himself he was doing it for his family, but sometimes he doubted his own conviction. Maybe he should have stayed small and been satisfied with that. "Let's get a flight," he said, desperate to distract himself. "I want to know all your opinions on the brews I choose. Are you up for it?"

She grinned. "That depends. Are you trying to butter me up so you can take me home later? Because I might be cool with that if you are."

"Maybe I am. Or maybe I just really value your opinion on beer."

"Let's hope for the former, shall we?"

She was adorable, and her cheeks were turning pink, either from the beer or from the excitement of meeting a stranger she liked. It only made her cuter. Luis ordered the flight and helped her to drink it. She tasted each one and finally came to a conclusion. "That first chocolate porter is the best. How can any of this follow it? The winner!" She held up her pint and downed the last of it.

"I was hoping you'd say that." Luis's muscles were beginning to relax, and his smile became more and more natural as the evening wore on. Whether he was tipsy or falling for the girl, he couldn't have said. He assumed he was just tipsy because falling for anyone this quickly was nuts. Usually he could hold his drink better than this, but he told himself he had been drinking on an empty stomach, so this dizzying joy he felt was little more than the predictable result of too much alcohol and not enough food.

Maybe it was the beer that made him reckless, too, because he very easily blurted out, "I bought the brewery. For the porter. I'm the terrible ‘CEO type' who has already sold my soul to the devil, apparently." He laughed. "I just didn't want anyone else to buy them and change them. So I bought them, and I told them I'd be hands-off. They can run the place the way they always have. It's part of why I'm here drowning my sorrows with you. My rival wanted to buy the brewery and change it to be more profitable, and I snagged it out from under him. He's threatening to retaliate."

The questions in her big blue eyes had him melting for her. "How?"

"He found out my visa has expired. It was a stupid oversight, but I was never really worried about it. I didn't think it would come back to bite me like this. I should have just taken care of it. I shouldn't have put it off." He bowed his head and held his face in his hands. "I'm such an idiot."

Clara took a deep breath and slouched. "Yeah, procrastination is what got me in trouble, too. You know, all I ever wanted was to be a mother, but I waited for when the time was right. I wanted to be settled, to have traveled and lived so I would have no regrets. I wanted to get a career going so I could provide. I thought I had time. But today, my doctor told me I'm running out. I may never have a child of my own. I could spend my entire savings on IVF, but once that fails, it's done. It's a lot, you know? I just… didn't think this would be an issue for me."

Luis reached out and put an arm around her shoulders. He suddenly wanted to make all her problems disappear. She leaned into him and sniffed, and he let her just be for a moment before he tried to talk to her again. "How about a lifetime supply of Chocolate Lab Porter? Would that bring out that smile of yours, just for tonight? I'm dying to see it again." He was only partly joking.

"Sure," she said, lifting her head again. "A lifetime supply would be nice. But maybe… instead…" She leaned in close, and Luis let her. She hovered an inch from his face and waited for him to close the space between them. So he did.

He took the bait, and why wouldn't he? She was beautiful, and he wanted her. He kissed her mouth, tasted a hint of chocolate porter on her tongue, and pulled her to standing. He swiveled on his stool and stood too, kissing her harder as she moved up against him. He was ready to take her home immediately, desperate for it. But Luis had always been a careful man, and he didn't want to push her into something she might regret in the morning. She had drunk, due in no small part to his generosity, quite a lot of beer, and she was swaying on the spot where she stood.

No, he didn't want her to come with him because she was impaired. He wanted her to come with him because not doing so would haunt her dreams for years. She would always wonder how well that stranger at the bar would have loved her. She would see him one day on the news or some morning show interview and pine away for the idea of a man she'd only met once. And he didn't want to haunt her dreams. He wanted to be her dream come true.

"Clara," he said, helping her to balance and loving the way she leaned into him. "Clara, I want you to spend the night with me. Will you?"

She nodded dreamily, her eyes still hungry for him.

"But I want you sober before I take you to bed."

Again, she nodded.

"Will you walk with me and trust me to keep you safe?"

"Sure." She laughed and slapped his arm. "You seem like a regular gentleman."

She was slurring her words a bit, and Luis took note of it. He would spoil her rotten, woo her and tease her until she was sober. And then he would give her the kind of pleasure that a night of drunkenness couldn't begin to compete with.