“A compliment and an insult in the same sentence. This is a gift you have.”
She supposed it was.
“Why unsettling?” he asked.
“Because before I left for Italy, I was steadfast in believing that I’d toss this house and property in my father’s face if he was still in control of it.”
“Oh, no . . .”
“The house is in the trust. My trust fund. I told my parents I wanted to pay for the property out of my trust, not put the property in the trust. And since I haven’t touched any of that, I’m not really sure how it works. I do think, at the end of the day, my dad holds control over all of that.”
“I know nothing about trust funds.”
“You would think I would . . . but I don’t. Then there is the verbiage about the vineyard. It reads like a political speech. On one hand, it says I’m in control, but it doesn’t exactly say it’s mine.”
Gio sighed. “Do you need a lawyer, bella?”
“I’m looking for one now.”
“We have one I can recommend. He works with a lot of businesses in San Diego. My mother has used him for years. Very up-front. If you need something he can’t manage, he’ll tell you.”
Considering most of her contacts were also in contact with her father . . . “That might not be a bad idea.”
“I’ll send you his number.”
“Thanks.” It was only seven o’clock, but Emma had already put on her pajamas and was curled up on the couch while talking to Gio. She tucked her feet under her and stared at the wall. “I kept hearing your voice asking me what I wanted. Do I take the opportunity this house and vineyard offers? Even if that means working with R&R? Do I want to find a way to buy this property out from under my father and make it successful without his help?”
Gio hummed. “I put those thoughts in your head?”
“Yes. Before you, I would have either walked away or sat back and let my father pay for everything. Then worked my ass off to prove myself. Now I’m trying to dissect my father’s lawyer’s legal stuff and at the same time devise a business plan to pay for my own everything. How do I come up with money for employees over the next couple of years before the first bottle is even sold? Especially if I need to spend every dime in my trust fund to get started? Do I try and get a loan against the property . . . this one or another, for start-up costs? I don’t have a job to pay for the loan and no collateral.”
“Emma, darling . . . take a breath.”
And just like that, she did. The tension that her monologue had built inside of her eased.
“Giovanni D’Angelo makes me question myself and that is unsettling,” she finally admitted.
He chuckled. “Do you want my advice?”
“I have a feeling you’ll give it to me anyway.”
“No, actually. I won’t. I’m surrounded by strong women, and every time I try and fix their problems, or offer unsolicited advice, my ass is usually handed to me. Only when I’m asked are my thoughts given consideration.”
Emma wasn’t sure she’d met a man who didn’t think he knew more and told her so at every opportunity.
“Okay, Gio, what would you do?”
“No, no . . . what I would do and what I think you might want to consider are different.”
“Why is that?” she asked.
“I’ve been preparing myself to take the step to own what is being half handed to you, on my own, since I was old enough to drink wine. You’ve only had these thoughts rattling around in your head for a month. You told me you envisioned your future within R&R, under the wings of your father, and that thought never wavered.”
“That’s true. I’ve been pushing for more at R&R for a while. I never thought I’d leave the company.”
“So, taking on your own place is a complete plot twist in your life. Even with a hundred percent help from your father.”
All true. “You think I should continue taking his money and work to show him I’m capable to run this place . . . for him?”
“No, cara . . . I don’t suggest you do that. Not completely, anyway.”
“What do you suggest?”
“Go slow. Continue to ask yourself what you really want. What your father wants and what is motivating him should be considered, but regardless of what the answers to those questions are, Emma needs to know what Emma wants. I don’t know your father and would never profess to understand what is going on in his head . . . but I’m beginning to know you. I see a smart, kind, and capable woman and can’t imagine those qualities are lost on your father. Not completely. And if he sees even half of what I see, I don’t believe he would be setting you up for failure. From what you have told me, he doesn’t sound like a cruel man.”
“I wouldn’t use the word cruel,” she said.
“What word would you use?” Gio asked.
Emma looked at the ceiling as if the answer would be written there. “Disconnected. Emotionally unavailable.”
Gio sighed. “That’s what I hear from your stories. Let’s assume, if we can, that your father wants physical distance from you being involved with R&R. Then this move and property does that. But he still wants to look like the hero here, so making you pay for it probably doesn’t sit well with him. From what you’ve told me, image is important to him. Am I right?”
“Yes. He doesn’t play outside of his social class. Hell, he didn’t bother coming to my birthday party because my friends don’t measure up.”
“Is it safe to say that if you fail, it’s a reflection on him?”
Gio hit the nail on the head. “Exactly. My divorce was somehow harder on him than me.”
“Then that explains why your father isn’t going to outright give you this house or this land. It’s a placeholder. He can’t have his daughter working for a competitor, and yet he couldn’t keep you in the position you’ve been in forever. You’re much too willful for that.”
Emma let Giovanni’s words settle in. So many of his conclusions rang true in her head. “I move slowly and figure out what I want . . . then what?”
Gio laughed.
“I don’t know what’s funny,” she said.
“Then what? Then what? Cara, listen to yourself. Asking ‘then what’ contradicts ‘slowly’ and ‘figuring it out.’ The ‘then what’ is completely dependent on what you really want.” Gio paused and started again. “See the lawyer, gather the facts. Know exactly what your father can and cannot do with how he has it set up. With that, ask yourself if you can work within those guidelines. Do you want to work within them? Do you want this? Do you want the house, the vines . . . Casa de Emma to be how you envision it? Then, you either draw up a contract with your father, on your terms, to accept his capital . . . or use his capital as a loan like any other bank. Owner financing, if you will. Or you try and get an SBA loan . . . or a private loan. See how none of that matters right now since you don’t have all the facts and likely haven’t answered the biggest question of all.”
His logic sunk in. “What do I really want?”
“Exactly. You really need to want this, Emma. It’s going to be a lot of hard work, long hours, and little reward in the beginning.”