Truth Is Found by Morgan Kelley

and he wasn’t going to egg this woman on. His job was to be a waiter, watch, and offer Julian and Tori backup.
    He didn't want on the syphilis train.
    Uh…no way.
    “Maybe we can grab a movie sometime?” she offered, leading him into the showing room. It was lined with tons of bottles, and elegant tasting tables.
    “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Ms. Nelms. You’re the boss. I’m just looking to keep a job.”
    She winked at him. “I know how you can keep it.”
    Jesus!
    Beau wanted to roll his eyes in the worst way. When someone walked into the room, he wanted to kiss them, despite it being a man. Now he wasn’t alone with the woman--make that piranha.
    “Pearlie! Leave him alone,” the person entering ordered.
    Immediately, he crossed the room, his hand out. “Hey! I’m Cordell Burdett. I’m the headwaiter. Are you Beau Christensen by any chance?” he asked.
    “Yeah, I was just getting a tour, and I’m so glad to see you.”
    He grinned. “Pearlie, I’ll take it from here. Why don’t you run along?”
    “I can stay,” she offered, winking at Beau.
    “Great. We have a shitload of wine glasses that need to be washed, dried, and set up for tonight. You can help with that.”
    Apparently, that changed her mind. She looked around as if looking for a door to make her escape.
    “Uh, no thank you. I’m not the help.”
    With that, she wandered away.
    Cordell patted him on the back. “You get used to it, believe it or not. Don’t worry. Her bark is worse than her bite. She likes to hit on everything with a dick. Think of it as hazing. As soon as another guy shows up, she’ll move along.”
    “I hope someone shows up now.”
    He laughed. “Yeah, Pearlie is a handful, or so the gossip says. How about I finish up the tour for you?” he offered.
    “That would be amazing,” he stated. “Is there a party tonight?” he asked.
    “Yeah, there is. Are you up for it? Your job can be done on the fly. You’ll hand out wine, help the guests get refills, and then there’s the set up and clean up. It’s relatively simple.”
    Beau ran his fingers through his red hair. “I can do that. It sounds easy enough.”
    “It is,” he stated. “Follow me. We’ll get you started.”
    He followed him through a door and took the apron he was handed.
    “We wear all black while we serve, and right now you’re on washing duty so I can get the linens set up.” Cordell led him over to the sink and told him how to do it. “Any questions?” he asked.
    Beau knew he needed to blend in. “What can you tell me about this place? It looks fancy.”
    Cordell leaned against the dishwasher as they spoke. “It is. Mr. Nelms dropped big bucks into the place. It’s a shame though, because there are issues that keep popping up.”
    “What issues?”
    Cordell leaned in and lowered his voice. “You know…issues.”
    Beau wasn’t sure what he was saying. He couldn’t infer. He needed the man to open up and spill the beans.
    “Like?”
    “We have a few things going on here. Glasses move, chairs topple over, and every now and again, you hear them.”
    He was curious.
    This piqued his interest.
    “Are you telling me this place is haunted?” he asked, dropping his voice low too.
    If that were the case, Julian was absolutely going to lose his mind. There was no doubt there. If he was worried about the ghost haunting Tori, this was going to magnify it by about a million. From what he’d learned about his sister, she was like a beacon.
    When she stepped into a room, the dead thought there was a party going on around them.
    He wanted to laugh.
    It was funny since Julian was worked up about a psychic, but when he heard that this was a haunted winery, the shit was definitely going to hit the fan.
    There was no doubt in his mind.
    “Yeah, it’s crawling with spooks,” Cordell stated.
    As if timed, the glass sitting on the countertop toppled, shattering into a plethora of shards.
    They both jumped.
    “Did you touch that?”