Chapter 9
NINE
I made it to work with seven minutes to spare.
Traffic was surprisingly light on the expressway.
With the extra time on my hands, I downloaded the Instagram app to my phone again.
The app appeared on my screen in a few seconds and was ready for use.
I chose the option to create a new account and followed the prompts.
ESinclair , I thought for a username.
No. Too revealing. Anyone can find me like that.
ForEverSinclair . Still too close to my name.
SincerelyyEvv, I finalized. It was perfect and it was available.
When the new profile popped up, I immediately switched my settings to private and started my bio.
I didn’t mark my location or use my actual name.
I stuck with Evv – Cake Creator for the identity line and kept things short.
More than anything, I wanted a place to show more work than play.
Heck, I hardly got out to play, excluding the last two nights.
I opened Lyric and I’s text thread and downloaded the pictures she’d sent me.
I chose my favorite and used it as my first post. My camera roll had many selfies that I wanted to consider as my profile picture, but I thought about how easily I’d be able to be identified.
So, instead, I opted for a photo of me holding Emorey’s cake for her third birthday. It covered almost my entire face.
My time ended before I was able to play around with the app, but before I exited my car, I found Lyric’s profile and requested her.
She immediately accepted, which let me know she was up on social media rather than doing any work.
The green bubble on her stories appeared instantly, which let me know that she’d added me to her close friends list.
I played the stories she’d collected over the last twenty-four hours and gasped. She’d caught me on the dance floor at the bar, totally embarrassing myself while under the influence. I grinded against her body without a care in the world.
Though I thought I looked absolutely silly, I noticed one thing about that moment that I was thankful for.
My smile . It was genuine because I was genuinely at a place of peace and finding happiness that I didn’t know existed on the flip side of my breakup.
I thought that I’d be sad and confused, trying to make it from day to day.
But in three short weeks, I’d begun thriving much more than I ever had while with Dewayne. Money wasn’t even an issue.
For once, my bank account had a healthy savings and some money in the checking account.
I had adapted the 10 percent rule quickly when getting to Channing.
I spent only 10 percent of my earnings and saved the rest. I didn’t have any bills piling up.
My only responsibility was gas, cell phone bill, and feeding my babies.
My tips were deposited into my account at the end of each week. I still had twenty-two hundred dollars of the money that Lyric had given me. The check that I received from Baisleigh’s so far, I hardly saw because as soon as I received it, I snapped a picture and put it directly in the bank.
My smile . Even intoxicated, it was still evident that, in that moment, I was happy. The next few stories were simply about her getting her morning started, which she invited everyone to watch. The final one was heart-gripping, causing me to halt just before opening the door to my job.
“Look who just decided to pop up, unannounced!” she shared with only her close friends, eventually fanning the camera around to show both Laike and Luca.
The pace of my breathing picked up slightly as I replayed the story over and then over again.
It wasn’t until the third time that I realized she had two tags on the bottom, one belonging to Laike and the other to Luca.
@TheLaikeShow
@NoIGLuca
I clicked the one that was obviously attached to Luca but found it to be private.
Not thinking twice, I requested to follow him.
Laike’s page was public, allowing me to follow him without a request. However, he only had a total of six pictures posted, the last one dating back two years.
If it was his case, then I knew that Luca’s feed was either empty or had pictures dating back eight years before he went to prison.
Before stepping into Baisleigh’s House, I took a deep breath.
In an attempt to gather myself, I counted down from five.
Knowing that I’d missed Luca by an hour was bittersweet.
It also meant that the chances of him giving his dick to the girl from the bar was less likely.
He was up and out way too early with a fresh fit and a fresh face.
More than likely, he and Laike had slept at the same location and gone to visit Lyric before getting their day started.
Did he expect me to be home? I wondered as I pushed forward to begin my workday.
It was past eight-thirty now. I still needed to clock in and meet Baisleigh in her office.
The thought of hosting my first event had my cheeks flushed and my eyes bright with curiosity.
I had no idea what the planning consisted of, but I’d managed two children and all of their events alone for the last six years.
If I could do that, I could probably do anything, event coordination for adult parties included.
“Good morning,” I said as I walked through the door of Baisleigh’s office after clocking in and putting my belongings away. Her face was planted in her phone just like mine had been a few minutes ago.
“Hey. Close the door,” she insisted, shutting down her screen and pulling her chair closer to her desk.
I closed the door behind me and took a seat on the other side of her desk in one of the two chairs that was in front of it. She clicked around on the computer for a while before she turned to me and began.
“So, the guest of honor’s name is Tamara.
She’s turning twenty-nine and wants to reserve the left wing of the building for three hours to cater to her friends and family.
There will be twenty-nine guests. How ironic.
She will be paying a deposit to rent the area for three hours, but the guests will pay for their plates on her end.
“She will just pay us what she’s arranged for them to pay for a full-course brunch experience.
This includes a regular beverage and an alcoholic beverage.
A medium bacon or sausage quiche patty as the appetizer, the Baisleigh special as the meal with a meat of their choice, and pancakes of their choice for dessert. That’s it.”
“Got it.”
“What I need from you is to keep in contact with her and get everything lined up. There is a spreadsheet for you to keep track of everything that I’m going to email you. Also, you’re in charge of decorations and making her day special.”
“About that. I was going to ask if I could offer my cake decorating services to her.”
“You decorate cakes?”
“I do.”
“And, why haven’t you been said that? I have a very big, very close family and it’s somebody’s birthday every month, most times a few people. We need a loyal cake lady because we are tired of the disappointment. Send me some of your work. My aunt needs a cake for her party in two weeks.”
“I will email them to you. So, it’s OK to offer that to her?”
“Yes. Of course it is. Hell, make some business cards, and we will pass them out to the guests until you run out. My job is not to keep you here. It’s to lift you higher.
Anything I can do to help you reach your full potential, I’m with it.
That goes for every one of my employees.
I wish I’d known, honey. You came right on time, though. ”
“Is that all?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I’m going to go out here and get started, then. I saw that Ria and Isis were the only ones on the floor right now and we’re probably about to get that morning rush.”
“Yeah. They already have enough tables. The next four that come through the door are yours. You guys can figure it out from there.”
“Thanks, Baisleigh.”
“Of course.”
I left her office while tying my apron around my waist. The beige fabric with Baisleigh’s House written on it was so simple and so cute. The uniform was simple khaki pants and the tan shirts with a B on the upper right chest area.
As soon as I stepped onto the floor, the bell chimed, letting me know we had new guests.
I rushed to the hostess station to grab a few menus.
When I lifted, so did my soul. The man whose Instagram I’d just attempted to stalk, who had me up in the early morning before my time, who’d consumed me wholly since seeing his face was standing before me.
“Wel-welcome to… uh, Welcome to Baisleigh’s House,” I stammered over my words.
I could feel my ears reddened as our eyes connected.
As I grabbed the back of my neck and tried clearing my throat of the sudden debris, I adjusted my gaze so that he wasn’t in the center of it.
I was unable to look him square in the face this time.
Pride wouldn’t allow it. So, I deflected, dropping my head into the menus that I’d scooped up.
“What’s up?” Laike smiled, stepping closer to the booth I was behind.
“Hi guys.”
“You made it to work after all,” Laike acknowledged.
“Fortunately. Just two?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Luca answered. I could feel his eyes on me.
“This way.”
I was so relieved to have given him my back to watch instead of staring daggers into the side of my face. Their table was only a short distance away, but it gave me time to compose myself, somewhat .
“Here we are, gentleman. What can I get you guys started with to drink?”
“Water,” they both said simultaneously.
“Two waters coming right up,” I told them as I sat their menus down, still avoiding eye contact with Luca.
I scurried across the floor and made my way behind the counter. Ria was making freshly squeezed orange juice when I pulled her to the side to give her the rundown.