3. Cora
3
CORA
You’re still coming to lunch, right?
Obviously. I’ve gotten out of bed today just for you.
I replied to Jennifer’s message as I climbed up the stairs from the subway station to the street.
Not that I could have slept in with the amount of noise you were making this morning.
Jennifer wasn’t just my best friend but also my roomie. We split a tiny one-bedroom apartment, and though it was tight quarters, with our packed work schedules, we didn’t often get in each other’s way. Plus, I wasn’t really going to complain. When my ex Levi walked out on me a year ago, I couldn’t afford my own place, and Jennifer had come to my rescue.
Sorry. Had to make sure you weren’t going to blow me off.
When do I ever? I’m like fifteen minutes away.
Good.
Is that smoothie woman still coming?
Her name is Allie.
How was I supposed to know? You said you met her at the smoothie bar.
No, at the gym. Then we had smoothies. She’s super cool. So can you try not to call her smoothie woman when I introduce you two?
No promises.
An eye-rolling emoji followed, but I knew her well enough to know I’d made her laugh again. Work had been stressing her lately, and I considered it my responsibility to cheer her up whenever I could. Especially on a day like today, when she might have lined up an important gig for me.
For all my pretending, I knew exactly how Jenn and Allie had met. They’d gone for post-workout smoothies, and apparently Jennifer had made a one-off comment about how the Masked Mixer could have easily whipped up a better drink, which led to Allie mentioning an exciting job opportunity for me. I was cautiously hopeful. After my disastrous run-in with Aiden the previous night, I could use some good news.
I rounded the end of the next block, spotting the green canopy over the door of Eastfield Eatery. It was quite a step up from Clive’s, the dingy restaurant where she and I had both worked five years ago—me behind the bar and her in the kitchen. It was how we’d met. I was glad she’d moved up in the world, getting to show off her amazing chef skills at a place that was actually worthy of her.
“Cora!” Jennifer called, waving me across the restaurant to our usual table. There were fresh cut flowers on every table and abstract artwork adorning the walls.
“How’s work?” I asked, sitting down.
“Same old. The new menu items launch tomorrow.”
“Exciting.”
She shrugged, indifferent. “You should order the bacon, brie, and cranberry panini if you’re hungry.”
I glanced over the menu. “I don’t see that on here.”
“I know. I want to put the kitchen on the spot. Make sure they’re ready for tomorrow.”
“Well, that sounds delicious. You know how much I love cheese.”
Her eyes darted to the door, and she raised her hand, smiling. “Allie, hi!”
The woman walked across the restaurant with a brisk, purposeful stride and parked herself in the seat next to Jennifer. She had a French bob, multiple ear piercings, and a tattoo of a dragon crawling up her forearm. I felt markedly less cool every second I spent looking at her. “Not late, am I?”
“Not at all,” Jennifer said, gesturing between us to make the introductions. “Cora just arrived too.”
“So this is the Masked Mixer?” Allie reached for my hand. “Alison Barker. Good to meet you.”
“Cora Newport.”
“Thanks for taking this meeting. I realize I sort of put Jennifer on the spot, and I’m exploiting your friendship a little here.”
I grinned. I liked her honesty.
“But when Jennifer told me she knew the Masked Mixer, I had to shoot my shot, as they say.”
“Well, I admire that.”
“And since you turned up, the friendship exploitation clearly worked.”
I chuckled. “Oh, I’m totally making Jenn pay for lunch to make up for revealing my alter ego.”
“That sounds fair to me,” Allie said.
“Umm…” Jennifer cut in. “Jenn can hear you both, you know.”
I smirked at her. “Does Jenn really have time to laze around eavesdropping on us instead of getting back to work in the kitchen?”
She stuck her tongue out at me. “Jenn would like to suggest everyone stop referring to her in the third person starting…now. And with that, I am going back to work. Good to see you, Allie.”
“You too.” Allie flashed her a warm smile. “Thanks again for this.”
As soon as Jenn stepped away, a waiter came and took our drink orders, but then it was just us. I turned back to Allie. “Should we get down to the Masked Mixer business? Jennifer said something about a job opportunity you wanted to discuss.”
“Yes,” Allie said, rooting around in her bag for some paperwork. “I’m sure you’ve figured out I’m in the alcohol business.”
“Wait, what?” I said, teasing. “You’re not here to talk to me about my stellar fashion? I thought we were launching Masked Mixer merch.”
Allie laughed. “Branded Masked Mixer masks,” she said in a deep voice. “Coming to a store near you.”
“While quantities last.”
“Why is that kind of a brilliant idea?”
I snorted. “I don’t actually think anyone wants to spend money on a little eye mask.”
“What are you talking about? You’re giving the people what they want. The ability to live out their superhero dreams.”
“Some of them might be supervillains,” I said.
“I would so be a villain.” She found what she was looking for, laying the papers on the table. “Right. So, the company I work for is looking for an expert in drinks. And I think you’re that person.”
“You do?”
She nodded. “I’ve been a big fan of your videos ever since you first came on the scene. Anyone who knows me knows I’m a big Long Island Iced Tea girl, and I was obsessed with your cherry Coke twist.”
“How obsessed?”
She laughed. “I think I was drunk the entire summer. That’s how much I liked it.”
“That’s a really old video,” I said, impressed. She really was a fan. “So, which company are we talking about?”
Allie gave me an apologetic smile. “This is where the business part comes in. I can’t say more about what we’re looking for until you sign an NDA.” She passed the papers across the table to me. “Not that I don’t trust you. But of course, we’ve only just met, and, you know, it’s just technicalities.”
I skimmed over the NDA. My eyes caught on a word that turned my stomach like sour wine. “Wait. You work for Elixir?”
“Yes,” Allie said. “And I’d really like you to work with us too.” She tapped the bottom of the NDA where I had to sign.
Jennifer clearly had no idea Allie worked for Elixir or else she never would have suggested this meeting. Of all the drink companies in the world, of all the opportunities, why did this one keep knocking?
“Before you say anything else,” Allie said, “I just want you to know that I saw the video of you and Aiden at the bar last night. I know things didn’t exactly go well during your first meeting. But I still believe you’re the right person for this job, and I’m hoping we can talk things through.”
Clearly, the universe hadn’t gotten the message that Elixir and I were a no-go, which was really too bad because I liked Allie a lot so far.
“Look, Allie, you seem really cool, I just don’t think?—”
“Signing the NDA doesn’t commit you to anything,” she tried to assure me. “It just lets us speak more freely so I can make the full offer.” She passed me a pen. “You came all the way here. At least hear me out?”
I didn’t want to hear her out.
“Elixir’s a really great place to work,” she said. “I’m serious. This isn’t just me trying to sway you or spout bullshit about a company. The pay’s good. So are the benefits. But it’s the collaborative work culture I think you’ll enjoy the most. I started there right out of college and haven’t even been tempted to look elsewhere.”
A place with an obnoxious fool for a CEO , I reminded myself. Hard pass.
“Plus, I know you’re gonna be really stoked about this opportunity. From everything I’ve seen on your socials, I can tell it’s a good fit.”
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little interested in what this opportunity might be.
“Seriously,” she said. “There’s no pressure. Signing just means everything we talk about stays between us for legal reasons.”
I sighed. I supposed it wouldn’t hurt if I just listened to what Allie had to say. I scribbled my name along the signature line at the bottom of the NDA.
“Excellent,” Allie said. She signed the witness line, then placed the NDA back into her bag. “So,” she rubbed her hands together, “Elixir is looking to launch a nonalcoholic line of drinks.”
“Nonalcoholic?” I said, confused. “Your whole brand is liquor.” If that’s what they were after, why were they looking at me?
“Yes, but Elixir is looking to expand their brand to cover more of the market, starting with a line of mocktails.”
“You’re aware the Masked Mixer mixes alcoholic drinks, right?”
Allie laughed. “Of course. But you know what tastes good, what flavors work together, and how to come up with combinations no one else has thought of. We’re after someone who’s prepared to curate a unique flavor profile. Someone who isn’t afraid to experiment and work with bold ingredients. Ingredients that will set Elixir apart from the others currently on the shelf.”
Bold ingredients sounded right up my alley. Stop that , I told myself.
“You’d have a lot of creative control,” Allie said. “Again, we’d be looking to you as the expert.”
“Hmm,” I said, reluctantly interested in the idea of creative control until I spotted a horribly familiar face coming toward us. “God, what’s he doing here?”
Allie glanced over her shoulder, smiling and waving. “Perfect timing. I did mention to Aiden that I was taking this meeting, but not that you’re the Masked Mixer. I thought it could be a good chance for the two of you to smooth things over.”
Damnit! I had no interest in smoothing things over.
“He’s super excited about launching this drink line. I really think you two will hit it off if you try again.”
“We’re gonna hit something ,” I muttered under my breath. Probably my last nerve.
Aiden came waltzing over, all suave in his suit, his curls perfectly tousled. He shouldn’t be allowed to walk around looking that perfect. He staggered to a stop as our eyes connected.
I wasn’t wearing my mask, but I was pretty sure he’d recognize me as the Masked Mixer anyway. I half expected an eyeroll after the way we’d left things at the bar, but his eyes widened comically instead.
“Zelda?” he said with a note of disbelief, and I immediately wanted to crawl out of my skin at the nickname I hadn’t heard since high school. “Is that…Wait, is that really you? Hold on. You’re the Masked Mixer!”
Oh, sure. Now he freaking recognized me? God, this was almost worse than him not recognizing me at all.
I needed to get out of here. “I think this meeting’s over,” I said to Allie.
Aiden’s jaw hung open, his brows drawn together like I’d just slammed my foot down on his toe. He sifted his fingers through his hair, displacing the curls. “I mean, Cora. God, it’s been so long.”
Yep, years since you broke my heart, asshole. What a nightmare this was turning out to be. “Nice of you to finally recognize me.”
“In my defense,” Aiden began. “It’s been over a decade since I’ve seen you. You look…You’re older.”
Older? Jesus Christ. Why was I being subjected to this man over and over again? Had teenage me not suffered enough? And sure, I’d changed since I was sixteen, but I hadn’t changed that much. He didn’t have to be a jerk about it. “Glad all those football tackles in high school didn’t rattle you so much that you forgot how the aging process works.”
His reply must have gotten caught behind his tongue because he closed his mouth and glared at me.
“We were just talking about Elixir’s new nonalcoholic line!” Allie interrupted loudly.
Aiden hummed sarcastically. “I’m just dying to hear what the Masked Mixer thinks about that.”
I bristled. “I think I have better things to be doing with my time than sitting here.”
“Hang on,” Allie said, holding her hands out, asking for a pause. “We were getting somewhere. Let’s all sit down and talk about it. I’ll order lunch on Elixir.”
“Cora doesn’t accept brand gifts,” Aiden cut in with a snide smile. “I’m assuming that extends to brand-paid-for lunches.”
“Correction,” I said. “I don’t accept gifts from brands I have no intention of working with. And as I made abundantly clear last night, that includes Elixir.”
Aiden sneered. “This is a waste of time.”
“Agreed.”
“Wait,” Allie said. “Let’s discuss the new line some more. Cora, I think partnering with Elixir could be mutually beneficial for us both.”
“I doubt it,” I said. Nothing about a partnership with Aiden was ever going to be beneficial.
“She didn’t really seem to be showing Elixir any love last night,” Aiden pointed out. “I don’t see what we would gain.”
I shrugged. “I had other, better options on the table. I saw no reason to water down my drinks with Elixir.”
The muscle in his jaw twitched, and it gave me an insane amount of pleasure.
“Okay,” Allie said, cutting Aiden off before he could respond. “Think of it this way, Cora. This is your chance to make something you genuinely do love. Something you can be proud to attach your name and your brand to. Something you will happily endorse because you’ve had a hand in crafting the recipes and selecting the ingredients.”
“We want something that’s never been done before,” Aiden said. “Unique flavor profiles, playing with combinations, turning the expected on its head. Think the Masked Mixer could handle all that?”
What a dick! That’s exactly what I did on my socials, and he should know that, if he’d ever actually watched them—which, to be honest, he probably hadn’t. Not recognizing me when I’m wearing a mask in a bar with atmospheric lighting is one thing, but if he’d watched hours of my content online and still didn’t recognize me? There really would be no hope for him.
Not that it mattered. I wouldn’t work for him whether he recognized me or not. I wouldn’t work for him in a bar; I wouldn’t work for him in a car. I wouldn’t work for him here or there—I wouldn’t work for him anywhere.
You cannot buy me with your bling; screw you, Mr. Cocktail King.
As if on cue, the next words out of Aiden’s mouth were, “Did you already discuss salary?”
Allie pulled another document from her bag. “I didn’t have a chance before you got here.” She shoved it in my direction, motioning with her pen. “But salary-wise, this is what we’re talking about.”
My eyes almost bugged out of my head. That was easily fifty grand more than I was making now even with my added Masked Mixer gigs. With that kind of money on the table, my speakeasy could go from a dream to a reality in no time at all. No. No ! I’d just settled on the fact that I would never work for Aiden.
“Of course, this is just a starting point,” Aiden said, taking the pen and scratching out the number on the contract. “For someone with your knowledge and previous experience, I’m sure we can bump you up another…” He glanced at Allie. “Twenty grand?”
She shrugged.
“Forty?” he suggested.
Now he was just throwing his money around. I opened my mouth to tell him where he could shove his assumptions about me being a sellout without morals or a brain in my head.
“Fifty,” he jumped in, clearly assuming my silence was me waiting to see how high he would go.
“Why is everything about the money with you?” I asked, so offended my hands clenched into fists.
“Why do you have such a problem accepting my money?” he countered. “You’re the one shaking up drinks for a living. I’m just trying to pay you for it.”
“And you’re still shaking up the world with your ego, I see. I can’t believe your head ever fit into a football helmet.”
“I think what you mean is ‘Congrats on turning that football scholarship into a multi-million-dollar company.’”
“Well, at least you could keep your commitments to something.” He certainly hadn’t kept them to me.
He didn’t rise to the bait. “Don’t you want to get out from behind the bar? You could be crafting drinks for someone who truly appreciates your talent.”
“Oh, that someone being you?” I snorted.
Where had all this appreciation been in high school when he dumped me out of the blue? When he hadn’t even bothered to give me a reason?
“I’m not something to be bought!” I spat out.
He snorted. “Well, I don’t think you want to work for free.”
“Actually, I don’t want to work for you at all!” I fired back, jumping to my feet. “It was nice meeting you, Allie, but we’re done here.” I turned away from the table and stalked across the restaurant, exiting onto the street. I’d barely made it past the door before I heard footsteps catch up behind me.
“Cora, wait! There’s also a state-of-the-art lab!” Allie shouted after me, breathless. “If that sways you at all. You’ll have access to all the finest equipment, not to mention our full array of supplies.”
I kept walking even as she caught up to me. “A lab?”
“A really, really nice lab. The kind of place you could film your Masked Mixer videos when you weren’t on the clock. And any experimenting you wanted to do with the ingredients we keep on hand would be totally covered.”
I staggered to a stop. That caught my attention for real. Having somewhere to film my videos other than the cramped kitchen Jennifer and I shared was enticing. It meant a cleaner aesthetic, and I wouldn’t have to worry about hogging the space or working around Jennifer’s schedule. And not having to shell out for my own ingredients would save me a fortune—not to mention give me the freedom to experiment in ways I’d never been able to justify before.
“Look,” Allie continued. “I know Aiden was a jerk back there. And I know you got off on the wrong foot the other night. But don’t think about him. The lab will be your domain, not his. Think about the work. No one can do it like you. Elixir needs you.”
I crossed my arms, torn. It would be a mistake to give in, to let Aiden back into my life in any way. But would it be an even bigger mistake to ignore this chance to take my career in a whole new direction? When would I get another chance to do something like this?
“Don’t walk away from this just yet,” Allie coaxed. “I think you have the chance to create something really special here, a line of drinks you actually believe in, because you’ve crafted them from scratch. How many mixologists can say they’ve done that? This could be incredible for the Masked Mixer brand.”
Gah! Why couldn’t I just let this opportunity go? I needed to walk away from Allie now, before I let her tempt me with words like state-of-the-art lab . I wanted to be able to look Aiden in those smoldering blue eyes and tell him to take a hike once and for all. But on the other hand…it was the chance of a lifetime. The salary, sure, but mostly the opportunity to express myself creatively, on the clock and off it, in a top-notch lab. I wasn’t looking for a handout from Aiden. Truth was, I didn’t need him. If anything, he needed me . And from the sound of things, it would just be temporary, until the line of drinks was finalized. Then I could waltz off with my fat paycheck and my stack of new uploads and a whole lot of positive PR to find bigger and better opportunities.
“Fine,” I said. “If you can promise me all that, and that I’ll be able to film my Masked Mixer videos after hours with all the ingredients supplied, I’ll do it.”
“You will?” Allie said, ecstatic. “Yes. Yes ! Of course. I will make it happen. We can have it written into the contract. Will you come back inside?”
I nodded, following her back into Eastfield.
Aiden looked up from his phone as we approached, his eyes widening in surprise. “Came crawling back, did you?”
“You wish,” I muttered.
“Cora’s agreed to do it,” Allie said, elbowing him.
“I’ll sign on for a limited contract,” I clarified. No way in hell was this going to be a permanent arrangement. “Only long enough to create and launch the product line.”
“And in addition to the partnership with the Masked Mixer, we’ve agreed that Cora can use the lab during downtime to film for her socials,” Allie added.
“Fine by me,” Aiden muttered. “We’ll have a new contract drawn up with the added terms. You can have a lawyer review it if you think it’s necessary.”
“Probably in my best interest,” I said, meeting his hardened gaze.
“Fine,” Aiden said. “Was that so hard?”
I glared at him across the table.
“We should probably shake on it though. Just to make it official.” He reached out, a smug grin on his face.
“Guess we should.” I reached across the table and grabbed Allie’s hand, completely ignoring him. “Nice doing business with you.”