Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Emelia woke up with a start. She looked at her watch and groaned. Three thirty a.m.
Hadn’t she just fallen asleep?
Her room was dark except for shards of streetlight peeking around the edge of the shade in her bedroom.
She lay in bed going over everything that had to be done before Carol Barker, the woman interviewing her, arrived that afternoon.
Earlier in the evening she spent a couple of hours cleaning and re-cleaning the bakery, wanting it to be perfect. By the time she was done mopping and dusting, she was exhausted.
Titus was playing poker with some of the guys since she’d told him he would be a distraction. Now that she lay in bed with excess energy and wild thoughts, she wished he was here and they were making love. It would keep her mind occupied.
Emelia sighed, got up, showered, and put on her chef outfit.
She looked over at Leo’s crate, expecting to see him wiggling with his tail wagging, but he wasn’t there. Oh right, Vanessa had him. Emelia wanted no distractions today. She missed the pup.
Her shoes thumped and echoed in the quiet. The bakery kitchen was dark and quiet. John would be in shortly. Emelia switched on the lights and glanced around. The kitchen was sparkling. Last night, she’d made several new pastries that just needed to be baked. Emelia wondered what questions Carol would ask. The right interview could put her bakery on the map. She hoped the photographer accompanying her would take great pictures she could frame and place around the bakery.
After looking at her watch, she realized only fifteen minutes had passed. She sighed. It was going to be a long day. Emelia turned on the coffee maker and the ovens. She was too nervous to eat and tapped the table with her fingers, waiting on the coffee.
Everything she’d hoped for, well, almost hoped for, was coming to fruition.
She had a successful bakery that was finally making money, a great staff, new friends, and an incredibly handsome, sexy lover. Life was good.
The morning flew by, and by early afternoon, Emelia’s stomach started flip-flopping. Her trembling palms were slick with sweat, and everything around her seemed off. She sat at a table by herself in the bakery surrounded by happy customers.
Titus had left a message wishing her luck and to call him later. Her girlfriends left messages. Joy and Isabelle planned to come over and pretend to be customers so she’d have some moral support.
“Here, eat something.” Josie placed a small sandwich in front of her. “You look like you’re going to pass out.”
“Humph. I wish the interview was over. I’m so nervous.” Her stomach twisted in knots at the mere thought of food.
Josie squeezed her shoulder. “Emelia, you’re going to be fine. We’re all here for you.” She tapped the sandwich. “Eat.”
“Yes, Mom,” quipped Emelia. She took a bite of the brie and prosciutto on ciabatta bread, which was today’s special. The flavors of the soft cheese, spicy mustard and salty prosciutto danced on her tongue. She finished the sandwich and felt a thousand times better.
Emelia planned on giving samples to Carol and her photographer to take with them and hopefully share. Once they tasted the food, they’d be sold. Having an endorsement from a famous blogger would mean Lilypad Confections would be on people’s bucket list. Emelia laughed to herself. That was an unrealistic dream, but if an endorsement meant more sales, she’d take it.
The bell tinkled over the door, and a petite, dark-haired woman entered, followed by a taller man holding a video camera.
Showtime!
Emelia walked over and welcomed them. Carol made some suggestions to the cameraman, who nodded. Carol thought they should first do a walk-through of the kitchen and bakery, then she had a few questions to ask.
John departed at his usual time, but he left a basket of bread in the kitchen. The entire kitchen smelled like home.
In fact, she and the staff had made everything as attractive as possible. Carol loved everything. She oohed and aahed over the display cases.
Emelia offered her coffee and her special raspberry custard bun.
“Oh my God, this is delicious,” Carol gushed as she brought a piece of pastry to her mouth.
Emelia beamed. It was one of their new recipes that was selling out every day. She glanced around the bakery and noticed Joy and Isabelle at a corner table giving her a thumbs-up. Subtle much? She smiled and turned her attention back to Carol.
“My photographer is going to require a little space when we start the interview,” said Carol. “I’d like to arrange it so he can capture the customers in the scene.”
“I can move a table out of the way so we can use that corner.” Emelia nodded to a large space.
“Perfect.” Carol and the cameraman set up. She waved Emelia over when they were ready. Emelia rubbed her hands on her pants and walked over.
Questions initially focused on the bakery and Haywood Lake. What was her most popular-selling item? What were her plans for expansion? And what was her background?
Emelia felt at ease, and her heart was singing. These were questions she readily had answers to.
For sure, this interview would go wide. Customers would clamor at her door. Visions of opening a chain of bakeries or her own cooking show flashed through her mind.
“So, how would you answer your critics?”
What? Critics?
Emelia frowned. “I’m sorry, what was the question?”
“I’ve read reviews of your old bakery. They were not good. In fact, so many people gave you a one-star review and said they’d never go back. Can you explain what happened and how is Lilypad Confections different?”
Emelia’s heart plummeted, dragging all her dreams with it. Wyatt! That bastard must have said something. Although that wasn’t entirely fair since anyone on the Internet could google her last bakery or name for that matter.
“I spoke to your former partner, Wyatt Young. He claimed you tried to sue him for what was rightfully his and that the bakery was his idea. What do you say to that?”
Okay then, Carol had spoken to Wyatt. That bastard. Gloating as usual. “Wyatt is mistaken.”
Carol stepped closer. “Why would you say that? Did you steal his recipes and claim them as your own? What happened to the bakery in New York? Did you just leave and not pay your debt?”
“I closed the bak?—”
“Why wouldn’t you give Wyatt the money you owed him?”
“I—I didn’t owe him anything.” Emelia’s mind was blank. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Why was she concerned about Wyatt? Why bring this up now? “He took what…”
“Well,” Carol huffed. “I think we have enough. Thank you for your time. You can read the interview tomorrow on Food Adventures with Carol I’m sure my millions of viewers will be interested.”
The cameraman stopped shooting. Carol packed up, and they left. Emelia stood in the corner, hot tears dripping down her cheeks. Everyone was staring at her. When she stared back, they turned their faces.
Joy and Isabelle walked over and hugged Emelia.
“That was brutal,” Joy exclaimed. “What gave her the right to ask you those questions?”
“I’m going to hurt her,” said Isabelle, making fists with her hands.
She couldn’t stand seeing the sympathy in their eyes. Humiliation pressed on her chest. It was hard to breathe. Her voice cracked as she whispered, “Thanks for the support.”
Emelia’s whole body trembled, leaving her feeling weak and vulnerable. She had to escape as she felt the walls of the bakery closing in on her. “I … I need some time alone. I think I’m going upstairs for a while.”
Josie was in the kitchen when she walked through. “Hey, I couldn’t hear everything. How did the interview go?”
Emelia shook her head and continued walking up to her apartment. Hot tears welled up in her eyes and cascaded down her cheeks. Why did she ever agree to do this interview? She was ruined. Why couldn’t Wyatt leave her alone?
Her business was ruined. Where could she go this time? Her happy place was ruined. For sure, she’d never be able to open another bakery. Her name would become a mockery. The weight of failure settled on her like a heavy cloak. Worst of all, the thought of facing her friends or Titus made her stomach churn. How could she bear to look at them, him?
Carol waved goodbye to the cameraman on the sidewalk.
She pulled out her cell phone and dialed the number the man had given her.
It rang twice. “It’s done.”
Silence. “How did she handle the questions?”
Carol laughed. “She looked like a deer in the headlights. She had no response for why she had gotten one-star reviews and for screwing Wyatt.”
“Good job. You’ll have your bonus in a day.” He hesitated. “You know for sure your friend isn’t going to say anything about this to Wyatt or Emelia. Right?
“Right. I trust her. She was my roommate in New York. So, what happens next?”
The man was silent. “You don’t want to know, but it’ll be the icing on the cake, in bakery-speak. Emelia will learn what it’s like to ruin someone.”