25. Liz
LIZ
On Monday, my assistant baker, Dina, and I baked far too much.
My sales associate, Monica, was very good at upselling to customers, but at the end of the day, I still had a lot of leftovers.
I wasn't worried that they would go bad, because I'd already decided that I was going to employ Travis's tactic.
I had no clue how to reach out to his online network, so I did something far more simple after Dina and Monica left.
I wrote “Free leftovers” on a huge sheet of paper and put it on the door. I had a line fifteen minutes later.
I grinned, rubbing my palms as I stepped out to see it.
Some customers were snapping pictures of my shop sign.
The name might be simple, but it was easy to remember.
I’d also put it on all the packaging—the boxes for the treats as well as the paper bags.
They were pretty enough to be considered gift bags.
"Everyone, I'm going to take a picture of you for social media promotion, and then I’ll go back inside and serve you one by one."
"Yes!" the crowd cheered. I held my phone so the store sign was easily recognizable. I planned to upload the photo later on my store’s Facebook page. I only had fifteen likes, but I wanted to keep it active and build my followers.
I was already pretty tired from being on my feet all day, but I put on a smile on my face as I went back inside, giving everyone boxes with leftovers.
By the time I was done, it was seven o'clock.
After turning the sign from “Open” to “Closed,” I took out my phone and texted Declan.
Liz: Still at the office?
He replied a few minutes later.
Declan: Yeah. I'm determined to go through everything for tomorrow. I didn't want to take any work home tonight.
Liz: What do you say about a surprise visit?
Declan: YES!
This was the perfect opportunity for me to spoil my man. Ever since I met him—well, ever since we’d stopped going for each other’s throats—he’d been doting on me a lot, and I wanted to return the favor.
I stopped at the deli a few doors down, buying pizza. I'd already had a slice for lunch that afternoon, and it was surprisingly good. Then I walked over to Declan's building on LaSalle Street. It was a beautiful night for a walk; the weather was warm, and the city was alive.
When I arrived at the building, I sauntered inside, going straight to the doorman.
"Hey, I’m here for Declan Maxwell."
"Is he expecting you?"
"Yes."
"Name?"
"Liz Watson."
"Got it. Go ahead, ma'am. You're on the approved list."
I had a pep in my step as I went into the elevator and rode up to his floor. I'd never been here, so I didn't actually know where to go, but when I stepped out, I looked at the directory and immediately found Declan's office. I found it super cute that he was sharing a space with his brothers.
"Hello! Anybody here?" I asked.
"Liz, you’re already here." Declan's voice came from somewhere in the back. I practically ran in that direction. It was the second room on the left of the corridor.
"It’s me," I said, stepping inside.
He rose from his desk, coming over to me. "What’s that?"
"I brought pizza for us. I thought you might need dinner.”
“Thanks.”
He smiled, taking the pizza away from me and putting it on the desk.
He pulled me against him, kissing me unexpectedly, and oh my, someone had been missing me.
The kiss was so wickedly hot it made my toes curl.
I rose on my tiptoes, bracing my arms on his for leverage, kissing him back just as hotly.
When he pulled away, I couldn't help but grin.
"Are you hungry?" I asked.
"Not for pizza." His voice was low and deliciously rough.
"Hmm. Well, I am."
"Babe, I still have a few hours of work. Want to stay here and keep me company?"
“Yeah, that was the plan. Now, come on, sit.”
He narrowed his eyes but did as I said. I went behind him and put my hands on his shoulders, massaging them.
"That’s good, babe. Ahhh, great."
I pressed my thumbs up and down the side of his neck and then moved back to his shoulders. They were tense.
"Let’s eat before we get… carried away, Liz.”
I kept massaging his shoulders.
“Pizza. Now," he instructed.
"Yes, boss," I said. I took the pizza and went to sit on the couch situated on the side of the room. I had a perfect view of him at his gigantic mahogany desk. My God, he was sexy. A man in charge.
"I want to be prepared for every scenario tomorrow. I'm going through everything related to defamation lawsuits."
I frowned. "I thought you said they don't have a case."
"They don’t, but I like to be prepared."
"Of course you do," I said, munching on my slice. The day was catching up to me as I yawned between bites.
Declan looked up at me. "Liz, you're exhausted. Come on. I'll take you home."
"No, no, no. I want to be here with you. It's fine. I'm a little bit sleepy, but I'm going to find something to keep myself occupied. I want to keep you company."
He stared at me, shaking his head. "You're something else."
"Hey, I want to be here and look at all this sexiness. Of course, it's not exactly a hardship. And now I will shut up and let you focus on what you have to do. Don't want to be the reason why you're not prepared, so I'm going to be quiet."
Taking out my phone, I intended to open my income and expenses app, but a message from Rose caught my attention.
I groaned. "Oh no."
"What's wrong?"
"Rose texted me. Amy has a fever."
“I’m sorry, babe.”
"Oh, man. Having kids is truly a roller coaster."
“It really is. I remember when Paisley was a baby. She got sick all the time too. Kept the whole family on our toes.”
Declan was such a family man. I loved this guy so much. He could be so gruff on the exterior, but once you got to know him, he was truly a good man.
“Go back to your research,” I said hastily. “Didn’t mean to hijack your attention.”
As he got back to his papers, I finally pulled up my app with income and expenses. It was becoming a small obsession for me to keep logging in numbers and see what I would have to earn daily so I could meet my goal of breaking even in two years.
I did some projections based on case studies I found online, but it was only my real first day in business.
I didn't know if I should already start panicking or not.
Probably not. I'd calculated an average of daily sales needed for each day, but I would probably have to readjust my expectations these first few weeks.
The great thing, I kept telling myself, was that I had a good nest egg. Though that didn't keep me from punching in numbers somewhat obsessively.
"Hey, babe, what are you so into?" Declan asked all of a sudden.
“What? Oh, you’re done?” I was startled, realizing he’d gotten up and was getting things together to leave.
“Yeah. You've been lost in your phone for an hour.”
My eyes bulged. “An hour? Wow.”
“Yeah. What were you doing? Any more news from your sister?”
“No, I was playing with an app where I plug in income and expenses,” I said, standing up. “Honestly, I'm doing it in every free moment. I should stop it. I need to know what it takes to break even in two years.”
Declan stilled, frowning. My stomach sank. Did he think I was waiting for him to bail me out if this didn't work out in two years? I didn't want him to think I planned to be a freeloader or that I was waiting for him to be my knight in shining armor.
Clearing my throat, I spoke loudly, infusing as much humor as I could in my voice. “Otherwise, it's back to Sunnyvale for me.”
I smiled, but he didn't return it. His eyes were still serious, almost cold. He didn't find this amusing. Was he pissed?
“Come on, let's go. It's late,” he said.
My stomach sank even further. I wasn't sure what to say.
We went down to the car in silence, and during the drive, I could feel there was still tension between us.
He was tired, and this wasn't the time to have further conversation. I would lay it out for him at some point—that I had contingency plans and that none of them involved him bailing me out. I wouldn’t want that, even if he offered, as this was something I wanted to do all on my own.
When we got home, we went straight up to the bedroom.
I went to the master bathroom first. I intended to break this tension between us with some sexy times.
I showered, then put on my favorite lotion and brushed my hair.
I was ready to seduce my man tonight. I loved Declan with my whole heart.
The last thing I wanted was for our relationship to suffer because he thought I might expect something from him.
Drawing a deep breath, I opened the door and found him sleeping soundly.
That was a first. But I had to be realistic. He'd worked more than twelve hours today. Of course he was very tired.
I tiptoed into the room, then slid into bed next to him. I was exhausted too, but I couldn't fall asleep for a long time. I was going to talk to him tomorrow morning. I wasn't going to let anything come between us.
But when I woke up the next morning, the bed was empty next to me.
“Declan,” I called loudly. I jumped out of bed, opening the bedroom door.
“Declan?” No answer. I went down to the living room and checked my phone, finding a message from Declan.
Declan: Hey, babe. I left early. Hope I didn’t wake you up. I went back to the office to read some things one last time, and then I'm picking up Reese. Talk to you later.
Liz: Okay. Good luck today.
Should I say something about last night? No, it would be awkward. I would talk to him this evening. He had a big day, and I didn’t want him concerned about anything but his meeting.
I didn't have much time to think about it because I had to get going as well. I went over to my place, changing quickly, getting ready for the day. Although I had quite a few things over at Declan’s, I still had the majority of my clothing and cosmetics at mine.
Afterward, I went to the bakery and started my morning routine.
I lost myself in the baking process with Dina, blocking out the world, right up until my phone rang. My sister was calling. I instantly knew something was wrong, because Rose never called during the day. I didn't hesitate before answering.
"Rose, is everything okay?"
“No.” My sister was crying.
I clutched my chest, leaning against the counter. "What happened?"
"Amy's got the flu," she said between sobs, "and she became unresponsive."
"Oh my God!"
"We’re at the hospital. She's severely dehydrated, and they’re checking if her kidneys are okay. Apparently that can happen when you have the flu. I stayed up late last night to help her drink fluids, and so did Mark, but I think at some point, we both fell asleep. I'm so, so scared."
"Rose, listen. I'm going to come home."
"What? No, you can't."
"Yes I can. Listen to me. You're in a state. Amy will be fine. I just know it."
"You really don't have to come. That's not why I called you."
Subconsciously, I thought she might have called me precisely because of that. She and I were like peas in a pod our whole lives. Especially in the difficult times, we were always there for each other.
"Rose, I'm coming home. It’ll take forever, but I will be there. I have to hang up now because I have to organize everything. I promise I’ll be there as soon as possible."
"I love you, sister," she said.
"I love you too." Then I hung up, thinking hard. First things first, I had to instruct Monica how to do the end-of-day receipt tallying and cash deposits.
Checking the time, I realized I only had one hour until the bus to Sunnyvale left.
My first impulse was to call Declan, but I fought against it.
He had other things going on right now. I sent him a message, knowing he put his phone on airplane mode during meetings.
It was time to put my big girl panties on.