Chapter 13 #2
“I think there’s probably a bit more to it than that,” Lainey said with a soft laugh. “And while I can certainly appreciate a hot man, I’m not sure that fully explains your desire to run away into the wilderness. So, what’s up?”
Andrea flopped onto the sofa, careful not to spill her coffee over the side of her mug.
“Paige still isn’t responding to my emails, and for some reason, our sales spreadsheet is on the fritz.
I can’t even check to see how things are going.
For all I know, Sunset Sweets is still hemorrhaging Christmas clients, and my manager won’t take my calls because I lost my stupid mind and flew three thousand miles away in the middle of the busiest part of the holidays.
“I don’t know what I was thinking then, and I really don’t know what I’m thinking now—except that I can’t stop thinking about a man and his dimples and the infuriating way he looks at me, which is so not the point right now.
My business could literally be falling apart around me, and all I want to do is go next door, kick the crew out of the construction zone, and never leave again. ”
Lainey laughed, but it was soft and commiserating. “Okay. That’s a lot. For what it’s worth, I fully approve of the idea to go next door and show Mr. Contractor what’s what. But I suppose you probably should figure out the spreadsheet thing first, huh?”
There was a pause. Andrea wasn’t sure what she was supposed to say, but before she could muster something together, Lainey spoke again, her words accompanied by a sudden uptick in background noise as cars rumbled by.
“I’m not too far away,” Lainey said. “I just left my Pilates class, let me pop in and see what’s going on.
Paige can’t ignore me if I’m standing right in front of her.
And technically speaking, I wasn’t part of the deal.
You were supposed to stay out of the bakery, but you didn’t say anything about your proxy. ”
“My proxy? That sounds very official. I’ll have to add you to the payroll when I get back.”
Lainey laughed. “Consider this one pro bono.” Her laugh cut short, and Andrea pressed the phone closer, straining to hear. “Damn! What the—”
“Are you okay?” Andrea asked
“What in the world—” Lainey cut off again, sending Andrea’s nerves spiraling.
“Lainey, what’s wrong? Did you get hit by a bus?”
“Pretty sure I would’ve said something a bit more strongly worded than ‘damn’ if I had,” Lainey quipped, though her usual humor was gone. “What is Sugar Spun Spells?”
Andrea frowned. “Sugar Spun Spells? I have no idea. What are you talking about?”
“I just turned onto Olive Avenue. There’s a line stretching around the block, and at first, I thought it was for Sunset, but now I see it’s for a food truck. And not just any food truck—a dessert truck. It’s parked right across the street from your bakery!”
Andrea jolted to her feet and paced back to the window, suddenly feeling like the room was too small and she needed to burst into the fresh air before the walls closed in on her.
“What do you mean there’s a bakery food truck across the street?” Andrea repeated, desperately hoping she’d misunderstood, though Lainey’s words were as clear as the icicles hanging along the townhome’s eaves.
“This is so not cool!” Lainey said, the background noise picking up.
“Their menu is all cupcakes!” She sounded properly pissed off now.
“They even ripped off your colors! Plum purples and powdery blues with little touches of silver instead of gold. Which, by the way, looks terrible. You were right to go with gold.”
Andrea was too distracted to think back on the weeks she had spent agonizing over gold or silver as her accent color when she first opened the patisserie.
“Hold on a second—” Lainey said, before her voice and the traffic noise cut off abruptly.
Andrea checked her phone, thinking she’d been disconnected, but Lainey had only muted herself. She was about to text when her friend’s voice chimed back in.
“Okay. I don’t want to tell you this, because I know you’re going to freak out, and you’re a million miles away so there’s nothing you can do, but we may have a problem.”
Andrea’s stomach crumpled like a ball of paper.
“Apparently everyone is here because of William,” Lainey continued. “He posted about the pop-up on his socials. A rave review. And he linked the address. Shady bastard!”
The word plunged into Andrea like a blade.
“I no longer think we should turn him into a toad. That would be too good for him,” Lainey added, her voice thick with rage.
Andrea wanted to speak, but it felt as if her voice had been snatched away.
All that filled her throat was panic. A scream bubbled up, but she couldn’t release it out of fear Wes would come running, certain she’d had some tragic kitchen mishap.
And then what would she say? None of this involved him.
He was just a Christmas flame. He had nothing to do with her real life.
“And where is Paige?” Lainey pressed on. “She should be out here guiding traffic over to the bakery. The people are all here—it wouldn’t take much to shuttle them across the street.”
Lainey’s voice grew distant and a bit muffled, as if she’d put the phone in her pocket or had her hand over the microphone, but Andrea could hear her shouting to the line, telling them to go to Sunset Sweets for the real deal.
Andrea wasn’t sure what “the real deal” was supposed to mean, but she appreciated the effort.
Still, a raving woman in head-to-toe Lululemons shouting at strangers wasn’t exactly the PR her business needed.
“I’ll call Paige,” Andrea declared.
“Oh no,” Lainey interjected. “I’m already on my way!”
Within a few moments, Lainey had stormed over to Sunset Sweets, narrating her progress the entire way.
After asking around at the front counter, she was told Paige was out running a bank errand.
Between Andrea and her staff, they managed to convince Lainey to leave, only after promising that Paige would call Andrea as soon as she returned.
“Is the line still outside?” Andrea asked, knowing it was a stupid question.
Of course the line would still be there.
But how many cupcakes could one food truck possibly hold?
Maybe they’d sell out early, and disappointed customers would head to Sunset Sweets.
The thought wasn’t encouraging. It only made her feel worse to imagine a wave of people trudging over, settling for her pastries as a second choice.
Andrea knew her pastries were superior to anything a cupcake truck could produce, but still, the idea of being someone’s backup option had never sat well with her. And after William’s betrayal, the thought was even more bitter.
“What bank are you with? I’ll head there next!” Lainey said, sounding like a bloodhound on the hunt. “Cut her off at the pass.”
“It’s fine, Lainey. Really. I appreciate it, but I’m not going to send you into the bank after Paige.
Technically speaking, she’s not doing anything wrong.
I told her I would stay out of things, and she’s clearly doing what she can.
It’s not her fault there’s a pop-up bakery across the street.
The city dishes out permits for these things.
William’s post is suspicious, sure, but it’s the perfect follow-up to his first attack on me.
Review-bombing Sunset Sweets one week and boosting some unknown start-up the next?
That was probably his plan from the beginning. ”
She squeezed her eyes shut and tamped down her rising anger. “Listen, Lainey, I appreciate your help. I’ll let you know as soon as Paige calls me.”
“So I’m just supposed to hang up and hope you’ll be okay?” Lainey asked, crestfallen.
Andrea smiled faintly. “Well, you’re too far away to give me a hug. So I suppose.”
“Well, you know I’m sending you one long-distance.”
“I know. Thanks, friend.”
“Ooh! On second thought, I’ll bet there’s a pair of arms nearby that wouldn’t mind standing in for me—and maybe going a bit further,” Lainey teased.
Andrea burst out laughing. “You’re impossible!”
“I’m just saying, there are lots of ways to work out your anger. Some more fun than others.”
Andrea smiled even as she sighed, uncertain what the future held for her and Wes. “I’ll take it under advisement. Talk later, Lainey.”
“Bye, witch.”