“Hey, hey, hey,” I said. “She’s my friend.”
“Friend?”
“Miranda and I have known each other since college,” I said. “She’s just got a different personality than I do.”
“Yeah,” Lucy said. “You’re not a bitch.” She looked forward at the counter. “Good morning. Sorry about that.”
The customer waiting grinned. “I don’t like bitches either.”
“See?” Lucy asked.
“She doesn’t know who we’re talking about,” I said. “Just take the order. And throw in a muffin for free. Our customers don’t need to hear about our personal problems.”
Lucy and the customer laughed.
I walked through the front of the bakery and just did a quick check on everything.
There were a handful of people sitting down.
Drinking coffee. Enjoying the baked goods.
Earbuds in ears. Laptops open.
And then there was the normal line of people getting their coffees to go.
And then there was the order sheet in the back for the birthday cakes, cupcakes, and all kinds of events and parties.
The bakery looked busy.
And it was busy.
The only issue… busy and profitable were two different words.
And I didn’t want to let the business go.
Even though it was sort of costing me everything I had in life.
The morning rush kept up and that kept me busy.
I had a clipboard on the counter, going through the current orders when I looked up and saw Jon coming into the bakery.
I put my pen down, smiled and waved.
He had his hands in the pockets of his tan, dirty leather jacket.
I loved the smell of that jacket.
It was so old and beat up but it looked really good on him.
Jon was kind of classically handsome. He had a dimple in his chin and kept a little scruff on his face that matched his messy hair. I liked that he could just be dressed down and look good.
We had been together for seven months now.
Which felt like a lifetime yet it felt like it went by in seven months.
He came into the bakery one day to pick up an order for a friend and ended up leaving with my number.
I wasn’t the kind of person that just gave out my number either.
But Jon was different.
He was…
“Hey, you,” I said as I walked around the counter.
“Can we talk?”
“Sure. What’s wrong?”
“I wanted to talk this morning. Before you left.”
“I know. But I was in a rush. You let me fall asleep on the couch.”
“I know I did.”
I playfully bit my lip. “I was hoping you’d carry me to bed. And then take advantage of me.”
I wiggled my eyebrows.
“Emily… just stop.”
“Stop? Stop what? What’s going on with you?”
“Can we go out front?” Jon asked.
“Out front? Why? You see how busy it is here, right? I can’t really walk away. Why don’t you grab an apron and help? I promise I won’t make you work with Ember. She’s vicious but nice. You just have to-”
“Emily!” Jon growled.
I stepped back.
A few people looked at us.
“What?” I asked.
“I’m trying to tell you something.”
“Tell me what?” I asked.
“I wanted to talk in private.”
“I’m just trying to be in a good mood here. What is… what’s going on?”
Jon looked around. “Can we talk in private?”
“No,” I said. “Just say it. What do you want?”
“I’m breaking up with you,” Jon said. Everyone heard him. “That’s what I wanted. I tried to talk to you last night but you fell asleep. You weren’t even listening to me. And then this morning you couldn’t even give me two minutes of your time. I didn’t want to come here and do this…”
Jon looked around and then stormed out of the bakery.
I stood there and processed what had just happened.
I felt everyone staring at me.
I swallowed hard.
Then I put a smile on my face.
“I guess he didn’t like his morning coffee, huh?”
Chapter Three
Liam
I walked into my office, took off my suit jacket and balled it up.
I danced around the floor a few steps and then launched it to a table that had a stack of books I would never in my life ever read.
Behind my desk, I looked down at all the work for the day.
I was in the middle of a pain in the ass patent suit.
I represented a tech company where the two founders split up, each starting their own companies to compete, and were now suing the hell out of each other over a patent they filed together.
In reality, I wished I could sit them down and explain how much time and money they were wasting in a useless fight.
They were better off working together and getting paid a ton of money for the technology. Even their new companies could pay the company they first started.
And if that didn’t work, they each needed a few shots of whiskey and needed to go outside and throw some punches.
To work the bullshit out like men.
I flipped the folder open and started to review some of the documents when I heard a knock at the door.
I looked up and smiled.
“The interns are here,” I said. “Did you bring your toothbrushes?”
“For what?” Maria asked with her gigantic smile and bright blue eyes.
I shook my head. “Never mind. I was going to joke about you cleaning my shoes with a toothbrush.”
“Will it get me a job here?” David asked.
He had snake eyes and I didn’t trust him for a second.
He was probably the only one who stood a chance at actually landing a job for that reason alone.
Jacob stood next to David, a half grin on his face.
He always looked like he was thinking a joke through before laughing at it.
“This patent case is a waste of time,” I said. “Anyone know why?”
“The first client is right,” Jacob said. “He was the one who brought the idea to the other party. It was his house they worked from. And it was his parents’ money that was borrowed to secure everything to start the company.”
“But it was the other client’s idea that launched the company,” Maria said.
“David?” I asked.
“I would talk to the first client and say the second one is ready to make a deal,” David said. “Tell him his old partner is about to release a campaign to show the truth of all their financials and what really happened in the beginning.”
“Which was?” I asked.
“Your first client stole everything possible to make the technology work,” David said. “Bits and pieces of other IP’s and it went unnoticed. Until now. If he wants to push forward, then the second client will push back with that. Meaning they need to both shut their fucking mouths and walk away.”
I nodded. “Then what happens to the patent?”
“Stays where it is,” Jacob said.
“Perfect,” I said. I shut the folder. “Now someone type all of that up for me. I want references, notations, and make it look like I’m half smart.” I pointed. “Just half smart though. Got it?”