Page 50 of Baking it Merry

Jeff mumbled something under his breath, but Tristan definitely caught the word “bitch.”

“You know what?I’d like you to clear out your desk.”Tristan watched the play of emotions on the other man’s face.

“But…that’s not fair!You’re taking the baker’s side over mine?Seriously?You did nothing but bitch about her for the first few weeks she was here!”He huffed with agitation.“You can’t fire me because she was clumsy and dropped a plate of food!I’ll sue you for wrongful termination!”

It was an empty threat and Tristan knew it.“You could try, but I have a feeling there are plenty of other women who feel you’ve disrespected them.”He paused for a moment.“Or…you can apologize—sincerely—to Daphne.But you’ll still relinquish the Maxwell project and you’ll be on probation.I’ll have to approve anyone you work with moving forward until you prove that you’ve changed and I can trust you again.”

Then Tristan stood there and simply waited.There was a part of him that sincerely believed Jeff would apologize and agree that he had been out of line.

Instead, he murmured, “Screw you.I don’t need this shit.”Tossing his plate with a half-eaten cupcake on the floor, he stormed away.Several people around them had grown quiet and stared, but it was what it was.

Shrugging, Tristan went back to join Daphne and Faye who clearly witnessed the whole thing as well and were both staring at him in disbelief.

“That’s not the kind of person I want representing Knight Architects.”Reaching for Daphne’s hand, he added, “And while you were definitely part of the equation, you weren’t the only piece, so…relax.”

“Should I call security?”Faye asked quietly.

“It couldn’t hurt.Thank you.”

He was about to suggest they get something to eat when Daphne carefully pulled him back toward his office and tugged him inside.“Why would you do that in the middle of your party?”

“Because he was rude—and not just to you.I’d simply had enough.”

She sighed.“Tristan, I appreciate the sentiment, but there was a time not so long ago that you were exactly the same way.You nearly ran into me one day.Luckily, I had just put down a tray of cupcakes, but when I confronted you, you blamed me.”Sadly, she added, “It seems like you’ve got a bit of a double standard.”

“I’ll admit that my behavior toward you in the past was…awful.”And it pained him to remember just how bad it was.“I don’t have an excuse.All I know is that I learned from it, and I refuse to make excuses or allowances for others who behave that way.I…I’m sorry for all the times I hurt you, but I’m not sorry for calling out someone else who did.”

Her expression was fairly closed, so he had no idea if she was mad or sad or…anything.He could have easily continued to plead his case, but it seemed better for him to wait.

After a moment, she spoke.“Thank you for the apology.I think everyone is probably wondering where you are.We should get back out there.”

She turned to walk away, but Tristan reached for her.“Are we okay?”he carefully asked.

Thankfully, she smiled.“We’re good, Tristan.Now let’s go celebrate with your staff.”

He didn’t understand how she could continually be so forgiving toward him, but he was certainly thankful for it.

Nine

For a little over a week, Daphne felt like she never stopped running.

Or baking.

So much baking.

It seemed like everyone in the building had placed orders from her and it was taking every spare minute of the day for her to keep up.Luckily, she had her mom helping her, and her dad had graciously stepped up to help as well.He was primarily doing the grunt work—washing bowls and pans and putting boxes together—but every little bit helped.By the end of each day, Daphne was falling into bed by nine and hadn’t had any time alone with Tristan.

They saw each other every day, but he was typically either on his way to a meeting or coming back from one, and she was busy with customers.Several times he had brought lunch her lunch and would man the booth while she ate.

The few times he’d had to interact with anyone were pretty hilarious because he looked so uncomfortable standing in the gingerbread house.It had been tempting to ask him to put on a Santa hat with a matching apron, but she doubted he’d find it amusing.

Just thinking about it still made her laugh.

What wasn’t funny, however, was how much she actually missed him.

Daphne’s dating life had always been a little lackluster, and it had been a really long time since she’d been in a committed relationship.So being alone on the weekends—or any time—never bothered her.But after two weeks of being involved with Tristan, she was starting to resent her alone time.

A lot.

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