Page 61 of Baking it Merry

“Baking.”She was up to her eyeballs in unfrosted cupcakes and really needed to focus, but until she knew where she stood, she was going to be distracted.“You’re going back to court tomorrow?”

“I am, but I’ll be swinging by the office first.Any chance you can box up a four-pack of muffins for me and the team?”

“No problem!”

“Okay, let me make some calls and I’ll call you back!”

“Thanks, Sara!”Once she hung up and felt like she had a little hope, she got to piping frosting onto the cupcakes while four trays of muffins finished baking.It was crazy to think her friend was going to get answers right away, but Daphne was optimistic that it wouldn’t take too long.

Fifteen minutes turned into thirty.

Thirty minutes turned into an hour.

All the while, she continued to bake.

One hour turned into two.

Three trays of caramel coffee cake, eight dozen muffins, and fifteen dozen sugar cookies later, her phone rang.

“Finally!”Wiping her hands, she picked up the phone.“Hey!I hope you’re calling me with some answers!”

Sara let out a long breath.“Oh, I definitely have answers, and I’m ready to meet you at the office tomorrow to kick some serious ass!”

“That doesn’t sound good.What did you find out?”

“You didn’t get asked to come back because of an excessive number of complaints against you,” Sara said carefully.

“What?!Are you serious?How?Who?Why hasn’t anyone talked to me about this?”

“Darryl—the landlord—said he was going to come and talk to you, but you have a contract until the end of December.He figured once that was up, they just wouldn’t ask you back.”

“But that’s crazy!Who’s complaining?”

“That miserable architect guy on the twenty-eighth floor!Darryl said he complained that first week you were there and then he was quiet for a while, but in the last week or so, he said the guy’s practically been bombarding him with complaints.He said he even called him over the weekend about it!”

“That…I don’t…” It didn’t make sense.Tristan complaining that first week totally fit because he threatened to do just that.But recently?There was no explanation for that.

Which is what she told Sara.

“Tristan and I have been dating for almost a month, Sara.There’s no way he would have been calling the landlord and complaining about me.Hell, I’ve been catering all of his family’s holiday parties.There has to be some mistake.”

“First of all, wow.I can’t believe I missed all of that happening!”Sara said with a small laugh.“I thought the two of you hated each other!That’s why it all made perfect sense when Darryl said it was him.”

“I’m sure they’re mistaken.Tristan wouldn’t do that to me.”

“Daph, I’m going to say something, and you need to hear me out.”

“Um…okay…”

“Maybe Tristan was being nice because he needed your help.Maybe he’s genuinely that miserable guy who was giving you grief back at the beginning of November.And didn’t you say he was always kind of rude to you all the other years you had your booth set up with us?”

“He was, but I can’t imagine him going to such extremes just to get me to cater for his family.I mean…I know I’m good, but…would someone really resort to sleeping with me just because I’m a baker?”She snorted with laughter.“Think about it, Sara.That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard!”

“Look, all I’m saying is it’s possible.Guys like that do whatever it takes to get what they want.”Pausing, she mumbled a curse.“I’m sorry.That was incredibly insensitive of me.”

“No, no…you have a point.”

“Let me call Darryl back and see if he can send me copies of the complaints, okay?Maybe you’re right.Maybe there’s been a mistake.I’ll call you right back.”

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