Page 9 of The Grump

“I see. Well, let me show you around and tell you a bit about the business. I don’t know how much you know.”

“Not a lot,” I admitted. “I just follow what the numbers say.”

Her smile fell again. “The numbers? Xander, this place is...” She shook her head. “Never mind.” She turned to the side so I could see past her. “Well, this is the kitchen. My sister and I are the chefs, but it’s really just the two of us, so we have no one to preside over. It gets a bit tricky around Christmas when we’vegot a lot of orders, but that’s when the errand guys we have also pitch in. The ovens are state of the art. We bought them a few years ago.”

“Were they really necessary?” I couldn’t help myself. That had been on my mind ever since I’d seen the purchase in our records.

Her eyes turned steely. I was somehow managing to make this Christmas carol lover/candy maker mad at me. “They’re far more efficient as far as electricity goes. And the other ones were old as dirt. They weren’t even baking evenly anymore, which is very important when you’re making pralines.”

“Fair enough. It’s not my area of expertise.”

She gave me a smile that obviously meant“Clearly,”then walked toward a small door. “Through here is our pantry.” She opened it, and I could see a vast space filled from floor to ceiling with jars. “The next room is what I call our assembly room, but it’s basically just a room with boxes where we pack the pralines before delivering them.”

“And that delivery couldn’t be outsourced?”

She replied in a rather brusque tone, “As I said before, they also double as kitchen helpers during rush season. All the boxes you see here are for Christmas. Throughout the year we use others. It depends on what kind of charity we’re taking the pralines to, or if any of your restaurants and bars have a celebration. My favorites are the boxes we donate to the children’s hospital. The kids are always so happy to get our pralines.”

I could tell she really cared about this place. “How long have you been doing this?”

“Seven years.”

“And both you and your sister went to culinary school?”

“Pastry school,” she said.

“Right. So, this isn’t really a good use of your skills, is it?”

She bristled. “We make the best pralines in town. I’d say it’s an excellent use of our degrees.”

“I didn’t mean to insult you,” I assured her. “If I end up selling this off and the next owner wants to bring in his own team, you’d be free to work in a bigger establishment. Surely the aspiration of any chef would be to work in a bigger kitchen, right?”

“I happen to be quite happy with how things are, Xander. I love life at the confectionery. But clearly you and I have different ideas about—” She gave me a sad smile. “—everything. But we do at least have this Christmas season, right? That’s what your grandmothers said.”

“Yes, of course. I know this is the busiest season. I wouldn’t close down operations now. I’ll keep an eye on things and make a decision after.”

Her eyes suddenly turned warm. “So, it’s not definitive yet?”

“I promised my grandmothers that I’ll think this through thoroughly, so that’s what I’ll do.”

I was surprised she was so passionate about this. I’d figured it was just a job. But I was even more surprised by my reaction to her.

“All right, then. Well, it’s best if you give me a heads-up if you plan to drop by again or whatever ‘keeping an eye on’ involves. That way I can make sure you can meet the rest of the team as well.”

“Will do. Can you give me your phone number?”

“Sure.”

I gave her my phone, and she immediately typed it in. Her hands looked so damn soft. I was tempted to find an excuse to touch them and see if they were as exquisite as they look.

Stop, damn it!Until the next time I saw her, I had to get myself together. I always acted professionally.Always.

Now I was in danger of doing the exact opposite. And that wouldn’t do.

Chapter Four

Bailey

I’d been wrong about Xander LeBlanc. How on earth did I think he couldn’t be too different from his grandmothers? I swear he must have been adopted. The guy wasn’t anything like anyone I’d met from his family. He was definitely a grump, plus coldhearted and stubborn.

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