Page 96 of The Grump

“Not until next year, if at all.”

I was starting to feel a bit hopeful even though I still felt utterly betrayed. Why would Xander not even give me a heads-up? I’d told him I didn’t want us to talk about business, but being blindsided by this guy was... Well, I didn’t like it at all.

“These things take time,” he continued. “It wouldn’t be as much work as an actual takeover would be because this isn’t big enough to do the usual evaluation. But it would probably take until well after Mardi Gras to finish everything.”

“Right. Mm-hmm. So, you would be keeping the recipes?” I asked him.

“Yes, of course. That’s the reason I’m buying it. I’m still working with Xander to allow me to use the LeBlanc & Broussard logo, but that’s going to be a tough negotiation.”

I raised a brow. “How so?”

“He insists that he doesn’t want the family name on anything that isn’t part of the Orleans Conglomerate anymore, but we’ll see. It’s still early days, and I’ve got a lot of things working in my favor, such as the fact that this place doesn’t actually make money. It’s just bleeding on his books, which is why he wants to get rid of it.”

Oh, my poor heart. I couldn’t take this anymore. Since I’d shown him around the few rooms we had, we went back outside and circled the building once.

“No warehouse?” he asked.

“It’s not really necessary. We don’t buy anything in bulk. Things could happen if we did, like the flour going bad fromhumidity and so on. We’ve had a lot of things happen over the years, so now we buy everything as fresh as possible. The storage room is more than enough. Besides, it’s only ever really full during the Christmas season.” I swallowed hard as we walked toward the front gate. “A lot of our work is for charity. Would you continue with that?”

I was afraid to even ask, but I had to know. Though, if he said no, what could I do? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I hated being so powerless.

“Of course. That’s the best marketing I can get.”

My heart moved back into its right place.

“But if you can’t use the LeBlanc & Broussard logo, then what’s the point?”

He tilted his head. “That will make things a bit more complicated, but if we keep showing up at the same events where you’ve been for years, that would help spread the word that it’s the same product. But we would have to come up with another marketing plan regardless.”

I wasn’t entirely convinced, and I could tell he wasn’t either, but I didn’t press the issue.

He smiled. “Thanks a lot for indulging me, and on Christmas Eve no less. I assume Xander will be in touch about whatever will happen next.”

“I’m sure he will.”Or not, considering he didn’t even tell me about you showing up.

“I wish you a great Christmas, Bailey.”

“And you too.”

I meant it, despite everything. Everyone deserved to have a nice, relaxed holiday.

After he left, I headed back to the kitchen. Grabbing my phone, I turned the volume back up on my carols, needing to get into the Christmas spirit now more than ever. I also neededto keep my pralines from burning, so I rounded the counter and checked the oven—albeit with a heavy heart.

***

Xander

“All right, let’s call it a day,” I told Lydia when she came into my office after lunch with a huge stack of documents.

She smiled. “I was just going to ask if I could leave two hours early.”

“You can take off now.”

“And you?”

“I’ll be going too.”

Her jaw dropped for a second before she caught herself. “Progress. Merry Christmas, Xander.”

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