Page 7 of Twisted Contract

“Thank you. I will be leaving shortly, so I will need just a bagel to go,” I say while scrolling through my messages because my day never ends. Running our operations isn’t just about busting heads and selling weapons, so our daily lives require working hard as hell. Shit, we just invested in a major building complex for the city which will bring a lot of money to the lakefront.

“Yes, sir.” She prepares it with an eager smile, which is unneeded, but I suppose if she frowned, I’d probably start worrying about my meals and even my life.

I quickly slip on a nice light gray suit with a pink tie, so I look like I belong in the place. It’s a quaint shop in the Northside of the city that probably costs a fortune to rent, so the cakes must be amazing and expensive. Not that I care, but it’s what Nora wants, so it’s what she’ll get. There isn’t anything Jack won’t do for her, which includes making me her errand boy.

Chapter Three

Claudia

I stretch my arms and let out a happy sigh. Today is my first big cake presentation, and I’m so excited. I’ve been baking for a lot of smaller clients and filling orders for birthday parties at my bakery, but this one is for a large wedding for a billionaire. They’re coming into my shop after checking out my Instagram account.

I’ve spent the past two days picking out designs. If I didn’t have my father harassing me to attend last night, I would still be perfecting my ideas for this tasting. There is a lot riding on this. Most of my designs are just for show. Nora is my make-or-break moment.

She seems like a sweet woman, so I’m not so afraid of the whole Bridezilla thing. Nora is so insanely pleased with my work that she asked for something similar to the ones online, but today is a taste test to pick flavors and colors. I’m actually looking forward to meeting her. Her husband, not so much. He’s been rumored to be a bad man—Jack MacNamara. I might not know everything my father deals with in his daily affairs as the Governor of Illinois, but I’m well aware of his pleasure in bringing down the MacNamara family.

“Oh my God.” Please tell me that’s not who he raided last night. I check my messages, and there’s nothing from Nora. I take a deep breath and decide to carry on as usual.

It’s only five in the morning and the sun still has a while before making its appearance, but I have to get to work. Slipping out of the covers, I slid into my slippers next to the bed and walked into the bathroom. It’s going to be a busy but happy day. I refuse to believe otherwise. As the daughter of an authoritarianfather, I’ve learned to live my life with pure optimism and let everything else wash off me.

After using the restroom, I turn on the sink and I’m reminded of the rock that was on my finger. Ugh. “Take a calming breath.” Engaged. I’m engaged. Last night had been an evening I want to forget, but of course, I accepted because that’s the good girl I am—always doing my father’s bidding, especially since my mother ran off with another man.

I remembered Nick Mirren asking for my hand at the party with my father as if it was nothing. Freezing, unable to respond, my father answered for me. Nick slid the ring on my finger without giving me a chance to refuse and then kissed me in front of everyone.

We’ve never been intimate because I have set boundaries, not the other way around. If he had his way, I would have been spread out on his office desk like I found him with his secretary the first time we met two years ago. Of course, I was completely turned off, and she was summarily dismissed a week later. My father then began making it his priority to push the newly appointed Attorney General in my face. Nick is too old for me. I’m twenty years old, and he’s like thirty-four. Eww. So gross.

I should call it off, but my father would be so disappointed in me. He’s already so disappointed that I took a different path from political science because he wanted me to be his campaign manager, but my love for baking has always been in my heart. Worse yet, it had been my paternal grandmother’s love. She’d left me the money for the shop that I opened below my apartment. He doesn’t understand it, and I believe that’s why he’s pushing my marriage with Nick so hard. It’s his hope that he can make me change and join the fold one way or another.

However, no matter how many times I stood alongside my father at major political events, my soul ached with the needto become a baker so much that I entered a program and gained a degree as a pastry chef in only eighteen months.

Six months ago, I opened up Claudia’s Cakes, and I use my paternal grandmother’s maiden name so that no one connects me to my father. I want to stand on my own two feet, branding my desserts my way. So far no one has made the connection, and I’d like to keep it that way for as long as possible. Although, once the engagement is announced, I believe the cover will be blown.

Hopefully I’ll be able to maintain my career with Nick working all the time. Until then, I’ll be working and keeping my ring hidden in my jewelry box because it doesn’t belong in the kitchen, anyway. At least, that’s what I tell myself.

After a quick shower, I pin up my hair and dress professionally. There’s a great deal to do before my appointment with Nora and Mr. MacNamara, which is at ten. That gives me plenty of time to make treats to display after they leave.

I exit my apartment upstairs at six before the sun rises, locking the door behind me before taking the stairway down that leads to the back room of my bakery. When I unlock the door, the fresh smells of chocolate, vanilla, and sugar hit me. Right now, I don’t have the money to hire any employees so my bakery hours are from noon to four, but once I do, this place will hopefully open early and there will be the smell of fresh pastries in the air.

I step into the storefront and take a look at my window displays. I need to make some changes to what I put on display today. I love the pastel look, but fall is in the air, and I want everyone to feel it. Soon Christmas will be around the corner, so I need to make a template for that. My heart jumps as I consider the variety of cookies and treats that I can bake for the holiday season. Taking a deep breath, I inhale the imaginary smell ofcinnamon and mint of Christmas and then decide to make a couple of notes before getting to work.

Digging into the large walk-in cooler, I pull out the rack and ice the cakes I have for a party coming up and then slide them back inside, marking off the order. It’s nearly time when a message comes in from my father.Call Me Now.

I wash my hands quickly and call him back because I don’t have time for this. “Daddy, I don’t have a lot of time. I’m about to meet a client about a wedding cake order,” I inform him. He forgets that he’s not the only one who is busy.

He just ignores me and talks over me. “I want to make the announcement tomorrow at a press conference.” Shit. It’s not something I’m prepared for.

I gather my nerve and say, “Daddy, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“You think we need to announce it sooner?” he says.

Taking a deep breath, I confess the truth. “No. I’m not ready to marry him.”

“Then why did you say yes?” he barks.

“I didn’t. You said yes for me in front of everyone before I could respond,” I argue.

“You’re going to marry him. You will not embarrass me like your mother did, Claudia. I already let you get away with this silly baking thing that’s proving to be a money drain.” I want to prove him wrong, but I’m not technically rolling in the dough financially. I’m teetering on the line between red and black, but most new businesses don’t make it out of the red for a long time.

“It’s not fair. I shouldn’t have let the farce carry on.”

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