Page 9 of How Sweet It Is

I blink to snap myself out of my thoughts. “I need to know the terms of Kiera’s employment.”

He scrunches up his forehead. “Terms?”

“How much are you paying her? How many hours are you giving her? That kind of thing.”

He waves his hand at me. “I don’t know. You do my books. Figure out what I can afford.”

I sigh and shake my head. Pretty Boy has no idea what he’s doing. I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t go out of business within the year. “Let’s go over things tonight. I need to see your business plan.”

He slowly nods at me.

“You do have a business plan, don’t you?” I ask.

“If you are asking if I planned to open a bakery, then yes.” He grins at me, his dimple looking cute as ever on him.

I roll my eyes and put my hands on my hips. “So, no business plan. Where did you get the money to open a bakery?”

“I used my own money.” He lifts his chin as if to challenge me.

“Okay. How much did you spend?” I squint at him, the sun in my eyes.

He waves his hand. “I don’t know. Not that much.”

I rub my temples. This is going to be a nightmare. “Fine. I’ll need access to your business account so I can see what you’ve spent.”

Pretty Boy brushes past me and enters the bakery. His silence is too telling. I follow him. “You do have a business account, right?”

He doesn’t answer. I follow him around the counter, past Kiera, and into the kitchen. “Levi?” I press.

He turns to me, all swagger and bravado but no actual confidence. “Look, Spreadsheet. I bake. That’s what I do. I don’t know the first thing about financials. That’s why I hired you.”

I suck in a breath. “You spent money from your personal account for your business?”

He cringes. “I opened a bakery. The whole ‘knowing what I’m doing’ part is still in beta.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose and try not to scream at him. “Okay. We can sort this out. What time do you close?”

“Four o’clock.”

“After you lock the doors, I’ll need access to everything. Your personal account, your credit card debt, any loans you took out, and all your receipts.”

Levi grins at me. “I have no debt.”

This surprises me, but I simply clasp my hands together. “Good. We’ll go over everything after you close.”

“Perfect.” He walks to his sink and washes his hands.

I stare at the massive flour mess he made earlier, and I bite my lips to keep from smiling, remembering him dancing around in it like a child. What in the world was he doing? He looked startled when I walked in, catching him dancing around like Beyoncé. I wonder what goes on in that pretty head of his.

I walk out into the storefront. Kiera’s at the register, and I teach her how to ring up the customers. She catches on quickly. She’ll be a good help to us. Levi sells out of quite a few things in the last two hours that he’s open, and I’m impressed with his first day.

After I lock the door, Kiera grabs a broom and starts sweeping the flour that Levi tracked all over the place. I really like her. Apparently, she can’t stand Levi’s messes either. I help Kiera clean the storefront before wiping down the display case, closing out the register, and gathering up the leftover pastries.

Kiera leaves, and I take the box of unsold items into the kitchen. I stop short when I see Levi with a mop, cleaning up the flour mess from earlier. He doesn’t notice me, and I step back so I don’t get in his way.

He scrubs the floor then picks up the mop and swings it around like he’s ballroom dancing. I wonder what he’s imagining as he dances like he’s all dressed up and at a fancy party, not wearing jeans and a T-shirt dusted with flour. Not that I mind him wearing jeans. They hug him in all the right places.

His dancing becomes more animated, and I feel awkward watching him without him knowing I’m there. I step forward to let him know I locked up the front, but at the same moment, he twirls around and runs smack into me. The box of leftover pastries goes flying. The floor is wet, and my arms pinwheel as I try to get my balance.

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