Page 74 of Cream and Punishment
And you know what? Iwantedhappiness and love. Dominick would’ve wanted that for me, so,by guava juice, I was going to stop sabotaging myself, no matter what happened with Max. Or try to, anyway.
Baby steps.
twenty-five
“Dekker,dear,”Galecalled,her head poking through the double doors to the front of the bakery, “can I talk to you when you get a minute?”
“Sure thing!” I hollered back, unsurprised when she didn’t retreat or respond, instead watching me as if still waiting for a reply.
I straightened in front of my current workstation decorating two dozen chocolate cupcakes and settled for a thumbs up in her direction. Unlike whatever I said, she had no issue understanding that, at least.
After I finished garnishing the last cupcake with raspberry and mint, I cleaned up my station and made my way to the front. At this time, too late for breakfast but too early for the lunch rush, Gale and I were the only employees here. The charming pink and white lobby sat empty, save for one customer at the register.
My eyes narrowed as I took note of how loud the customer spoke—a completely normal volume—and how Gale didn’t seem to have any problem hearing her. Irritation simmered along my nerves, which were still raw since Max’s abrupt departure two days ago.What the hummus? Had I been yelling at an elderly woman for almost a year now for no reason?
I waited until the customer left to approach Gale, smiling as if I hadn’t just found out my life was a lie. “Hey, Gale. What’s up?”
The woman had the nerve to act like she didn’t hear me. I’d spoken as loudly as the customer did, so surely it shouldn’t have been a problem.
I waited a beat before repeating myself, in case she was simply lost in thought immediately after ringing up a customer. You know, as one does.
Again, no response. Was she really good at reading lips? Was that it? That wouldn’t make sense, though, since the majority of our conversations in the past had been face to face and I’d run into the same problem. Repeatedly.
The irritation bubbled into full-blown annoyance. I set my jaw and placed my hands on my hips. “Gale, I know you can hear me.”
The corner of her mouth pinched upward in a smirk before she could school it into submission. She turned toward me, her weathered features crinkling a little too dramatically as she pretended to notice my presence for the first time. “Oh, Dekker. I didn’t see you there.”
Uh-huh. Sure.
I forced myself to breathe in deeply in hopes that I could suck in some extra patience from the atmosphere with it. She was my boss. I shouldn’t yell at my boss, the woman who gave me a job I enjoyed after Priscilla kicked me to the curb. Surely there was an explanation. There had to be.
“What did you want to talk to me about?”
“Did you finish the McNab order for tomorrow?” she asked, as if she hadn’t heard my question.
My annoyance bubbled higher, and I grit my teeth. “Yes. Now what did you want to talk to me about?”
“What was that, dear?”
Oh my monkey bread. I swear I was about to lose it. This was the wrong week to mess with me. What could she possibly stand to gain from pretending she couldn’t hear me?
“I was looking through the orders for this weekend, and I noticed something odd,” she continued before I could repeat myself for the third time. “You filled in the details for the order, but it says the customer ordered two dozen apple snickerdoodle cupcakes.” She turned from where she’d been straightening the counter and cash register to look me in the eye. “We don’t offer apple snickerdoodle cupcakes, Dekker, so I’m trying to figure out why that was on the order.”
Did I bother trying to explain the mix-up to her? Or would she pretend she didn’t hear what I’d said, anyway? I didn’t think I could last another round of repeating myself uselessly without pulling my hair out.
So I settled for the bare minimum. “Ms. Clark tried my apple snickerdoodle cupcakes and requested the same for a bridal shower this weekend.”
One of Gale’s eyebrows raised, deepening the creases on her forehead. “When did you decide to expand my menu? I remember us discussing something like this and deciding not to.”
My bubbling annoyance reached a rolling boil, threatening to spill over. It took every ounce of willpower I possessed to keep my voice neutral. “Youdecided against it, yes. I didn’t decide to expand your menu, but since you gave her the wrong cupcakes by mistake, that’s how she ended up trying them.”
Her lips twisted as she studied me. “Why were your special cupcakes boxed up in the back in the first place?”
A twinge of guilt mixed with my irritation, which somehow only increased its effectiveness.
I’m not proud of it, but I snapped. The annoyance boiled over until it splashed its caustic contents across the room. “Because I’m back thereall the time, Gale. I do all the baking and prep work and inventory while you get to connect with customers, and I’ve never complained about it once. I arrive early to make sure the bakery opens without a hitch. I cover for Quincy when she has exams. And when you went out of town, I ran everything for you—all without so much as a pay raise.”
My voice rose, though this time it had nothing to do with making myself more audible to her. “I always finish my tasks for the day with time to spare, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to experiment. It keeps mesaneback there. Since it paid off, I’d think you’d be grateful, but no!”
