Page 112 of Bake You Mine
With the cake finished, Aubrey drove downtown to Tom’s townhouse. When she arrived, expecting to do a simple hand-off, Tom surprised her by slipping into the passenger’s seat.
She put the car in park. “What are you doing? Am I driving you to Woodbridge?”
“No, I need you to drive me somewhere closer. So on with it, already.”
“Wait, what?”
Tom strapped into the passenger seat. “All will be revealed. Drive, boo.”
He was uncharacteristically silent as she drove, until he finally said, “Stop the car.”
Their destination was Elevation.
“What the hell is going on?” She whirled on her best friend.
“Liam has something to say to you. He also owes you a bite of your chocolate cake since you won the competition. So why don’t you kill two birds and get out of the van, Aubs? I’ll park it around back.”
“But your aunt?—”
“I already made her cake. So, go.” He gently pushed her arm.
Aubrey stumbled onto the street. Tom opened the side door and thrust the cake box into her hands.
“Make good choices, I love you!”
She stood there, stunned, before turning toward Elevation, where she found one of the large garage doors thrown open. Liam weaved his way through the tables, pacing. Instead of being packed to bursting during the dinner rush, the restaurant was empty.
Feeling like she’d stumbled onto the set of some prank show, she knew she wouldn’t get answers standing on the street. She exhaled and stepped inside.
“Liam?”
He turned to face her, his eyes bright. “Aubs. Hey.”
Her heart tumbled up and over like a roller coaster. “What’s going on?”
He took the cake box from her. There was silence between them until he blew out a large breath.
“I’ll get straight to it. Elevation is closing.”
She exhaled a long breath. Tears burned at the corners of her eyes. She’d been so sure of everything—now that he wasleaving, that certainty had evaporated. “Wow, Jason does move fast.”
His expression narrowed. “DC’s out. Jason is a great guy and wonderful at what he does. That said, he’s more interested in marketing hot chef than Elevation. I don’t blame him for it, but it’s not the direction I wanted to take. We ended our tentative agreement amicably.”
None of this made sense. “I’m confused. Why are you closing?”
He gestured for her to follow him to the communal table on one side of the restaurant.
A copy of Kevin’s plans from before the competition ended was laid out on the battered tabletop. Changes were roughly sketched on top in blue ink.
“We’re going to use the original plans to re-do Elevation to make it a more workable space.” He tapped on the kitchen area. “Laying out the kitchen differently will help a lot. We’re flipping the layout. We’re also removing the private event room since it’s wasted when we don’t have a party.” He jabbed the plans. “And we’re adding a station for a pastry chef if you have any suggestions for a new hire.”
“I do,” she said before catching herself. “I’m still not tracking what you’re saying. The space still isn’t big enough to meet the demand. Unless your numbers have fallen since you ditched hot chef and took up the boot camp look.”
A smile hinted at his lips. “My numbers haven’t dropped. But you’re right, it’s an interim solution.” He pushed aside the weights holding down the plans, revealing another set behind them. He tapped the paper. “Elevation Express, 121 Tulip Turn.”
“Where that Thai takeout place close over the summer?”
“Yeah. It’s going to be my baby. Carry-out and delivery focused, seating for twenty, max. It’s going to be my test spacefor the main kitchen. Damon is taking over as Executive Chef at Elevation, while I move my focus to Express.”
