Page 16 of Between Love and Loathing
“I’m the architectural engineer and designer first. Let’s be honest, too, most CEOs aren’t going to be mingling when they need to be working. Rita has that handled.”
“Working real hard on that drink, huh?” I pointed to the tumbler he had in his hand.
He lifted it and tilted it a tad too much, showing me he was probably as tipsy as I was. “I deserve to unwind for a second, Clara.”
“Not when your assistant is out there ripping apart your staff.”
“Rita knows what she’s doing. If changes are needed—”
“You both wanted to put my espresso machine in the freaking kitchen, Dominic, and not out here behind the counter. Neither of you have any idea how to work that machine, bake in general, or run a kitchen.”
“It doesn’t take a genius,” he grumbled.
If I had still had the paintbrush in hand, I would have thrown it at him. Instead, I leaned in and smirked. “You think you’re so freaking good at everything, go into my kitchen and show me, then.”
“What?”
“Go in there and make me a damn cupcake. You think I’m not good enough to be in your resort, show me that you can do it better than me. Or better yet, try my cupcakes for once and tell me it’s not good enough to be next to your Michelin chefs.”
He narrowed his emerald eyes. “You challenging me, Ms. Milton? Even after throwing paint on my walls?”
“They aren’t your walls. They’remine.” I said it boldly, and I even walked up and poked his shoulder like I had a right to. Maybe everyone else was scared of him but I wasn’t anymore. This bakery was mine, and it would be my failure, too. I wasn’t going to give it to someone else. I couldn’t anymore.
“Oh, she’s a fighter now,” he mumbled to himself, like he wasn’t sure what to do with me. I wasn’t sure what to do with myself either, but the alcohol had given me courage and I was seizing it. “You want a cupcake, I’ll play along. As long as you have all the right ingredients.”
“I’ll be impressed if you even know what goes into it.”
The smile flew across his face fast. The man didn’t smile much, and I sort of forgot how attractive he was right up until that moment. He leaned in close to my ear, and I smelled the ocean, sandalwood, and something whollyhim. “I know exactly what goes into your desserts, little fighter.”
The butterflies in my stomach erupted way too strongly for me to stay this close to him. I stumbled back and bit my lip, catching his gaze before he raked his eyes over my body boldly and without apology.
I didn’t move, and I didn’t break my stare. With any other man, I would have. I wasn’t here to show anyone up, but this seemed like a challenge to see if I could hold my own and more than anything now, I wanted to prove I could. We were pushing each other’s buttons, testing the limits, and seeing who would bend first. “Maybe you need to get back to work. Rita might need you.”
His tongue dragged over his teeth like he was sharpening them. “Most of my staff can handle their jobs without me.”
Another indirect shot at me. “Are you saying I can’t?”
I didn’t wait for his response. I spun on my heel and slammed through the steel door. I’d infused lavender in my last batch of chocolate cupcakes to see if they would be good enough for the menu. Most of the ideas I’d attempted yesterday hadn’t made the cut, but those had. I grabbed a small cupcake with a flavorful infused flower on it. They were bite-size, mini cupcakes, but had such a burst of flavor I thought they might be worthy of being a signature dessert.
I spun around to find him inches away, hovering over me, so close I felt his breath fanning out on my cheek. He was ready to throw another barb my way, and I didn’t care to hear any of it. I popped the tiny cupcake into his mouth before he had a chance to get a word out.
His eyes widened at my boldness.
I didn’t care. I folded my arms and glared at him as he finally chewed. “If you can make a cupcake like what you have in your mouth, I promise you, Mr. Hardy, I won’t complain about any of the changes made to the bakery again.”
I might have been concerned about how my bakery would fit in his resort, but I was a damn good baker and pastry chef. I knew how to infuse chocolate, knew how to blend ingredients well enough that they melted in your mouth. I knew how to mix spices and create an experience through someone’s body just from taste. I watched him closely, how he rolled the food in his mouth, and when he breathed out, I knew that’s when the cinnamon and lavender would hit his taste buds. Normally when I got the ingredients just right, I would hear moans or whispers of praise. Dominic Hardy had never tried my creations, though, and so I’d never heard the low growl that seeped from deep within his chest and washed over me.
His eyes darkened, his muscles relaxed, and he leaned closer before placing both of his hands on the steel counter behind me. He hung his head as his eyes closed, like the flavor had overtaken him. “Fuck, Clara.”
Him saying my name like that shot straight to my core and butterflies erupted everywhere in my body in a way they shouldn’t have. “You meanMs. Milton,” I whispered.
He shook his head before he lifted it, not responding at all to my statement as he licked his bottom lip. “What is in that?”
I couldn’t keep from smiling. “Hmm, secrets and revelations. Secrets of the recipe and the revelation that you won’t be able to duplicate it.”
“You enjoy challenging me, don’t you? You know I’m always able to do what they say I can’t, right?”
I believed him. I never heard of his failures, only his successes. He’d solidified multimillion dollar contracts, and he’d created an architectural firm that was worth billions. And that was before he invested in my stepfather’s empire. Even still … “Making a chocolate cupcake isn’t just technical, Dominic.”
