Page 12 of Cakes for the Grump
LUKE
May I remind you that I run a multi-billion dollar conglomeration?
I don’t have time to think or comment on the smoothies I chug down in between meetings.
Bake me another cake for Tuesday.
Maybe it’s my bone-weary tiredness or a reaction caused by whatever fumes were generated when I blasted biological fungi with chemical cleaner tonight, but I’m brave enough to snap back.
ME
It wouldn’t kill you to say please once in a while.
LUKE
Rita, I pay you.
But if it makes you work harder, fine. I can subscribe to the a-carrot-makes-a-better-stick-than-a-stick model of leadership.
Please make me a cake that I pay you to make.
P.S. I’m curious whether you would try to sneak me the finger. Although our schedules don’t intersect, so we’ll never find out.
ME
I could ambush you one day.
LUKE
Excellent, I’ve hired a stalker.
ME
Who makes great cakes.
LUKE
I can’t personally verify that.
ME
There must be a sweet you enjoy. Everyone has one.
How about honey-flavored nuts? Those aren’t that sugary.
LUKE
I’m not indulging this conversation any longer.
Go away, Rita.
I’ve exasperated him. An unexpected tingle of satisfaction puts a smile on my face when I go to sleep. This isn’t close to being my dream job and I’m not on my way to becoming a chef of a fine dining, upscale restaurant, but for this very brief moment, it’s okay.
It’s okay that this is my life.
FOUR
Tryingto take on as many of Mr. Albo, Ms. Baghdadi, and Mrs. Milla’s upkeep responsibilities, my nights are long and full of the kind of labor that builds a deep soreness in my muscles. The task Janice set last night was particularly bad, and not only because she was there to supervise it herself.
