Page 190 of The Seven Rings
Give me five minutes. Stand by.
“Got the seal of approval. I need to go up, go live with the website. Be right back.”
“Take your time.”
By the time she got back, Cleo had the stand mixer going and had started on her bread dough footballs.
“All right, fascination is beginning.”
“Want to do one?”
“Well, maybe. Yeah, actually.”
Sonya washed her hands, came back, and picked up a dough ball. After a study of the shape Cleo formed, she started.
“I actually consider Hogan the primary client, which makes him my youngest client ever. I’m thinking of offering him an internship next summer. Depending on how the business goes.”
“I think that’s a great idea. You’ve got this. I need to get back to the cake batter. You know you could do that every year with a high school or college student.”
“That’s a thought.” Pleased with it, Sonya set the second football on the pan. “And I like it better than a full-time assistant. I really like working alone. Which is strange, I guess, since I loved working in an office, with a team. The structure,” she said as she formed the third loaf.
“You’ve made your own structure.”
As she formed a bread dough football, Sonya gave herself a mental pat on the back.
“Looks like I did. And I honestly think I’m more creative on my own. I really like bouncing around from little jobs like Hogan’s, to solid accounts like Baby Mine, and hey, let’s do a book cover, or bag ourselves a major, national client like Ryder Sports.
“You’re the same.”
“Completely. And thanks to Collin Poole, and you, I’ve got more freedom than ever. Taking the summer off to paint?”
Cleo paused to smile and sigh. “Just paint what I wanted, when I wanted? I can’t tell you how that pumped me, and at the same time relaxed me.”
“Under two weeks till your show.”
“And I’m ready for it. It’ll be fun. Those go in the lower oven now. I’m preheating the top for the cake. Just set the timer for twenty minutes for this last rising. It needs thirty, but I want to take it out for the last ten to preheat that oven.”
Sonya carried the loaves over. “There’s a bowl of water in here on the second shelf.”
“It needs the steam when I bake them. And no, I don’t know exactly why. I didn’t want to forget, so I stuck it in there.”
“Twenty minutes. Done. What else can I do?”
“Go ahead and spray the stuff in the cake pan. And you could get out the cooling rack for the bread. Oh, and you could go out, pick a couple of tomatoes, get some basil.”
“Sure. What for?”
“I’m going to slice the tomatoes, put basil on them, then drizzle them with olive oil and some pepper. You could just put the basil in some water till I’m ready. It’ll save me a trip.”
“I’m here to serve.”
She sprayed the pan, got the rack.
“Are you done with the measuring cups and all that?”
“I am now.”
Sonya carried them to the sink on the way outside.
