Page 30 of Turning the Page with My Grumpy Boss

A light laugh bubbled from Tessa’s lips as she broke away from Daniel’s stare. “And what is the purpose of these desserts, exactly?”

Lily placed her free hand on her hip with pride. “They’re for the Harvest Festival cake walk. It’s a badge of honor to have all your desserts selected before someone else’s, and I want mine to get cleaned out. Daniel tells me you like things sweet, so I thought you would be the perfect taste tester.”

Pushing up from the booth, Tessa nodded along. “Of course. I will never turn down the opportunity to eat several desserts without guilt. Will you be okay over here?”

Daniel waved her away, a matching smile on his face. “Go. I can practically see you drooling already.”

“Oh, this is wonderful! Come on!” Lily gestured toward the counter where there were, sure enough, three desserts awaiting Tessa.

When they reached the counter, Tessa picked up a fork that sat beside one of the cake slices. “Alright, walk me through this. What are the different cakes? I want to know what flavor profiles to expect.” Tessa had loved watching baking shows and often mimicked some of the language they used. She thought it made her sound a bit more knowledgeable, despite the fact that the last time she had attempted to bake something, she had started a small kitchen fire.

“Okay, well, the one on your left is a chocolate cake with hazelnut ganache. I think that one is my personal favorite. Then, in the middle, we have a simple strawberry shortcake with whipped frosting. And the final one on the right is a salted caramel toffee chocolate cake. Very decadent.”

Daniel had been joking about Tessa drooling before, but now she had to fight from doing just that. They all sounded incredible. She considered the cakes before her for a moment before sinking her fork into the strawberry shortcake first. It had always been one of her favorite desserts, so she was afraid she would be a bit biased.

Flavor exploded in her mouth, and Tessa had to fight back a groan of pleasure. It was, by far, the best dessert she had ever had. “Did you put crack in this? Because, oh my god.” She sunk her fork into the cake again, a grin on her face. “It’s going to be hard to beat this contender.”

Lily preened at the compliment and gestured toward the other cakes. “Just don’t fill up on that one, okay? There are several others you should definitely try.”

Tessa moved toward the chocolate hazelnut cake but stopped when she heard her phone buzzing from the table. She rolled her eyes and twirled on the stool to face Daniel. “Can you get that for me? It’s probably my ex asking me for the millionth time to pick up my stuff, and maybe he’ll listen whenyoutell him to shove off.”

Daniel chuckled and reached for her phone. “Will do.”

With that settled, Tessa turned back to the cake. Lily was watching her with an odd expression.

“That ex of yours giving you trouble?” She asked.

Tessa rolled her eyes again as she twirled her fork in her fingers. “Honestly, I think he just likes twisting the knife, asking me to pick up my things. There isn’t much left there that I care about.”

“Well, it’s a good thing that you have a better man looking out for you now.” Lily gave her a sly wink. “I’m happy for you on that front.”

A few days ago, Tessa might have felt inclined to protest, but now she just let a small smile cross her lips. She said nothing, though. There was cake to eat, and she didn’t want to spoil the moment with idle gossip. Tasting the chocolate hazelnut, her eyes nearly rolled back in her head.

“My god, Lily. How did you manage to make this one even better?” Taking another bite, she nodded. “This will be a hard one to beat.”

Lily once again beamed with pleasure, basking in the glow of Tessa’s praise. “I told you that one was my favorite.”

Finally, Tessa sunk her fork into the final cake. It was amazing, like all the rest, but she had been right. There was no beating the chocolate hazelnut. “I think the one on the left is our winner. Though, I feel like you can’t go wrong with any of them. You’re a baking genius, Lily.”

Lily flushed a deep scarlet and waved the comment away. “You’re too kind, Tessa. But really, I feel like it’s because you have been existing on city food all this time. Out here in the boonies, we really know what we’re doing.”

Tess considered that. “Maybe you can try teaching me a little about baking? Every attempt I have made has ended in disaster.”

At this, Lily leaned against the counter and thought it over. “I don’t see why not. I’ll tell you what. How about, after the Harvest Festival, I teach you how to make the chocolate hazelnut cake? Since you like it so much. Maybe you can even impress your man.” She raised her eyebrows in the direction of Daniel.

That elicited a chuckle from Tessa as she took another sinful bite of the cake. “Deal. Though, I think Daniel prefers everything somewhat bitter. He doesn’t even put sugar in his coffee.” She made a face. “Can you imagine?”

Lily laughed as well and shooed her away. “If you eat another bite, you might explode. Now, go back to your man. Thank you so much for your help.”

Tessa looked longingly at the cakes on the counter one last time before hopping down from the stool. But when she turned back toward Daniel, something was off. His brow was furrowed, and he was clenching her phone in his hand furiously. Unease shot through her as she settled back into the booth. Had Owen said something that had upset Daniel?

“Hey. So, I have settled the cake debacle. You okay?” Her voice trembled with nerves as she said it. Something wasn’t right.

Daniel slammed the phone to the table with entirely too much force. Taking a deep, shaky breath, he turned to her. “That wasn’t Owen.”

It wasn’t? Then who—oh no.Tessa swallowed thickly and nervously ran her hand through her hair. “Who was it?”

“Someone named Debra. It appears she offered you a job. Wanted to check in on your decision?”

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