Page 7 of Faking it with My Billionaire Bosses

I barely managed to finish the curd and compote before burning them. He’d thrown me off and my focus was on him, rather than my cake. I had to let the compote cool before I could make my cake batter so I set it aside and went back to my room.I lasted all of two minutes before I grabbed my phone and called him back.

“What cupcakes are you making?”

I flushed at the greeting. It was rare for anyone to take so much interest in my baking. They wanted to eat my desserts, but that was enough for them. “It’s a cake. Strawberry cake, strawberry buttercream, with lemon curd filling.”

“Flavored with strawberry compote? You’re as good as I thought you were. When’s the order due?” He sounded genuinely curious.

“Tomorrow afternoon. I have work tonight, but I’m going to get the cakes baked before I leave for the bar. I’ll finish the icing tomorrow morning. Or more likely, tonight when I get home.” I settled in my bed and pulled my blanket over me. “Now tell me who you are and why you know so much about baking.”

“Have you heard of Trio?”

I laughed. “Yeah. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t. Best Italian Cream cupcakes I’ve ever had.”

“Thank you. I could give you the recipe sometime.” He hesitated a moment and cleared his throat. “It was a recipe from my grandma. She was the original baker in the Taylor family.”

CHAPTER 6

Sonnie

I sat straight up and took a deep breath. “You’re shitting me.”

Drake laughed easily. “Nope. Grandma was a better baker than me but she never got a chance to make her name in the business.”

“You’re Drake Taylor?” I stood up and immediately cried out when Monster grabbed my ankle from under the bed. “Dammit, Monster!”

“I am Drake Taylor and I still believe you should call animal control.” The smile in his voice was so evident I could see it in my mind. “Have you tried our strawberry cake?”

“Are you kidding? Of course, I’ve had the strawberry cake from Trio. It’s one of the first strawberry cakes I actually liked.” I shook my head at myself and tried to stay in control of my excitement. “Okay, I’m not going to freak out. That would be embarrassing. I’m just a little shocked that my Drake is Drake Taylor.”

“Your Drake?”

I covered my cellphone and swore. “NotmyDrake. You know what I meant.”

“I know you meant you’ve been thinking about me and want to date me. I get it.” He said something to someone in the background and grunted when they audibly laughed. “Anyway, the proposition.”

“You being Drake Taylor explains the ego now, at least.” I heard more male laughter in the background as I walked into the living room and curled up on the couch. It still had a slightly odd smell or two from the previous owner and it felt especially crappy while one of the richest men in the state spoke to me.

“Cole and Price are here. They think it’s hilarious you turned me down multiple times.” Drake groaned. “On that topic, I think I have a job for you.”

I held my breath, too scared of what he was going to say.

“We hired a publicist and apparently we’re too boring. There was some bullshit talk about women thinking we’re gay if we aren’t seen dating women. Do you buy that? I mean, you’re a woman. If you had a favorite TV host or something, would you like him less if you thought he was into men and therefore not ever going to be interested in you?”

“Whoa.” Monster jumped up beside me and stared at me until I idly scratched under his chin. “That’s a lot. Um… No. That would imply I thought I ever had a chance with them to begin with. I’m more of a realist than that.”

“Well, that’s one way to answer. It’s telling, that’s for sure.” Drake muttered something under his breath. “You don’t give yourself enough credit.”

I rolled my eyes and ignored the flutter in my stomach. Finding out Drake was a celebrity just made the idea of dating him even more out of reach. “Anyway, your publicist sounds like an idiot.”

From the background, I heard another male voice reply. “That’s what I said.”

Drake made a noise of agreement. “We all thought it was asinine. We are also in charge of taking care of a lot of employees and the idea of letting them down because we thought an idea was dumb is crushing.”

“So, you’re going to what? Start dating? It doesn’t sound all that insane. I’m sure all three of you have women lining up to date you. Just throw a cupcake and grab the woman it hits.” I swallowed back the urge to offer myself up for Drake. We had chemistry, but he didn’t want to be seen in public with me.

“Really?” Drake groaned. “I tried that last night and this morning and both times, the woman turned me down.”

I laughed, figuring he was joking. “Funny. Try asking someone for real. I’m sure your publicist would love it if you datedsomeone higher up the food chain. A model? Oh! Do the Kennedys have any younger daughters? America loves to see people date the Kennedys.”

---