Don't Go Baking My Heart

After the meeting, Dax clasped his shoulder. “Good to see your name on there. I look forward to your creations. Hopefully, some of Kim’s talent rubbed off on you, eh?”

Dax chuckled like that was the funniest thing in the world. Devon gave his best estimation of a smile back, but he was already trying to strategise. How the hell was he going to pull this off? One option could be to team up with Evan. Devon had no clue whether the man had any baking skills to speak of, but he was such a kiss-ass Devon was sure Evan would find a way.

No. He would find some other option. Working with Evan would end in disaster. He could picture himself wanting to strangle the man the entire duration of this ridiculous venture. Going it alone was the right choice.

Dax’s comment meant Amanda had been right. Shit. He couldn’t back out now, but he needed help. He couldn’t bake for shit. YouTube videos could be helpful, but Devon wasn’t leaving his fate to that. He needed in-person help.

His mother might be all too willing, but he nixed that idea immediately. If he had to work with her, she might drive him up a wall before they even made it a week into this. She wasn’t as terrible as Evan, but she would definitely use all that forced time together to get all up in his business. He loved his mother, but it wasn’t worth all the prying.

He moved to make his way back to his office when Evan stepped in front of him. “I saw your name on there. May the best man win.” Evan stuck out his hand, and Devon considered not shaking it, but Dax was still lingering, chatting with some other employees.

“Hope you’re prepared to bring your A-game,” Evan went on.

“I always do.”

“Maybe at work-related stuff, but this is a little off your usual path, isn’t it?” Evan’s smirk made Devon want to walk away, but he kept his cool, shaking Evan’s hand briefly, outwardly ignoring his statement.

“I welcome the challenge.”

He might not know a damn thing about baking, but he wasn’t letting Evan have him running scared. The man was clearly looking for some sort of reaction from him.

After he had shot down the bracelets idea, it seemed as if all the ideas Evan came up with were specifically designed to annoy Devon in some way. He had no hard proof that was actually true, but he didn’t trust anyone who was always so damn cheerful. It was odd. He watched as Evan walked away. He needed to ponder his course of action. Evan thought he had this one in the bag, but there was no way in hell Devon was going to be shown up by that guy. He didn’t want to do any of this, but he couldn’t lose to Evan, either. That felt wrong on all levels.

Obviously, there was only one person he could safely ask who wouldn’t judge him for this. He might actually have to swear her to secrecy, too, which might be harder than getting her to agree to his plan. His brother dating a pastry chef was about to be useful to him. Cherisse seemed like the helpful sort. But thanks to the unplanned morning meeting, he was now behind on catching up on emails, which threw off his daily schedule. Emails were usually his first task on a morning.

Replying to the ones at the top of his priority list was his first order of business. He squinted at an email from his mother and sighed. He’d told her countless times not to email him at his work address, that calling would suffice. But his mother had figured out his strategy after a while. She knew he checked his work emails before anything else. He felt a little guilty about ignoring her phone calls until after work, but seriously, ever since he’d moved into his own house two months ago, she’d been calling and messaging him for ridiculous things. Random bits of advice as if Devon hadn’t done all his research prior to getting the keys for his new place.

He shook his head at the subject of her latest email. Housewarming ideas. Another thing she kept insisting on. Why did he need to invite a bunch of people to his new place? None of that sounded fun. His family claimed it was a thing he needed to do and that he also needed to get the house blessed. When his mother got like this, it was usually easier to give in, but he was ignoring it for now.

Devon simply wanted to enjoy his new space without an invasion of people coming in to critique his design choices. If he decided to invite guests over, it would be a small, intimate affair that involved a simple meal, maybe some wine. Not the backyard bashment his family seemed to expect.

His office line rang, pulling him away from his emails. He didn’t recognise the number shown on the little screen.

“Devon King.”

“Boss man! You really signed up for a baking competition?” Kim’s squeal of laughter was so loud he had to pull his phone away from his ear.

“How in the hell did you hear that already?” He’d been checking and replying to emails for about an hour. Could news have gotten to Kim so fast?

“I got my sources. Everyone in your office loved me, so I have my informers.”

He didn’t doubt that. Kim had been a great first-year intern. She was smart, eager to learn, and plied everyone with her delicious creations, which he’d realised, belatedly, was her way of placating his co-workers after his grumpy ass had passed through.

“So, you really doing this? Wilfully entering an office activity?”

He sighed. “Yes.”

“You’ll need help. You can’t bake for shit.”

Another reason why he’d liked Kim. She was straightforward. “I’ll get help.”

He would definitely talk to Cherisse. She was a busy woman, but he’d pay. Just because she was dating Keiran didn’t mean he’d expect lessons for free. She could tutor him in her baking ways, and while it wasn’t a guarantee he’d win—even though he wanted to now more than ever after that run-in with Evan—participation points had to count for something. At least Dax would be happy.

“Why are you even doing this? You hate these things.”

“I don’t hate them.”

“You refused to do the karaoke. Or make greeting cards that one time. You didn’t eat any of the Christmas cookies. You almost snarled at Evan when he asked you to choose one of the fun headgear to wear for that Halloween thing. Should I go on?” Kim asked sweetly.