“I’m sure. I just need a day. I’ll talk to you later. I won’t be doing dinner. Goodbye.” I hung up before she could say anything else. Try as I might, I couldn’t separate her from the Ryder situation. Given time, I’d be able to, but not right now.
I went back to my baking, and by the time the sky got dark I had the croissants, the cake, two kinds of cookies, and a flan. Good thing I’d stocked up on baking supplies a few weeks ago. I would have gone crazy if I didn’t have everything on hand and had to go out and get something.
I didn’t eat any of my creations. They adorned my dining table like a dessert spread. Everything looked wonderful, but I didn’t feel like eating it at the moment.
Rory didn’t knock on my door like I thought she would. I guess she sensed my need to really and truly be by myself.
Covered in flour and frosting, I headed to the shower. After I washed my hair, I stepped out. I was too tired to do the rest. I wrapped myself in my largest, thickest towel, and fell onto my bed. Before I knew it, I was asleep.
~*~*~
My alarm woke me the next morning, and I groaned. My pillow was still wet from my hair, and the towel was on the floor. I must have tossed it off in the middle of the night.
Sitting up, I tried to run my hand through my hair. I hadn’t bothered to brush it last night, and now it was a hopeless mess. Great. My hair was imitating my life. I sighed and got out of bed, going to the bathroom to see what I could to do make something of the thing on my head. After brushing and fighting with it, I gave up and braided it. Tight.
I had to go to work, but I had no motivation to go today either. I needed coffee. I walked out to the kitchen and was confronted by the dessert chaos from yesterday. Shit, I was going to have to deal with all of that. As my coffee brewed, I packed up some of the desserts to take to work. I had a slim chance of unloading them on my people. Many were vegans or doing the gluten-free thing, and then there was one girl who was a fruitarian. I didn’t even know that was a real thing until she explained it to me. Eating that way could not be healthy.
Not bothering to do my makeup, I got dressed and loaded my arms up with desserts. Today was definitely a cab day.
~*~*~
“Whoa, what the hell happened to you?” Z, one of my employees asked when I walked through the door. I nearly tipped over when a few of the dessert boxes slid one way.
“A little help?” I said. He seemed to realize that I was about to drop everything, so he took the boxes from me.
“Thanks. Those are for everyone, by the way. I did a little baking yesterday when I wasn’t feeling well.”
“Oh, you were sick?” Z asked, and I could feel every set of ears perked in our direction. They’d probably been taking bets on what I was doing yesterday.
“Yes, I was sick,” I said, raising my voice. “And I was nice enough not to come in and bring it to all of you.” They were all listening, but no one had the guts to say anything.
“Glad you’re back,” Inari said, looking like she wanted to hug me, or do something else supportive. I definitely didn’t want her to hug me.
“Thanks. Listen, could you set out those desserts in the break room?” She nodded and followed Z. I glanced around the room, but everyone appeared to be diligently working. I’d need an update on what they’d been up to yesterday.
I went to my office and turned on my computer. Yup, I had about a bazillion emails, and Inari had the resumes and lookbooks of some of our potential interns. Great. I couldn’t wait to go through them. Or not.
I rested my head on my desk.
“I know you said you didn’t want to talk, but if you change your mind, I’m here,” Inari said, poking her head through my door and handing me a cup of coffee.
“Thanks. You’re sweet. I thought I was going to be able to deal with work today, but it’s going to be rough. Please keep the coffee coming. And if you can find any alcohol to throw in there, that would be much appreciated.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” she said with a smile.
“Oh, and can you give me updates on everyone in a little while?”
“Sure thing.”
I went back to my emails and figured if I could just do one at a time, I could make some progress. I made myself a list of things to do. On days when work was more difficult than normal, or I had to do a bunch of shitty things, I made a list. I got a rush every time I checked something off. Today was definitely a list day.
My phone was out on my desk, and I decided to turn it off. Anyone really important would also know my office number. I very much doubted Ryder knew that number, but I couldn’t stop him from looking it up online if he wanted to.
I stepped out of my office and motioned for Inari.
“This is a long shot, but if Ryder calls, can you just tell him I’m busy?” I kept my voice low so no one could overhear.
“Sure. No problem,” she said.