The Boss Deal

“Holy shit, look who it is.” She wipes the flour off her hands and onto the bright yellow apron around her waist. “You know if you didn’t show up this morning, I was going to call the cops.”

“What? Why?” I ask, dropping into a chair at one of the small tables.

Vanessa steps out from behind the counter with a plate in her hand. Setting it down in front of me, she rests her hands on her hips. “I called you, I texted you, I left you a gazillion messages. You never answered any of them. Eat, it’s a coffee cake muffin, it’ll help.”

“You did?” Digging around in my purse, I pull out my phone. She’s right. Message after message, ten missed calls, ten new voice messages. “Oh yeah, you did. Sorry, I didn’t hear it, I had it on vibrate. Plus I got pretty fucked up last night, so there’s that too.” Peeling a chunk of the muffin top off, I pop a small bite into my mouth.

“I thought you got abducted or something.” Vanessa rolls her eyes and shakes her head.

Smirking, I lift the paper cup to my lips and say, “Or something.” Winking at her, I sip the coffee.

“Wait, what the hell does that mean?” Her demeanor changes as she eagerly takes the seat across from me. “Did you meet someone after I left last night?”

“After you got abducted, you mean? That guy wasn’t waiting.” Pointing at her with a single finger, I pick at the muffin. “This is delicious by the way.”

“Thank you,” she says quickly with a happy smile. “Now spill it. What happened last night after I left?”

Shrugging a shoulder, I look down at the table. “Nothing really. I met this guy, we danced, went back to his hotel room, had sex—”

Throwing her hand out, she doesn’t let me finish. “Wait, what?” She squints her eyes in disbelief, jaw hanging open. “You did what?”

Nodding my head in her direction, I can’t help but tease her. “You uh, you might want to close your mouth a little before a random penis lands in it.”

Vanessa starts laughing as she leans back in the chair. “You’re one to talk.” She folds her hands together and rests her chin on her fingers. “Talk.”

“There’s nothing to say. It was one night, and that’s it. I don’t even know his name.”

“Get out of here!”

Flashing big eyes, I dunk a piece of muffin in my coffee, and pop it into my mouth. “I’m serious. I left while he was sleeping, no number, no name, shit, I don’t even know how old he was. And that’s fine with me, because I’ll never see him again.” Grinning, I let my eyes connect with hers. “You’re not the only one who knows how to have a good time.”

“Evidently not,” she says with a laugh as she gets up from her seat and moves back the counter. “All right, so, Steph is in the back right now, putting together a few sample trays for the investor, Nick. He should be here any minute. I really, really want to make a good impression. If he’s investing in this business, he needs to believe in it one hundred percent, just like we do.”

“Agreed,” I say, grabbing a napkin from the small dispenser on the table, and wiping my mouth. “I’m going to go freshen up a little. I don’t want to look as bad as I feel.” Pushing away from the table, I start for the bathroom, spinning to talk to her as I walk backwards. “Oh, and next time, do not convince me to get shit faced before a big meeting.”

“It’s not my fault you can’t handle your liquor,” she teases back as she cleans the countertop.

Closing the door behind me, I stand in front of the mirror. There are light bags under my eyes, but not too bad considering the night I had. My eyes are a little glossy from lack of sleep, and my hair is pulled back into a lazy bun. Loose strands frame my face, and I still have some eyeliner smudged at the corners of my eyes.

Leaning closer, I wipe away the liner, and turn on the water. Waiting for it to get warm, I splash my face just to feel a little fresher.

Not that it really matters what I look like. This is Vanessa’s gig, it’s her bakery baby. I’m just here to help sell it to everyone else. Marketing, that’s what I’m good at. Word of mouth is great when it comes to these little bakeries, but it really only goes as far as the blocks can take it.

I help her reach new customers, people that don’t know this quaint little bakery even exists if they’re never in this part of the city.

This meeting is really for her. I’m just here to support her, and give the investor an idea of what I bring to the table. I bring people. And my goal is to bring people to the new stores too.