Little Jack (Hell's Handlers MC 6)

Oh, how Holly wished they could trade places, and she could be the one comfortable with her position in life instead of being a constant ball of stressed-out nerves hoping to find a rental location and get her business up and running.

As she trailed behind Jazz, Holly couldn’t help but take in the contradicting picture the other woman presented. With a slew of silver studs in each ear, a bar through her eyebrows, spiky hair, and a colorful butterfly tattooed on the back of her neck, Jazz gave off a badass vibe from the neck up. Below the color bone, she could have been a stereotypical kindergarten teacher. Khaki pants appearing a size too big rested on the woman’s slender hips. Her diner T-shirt also seemed to dwarf her small frame and a very conservative navy blue cardigan topped off the outfit. Maybe it was just the diner’s uniform, but still, it made for an odd picture.

“Please tell me you have something in that box there that’ll go well with the coffee I’m about to brew,” Jazz said as she unlocked the first of three outer locks on the entrance door. After all the locks had been released, she pulled the door open and stepped aside for Holly to pass.

“Well, if you’re into dessert at six-thirty in the morning, then yes, I have some fantastic things to go with that coffee.”

“I’m a firm believer in no-limits eating. Bring on the sugar. You don’t scare me, Miss Lane.” She said with a smile.

Holly nearly snorted. She highly doubted Jazz indulged in sweets at any hour, let alone bright and early in the morning. A body like that wasn’t maintained by eating cupcakes and cookies. Unless she was just one of those unnatural, evil women, who could eat whatever and whenever they wanted.

God, Holly hated those skinny bitches.

“Holly?”

Oh shit, she’d totally wandered off to thoughts of calling her potential landlord of sorts a skinny bitch. Not good.

“I’m sorry, I drifted for a second. What did you say?”

“No worries. Grab a booth, and I’ll be back with coffee in a few minutes. I’m excited to see what you brought.” The smile Jazz tossed her way seemed one hundred percent genuine, which had Holly feeling like a shit for thinking mean thoughts about the woman.

Once she’d settled in a booth, her bakery box awaiting its grand reveal, Holly used the quiet few moments to take in her surroundings. The place wasn’t what she’d expected. Shameful as it was, she’d been prepared for a run-down, small-town diner with cracked pleather seats, greasy tables, and a sticky floor. What she got instead was a retro fifties vibe in a clean and well-maintained restaurant.

A black and white checkered floor spanned the entire building. Booths and table chairs were a cheerful teal with chrome legs and trim, while tabletops were a pale pink. A long counter ran the length of the building with at least fifteen stools for customers looking to eat at the breakfast bar. Hell, there was even a jukebox in the corner.

Holly would kill to work out of the kitchen in this adorable diner.

“Cute, isn’t it?” Jazz asked as she emerged from the kitchen with a tray containing two steaming mugs and coffee fixings.

“This place is great.”

Jazz beamed as she set the tray down. “Help yourself. There’s cream, sugar, Splenda, and some cinnamon. Wasn’t sure how you took it.”

“Thanks,” Holly said as she reached for a mug with one hand and four packets of Splenda with the other. Yeah, she liked her coffee tooth-achingly sweet.

“Toni’s parents apparently ran a great place, but she’s spruced it up some since she took over. We got that jukebox just last week. I found it at an estate sale, actually.” Jazz blushed. “It’s kind of a hobby of mine, estate sale shopping. Anyway…” She waved her hand as though moving on from the tangent. “Toni and I were both intrigued by your idea. Why don’t you fill me in on what you’re proposing?”

Ahh, down to business. Holly took a deep breath and forged ahead with the speech she’d practiced in front of the mirror no less than fifteen times over the past few days.

“I graduated pastry school about six months ago. At the time, I was renting a room in a sizable home with a pretty big kitchen. I used the space to begin a small online bakery. Mostly cupcake orders, some wedding cakes, pastries for small to medium-sized events. Those kinds of things. Now that I’m here, I’m in a tiny apartment with a bite-sized kitchen. I also happen to have a humungous dog, and it’s not like I can keep him separate from the baking area of the apartment. My ultimate goal is to have a storefront bakery, but I just don’t have the start-up capital for that right now. So, what many online bakers do is rent kitchen space from restaurants, churches, schools, those kinds of places. Someone”—must not think about LJ—“gave me Toni’s contact information and told me the diner closes around two in the afternoon.”