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He was aware that Kay hadn’t wanted to join her for coffee, but running into Jessie was an opportunity Damon had no intention of turning down. However, once they sat down, he noticed the way she was dismissing Kay, and it made him think Jessie was still the kind of woman who wanted to be the most coveted in the room. But Damon had dealt with more challenging personalities than Jessie, and he wasn’t worried about it.
He pulled his arm out of the woman’s grasp and asked, “What do you know about subscription boxes? I’ve been considering them for a while now.”
She said, “Labor intensive. Although, if you make them exclusive enough, you can tack a hefty price tag on them. Other than the time to create and ship them each month, it’s a nice steady chunk of money to count on.”
“Ah, so I’d likely need an assistant to do the grunt work.”
“Well, what about Kay? The Robin to your, Batman.” Jessie chuckled, but Damon could practically feel the steam coming off of Kay.
He was quick to defend her. “Kay and her twin run a busy and very successful bakery. Surely you’ve had one of their spelled treats.”
“Huh. Can’t say that I have.”
Damon nearly rolled his eyes at her. Jessie would have to have been living under a rock not to know about the Knight twin’s bakery. They had a reputation that extended their client base all the way to Portland, Maine, and the bakery had been credited a number of times on his ghost hunting podcasts. Jessie was clearly doing her best to make Kay feel inadequate, and while he knew his girlfriend was quite capable of brushing it off and handling herself, his protective instincts were on alert.
He said, “You need to get out more, Jessie.”
“Or eat one of our truffles,” Kay said.
The way Jessie’s cheeks flushed the slightest told Damon that the woman was definitely aware of Corinne and Kay’s bakery, and that she knew the truffles had been nicknamed Bitch Balls for their ability to take the edge off the nastiest of people. If he didn’t diffuse things quickly, he was afraid he might be caught in the middle of a good old-fashioned cat fight.
Cream must have thought so too, because the cat jumped off of Kay’s lap to saunter toward the door and then walked out of the shop when a patron entered.
Damon thought Kay must have felt bad about her comment, because she said, “If you’d like to stop by, you can sample a few of our goodies. We don’t have an actual brick and mortar shop, but there’s always plenty of extra treats at our work cottage.”
“You work at home?” Jessie blew out a breath. “How I envy you, not having to care about your appearance.” Her statement was accompanied by a visual scan of Kay’s body. “Sometimes I feel as if I’m chained to my shop.”
Damon frowned, because while the words the women were exchanging seemed innocuous, the expressions on their faces did not. He jumped in to change the course of the discussion. “What would you say is the most ignored segment of the supply market, Jessie? What products would you love to get your hands on?”
“Damon Hawke.” Jessie smiled like a cat who’d just had a bowl of cream. “You’re pumping me for information. Do you have a product line in the works?”
“No, no. I’m merely doing research. You know how it is with us entrepreneurs, always looking for more ways to make money.”
“Yes, that is the challenge of our businesses, isn’t it?” She reached over and broke off a piece of Damon’s scone, and she lifted it toward her mouth as she looked at Kay. “You really have it easy with a bakery. I mean, how many ways are there to bake a cake?” She laughed and touched Damon’s arm as if he were her ally. “Am I right?”
When he glanced over to see how Kay was handing the insult, he noticed her mouth was a tight line, and he knew he’d better cut the visit with Jessie short. “Well,” he said. “It really has been a pleasure, Jessie, but Kay and I do have business to attend to. I’m sure you understand.” He stood, and Kay hopped up to join him.
“Must you go? We’ve barely gotten caught up. I haven’t heard a word about your family. How are they?”
“Everyone is well, thank you.” He sighed dramatically. “I wish we had more time too, but duty calls. Give my best to your mother,” he said as Kay moved toward the door. He grabbed his coffee and the rest of their scones and followed her.
“My god!” Kay cried out the moment they were a few steps from the shop. “She hasn’t changed a bit.” She scrunched up her face and took on a whiney tone.“Must you go?”Kay took a sip of her drink. “Ugh! Acting like I’ve got nothing better to do than pack your boxes and do your shipping. And please, like you can’t see through her lame attempt to steal you away from me.”
“It’s not like she knows we’re dating,” Damon said quietly. He didn’t like that Kay wanted to keep their relationship a secret. While he did understand the entertainment aspect she touted, he was in love, and he wanted to let everyone know it.
Kay scoffed. “Good thing, too. If Jessie thought you were mine to steal, she would have sat on your lap.”
Damon frowned wondering how to calm Kay. He was a bit insulted by her believing he could be stolen. He assumed he shouldn’t try to explain that to Kay, though. He’d learned from his sister, Natalie that often a woman doesn’t want to be calmed down. At least no more than a man does, so he braced himself to listen to her rant until she’d gotten her frustrations out.
“Are you even listening to me?” Kay asked as she reached over and took one of the scones out of his hand. They’d had to park a couple blocks away from the coffee shop due to the number of tourists in town.
“Of course. Jessie was being awful. I’m with you on this. But—”
“Don’t you dare defend her.”
“I wasn’t going to. It’s just—”
“Nope. Don’t say it, Damon. There is no excuse for Jessie Green and her behavior. The woman has had it out for me since the first day we met as kids, and it’s clear she’s never going to change her mind.”
