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“I think you can stop now,” I say, edging a little closer. Maybe he needs a little humor. “The dough is a little thin.”
He doesn’t stop. “Is it?”
“Uh, yeah. Unless you’re making sugar cookie crackers.”
“Well, it’s my bakery. If that’s what I wanted, that’s what I could do.” He stops rolling and sets the pin aside, finally looking me in the face. “You put your cookies out there.”
I nod.
“You offered your cookies to Suzette.”
I nod again.
“Don’t you see a problem here?”
I pause, trying to decide how to best handle this. Because, no, I don’t see a problem here. But clearly, he thinks I overstepped some boundaries. I have to balance his ridiculous tests and conditions with the fact that he’s my boss, so I choose my words carefully. “I was just trying to help.”
“Helping is working the front. Boxing orders. Talking to customers. Not undermining my bakery by bringing in your own creations.”
“No!” I can’t help myself. As much as I want to be respectful, I won’t sit back and let him make me feel guilty. “Helping is making a sale, whether that comes from your recipe or mine.”
“I won’t go through this again,” he says, raking his flour-filled hands through his hair. “I won’t lose my bakery.”
“Lose your bakery?” I exclaim. Then I remember that Suzette is still in the front and remind myself to be quieter. “Mason, I want to work with you and for you. I have no ambitions of taking over.”
“That’s what she said, too,” he mutters.
“I’m not Natalie,” I say firmly but quietly. “And I’m sick of being treated this way. All these tests, and for what? Nothing! I set out one of my cookies and secure a giant order, and you’re upset.”
He has the decency to look ashamed, but it’s too little, too late.
“I deserve more than this,” I continue. “I’m a great baker and an honest person.” I take a step toward him, less than a foot of space between us now. “And I thought…there was something between us, too.”
He swallows hard, his breathing shallow.
I don’t wait for him to confirm or deny. I take a step back, gathering myself. “But I can’t be with someone, let alone work with them, if they can’t trust me.”
He opens his mouth to say something else, but I cut him off.
“I quit.”
“Madeleine—” he starts to say, but his eyes dart from me to the swinging door.
“All done!” Suzette’s voice rings through the kitchen. “Do I need to—”
“You’re all set,” he says. “I’ll take care of it from here.”
“Wonderful!” Suzette leaves.
I take his last statement as an acknowledgement of my resignation. There’s no reason to stay here anymore. I turn around without another word to Mason. Hot, angry tears start forming behind my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall.
I have no idea what I’m going to do now. All I know is that my future cannot depend on Mason Bond and his ridiculous tests.
Chapter Six
Mason
“Hello? Is anyone here?”
