Part 2
Julian stopped arranging cups.
“She hasn’t asked me for anything.”
“You’ve been here a day.”
“And she’s spent most of it making my work easier.”
When Mara returned, Vanessa went into the office. Julian waited until the kitchen door swung shut.
“Does she warn every new employee about you?”
Mara held the tray against her apron. “What did she say?”
“Nothing I intend to use.”
“You don’t have to take her word for who I am.”
“I wasn’t planning to.” He moved aside so she could set down the tray. “I can pay attention on my own.”
Vanessa interrupted their next lesson by ordering Mara into the kitchen.
“He hasn’t done a refund yet,” Mara said.
“I own the register. I can teach him.”
Julian reached for the training receipt. “I’d rather finish what we started.”
“Mara has other duties.”
Mara left without answering. Vanessa stayed close enough that Julian had to step around her to reach the cups.
“You don’t need to follow her everywhere,” she told him.
“She knows the job.”
“So do I.”
“I’m sure you do.” He returned to the receipt.
Later, he caught a stack of empty cake boxes as they tilted out of Mara’s arms.
“I had those,” she said.
“Of course. I was assisting the boxes.”
Across the room, Vanessa watched them laugh. Her friend glanced from her face to Julian’s.
“I wouldn’t count on him coming around,” she murmured.
Vanessa straightened a display card that didn’t need straightening. “Give it time.”
Near noon, she handed Mara an order sheet and pointed to a crowded section of the worktable.
“These need to leave now.”
“All of them?”
“They’re already behind schedule.”
Julian lifted two carriers.
Vanessa put a hand on the counter. “You’re working out front.”
“And she needs another pair of hands. You have people here.”
Mara looked at him over the remaining boxes. Vanessa’s fingers tightened on the order sheet before she let go.
“Don’t turn a delivery into an afternoon off.”
Outside, Mara adjusted the handles around her wrists.
“I’ve carried worse.”
“Then somebody should have helped you with worse.”
“You always have a response ready?”
“Not a useful one, according to you.”
Their destination was a large residence behind a wrought-iron gate. Julian slowed at the entrance. He’d attended a business dinner there the previous winter.
Mara nudged him with her elbow. “Come along, desk man. The cakes won’t walk.”
He followed her through the service entrance, keeping the boxes between himself and a man who had come to inspect the delivery.
The man peered around them.
“I’m trying to place you.”
“I get that a lot,” Julian said, shifting the boxes. “Where would you like these?”
Mara waited until they were back outside to grin at him.
“Should I be asking for an autograph?”
“Only if you want your receipt signed.”
On the walk back, he asked how long she’d worked for Vanessa.
“Long enough to stop expecting a different answer when I ask for help.”
“Why stay?”
“Because my rent isn’t interested in my boss’s personality.” She shifted the empty carrier to her other hand. “And I’m trying to save for something better.”
“Your bakery.”
“You remembered.”
“I was listening.”
They stopped at a crossing. Mara studied him while the signal counted down.
“You don’t worry the way people worry when they need a paycheck.”
“I’m trying to stay calm.”
“You seem practiced.”
He pressed the crossing button, although it had already been pressed. “Maybe the office was good for something.”
“What made you leave it?”
“I needed to get outside it for a while.”
“This is a considerable change of scenery.”
“Yes,” he said, looking at her. “It is.”
That afternoon, an elegantly dressed older woman came into Velune. Mara was wiping a circle left by a coffee cup when she heard the bell.
“Something sweet?” she asked.
“I’m willing to be advised.”
Mara studied the woman’s face. There was something familiar about her eyes.
“Have you been in before?”
“Not for some time.”
“Well, the little almond cakes are good today.”
“Did you make them?”
“I did.”
“Then I’ll have one.”
Vanessa appeared before Mara had finished setting out the plate. Her voice changed at the sight of the woman’s clothes and handbag.
“I’m the owner. Please tell me if there’s anything you need.”
Lenora looked directly at her.
“We’ve crossed paths.”
Vanessa smiled uncertainly. “Have we?”
“I remember.”
Mara brought the cake and watched the woman take a small bite.
“Excellent choice,” Lenora said.
“I’m glad you like it.”
“I meant the baker.”
Julian spotted his grandmother from the kitchen doorway. A few minutes later, he followed her outside, stopping beside the window where the street noise covered their voices.
“You could have warned me.”
“And miss the chance to see you holding a dishcloth?”
“You nearly exposed everything.”
“Your occupation remains a mystery to the world.” She glanced through the glass. “So that’s Mara.”
“Grandma.”
“I approve of the cake.”
“Only the cake?”
She smiled and walked toward her car.
Mara was waiting with an empty tray when he returned.
“An acquaintance?”
“Someone my family’s known a long time.”
“She seemed very pleased to find you here.”
“I’m difficult to lose.”
“You’re also difficult to get an answer out of.”
Vanessa heard enough to ask him about the visitor later. He gave her the same explanation. She watched the street after the car had gone, frowning as if trying to recover something just out of reach.
Before closing, she sent Julian to the storeroom and caught Mara alone by the sink.
“How much of your interest in Julian is personal?”
Mara shut off the water. “We work together, Vanessa. I don’t see why you’re asking me anything else.”
Vanessa stepped closer, lowering her voice so the customers couldn’t hear.
“Keep away from Julian…”
To read the rest of the story – CLICK the NEXT button 👇👇👇