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“What ishedoing here,” she bites out. Her eyes ping-pong to Cody before jumping back to me.
“He’s here because he’s concerned about you too.” I rub her shoulder. “We all are. You’re a very important part of the co-op, Erica. We want you to come back.”
“I will…”
My smile is tinged with relief.
“… if he apologizes.” She points to Cody.
Internally, I groan. Cody would probably eat grass before he uttered the words ‘I’m sorry’ to anyone.
“Erica,” I try to keep the panic out of my voice, “Cody is only one opinion among many. Feel free to ignore him.”
Cody gives me a pointed look.
I pretend not to notice. Grabbing Erica’s hand, I appeal to her. “Ms. Phoebe and I believe in you. Isn’t that enough?”
“No.” She lifts her chin. “I want him to apologize.”
“Apologize for what?” Cody growls.
I withhold a groan.
The Ice King is fully activated.
He stalks forward. “Your ketchup brownies are terrible. That’s not a stab at you as a person. That’s an evaluation of your product.”
“Screw you!”
“Believe it or not, Erica, I’m just trying to help.”
“Well, you’re not,” I hiss.
Cody’s eyes burn into me. “It’s better for a person who cares about her future to tell her the truth. Even if it hurts.” He swings that electric gaze on Erica, fully in control. “You want to run a business? Here’s a hard lesson. Customers are ruder than I am. And they’re the ones who matter. You can cry. You can hate me. Whatever. It doesn’t change that your product stinks.”
Erica’s cheeks are red.
“But I believe that you have the talent and the imagination to make this work.”
“You do?”
“The problem isn’t breaking the rules. If you break something, you have to replace it with something better. There’s a skill to experimentation. And you already have the first ingredient. Now you just need the knowledge on how to make it work. I want you to be so good at what you do that people line up in droves to taste what you come up with.”
Erica stares thoughtfully at the ground.
I look at Cody with a hint of awe.
He moves in close to Erica. “I can’t help you if you’re hiding out at home hating me. I need you at the foundation.”
“Going back to the foundation won’t fix my brownies.”
“No, but given your persistence in baking, it’s only a matter of time.” Cody gestures to me. “Clarissa’s told me a bit about what you’ve been through.”
I wince, holding my breath. If Cody rants about Erica making bad decisions again, I really won’t hold back.
“It’s clear that you’re the type who doesn’t give up. That’s exactly the kind of mentality that’ll lead to success.Ifyou’re pointed in the right direction.” He lifts his chin and scrolls through his contacts. “Do you know Chef Baley?”
Erica’s eyes widen and she springs forward. “Of course I know Chef Baley.”