Page 32 of Beaches, Bagels & Babes

Tina was in dire need of bailing out. They had the briefest of lulls during shift change where Daisy thought it would be a good time for some promotional teasing. Out of nowhere, though, they were swamped.

The ‘wrong idea’ or whatever Candace wanted to call it, was damn popular. By the grace of the Algorithm Gods, their rainbow bagel Pride month post was shared by popular lesbian and LGBTQ+ influencers. In addition to a growing number of followers, they now had fans who dissected every post.

Were the # BagelBabes a couple? People asked about Candace and Daisy’s relationship even on regular bagel posts. They were becoming a “ship,” as Rio explained, a couple goal without even being together.

Daisy was more than happy to lean into it. Candace, though… She fled to the back without meeting Daisy’s eye, saying that she needed to do a freezer tally. Before Daisy could think too long on it, she lost herself to the customer chaos.

Sometime later, while Daisy was working the register, a man reached the front of the line. His face was unfamiliar to her, but the bland-looking older man greeted her by name.

“Ms DeMarco,” he said with a warm smile underneath his thick moustache. “How are you?”

With a pointed glance at the line behind him, Daisy replied, “Busy building a bagel empire. What can I get you?”

The man ordered a small coffee with cream and extra sugar, and pointed out a couple bomb flavors seemingly at random. As the bagels toasted, he waited off to the side, watching Daisy. It made her skin crawl. After she’d taken her next customer’s order, he kept talking.

“I’m not surprised you don’t remember me. It’s been a long time.”

Daisy forced an easy tone. “Yeah, sorry. I see a lot of faces. Give me a hint?”

“I handled some legal papers for your parents a while back,” he elaborated with a smile that seemed to mock her.

Daisy had no idea what he was talking about.

Growing up, her parents had shared little of the practical, paper side of the business.

It was part of why she had such a difficult time taking over with their secretive records and bookkeeping.

Hackles raised, she gave Tina a silent look that told her to take the register.

The man went on, asking, “Is Candy around?”

“No,” Daisy lied, internal alarm bells at full blast. “She left.”

Shrewd eyes bore into Daisy, but his mouth was still all smiles.

“Hm, too bad. That girl can be so flighty sometimes… Her uncle is worried about her.”

Of course the man was a Peter Perry lackey. Daisy shot back, “Candace is a grown woman. She’s doing just fine.”

“Is she? From working with Fortune 500 companies in New York to selling boardwalk bagels… No offence, but that’s quite the fall.”

As Daisy opened her mouth to retort with something she’d regret, Candace emerged from the back. She retrieved the man’s bombs and thrust the paper baggie at him.

“Shouldn’t you be barnacled to my uncle, Vinny?”

Daisy blinked. The open, seething disdain she heard in Candace’s sweet voice was foreign.

But, she had heard of Peter Perry’s lawyer Vinny Lamarka, and none of it was good.

With his collared polo and high-waisted Dockers, he looked like a Church deacon riding his high horse.

He tut-tutted them with a shake of his head.

“You’re a smart girl, Candy. I thought you’d pick your priorities better. You have a chance to make things right if you go tonight.”

“I’ve already told him, I don’t have time.”

“You should make time. Don’t forget what we talked about before.”

Whatever the threat meant, it made Candace shrink. Daisy saw red.

“This isn’t a Starbucks,” she growled. “Fuck off.”

Vinny let loose a joyless chuckle. “Feisty! Just wanted to pass along my concerns as a friend of the family. And, support a small business, of course. Have a nice day, ladies.”

While Tina continued to bustle around them, Daisy watched Candace’s gaze follow Vinny until he disappeared into the boardwalk throng.

She was good at keeping her composure, her expression schooled, but the shortness of her breath gave away her feelings.

Daisy started to reach out, yet pulled back at the last second.

She deserves better.

Thick tension swirled between them. It was broken by Norman’s frank assessment of the situation. “Crooked bastard. Lawyers like Lamarka ruin the profession.”

Daisy snorted and refilled her favorite regular’s coffee. “I don’t care what he does or how crooked he is. Knowing he’s friends with Peter Perry tells me all I need to know.”

“He’s like Mike from Breaking Bad .”

Daisy faced Candace, hands on her hips, and tried a joke. “You know I don’t know any shows outside of The Simpsons .”

“He’s my uncle’s fixer,” Candace explained seriously. “Anything that needs doing, Vinny handles. And don’t let his looks fool you. He’s more than happy to get his hands dirty.”

“What’s this thing he was harassing you to go to?”

Looking down at the new neon pink and green tile she had installed herself, Candace bit her lip.

“There’s a gala at the music pier tonight. My uncle wanted me to go as his date.”

“And you told him no.”

Candace lifted her gaze to meet Daisy’s as she nodded. With confidence, she promised, “I know what my priorities are.”

There were not many times in Daisy’s life when she could claim to have her breath taken away. Most instances had been caused by one singular woman. Candace Perry had a unique power, and now was no exception. Candace was choosing her, and everything in the world made sense again.

“You should go.” The words wanted to stay stuck in Daisy’s mouth, but she spit them out like the gravelly truth they were.

“Things are going well for us… for Bagel Bombs! . You said before that your uncle would make things harder for us if he felt slighted. If you stand him up tonight, what’re the chances he’ll throw a tantrum? ”

“High,” she replied with a tired sigh. Her arched brows pinched with worry and disappointment. “But what about helping you with inventory? We were finally going to order from that Vietnamese place, and I—”

“I know,” Daisy told her. Winking, she said, “It’s okay. I’ll take a rain check.”

“I won’t be able to stay too much longer, then. I need to go back to my room and change.”

“Their loss. I think you look perfect.”

This time, she brought her hand to Candace’s shoulder.

Her thumb worked what she hoped were comforting strokes along the strap of the woman’s tank top.

She’d been wearing their Bagel Bombs! branded merch ever since they ordered a new batch for the reopening, and it suited her.

Everything suited her, really, but the fact that this was what she picked filled Daisy with the oddest sense of pride.

Daisy wanted to say more. Maybe offer some words of encouragement or lighten the mood. Before she could swim up from her thoughts, Candace got moving.

“Thanks, Daisy. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

It was the fastest she ever moved; in a blink, Candace was gone. Dazed, Daisy fell back into helping Tina with the onslaught of hungry customers. When Norman spoke up again, she nearly dropped the order she was bagging.

“Don’t you have an invite?”

“What?”

“That shindig your partner is going to. If I’m not mistaken, it’s the Chamber of Commerce’s yearly small business gala. I read about it in the Wonderwood Word this morning.”

Naturally, Norman had his newspaper close at hand. He leafed it open and showed the article to Daisy. She snorted.

“Funded by Wonderwood Amusements and Peter Perry. Figures. He’s throwing a party for himself and his friends.”

And, for some reason, he wanted Candace on his arm. Badly enough to send out his fixer, too .

Why?

The question gnawed at Daisy.

Memory hit her. She had gotten an invite; she got one every year and had never bothered to go. Yucking it up with a bunch of self-important, rich types was not her scene. But if it meant she could keep an eye on Candace…

“Sorry,” she told Tina, who did not look at all surprised. “I’ve got a party to crash.”