Page 24 of Only for the Season

“Interview?” My brow wrinkles. “What interview? I thought this was a meeting of the committee for theMermaid Treasure Hunt.”

“Have a seat, dear, and I’ll explain.”

I sit on the chair Lana indicates. When I’m seated, I scan the room and realize it’s set up for interviews. Lana and Jennifer are sitting at a large table at the front of the room and there’s one chair in the middle, which I’m sitting on. The rest of the chairs are pushed to the back wall.

Great glistening krakens. This is an interview. I thought I was a shoo-in.

“I’ll just…” Jeremy sits in the back of the room and digs out his phone.

Great. The billionaire is going to sit there and watch my interview? As if this isn’t nerve wracking enough, a man who has hit it out of the park with his business is going to watch me fight for the survival of my bakery. Awesome. Just awesome.

“Shall we get started?” Lana asks. I nod and she continues, “There are ten stops on the treasure map each year. We try to vary the stops to keep tourists coming back every year.”

“Pirate’s Pastrieshas never been a stop before, but I’d love to participate.”

“As you know, participants who manage to figure out your location and find the gift hidden there are required to drink a shot of moonshine. As a stop on the treasure hunt, you’re also a sponsor of the event, which means we expect you to pay for the gift and the moonshine.”

I swallow. The giftandthe moonshine? “I assume I can bake a gift. I figured I’d bake a cookie to match the clue used to find my location. I can make pirate-shaped cookies or little mermaid cupcakes. As long as I know the clue in advance, I can design an appropriate gift.”

Jennifer moans. “As long as the gift tastes as good as your Siren’s Snaps, your stop will be a hit.”

“And we have an agreement withBuccaneer’s Whiskeyfor you to buy the moonshine from them,” Lana adds.

“How much moonshine are we talking about?”

“We usually have about five thousand participants in the treasure hunt.”

I clasp my chest. “I need to buy enough moonshine for five thousand people?”

The mayor waves a hand in dismissal. “At least a quarter of the participants drop out early.”

“Which leaves nearly four thousand people for me to buy moonshine for.”

My stomach plummets. I can’t afford to buy moonshine for four hundred people, let alone four thousand. So much for participating in theMermaid Treasure Huntand growing my client base.

I stand. “I’m afraid I’ll have to withdraw my application to participate in the treasure hunt.”

“Oh dear,” Lana mutters. “This happens every year.”

Jeremy clears his throat. “Actually,Apparoowould be happy to sponsor the treasure hunt by providing the moonshine for all of the stops.”

I glance over my shoulder to glare at him. “I don’t need your help.”

“I didn’t say you did.”

“No, you just happened to have a meeting with Eli at the same time as my interviewandwhen I withdraw my application, you happen to remember you were planning to sponsor the event.”

“Yes?”

I roll my eyes. “How stupid do you think people are on this Podunk island?”

He scratches the back of his neck. “I’m sorry. I never should have referred to Smuggler’s Hideaway as a Podunk island. It was rude and judgmental.”

“Whatever. It doesn’t matter. I don’t need some billionaire coming to my rescue.”

“Hold on,” Lana says before Jeremy can respond. “The town of Smuggler’s Rest would like to accept his offer to sponsor the event.”

“Go ahead. This no longer involves me.”