Page 23 of Semi Sweet (Working For Love #1)

M y luck seemed to continue when I walked into work for my shift the next morning.

Initially, I was confused when I saw one of my coworkers at my post. She was one that often told me to quit because she wanted my booth shifts.

Had someone called out? Maybe Russel was going to make me do some odd job to make me uncomfortable again.

“I’m here,” I announced when I stepped over to the podium.

“Not anymore,” Russel said without looking up from his crew sheet.

I furrowed my brow at the man. “I’m sorry?”

“You don’t work on the front end anymore.”

What the hell? Had Evan accepted the corporate job on my behalf and forgot to mention it? Russel couldn’t fire me, could he? I had to believe the Quitteros would discipline him or at least yell at him.

“Excuse me?”

Russel was clearly enjoying himself. He finally looked at me with a smug smile. “Sean, the bakery manager, asked if I had someone I’d be willing to give up so he could have a register savvy clerk over there full time.” He narrowed his eyes. “It was an easy decision.”

Well, that was an interesting development. I wasn’t sure how to play it. Did I give Russel what he wanted and pout and act disappointed? Did I grin and click my heels before I walked away from the gossip and the jealousy forever? I decided to do a bit of both.

“Wow, I’m surprised. I mean, who are you going to commiserate against now that I’ll be in the bakery department?” I tried to look slightly heartbroken, but it was hard.

“You have to come up here and buy something sometime.” Russel countered. “Maybe he’ll send you back up here when he has to start dealing with Evan up his butt everyday.”

I highly doubted that.

“We’ll see.” I decided to end the conversation while it was still relatively docile.

Once I was heading towards my new department, I wondered if I should be concerned that Sean would be my new boss. Would it be awkward? Would Evan freak out? I was surprised at how nervous I felt as I walked to the display case.

“OLIVIA!” Beth’s excited voice made me jump out of my skin. She was beaming as she held out a white work coat and black hat. “I just heard the news.”

I had been so distracted by the sudden department change, I’d forgotten that Sean had two accomplices in his cupcake saga.

“I should be furious with you.”

Beth cringed at me like she had hoped I’d forgotten. “Yes, but Max and I had really good intentions.”

“If I was a worse person I’d never speak to you again.”

She looked hopeful. “Yes, but you’re talking to me so….”

I found it hard to be angry at her. “I don’t have many people that want to talk to me these days.”

Beth all but pounced on me, smashing me into a bear hug. “We’ll be your friends! You don’t have to worry about that! Right, Max?”

Max had come back from the walk-in cooler with a sheet cake for pick up. “What’s that now? Oh, welcome aboard, Liv. Please don’t make me have to keep a secret ever again.”

My heart swelled at the sound of a nickname I hadn’t been called in years, by anyone beyond my family. I wondered if Sean had helped me out in more ways than I’d realized. By enlisting the help of his employees, he’d helped me make a few friends. True, non-judgemental ones, I hoped.

“I think you are asking the wrong person,” I replied.

“So…?” Beth said as I put on the work coat over my uniform.

“If you’re wondering if I broke up with Evan and your boss is my boyfriend, I’m sorry to say no.”

Beth looked disappointed, but Max was far more practical. “I told you it wouldn’t be that easy.”

Beth was piping colorful edges on a round cake that was going into the display case. For a moment I watched her technique just in case Sean ever graduated me to decorating. “Well, do you like him at least?” she pressed, breaking the silence.

My face flushed at her boldness. “I don’t dislike him….”

“Stop, Beth,” Max warned, putting the cake he’d brought out into a box, a larger version of the ones my cupcakes had been delivered in.

“But it’s hard,” she whined back.

“Where is my new employer?” I asked, looking around for him.

“Follow the sound of the terrible techno and you will find him,” Max replied, pointing in the direction of the back room.

I could hear the fast beat of an EDM song in the distance and raised an eyebrow at the pair. Cash Value Market had a syndicated radio that played light hits in all their stores.

“You might like it now,” Beth warned, “but wait until you hear it five hours straight four to five days a week.”

I secured my hat and walked towards the back room.

Last time I’d been there, I’d learned the truth about him.

Now I watched him work, oblivious to my presence.

He moved around the kitchen like he was putting on a performance, cracking eggs and adding ingredients in time with the music playing through a bluetooth speaker.

He lifted the bowl to place it on the giant mixer stand when he finally noticed me standing there.

“Good morning,” he said as he started the mixer.

“Apparently I’m checking in with my supervisor?”

He gestured like he was trying to get a crowd to applaud for him before he took a shallow bow. “You’re welcome.”

“How the hell did you manage this? Why the hell are you managing this?”

Sean shrugged as he stopped another mixer, lowered the bowl, and pushed it over to a prep table.

He picked it up and dumped a giant pile of dough out.

“It’s pretty obvious how Russel feels about you.

I figured it would be easy to convince him.

I wasn’t wrong.” He placed the bowl on the ground.

“As for why...my intentions were mostly pure. Wanted to get you somewhere a little less toxic.”

I found the gesture oddly sweet, almost as much as the cupcakes and the notes. “Mostly pure?”

He rolled his eyes. “Come on, you're not going to make me say it out loud, are you? We’re at work.”

“What do you need me to do?” I figured he’d have me making up the little white boxes they placed small treats in or manning the register.

“You want to learn how to knead bread?” Sean asked.

“Sure, why not?”

Sean explained that even though the mixer had a hook to knead the dough, he still hand kneaded the smaller balls that would end up being rolled out to make loaves.

I watched as he cut the large blob of dough into smaller balls with a square-shaped dough knife before he picked a dough ball up and started smacking it onto the prep table.

“That’s it? That’s all you do?” I asked.

Sean nodded. “Having a bad day? Take it out on the dough.”

He smiled and we both turned when we heard chimes ringing in the distance. Something was done in one of the ovens.

“I’ll leave you to it.” Then he left me with the dough and the techno music.

Six hours later, I’d kneaded, rolled, baked, and packaged three dozen loaves of bread and felt more relaxed than I had in years at Cash Value Market. That was, until a page went through the store’s intercom system.

“Olivia Hale, dial extension five-zero-zero-one, please. Olivia, five-zero-zero-one.”

Evan. He must have learned about my department change. I cringed and picked up the receiver hanging near Sean’s desk, dialing the extension.

“Evan Quittero,” my fiancé stated. His tone made me wary.

“Hi,” I squeaked.

“Olivia, what the hell is going on? Am I having my uncle fire Russel?”

While I would love the sweet, sweet karma, that would be a definite abuse of power. “I’m fine. It’s fine. Yes, I didn’t ask to be moved, but I like it here. Honestly.”

I swore I could hear his teeth grinding. “Put the wonderkid on.”

“Who?”

“Mizuno. Sean Mizuno. The bakery manager. The one my family can’t stop talking about.”

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I went to call Sean's name and he was already standing in the doorway. “He wants to talk to you.”

Sean grabbed the phone. “Hello? Yeah, I really need someone savvy on the register over here.” There were a few beats of silence.

“He recommended Olivia so I went with it. I get the vibe that Olivia isn’t his favorite person.

” A few more seconds of nothing. “I thought she did a great job today. I would keep her on.”

Finally, Sean handed the phone back to me. “It’s the prince,” he whispered.

“Hi, Evan.”

“I’m not happy about this,” he snapped. “But if you are happy and Sean thinks you carry your weight, then we’ll keep this new arrangement. You should probably be familiar with as many departments as possible anyway.”

I repressed a sigh. As always, the discussion went back to the family business. “Are we good? I need to clock out so I can change and catch the train.”

“Class tonight?”

“Yes, Evan. Every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.” I wrapped up the conversation, saying I would see him after and he could pick the take out, then hung up. “Well, that crisis seems to be averted.”

Sean gave me a look I didn’t have time for. It reminded me of our conversation about Evan at the cafe. “Well, better catch that train.”

I gave him a curt nod before I took off my work coat and hat and punched out. I dashed out of the store in the direction of the train station.

***

I'd been so concerned about getting to class on time, I'd forgotten to grab something to eat. Three hours of class later, I was hangry and not ready to deal with creeps on the train. Much to my chagrin, the usuals were there, smiling like they were being offered a free meal.

My usual first tactic was to look too busy to be approached.

Sometimes I stared at a page of my text book like I was reading it or scrolled through my phone.

Today I was desperate for some garlic to ward off the vampires, so I rifled through my bag, looking for something to do the trick.

I momentarily forgot what I was looking for when I came across a piece of paper.

Sean: 555-2646

5000 Arnold St 1D

Knowing Evan would be annoyed if I called and likely remind me about the Quittero family driver, I knew this was probably my best choice without someone actually accompanying me. I dialed the number with jittery fingers and held the phone to my ear as the bold passenger got up and headed my way.

“Hello?”

“Hey,” I said. “It’s me.”

Sean sounded confused. “Olivia?”

“Mhmm.” I tried to keep my face neutral as the creep sat down beside me. “I’m on the train.”

“Is that your boyfriend?” the guy asked.

Apparently, Sean was able to hear him because he said very seriously, “Put him on.”

My heart pounded as I held out the phone to the man. “He wants to talk to you.”

I hoped this would have deterred him, but the weirdo grabbed my phone all too happily.

“Yo, I hear you have a–” he was cut off and I watched the man’s eyes grow wide.

I couldn’t hear what Sean was saying, but soon the man was handing the phone back to me, walking backwards with his hands in the air.

“My apologies, I didn’t know you were banging a Commie.

My neighbor is from the former soviet union. He’s nuts.”

He was back in his seat and I was relieved.

“Oh my God, what did you say?” I whispered into the phone.

“I might have told him to take a walk in Russian.”

“You speak Russian?”

He chuckled. “I may know a few languages.”

“Good lord, are you bad at anything?”

“That’s yet to be determined,” he answered. “I forgot about the train thing. Blame it on all the other stuff that happened that night.” There was a beat of silence. “You know you could have reminded me. I would have met you at the station and rode with you.”

I heard that little voice in my head, the one that people said was a conscience. Be careful. This could be the beginning of a slippery slope. The beginning was the first cupcake. Or perhaps even meeting Sean.

“While I appreciate your very chivalrous nature, you and I both know that probably isn’t a good idea.” I didn’t want to sound like I wasn’t appreciative though. “But thank you for even offering. And I guess I’m sorry for calling you. I was desperate.”

“Pozhaluysta!” Sean replied with a perfect Russian accent.

It was followed by another beat of silence.

“I know you are trying to do the right thing and all, but you are with someone who should be concerned about the freaks on the Green line approaching you. Not that I’m not happy you called, but you should be calling him, not me. ”

I let out a shaky breath, not liking the truth. “I know.”

“I am happy to help. I just shouldn’t have to, you know?”

“I know.”

“I’m not letting you hang up until you get to your place, though,” Sean assured me. “Now tell me something good.”

I smiled, not usually getting to share moments like this with Evan, either. “It’s not necessarily good, but did I ever tell you how Evan is trying to get me a corporate job?”