“They fix every problem.”
“I completely agree,” Gregory said. He smiled at me, and I was caught off-guard, all of a sudden, just how handsome he actually was. Oh, I’d known it when I saw him at the bakery, but this was different. Right now, all of his attention was focused solely on me, and I didn’t know what to do with that.
So, I smiled back, and I wondered what I’d done to deserve such a wonderful first date.
*
“So?” Beatrix and Cordelia both hurried over when I walked into work the next day.
“How did it go?” Beatrix asked.
“Did you kiss?” Cordelia wanted to know.
“Good, and no,” I said. I’d been a little disappointed about the lack of a goodnight kiss. I wasn’t sure if that meant the date had gone poorly, or if it just meant that Gregory wasn’t quite ready for that. Either way, I wasn’t about to push it. If he wasn’t ready for kissing or touching, then that was okay. Not everything had to be a race, did it? That was an easy rut to fall into.
With Tony, everything had been a race. He’d always worried about being the first of his friends to have a successful business and the first of his friend group to have a nice car. He’d rushed into bed as quickly as possible, and then he’d just never stopped. I hated how much of myself I’d given to him. That wasn’t a very healthy attitude to have, I knew, but it was how I felt.
“Did you have fun?” Beatrix asked. “He seemed really sweet.”
“I can’t believe you got a date at my shop,” Cordelia clapped her hands together and grinned. “Do you think I could put that on advertisements? Savored: get your cupcakes and your dates.”
“That’s a horrible slogan,” I said. I couldn’t tell whether she was being serious or not.
“Yeah, it sounds pretty bad,” Beatrix agreed. Then, suddenly realizing she shouldn’t tell her boss something was less than perfect, she grimaced. “Sorry.”
“I was just messing around,” Cordelia smiled. “Although, I will be thinking about it. I could use some new marketing ideas.”
“Is the business in trouble?” I asked, suddenly worried. I’d only started working at Savored. I couldn’t afford to lose the job. It was a wonderful place to work and everyone was kind and sweet. At least, almost everyone.
“No, I just need some new marketing strategies. You know, it’s important to always look for new and interesting ways to grow your company.”
Before Cordelia had taken over Savored, she’d worked in a big city. She knew a lot about marketing and ads and bringing in customers. A lot of people suspected that was why the bakery was so successful.
“Of course,” I nodded, mulling over her comment. It was important to look for new opportunities and to consider new strategies. That was how everything with life was, though, wasn’t it? It was important to always look for new ways to grow and change and expand your horizons. How else would you figure out what you wanted to be or do?
The day went by quickly. I baked cupcakes and decorated them with little fondant snowmen. I added little black buttons and tiny eyes to eat snowman, as well as an orange little nose. I was pleased with my creation. By the time I was finished, it was almost closing time for Savored. I stared at my work, carefully looking over it for mistakes, but I couldn’t find any.
“Not bad,” Cordelia said from the doorway. She was leaning against the side of the door, and her arms were crossed over her chest.
“Thanks,” I said, smiling. I was still a little nervous around Cordelia. She was so great at what she did. She was incredible, really, and I was worried that I was going to let her down somehow. I knew that my fears were unbiased. After all, she wasn’t my ex-boyfriend. She was my boss. If I was upsetting her or bothering her, she was going to tell me. “I’m glad you gave me some artistic freedom today.”
“That’s the best way to come up with good creations,” she shrugged. “Everyone needs a chance to express themselves. If I forced every team member to follow an obscure and random set of rules, nothing would ever get done, would it?”
“Maybe.”
“You’ve been wonderful, you know.”
“Really?”
“Your work here has been fantastic. You have a natural eye for cupcakes especially.”
“Thanks,” I blushed. Nobody had ever complimented me like that. I’d certainly never had a boss complement me like that. When I’d worked with Tony, he’d been wildly critical of everything. Nothing had ever pleased him. Nothing had ever been enough.
Now I finally felt like I was doing okay. It seemed like things were finally looking up for me, and it seemed as though I was learning how to be a person. More than that, I finally felt like I was learning how to make myself happy.
When I left the bakery and went home that night, it was hard not to feel like I was on top of the world. Christmas was coming up, and being able to celebrate with sweet holiday cupcakes was going to be wonderful. I loved that Cordelia let me bake whatever I wanted, and what I really liked was that all of our customers seemed to enjoy the creations, too.
I got back to my home, brewed a hot cup of tea, and settled down on the couch to read. I was half-reading, half-daydreaming about cupcakes, when my phone buzzed. Someone was calling me. Who the heck was calling me on the phone? Everyone texted these days. Even Cordelia and I had never spoken on the phone. Reaching for my cell, I smiled when I saw who it was.